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2018-05-27T05:49:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm to meet China regulators in push to clear $44 billion NXP deal: sources|BEIJING (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) is expecting to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance for its proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ), three sources told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The acquisition has been caught in the crosshairs of rising U.S.-China trade tensions, with sources saying an approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks. The deal has got a nod from eight of the nine required global regulators, with Chinese clearance the only one pending. Qualcomm is likely to meet Chinese regulators before U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrives in China on Saturday, the sources briefed on Qualcomm’s discussions said. A Qualcomm team and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) met in Beijing on Friday and had “productive” talks, the sources said. The San Diego-based firm is now “cautiously optimistic” the deal will go forward, one of the sources said, amid recent indications of a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions that has seen both sides propose tens of billions of dollars in tariffs. On Friday, the Trump administration said it had reached a deal that would put ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ )( 0763.HK ) back in business after the Chinese telecommunications company pays a $1.3 billion fine and makes management changes. Resolving the ZTE sales ban has been of chief importance to China’s leadership. The firm was banned in April from buying U.S. technology components for seven years after breaking an agreement it reached for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea. “It feels as though it’s getting close to the end,” said the source Quote: d above. Qualcomm did not immediately reply to an email from Reuters seeking comment on Sunday, while calls to NXP went unanswered outside regular business hours. FILE PHOTO: A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo NEW SUBMISSION Qualcomm is now preparing a new submission to SAMR aimed at providing final guarantees and assurances, the sources said. China’s market regulator did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment outside of business hours. While there are no explicit ties between ZTE’s problems, Sino-U.S. trade tensions and Qualcomm-NXP merger clearance, there are “perceived linkages” and the timing of current discussions is “not coincidental”, two of the sources said. “The degree to which the two sides are moving to resolve trade tensions clearly has an impact,” one source said. Qualcomm in recent weeks has moved to restart discussions that have stalled since the end of last year. The company in April was forced to refile its China anti-trust application to clear the NXP deal, after talks reached a dead end. Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm’s president, was in China last week, attending a big data industry expo in the southwest province of Guizhou. Earlier this month, China’s anti-trust regulator approved Qualcomm’s investment with a unit of state-owned Datang Telecom Technology Co. to design, package and test smartphone chipsets, one year after the joint venture was announced. Reporting By Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Michael Martina and Elias Glenn; Editing by Himani Sarkar  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-27T13:01:00.000+03:00|Colombians vote for new president with peace deal, economy at stake|BOGOTA, May 27 (Reuters) - Colombians vote on Sunday in a deeply divisive presidential ballot that has stirred fears the winner could upset a fragile peace accord with Marxist FARC rebels or derail the nation’s business-friendly economic model. In the first election since the peace deal was signed in 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), voters will decide on a replacement for President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the five-decade-old conflict. Leading candidate, right-wing Ivan Duque, has pledged to alter the terms of the peace deal and to jail former rebels for war crimes. Leftist Gustavo Petro, polling second, has said he would overhaul Colombia’s orthodox economic policy and redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Trailing them in the often-unreliable polls are mathematician and centrist Sergio Fajardo and former vice president German Vargas, who has Santos’ support. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent, the top two will go to a runoff on June 17. Campaigning in the traditionally conservative nation has been marked by acrimonious accusations that rival candidates will collapse the economy with socialist policies, force the nation back to the battle field or bust the budget by overspending. “These elections will decide the future of Colombia and maybe steer it toward an even more divided society that could end in a deep crisis,” said Gregorio Sierra, a 52-year-old psychologist in the capital, Bogota. “It’s scary.” Business-friendly Duque, who was handpicked by hard-line former President Alvaro Uribe, has promised to cut corporate taxes and support oil and mining projects, as well as change the peace accord and impose tougher punishments for former FARC fighters. Under the terms of the deal, thousands of rebels demobilized and the group is now a political party. But the accord drew ire from many who believe the FARC should be in prison and not in Congress. Some areas abandoned by the FARC have suffered an increase in fighting between criminal gangs and remaining guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) over valuable illegal mining and drug trafficking territories. Colombia’s production of coca - the raw material for cocaine - has risen sharply, stirring concern in Washington. The election also coincides with a growing migration crisis from neighboring Venezuela. Colombia is appealing for international support to cope with hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans streaming across the border to flee shortages of food and rising crime as their nation’s economy implodes. REALIGN AXIS Petro, a combative populist who was once a member of the now defunct M19 rebel group, supports the peace deal. But some of his economic policies spook investors and have prompted rivals to compare him to former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He has promised to take power away from political and social elites he says have stymied progress and to carry out a complete economic overhaul. His pledges to end extractive industries and shift the focus of state-run oil company Ecopetrol to renewable energy have dismayed business leaders. Oil and coal are Colombia’s top exports. Polls suggest the end of the FARC conflict has shifted voters’ priorities to inequality and corruption from security issues - opening the door to the left for the first time. “These elections may realign the political axis to a more ideological right versus left,” said Francisco Miranda, a political consultant. “It would be the first time in the history of Colombia that an openly leftist leader, a socialist, may get through to the second round.” With the highest rejection rate among all candidates, Petro is highly unlikely to win. Amid pitched battles on social media between voters, Petro said that voting software had been tampered with in a bid to help Vargas reach the second round. Petro called on his followers to observe vote counting and may call for protests if he does not reach the run-off. During his tenure as mayor of Bogota he was briefly ousted over a trash collection scandal and led massive marches calling for his own reinstatement. In the affluent Usaquen neighborhood of the capital, Claudia Guerrero, a 28-year-old shop assistant, said she hoped fellow voters did not just hurl insults on social media but actually went to the polls. Abstention in the country is high - less than half of eligible voters tend to participate in elections. “I hope many young people vote and above all I hope the losers accept the results,” Guerrero said. “Not only the candidates, but their followers.” Graphic tmsnrt.rs/2rAQ4l1 on Latin American elections Reporting by Helen Murphy and Steven Grattan Editing by Daniel Flynn and Rosalba O'Brien  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180527.html|0
2018-05-27T15:35:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm to meet China regulators in push to clear $44 bln NXP deal- sources|* Qualcomm to meet regulators before Wilbur Ross arrives -sources * Qualcomm had productive talks with SAMR on Friday -sources * Qualcomm is now preparing a new submission to SAMR -sources By Matthew Miller BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc is expecting to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance for its proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV, three sources told Reuters. The acquisition has been caught in the crosshairs of rising U.S.-China trade tensions, with sources saying an approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks. The deal has got a nod from eight of the nine required global regulators, with Chinese clearance the only one pending. Qualcomm is likely to meet Chinese regulators before U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrives in China on Saturday, the sources briefed on Qualcomm’s discussions said. A Qualcomm team and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) met in Beijing on Friday and had “productive” talks, the sources said. The San Diego-based firm is now “cautiously optimistic” the deal will go forward, one of the sources said, amid recent indications of a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions that has seen both sides propose tens of billions of dollars in tariffs. On Friday, the Trump administration said it had reached a deal that would put ZTE Corp back in business after the Chinese telecommunications company pays a $1.3 billion fine and makes management changes. Resolving the ZTE sales ban has been of chief importance to China’s leadership. The firm was banned in April from buying U.S. technology components for seven years after breaking an agreement it reached for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea. “It feels as though it’s getting close to the end,” said the source Quote: d above. NEW SUBMISSION Qualcomm is now preparing a new submission to SAMR aimed at providing final guarantees and assurances, the sources said. China’s market regulator did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment outside of business hours. While there are no explicit ties between ZTE’s problems, Sino-U.S. trade tensions and Qualcomm-NXP merger clearance, there are “perceived linkages” and the timing of current discussions is “not coincidental”, two of the sources said. “The degree to which the two sides are moving to resolve trade tensions clearly has an impact,” one source said. Qualcomm in recent weeks has moved to restart discussions that have stalled since the end of last year. The company in April was forced to refile its China anti-trust application to clear the NXP deal, after talks reached a dead end. Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm’s president, was in China last week, attending a big data industry expo in the southwest province of Guizhou. Earlier this month, China’s anti-trust regulator approved Qualcomm’s investment with a unit of state-owned Datang Telecom Technology Co. to design, package and test smartphone chipsets, one year after the joint venture was announced. (Reporting By Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Michael Martina and Elias Glenn; Editing by Himani Sarkar)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-27T18:40:00.000+03:00|Smiths Group, ICU Medical in talks on healthcare merger: source|(Reuters) - British engineering firm Smiths Group Plc ( SMIN.L ) is in very early stage discussions about a potential combination of its medical division with U.S.-based ICU Medical Inc ( ICUI.O ), the British group said on Sunday. There is no certainty that a transaction will be concluded from the talks, Smiths Group said in a statement that did not disclose any of the financial details under discussion. Sky News and the Financial Times had reported earlier on Sunday that the two companies were in talks. Smiths Group had been exploring options for some time for its medical business, the FT had reported. on.ft.com/2xir9YN Sky News said the talks could culminate in a joint venture. bit.ly/2s88bPN ICU Medical did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The British engineering company had reported a lower than expected first-half profit in March. The company’s largest unit, Smiths Medical, was hit by delays to new product launches and revenues at the division fell 5 percent to 451 million pounds ($600.2 million) for the first half of the year. Smiths, a provider of hospital equipment, industrial services and sensors to detect explosives, had said in March that its pre-tax profit fell 12 percent to 217 million pounds for the six months ending on Jan. 31, with revenues falling by 4.3 percent to 1.55 billion pounds. ICU Medical reported its first quarter results earlier in the month with revenues of $372 million and net income of $4.9 million. Reporting by Ben Martin in London and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Merriman and Daniel Wallis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-27T20:42:00.000+03:00|Brunei sells stake in Jordan Phosphate to Indian firms|AMMAN, May 27 (Reuters) - Brunei, the largest shareholder in Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC), has agreed to sell a 37 percent stake to India’s two largest importers and producers of fertilisers in a deal worth around $130 million, the Amman stock exchange said on Sunday. Indian Potash Limited and Kisan International Trading FZE, a subsidiary of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), bought the stake in Jordan’s largest mining and chemical company from Kamil Holdings Limited, owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, the exchange said in a statement. Brunei brought the stake in 2006 from Jordan when the country was seeking to attract foreign investment in an IMF-guided privatisation scheme to sell stakes in key state enterprises. The Brunei deal, which aimed to put the indebted and loss-making company on a sounder financial footing, was later criticised by Jordan’s parliament for alleged corruption, part of a backlash against privatisation and economic nationalism that swept the country. Industry sources say Brunei has been trying to divest its JPMC holding after former CEO Walid Kurdi, a relative of the royal family who fled the country in 2012, was given a 22 year prison sentence in absentia on charges of embezzlement of millions of dollars. Jordan had said more recently it wanted to buy back the shares but plans to regain control of some key companies, including JPMC, did not go ahead. The Amman stock exchange said the transaction involved the sale of 30.5 million shares to the Indian companies at 2.98 dinars ($4.20) per share. JPMC’s shares closed at 3.3 dinars on Sunday. Canada’s Potash Corp and Japan’s Mitsubishi were also in the running to buy the stake, an industry source familiar with the deal said. JPMC is one of the largest producers of phosphates in the world, producing up to seven million tonnes a year of rock phosphates, used as to make crop fertilizers. The company has in the last two decades expanded joint ventures with Indian and Japanese firms seeking investment opportunities overseas to secure requirements to meet fast growing fertiliser demand. JPMC has mining rights over 1 billion tonnes of the country’s 1.5 billion tonnes of proven reserves of phosphate, according to company estimates. The company has in the last two years embarked on a major restructuring plan to reduce 440 million dinars of debts and cut costs. Its losses were cut in half last year from 90 million to 46.6 million dinars. ($1=7090 dinars) (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi. Editing by Jane Merriman)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-27T20:44:00.000+03:00|Brunei sells stake in Jordan Phosphate to Indian firms|AMMAN (Reuters) - Brunei, the largest shareholder in Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC), has agreed to sell a 37 percent stake to India’s two largest importers and producers of fertilisers in a deal worth around $130 million, the Amman stock exchange said on Sunday. Indian Potash Limited and Kisan International Trading FZE, a subsidiary of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), bought the stake in Jordan’s largest mining and chemical company from Kamil Holdings Limited, owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, the exchange said in a statement. Brunei brought the stake in 2006 from Jordan when the country was seeking to attract foreign investment in an IMF-guided privatisation scheme to sell stakes in key state enterprises. The Brunei deal, which aimed to put the indebted and loss-making company on a sounder financial footing, was later criticised by Jordan’s parliament for alleged corruption, part of a backlash against privatisation and economic nationalism that swept the country. Industry sources say Brunei has been trying to divest its JPMC holding after former CEO Walid Kurdi, a relative of the royal family who fled the country in 2012, was given a 22 year prison sentence in absentia on charges of embezzlement of millions of dollars. Jordan had said more recently it wanted to buy back the shares but plans to regain control of some key companies, including JPMC, did not go ahead. The Amman stock exchange said the transaction involved the sale of 30.5 million shares to the Indian companies at 2.98 dinars ($4.20) per share. JPMC’s shares closed at 3.3 dinars on Sunday. Canada’s Potash Corp and Japan’s Mitsubishi were also in the running to buy the stake, an industry source familiar with the deal said. JPMC is one of the largest producers of phosphates in the world, producing up to seven million tonnes a year of rock phosphates, used as to make crop fertilizers. The company has in the last two decades expanded joint ventures with Indian and Japanese firms seeking investment opportunities overseas to secure requirements to meet fast growing fertiliser demand. JPMC has mining rights over 1 billion tonnes of the country’s 1.5 billion tonnes of proven reserves of phosphate, according to company estimates. The company has in the last two years embarked on a major restructuring plan to reduce 440 million dinars of debts and cut costs. Its losses were cut in half last year from 90 million to 46.6 million dinars. ($1=7090 dinars) Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-27T23:35:00.000+03:00|Smiths Group, ICU Medical in talks on healthcare merger- source|(Reuters) - British engineering firm Smiths Group Plc ( SMIN.L ) is in very early stage discussions about a potential combination of its medical division with U.S.-based ICU Medical Inc ( ICUI.O ), the British group said on Sunday. There is no certainty that a transaction will be concluded from the talks, Smiths Group said in a statement that did not disclose any of the financial details under discussion. Sky News and the Financial Times had reported earlier on Sunday that the two companies were in talks. Smiths Group had been exploring options for some time for its medical business, the FT had reported. on.ft.com/2xir9YN Sky News said the talks could culminate in a joint venture. bit.ly/2s88bPN ICU Medical did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The British engineering company had reported a lower than expected first-half profit in March. The company’s largest unit, Smiths Medical, was hit by delays to new product launches and revenues at the division fell 5 percent to 451 million pounds ($600.2 million) for the first half of the year. Smiths, a provider of hospital equipment, industrial services and sensors to detect explosives, had said in March that its pre-tax profit fell 12 percent to 217 million pounds for the six months ending on Jan. 31, with revenues falling by 4.3 percent to 1.55 billion pounds. ICU Medical reported its first quarter results earlier in the month with revenues of $372 million and net income of $4.9 million. Reporting by Ben Martin in London and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Merriman and Daniel Wallis  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-27T23:35:00.000+03:00|Smiths Group, ICU Medical in talks on healthcare merger- source|May 27 (Reuters) - British engineering firm Smiths Group Plc and U.S.-based ICU Medical Inc are in talks about a merger of their medical device businesses, a person familiar with the discussions told Reuters. The talks are at a very early stage, according to the person. Sky News and the Financial Times had reported earlier on Sunday that the two companies were in talks. bit.ly/2s88bPN The FT said Smiths Group had been exploring options for some time for its medical business. on.ft.com/2xir9YN ICU Medical did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Smiths Group declined to comment. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and Ben Martin. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-27T23:40:00.000+03:00|Smiths Group, ICU Medical in talks on healthcare merger - source|May 27, 2018 / 8:39 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago Smiths Group, ICU Medical in talks about medical division merger Ben Martin , Kanishka Singh 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British engineering firm Smiths Group Plc ( SMIN.L ) is in very early stage discussions about a potential combination of its medical division with U.S.-based ICU Medical Inc ( ICUI.O ), the British group said on Sunday. There is no certainty that a transaction will be concluded from the talks, Smiths Group said in a statement that did not disclose any of the financial details under discussion. Sky News and the Financial Times had reported earlier on Sunday that the two companies were in talks. Smiths Group had been exploring options for some time for its medical business, the FT had reported. Sky News said the talks could culminate in a joint venture. ICU Medical did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The British engineering company had reported a lower than expected first-half profit in March. The company’s largest unit, Smiths Medical, was hit by delays to new product launches and revenues at the division fell 5 percent to 451 million pounds ($600.2 million) for the first half of the year. Smiths, a provider of hospital equipment, industrial services and sensors to detect explosives, had said in March that its pre-tax profit fell 12 percent to 217 million pounds for the six months ending on Jan. 31, with revenues falling by 4.3 percent to 1.55 billion pounds. ICU Medical reported its first quarter results earlier in the month with revenues of $372 million and net income of $4.9 million. Reporting by Ben Martin in London and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Merriman and Daniel Wallis|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-28T01:09:00.000+03:00|Chinalco seals deal to get foothold in Yunnan's aluminum market|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s state-owned Chinalco is set to close the gap on privately run China Hongqiao Group, the world’s top aluminum producer, after sealing a deal with the Yunnan government that gives it access to more smelting capacity. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) is seen outside its headquarters in Beijing, China, April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Yunnan Metallurgical Group, which controls Yunnan Aluminum Co Ltd, will be merged into China Copper Co, a joint venture between Chinalco and the Yunnan provincial government, according to a Yunnan Aluminum statement on Monday. The joint venture is owned 58 percent by Chinalco, officially the Aluminum Corp of China, and 42 percent by the Yunnan government, said the statement, which was issued after the signing of an “in-principle” agreement in Kunming on Sunday. The move is the latest sign that Chinese aluminum producers want greater exposure to Yunnan, where hydropower is abundant, as the government cracks down on coal-fired power. “I wouldn’t say it was cheaper, but it’s more environmentally friendly (and) ... better for future development,” said Jackie Wang, an aluminum analyst at CRU in Beijing. The deal will give Chinalco access to Yunnan Aluminum’s 1.6 million tonnes of smelting capacity, with another 1.45 million tonnes in the pipeline or under construction, Wang said. Chinalco’s listed unit, known as Chalco, had smelting capacity of 3.93 million tonnes per year at the end of 2017, according to its annual report. China Hongqiao had 6.46 million tonnes a year of capacity at the end of 2017, according to a recent filing. While Chalco may actually have something less than the 3.93 million tonnes figure, combined with Yunnan Aluminum, it will be challenging Hongqiao’s volumes, said Paul Adkins, managing director of consultancy AZ China. “Yes, they will have as much as Hongqiao operating, though don’t forget Hongqiao has 2.6 million tonnes idle,” he said. “Chalco has idle assets too, but none that could come back and be profitable,” Adkins said. Chinalco did not answer a question concerning its current capacity or its capacity after the deal. A statement on Chalco’s website valued the strategic cooperation at over 100 billion yuan ($15.6 billion). The deal will also give Chinalco its first lead and zinc assets as Yunnan Metallurgical Group also controls Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co, which announced the agreement in its own statement on Monday. Reporting by Josephine Mason and Tom Daly; Editing by Richard Pullin and Tom Hogue  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|1
2018-05-28T05:13:00.000+03:00|China to host Iranian president amid nuclear deal doubt|May 28, 2018 / 2:15 AM / Updated 16 hours ago China to host Iran to avoid project disruption amid nuclear deal doubt Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China will host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani next month at a regional summit aimed at avoiding disruption of joint projects, its foreign ministry said on Monday, as major powers scramble to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out. FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Muslim leaders and scholars in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo Rouhani will pay a working visit to China and attend the summit of the China and Russia-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the ministry said. It did not give exact dates for his visit, but the summit is scheduled to be held on the second weekend of June in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao. Iran is currently an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, though it has long sought full membership. “Our hope is that China and Iran will have close consultation on the basis of observing the deal and push forward development of bilateral cooperation,” Chinese deputy foreign minister Zhang Hanhui said at a briefing. “We should together look into how to avoid major disruption of joint projects between the two sides,” he added. Russia has previously argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India. The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so. Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States this month, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. China has also strongly supported the deal and is one of its signatories. Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the leaders of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, were also invited to hold official bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit, the foreign ministry said. The summit, which runs from June 9-10, will attempt to create new agreements on security issues such as counter-terrorism and drug smuggling among the seven member bloc. Jointly led by Russia and China, the SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other regional security concerns. India and Pakistan became full members last year. Iran has long eyed an SCO membership and China has said it supports its application. Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-05-28T05:16:00.000+03:00|China to host Iranian president amid nuclear deal doubt|May 28, 2018 / 2:19 AM / Updated 4 hours ago China to host Iran to avoid project disruption amid nuclear deal doubt Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China will host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani next month at a regional summit aimed at avoiding disruption of joint projects, its foreign ministry said on Monday, as major powers scramble to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out. FILE PHOTO - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters Rouhani will pay a working visit to China and attend the summit of the China and Russia-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the ministry said. It did not give exact dates for his visit, but the summit is scheduled to be held on the second weekend of June in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao. Iran is currently an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, though it has long sought full membership. “Our hope is that China and Iran will have close consultation on the basis of observing the deal and push forward development of bilateral cooperation,” Chinese deputy foreign minister Zhang Hanhui said at a briefing. “We should together look into how to avoid major disruption of joint projects between the two sides,” he added. Russia has previously argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India. The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so. Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States this month, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. China has also strongly supported the deal and is one of its signatories. Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-05-28T05:16:00.000+03:00|China to host Iranian president amid nuclear deal doubt|May 28, 2018 / 2:18 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago China to host Iranian president amid nuclear deal doubt Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China will host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani next month at a regional summit in a Chinese coastal city, the country’s foreign ministry said on Monday, as major power scramble to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out. FILE PHOTO - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters Rouhani will pay a working visit to China and attend the summit of the China and Russia-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the ministry said. It did not give exact dates for his visit, but the summit is scheduled to be held on the second weekend of June in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao. Iran is currently an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, though it has long sought full membership. Russia has previously argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India. The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so. Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States this month, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. China has also strongly supported the deal and is one of its signatories. Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-28T06:06:00.000+03:00|Germany seeking deal to end EU-U.S. trade dispute|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany is seeking to end a dispute between the United States and the European Union over President Donald Trump’s decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Monday. FILE PHOTO - German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Altmaier said he would discuss the issue with European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris this week. “We need to try to avoid higher tariffs,” Altmaier said. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum in March but the European Union has been granted exemptions until June 1. Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-05-28T06:08:00.000+03:00|China to host Iran to avoid project disruption amid nuclear deal doubt|BEIJING (Reuters) - China will host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani next month at a regional summit aimed at avoiding disruption of joint projects, its foreign ministry said on Monday, as major powers scramble to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters Rouhani will pay a working visit to China and attend the summit of the China and Russia-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the ministry said. It did not give exact dates for his visit, but the summit is scheduled to be held on the second weekend of June in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao. Iran is currently an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, though it has long sought full membership. “Our hope is that China and Iran will have close consultation on the basis of observing the deal and push forward development of bilateral cooperation,” Chinese deputy foreign minister Zhang Hanhui said at a briefing. “We should together look into how to avoid major disruption of joint projects between the two sides,” he added. Russia has previously argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India. The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so. Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States this month, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. China has also strongly supported the deal and is one of its signatories. Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the leaders of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, were also invited to hold official bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit, the foreign ministry said. The summit, which runs from June 9-10, will attempt to create new agreements on security issues such as counter-terrorism and drug smuggling among the seven member bloc. Jointly led by Russia and China, the SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other regional security concerns. India and Pakistan became full members last year. Iran has long eyed an SCO membership and China has said it supports its application. Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-05-28T07:16:00.000+03:00|Verint in talks to merge with Israel's NSO Group in $1 billion deal: source|JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S.-based software company Verint Systems ( VRNT.O ) is in talks to merge its security division with Israeli cyber surveillance firm NSO Group in a deal worth about $1 billion, a source close to the negotiations said on Monday. The transaction, if completed, would create one of the world’s largest cyber companies. NSO would remain an independent company as a new division within Verint, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source also said the deal would likely be signed in the coming days. NSO declined to comment while Verint was not available outside U.S. business hours. The talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. NSO is best known as a suppliers of mobile surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies. The company, founded in 2009 by Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, was in the spotlight last year amid allegations the Mexican government has used its Pegasus mobile spyware to target private citizens. The WSJ reported that under the proposed deal, Verint has offered to pay private equity firm Francisco Partners, which is NSO’s controlling shareholder, with its own stock and assumed debt. The newspaper said Francisco Partners, which paid $120 million to buy a majority stake in NSO in 2014, would become the largest shareholder in Verint if the deal is completed. Israeli media reported last July that Blackstone Group ( BX.N ) was in talks to buy part of NSO but sources told Reuters that the U.S. private equity firm pulled out of those discussions a month later. Verint shares have risen more than 5 percent this year and closed at $44.05 on Friday, valuing the company at $2.82 billion. Reporting by Steven Scheer; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-28T07:31:00.000+03:00|Verint in talks to buy Israeli software firm NSO for $1 billion: WSJ|(Reuters) - U.S. data analytics firm Verint Systems Inc ( VRNT.O ) is in talks to buy Israeli mobile surveillance software maker NSO Group for about $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the situation. Verint has offered to pay private equity firm Francisco Partners, which is NSO's controlling shareholder, with its own stock and assumed debt, WSJ reported on.wsj.com/2GX7ptm. Francisco Partners will become the largest shareholder in Verint if the potential deal is completed, the newspaper added. Verint shares have risen more than 5 percent this year and closed at $44.05 on Friday, valuing the company at $2.82 billion. Verint, NSO and Francisco Partners could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours. Francisco Partners paid $120 million to buy a majority stake in NSO in 2014. NSO, founded in 2009 by Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, came under international scrutiny last year amid allegations the Mexican government has used its Pegasus mobile spyware to target private citizens. Israeli media reported last July that Blackstone Group ( BX.N ) was in talks to buy part of NSO but sources told Reuters that the U.S. private equity firm pulled out of those discussions a month later. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-28T08:41:00.000+03:00|New Development Bank says approves six new projects|SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The New Development Bank (NDB), set up by the BRICS group of major emerging economies, said on Monday it plans to raise 5 billion yuan ($782 million) through a yuan-denominated bond issue this year. Leslie Maasdorp, the NDB’s chief financial officer, told reporters on the sidelines of the bank’s annual meeting in Shanghai that the issue would be part of a 10 billion yuan bond programme approved by the NDB’s board. “Our next issue is going to be 5 billion renminbi,” he said. “We have to just go through a series of regulatory approvals, we’ve already appointed underwriters ... It’s going to be a matter of a few months, it will be during the course of 2018.” The bulk of the proceeds will go towards projects in China and the bank will carry out another yuan-denominated bond issue within the next two years, he said. Headquartered in Shanghai, the NDB is seen as the first major achievement of the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - since they got together in 2009 to press for a bigger say in the global financial order created by Western powers after World War Two. In 2016, it completed the sale of a five-year, 3 billion yuan bond which was the first yuan-denominated green bond sold in mainland China by a multinational financial institution at the time. However, plans to issue bonds in currencies belonging to its other member countries have been delayed, the NDB’s president, K.V. Kamath, said. Kamath told Reuters in March last year that the NDB planned to raise up to $500 million via rupee-denominated masala bonds by the second half of 2017. “We did not proceed with other issues because we thought it appropriate to get our international credit rating exercise done before we approach the markets,” he said, adding that they expect to receive the rating by July. “The moment the rating exercise gets completed we will probably go into the other countries’ markets.” The bank has already received an AAA investment rating in China. The NDB also announced that it had approved six new projects that take its loan portfolio to more than $5.1 billion. The schemes include an environmental protection project being carried out by Brazil’s Petrobras, and a rural road construction and upgrade programme in India. It said the approvals meant that it now finances 21 projects in its member countries. ($1 = 6.3971 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional Reporting by SHANGHAI Newsroom; Writing by John Ruwitch  |https://in.reuters.com/finance|0
2018-05-28T10:36:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Fortis Healthcare gets approval from Hero-Burman to re-open bidding|May 28, 2018 / 7:38 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Fortis Healthcare gets approval from Hero-Burman to re-open bidding Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds background, quote from letter) May 28 (Reuters) - Fortis Healthcare Ltd on Monday said the consortium of Hero Enterprise Investment Office and Burman Family Office, which won a five-way bidding war for the Indian firm, has permitted re-opening the bidding process, amid shareholder concerns over the board’s choice of the underdog. Though permitted to re-open the bidding, Fortis had not yet made a decision on the matter, a spokesperson told Reuters. The board of the cash-strapped company approved the consortium’s offer to invest 18 billion rupees ($266.9 million) earlier this month. However, investors have been wary of the board’s selection, given the consortium’s offer was much lower than those of Manipal Hospitals Enterprises or Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare Bhd . In a letter to the company’s board on Monday, the Hero-Burman group acknowledged stakeholders’ preference for re-opening the bidding process. “We believe that this situation may have arisen largely on account of the lack of information available to stakeholders,” Hero-Burman said. Disapproval from shareholders became evident after they voted out a director last week. Three other directors had resigned ahead of the vote. Fortis has been in the middle of a five-way bidding war with local and international suitors wanting to invest in the firm or buy it. Manipal sweetened its offer for a fifth time after the Hero-Burman offer was selected, and IHH extended the acceptance period for its offer. ($1 = 67.4500 Indian rupees) Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in BENGALURU and Zeba Siddiqui in MUMBAI; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Christopher Cushing|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-28T10:56:00.000+03:00|Germany seeking deal to end EU-U.S. trade dispute|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany is seeking to end a dispute between the United States and the European Union over President Donald Trump’s decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Monday. FILE PHOTO - German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Altmaier said he would discuss the issue with European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris this week. “We need to try to avoid higher tariffs,” Altmaier said. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum in March but the European Union has been granted exemptions until June 1. Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Catherine Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-28T11:02:00.000+03:00|Indian trader group objects to Walmart-Flipkart deal|MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian trader body has raised objections to Walmart Inc’s ( WMT.N ) $16 billion acquisition of e-commerce firm Flipkart, though lawyers and sources said the complaint to the country’s antitrust regulator is unlikely to threaten the deal. FILE PHOTO: The logo of India's e-commerce firm Flipkart is seen on the company's office in Bengaluru, India April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) filed an objection to the U.S. retail giant’s buyout of roughly 77 percent of Bengaluru-based Flipkart, the body said on Monday, adding that the deal would create unfair competition and result in predatory pricing. However, multiple sources close to the deal said that CAIT’s filing with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) did not pose a challenge to the acquisition. “It’s very unlikely the CCI will look into this complaint as both Flipkart and Walmart are not competing in India in relation to any products or services,” said a lawyer with knowledge of the deal. A source with direct knowledge of the deal said the CAIT complaint was “not a matter of concern”. Walmart’s bid is at aimed at competing with arch rival Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) in a major growth market and prompted protests from Indian trade and nationalist groups that say small traders will suffer. Amazon’s presence in India means that a Walmart-Flipkart alliance would not be a threat to competition, a CCI official said. However, the deal could be politically sensitive because it might affect small and medium-sized traders, added the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. M. M. Sharma, head of competition law and policy at law firm Vaish Associates, said: “Blocking (of the deal) is highly unlikely, but the CCI will keep checks and balances so that competition in the market is maintained.” Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy; Editing by David Goodman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-28T11:02:00.000+03:00|Germany seeking deal to end EU-U.S. trade dispute|May 28, 2018 / 8:05 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Germany seeking deal to end EU-U.S. trade dispute Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany is seeking to end a dispute between the United States and the European Union over President Donald Trump’s decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Monday. FILE PHOTO - German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Altmaier said he would discuss the issue with European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris this week. “We need to try to avoid higher tariffs,” Altmaier said. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum in March but the European Union has been granted exemptions until June 1. Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Catherine Evans|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-05-28T11:09:00.000+03:00|Chinalco seals deal to get foothold in Yunnan's aluminium market|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s state-owned Chinalco is set to close the gap on privately run China Hongqiao Group, the world’s top aluminum producer, after sealing a deal with the Yunnan government that gives it access to more smelting capacity. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) is seen outside its headquarters in Beijing, China, April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Yunnan Metallurgical Group, which controls Yunnan Aluminum Co Ltd, will be merged into China Copper Co, a joint venture between Chinalco and the Yunnan provincial government, according to a Yunnan Aluminum statement on Monday. The joint venture is owned 58 percent by Chinalco, officially the Aluminum Corp of China, and 42 percent by the Yunnan government, said the statement, which was issued after the signing of an “in-principle” agreement in Kunming on Sunday. The move is the latest sign that Chinese aluminum producers want greater exposure to Yunnan, where hydropower is abundant, as the government cracks down on coal-fired power. “I wouldn’t say it was cheaper, but it’s more environmentally friendly (and) ... better for future development,” said Jackie Wang, an aluminum analyst at CRU in Beijing. The deal will give Chinalco access to Yunnan Aluminum’s 1.6 million tonnes of smelting capacity, with another 1.45 million tonnes in the pipeline or under construction, Wang said. Chinalco’s listed unit, known as Chalco, had smelting capacity of 3.93 million tonnes per year at the end of 2017, according to its annual report. China Hongqiao had 6.46 million tonnes a year of capacity at the end of 2017, according to a recent filing. While Chalco may actually have something less than the 3.93 million tonnes figure, combined with Yunnan Aluminum, it will be challenging Hongqiao’s volumes, said Paul Adkins, managing director of consultancy AZ China. “Yes, they will have as much as Hongqiao operating, though don’t forget Hongqiao has 2.6 million tonnes idle,” he said. “Chalco has idle assets too, but none that could come back and be profitable,” Adkins said. Chinalco did not answer a question concerning its current capacity or its capacity after the deal. A statement on Chalco’s website valued the strategic cooperation at over 100 billion yuan ($15.6 billion). The deal will also give Chinalco its first lead and zinc assets as Yunnan Metallurgical Group also controls Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co, which announced the agreement in its own statement on Monday. Reporting by Josephine Mason and Tom Daly; Editing by Richard Pullin and Tom Hogue  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|1
2018-05-28T11:46:00.000+03:00|Britain could sell 10 percent stake in RBS as soon as this week - Sky News|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could sell a 10 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland as soon as this week, Sky News reported on Monday, citing banking sources. FILE PHOTO: Royal Bank of Scotland signs are seen at a branch of the bank, in London, Britain December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo The British government still holds a 71 percent stake in the bank after stepping in with a taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. Sky reported that bankers expected Britain to announce the disposal of a stake worth at least 3 billion pounds ($4 billion), but added that any share sale could be delayed by market conditions or ministers’ concerns about value for money for taxpayers. At Friday’s closing share price of just under 290 pence, little more than half the 502 pence the government paid for them, the Treasury stands to lose billions of pounds on the sale. The British government pumped 45.5 billion pounds into RBS in the depths of the financial crisis, and efforts since then to recoup the money have been stymied by the plunge in the bank’s share price, regulatory probes in the United States and Brexit. In particular, a long-running investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the bank’s mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities delayed the share sale. But RBS agreed a smaller than expected $4.9 billion settlement earlier this month, paving the way for a long-awaited return of cash to UK taxpayers. Britain said in November it would sell 15 billion pounds of RBS shares over five years, with 3 billion pounds to be sold by the end of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. “We don’t comment on market speculation,” a spokesman for the finance ministry said. A spokesman for RBS declined to comment on the report Both RBS and Lloyds were rescued during the 2007-9 financial crisis. Britain sold its remaining stake in Lloyds last year. ($1 = 0.7514 pounds) Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Jane Merriman and Adrian Croft Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-28T11:58:00.000+03:00|Verint in talks to merge with Israel's NSO Group at $1 bln value -source|JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S.-based software company Verint Systems ( VRNT.O ) is in talks to merge its security division with Israeli cyber surveillance firm NSO Group in a deal worth about $1 billion, a source close to the negotiations said on Monday. The transaction, if completed, would create one of the world’s largest cyber companies. NSO would remain an independent company as a new division within Verint, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source also said the deal would likely be signed in the coming days. NSO declined to comment while Verint was not available outside U.S. business hours. The talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. NSO is best known as a suppliers of mobile surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies. The company, founded in 2009 by Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, was in the spotlight last year amid allegations the Mexican government has used its Pegasus mobile spyware to target private citizens. The WSJ reported that under the proposed deal, Verint has offered to pay private equity firm Francisco Partners, which is NSO’s controlling shareholder, with its own stock and assumed debt. The newspaper said Francisco Partners, which paid $120 million to buy a majority stake in NSO in 2014, would become the largest shareholder in Verint if the deal is completed. Israeli media reported last July that Blackstone Group ( BX.N ) was in talks to buy part of NSO but sources told Reuters that the U.S. private equity firm pulled out of those discussions a month later. Verint shares have risen more than 5 percent this year and closed at $44.05 on Friday, valuing the company at $2.82 billion. Reporting by Steven Scheer; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-28T12:04:00.000+03:00|Colombia heads for divisive runoff with peace deal at stake|May 28, 2018 / 9:06 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Colombia heads for divisive runoff with peace deal at stake Helen Murphy , Daniel Flynn 6 Min Read BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia headed for its most divisive presidential race in decades after right-winger Ivan Duque won Sunday’s first-round vote, triggering a runoff with leftist Gustavo Petro that could upset a historic peace deal or see a reversal in business-friendly policies. It is the first time in Colombia's modern history that an openly leftist candidate has reached the second round of a presidential vote, a prospect that has unnerved some investors in Latin America's fourth largest economy. (Graphic: Latin American elections tmsnrt.rs/2rAQ4l1 ) Duque, a 41-year-old former official of the Washington-based InterAmerican Development Bank, was the convincing winner of Sunday’s ballot with 39 percent of votes, ahead of Petro, an outspoken ex-mayor of Bogota, with 25 percent, broadly in line with polls. However, Duque’s pledge to overhaul the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by scrapping immunity for those convicted of crimes has alarmed many Colombians, weary after five decades of conflict that killed more than 200,000 people and left 7 million others displaced. Though outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for forging the accord, it has deeply divided the nation of around 50 million people. The deal was narrowly rejected in a referendum before Congress finally approved a modified version. Petro, himself a former member of the now defunct M-19 rebel group, has backed the peace agreement, along with the three other losing candidates, meaning Duque may need to moderate his position to attract wavering voters in the June 17 second round. “We don’t want to shatter the agreement. We want to make it clear that a Colombia of peace is a Colombia where peace meets justice,” Duque said in a victory speech on Sunday to cheering supporters, in which he complimented third-place finisher Sergio Fajardo and said their social agendas had much in common. Fajardo, a center-left mathematician who won 24 percent of the vote, has declined to endorse either candidate for the second round, saying his supporters would make up their own minds. “It would be disrespectful to say I am the owner of the votes,” Fajardo told Blu Radio on Monday, adding that he would meet with his team to discuss options. All recent polls have predicted that Duque would beat Petro in a second round, and that Fajardo was the only candidate who could have posed a risk to the conservative frontrunner if he had made it through. However, some political analysts in Colombia said that the votes of the center-left could be enough for Petro to at least mount a serious challenge to Duque, provided he can dodge his rival’s accusations of radicalism. “Petro was quite clearly behind Duque in the vote so that will reassure the markets,” said Camilo Perez, head of economic studies at Banco de Bogota. “But the fact that Fajardo was so close to Petro may generate nervousness, as his approach is probably closer to Petro’s and that could send votes (Petro’s) way.” A woman sells newspapers that show candidates Gustavo Petro and Ivan Duque go to the second round of presidential election, in Bogota, Colombia May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga However, Petro’s more hardline rhetoric could also put off center-left voters, said Citigroup analyst Munir Jalil. Colombia’s COLCAP stock index was down 0.65 percent, with many investors assuming the election was Duque’s to lose. The yield on the local Treasury bond maturing July 2024 slipped to 6.044 from 6.071 on Friday, while trade in the peso currency was closed for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday. ‘ENRICHING THE POOR’ The winner of the second round will face an intimidating array of challenges, from stubbornly low economic growth to threats to Colombia’s prized investment grade credit rating, as well as difficulties in implementing the peace accord. Some areas abandoned by the FARC have suffered an increase in fighting between criminal gangs and a remaining guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), over valuable illegal mining and drug trafficking territories. Polls suggest the end of the FARC conflict has shifted voters’ priorities to inequality and corruption from security issues, opening the door to the left for the first time. However, a growing crisis in neighboring socialist-run Venezuela, which has driven hundreds of thousands of desperate people across the border, is a thorn in Petro’s side. Duque’s camp allege he would plunge Colombia into a similar crisis. While Duque has pledged to cut taxes and support private enterprise, Petro has promised to take power away from the political and social elites he accuses of stymieing development. At his election night party in the capital, Petro struck a moderate tone, though, as both he and Duque seek to attract centrist voters. “When we talk about defeating poverty, we’re not talking about impoverishing the rich, but about enriching the poor,” said the bespectacled Petro, surrounded by family members. Slideshow (3 Images) In a country where oil and coal are the top export earners, Petro’s pledges to end extractive industries have dismayed business leaders and centrists. “Our country has never lived such a polarized moment as this and Petro represents a huge danger,” Mariana Riaño, a 21-year-old student, said at Duque’s celebration party at a conference center in Bogota. “But we are going to beat him.” Reporting by Helen Murphy, Luis Jaime Acosta, Nelson Bocanegra and Steven Grattan; Additional reporting by Dylan Baddour; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Rosalba O'Brien|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-05-28T12:07:00.000+03:00|Colombia heads for divisive runoff with peace deal at stake|May 28, 2018 / 9:08 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago Colombia heads for divisive runoff with peace deal at stake Helen Murphy, Daniel Flynn 5 Min Read BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia headed for its most divisive presidential race in decades after rightwinger Ivan Duque won Sunday’s first-round vote, triggering a runoff with leftist Gustavo Petro that could upset a historic peace deal or derail business friendly reforms. Right wing presidential candidate Ivan Duque (C) greets supporters after polls closed in the first round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Nacho Doce It was the first time in the modern history of the conservative South American nation that a leftist candidate had reached the second round of a presidential vote, a prospect that has spooked some investors in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy in recent weeks. Duque, a 41-year-old former official of the Washington-based InterAmerican Development Bank, was the convincing winner of the ballot with 39 percent of votes, ahead of Petro, an outspoken former mayor of Bogota, on 25 percent, in line with polls. However, Duque’s pledge to overhaul the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by scrapping immunity for those convicted of crimes has worried many Colombians, weary after five decades of conflict that killed about 200,000 people. Though outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for forging the accord, it deeply divided the nation of more than 50 million people and was narrowly rejected in a popular vote before Congress finally approved a modified version. Petro, and three other losing candidates, have backed the deal, meaning Duque may need to moderate his position to attract wavering voters. Center-left mathematician Sergio Fajardo, who came third, with 24 percent of votes, declined to endorse either candidate for the second round, saying his supporters would make up their own minds. Political pundits in Colombia said that if June’s vote went along ideological lines, the votes of the centre-left could be enough for Petro to seriously challenge Duque, if he can dodge his rival’s accusations of radicalism. “Petro was quite clearly behind Duque in the vote, so that will reassure the markets,” Camilo Perez, head of economic studies at Banco de Bogota. “But the fact that Fajardo was so close to Petro may generate nervousness, as his approach is probably closer to Petro’s and that could send votes his way.” Right wing presidential candidate Ivan Duque greets supporters after polls closed in the first round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Nacho Doce ARRAY OF CHALLENGES The winner of the second round will face an intimidating array of challenges, from stubbornly low economic growth to threats to Colombia’s prized investment grade credit rating, besides difficulties in implementing the peace accord. Some areas abandoned by the FARC have suffered an increase in fighting between criminal gangs and a remaining guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), over valuable illegal mining and drug trafficking territories. Colombia’s production of coca, the raw material for cocaine, tripled between 2012 and 2016, stirring concern in Washington. Polls suggest the end of the FARC conflict has shifted voters’ priorities to inequality and corruption from security issues - opening the door to the left for the first time. However, a growing crisis in neighbouring socialist-run Venezuela, which has driven hundreds of thousands of desperate people to flee across the border, is a thorn in the side for Petro, with Duque’s camp saying he would plunge Colombia into a similar crisis. Petro has promised to take power away from political and social elites he accuses of having stymied development, and to carry out a complete economic overhaul. At his election night party in the capital, communist party militants waved red flags above the crowd, yet Petro struck a moderate tone as both he and Duque sought to attract centrist voters. “When we talk about defeating poverty, we’re not talking about impoverishing the rich, but about enriching the poor,” said the bespectacled Petro, surrounded by family members. Slideshow (4 Images) However, in a country where oil and coal are the top export earners, Petro’s pledges to end extractive industries and shift the focus of state-run oil company Ecopetrol to renewable energy have dismayed business leaders. “Our country has never lived such a polarized moment as this and Petro represents a huge danger, but we are going to beat him,” Mariana Riaño, a 21-year-old student, said at Duque’s celebration party at a conference centre in Bogota. Reporting by Helen Murphy, Nelson Bocanegra and Steven Grattan; Additional reporting by Dylan Baddour; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Clarence Fernandez 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-28T12:07:00.000+03:00|Colombia heads for divisive runoff with peace deal at stake|May 28, 2018 / 9:08 AM / Updated an hour ago Colombia heads for divisive runoff with peace deal at stake Helen Murphy , Daniel Flynn 5 Min Read BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia headed for its most divisive presidential race in decades after rightwinger Ivan Duque won Sunday’s first-round vote, triggering a runoff with leftist Gustavo Petro that could upset a historic peace deal or derail business friendly reforms. Right wing presidential candidate Ivan Duque (C) greets supporters after polls closed in the first round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Nacho Doce It was the first time in the modern history of the conservative South American nation that a leftist candidate had reached the second round of a presidential vote, a prospect that has spooked some investors in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy in recent weeks. Duque, a 41-year-old former official of the Washington-based InterAmerican Development Bank, was the convincing winner of the ballot with 39 percent of votes, ahead of Petro, an outspoken former mayor of Bogota, on 25 percent, in line with polls. However, Duque’s pledge to overhaul the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by scrapping immunity for those convicted of crimes has worried many Colombians, weary after five decades of conflict that killed about 200,000 people. Though outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for forging the accord, it deeply divided the nation of more than 50 million people and was narrowly rejected in a popular vote before Congress finally approved a modified version. Petro, and three other losing candidates, have backed the deal, meaning Duque may need to moderate his position to attract wavering voters. Center-left mathematician Sergio Fajardo, who came third, with 24 percent of votes, declined to endorse either candidate for the second round, saying his supporters would make up their own minds. Right wing presidential candidate Ivan Duque greets supporters after polls closed in the first round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Political pundits in Colombia said that if June’s vote went along ideological lines, the votes of the centre-left could be enough for Petro to seriously challenge Duque, if he can dodge his rival’s accusations of radicalism. “Petro was quite clearly behind Duque in the vote, so that will reassure the markets,” Camilo Perez, head of economic studies at Banco de Bogota. “But the fact that Fajardo was so close to Petro may generate nervousness, as his approach is probably closer to Petro’s and that could send votes his way.” ARRAY OF CHALLENGES The winner of the second round will face an intimidating array of challenges, from stubbornly low economic growth to threats to Colombia’s prized investment grade credit rating, besides difficulties in implementing the peace accord. Some areas abandoned by the FARC have suffered an increase in fighting between criminal gangs and a remaining guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), over valuable illegal mining and drug trafficking territories. Slideshow (4 Images) Colombia’s production of coca, the raw material for cocaine, tripled between 2012 and 2016, stirring concern in Washington. Polls suggest the end of the FARC conflict has shifted voters’ priorities to inequality and corruption from security issues - opening the door to the left for the first time. However, a growing crisis in neighbouring socialist-run Venezuela, which has driven hundreds of thousands of desperate people to flee across the border, is a thorn in the side for Petro, with Duque’s camp saying he would plunge Colombia into a similar crisis. Petro has promised to take power away from political and social elites he accuses of having stymied development, and to carry out a complete economic overhaul. At his election night party in the capital, communist party militants waved red flags above the crowd, yet Petro struck a moderate tone as both he and Duque sought to attract centrist voters. “When we talk about defeating poverty, we’re not talking about impoverishing the rich, but about enriching the poor,” said the bespectacled Petro, surrounded by family members. However, in a country where oil and coal are the top export earners, Petro’s pledges to end extractive industries and shift the focus of state-run oil company Ecopetrol to renewable energy have dismayed business leaders. “Our country has never lived such a polarized moment as this and Petro represents a huge danger, but we are going to beat him,” Mariana Riaño, a 21-year-old student, said at Duque’s celebration party at a conference centre in Bogota. Reporting by Helen Murphy, Nelson Bocanegra and Steven Grattan; Additional reporting by Dylan Baddour; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Clarence Fernandez|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-05-28T12:11:00.000+03:00|Verint in talks to buy Israeli software firm NSO for $1 bln -WSJ|(Reuters) - U.S. data analytics firm Verint Systems Inc ( VRNT.O ) is in talks to buy Israeli mobile surveillance software maker NSO Group for about $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the situation. Verint has offered to pay private equity firm Francisco Partners, which is NSO's controlling shareholder, with its own stock and assumed debt, WSJ reported on.wsj.com/2GX7ptm. Francisco Partners will become the largest shareholder in Verint if the potential deal is completed, the newspaper added. Verint shares have risen more than 5 percent this year and closed at $44.05 on Friday, valuing the company at $2.82 billion. Verint, NSO and Francisco Partners could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours. Francisco Partners paid $120 million to buy a majority stake in NSO in 2014. NSO, founded in 2009 by Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, came under international scrutiny last year amid allegations the Mexican government has used its Pegasus mobile spyware to target private citizens. Israeli media reported last July that Blackstone Group ( BX.N ) was in talks to buy part of NSO but sources told Reuters that the U.S. private equity firm pulled out of those discussions a month later. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-28T13:01:00.000+03:00|Egypt to sell up to 4 pct of Eastern Tobacco stake on Cairo exchange -ministry|May 28, 2018 / 10:02 AM / a day ago Egypt to sell up to 4 pct of Eastern Tobacco stake on Cairo exchange -ministry Reuters Staff 1 Min Read CAIRO, May 28 (Reuters) - Egypt’s state-owned Holding Company for Chemical Industries has agreed to sell up to 4 percent of its stake in Eastern Tobacco on the Cairo exchange, Minister of Public Enterprise Khaled Badawy said in a statement on Monday. Badawy, who also heads the holding company, said the move is part of the government’s broader initiative to sell stakes in various state companies on the Cairo exchange. (Reporting by Ehab Farouk Writing by Eric Knecht Editing by David Goodman) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAegyptNews|0
2018-05-28T13:03:00.000+03:00|Petrobras plunges as Brazil offers deal to end truckers' strike|BRASILIA, May 28 (Reuters) - Petrobras shares fell as much as 9 percent on Monday after Brazil’s government offered new fuel subsidies and changed the oil producer’s pricing policy in a bid to settle a truckers’ strike that has shuttered factories and caused food and fuel shortages. As a result of tax cuts and subsidies announced by President Michel Temer late on Sunday, domestic diesel prices would fall 0.46 real per liter and remain frozen at that level for 60 days. Yet to avoid breaking budget rules, the Brazilian congress would need to approve several tax measures, a daunting endeavor ahead of this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections. The measures represented Temer’s latest concessions to the truckers, whose strike has won popular support even as it has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America’s largest economy. After the initial 60-day period price freeze, state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA will start adjusting diesel prices monthly, a switch from its current policy of daily price changes. Should global diesel prices fall in coming months, the government could choose to trim subsidies, Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia said. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the government had agreed to compensate it for any losses. Still, its shares plunged to a four-month low. For years, Petrobras subsidized domestic fuel prices, boosting its debt load - a policy current Chief Executive Pedro Parente has tried to reverse - contributing to the diesel price hikes that triggered the truckers’ rebellion. Renewed worries about Petrobras’ independence from political inference have shaved 113 billion reais off its market capitalization since the truckers’ strike began a week ago. To partially offset the subsidies’ cost, which could reach as much as 9.5 billion reais ($2.6 billion) this year, and avoid missing its 2018 budget goal, Guardia said the government would cut spending by 3.8 billion reais. It will also have to hike taxes to offset an additional 4-billion real loss from diesel tax cuts to avoid breaking budget rules. That would be partially paid for by an increase in payroll taxes that has struggled to win congressional approval for months, but would also require further tax measures that the government will unveil once that plan is passed, Guardia said. Guardia also said the government will implement a variable tax on diesel imports that will kick in whenever global prices fall below local benchmark prices, protecting Petrobras’ competitiveness. Newspaper Valor Econômico had reported on Monday that Petrobras had proposed such a plan. $1 = 3.71 reais Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Writing by Bruno Federowski Editing by Nick Zieminski  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-28T13:06:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (May 28)|BRUSSELS, May 28 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — UK private equity group 3i Group Plc to acquire a 35 percent stake in ferry operator Scandlines after selling the company to infrastructure funds First State Investments and Hermes Investment Management (approved May 25) — Global asset management company Carlyle and U.S. investment company TA Associates to jointly acquire sales marketing company Discoverorg which is now solely controlled by TA Associates (approved May 17) NEW LISTINGS — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES — U.S coatings maker Axalta Coating Systems to acquire wire enamel manufacturer IVA’s European and Chinese operations (notified April 16/deadline May 28/withdrawn May 14) — Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) to acquire lamp maker Aura Light International AB (notified April 19/deadline May 31/simplified.withdrawn May 8) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE MAY 30 — U.S. cable company Liberty Global to acquire Dutch peer Ziggo (notified April 4/deadline extended to May 30 from May 15 after Liberty Global offered concessions) JUNE 1 — Swiss engineering company ABB to acquire General Electric’s industrial solutions business (notified April 20/deadline June 1) JUNE 7 — German power grid makers Stadtwerke Olching and Bayernwerk Net to set up two joint ventures (notified April 26/deadline June 7/simplified) JUNE 8 — Private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire packaging company Walki Holding (notified April 27/deadline June 8/simplified) JUNE 11 — Investment firm HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK insurance broker Capita Specialist Insurance Soluions Ld (notified April 30/deadline June 11/simplified) — U.S. insurer American International Group to acquire Bermuda-based reinsurer Validus Holdings Ltd (notified April 30/deadline June 11/simplified) JUNE 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to June 12 from June 7) — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-28T13:20:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Egypt to sell up to 4 pct of Eastern Tobacco stake on Cairo exchange|May 28, 2018 / 10:22 AM / Updated 17 hours ago UPDATE 1-Egypt to sell up to 4 pct of Eastern Tobacco stake on Cairo exchange Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Adds detail, context) CAIRO, May 28 (Reuters) - Egypt’s state-owned Holding Company for Chemical Industries has agreed to sell up to 4 percent of its stake in Eastern Tobacco on the Cairo exchange, Minister of Public Enterprise Khaled Badawy said in a statement on Monday. Badawy, who also heads the holding company, said the move is part of the government’s broader initiative to sell stakes in various state companies on the Cairo exchange to raise government funds and draw more investors to the exchange. In March Egypt announced the names of 23 state companies that will sell stakes this year under a plan to raise 80 billion Egyptian pounds ($4.47 billion) through minority share offerings on the Cairo bourse. Badawy said proceeds from the Eastern Tobacco sale will be used to restructure and develop subsidiaries of the chemical holding company. ($1 = 17.9050 Egyptian pounds) Reporting by Ehab Farouk Writing by Eric Knecht Editing by David Goodman 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAegyptNews|0
2018-05-28T13:27:00.000+03:00|ArcelorMittal South Africa to sell stake in Macsteel, shares rise|JOHANNESBURG, May 28 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal’s South Africa unit will sell its 50 percent stake in trading and shipping company MIHBV to its joint venture partner Macsteel Holdings Luxembourg (MacHold) for $220 million, the steel maker said on Monday. “The proceeds of the sale will significantly strengthen the balance sheet of ArcelorMittal South Africa and will be used to fund working capital requirements and investments in the operating businesses,” ArcelorMittal SA Chief Executive Kobus Verster said in a statement. The company’s share price rose more than 24 percent at one point on the news before ending 5.4 percent higher. MacHold already holds a 50 percent stake in MIHBV, which is engaged in steel trading and shipping. The other 50 percent is held by ArcelorMittal SA. “In the early years, most of the steel for the joint venture was sourced from ArcelorMittal South Africa. Today, while it remains an important source of steel products, ArcelorMittal SA supplies less than 20 percent of the total tonnages traded and less than 2 percent of volumes shipped by MIHBV,” Verster said. “The investment is no longer considered to be a core asset and we have decided to dispose of our interest,” he said. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard Editing by Edmund Blair)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-28T13:33:00.000+03:00|New Development Bank says approves six new projects|SHANGHAI, May 28 (Reuters) - The New Development Bank set up by the BRICS group of major emerging economies said on Monday that it has approved six new projects that take its loan book to $5.1 billion. The bank, set up in 2015, made the announcement at its annual meeting in Shanghai. (Reporting by Brenda Goh Writing by John Ruwitch)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-28T13:37:00.000+03:00|Petrobras plunges as Brazil offers deal to end truckers' strike|BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Petrobras shares plunged 15 percent on Monday after Brazil’s government offered new fuel subsidies and softened the oil producer’s pricing policy in a bid to settle a truckers’ strike that has wreaked havoc on Latin America’s largest economy. People wait in line to fill canisters with gasoline at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes As a result of tax cuts and subsidies announced by President Michel Temer late on Sunday, domestic diesel prices would fall 0.46 real per liter, or about 13 percent of the current price at the pump, and remain frozen for 60 days. Shareholders in state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ), which earlier this month soared after the company reported its highest profits in five years, have been hammered as the stock lost nearly a third of its value in the past week. Compounding the sense of crisis, Petrobras management sent a letter to its workers urging them not to follow through on a strike planned for later in the week, saying “paralysis and pressure for adjusting prices” would hurt the company or country as a whole. Under the deal announced by Temer, after the initial 60-day period price freeze, Petrobras will start adjusting diesel prices monthly, a switch from its current policy of daily price changes. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the government had agreed to compensate it for any losses. But investors were skeptical. Since May 18, when speculation began that the government might need to negotiate with truckers over diesel prices, Petrobras has lost 127.5 billion reais ($34.13 billion) in market value. Its drop on Monday led a broader sell-off in Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP , which slumped 4.5 percent and is now in negative territory for the year. LATEST CONCESSION The latest pricing announcement “suggests increasing risk that the government will interfere in Petrobras affairs again or force them to subsidize the domestic market again,” said Morningstar analyst Allen Good, adding it was “a change in the market-friendly policy implemented in the last couple of years.” For years, Petrobras subsidized domestic fuel prices, boosting its debt load, a policy current Chief Executive Pedro Parente - whose days some investors fear may be numbered - has tried to reverse. “There were rumors last week Parente might resign,” Good said. “The latest decisions might force his hand.” Petrobras has denied the rumors, saying Parente has no intention of quitting. The subsidy and tax cut measures represented Temer’s latest concessions to the truckers, whose strike has won popular support even as it has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America’s largest economy. A truckers’ association behind the nationwide protest has told drivers to get back to work, but the government said progress had been slow and highway police said 556 highway blockades by protesters remained in place. The moves also left Temer’s government scrambling to win congressional approval for several tax measures needed to avoid breaking budget rules, a daunting endeavor ahead of October’s congressional and presidential elections. Brazilian farm groups, meanwhile, warned that production and exports of key commodities like coffee and soy would fall if the truckers continue to block roads. [nE6N1SV00B] Some 64 million chickens have starved to death as a result of the strike, meat group ABPA said on Sunday. Brazil is the world’s largest chicken exporter. As many as 150 poultry and pork processing plants have stopped production for lack of feed and storage space, the association said. Among other sectors, Brazilian steelmakers like Cia Siderurgica Nacional ( CSNA3.SA ) and Usiminas ( USIM5.SA ) may lose up to 20 percent of their revenue in May due to the strike, analysts from XP Investimentos said in a research note. Shares in food retailers Carrefour Brasil ( CARR.PA ) and GPA SA ( PCAR4.SA ) also fell as analysts warned their supply chains would suffer. ($1 = 3.7359 reais) Additional reporting by Ana Mano, Gram Slattery, Paula Laier and Tatiana Bautzer; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by James Dalgleish and Tom Brown  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-28T14:14:00.000+03:00|Indian traders' group files objection to Walmart-Flipkart deal|MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian trader body has raised objections to Walmart Inc’s ( WMT.N ) $16 billion acquisition of e-commerce firm Flipkart, though lawyers and sources said the complaint to the country’s antitrust regulator is unlikely to threaten the deal. FILE PHOTO: The logo of India's e-commerce firm Flipkart is seen on the company's office in Bengaluru, India April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) filed an objection to the U.S. retail giant’s buyout of roughly 77 percent of Bengaluru-based Flipkart, the body said on Monday, adding that the deal would create unfair competition and result in predatory pricing. However, multiple sources close to the deal said that CAIT’s filing with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) did not pose a challenge to the acquisition. “It’s very unlikely the CCI will look into this complaint as both Flipkart and Walmart are not competing in India in relation to any products or services,” said a lawyer with knowledge of the deal. A source with direct knowledge of the deal said the CAIT complaint was “not a matter of concern”. Walmart’s bid is at aimed at competing with arch rival Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) in a major growth market and prompted protests from Indian trade and nationalist groups that say small traders will suffer. Amazon’s presence in India means that a Walmart-Flipkart alliance would not be a threat to competition, a CCI official said. However, the deal could be politically sensitive because it might affect small and medium-sized traders, added the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. M. M. Sharma, head of competition law and policy at law firm Vaish Associates, said: “Blocking (of the deal) is highly unlikely, but the CCI will keep checks and balances so that competition in the market is maintained.” Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy; Editing by David Goodman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-28T14:19:00.000+03:00|Indian traders' group files objection to Walmart-Flipkart deal|MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian trader body has raised objections to Walmart Inc’s $16 billion acquisition of e-commerce firm Flipkart, though lawyers and sources said the complaint to the country’s antitrust regulator is unlikely to threaten the deal. FILE PHOTO: The logo of India's e-commerce firm Flipkart is seen on the company's office in Bengaluru, India April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) filed an objection to the U.S. retail giant’s buyout of roughly 77 percent of Bengaluru-based Flipkart, the body said on Monday, adding that the deal would create unfair competition and result in predatory pricing. However, multiple sources close to the deal said that CAIT’s filing with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) did not pose a challenge to the acquisition. “It’s very unlikely the CCI will look into this complaint as both Flipkart and Walmart are not competing in India in relation to any products or services,” said a lawyer with knowledge of the deal. A source with direct knowledge of the deal said the CAIT complaint was “not a matter of concern”. Walmart’s bid is at aimed at competing with arch rival Amazon.com Inc in a major growth market and prompted protests from Indian trade and nationalist groups that say small traders will suffer. Amazon’s presence in India means that a Walmart-Flipkart alliance would not be a threat to competition, a CCI official said. However, the deal could be politically sensitive because it might affect small and medium-sized traders, added the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media. M. M. Sharma, head of competition law and policy at law firm Vaish Associates, said: “Blocking (of the deal) is highly unlikely, but the CCI will keep checks and balances so that competition in the market is maintained.” Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy; Editing by David Goodman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtopNews|1
2018-05-28T14:38:00.000+03:00|Indian traders' group files objection to Walmart-Flipkart deal|May 28, 2018 / 11:39 AM / Updated 37 minutes ago Indian trader group objects to Walmart-Flipkart deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian trader body has raised objections to Walmart Inc’s $16 billion acquisition of e-commerce firm Flipkart, though lawyers and sources said the complaint to the country’s antitrust regulator is unlikely to threaten the deal. FILE PHOTO: A Common myna sits next to the logo of India's e-commerce firm Flipkart installed on the company's office in Bengaluru, India April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) filed an objection to the U.S. retail giant’s buyout of roughly 77 percent of Bengaluru-based Flipkart, the body said on Monday, adding that the deal would create unfair competition and result in predatory pricing. However, multiple sources close to the deal said that CAIT’s filing with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) did not pose a challenge to the acquisition. “It’s very unlikely the CCI will look into this complaint as both Flipkart and Walmart are not competing in India in relation to any products or services,” said a lawyer with knowledge of the deal. FILE PHOTO: The Walmart logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo A source with direct knowledge of the deal said the CAIT complaint was “not a matter of concern”. Walmart’s bid is at aimed at competing with arch rival Amazon.com Inc in a major growth market and prompted protests from Indian trade and nationalist groups that say small traders will suffer. Amazon’s presence in India means that a Walmart-Flipkart alliance would not be a threat to competition, a CCI official said. However, the deal could be politically sensitive because it might affect small and medium-sized traders, added the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media. M. M. Sharma, head of competition law and policy at law firm Vaish Associates, said: “Blocking (of the deal) is highly unlikely, but the CCI will keep checks and balances so that competition in the market is maintained.” Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy; Editing by David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-05-28T15:02:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Petrobras plunges as Brazil offers deal to end truckers' strike|(Adds reaction to accord from truckers’ association, more on wider economic and companies impact of strike) By Marcela Ayres and Alexandra Alper BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, May 28 (Reuters) - Petrobras shares fell as much as 9 percent on Monday after Brazil’s government offered new fuel subsidies and softened the oil producer’s pricing policy in a bid to settle a truckers’ strike that has wreaked havoc on Latin America’s largest economy. As a result of tax cuts and subsidies announced by President Michel Temer late on Sunday, domestic diesel prices would fall 0.46 real per liter, or about 13 percent of the current price at the pump, and remain frozen for 60 days. A truckers’ association behind the nationwide protest told drivers to get back to work, adding that it expected the number of blockades of key roadways to decline significantly by Monday afternoon. Yet to avoid breaking budget rules, the Brazilian congress would need to approve several tax measures, a daunting endeavor ahead of this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections. The measures represented Temer’s latest concessions to the truckers, whose strike has won popular support even as it has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America’s largest economy. Brazilian farm groups warned on Monday that production and exports of key commodities like coffee and soy would fall if the truckers continue to block roads. Some 64 million chickens have starved to death as a result of the strike, meat group ABPA said on Sunday. Brazil is the world’s largest chicken exporter. As many as 150 poultry and pork processing plants have stopped production for lack of feed and storage space, the association has said. After the initial 60-day period price freeze, state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA will start adjusting diesel prices monthly, a switch from its current policy of daily price changes. Should global diesel prices fall in coming months, the government could choose to trim subsidies, Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia said. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the government had agreed to compensate it for any losses. Still, its shares plunged to a four-month low, leading a broader sell-off in Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index, which slumped 4 percent. The latest pricing announcement “suggests increasing risk that the government will interfere in Petrobras affairs again or force them to subsidize the domestic market again,” said Morningstar analyst Allen Good, adding that the change to monthly pricing adjustments from daily was “a change in the market-friendly policy implemented in the last couple of years.” For years, Petrobras subsidized domestic fuel prices, boosting its debt load, a policy current Chief Executive Pedro Parente has tried to reverse. The policy contributed to the diesel price hikes that triggered the truckers’ rebellion. The pricing turmoil has raised questions about how long the market-friendly CEO will stay on. “There were rumors last week Parente might resign,” Good said. “The latest decisions might force his hand.” Petrobras on Friday denied the rumors, saying Parente had no intention of quitting. Renewed worries about Petrobras’ independence from political inference have shaved 113 billion reais off its market capitalization since the truckers’ strike began a week ago. Brazilian steelmakers like Cia Siderurgica Nacional and Usiminas may lose up to 20 percent of their revenue in May due to the strike, analysts from XP Investimentos said in a research note. Shares in food retailers Carrefour Brasil and GPA SA also fell as analysts warned their supply chains would suffer. Petrobras management separately urged its workers not to follow through on a strike planned for later in the week, saying that “paralysis and pressure for adjusting prices” would not be positive for the company or country as a whole. To partially offset the subsidies’ cost, which could reach as much as 9.5 billion reais ($2.6 billion) this year, and avoid missing its 2018 budget goal, Guardia said the government would cut spending by 3.8 billion reais. It will also have to hike taxes to offset an additional 4-billion real loss from diesel tax cuts to avoid breaking budget rules. That would be partially paid for by an increase in payroll taxes that has struggled to win congressional approval for months, but would also require further tax measures that the government will unveil once that plan is passed, Guardia said. Guardia also said the government will implement a variable tax on diesel imports that will kick in whenever global prices fall below local benchmark prices, protecting Petrobras’ competitiveness. Newspaper Valor Econômico had reported on Monday that Petrobras had proposed such a plan. $1 = 3.71 reais Additional reporting by Ana Mano, Gram Slattery and Tatiana Bautzer; Writing by Bruno Federowski Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-05-28T15:57:00.000+03:00|Britain could sell 3 billion pound stake in RBS as soon as this week - Sky News|May 28, 2018 / 12:57 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Britain could sell 10 percent stake in RBS as soon as this week - Sky News Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could sell a 10 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland as soon as this week, Sky News reported on Monday, citing banking sources. FILE PHOTO: Royal Bank of Scotland signs are seen at a branch of the bank, in London, Britain December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo The British government still holds a 71 percent stake in the bank after stepping in with a taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. Sky reported that bankers expected Britain to announce the disposal of a stake worth at least 3 billion pounds, but added that any share sale could be delayed by market conditions or ministers’ concerns about value for money for taxpayers. At Friday’s closing share price of just under 290 pence, little more than half the 502 pence the government paid for them, the Treasury stands to lose billions of pounds on the sale. The British government pumped 45.5 billion pounds into RBS in the depths of the financial crisis, and efforts since then to recoup the money have been stymied by the plunge in the bank’s share price, regulatory probes in the United States and Brexit. In particular, a long-running investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the bank’s mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities delayed the share sale. But RBS agreed a smaller than expected $4.9 billion settlement earlier this month, paving the way for a long-awaited return of cash to UK taxpayers. Britain said in November it would sell 15 billion pounds of RBS shares over five years, with 3 billion pounds to be sold by the end of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. “We don’t comment on market speculation,” a spokesman for the finance ministry said. A spokesman for RBS declined to comment on the report Both RBS and Lloyds were rescued during the 2007-9 financial crisis. Britain sold its remaining stake in Lloyds last year. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Jane Merriman and Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-05-28T15:58:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-MCI.CreditVentures 2.0 FIZ Plans To Sell Its Entire Stake In Genomed|May 28 (Reuters) - GENOMED SA: * SAID ON FRIDAY MCI.CREDITVENTURES 2.0 FIZ (FUND) ACCEPTED AN OFFER FROM DIAGNOSTYKA SP. Z O.O. TO BUY THE FUND’S ENTIRE STAKE IN CO * THE FUND HOLDS 460,889 SHARES IN CO * BOTH PARTIES PLAN TO FINALISE THE TRANSACTION IN COMING WEEKS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T16:47:00.000+03:00|Britain could sell 10 percent stake in RBS as soon as this week: Sky News|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could sell a 10 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) as soon as this week, Sky News reported on Monday, citing banking sources. FILE PHOTO: Royal Bank of Scotland signs are seen at a branch of the bank, in London, Britain December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo The British government still holds a 71 percent stake in the bank after stepping in with a taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. Sky reported that bankers expected Britain to announce the disposal of a stake worth at least 3 billion pounds ($4 billion), but added that any share sale could be delayed by market conditions or ministers’ concerns about value for money for taxpayers. At Friday’s closing share price of just under 290 pence, little more than half the 502 pence the government paid for them, the Treasury stands to lose billions of pounds on the sale. The British government pumped 45.5 billion pounds into RBS in the depths of the financial crisis, and efforts since then to recoup the money have been stymied by the plunge in the bank’s share price, regulatory probes in the United States and Brexit. In particular, a long-running investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the bank’s mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities delayed the share sale. But RBS agreed a smaller than expected $4.9 billion settlement earlier this month, paving the way for a long-awaited return of cash to UK taxpayers. Britain said in November it would sell 15 billion pounds of RBS shares over five years, with 3 billion pounds to be sold by the end of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. “We don’t comment on market speculation,” a spokesman for the finance ministry said. A spokesman for RBS declined to comment on the report Both RBS and Lloyds were rescued during the 2007-9 financial crisis. Britain sold its remaining stake in Lloyds last year. Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Jane Merriman and Adrian Croft  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-28T16:59:00.000+03:00|Verint in talks to merge with Israel's NSO Group at $1 bln value -source|JERUSALEM, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S.-based software company Verint Systems is in talks to merge its security division with Israeli cyber surveillance firm NSO Group at a value for NSO of about $1 billion, a source close to the negotiations said on Monday. NSO Group would remain an independent company as a division within Verint, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. NSO declined to comment while Verint was not available outside U.S. business hours. The talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. NSO is one of the world’s better known suppliers of mobile surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies. But they have been criticised by online privacy activists who have accused the company of creating spyware used to target rights groups and reporters around the world. (Reporting by Steven Scheer Editing by Jeffrey Heller)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T17:38:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Rockbridge Fund Buys 6.19% Stake In CreativeForge Games|May 28 (Reuters) - CREATIVEFORGE GAMES SA: * SAID ON FRIDAY THAT ROCKBRIDGE TFI SA ACQUIRED 6.19% STAKE IN COMPANY * BEFORE TRANSACTION ROCKBRIDGE FUND DID NOT OWN ANY SHARES OF COMPANY Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T18:00:00.000+03:00|Petrobras plunges as Brazil offers deal to end truckers' strike|BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Petrobras shares plunged 15 percent on Monday after Brazil’s government offered new fuel subsidies and softened the oil producer’s pricing policy in a bid to settle a truckers’ strike that has wreaked havoc on Latin America’s largest economy. People wait in line to fill canisters with gasoline at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes As a result of tax cuts and subsidies announced by President Michel Temer late on Sunday, domestic diesel prices would fall 0.46 real per liter, or about 13 percent of the current price at the pump, and remain frozen for 60 days. Shareholders in state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ), which earlier this month soared after the company reported its highest profits in five years, have been hammered as the stock lost nearly a third of its value in the past week. Compounding the sense of crisis, Petrobras management sent a letter to its workers urging them not to follow through on a strike planned for later in the week, saying “paralysis and pressure for adjusting prices” would hurt the company or country as a whole. Under the deal announced by Temer, after the initial 60-day period price freeze, Petrobras will start adjusting diesel prices monthly, a switch from its current policy of daily price changes. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the government had agreed to compensate it for any losses. But investors were skeptical. Since May 18, when speculation began that the government might need to negotiate with truckers over diesel prices, Petrobras has lost 127.5 billion reais ($34.13 billion) in market value. Its drop on Monday led a broader sell-off in Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP , which slumped 4.5 percent and is now in negative territory for the year. LATEST CONCESSION The latest pricing announcement “suggests increasing risk that the government will interfere in Petrobras affairs again or force them to subsidize the domestic market again,” said Morningstar analyst Allen Good, adding it was “a change in the market-friendly policy implemented in the last couple of years.” For years, Petrobras subsidized domestic fuel prices, boosting its debt load, a policy current Chief Executive Pedro Parente - whose days some investors fear may be numbered - has tried to reverse. “There were rumors last week Parente might resign,” Good said. “The latest decisions might force his hand.” Petrobras has denied the rumors, saying Parente has no intention of quitting. The subsidy and tax cut measures represented Temer’s latest concessions to the truckers, whose strike has won popular support even as it has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America’s largest economy. A truckers’ association behind the nationwide protest has told drivers to get back to work, but the government said progress had been slow and highway police said 556 highway blockades by protesters remained in place. The moves also left Temer’s government scrambling to win congressional approval for several tax measures needed to avoid breaking budget rules, a daunting endeavor ahead of October’s congressional and presidential elections. Brazilian farm groups, meanwhile, warned that production and exports of key commodities like coffee and soy would fall if the truckers continue to block roads. [nE6N1SV00B] Some 64 million chickens have starved to death as a result of the strike, meat group ABPA said on Sunday. Brazil is the world’s largest chicken exporter. As many as 150 poultry and pork processing plants have stopped production for lack of feed and storage space, the association said. Among other sectors, Brazilian steelmakers like Cia Siderurgica Nacional ( CSNA3.SA ) and Usiminas ( USIM5.SA ) may lose up to 20 percent of their revenue in May due to the strike, analysts from XP Investimentos said in a research note. Shares in food retailers Carrefour Brasil ( CARR.PA ) and GPA SA ( PCAR4.SA ) also fell as analysts warned their supply chains would suffer. ($1 = 3.7359 reais) Additional reporting by Ana Mano, Gram Slattery, Paula Laier and Tatiana Bautzer; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by James Dalgleish and Tom Brown  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-28T18:03:00.000+03:00|Egypt to sell up to 4 pct of Eastern Tobacco stake on Cairo exchange -ministry|CAIRO, May 28 (Reuters) - Egypt’s state-owned Holding Company for Chemical Industries has agreed to sell up to 4 percent of its stake in Eastern Tobacco on the Cairo exchange, Minister of Public Enterprise Khaled Badawy said in a statement on Monday. Badawy, who also heads the holding company, said the move is part of the government’s broader initiative to sell stakes in various state companies on the Cairo exchange. (Reporting by Ehab Farouk Writing by Eric Knecht Editing by David Goodman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T18:03:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Brazil's Eletrobras says board approved sale of stakes in 70 subsidiaries- filing|May 28 (Reuters) - Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA : * BRAZIL’S POWER HOLDING CO SAYS BOARD APPROVED SALE OF STAKES IN 70 SUBSIDIARIES- FILING * BRAZIL’S ELETROBRAS SAYS STAKES REFER TO COMPANIES HOLDING WIND FARMS AND TRANSMISSION LINES- FILING * BRAZIL’S ELETROBRAS SAYS MININUM PRICE FOR ALL COMPANIES IS 2.8 BILLION REAIS - FILING * ELETROBRAS SAYS CREDIT SUISSE WAS HIRED TO MANAGE THE SALE OF THE STAKES IN SUBSIDIARIES - FILING * BRAZIL’S ELETROBRAS SAYS BOARD APPROVED PLAN ANNOUNCED BY COMPANY IN JUNE 2017, FEBRUARY 2018 - FILING Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T18:05:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (May 28)|BRUSSELS, May 28 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — UK private equity group 3i Group Plc to acquire a 35 percent stake in ferry operator Scandlines after selling the company to infrastructure funds First State Investments and Hermes Investment Management (approved May 25) — Global asset management company Carlyle and U.S. investment company TA Associates to jointly acquire sales marketing company Discoverorg which is now solely controlled by TA Associates (approved May 17) NEW LISTINGS — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES — U.S coatings maker Axalta Coating Systems to acquire wire enamel manufacturer IVA’s European and Chinese operations (notified April 16/deadline May 28/withdrawn May 14) — Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) to acquire lamp maker Aura Light International AB (notified April 19/deadline May 31/simplified.withdrawn May 8) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE MAY 30 — U.S. cable company Liberty Global to acquire Dutch peer Ziggo (notified April 4/deadline extended to May 30 from May 15 after Liberty Global offered concessions) JUNE 1 — Swiss engineering company ABB to acquire General Electric’s industrial solutions business (notified April 20/deadline June 1) JUNE 7 — German power grid makers Stadtwerke Olching and Bayernwerk Net to set up two joint ventures (notified April 26/deadline June 7/simplified) JUNE 8 — Private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire packaging company Walki Holding (notified April 27/deadline June 8/simplified) JUNE 11 — Investment firm HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK insurance broker Capita Specialist Insurance Soluions Ld (notified April 30/deadline June 11/simplified) — U.S. insurer American International Group to acquire Bermuda-based reinsurer Validus Holdings Ltd (notified April 30/deadline June 11/simplified) JUNE 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to June 12 from June 7) — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-28T18:08:00.000+03:00|India wants Iran nuclear deal partners to engage after U.S. pullout|NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India wants nations that are party to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to engage constructively with Tehran, a government statement said, after the withdrawal of the United States from the pact. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj walk after a photo opportunity in New Delhi, India, May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain The statement was issued after a meeting of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif. The statement said parties involved in the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, “should engage constructively for peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen with respect to the agreement”. Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Edmund Blair  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INformulaOne|0
2018-05-28T18:23:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Egypt to sell up to 4 pct of Eastern Tobacco stake on Cairo exchange|(Adds detail, context) CAIRO, May 28 (Reuters) - Egypt’s state-owned Holding Company for Chemical Industries has agreed to sell up to 4 percent of its stake in Eastern Tobacco on the Cairo exchange, Minister of Public Enterprise Khaled Badawy said in a statement on Monday. Badawy, who also heads the holding company, said the move is part of the government’s broader initiative to sell stakes in various state companies on the Cairo exchange to raise government funds and draw more investors to the exchange. In March Egypt announced the names of 23 state companies that will sell stakes this year under a plan to raise 80 billion Egyptian pounds ($4.47 billion) through minority share offerings on the Cairo bourse. Badawy said proceeds from the Eastern Tobacco sale will be used to restructure and develop subsidiaries of the chemical holding company. ($1 = 17.9050 Egyptian pounds) Reporting by Ehab Farouk Writing by Eric Knecht Editing by David Goodman  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T18:23:00.000+03:00|ArcelorMittal South Africa to sell stake in Macsteel, shares rise|May 28, 2018 / 3:24 PM / Updated 12 hours ago ArcelorMittal South Africa to sell stake in Macsteel, shares rise Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JOHANNESBURG, May 28 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal’s South Africa unit will sell its 50 percent stake in trading and shipping company MIHBV to its joint venture partner Macsteel Holdings Luxembourg (MacHold) for $220 million, the steel maker said on Monday. “The proceeds of the sale will significantly strengthen the balance sheet of ArcelorMittal South Africa and will be used to fund working capital requirements and investments in the operating businesses,” ArcelorMittal SA Chief Executive Kobus Verster said in a statement. The company’s share price rose more than 24 percent at one point on the news before ending 5.4 percent higher. MacHold already holds a 50 percent stake in MIHBV, which is engaged in steel trading and shipping. The other 50 percent is held by ArcelorMittal SA. “In the early years, most of the steel for the joint venture was sourced from ArcelorMittal South Africa. Today, while it remains an important source of steel products, ArcelorMittal SA supplies less than 20 percent of the total tonnages traded and less than 2 percent of volumes shipped by MIHBV,” Verster said. “The investment is no longer considered to be a core asset and we have decided to dispose of our interest,” he said. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard Editing by Edmund Blair) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-05-28T18:29:00.000+03:00|Bombardier sells 30 CS300 aircraft to Air Baltic for $2.9 bln|May 28 (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc said on Monday it had completed the sale of 30 CS300 aircraft to Latvia’s Air Baltic Corp, valuing the firm order at about $2.9 billion based on the list price. The Canadian plane and train maker also said options and purchase rights were in place for 30 more such aircraft, which would make it a nearly $5.9 billion deal. Air Baltic has become the largest European C Series customer with the order, the companies said. The new order deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2019. Air Baltic said in January it expected to buy more CSeries planes from Bombardier in the following months. (Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-28T18:29:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-New EU bank capital rules favourable for cross-border mergers|(Adds Quote: s, background, details) PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - A new agreement on EU bank capital rules helps lift regulatory obstacles to cross-border bank mergers but further steps are still needed, France’s central bank head said on Monday. EU finance ministers reached an agreement on Friday on how to apply new global bank capital rules that overhauled financial regulations after the 2008-2009 global crisis. As part of the package, Europe’s biggest banks, such as France’s BNP Paribas, would see their exposure to other countries in the bloc to be treated as safer domestic exposure, thus potentially reducing capital surcharge they pay, according to the agreement. “In 2018, we should continue to continue our efforts to encourage consolidation in the European financial sector,” Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told journalists. Since the end of the financial crisis, European banks have largely ignored calls to merge from some central bankers, who think that consolidation would make it easier to transmit monetary policy more evenly across the euro zone. Villeroy, who is also head of France’s ACPR financial sector regulator, said that the ministers’ agreement on Friday was “a very good step, but we are not there yet”. He added that the next step should be to focus on quickly setting up a common backstop to prop up the sector’s rescue facility, known as the Single Resolution Fund. “As soon as the resolution (mechanism) is completed, the environment will be favourable for the emergence of cross-boarder banking and insurance groups, Villeroy said. Turning to France specifically, Villeroy renewed concerns about surging corporate and household borrowing, which has pushed private-sector debt to record levels. He added that France’s financial stability council, which includes him and the finance minister, was prepared to take action at a meeting next month, including by requiring banks to hold extra capital. Villeroy said the point was not to rein in borrowing, but rather to ensure banks had enough capital available to keep lending should the credit cycle take a turn for the worst in the future. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Matthieu Protard, Editing by Leigh Thomas)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T18:48:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Polenergia's majority shareholder says it will not sell shares to PGE|(Adds analyst comment) WARSAW, May 28 (Reuters) - Kulczyk Investments, the majority shareholder in Polish energy firm Polenergia, does not plan to sell its shares in the company in the tender offer announced last week by state-run utility PGE, dealing a blow to PGE’s ambitions. “Polenergia is a long-term investment for the Kulczyk family and thus they do not intend to respond to the share tender offer,” Kulczyk Investments, which owns a 50.2-percent stake in Polenergia, said in a statement on Monday. PGE offered to buy all Polenergia’s shares for 16.29 zlotys each, which would value the transaction at around 740 million zlotys. PGE declined to comment. PGE can still go ahead with the tender offer, but, as things stand, it could not acquire a majority of Polenergia shares. “I suspect that the key issue was that the price offered by PGE was a minimum price and it is not attractive for the majority shareholder. It is PGE’s turn now,” said Robert Maj, analyst at Ipopema Securities. By 1222 GMT shares in Polenergia, which surged last week when the tender offer was announced, had fallen by 0.57 percent to 17.30 zlotys while PGE rose by 1.1 percent. PGE, which produces most of its electricity from lignite and is one of Europe’s biggest polluters, has said the takeover would help it reduce carbon emissions due to Polenergia’s portfolio of wind farms. Shares in Polenergia have gained 43 percent since the start of the year, after a 14 percent rise in 2017. But in 2016 the company’s value slid by 61.5 percent due to the policies of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which hit investors in Poland’s wind farms. This year PiS, which considers wind farms an unstable source of electricity, has taken a step back and proposed to change some of the regulations imposed in the past years. “The reasons for the decrease in Polenergia’s value are known, but is is difficult to blame PGE for using the market opportunity,” said Pawel Puchalski, head of equity research at DM BZ WBK. The Kulczyk family, one of Poland’s richest, also owns a chemical group Ciech in Poland. Polish authorities are looking at the sale of Ciech to Jan Kulczyk, who died in 2015, by the former government in 2014. PiS argues that the former government sold its stake in Ciech too cheaply to Kulczyk. Other shareholders in Polenergia include China-Central and Eastern Europe Investment Co-operation Fund, which has a 15.99-percent stake, as well as pension funds owned by Aviva, Nationale-Nederlanden and Generali. (Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko and Anna Koper Editing by Marcin Goettig and Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T19:18:00.000+03:00|Indian traders' group files objection to Walmart-Flipkart deal|MUMBAI, May 28 (Reuters) - The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has filed an objection to Walmart Inc’s $16 billion merger with e-commerce company Flipkart with the country’s competition watchdog, it said on Monday. U.S. retail giant Walmart said this month that it would pay $16 billion for a roughly 77 percent stake in Flipkart, which CAIT’s filing said would create unfair competition and result in predatory pricing. The deal is aimed at helping Walmart to compete with Amazon.com in a major growth market, prompting protests from trade and nationalist groups that say small traders will suffer. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy Editing by David Goodman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T19:32:00.000+03:00|ITV mulls buying half of UKTV in deal with BBC: Telegraph|(Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV Plc ( ITV.L ) is considering entering into a joint venture valued at 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) with BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. FILE PHOTO: A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo /File Photo According to terms of the joint venture, BBC has the right to buy out its partner at a set price before the end of next week, the newspaper reported. The companies are attempting a deal to create a competitor to entertainment company Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ), the report said. bit.ly/2sfuS4C The opportunity to seal the deal will close within two weeks, according to the report. UKTV, whose channels include Dave and Gold, is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Discovery Inc ( DISCA.O ), which earlier this year completed its acquisition of U.S. broadcaster Scripps Networks Interactive, the former owner of UKTV. Discovery is working on an alternative plan for breaking up UKTV, the Telegraph said. BBC had earlier approached Sky Plc ( SKYB.L ) as a potential partner in the joint venture but the talks did not work out, the report added. In November, the Telegraph had reported that BBC’s commercial arm was considering a 500-million-pound bid for full control of UKTV. ITV is currently in the middle of a strategic review under new Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said she would provide investors with an update of the review at the group’s half-year results in July. ITV, BBC and Discovery did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. ($1 = 0.7513 pounds) Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-28T20:00:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Petrobras plunges as Brazil offers deal to end truckers' strike|(Adds reaction to accord from truckers’ association, more on wider economic and companies impact of strike) By Marcela Ayres and Alexandra Alper BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, May 28 (Reuters) - Petrobras shares fell as much as 9 percent on Monday after Brazil’s government offered new fuel subsidies and softened the oil producer’s pricing policy in a bid to settle a truckers’ strike that has wreaked havoc on Latin America’s largest economy. As a result of tax cuts and subsidies announced by President Michel Temer late on Sunday, domestic diesel prices would fall 0.46 real per liter, or about 13 percent of the current price at the pump, and remain frozen for 60 days. A truckers’ association behind the nationwide protest told drivers to get back to work, adding that it expected the number of blockades of key roadways to decline significantly by Monday afternoon. Yet to avoid breaking budget rules, the Brazilian congress would need to approve several tax measures, a daunting endeavor ahead of this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections. The measures represented Temer’s latest concessions to the truckers, whose strike has won popular support even as it has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America’s largest economy. Brazilian farm groups warned on Monday that production and exports of key commodities like coffee and soy would fall if the truckers continue to block roads. Some 64 million chickens have starved to death as a result of the strike, meat group ABPA said on Sunday. Brazil is the world’s largest chicken exporter. As many as 150 poultry and pork processing plants have stopped production for lack of feed and storage space, the association has said. After the initial 60-day period price freeze, state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA will start adjusting diesel prices monthly, a switch from its current policy of daily price changes. Should global diesel prices fall in coming months, the government could choose to trim subsidies, Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia said. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the government had agreed to compensate it for any losses. Still, its shares plunged to a four-month low, leading a broader sell-off in Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index, which slumped 4 percent. The latest pricing announcement “suggests increasing risk that the government will interfere in Petrobras affairs again or force them to subsidize the domestic market again,” said Morningstar analyst Allen Good, adding that the change to monthly pricing adjustments from daily was “a change in the market-friendly policy implemented in the last couple of years.” For years, Petrobras subsidized domestic fuel prices, boosting its debt load, a policy current Chief Executive Pedro Parente has tried to reverse. The policy contributed to the diesel price hikes that triggered the truckers’ rebellion. The pricing turmoil has raised questions about how long the market-friendly CEO will stay on. “There were rumors last week Parente might resign,” Good said. “The latest decisions might force his hand.” Petrobras on Friday denied the rumors, saying Parente had no intention of quitting. Renewed worries about Petrobras’ independence from political inference have shaved 113 billion reais off its market capitalization since the truckers’ strike began a week ago. Brazilian steelmakers like Cia Siderurgica Nacional and Usiminas may lose up to 20 percent of their revenue in May due to the strike, analysts from XP Investimentos said in a research note. Shares in food retailers Carrefour Brasil and GPA SA also fell as analysts warned their supply chains would suffer. Petrobras management separately urged its workers not to follow through on a strike planned for later in the week, saying that “paralysis and pressure for adjusting prices” would not be positive for the company or country as a whole. To partially offset the subsidies’ cost, which could reach as much as 9.5 billion reais ($2.6 billion) this year, and avoid missing its 2018 budget goal, Guardia said the government would cut spending by 3.8 billion reais. It will also have to hike taxes to offset an additional 4-billion real loss from diesel tax cuts to avoid breaking budget rules. That would be partially paid for by an increase in payroll taxes that has struggled to win congressional approval for months, but would also require further tax measures that the government will unveil once that plan is passed, Guardia said. Guardia also said the government will implement a variable tax on diesel imports that will kick in whenever global prices fall below local benchmark prices, protecting Petrobras’ competitiveness. Newspaper Valor Econômico had reported on Monday that Petrobras had proposed such a plan. $1 = 3.71 reais Additional reporting by Ana Mano, Gram Slattery and Tatiana Bautzer; Writing by Bruno Federowski Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-28T20:40:00.000+03:00|Britain could sell 3 bln pound stake in RBS as soon as this week -Sky News|LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Britain could sell a stake worth at least 3 billion pounds ($3.99 billion) in Royal Bank of Scotland as soon as this week, Sky News reported on Monday, citing banking sources. The British government still holds a stake of more than 70 percent in the bank after stepping in with a taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. RBS and Britain’s finance ministry were not immediately available to comment on the report. $1 = 0.7514 pounds Reporting by Alistair Smout. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T22:27:00.000+03:00|JAB set to buy Pret a Manger for $2 billion: FT|(Reuters) - Luxembourg-based JAB Holdings is set to buy British sandwich chain Pret A Manger for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.0 billion), including debt, from its private equity owners, the Financial Times reported late on Monday. The deal could be unveiled as soon as Tuesday, the report said, citing three unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the situation. on.ft.com/2xhqbMu Pret’s private equity owner, Bridgepoint, bought the chain at the height of the buyout boom in 2008 for 500 million euros. JAB, the family office of Europe’s billionaire Reimann clan, has built up the world’s second-largest coffee business over the past five years. It controls packaged brands such as Kenco and Douwe Egberts; retail chains like Peet’s and Espresso House; and Keurig, the leading at-home single-serve brewer system in the United States. Reuters reported last year that Philippines fast food chain Jollibee Foods Corp ( JFC.PS ) was exploring a bid worth over $1 billion for Pret. Pret A Manger and JAB Holdings did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. ($1 = 0.7514 pounds) Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-28T23:03:00.000+03:00|India wants Iran nuclear deal partners to engage after U.S. pullout|NEW DELHI, May 28 (Reuters) - India wants nations that are party to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to engage constructively with Tehran, a government statement said, after the withdrawal of the United States from the pact. The statement was issued after a meeting of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif. The statement said parties involved in the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, “should engage constructively for peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen with respect to the agreement”. Reporting by Nidhi Verma Editing by Edmund Blair  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-28T23:03:00.000+03:00|Petrobras plunges as Brazil offers deal to end truckers' strike|BRASILIA, May 28 (Reuters) - Petrobras shares fell as much as 9 percent on Monday after Brazil’s government offered new fuel subsidies and changed the oil producer’s pricing policy in a bid to settle a truckers’ strike that has shuttered factories and caused food and fuel shortages. As a result of tax cuts and subsidies announced by President Michel Temer late on Sunday, domestic diesel prices would fall 0.46 real per liter and remain frozen at that level for 60 days. Yet to avoid breaking budget rules, the Brazilian congress would need to approve several tax measures, a daunting endeavor ahead of this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections. The measures represented Temer’s latest concessions to the truckers, whose strike has won popular support even as it has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America’s largest economy. After the initial 60-day period price freeze, state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA will start adjusting diesel prices monthly, a switch from its current policy of daily price changes. Should global diesel prices fall in coming months, the government could choose to trim subsidies, Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia said. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the government had agreed to compensate it for any losses. Still, its shares plunged to a four-month low. For years, Petrobras subsidized domestic fuel prices, boosting its debt load - a policy current Chief Executive Pedro Parente has tried to reverse - contributing to the diesel price hikes that triggered the truckers’ rebellion. Renewed worries about Petrobras’ independence from political inference have shaved 113 billion reais off its market capitalization since the truckers’ strike began a week ago. To partially offset the subsidies’ cost, which could reach as much as 9.5 billion reais ($2.6 billion) this year, and avoid missing its 2018 budget goal, Guardia said the government would cut spending by 3.8 billion reais. It will also have to hike taxes to offset an additional 4-billion real loss from diesel tax cuts to avoid breaking budget rules. That would be partially paid for by an increase in payroll taxes that has struggled to win congressional approval for months, but would also require further tax measures that the government will unveil once that plan is passed, Guardia said. Guardia also said the government will implement a variable tax on diesel imports that will kick in whenever global prices fall below local benchmark prices, protecting Petrobras’ competitiveness. Newspaper Valor Econômico had reported on Monday that Petrobras had proposed such a plan. $1 = 3.71 reais Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Writing by Bruno Federowski Editing by Nick Zieminski  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-28T23:23:00.000+03:00|ArcelorMittal South Africa to sell stake in Macsteel, shares rise|JOHANNESBURG, May 28 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal’s South Africa unit will sell its 50 percent stake in trading and shipping company MIHBV to its joint venture partner Macsteel Holdings Luxembourg (MacHold) for $220 million, the steel maker said on Monday. “The proceeds of the sale will significantly strengthen the balance sheet of ArcelorMittal South Africa and will be used to fund working capital requirements and investments in the operating businesses,” ArcelorMittal SA Chief Executive Kobus Verster said in a statement. The company’s share price rose more than 24 percent at one point on the news before ending 5.4 percent higher. MacHold already holds a 50 percent stake in MIHBV, which is engaged in steel trading and shipping. The other 50 percent is held by ArcelorMittal SA. “In the early years, most of the steel for the joint venture was sourced from ArcelorMittal South Africa. Today, while it remains an important source of steel products, ArcelorMittal SA supplies less than 20 percent of the total tonnages traded and less than 2 percent of volumes shipped by MIHBV,” Verster said. “The investment is no longer considered to be a core asset and we have decided to dispose of our interest,” he said. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard Editing by Edmund Blair)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T00:09:00.000+03:00|Canada likely to buy Trans Mountain pipeline project: Bloomberg|(Reuters) - Canada is likely to buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline and its proposed expansion project in an attempt to ensure that it is built, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the talks. FILE PHOTO: Replacement pipe is stored near crude oil storage tanks at Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline terminal in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo The company, a unit of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc, had stopped all non-essential work on the C$7.4 billion ($5.70 billion) project in April, citing permitting delays and political opposition in British Columbia, and said it would scrap the expansion unless the legal challenges are resolved by May 31. Expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which takes crude from Alberta’s oil sands to a facility in the Pacific province of British Columbia, has also faced opposition from environmental groups and some aboriginal groups. The minority left-leaning New Democratic government in British Columbia, citing the risks of a major spill, opposes the project. This year it proposed new rules to temporarily block increased shipments of crude while it examined oil spill preparedness and response. Canada's finance minister, Bill Morneau, is expected to announce on Tuesday whether or not the government plans to support the expansion of the pipeline expansion, the Canadian Press reported earlier on Monday. Bloomberg bloom.bg/2GVVOL3also reported that the deal could be announced as early as Tuesday. “We’re not commenting on speculation,” a spokesman for Morneau told Reuters, while Kinder Morgan Canada was not available for comment outside regular business hours. Options for the pipeline expansion include the government buying the project and selling it after completion or buying it on an interim basis and selling it to investors for further construction, the Canadian Press reported. bit.ly/2GXafPh Morneau had unveiled a third option, which is to leave construction to Kinder Morgan Canada, but cover any cost overruns incurred as a result of political interference, the Canadian Press reported. Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-05-29T00:23:00.000+03:00|ITV mulls buying half of UKTV in deal with BBC -Telegraph|(Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV Plc ( ITV.L ) is considering entering into a joint venture valued at 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) with BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. FILE PHOTO: A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo /File Photo According to terms of the joint venture, BBC has the right to buy out its partner at a set price before the end of next week, the newspaper reported. The companies are attempting to create a deal that would compete with entertainment company Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ), the report said. bit.ly/2sfuS4C The opportunity to seal the deal will close within two weeks, according to the report. BBC declined to comment on the Telegraph report. ITV and Discovery did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. UKTV, whose channels include Dave and Gold, is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Discovery Inc ( DISCA.O ), which earlier this year completed its acquisition of U.S. broadcaster Scripps Networks Interactive, the former owner of UKTV. Discovery is working on an alternative plan for breaking up UKTV, the Telegraph said. BBC had earlier approached Sky Plc ( SKYB.L ) as a potential partner in the joint venture but the talks did not work out, the report added. In November, the Telegraph had reported that BBC’s commercial arm was considering a 500-million-pound bid for full control of UKTV. ITV is currently in the middle of a strategic review under new Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said she would provide investors with an update of the review at the group’s half-year results in July. ($1 = 0.7513 pounds) Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown and Diane Craft  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T00:33:00.000+03:00|ITV mulls buying half of UKTV in deal with BBC - Telegraph|May 28, 2018 / 9:34 PM / Updated 8 hours ago ITV mulls buying half of UKTV in deal with BBC - Telegraph Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV Plc ( ITV.L ) is considering entering into a joint venture valued at 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) with BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo According to terms of the joint venture, BBC has the right to buy out its partner at a set price before the end of next week, the newspaper reported. The companies are attempting to create a deal that would compete with entertainment company Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ), the report said. bit.ly/2sfuS4C A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo The opportunity to seal the deal will close within two weeks, according to the report. BBC declined to comment on the Telegraph report. ITV and Discovery did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. UKTV, whose channels include Dave and Gold, is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Discovery Inc ( DISCA.O ), which earlier this year completed its acquisition of U.S. broadcaster Scripps Networks Interactive, the former owner of UKTV. Discovery is working on an alternative plan for breaking up UKTV, the Telegraph said. BBC had earlier approached Sky Plc ( SKYB.L ) as a potential partner in the joint venture but the talks did not work out, the report added. In November, the Telegraph had reported that BBC’s commercial arm was considering a 500-million-pound bid for full control of UKTV. ITV is currently in the middle of a strategic review under new Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said she would provide investors with an update of the review at the group’s half-year results in July. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown and Diane Craft|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-05-29T01:32:00.000+03:00|Alibaba injects pharmacy assets into healthcare unit in $1.4 billion deal|May 29, 2018 / 3:32 AM / Updated 11 hours ago Alibaba injects pharmacy assets into healthcare unit in $1.4 billion deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will inject some of its online pharmacy business into a listed unit in a deal valued at HK$10.6 billion ($1.35 billion), the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A sign of Alibaba Group is seen during the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, December 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd will buy Ali JK Nutritional Products Holding Limited, which controls sales of medical devices, healthcare products, adult products and healthcare services on Alibaba’s Tmall platform. The deal will see parent Alibaba receive newly issued shares in Ali Health, taking its economic interest in the firm to 56.2 percent from 48.1 percent currently. Alibaba will also have a 67.5 percent voting interest in Ali Health after the deal. The deal should bolster business for Ali Health amid a broader push into a fast-growing healthcare technology market by other firms in China, such as Tencent Holdings-backed WeDoctor and recently listed Ping An Healthcare. Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement that healthcare was a “strategically important” business area for the firm and that the deal would help turn Ali Health into the country’s “best healthcare ecosystem”. Ali Health’s CEO added that the deal would help the firm expand by adding new categories to its offering. Chinese healthcare spending is set to hit $1 trillion by 2020, up from $357 billion in 2011, according to consultancy McKinsey & Co, with technology firms increasingly looking to break into a growing private healthcare market. The business unit being injected into Ali Health generated a gross merchandise volume of around 20.56 billion yuan ($3.21 billion) in the financial year to March 31 and had over 3,300 related merchants, Ali Health said in a statement. Alibaba said the deal was subject to approval from Ali Health shareholders and the Hong Kong stock exchange. ($1 = 7.8451 Hong Kong dollars) ($1 = 6.4065 Chinese yuan)|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T01:37:00.000+03:00|ITV mulls buying half of UKTV in deal with BBC - Telegraph|(Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV Plc is considering entering into a joint venture valued at 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) with BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo According to terms of the joint venture, BBC has the right to buy out its partner at a set price before the end of next week, the newspaper reported. The companies are attempting to create a deal that would compete with entertainment company Netflix Inc, the report said. The opportunity to seal the deal will close within two weeks, according to the report. BBC declined to comment on the Telegraph report. ITV and Discovery did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. UKTV, whose channels include Dave and Gold, is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Discovery Inc, which earlier this year completed its acquisition of U.S. broadcaster Scripps Networks Interactive, the former owner of UKTV. Discovery is working on an alternative plan for breaking up UKTV, the Telegraph said. BBC had earlier approached Sky Plc as a potential partner in the joint venture but the talks did not work out, the report added. In November, the Telegraph had reported that BBC’s commercial arm was considering a 500-million-pound bid for full control of UKTV. ITV is currently in the middle of a strategic review under new Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said she would provide investors with an update of the review at the group’s half-year results in July. ($1 = 0.7513 pounds) A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown and Diane Craft Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance|0
2018-05-29T01:42:00.000+03:00|Chinese firm in talks to takeover German auto supplier Grammer|SHANGHAI/MUNICH (Reuters) - Auto supplier Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts ( 603997.SS ) is aiming to buy German rival Grammer ( GMMG.DE ) in an agreed deal at a time when Chinese takeovers face increased scrutiny from German and European authorities eager to protect domestic know-how. The two companies signed a business combination agreement on Tuesday under which Ningo would offer 61.25 euros per share for Grammer, valuing the group at around 772 million euros ($893 million), including dividends. Shares in Grammer closed 19.3 percent higher at 61.20 euros, just below the Ningbo offer price, on the news. Grammer said the two companies aimed to deepen a strategic partnership, which started when the Chinese company took a stake in Grammer early last year, and to optimise its global footprint and secure a global growth strategy, without giving more detail. The offer will test Germany’s willingness to tolerate Chinese takeovers, following an unsolicited approach by Geely ( 0175.HK ) chairman Li Shufu to secure a $9 billion stake in Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ). Ningbo’s offer comes as European lawmakers finalise a European proposal for greater scrutiny of investments made with state influence or aimed at transferring key technologies to a third country, a clear reference to some Chinese state-led firms that have bought European rivals. It also comes less than a week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during a trip to China, called on the world’s No.2 economy to open up key industries to outside markets, demanding greater reciprocity between both regions when it comes to takeovers and market access to technologies. Sources familiar with the matter said that Ningbo Jifeng is offering to guarantee jobs at Grammer for 7-1/2 years as part of the proposed transaction, which could soften possible opposition to a takeover. Related Coverage Factbox: Chinese investments in German companies Ningbo Jifeng already holds 25.51 percent of shares in Grammer, having raised its stake in October last year. Sources told Reuters around that time the Chinese firm wanted to increase its stake amid a power struggle with a rival shareholder, Bosnia’s Hastor family. Its management has generally welcomed the attention of Ningbo Jifeng, another supplier of vehicle interior components, as a potential “white knight” in its conflict with Hastor. “We would view such a bid as positive as it offers the Hastor group a good opportunity to exit,” DZ Bank analyst Michael Punzet wrote in a note, keeping a “hold” rating on the stock. Grammer said on Tuesday its executive board welcomed and supported the takeover offer. Ningbo Jifeng’s offer will be conditional upon it obtaining at least 50 percent plus one share in Grammer, including the stake it already holds, as well as regulatory approvals. Sources said the Chinese group was currently not aiming for a domination agreement, though. ($1 = 0.8644 euros) Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Edward Taylor; Editing by Himani Sarkar/Alexandra Hudson/David Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T03:23:00.000+03:00|JAB set to buy Pret a Manger for $2 bln - FT|(Reuters) - Luxembourg-based JAB Holdings is set to buy British sandwich chain Pret A Manger for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.0 billion), including debt, from its private equity owners, the Financial Times reported late on Monday. The deal could be unveiled as soon as Tuesday, the report said, citing three unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the situation. on.ft.com/2xhqbMu Pret’s private equity owner, Bridgepoint, bought the chain at the height of the buyout boom in 2008 for 500 million euros. JAB, the family office of Europe’s billionaire Reimann clan, has built up the world’s second-largest coffee business over the past five years. It controls packaged brands such as Kenco and Douwe Egberts; retail chains like Peet’s and Espresso House; and Keurig, the leading at-home single-serve brewer system in the United States. Reuters reported last year that Philippines fast food chain Jollibee Foods Corp ( JFC.PS ) was exploring a bid worth over $1 billion for Pret. Pret A Manger and JAB Holdings did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. ($1 = 0.7514 pounds) Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|1
2018-05-29T03:28:00.000+03:00|JAB set to buy Pret a Manger for $2 billion - FT|May 29, 2018 / 12:28 AM / Updated 42 minutes ago Pret A Manger sold for £1.5 billion to Germany's deal-hungry Reimann family Ben Martin 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger was sold for $2 billion (1.5 billion pounds) on Tuesday to an investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, as part of a global acquisition spree aimed at challenging Nestle ( NESN.S ) in the coffee sector. The sale values Pret at more than 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) including debt and gives Pret founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham a final exit from their remaining investment in the chain they founded 32 years ago. It also gives a windfall to Pret’s 12,000 staff as Chief Executive Clive Schlee said via Twitter they would each get a 1,000 pound bonus once the deal completes. Pret, whose organic coffee and upmarket sandwiches such as crayfish and rocket proved popular enough to propel its growth from a single shop in London to a 530-strong global chain, generated revenue of 879 million pounds last year. For Luxembourg-based purchaser JAB Holdings, the acquisition of a majority stake in Pret from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors is the latest in a multi-billion dollar series of takeovers designed to expand its coffee and beverage empire. JAB has already bought Keurig Green Mountain and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Keurig subsequently struck a deal worth more than $21 billion to combine with soda maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group. BAKERY DEALS JAB, whose owners the publicity-shy Reimann family are descended from Ludwig Reimann, a chemist who in the 19th century joined the chemicals business founded by Johann Adam Benckiser and married into Benckiser’s family, has also made a string of deals including for bakery chains Au Bon Pain and Panera Bread, as well as Krispy Kreme. Slideshow (3 Images) Nestle meanwhile recently boosted its position as the world’s biggest coffee company with a $7.15 billion licensing deal with Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ). Bridgepoint bought a majority stake in Pret a decade ago for about 345 million pounds and had been examining an exit via a New York stock market listing before opting to sell to JAB. The sale price represents a multiple of 15 times Pret’s 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of more than 100 million pounds, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. “Management’s proven track record and commitment to customer service, investment in innovation and approach to freshly prepared food position Pret well as it capitalises on evolving consumer taste and lifestyle preferences,” said JAB Chief Executive Olivier Goudet. The sale to the Reimann family’s firm was first reported by the Financial Times. The Pret sale comes a month after Whitbread ( WTB.L ) said it would demerge its Costa coffee chain within two years, a lengthy timeframe that stoked speculation Costa may attract a bidder which some bankers speculated could be JAB. JP Morgan advised Bridgepoint on the Pret deal, while JAB worked with HSBC. Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKTopNews|1
2018-05-29T04:18:00.000+03:00|Vitol aims to sell stake worth about $2.3 billion in Viva Energy float: sources|MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Global energy trader Vitol [VITOLV.UL] and its partners plan to float their Australian Viva Energy business, potentially worth nearly A$5 billion ($3.8 billion), in July, three people familiar with the transaction said on Tuesday. The owners want to sell up to 60 percent of the refinery, fuel supply and petrol stations business, in what would be Australia’s biggest initial public offering since the government’s float of Medibank Private in 2014. They expect to fetch up to A$3 billion ($2.3 billion) from the sale, based on an earnings multiple in line with rival Caltex Australia Ltd ( CTX.AX ) on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of A$650 million. Caltex’s enterprise value is around 7.3 times forecast EBITDA, according to Thomson Reuters data. The planned IPO comes amid a shake-up in Australia’s petrol retailing industry, with Caltex scrapping its franchise model and taking over petrol station operations, but it was not immediately clear why Vitol and its partners are launching their stake sale this year, or what they plan to do with the funds. Analysts will be briefing investors starting this week on Viva’s plans. Viva has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche and UBS to run the IPO, four people said. The four sources cannot be identified because they are subject to confidentiality until the prospectus is released. The three banks and Viva declined to comment. The float plan was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. An e-mail and phone call to a Vitol spokeswoman in London did not receive an immediate response. Viva Energy was built from Royal Dutch Shell’s ( RDSa.L ) former refinery and petrol station business in Australia, which Vitol bought for $2.6 billion in 2014. Vitol’s co-owners include Abu Dhabi Investment Corp. Viva supplies around a quarter of Australia’s fuel, partly from the Geelong refinery near Melbourne, with import terminals, and about 1,000 Shell-branded petrol stations, with convenience stores run by Wesfarmers’ ( WES.AX ) Coles arm. The company spun off the petrol station sites in 2016 into a property trust. Viva Energy REIT ( VVR.AX ) units have fallen from an issue price of A$2.20 in August 2016 to A$2.05, valuing the property trust at A$1.5 billion. The move to list Viva Energy follows Vitol’s float of its African venture Vivo Energy in London, which debuted with a valuation of nearly 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in early May. Vitol and its partners, however, scrapped an IPO of their European oil products venture, Varo Energy, in April, citing poor market conditions at the time. Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin and Tom Hogue  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T05:05:00.000+03:00|Canada likely to buy Trans Mountain pipeline project - Bloomberg|May 29, 2018 / 2:06 AM / Updated an hour ago Canada likely to buy Trans Mountain pipeline project - Bloomberg Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Canada is likely to buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd’s ( KML.TO ) Trans Mountain oil pipeline and its proposed expansion project in an attempt to ensure that it is built, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the talks. FILE PHOTO: Replacement pipe is stored near crude oil storage tanks at Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline terminal in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo The deal could be announced as early as Tuesday, Bloomberg said bloom.bg/2GVVOL3. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-29T05:08:00.000+03:00|Pret A Manger sold for $2 billion to Germany's deal-hungry Reimann family|LONDON (Reuters) - British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger was sold for $2 billion on Tuesday to an investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, as part of a global acquisition spree aimed at challenging Nestle ( NESN.S ) in the coffee sector. FILE PHOTO: A branded bag at a Pret A Manger cafe in London, Britain, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo The sale values Pret at more than 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) including debt and gives Pret founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham a final exit from their remaining investment in the chain they founded 32 years ago. It also gives a windfall to Pret’s 12,000 staff as Chief Executive Clive Schlee said via Twitter they would each get a 1,000 pound bonus once the deal completes. Pret, whose organic coffee and upmarket sandwiches such as crayfish and rocket proved popular enough to propel its growth from a single shop in London to a 530-strong global chain, generated revenue of 879 million pounds last year. For Luxembourg-based purchaser JAB Holdings, the acquisition of a majority stake in Pret from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors is the latest in a multi-billion dollar series of takeovers designed to expand its coffee and beverage empire. JAB has already bought Keurig Green Mountain and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Keurig subsequently struck a deal worth more than $21 billion to combine with soda maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group. BAKERY DEALS JAB, whose owners the publicity-shy Reimann family are descended from Ludwig Reimann, a chemist who in the 19th century joined the chemicals business founded by Johann Adam Benckiser and married into Benckiser’s family, has also made a string of deals including for bakery chains Au Bon Pain and Panera Bread, as well as Krispy Kreme. Slideshow (2 Images) Nestle meanwhile recently boosted its position as the world’s biggest coffee company with a $7.15 billion licensing deal with Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ). Bridgepoint bought a majority stake in Pret a decade ago for about 345 million pounds and had been examining an exit via a New York listing before opting to sell to JAB. The sale price represents a multiple of 15 times Pret’s 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of more than 100 million pounds, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. “Management’s proven track record and commitment to customer service, investment in innovation and approach to freshly prepared food position Pret well as it capitalises on evolving consumer taste and lifestyle preferences,” said JAB Chief Executive Olivier Goudet. The sale to the Reimann family’s firm was first reported by the Financial Times. The Pret sale comes a month after Whitbread ( WTB.L ) said it would demerge its Costa coffee chain within two years, a lengthy timeframe that stoked speculation Costa could attract a bidder which some bankers speculated could be JAB. JP Morgan advised Bridgepoint on the Pret deal. Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-29T05:08:00.000+03:00|Canada likely to buy Trans Mountain pipeline project: Bloomberg|(Reuters) - Canada is likely to buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline and its proposed expansion project in an attempt to ensure that it is built, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the talks. FILE PHOTO: Replacement pipe is stored near crude oil storage tanks at Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline terminal in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo The company, a unit of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc, had stopped all non-essential work on the C$7.4 billion ($5.70 billion) project in April, citing permitting delays and political opposition in British Columbia, and said it would scrap the expansion unless the legal challenges are resolved by May 31. Expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which takes crude from Alberta’s oil sands to a facility in the Pacific province of British Columbia, has also faced opposition from environmental groups and some aboriginal groups. The minority left-leaning New Democratic government in British Columbia, citing the risks of a major spill, opposes the project. This year it proposed new rules to temporarily block increased shipments of crude while it examined oil spill preparedness and response. Slideshow (3 Images) Canada's finance minister, Bill Morneau, is expected to announce on Tuesday whether or not the government plans to support the expansion of the pipeline expansion, the Canadian Press reported earlier on Monday. Bloomberg bloom.bg/2GVVOL3also reported that the deal could be announced as early as Tuesday. “We’re not commenting on speculation,” a spokesman for Morneau told Reuters, while Kinder Morgan Canada was not available for comment outside regular business hours. Options for the pipeline expansion include the government buying the project and selling it after completion or buying it on an interim basis and selling it to investors for further construction, the Canadian Press reported. bit.ly/2GXafPh Morneau had unveiled a third option, which is to leave construction to Kinder Morgan Canada, but cover any cost overruns incurred as a result of political interference, the Canadian Press reported. Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-29T05:24:00.000+03:00|ITV mulls buying half of UKTV in deal with BBC -Telegraph|May 28 (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV Plc is considering entering into a joint venture valued at 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) with BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. According to terms of the joint venture, BBC has the right to buy out its partner at a set price before the end of next week, the newspaper reported. The companies are attempting a deal to create a competitor to entertainment company Netflix Inc, the report said. bit.ly/2sfuS4C The opportunity to seal the deal will close within two weeks, according to the report. UKTV, whose channels include Dave and Gold, is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Discovery Inc, which earlier this year completed its acquisition of U.S. broadcaster Scripps Networks Interactive, the former owner of UKTV. Discovery is working on an alternative plan for breaking up UKTV, the Telegraph said. BBC had earlier approached Sky Plc as a potential partner in the joint venture but the talks did not work out, the report added. In November, the Telegraph had reported that BBC’s commercial arm was considering a 500-million-pound bid for full control of UKTV. ITV is currently in the middle of a strategic review under new Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said she would provide investors with an update of the review at the group’s half-year results in July. ITV, BBC and Discovery did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. ($1 = 0.7513 pounds) Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Tom Brown  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T05:47:00.000+03:00|Alibaba injects pharmacy assets into healthcare unit in $1.4 billion deal|May 29, 2018 / 2:49 AM / Updated 16 hours ago Alibaba injects pharmacy assets into healthcare unit in $1.4 billion deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will inject some of its online pharmacy business into a listed unit in a deal valued at HK$10.6 billion ($1.35 billion), the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A sign of Alibaba Group is seen during the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, December 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd will buy Ali JK Nutritional Products Holding Limited, which controls sales of medical devices, healthcare products, adult products and healthcare services on Alibaba’s Tmall platform. The deal will see parent Alibaba receive newly issued shares in Ali Health, taking its economic interest in the firm to 56.2 percent from 48.1 percent currently. Alibaba will also have a 67.5 percent voting interest in Ali Health after the deal. The deal should bolster business for Ali Health amid a broader push into a fast-growing healthcare technology market by other firms in China, such as Tencent Holdings-backed WeDoctor and recently listed Ping An Healthcare. Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement that healthcare was a “strategically important” business area for the firm and that the deal would help turn Ali Health into the country’s “best healthcare ecosystem”. Ali Health’s CEO added that the deal would help the firm expand by adding new categories to its offering. Chinese healthcare spending is set to hit $1 trillion by 2020, up from $357 billion in 2011, according to consultancy McKinsey & Co, with technology firms increasingly looking to break into a growing private healthcare market. The business unit being injected into Ali Health generated a gross merchandise volume of around 20.56 billion yuan ($3.21 billion) in the financial year to March 31 and had over 3,300 related merchants, Ali Health said in a statement. Alibaba said the deal was subject to approval from Ali Health shareholders and the Hong Kong stock exchange. ($1 = 7.8451 Hong Kong dollars) ($1 = 6.4065 Chinese yuan)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/healthNews|0
2018-05-29T05:47:00.000+03:00|Alibaba injects pharmacy assets into healthcare unit in $1.4 billion deal|May 29, 2018 / 2:46 AM / Updated 12 hours ago Alibaba injects pharmacy assets into healthcare unit in $1.4 billion deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will inject some of its online pharmacy business into a listed unit in a deal valued at HK$10.6 billion ($1.35 billion), the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A sign of Alibaba Group is seen during the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, December 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd will buy Ali JK Nutritional Products Holding Limited, which controls sales of medical devices, healthcare products, adult products and healthcare services on Alibaba’s Tmall platform. The deal will see parent Alibaba receive newly issued shares in Ali Health, taking its economic interest in the firm to 56.2 percent from 48.1 percent currently. Alibaba will also have a 67.5 percent voting interest in Ali Health after the deal. The deal should bolster business for Ali Health amid a broader push into a fast-growing healthcare technology market by other firms in China, such as Tencent Holdings-backed WeDoctor and recently listed Ping An Healthcare. Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement that healthcare was a “strategically important” business area for the firm and that the deal would help turn Ali Health into the country’s “best healthcare ecosystem”. Ali Health’s CEO added that the deal would help the firm expand by adding new categories to its offering. Chinese healthcare spending is set to hit $1 trillion by 2020, up from $357 billion in 2011, according to consultancy McKinsey & Co, with technology firms increasingly looking to break into a growing private healthcare market. The business unit being injected into Ali Health generated a gross merchandise volume of around 20.56 billion yuan ($3.21 billion) in the financial year to March 31 and had over 3,300 related merchants, Ali Health said in a statement. Alibaba said the deal was subject to approval from Ali Health shareholders and the Hong Kong stock exchange. ($1 = 7.8451 Hong Kong dollars) ($1 = 6.4065 Chinese yuan)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKhealth/|0
2018-05-29T06:45:00.000+03:00|Chinese firm in talks to takeover German auto supplier Grammer|May 29, 2018 / 3:46 AM / Updated 27 minutes ago Chinese firm in talks to takeover German auto supplier Grammer Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co Ltd ( 603997.SS ) is in talks to buy Grammer AG ( GMMG.DE ) in a deal that would value the German auto supplier at around 752 million euros (656 million pounds), Grammer said in a statement. The acquisition would mark the latest Chinese investment in German technology, after a $9 billion deal earlier this year saw the Chinese magnate behind Geely Auto ( 0175.HK ) take a major stake in Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ). Ningbo Jifeng, already a major shareholder in Grammer, is in “advanced negotiations” with the firm and has offered 60 euros per share with a further proposed dividend of 1.25 euros per share in a potential takeover bid, the German company said. Grammer shares closed at 51.3 euros on Monday and are down a just over 1 percent so far this year. It has a market capitalisation of 648.3 million euros. Grammer said it was uncertain whether the negotiations will be concluded successfully and a takeover offer will be launched. It added it was “assessing strategic options in the best interest of the company”. Ningbo Jifeng raised its stake in Grammer in October last year to 25.51 percent. Sources told Reuters around then the Chinese firm wanted to increase its stake amid an power struggle with a rival shareholder, Bosnia’s Hastor family. Grammer’s management has generally welcomed the attention of Ningbo Jifeng, another supplier of vehicle interior components, as a potential “white knight” in its conflict with Hastor. Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-29T06:58:00.000+03:00|Greece's Piraeus Bank to sell $1.7 billion bad loans to Bain Capital|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s largest lender Piraeus Bank ( BOPr.AT ) said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell a 1.45 billion euro ($1.7 billion)portfolio of secured, non-performing business loans to Bain Capital Credit as part of moves to reduce its bad debts. Greek banks have been under regulatory pressure to tackle their bad debt problem, which restricts their ability to expand credit and help the economy recover, with so-called non-performing exposures (NPEs) being their biggest challenge. Piraeus said the deal, subject to approval by regulators and Greece’s HFSF bank rescue fund, which owns 26.2 percent of the lender, would reduce its NPE ratio by 100 basis points and boost equity capital by 20 basis points. It did not provide further details on the pricing. Piraeus, which holds 32.2 billion euros in non-performing exposures, was advised by UBS on the deal. Greek central bank data shows non-performing exposures fell by 4.7 billion euros to 95.7 billion at the end of December, 43.1 percent of overall loan books. Bain Capital Credit is a credit specialist with about $37 billion in assets under management, investing across credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and non-performing loans (NPLs). Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alexander Smith  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-29T07:09:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Australia's Galaxy Resources to sell tenements in Argentina to POSCO for $280 mln|(Adds background, chairman commentary) May 29 (Reuters) - Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources Ltd agreed on Tuesday to sell a package of mining tenements in Argentina to South Korean steelmaker POSCO for $280 million. The land is located in the northern area of the giant Salar del Hombre Muerto salt flat. Galaxy will retain ownership of all tenements in the southern basin. The company intends to use the proceeds from the deal to fund development of its flagship Sal de Vida project. “This transaction with POSCO provides a substantial cash injection which underpins the development of Galaxy’s Sal de Vida brine project in the Catamarca Province of Argentina”, Chairman Martin Rowley said. Galaxy had earlier appointed JP Morgan Australia to evaluate “strategic options” for its Sal de Vida lithium and potash project in Argentina. Sal de Vida has the potential to generate total annual revenues around $354 million, scaling up to 25,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate and 95,000 tonnes of potassium chloride, according to the company’s website. The transaction is subject to approval from the POSCO board, the company said in a statement. (Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T07:28:00.000+03:00|RPT-UPDATE 2-KWS seeks to buy Bayer's vegetable business, countering BASF|(Adds picture) * KWS wants to buy Bayer’s vegetable seed business * Bayer has already agreed vegetable seed sale to BASF * KWS offer is non-binding, financial terms not disclosed By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss FRANKFURT, May 29 (Reuters) - German seed seller KWS Saat has made a rival offer for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, a unit Bayer had agreed to sell to BASF as part of its planned merger with Monsanto. KWS on Tuesday said its non-binding proposal was first made to Bayer on Jan. 26, but not disclosed to investors at the time. Frustration over Bayer’s rejection despite a “highly attractive price” led KWS to break cover on the bid, in the hope that antitrust regulators will regard it more favourably, KWS Chief Executive Hagen Duenbostel told Reuters. Having turned down the KWS bid, Bayer continued to negotiate the sale of the vegetable assets - known under the Nunhems brand - with BASF, which was already due to buy other Bayer assets worth 5.9 billion euros ($6.8 billion). “Somebody has to move. We’ve waited so long, we decided to make a move now to get the ball rolling,” said Duenbostel. KWS let itself “be guided” by a multiple of close to 17 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the proposed price, which Duenbostel said was what Bayer agreed to pay for all of Monsanto. He declined to give more detailed terms. Sales of more than 400 million euros at the vegetable unit and an EBITDA margin of about 20 percent would translate to a bid value of roughly 1.4 billion euros. BASF last month agreed to pay up to 1.7 billion euros for a bundle of assets comprising Bayer’s vegetable seeds business, seed treatments and digital farming activities. That would come on top of 5.9 billion euros worth of Bayer assets including soy, cotton and canola seed and herbicide businesses that BASF agreed to buy in October. While BASF has already secured EU antitrust approval for the October transaction, the go-ahead for BASF to also snap up the vegetable business is still outstanding, a Bayer spokesman said. He declined to comment further. BASF said it had an agreed deal with Bayer and declined to comment on KWS’s move. Shares in KWS Saat fell 4.3 percent at 0844 GMT on concern the deal would be too big a financial burden for a buyer with a market value of about 2 billion euros. “Isn’t it a little too big for KWS?” a Frankfurt-based trader said. Bayer’s bid to buy seed and chemical company Monsanto is on track to win U.S. antitrust approval by the end of May, unless there is a last-minute complication, two people familiar with the matter said in late April. ($1 = 0.8672 euros) (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Edward Taylor and Alexandra Hudson)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T09:11:00.000+03:00|ArcelorMittal South Africa to sell stake in Macsteel, shares rise|May 28, 2018 / 3:33 PM / Updated 12 hours ago ArcelorMittal South Africa to sell stake in Macsteel, shares rise Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal’s South Africa unit will sell its 50 percent stake in trading and shipping company MIHBV to its joint venture partner Macsteel Holdings Luxembourg (MacHold) for $220 million, the steel maker said on Monday. A red-hot steel plate passes through a press at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo “The proceeds of the sale will significantly strengthen the balance sheet of ArcelorMittal South Africa and will be used to fund working capital requirements and investments in the operating businesses,” ArcelorMittal SA Chief Executive Kobus Verster said in a statement. The company’s share price rose more than 24 percent at one point on the news before ending 5.4 percent higher. MacHold already holds a 50 percent stake in MIHBV, which is engaged in steel trading and shipping. The other 50 percent is held by ArcelorMittal SA. “In the early years, most of the steel for the joint venture was sourced from ArcelorMittal South Africa. Today, while it remains an important source of steel products, ArcelorMittal SA supplies less than 20 percent of the total tonnages traded and less than 2 percent of volumes shipped by MIHBV,” Verster said. “The investment is no longer considered to be a core asset and we have decided to dispose of our interest,” he said. Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-05-29T09:18:00.000+03:00|KKR to buy BMC Software|(Reuters) - Investment firm KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) will buy enterprise software provider BMC Software from an investor group, the companies said on Tuesday. The investor group includes Bain Capital Private Equity, Golden Gate Capital, GIC, Insight Venture Partners and Elliott Management. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal. The New York Post reported last week the deal was worth about $10 billion. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-29T09:28:00.000+03:00|Alibaba leads consortium in $1.4 billion deal for stake in Chinese courier ZTO|May 29, 2018 / 11:28 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Alibaba leads consortium in $1.4 billion deal for stake in Chinese courier ZTO Reuters Staff 3 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) on Tuesday said it has led a consortium of investors to buy about 10 percent of Chinese courier ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc ( ZTO.N ) for $1.38 billion, as part of the e-commerce firm’s push into offline services. FILE PHOTO: Workers listen to their line manager as he prepares them for the upcoming Singles Day shopping festival, at a sorting centre of ZTO Express, in Chaoyang district, Beijing, China November 8, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee The consortium includes Alibaba’s majority-owned logistics affiliate Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd, Alibaba and ZTO said in a joint statement without disclosing the identity of other investors. They said they expect the deal to close in June. The investment would be Alibaba’s third in a Chinese courier after buying a minority stakes in YTO Express Group Co Ltd ( 600233.SS ) and Best Inc BSTI.N. The e-commerce firm has been expanding its logistics network at home and abroad as it works to diversify its customer base. As part of that effort, it became majority shareholder in September of Cainiao, which provides logistics support to Alibaba’s main e-commerce platform, Taobao. ZTO owns 1 percent of Cainiao, which it co-founded with Alibaba and over a dozen other Chinese companies in 2013. ZTO’s chairman, Lai Meisong, told Reuters the latest deal would allow ZTO and Alibaba to better share resources and help ZTO cut costs through access to new technologies. He said the pair decided to enter a deal so as to work more closely on operations and build trust between affiliates. FILE PHOTO: A worker unloads parcels from a vehicle of the ZTO Express delivery in Beijing, China, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo ZTO said Alibaba will have a seat on its board. “This trust will improve the efficiency of our cooperation,” Lai said in a telephone interview. Shanghai-based ZTO’s $1.4 billion New York listing was the United States’ largest listing in 2016 and was the biggest by a Chinese firm since Alibaba’s $25 billion initial public offering in 2014. ZTO shares closed at a lifetime high of $19.30 on Friday, their most recent day of trading, valuing the firm at $13.7 billion. Earlier this month, ZTO reported a 36 percent on-year rise in first quarter revenue. It said it handled 6.2 billion parcels in 2017, giving it a 15.5 percent market share, from 7.6 percent in 2011. Reporting by Brenda GohEditing by Christopher Cushing|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-29T09:28:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-KKR to buy enterprise software firm BMC|(Adds details) May 29 (Reuters) - Investment firm KKR & Co will buy enterprise software provider BMC Software from an investor group, the companies said on Tuesday. The group includes Bain Capital Private Equity, Golden Gate Capital, GIC, Insight Venture Partners and Elliott Management. Citing a single source familiar with the deal, the New York Post reported last week BMC could be worth around $10 billion, having been bought by Bain and Golden Gate for $6.9 billion in 2013. The statement on Monday gave no indication of the deal value. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Macquarie and Mizuho Bank provided financing for the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were BMC’s financial advisers, while Macquarie Capital advised KKR. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T10:03:00.000+03:00|Bayer wins U.S. nod for Monsanto deal to create agriculture giant|FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bayer won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto after agreeing to sell about $9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas, Venezuela March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo Makan Delrahim, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division, said the asset sales agreed to by Bayer were the “largest ever divestiture ever required by the United States.” A Bayer spokesman said the planned sale of businesses with 2.2 billion euros ($2.54 billion) in sales to BASF already agreed to address antitrust concerns, mainly in Europe, were not materially different from the DoJ’s demands. “Receipt of the DOJ’s approval brings us close to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement. Shares in Bayer jumped to the top of Germany’s DAX index in early Wednesday trading and were trading up 2.8 percent at 101.6 euros by 0833 GMT. Bernstein analysts said the DoJ approval made it possible for Bayer to close the Monsanto deal by the end of June. After months of delays in a drawn-out review process the ruling brings Bayer close to creating an agricultural supplies giant with sales of about 20 billion euros, based on 2017 figures, when taking into account the divestments. At current foreign exchange rates, that compares to about 12.4 billion euros at DowDuPont’s Corteva Agriscience unit, 11 billion euros at ChemChina’s Syngenta and 7.9 billion at BASF, including businesses to be acquired. Bayer’s move to combine its crop chemicals business, the world’s second-largest after Syngenta AG, with Monsanto’s industry-leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals tie-ups. U.S. chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont merged in September 2017 and are now in the process of splitting into three units. In other consolidation in the sector, China’s state-owned ChemChina purchased Syngenta and two huge Canadian fertilizer producers merged to form a new company, now called Nutrien. Bayer committed to selling its entire cotton, canola, soybean and vegetable seeds businesses and digital farming business, as well its Liberty herbicide, which competes with Monsanto’s Roundup. Under agreements with European and other antitrust enforcers, Bayer agreed to sell assets with revenues of 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), to rival BASF for 7.6 billion euros. Bayer said in a statement it expected Bayer and Monsanto to begin the integration process as soon as the sales to BASF are complete, which it said are expected to take two months to complete. If Bayer does not close the deal by June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. It has already secured the go-ahead from key jurisdictions, including the European Union, Brazil and Russia. Apart from the United States, it still needs clearance in Canada and Mexico. In a separate statement, Bayer said on Tuesday said the European Commission had approved BASF as a suitable buyer of the businesses to be divested. German seed seller KWS Saat, which had made an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, said on Wednesday it accepted the Commission’s decision. Bayer last week said synergies from folding Monsanto into its organization would be about $300 million below its previous target because it will have to sell more businesses than initially expected. ($1 = 0.8668 euros) Additional reporting by Patricia Weiss; Editing by Mark Potter, Dan Grebler and David Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/news/technology|1
2018-05-29T10:04:00.000+03:00|Canada likely to buy Trans Mountain pipeline project - Bloomberg|May 28 (Reuters) - Canada is likely to buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline and its proposed expansion project in an attempt to ensure that it is built, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the talks. The deal could be announced as early as Tuesday, Bloomberg said bloom.bg/2GVVOL3. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T10:50:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-JAB buys majority stake in Britain's Pret A Manger|LONDON (Reuters) - British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger was sold for $2 billion on Tuesday to an investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, as part of a global acquisition spree aimed at challenging Nestle ( NESN.S ) in the coffee sector. FILE PHOTO: A branded bag at a Pret A Manger cafe in London, Britain, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo The sale values Pret at more than 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) including debt and gives Pret founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham a final exit from their remaining investment in the chain they founded 32 years ago. It also gives a windfall to Pret’s 12,000 staff as Chief Executive Clive Schlee said via Twitter they would each get a 1,000 pound bonus once the deal completes. Pret, whose organic coffee and upmarket sandwiches such as crayfish and rocket proved popular enough to propel its growth from a single shop in London to a 530-strong global chain, generated revenue of 879 million pounds last year. For Luxembourg-based purchaser JAB Holdings, the acquisition of a majority stake in Pret from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors is the latest in a multi-billion dollar series of takeovers designed to expand its coffee and beverage empire. Slideshow (2 Images) JAB has already bought Keurig Green Mountain and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Keurig subsequently struck a deal worth more than $21 billion to combine with soda maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group. BAKERY DEALS JAB, whose owners the publicity-shy Reimann family are descended from Ludwig Reimann, a chemist who in the 19th century joined the chemicals business founded by Johann Adam Benckiser and married into Benckiser’s family, has also made a string of deals including for bakery chains Au Bon Pain and Panera Bread, as well as Krispy Kreme. Nestle meanwhile recently boosted its position as the world’s biggest coffee company with a $7.15 billion licensing deal with Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ). Bridgepoint bought a majority stake in Pret a decade ago for about 345 million pounds and had been examining an exit via a New York listing before opting to sell to JAB. The sale price represents a multiple of 15 times Pret’s 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of more than 100 million pounds, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. “Management’s proven track record and commitment to customer service, investment in innovation and approach to freshly prepared food position Pret well as it capitalises on evolving consumer taste and lifestyle preferences,” said JAB Chief Executive Olivier Goudet. The sale to the Reimann family’s firm was first reported by the Financial Times. The Pret sale comes a month after Whitbread ( WTB.L ) said it would demerge its Costa coffee chain within two years, a lengthy timeframe that stoked speculation Costa could attract a bidder which some bankers speculated could be JAB. JP Morgan advised Bridgepoint on the Pret deal. Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-29T10:51:00.000+03:00|JAB buys majority stake in Pret A Manger|May 29, 2018 / 7:07 AM / Updated an hour ago JAB buys majority stake in Britain's Pret A Manger Ben Martin 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - JAB Holdings, the private company of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, is expanding its coffee empire with a majority stake in British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger. FILE PHOTO: A branded bag at a Pret A Manger cafe in London, Britain, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Luxembourg-based JAB is buying Pret from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors for an undisclosed sum, Pret said on Tuesday. A Pret spokeswoman declined to comment on the value of the deal, but the Financial Times reported earlier that the price was 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) including debt. Slideshow (2 Images) The deal marks the latest in a string of coffee industry acquisitions by JAB, including Keurig Green Mountain and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, as it looks to challenge Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle ( NESN.S ). Nestle, the world’s biggest coffee company, struck a $7.15 billion licensing deal with Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ) this month. Pret opened its first shop in London in 1986 and now generates revenue of 879 million pounds ($1.17 billion) from 530 stores in countries including the United States and China. Bridgepoint bought a majority stake in the chain a decade ago for about 345 million pounds and had been examining a potential stock market listing before opting to sell to JAB. “Management’s proven track record and commitment to customer service, investment in innovation and approach to freshly prepared food position Pret well as it capitalizes on evolving consumer taste and lifestyle preferences,” said JAB Chief Executive Olivier Goudet. Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|1
2018-05-29T11:38:00.000+03:00|Environment ministry says state steel firm expanded without approval: document|NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s environment ministry has found that state-controlled Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) expanded a steel plant without its approval, according to a government letter seen by Reuters. The company in January sought the permission from the ministry to expand the plant’s capacity to 6.3 million tonnes a year from 4 million tonnes, but went ahead with the project before receiving clearance, the ministry said in a letter to the steel ministry, which controls RINL. “It is submitted that (RINL) has carried about 90 percent expansion without obtaining requisite prior environmental clearance,” Arun Kumar Mehta, a top bureaucrat in the environment ministry, wrote in the letter dated May 25. Mehta added that RINL flouted environmental rules and hence the company should “initiate necessary exemplary disciplinary action” against officials responsible for the violation. An RINL executive, who declined to be named citing government rules, said the company has been asked to appear before an environment ministry panel in connection with the issue. An RINL spokesman had no immediate comment. The company started out in 1992 with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. It plans to eventually raise the capacity to above 7.3 million tonnes. Editing by Krishna N. Das and Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-29T11:39:00.000+03:00|Chinese firm in talks to takeover German auto supplier Grammer|SHANGHAI, May 29 (Reuters) - China’s Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co Ltd is in talks to buy Grammer AG in a deal that would value the German auto supplier at around 752 million euros ($874 million), Grammer said in a statement. The acquisition would mark the latest Chinese investment in German technology, after a $9 billion deal earlier this year saw the Chinese magnate behind Geely Auto take a major stake in Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG. Ningbo Jifeng, already a major shareholder in Grammer, is in “advanced negotiations” with the firm and has offered 60 euros per share with a further proposed dividend of 1.25 euros per share in a potential takeover bid, the German company said. Grammer shares closed at 51.3 euros on Monday and are down a just over 1 percent so far this year. It has a market capitalisation of 648.3 million euros. Grammer said it was uncertain whether the negotiations will be concluded successfully and a takeover offer will be launched. It added it was “assessing strategic options in the best interest of the company”. Ningbo Jifeng raised its stake in Grammer in October last year to 25.51 percent. Sources told Reuters around then the Chinese firm wanted to increase its stake amid an power struggle with a rival shareholder, Bosnia’s Hastor family. Grammer’s management has generally welcomed the attention of Ningbo Jifeng, another supplier of vehicle interior components, as a potential “white knight” in its conflict with Hastor. ($1 = 0.8604 euros) (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T11:44:00.000+03:00|Chinese firm in talks to takeover German auto supplier Grammer|SHANGHAI/MUNICH (Reuters) - Auto supplier Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts ( 603997.SS ) is aiming to buy German rival Grammer ( GMMG.DE ) in an agreed deal at a time when Chinese takeovers face increased scrutiny from German and European authorities eager to protect domestic know-how. The two companies signed a business combination agreement on Tuesday under which Ningo would offer 61.25 euros per share for Grammer, valuing the group at around 772 million euros ($893 million), including dividends. Shares in Grammer closed 19.3 percent higher at 61.20 euros, just below the Ningbo offer price, on the news. Grammer said the two companies aimed to deepen a strategic partnership, which started when the Chinese company took a stake in Grammer early last year, and to optimise its global footprint and secure a global growth strategy, without giving more detail. The offer will test Germany’s willingness to tolerate Chinese takeovers, following an unsolicited approach by Geely ( 0175.HK ) chairman Li Shufu to secure a $9 billion stake in Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ). Related Coverage Factbox: Chinese investments in German companies Ningbo’s offer comes as European lawmakers finalise a European proposal for greater scrutiny of investments made with state influence or aimed at transferring key technologies to a third country, a clear reference to some Chinese state-led firms that have bought European rivals. It also comes less than a week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during a trip to China, called on the world’s No.2 economy to open up key industries to outside markets, demanding greater reciprocity between both regions when it comes to takeovers and market access to technologies. Sources familiar with the matter said that Ningbo Jifeng is offering to guarantee jobs at Grammer for 7-1/2 years as part of the proposed transaction, which could soften possible opposition to a takeover. Ningbo Jifeng already holds 25.51 percent of shares in Grammer, having raised its stake in October last year. Sources told Reuters around that time the Chinese firm wanted to increase its stake amid a power struggle with a rival shareholder, Bosnia’s Hastor family. Its management has generally welcomed the attention of Ningbo Jifeng, another supplier of vehicle interior components, as a potential “white knight” in its conflict with Hastor. “We would view such a bid as positive as it offers the Hastor group a good opportunity to exit,” DZ Bank analyst Michael Punzet wrote in a note, keeping a “hold” rating on the stock. Grammer said on Tuesday its executive board welcomed and supported the takeover offer. Ningbo Jifeng’s offer will be conditional upon it obtaining at least 50 percent plus one share in Grammer, including the stake it already holds, as well as regulatory approvals. Sources said the Chinese group was currently not aiming for a domination agreement, though. ($1 = 0.8644 euros) Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Edward Taylor; Editing by Himani Sarkar/Alexandra Hudson/David Evans  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T11:53:00.000+03:00|KKR to buy BMC Software in its biggest deal since financial crisis|(Reuters) - KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) said on Tuesday it will acquire U.S. business software company BMC Software in a deal which sources valued at $8.5 billion, including debt, making it the buyout firm’s largest acquisition since the 2008 financial crisis. The size of the deal underscores how private equity firms are turning to bigger leveraged buyouts as they seek to put a record $1 trillion of unused investor money to work. Private equity firms are paid management and performance fees only on investor capital that is deployed on deals. KKR has also partnered with U.S. hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc ( HCA.N ) to make an offer for U.S. physician services provider Envision Healthcare Corp ( EVHC.N ) which has a value including debt of close to $10 billion, Reuters reported earlier this month. KKR agreed to buy BMC from private equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital, which acquired BMC in 2013 for $6.9 billion. Representatives for KKR, Bain and Golden Gate declined to comment on the purchase price, which was disclosed by sources on condition of anonymity. The acquisition of BMC, which provides software that helps companies organise their tech support functions, comes as software companies are reorienting themselves to focus on higher-margin businesses such as cloud computing, cyber security and data analytics to counter a slowdown in their legacy businesses. KKR has invested about $26 billion in the technology sector over the past decade, and BMC will join a portfolio that includes Mitchell, Epicor and Calabrio - all firms that make software used by businesses. KKR expects to use BMC as a platform to make further acquisitions, a person familiar with the strategy said. Making bolt-on purchases is an increasingly common strategy for private equity firms to increase scale and pricing power in their markets. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Macquarie and Mizuho Bank provided financing for the acquisition. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were BMC’s financial advisers, while Macquarie Capital advised KKR. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York and Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Phil Berlowitz  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-05-29T12:20:00.000+03:00|Britain shares join European sell-off; Dixons hammered|May 29, 2018 / 9:21 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago British shares join European sell-off; Dixons hammered Danilo Masoni , Kit Rees 3 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - British stocks fell on Tuesday, joining a Europe-wide sell-off triggered by worries over a political crisis in Italy, while a profit warning at Dixons Carphone wiped one fifth off the retailer’s market value. Traders looks at financial information on computer screens on the IG Index trading floor in London, Britain February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson The UK's top share FTSE 100 index .FTSE ended the session with a 1.3 percent loss, hitting its lowest level in three weeks. The blue chip benchmark shrugged off a fall in the pound as it resumed trading after a long holiday weekend. The FTSE 250 midcap index .FTMC fell 1.7 percent. “Even a weaker GBP (typically a boon for FTSE global stocks) and EUR battered by Italian/Spanish geopolitical risks were not sufficient to prop up equities,” said Accendo Markets analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants in a note. Dixons Carphone ( DC.L ), which is struggling in a difficult market for selling phones and electrical goods in Britain, warned profits were likely to plunge by a fifth this year and said it would have to close shops to fix itself. Shares in the company, formed in 2014 by the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse, plunged 20.7 percent and hit their lowest level since December 2017. “We look forward to a fuller update from the company at the full year results on the company’s plans on 21st June,” said Liberum analysts in a note. “The key question remains as to what, ultimately, the Carphone Warehouse will look like and how profitable this can be. Deeper clarity on management’s strategy could be the next catalyst,” they added. Top fallers on the FTSE included banks Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ), both down more than 3 percent, as financials in Europe were under pressure on worries the next Italian election could turn into a referendum on the euro. Among the few gainers were precious metal miner Fresnillo ( FRES.L ), up 3.1 percent, tracking a rise in gold prices, while engineering firm Smiths ( SMIN.L ) surged to a record high before trimming gains after news it was in early talks over a potential combination of its medical division with U.S.-based ICU Medical. M&A talk also lifted serviced office provider IWG ( IWG.L ). U.S. real estate investment company Prime Opportunities said IWG had rejected its offer approach for the British serviced office provider, sending its shares up 2 percent. Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Kit Rees; Editing by Richard Balmforth|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-29T12:24:00.000+03:00|KWS seeks to buy Bayer's vegetable business, countering BASF|May 29, 2018 / 5:56 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago KWS seeks to buy Bayer's vegetable business, countering BASF Ludwig Burger , Patricia Weiss 3 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German seed seller KWS Saat ( KWSG.DE ) has made a rival offer for Bayer’s ( BAYGn.DE ) vegetable seed business, a unit Bayer had agreed to sell to BASF ( BASFn.DE ) as part of its planned merger with Monsanto ( MON.N ). FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender//File Photo KWS on Tuesday said its non-binding proposal was first made to Bayer on Jan. 26, but not disclosed to investors at the time. Frustration over Bayer’s rejection despite a “highly attractive price” led KWS to break cover on the bid, in the hope that antitrust regulators will regard it more favourably, KWS Chief Executive Hagen Duenbostel told Reuters. Having turned down the KWS bid, Bayer continued to negotiate the sale of the vegetable assets - known under the Nunhems brand - with BASF, which was already due to buy other Bayer assets worth 5.9 billion euros (5.1 billion pounds). “Somebody has to move. We’ve waited so long, we decided to make a move now to get the ball rolling,” said Duenbostel. KWS let itself “be guided” by a multiple of close to 17 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the proposed price, which Duenbostel said was what Bayer agreed to pay for all of Monsanto. He declined to give more detailed terms. Sales of more than 400 million euros at the vegetable unit and an EBITDA margin of about 20 percent would translate to a bid value of roughly 1.4 billion euros. BASF last month agreed to pay up to 1.7 billion euros for a bundle of assets comprising Bayer’s vegetable seeds business, seed treatments and digital farming activities. That would come on top of 5.9 billion euros worth of Bayer assets including soy, cotton and canola seed and herbicide businesses that BASF agreed to buy in October. While BASF has already secured EU antitrust approval for the October transaction, the go-ahead for BASF to also snap up the vegetable business is still outstanding, a Bayer spokesman said. He declined to comment further. BASF said it had an agreed deal with Bayer and declined to comment on KWS’s move. Shares in KWS Saat fell 4.3 percent at 0844 GMT on concern the deal would be too big a financial burden for a buyer with a market value of about 2 billion euros. “Isn’t it a little too big for KWS?” a Frankfurt-based trader said. Bayer’s bid to buy seed and chemical company Monsanto is on track to win U.S. antitrust approval by the end of May, unless there is a last-minute complication, two people familiar with the matter said in late April. Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Edward Taylor and Alexandra Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-29T12:24:00.000+03:00|RPT-UPDATE 2-KWS seeks to buy Bayer's vegetable business, countering BASF|(Adds picture) * KWS wants to buy Bayer’s vegetable seed business * Bayer has already agreed vegetable seed sale to BASF * KWS offer is non-binding, financial terms not disclosed By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss FRANKFURT, May 29 (Reuters) - German seed seller KWS Saat has made a rival offer for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, a unit Bayer had agreed to sell to BASF as part of its planned merger with Monsanto. KWS on Tuesday said its non-binding proposal was first made to Bayer on Jan. 26, but not disclosed to investors at the time. Frustration over Bayer’s rejection despite a “highly attractive price” led KWS to break cover on the bid, in the hope that antitrust regulators will regard it more favourably, KWS Chief Executive Hagen Duenbostel told Reuters. Having turned down the KWS bid, Bayer continued to negotiate the sale of the vegetable assets - known under the Nunhems brand - with BASF, which was already due to buy other Bayer assets worth 5.9 billion euros ($6.8 billion). “Somebody has to move. We’ve waited so long, we decided to make a move now to get the ball rolling,” said Duenbostel. KWS let itself “be guided” by a multiple of close to 17 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the proposed price, which Duenbostel said was what Bayer agreed to pay for all of Monsanto. He declined to give more detailed terms. Sales of more than 400 million euros at the vegetable unit and an EBITDA margin of about 20 percent would translate to a bid value of roughly 1.4 billion euros. BASF last month agreed to pay up to 1.7 billion euros for a bundle of assets comprising Bayer’s vegetable seeds business, seed treatments and digital farming activities. That would come on top of 5.9 billion euros worth of Bayer assets including soy, cotton and canola seed and herbicide businesses that BASF agreed to buy in October. While BASF has already secured EU antitrust approval for the October transaction, the go-ahead for BASF to also snap up the vegetable business is still outstanding, a Bayer spokesman said. He declined to comment further. BASF said it had an agreed deal with Bayer and declined to comment on KWS’s move. Shares in KWS Saat fell 4.3 percent at 0844 GMT on concern the deal would be too big a financial burden for a buyer with a market value of about 2 billion euros. “Isn’t it a little too big for KWS?” a Frankfurt-based trader said. Bayer’s bid to buy seed and chemical company Monsanto is on track to win U.S. antitrust approval by the end of May, unless there is a last-minute complication, two people familiar with the matter said in late April. ($1 = 0.8672 euros) (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Edward Taylor and Alexandra Hudson) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T13:14:00.000+03:00|Insight: In Portugal, trust in China is the art of the deal|LISBON (Reuters) - Utility company EDP ( EDP.LS ) may balk at the meagre 5 percent premium offered for its shares by China Three Gorges (CTG) but the battle for Portugal’s biggest business has largely played out already. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Portuguese utility company EDP - Energias de Portugal is seen at the company's offices in Oviedo, Spain, May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso To some it looks like a lowball bid, but Portugal has welcomed the offer because it considers the Chinese firm’s pledge to keep EDP-Energias de Portugal intact more important than the price and it wants closer ties with a country that has ploughed billions into its economy. That openness to investment from China, including in strategic sectors like energy, stands out amid suspicions elsewhere in Europe about Chinese acquisitions. The Chinese state-owned hydropower giant became EDP’s biggest shareholder in 2011. So when reports of merger talks between EDP and Spanish rival Gas Natural ( GAS.MC ) emerged in July 2017, it beat a path to the Lisbon government’s door. A Gas Natural takeover would have threatened CTG’s ambition to use EDP to diversify beyond China, while Portugal’s Socialist government feared a European rival could break up the business, an industry source familiar with the talks and a political source with knowledge of the government’s position said. “Nearly a year ago, Gas Natural approached EDP and that was the time when CTG started to think about this move,” said one industry source with knowledge of CTG’s takeover bid. “If CTG has been a partner for more than six years, has invested in the company, in a strategic sector for Portugal, and has good relations with the government, it is natural that they talk,” the source said. EDP and Gas Natural denied being in talks last year. But just over a month after the reports, Portugal added a clause to its takeover laws allowing shareholders with the same ultimate owner to combine all their voting rights. Previously, the votes would have been capped at 25 percent, whatever the size of their combined holdings. That could be crucial as CTG’s bid for EDP progresses. While it owns 23.3 percent, another Chinese state-owned company, CNIC, holds 5 percent, most recently buying 2 percent at the end of 2017. CTG in China and a spokesman for the Portuguese government did not respond to requests for comment. ‘PURELY POLITICAL’ CTG first bought 21.4 percent of EDP in December 2011 for 2.7 billion euros (2.4 billion pounds), stepping in when Portugal privatised the company to raise funds after an international bailout to stabilise government finances. The Chinese company has since invested some 2 billion euros in power ventures with EDP, which has a portfolio of renewable energy assets such as wind, hydro and solar power in countries such as Brazil, the United States, France, Italy and Poland. In April this year, there were reports of interest in EDP from another European utility, this time Engie ( ENGIE.PA ). The French company declined to comment while EDP said at the time that no contacts had been established. A few weeks later, CTG launched its takeover bid. It offered 9.07 billion euros for the rest of EDP on May 11, a premium of just 5 percent above the utility company’s share price before the offer became public. EDP described the offer as too low, but left the door open to negotiations. Some analysts expect EDP to ask for a 20 to 30 percent premium but no other bidder has yet emerged and EDP shares are trading less than 5 percent above the offer price. “It was predictable and there have already been conversations with the government for a long time,” said an industry source close to EDP who has knowledge of the talks. “This is purely political,” the source said. “CTG knew that there were many European companies looking at EDP, which is medium-sized and has interesting assets.” In its bid announcement, CTG made clear it saw EDP’s long-term future as a Portuguese company strengthened by CTG’s assets, with a large free float of shares that could potentially be used as a springboard for European expansion. Slideshow (3 Images) That will please the government, which wants to protect EDP’s 6,000 jobs in Portugal and keep its headquarters in the country. “What matters to the government is the strategic importance of EDP to the country,” said Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros consultancy, adding that the takeover price was a secondary consideration for the government. OPEN DOOR POLICY Links between Portugal and China stretch back centuries to when the European nation controlled the port of Macau. In recent years, Lisbon has embraced Beijing’s belt and road initiative to invest in infrastructure linking Asia to Europe. Chinese firms now own 25 percent of Portugal’s national grid, 27 percent of its largest listed bank, and all of its largest insurer and biggest private hospitals operator. Prime Minister Antonio Costa also told parliament last week that the change to Portuguese takeover law last year was made with Chinese investors in mind. “It was my initiative and aimed to ensure that Portugal would offer the same conditions to foreigners, namely Chinese, as Europeans,” Costa said. The clause added on July 29, 2017, was designed to favour the “capture of foreign direct investment from, namely, foreign state entities...”, according to the text. The combined shareholding of CTG and CNIC, a Chinese state-owned investment company, now comes to 28.5 percent, close to the 33 percent needed to assure effective control of EDP. Under Portuguese law, company statutes can only be changed if two-thirds of shareholders vote in favour. Costa denied in parliament the change was made with CTG in mind: “This was approved a year ago, when there was no takeover, nor any prediction of a takeover bid.” ‘BONDS OF CONFIDENCE’ When CTG launched its offer, it was conditional on getting 50 percent plus one share, in line with Portuguese rules. However, market regulator CMVM said on May 23 it was waiving this requirement, effectively allowing CTG to raise its stake in EDP, even if it doesn’t reach a simple majority. “The Chinese have established bonds of confidence with Portugal,” a senior political source told Reuters. “There is mutual confidence and that changes everything.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a well-timed visit to Lisbon on May 18. He hailed Portugal’s “open attitude” to foreign investment and promised Beijing would continue to encourage investment by Chinese firms in Portugal. Chinese citizens have also poured 2 billion euros into Portuguese housing in the past few years, boosting a property market boom which has helped propel a strong economic recovery. As Lisbon’s ties with CTG have grown closer, its relationship with EDP has come under strain. The government was annoyed last year by what it saw as EDP Chief Executive Antonio Mexia’s openness to potential European suitors, political sources with knowledge of the government’s position said. In January this year, EDP upset the government again when it stopped paying an extraordinary tax contribution energy companies have had to pay since Portugal’s 2011-14 debt crisis. “I won’t comment,” the prime minister told reporters at the time. “I only regret the hostile attitude that EDP has maintained and which therefore represents a change in the stance it had towards the previous government.” If CTG’s bid does succeed, the timing could be auspicious, with Chinese President Xi Jinping planning to visit to Portugal later this year. “The visit may signal a new phase of strategic partnership between the two countries, with the signing of agreements,” Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said after meeting his Chinese counterpart this month.  Shanghai newsroom; editing by Mark Bendeich and David Clarke  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-29T13:22:00.000+03:00|In Portugal, trust in China is the art of the deal|LISBON (Reuters) - Utility company EDP may balk at the meager 5 percent premium offered for its shares by China Three Gorges (CT) but the battle for Portugal’s biggest business has largely played out already. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Portuguese utility company EDP - Energias de Portugal is seen at the company's offices in Oviedo, Spain, May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso To some it looks like a lowball bid, but Portugal has welcomed the offer because it considers the Chinese firm’s pledge to keep EDP-Energias de Portugal intact more important than the price and it wants closer ties with a country that has plowed billions into its economy. That openness to investment from China, including in strategic sectors like energy, stands out amid suspicions elsewhere in Europe about Chinese acquisitions. The Chinese state-owned hydropower giant became EDP’s biggest shareholder in 2011. So when reports of merger talks between EDP and Spanish rival Gas Natural emerged in July 2017, it beat a path to the Lisbon government’s door. A Gas Natural takeover would have threatened CTG’s ambition to use EDP to diversify beyond China, while Portugal’s Socialist government feared a European rival could break up the business, an industry source familiar with the talks and a political source with knowledge of the government’s position said. “Nearly a year ago, Gas Natural approached EDP and that was the time when CT started to think about this move,” said one industry source with knowledge of CTG’s takeover bid. “If CT has been a partner for more than six years, has invested in the company, in a strategic sector for Portugal, and has good relations with the government, it is natural that they talk,” the source said. EDP and Gas Natural denied being in talks last year. But just over a month after the reports, Portugal added a clause to its takeover laws allowing shareholders with the same ultimate owner to combine all their voting rights. Previously, the votes would have been capped at 25 percent, whatever the size of their combined holdings. That could be crucial as CTG’s bid for EDP progresses. While it owns 23.3 percent, another Chinese state-owned company, CNIC, holds 5 percent, most recently buying 2 percent at the end of 2017. CT [CYTGP.UL] in China and a spokesman for the Portuguese government did not respond to requests for comment. ‘PURELY POLITICAL’ CT first bought 21.4 percent of EDP in December 2011 for 2.7 billion euros ($3.2 billion), stepping in when Portugal privatized the company to raise funds after an international bailout to stabilize government finances. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is welcomed by Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal May 18, 2018. Picture taken May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante The Chinese company has since invested some 2 billion euros in power ventures with EDP, which has a portfolio of renewable energy assets such as wind, hydro and solar power in countries such as Brazil, the United States, France, Italy and Poland. In April this year, there were reports of interest in EDP from another European utility, this time Engie. The French company declined to comment while EDP said at the time that no contacts had been established. A few weeks later, CT launched its takeover bid. It offered 9.07 billion euros ($10.7 billion) for the rest of EDP on May 11, a premium of just 5 percent above the utility company’s share price before the offer became public. EDP described the offer as too low, but left the door open to negotiations. Some analysts expect EDP to ask for a 20 to 30 percent premium but no other bidder has yet emerged and EDP shares are trading less than 5 percent above the offer price. “It was predictable and there have already been conversations with the government for a long time,” said an industry source close to EDP who has knowledge of the talks. “This is purely political,” the source said. “CT knew that there were many European companies looking at EDP, which is medium-sized and has interesting assets.” In its bid announcement, CT made clear it saw EDP’s long-term future as a Portuguese company strengthened by CTG’s assets, with a large free float of shares that could potentially be used as a springboard for European expansion. That will please the government, which wants to protect EDP’s 6,000 jobs in Portugal and keep its headquarters in the country. “What matters to the government is the strategic importance of EDP to the country,” said Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros consultancy, adding that the takeover price was a secondary consideration for the government. OPEN DOOR POLICY Links between Portugal and China stretch back centuries to when the European nation controlled the port of Macau. In recent years, Lisbon has embraced Beijing’s belt and road initiative to invest in infrastructure linking Asia to Europe. Slideshow (2 Images) Chinese firms now own 25 percent of Portugal’s national grid, 27 percent of its largest listed bank, and all of its largest insurer and biggest private hospitals operator. Prime Minister Antonio Costa also told parliament last week that the change to Portuguese takeover law last year was made with Chinese investors in mind. “It was my initiative and aimed to ensure that Portugal would offer the same conditions to foreigners, namely Chinese, as Europeans,” Costa said. The clause added on July 29, 2017, was designed to favor the “capture of foreign direct investment from, namely, foreign state entities...”, according to the text. The combined shareholding of CT and CNIC, a Chinese state-owned investment company, now comes to 28.5 percent, close to the 33 percent needed to assure effective control of EDP. Under Portuguese law, company statutes can only be changed if two-thirds of shareholders vote in favor. Costa denied in parliament the change was made with CT in mind: “This was approved a year ago, when there was no takeover, nor any prediction of a takeover bid.” ‘BONDS OF CONFIDENCE’ When CT launched its offer, it was conditional on getting 50 percent plus one share, in line with Portuguese rules. However, market regulator CMVM said on May 23 it was waiving this requirement, effectively allowing CT to raise its stake in EDP, even if it doesn’t reach a simple majority. “The Chinese have established bonds of confidence with Portugal,” a senior political source told Reuters. “There is mutual confidence and that changes everything.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a well-timed visit to Lisbon on May 18. He hailed Portugal’s “open attitude” to foreign investment and promised Beijing would continue to encourage investment by Chinese firms in Portugal. Chinese citizens have also poured 2 billion euros into Portuguese housing in the past few years, boosting a property market boom which has helped propel a strong economic recovery. As Lisbon’s ties with CT have grown closer, its relationship with EDP has come under strain. The government was annoyed last year by what it saw as EDP Chief Executive Antonio Mexia’s openness to potential European suitors, political sources with knowledge of the government’s position said. In January this year, EDP upset the government again when it stopped paying an extraordinary tax contribution energy companies have had to pay since Portugal’s 2011-14 debt crisis. “I won’t comment,” the prime minister told reporters at the time. “I only regret the hostile attitude that EDP has maintained and which therefore represents a change in the stance it had towards the previous government.” If CTG’s bid does succeed, the timing could be auspicious, with Chinese President Xi Jinping planning to visit to Portugal later this year. “The visit may signal a new phase of strategic partnership between the two countries, with the signing of agreements,” Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said after meeting his Chinese counterpart this month. Additional reporting by Shanghai newsroom; editing by Mark Bendeich and David Clarke  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-29T13:36:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Updates Bayer, Ningbo; Adds BW LPG, Petroleo Brasileiro) May 29 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday: ** Britain’s competition regulator set out more detail about what it intends to examine in its investigation of the tie-up between the retail power units of energy companies SSE and Innogy’s Npower. ** The independent board of South African construction group Murray & Roberts rebuffed the latest takeover bid offer by German investment house ATON, potentially setting the stage for another round of protracted wrangling. ** Russia’s state railway monopoly Russian Railways (RZhD) has put up for sale its railcar leasing unit TransFin-M and its subsidiary Absolut Bank and is in discussions with potential buyers, according to three sources briefed on the sale talks. ** Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd faces demands from disgruntled shareholders to put to a vote its $62-billion acquisition of London-listed Shire and do more to assuage concerns over the record-breaking deal. ** Bayer won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto after agreeing to sell about $9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. ** Investment firm KKR confirmed it would buy BMC Software from owners including Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital, adding to a series of bets it has made on companies which provide software and IT systems for corporations. ** Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it has led a consortium of investors to buy about 10 percent of Chinese courier ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc for $1.38 billion, as part of the e-commerce firm’s push into offline services. ** India’s cash-strapped Fortis Healthcare Ltd laid out plans for a fresh bidding process, after it became the subject of a bidding war by suitors seeking to cash in on an expected boom in India’s private healthcare market. ** Auto supplier Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts is aiming to buy German rival Grammer in an agreed deal at a time when Chinese takeovers face increased scrutiny from German and European authorities eager to protect domestic know-how. ** German seed seller KWS Saat has made a rival offer for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, a unit Bayer had agreed to sell to BASF as part of its planned merger with Monsanto. ** China’s Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co Ltd is offering to guarantee jobs for 7-1/2 years as part of its proposed takeover of German automotive supplier Grammer , two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. ** British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger was sold for $2 billion to an investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, as part of a global acquisition spree aimed at challenging Nestle in the coffee sector. ** U.S. real estate investment company Prime Opportunities Investment Group said IWG Plc had rejected its offer approach for the British serviced office provider. ** Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will inject some of its online pharmacy business into a listed unit in a deal valued at HK$10.6 billion ($1.35 billion), the firm said in a statement. ** Australia’s South32 Ltd said it has agreed to buy a 50 percent stake in the Eagle Downs metallurgical coal project in Queensland state from state-owned China BaoWu Steel Group for an upfront payment of $106 million. ** Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources Ltd agreed to sell a package of mining tenements in Argentina to South Korean steelmaker POSCO for $280 million. ** British broadcaster ITV Plc is considering entering into a joint venture valued at 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) with BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, the Telegraph newspaper reported. ** The world’s largest liquid petroleum gas (LPG) shipper, Norway’s BW LPG, is offering to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market, it said in a statement on Tuesday. ** Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Brazil’s government are “very close” to resolving a long-running dispute over an oil-rich offshore area, a deputy minister said, dismissing concerns a fuel pricing crisis had emerged as an obstacle in talks. (Compiled by Akshara P in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-29T13:39:00.000+03:00|Shareholders demand Japan's Takeda assuage fears over Shire deal|May 29, 2018 / 10:35 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Shareholders demand Japan's Takeda assuage fears over Shire deal Sam Nussey 2 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ( 4502.T ) faces demands from disgruntled shareholders to put to a vote its $62-billion (46.8 billion pounds) acquisition of London-listed Shire ( SHP.L ) and do more to assuage concerns over the record-breaking deal. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. is displayed at the company's news conference venue in Tokyo, Japan May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon The deal “carries overly high risks to the company” given its size, 12 shareholders said in a proposal to be voted on at next month’s annual shareholders’ meeting, adding that new shares to be issued to fund the deal threaten “a danger of causing a great disadvantage to existing shareholders”. The Shire deal and any future deals worth more than 1 trillion yen (£7 billion) should be put to a shareholder vote, says the proposal - which will need two thirds of votes at the meeting to pass, according to a Takeda spokesman. Takeda’s board of directors opposes the proposal, according to the company’s notice of convocation that contained the proposal, saying the need for prior approval for such deals would damage competitiveness and the company’s ability to make decisions. However, the drugmaker already plans to put the Shire deal to a vote at an extraordinary general meeting, with two-thirds support needed. It will also need three-quarters backing from Shire investors. Many investors have been lukewarm on the deal, fearing it will overstretch Takeda’s finances, with shares at the drugmaker trading down more than 25 percent since it first said it was considering bidding for Shire. The proposal was received on April 27, a Takeda spokesman said, before the terms of the Shire deal were announced on May 8. Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-05-29T13:43:00.000+03:00|Bayer wins approval to buy U.S. seed and ag chem giant Monsanto|WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Bayer won U.S. antitrust approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto on Tuesday on condition that it sell about $9 billion in assets, the Justice Department said, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal. Reporting by Diane Bartz Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-29T13:49:00.000+03:00|Indian banks ask exporters to close Iran deals due to sanctions|NEW DELHI, May 29 (Reuters) - Two Indian banks have asked exporters to complete their financial transactions with Iran by August in response to the threat of new U.S. sanctions, according to the country’s main exporters’ organisation and bank letters seen by Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month pulled out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions. India and Iran have long-standing political and commercial ties, but New Delhi has been careful to not fall foul of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) said IndusInd and UCO, the two banks facilitating exports to Iran, had set August 6. as the deadline for winding up deals. “IndusInd and UCO bank are telling exporters that you complete all Iran business by August 6,” Ajay Sahai, director general of FIEO, told Reuters. Indian exporters mostly receive payments in rupees for exports to Iran, under a mechanism devised in 2012 when banking channels were restricted due to the U.S. sanctions. India, Iran’s top oil customer after China, had implemented a barter-like scheme that allowed it to make some oil payments to Tehran in rupees through UCO Bank. IndusInd Bank in a May 24 letter, seen by Reuters, asked Indian exporters to provide a declaration from customers that the entire export LC (letter of credit) transaction would be completed before August 6, 2018. An Indian exporter executing Iranian orders worth 90 million rupees said he was worried because he would get some payments in the second half of August. “How does an exporter feel safe? I don’t know whether I will get my money or not,” said the exporter, who did not wish to be identified. He said payment for an Iranian export order normally takes between one to one-and-a-half months. Indian companies receive payments for exports to Iran using the oil payments held in rupee balances at UCO. The mechanism helped India to narrow its trade deficit with Iran from about $11.3 billion in 2011/12 to about $3.5 billion in 2015/16, when the Iran sanctions were lifted. In the fiscal year to March 2017, India’s trade deficit with Iran widened to $8.24 billion, according to the government data. UCO Bank told the exporter mentioned above that payment would be made only if the Iran account had enough money. “Payments will also be subjected to any trade restrictions/currency restrictions being put in place by U.S.A. post 08-05-2018 and as per the Government of India guidelines on the date of claim,” UCO said in its letter to the exporter dated May 29, which was seen by Reuters. UCO Bank chairman R. K. Takkar told Reuters his bank was continuing with the rupee mechanism. He refused to elaborate on the letter issued by his bank, and said Iran had 18 billion rupees in its account with UCO. Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani. Editing by Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-05-29T14:13:00.000+03:00|KKR to buy BMC Software|(Reuters) - KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) said on Tuesday it will acquire U.S. business software company BMC Software in a deal which sources valued at $8.5 billion, including debt, making it the buyout firm’s largest acquisition since the 2008 financial crisis. The size of the deal underscores how private equity firms are turning to bigger leveraged buyouts as they seek to put a record $1 trillion of unused investor money to work. Private equity firms are paid management and performance fees only on investor capital that is deployed on deals. KKR has also partnered with U.S. hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc ( HCA.N ) to make an offer for U.S. physician services provider Envision Healthcare Corp ( EVHC.N ) which has a value including debt of close to $10 billion, Reuters reported earlier this month. KKR agreed to buy BMC from private equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital, which acquired BMC in 2013 for $6.9 billion. Representatives for KKR, Bain and Golden Gate declined to comment on the purchase price, which was disclosed by sources on condition of anonymity. The acquisition of BMC, which provides software that helps companies organise their tech support functions, comes as software companies are reorienting themselves to focus on higher-margin businesses such as cloud computing, cyber security and data analytics to counter a slowdown in their legacy businesses. KKR has invested about $26 billion in the technology sector over the past decade, and BMC will join a portfolio that includes Mitchell, Epicor and Calabrio - all firms that make software used by businesses. KKR expects to use BMC as a platform to make further acquisitions, a person familiar with the strategy said. Making bolt-on purchases is an increasingly common strategy for private equity firms to increase scale and pricing power in their markets. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Macquarie and Mizuho Bank provided financing for the acquisition. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were BMC’s financial advisers, while Macquarie Capital advised KKR. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York and Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Phil Berlowitz  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|1
2018-05-29T14:14:00.000+03:00|Vitol aims to sell stake worth about $2.3 bln in Viva Energy float -sources|MELBOURNE, May 29 (Reuters) - Global energy trader Vitol and its partners plan to float their Australian Viva Energy business, potentially worth around A$5 billion ($3.8 billion), in July, people familiar with the transaction said on Tuesday. The owners want to sell up to 60 percent of the refinery, fuel supply and petrol stations business, in what would be Australia’s biggest initial public offering since the government’s float of Medibank Private in 2014. Reporting by Sonali Paul; editing by Richard Pullin  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T14:16:00.000+03:00|Bayer could get U.S. approval for Monsanto deal on Tuesday-source|FRANKFURT, May 29 (Reuters) - Bayer could be granted conditional U.S. antitrust approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto as soon as Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters. Bayer had already come to an agreement in principle on the terms of approval with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), which prompted Bayer to adjust its planned divestment of assets to assuage antitrust concerns. A Bayer spokesman declined to comment. The DoJ did not immediately return a call seeking comment outside regular working hours. (Reporting by Patria Weiss Writing by Ludwig Burger Editing by Edward Taylor and Douglas Busvine)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T14:21:00.000+03:00|Alibaba leads consortium in $1.4 bln deal for stake in Chinese courier ZTO|SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) on Tuesday said it has led a consortium of investors to buy about 10 percent of Chinese courier ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc ( ZTO.N ) for $1.38 billion, as part of the e-commerce firm’s push into offline services. FILE PHOTO: Workers listen to their line manager as he prepares them for the upcoming Singles Day shopping festival, at a sorting centre of ZTO Express, in Chaoyang district, Beijing, China November 8, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee The consortium includes Alibaba’s majority-owned logistics affiliate Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd, Alibaba and ZTO said in a joint statement without disclosing the identity of other investors. They said they expect the deal to close in June. The investment would be Alibaba’s third in a Chinese courier after buying a minority stakes in YTO Express Group Co Ltd ( 600233.SS ) and Best Inc BSTI.N. The e-commerce firm has been expanding its logistics network at home and abroad as it works to diversify its customer base. As part of that effort, it became majority shareholder in September of Cainiao, which provides logistics support to Alibaba’s main e-commerce platform, Taobao. FILE PHOTO: A worker unloads parcels from a vehicle of the ZTO Express delivery in Beijing, China, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo ZTO owns 1 percent of Cainiao, which it co-founded with Alibaba and over a dozen other Chinese companies in 2013. ZTO’s chairman, Lai Meisong, told Reuters the latest deal would allow ZTO and Alibaba to better share resources and help ZTO cut costs through access to new technologies. He said the pair decided to enter a deal so as to work more closely on operations and build trust between affiliates. ZTO said Alibaba will have a seat on its board. “This trust will improve the efficiency of our cooperation,” Lai said in a telephone interview. Shanghai-based ZTO’s $1.4 billion New York listing was the United States’ largest listing in 2016 and was the biggest by a Chinese firm since Alibaba’s $25 billion initial public offering in 2014. ZTO shares closed at a lifetime high of $19.30 on Friday, their most recent day of trading, valuing the firm at $13.7 billion. Earlier this month, ZTO reported a 36 percent on-year rise in first quarter revenue. It said it handled 6.2 billion parcels in 2017, giving it a 15.5 percent market share, from 7.6 percent in 2011. Reporting by Brenda GohEditing by Christopher Cushing  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T14:27:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-KKR to buy enterprise software firm BMC|May 29, 2018 / 11:27 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago UPDATE 1-KKR to buy enterprise software firm BMC Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Adds details) May 29 (Reuters) - Investment firm KKR & Co will buy enterprise software provider BMC Software from an investor group, the companies said on Tuesday. The group includes Bain Capital Private Equity, Golden Gate Capital, GIC, Insight Venture Partners and Elliott Management. Citing a single source familiar with the deal, the New York Post reported last week BMC could be worth around $10 billion, having been bought by Bain and Golden Gate for $6.9 billion in 2013. The statement on Monday gave no indication of the deal value. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Macquarie and Mizuho Bank provided financing for the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were BMC’s financial advisers, while Macquarie Capital advised KKR. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|1
2018-05-29T14:34:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-KWS seeks to buy Bayer's vegetable business, countering BASF|* KWS wants to buy Bayer’s vegetable seed business * Bayer has already agreed vegetable seed sale to BASF * KWS offer is non-binding, financial terms not disclosed (Adds antitrust status, rationale of KWS’s timing,) By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss FRANKFURT, May 29 (Reuters) - German seed seller KWS Saat has made a rival offer for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, a unit Bayer had agreed to sell to BASF as part of its planned merger with Monsanto. KWS on Tuesday said its non-binding proposal was first made to Bayer on Jan. 26, but not disclosed to investors at the time. Frustration over Bayer’s rejection despite a “highly attractive price” led KWS to break cover on the bid, in the hope that antitrust regulators will regard it more favourably, KWS Chief Executive Hagen Duenbostel told Reuters. Having turned down the KWS bid, Bayer continued to negotiate the sale of the vegetable assets - known under the Nunhems brand - with BASF, which was already due to buy other Bayer assets worth 5.9 billion euros ($6.8 billion). “Somebody has to move. We’ve waited so long, we decided to make a move now to get the ball rolling,” said Duenbostel. KWS let itself “be guided” by a multiple of close to 17 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the proposed price, which Duenbostel said was what Bayer agreed to pay for all of Monsanto. He declined to give more detailed terms. Sales of more than 400 million euros at the vegetable unit and an EBITDA margin of about 20 percent would translate to a bid value of roughly 1.4 billion euros. BASF last month agreed to pay up to 1.7 billion euros for a bundle of assets comprising Bayer’s vegetable seeds business, seed treatments and digital farming activities. That would come on top of 5.9 billion euros worth of Bayer assets including soy, cotton and canola seed and herbicide businesses that BASF agreed to buy in October. While BASF has already secured EU antitrust approval for the October transaction, the go-ahead for BASF to also snap up the vegetable business is still outstanding, a Bayer spokesman said. He declined to comment further. BASF said it had an agreed deal with Bayer and declined to comment on KWS’s move. Shares in KWS Saat fell 4.3 percent at 0844 GMT on concern the deal would be too big a financial burden for a buyer with a market value of about 2 billion euros. “Isn’t it a little too big for KWS?” a Frankfurt-based trader said. Bayer’s bid to buy seed and chemical company Monsanto is on track to win U.S. antitrust approval by the end of May, unless there is a last-minute complication, two people familiar with the matter said in late April. ($1 = 0.8672 euros) (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Edward Taylor and Alexandra Hudson)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T14:51:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Bayer could get U.S. approval for Monsanto deal on Tuesday - source|FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) after agreeing to sell about $9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas, Venezuela March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo Makan Delrahim, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division, said the asset sales agreed to by Bayer were the “largest ever divestiture ever required by the United States.” A Bayer spokesman said the planned sale of businesses with 2.2 billion euros ($2.54 billion) in sales to BASF already agreed to address antitrust concerns, mainly in Europe, were not materially different from the DoJ’s demands. “Receipt of the DOJ’s approval brings us close to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement. Shares in Bayer jumped to the top of Germany's DAX .GDAXI index in early Wednesday trading and were trading up 2.8 percent at 101.6 euros by 0833 GMT. Related Coverage Bayer says EU approves BASF as buyer of antitrust divestments Bernstein analysts said the DoJ approval made it possible for Bayer to close the Monsanto deal by the end of June. After months of delays in a drawn-out review process the ruling brings Bayer close to creating an agricultural supplies giant with sales of about 20 billion euros, based on 2017 figures, when taking into account the divestments. At current foreign exchange rates, that compares to about 12.4 billion euros at DowDuPont’s ( DWDP.N ) Corteva Agriscience unit, 11 billion euros at ChemChina’s Syngenta and 7.9 billion at BASF, including businesses to be acquired. Bayer’s move to combine its crop chemicals business, the world’s second-largest after Syngenta AG SYNN.S, with Monsanto’s industry-leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals tie-ups. U.S. chemicals giants Dow Chemical DOW.N and DuPont merged in September 2017 and are now in the process of splitting into three units. In other consolidation in the sector, China’s state-owned ChemChina purchased Syngenta and two huge Canadian fertilizer producers merged to form a new company, now called Nutrien ( NTR.TO ). Bayer committed to selling its entire cotton, canola, soybean and vegetable seeds businesses and digital farming business, as well its Liberty herbicide, which competes with Monsanto’s Roundup. Under agreements with European and other antitrust enforcers, Bayer agreed to sell assets with revenues of 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), to rival BASF ( BASFn.DE ) for 7.6 billion euros. Bayer said in a statement it expected Bayer and Monsanto to begin the integration process as soon as the sales to BASF are complete, which it said are expected to take two months to complete. If Bayer does not close the deal by June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. It has already secured the go-ahead from key jurisdictions, including the European Union, Brazil and Russia. Apart from the United States, it still needs clearance in Canada and Mexico. In a separate statement, Bayer said on Tuesday said the European Commission had approved BASF as a suitable buyer of the businesses to be divested. German seed seller KWS Saat ( KWSG.DE ), which had made an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, said on Wednesday it accepted the Commission’s decision. Bayer last week said synergies from folding Monsanto into its organization would be about $300 million below its previous target because it will have to sell more businesses than initially expected. Additional reporting by Patricia Weiss; Editing by Mark Potter, Dan Grebler and David Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T15:06:00.000+03:00|JAB buys majority stake in British sandwich chain Pret A Manger|LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - JAB Holdings, the private investment company of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has bought a majority stake in British sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger. JAB is buying Pret from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors for an undisclosed sum, the British company said on Tuesday. The Financial Times earlier reported that the price paid by JAB was 1.5 billion pounds ($1.99 billion), including debt. ($1 = 0.7530 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Martin Editing by David Goodman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T15:43:00.000+03:00|S.Africa's Murray & Roberts rebuffs ATON takeover bid again|May 29, 2018 / 12:44 PM / Updated 15 hours ago S.Africa's Murray & Roberts rebuffs ATON takeover bid again Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG, May 29 (Reuters) - The independent board of South African construction group Murray & Roberts on Tuesday rebuffed the latest takeover bid offer by German investment house ATON, potentially setting the stage for another round of protracted wrangling. ATON’s latest offer of 17 rand a share “remains below the independent board’s guided fair value range of 20.00 rand to 22.00 rand,” Murray & Roberts said in a statement. Reporting by Ed Stoddard Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-05-29T16:08:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Shipper BW LPG offers to buy Dorian LPG in $1.1 bln deal|(Adds Dorian’s comment. Updates shares) OSLO, May 29 (Reuters) - Norway’s BW LPG, the world’s largest liquid petroleum gas shipper, said on Tuesday it had offered to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market. Dorian shareholders will receive 2.05 BW LPG shares for each Dorian share, equal to $7.86 per share, a premium of 13 percent from Friday’s closing price, and based on BW LPG’s share price on May 28. Shares of Dorian closed 5.2 percent higher at $7.32, its best day since December 2017. In a separate statement, Dorian confirmed BW LPG’s “unsolicited proposal”, adding that its board was reviewing the offer. New York-listed Dorian LPG’s equity is valued at about $441 million and including debt the transaction is valued at $1.1 billion. The deal is backed by shipping conglomerate BW Group, owned by the Hong Kong-based Sohmen-Pao family, which owns 14.2 percent of Dorian and about 45 percent of BW LPG. Dorian LPG’s fleet consists of 22 very large gas carriers (VLGC) and the combined company would own 73 vessels, of which 68 would be very large gas carriers, 2 VLGCs currently under order and 3 large gas carriers if the deal goes through. BW LPG said it expected minimum annual savings of $15 million from the deal. (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord; Editing by Adrian Croft and Anil D’Silva)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-05-29T16:17:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Canada to buy Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline|OTTAWA/WINNIPEG (Reuters) - Canada will buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd’s ( KML.TO ) Trans Mountain pipeline for C$4.5 billion ($3.5 billion), the government said on Tuesday, hoping to save a project that faces formidable political and environmental opposition. Steel pipe to be used in the oil pipeline construction of Kinder Morgan Canada's Trans Mountain Expansion Project sit on rail cars at a stockpile site in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Dennis Owen Finance Minister Bill Morneau said purchasing the pipeline was the only way to ensure that a planned expansion could proceed. The pipeline, running from the oil sands of Alberta to a port in the Pacific province of British Columbia, would allow Canadian crude to gain greater access to foreign markets and higher prices. Kinder Morgan Canada gave Ottawa until May 31 to come up with reassurances it could press ahead with plans to more than double the capacity of the existing pipeline amid efforts by British Columbia to block construction. The company also faced opposition from environmentalists and aboriginal groups who worried about the pipeline spilling its tar-like heavy oil. “When we are faced with an exceptional situation that puts jobs at risk, that puts our international reputation on the line, our government is prepared to take action,” Morneau told reporters. He said the pipeline purchase provided the federal jurisdiction needed to overcome British Columbia’s opposition, but gave no details of how this would work. Related Coverage Canada pension funds may be long-term buyers of Kinder pipeline The federal government can in theory step in and disallow any provincial laws that British Columbia might use to block the pipeline, but this provision in the Canadian constitution has not been used since the 1940s. Ottawa could also deploy the police and troops to maintain a barrier between protesters and construction workers. Although Ottawa has taken stakes in struggling energy projects, Tuesday’s announcement marked the first time Ottawa has bought an entire pipeline. It does not intend to own the project for long. “There is a very strong business case for this pipeline,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Bloomberg Television, saying the government takeover meant “a lot of the legal barriers and a lot of the challenge points actually disappear”. Slideshow (3 Images) Kinder Morgan Canada shares initially jumped as much as 8.5 percent before ending down 3 percent, while the broader Canada share index fell 0.6 percent. The move drew immediate criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, and could hurt Trudeau’s popularity in the key British Columbia battleground in a 2019 federal election. The decision represents “a massive, unnecessary financial burden on Canadian taxpayers,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Aaron Wudrick said. The government will also offer federal loan guarantees to ensure construction of the expansion continues through the 2018 season as part of the deal with the company, a unit of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc ( KMI.N ). Morneau sidestepped questions about how Ottawa will deal with opposition from environmentalists and aboriginal groups, who cite the risk of a catastrophic spill. “It’s a mess out there,” said a Calgary industry source not authorized to speak publicly. “Given it will be stuck in court for a while, I don’t think we will see this pipe built anytime soon.” Morneau said more spending would be needed to complete the expansion, but gave no precise financial details, and stressed he felt the project should be returned to the private sector. Canada’s oil sector has been stung in the past year as foreign energy companies retreated amid concerns about the environmental toll, high production costs and a risky regulatory regime. “We have agreed to a fair price for our shareholders,” said Steve Kean, chief executive officer of Kinder Morgan Canada and Kinder Morgan Inc. ‘CAN’T MESS WITH ALBERTA’ Kean did not say why he decided to sell rather than absorb the risk of further delays. Kinder Morgan Canada will continue to own the remaining assets, including crude storage, rail terminals and a condensate pipeline, and look to expand. “I think the transaction is a win-win. It’s actually better for Kinder Morgan than it is for Canada. They are getting a very good value,” said Paul Bloom at Bloom Investment Counsel Inc, which owns about 300,000 shares in Kinder Morgan Canada. The fact the federal government needed to buy Trans Mountain to ensure the project goes ahead does not bode well for the industry, said Chris Bloomer, CEO of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. Trans Mountain stirred an unusual public fight between neighboring provinces. Alberta threatened to halt crude and fuel shipments to British Columbia, where consumers already pay high gasoline prices, and briefly halted imports of the coastal province’s wines. Alberta will contribute up to C$2 billion toward unforeseen costs, payable once the project is complete, Premier Rachel Notley said. The contribution will convert into equity in the pipeline. British Columbia Premier John Horgan said the province would push ahead with a court case to establish its right to restrict increased shipments of crude oil to its coastal waters. Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Additional reporting Leah Schnurr in Toronto, Nicole Mordant in Vancouver and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Writing by Andrea Hopkins, David Ljunggren and Rod Nickel; Editing by Denny Thomas, Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T16:28:00.000+03:00|Brazil, Petrobras near rights-transfer deal: deputy minister|RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Brazil’s government are “very close” to resolving a long-running dispute over an oil-rich offshore area, a deputy minister said, dismissing concerns a fuel pricing crisis had emerged as an obstacle in talks. FILE PHOTO: Tanks of Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company are seen in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File photo On Sunday, Brazilian President Michel Temer offered new fuel subsidies to soften the blow from a run-up in diesel prices that has sparked a nationwide truckers’ protest, paralyzing the country’s economy. His government also promised to compensate Petrobras for losses it may incur by abandoning a market-focused pricing policy. The offers of the subsidies fanned fears among investors that the turmoil could delay Petrobras’ bid to conclude a longstanding compensation dispute with the government over the so-called transfer-of-rights area, dimming hopes for a windfall for the world’s most indebted oil company. Despite overlapping with the truckers’ strike, talks “were not suspended,” Deputy Mining and Energy Minister Marcio Felix told Reuters late on Monday. “There are just a few sticking points ... They are very close.” Earlier this month, a Brazilian paper reported that Petrobras was likely to get the rights to produce an additional 1 billion to 2 billion barrels of oil to settle the dispute. Resolving the dispute would let the cash-strapped government, which is expected to be ousted in elections in October, raise extra revenue to close a huge budget gap by auctioning off the rights to billions of barrels of oil. Following a resolution of the dispute, Felix said such an auction could still be possible in November, before the current government turns over power to a new president in January. He emphasized that the goal was shared by Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente, who has been rumored to be considering resigning from the company he is credited with turning around after a massive corruption scandal and years of mismanagement. “Transfer-of rights would be a crowning achievement for him after two years in management,” Felix said, adding that “it would not be good for him to leave now.” The dispute has its roots in a 2010 deal under which Brazil’s government granted Petrobras rights to extract 5 billion barrels of oil and gas from under a thick layer of salt beneath the ocean floor for a price based on oil prices then. However, the contract stipulated that costs, among other things, would be reviewed after the area was declared commercially viable in 2014. That has led to years of sparring, as oil prices have fluctuated. Oil executives say a bid round for the remaining areas would draw enormous bids, thanks to top notch geology and lack of risk. Additional reporting by Maria Clara Pestre; Editing by Paul Simao  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-29T16:29:00.000+03:00|Alibaba leads consortium in $1.4 billion deal for stake in Chinese courier ZTO|SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Tuesday said it has led a consortium of investors to buy about 10 percent of Chinese courier ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc for $1.38 billion, as part of the e-commerce firm’s push into offline services. FILE PHOTO: A worker unloads parcels from a vehicle of the ZTO Express delivery in Beijing, China, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo The consortium includes Alibaba’s majority-owned logistics affiliate Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd, Alibaba and ZTO said in a joint statement without disclosing the identity of other investors. They said they expect the deal to close in June. The investment would be Alibaba’s third in a Chinese courier after buying a minority stakes in YTO Express Group Co Ltd and Best Inc. The e-commerce firm has been expanding its logistics network at home and abroad as it works to diversify its customer base. As part of that effort, it became majority shareholder in September of Cainiao, which provides logistics support to Alibaba’s main e-commerce platform, Taobao. ZTO owns 1 percent of Cainiao, which it co-founded with Alibaba and over a dozen other Chinese companies in 2013. ZTO’s chairman, Lai Meisong, told Reuters the latest deal would allow ZTO and Alibaba to better share resources and help ZTO cut costs through access to new technologies. He said the pair decided to enter a deal so as to work more closely on operations and build trust between affiliates. A sign of Alibaba Group is seen during the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, December 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo ZTO said Alibaba will have a seat on its board. “This trust will improve the efficiency of our cooperation,” Lai said in a telephone interview. Shanghai-based ZTO’s $1.4 billion New York listing was the United States’ largest listing in 2016 and was the biggest by a Chinese firm since Alibaba’s $25 billion initial public offering in 2014. ZTO shares closed at a lifetime high of $19.30 on Friday, their most recent day of trading, valuing the firm at $13.7 billion. FILE PHOTO: Workers listen to their line manager as he prepares them for the upcoming Singles Day shopping festival, at a sorting centre of ZTO Express, in Chaoyang district, Beijing, China November 8, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee Earlier this month, ZTO reported a 36 percent on-year rise in first quarter revenue. It said it handled 6.2 billion parcels in 2017, giving it a 15.5 percent market share, from 7.6 percent in 2011. Reporting by Brenda GohEditing by Christopher Cushing Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-29T16:34:00.000+03:00|British regulator lays out scope of SSE/Npower merger inquiry|May 29, 2018 / 1:34 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago British regulator lays out scope of SSE/Npower merger inquiry Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s competition regulator on Tuesday set out more detail about what it intends to examine in its investigation of the tie-up between the retail power units of energy companies SSE ( SSE.L ) and Innogy’s ( IGY.DE ) Npower. FILE PHOTO: An SSE company logo is seen on signage outside the Pitlochry Dam hydro electric power station in Pitlochry, Scotland, Britain, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said earlier this month it had launched in-depth investigation into the tie-up between the companies, saying it may reduce competition and increase prices for some households. On Tuesday, the CMA said it would consider the impact of the merger on the supply of gas and electricity to customers in Britain. FILE PHOTO: A sign hangs outside the building of electricity provider npower in Solihull, Britain, March 7, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo The CMA will also consider any implications arising from plans for a larger asset swap between Innogy’s parent company RWE ( RWEG.DE ) and E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), which also has a British retail energy business. The CMA will also look at the potential impact on British independent energy supplier Utility Warehouse, which has around 600,000 customers and relies on Npower for is gas and electricity supplies. “This theory of harm considers whether the Merged Entity would have an incentive to raise SVT (standard variable tariff) prices to increase its wholesale prices to Utility Warehouse,” the CMA said. The SSE/Npower merger would create Britain’s second-largest retail power provider and reduce the “Big Six” dominating the market to five companies when they are already facing political scrutiny for high prices. The CMA is expected to issue a final report by Oct 22. Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-29T16:36:00.000+03:00|Indian ministry says state steel firm expanded without approval: document|NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s environment ministry has found that state-controlled Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) expanded a steel plant without its approval, according to a government letter seen by Reuters. The company in January sought the permission from the ministry to expand the plant’s capacity to 6.3 million tonnes a year from 4 million tonnes, but went ahead with the project before receiving clearance, the ministry said in a letter to the steel ministry, which controls RINL. “It is submitted that (RINL) has carried about 90 percent expansion without obtaining requisite prior environmental clearance,” Arun Kumar Mehta, a top bureaucrat in the environment ministry, wrote in the letter dated May 25. Mehta added that RINL flouted environmental rules and hence the company should “initiate necessary exemplary disciplinary action” against officials responsible for the violation. An RINL executive, who declined to be named citing government rules, said the company has been asked to appear before an environment ministry panel in connection with the issue. An RINL spokesman had no immediate comment. The company started out in 1992 with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. It plans to eventually raise the capacity to above 7.3 million tonnes. Editing by Krishna N. Das and Edmund Blair  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/environment|0
2018-05-29T16:59:00.000+03:00|Greece's Piraeus Bank to sell $1.7 billion bad loans to Bain Capital|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s largest lender Piraeus Bank ( BOPr.AT ) said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell a 1.45 billion euro ($1.7 billion)portfolio of secured, non-performing business loans to Bain Capital Credit as part of moves to reduce its bad debts. Greek banks have been under regulatory pressure to tackle their bad debt problem, which restricts their ability to expand credit and help the economy recover, with so-called non-performing exposures (NPEs) being their biggest challenge. Piraeus said the deal, subject to approval by regulators and Greece’s HFSF bank rescue fund, which owns 26.2 percent of the lender, would reduce its NPE ratio by 100 basis points and boost equity capital by 20 basis points. It did not provide further details on the pricing. Piraeus, which holds 32.2 billion euros in non-performing exposures, was advised by UBS on the deal. Greek central bank data shows non-performing exposures fell by 4.7 billion euros to 95.7 billion at the end of December, 43.1 percent of overall loan books. Bain Capital Credit is a credit specialist with about $37 billion in assets under management, investing across credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and non-performing loans (NPLs). Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alexander Smith  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T17:05:00.000+03:00|Britain shares join European sell-off; Dixons hammered|* FTSE falls to lowest level in nearly 3 weeks * Dixons Carphone down 20 pct on profit warning * M&A activity underpins Smiths, IWG By Danilo Masoni MILAN, May 29 (Reuters) - British stocks fell on Tuesday, joining a Europe-wide sell-off triggered by worries over a political crisis in Italy, while a profit warning at Dixons Carphone wiped one fifth off the retailer’s market value. The UK’s top share FTSE 100 index fell 1.1 percent to its lowest level in nearly three weeks, shrugging off a fall in the pound as it resumed trading after a long holiday weekend. The FTSE 250 midcap index fell 1.3 percent. “Even a weaker GBP (typically a boon for FTSE global stocks) and EUR battered by Italian/Spanish geopolitical risks were not sufficient to prop up equities,” said Accendo Markets analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants in a note. Dixons Carphone, which is struggling in a difficult market for selling phones and electrical goods in Britain, warned profits were likely to plunge by a fifth this year and said it would have to close shops to fix itself. The shares in the company, formed in 2014 by the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse, fell 20 percent and it their lowest level since December 2017. “We look forward to a fuller update from the company at the full year results on the company’s plans on 21st June,” said Liberum analysts in a note. “The key question remains as to what, ultimately, the Carphone Warehouse will look like and how profitable this can be. Deeper clarity on management’s strategy could be the next catalyst,” they added. Top fallers on the FTSE were banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, both down more than 3 percent, as financials in Europe were under pressure on worries the next Italian election could turn into a referendum on the euro. Among the few gainers were precious metal miner Fresnillo , up 3.4 percent, tracking a rise in gold prices, while engineering firm Smiths surged to a record high after news it was in early talks over a potential combination of its medical division with U.S.-based ICU Medical. M&A talk also lifted serviced office provider IWG. U.S. real estate investment company Prime Opportunities said IWG had rejected its offer approach for the British serviced office provider, sending its shares up 2 percent. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T17:16:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (May 29)|BRUSSELS, May 29 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — German power grid makers Stadtwerke Olching and Bayernwerk Net to set up two joint ventures (approved May 28) NEW LISTINGS — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE MAY 30 — U.S. cable company Liberty Global to acquire Dutch peer Ziggo (notified April 4/deadline extended to May 30 from May 15 after Liberty Global offered concessions) JUNE 1 — Swiss engineering company ABB to acquire General Electric’s industrial solutions business (notified April 20/deadline June 1) JUNE 8 — Private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire packaging company Walki Holding (notified April 27/deadline June 8/simplified) JUNE 11 — Investment firm HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK insurance broker Capita Specialist Insurance Soluions Ld (notified April 30/deadline June 11/simplified) — U.S. insurer American International Group to acquire Bermuda-based reinsurer Validus Holdings Ltd (notified April 30/deadline June 11/simplified) JUNE 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to June 12 from June 7) — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-29T18:31:00.000+03:00|CORRECTED-OFFICIAL-Shareholders demand Japan's Takeda assuage fears over Shire deal|(Takeda spokesman corrects comment on number of votes needed for proposal to pass to two thirds from half in 3rd paragraph) TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd faces demands from disgruntled shareholders to put to a vote its $62-billion acquisition of London-listed Shire and do more to assuage concerns over the record-breaking deal. The deal “carries overly high risks to the company”, 12 shareholders said in a proposal to be voted on at next month’s annual meeting of shareholders, adding that new shares to be issued to fund the deal threaten “a danger of causing a great disadvantage to existing shareholders”. The Shire deal and any future deals worth more than 1 trillion yen ($9.19 billion) should be put to a shareholder vote, says the proposal - which will need two thirds of the votes at the meeting to pass, according to a Takeda spokesman. Takeda’s board of directors opposes the proposal, according to the company’s notice of convocation that contained the proposal. The drugmaker already plans to put the Shire deal to a vote at an extraordinary general meeting. ($1=108.8300 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Clarence Fernandez/Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T18:31:00.000+03:00|Nepal says to scrap hydropower deal with Chinese firm|KATHMANDU, May 29 (Reuters) - Nepal’s government said on Tuesday it will build a 750 megawatt hydroelectric plant that was earlier cleared to be developed by China’s state-owned Three Gorges International Corp, in a surprise announcement made while laying out the annual budget. “We will mobilize Nepal’s internal resources and build the West Seti hydroelectric project,” the country’s Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada said while unveiling a $12.18 billion annual budget in parliament on Tuesday. The announcement effectively scraps a $1.6 billion plan by the Chinese firm to build the plant on West Seti river in the west of the Himalayan nation, the second such plant to be withdrawn from Chinese builders in six months. Three Gorges, China’s biggest hydropower developer and the operator of the world’s largest hydropower plant at the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze river, could not be immediately contacted for comments on Nepal’s decision. In 2015, Nepal cleared the Chinese firm to build the long-delayed West Seti hydropower project that was scheduled for completion by 2021-22. Power from the facility was to be sold to Nepal which now imports nearly 500 megawatts of electricity from India to offset crippling shortages. According to Nepali officials, work had yet to begin as the Chinese company was haggling with the government for better terms on construction and tariffs. In November last year, Nepal scrapped a $2.5 billion deal with another Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, to build a 1,200 MW hydroelectric plant on the Budhi Gandaki river also in west Nepal. One of the world’s poorest countries, Nepal is opening up its vast hydropower potential to help ease chronic power shortages and develop an economy still emerging from a decade-long civil war and a devastating earthquake that killed 9,000 people in 2015. That has prompted a rush by China and India to invest billions exploiting their neighbour’s rivers. This month, India began the construction of a 900 MW hydro-power project to be built in east Nepal by state-run Indian firm Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited at a cost $1.04 billion during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Nepal. Nepal is estimated to have the potential to generate some 42,000 MW of hydropower, but it currently produces 1,000 MW — less than the demand of about 1,500 MW. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma Editing by Alexandra Hudson)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-29T18:33:00.000+03:00|WellCare Health to buy Meridian for $2.5 billion|May 29, 2018 / 8:33 PM / Updated 2 hours ago WellCare Health to buy Meridian Health Plans for $2.5 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - WellCare Health Plans Inc said on Tuesday it would buy Meridian Health Plans of Michigan and Illinois for $2.5 billion in cash to become the top Medicaid provider in those states. The deal will help WellCare add about 1.07 million Medicaid members in Michigan and Illinois and includes the acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager MeridianRx, WellCare said in a statement. “This transaction strategically aligns with our focus on government-sponsored health plans...,” WellCare Chief Executive Officer Ken Burdick said in a statement. Meridian’s businesses are expected to generate more than $4.3 billion in total revenue in 2018, WellCare said. The deal comes as healthcare payers and pharmacies are responding to a shifting landscape, including changes in the Affordable Care Act, rising drug prices and the threat of competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. In December, U.S. drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp agreed to buy U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring healthcare spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies. U.S. retailer Walmart Inc was reported to have been in early-stage talks in March with health insurer Humana Inc about developing closer ties. The WellCare-Meridian deal would add 40 to 50 cents per share to WellCare’s adjusted earnings in 2019, 70-80 cents per share in 2020, and more than $1.00 per share in 2021. WellCare said it expected to fund the transaction through cash on hand, as well as from issuing new equity of up to $1.2 billion and debt of up to $1 billion. The company also said it had secured $2.5 billion in committed bridge financing. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-29T18:35:00.000+03:00|Portugal antitrust body rejects Altice remedies in Media Capital deal|LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal’s competition authority has rejected a package of market remedies proposed by Dutch-based Altice ( ATCA.AS ) to secure a takeover of Portugal’s Media Capital, owner of the TVI television channel. A spokeswoman at the authority told Reuters the decision “was not final as the company is free to present other remedies.” Altice agreed to buy Media Capital from Spain’s Prisa last year but the operation has faced complaints by rivals, such as NOS ( NOS.LS ) and the local unit of Vodafone ( VOD.L ), who argue it would distort competition in the Portuguese market. The authority has not yet detailed the remedies proposed by Altice to soothe the concerns. Reporting By Catarina Demony, writing by Axel Bugge  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-29T18:42:00.000+03:00|Bayer wins approval to buy U.S. seed and ag chem giant Monsanto|WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Bayer won U.S. antitrust approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto on Tuesday on condition that it sell about $9 billion in assets, the Justice Department said, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal. Reporting by Diane Bartz  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-29T18:48:00.000+03:00|Indian banks ask exporters to close Iran deals due to sanctions|NEW DELHI, May 29 (Reuters) - Two Indian banks have asked exporters to complete their financial transactions with Iran by August in response to the threat of new U.S. sanctions, according to the country’s main exporters’ organisation and bank letters seen by Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month pulled out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions. India and Iran have long-standing political and commercial ties, but New Delhi has been careful to not fall foul of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) said IndusInd and UCO, the two banks facilitating exports to Iran, had set August 6. as the deadline for winding up deals. “IndusInd and UCO bank are telling exporters that you complete all Iran business by August 6,” Ajay Sahai, director general of FIEO, told Reuters. Indian exporters mostly receive payments in rupees for exports to Iran, under a mechanism devised in 2012 when banking channels were restricted due to the U.S. sanctions. India, Iran’s top oil customer after China, had implemented a barter-like scheme that allowed it to make some oil payments to Tehran in rupees through UCO Bank. IndusInd Bank in a May 24 letter, seen by Reuters, asked Indian exporters to provide a declaration from customers that the entire export LC (letter of credit) transaction would be completed before August 6, 2018. An Indian exporter executing Iranian orders worth 90 million rupees said he was worried because he would get some payments in the second half of August. “How does an exporter feel safe? I don’t know whether I will get my money or not,” said the exporter, who did not wish to be identified. He said payment for an Iranian export order normally takes between one to one-and-a-half months. Indian companies receive payments for exports to Iran using the oil payments held in rupee balances at UCO. The mechanism helped India to narrow its trade deficit with Iran from about $11.3 billion in 2011/12 to about $3.5 billion in 2015/16, when the Iran sanctions were lifted. In the fiscal year to March 2017, India’s trade deficit with Iran widened to $8.24 billion, according to the government data. UCO Bank told the exporter mentioned above that payment would be made only if the Iran account had enough money. “Payments will also be subjected to any trade restrictions/currency restrictions being put in place by U.S.A. post 08-05-2018 and as per the Government of India guidelines on the date of claim,” UCO said in its letter to the exporter dated May 29, which was seen by Reuters. UCO Bank chairman R. K. Takkar told Reuters his bank was continuing with the rupee mechanism. He refused to elaborate on the letter issued by his bank, and said Iran had 18 billion rupees in its account with UCO. Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-29T18:49:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-British shares join European sell-off; Dixons hammered|* FTSE falls to lowest level in 3 weeks, down 1.3 pct at close * Dixons Carphone down 20 pct on profit warning * M&A activity underpins Smiths, IWG (Adds detail, updates prices at close) By Danilo Masoni and Kit Rees MILAN, May 29 (Reuters) - British stocks fell on Tuesday, joining a Europe-wide sell-off triggered by worries over a political crisis in Italy, while a profit warning at Dixons Carphone wiped one fifth off the retailer’s market value. The UK’s top share FTSE 100 index ended the session with a 1.3 percent loss, hitting its lowest level in three weeks. The blue chip benchmark shrugged off a fall in the pound as it resumed trading after a long holiday weekend. The FTSE 250 midcap index fell 1.7 percent. “Even a weaker GBP (typically a boon for FTSE global stocks) and EUR battered by Italian/Spanish geopolitical risks were not sufficient to prop up equities,” said Accendo Markets analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants in a note. Dixons Carphone, which is struggling in a difficult market for selling phones and electrical goods in Britain, warned profits were likely to plunge by a fifth this year and said it would have to close shops to fix itself. Shares in the company, formed in 2014 by the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse, plunged 20.7 percent and hit their lowest level since December 2017. “We look forward to a fuller update from the company at the full year results on the company’s plans on 21st June,” said Liberum analysts in a note. “The key question remains as to what, ultimately, the Carphone Warehouse will look like and how profitable this can be. Deeper clarity on management’s strategy could be the next catalyst,” they added. Top fallers on the FTSE included banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, both down more than 3 percent, as financials in Europe were under pressure on worries the next Italian election could turn into a referendum on the euro. Among the few gainers were precious metal miner Fresnillo , up 3.1 percent, tracking a rise in gold prices, while engineering firm Smiths surged to a record high before trimming gains after news it was in early talks over a potential combination of its medical division with U.S.-based ICU Medical. M&A talk also lifted serviced office provider IWG. U.S. real estate investment company Prime Opportunities said IWG had rejected its offer approach for the British serviced office provider, sending its shares up 2 percent. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Kit Rees Editing by Richard Balmforth)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-29T18:51:00.000+03:00|South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill|May 29, 2018 / 3:55 PM / Updated 11 hours ago South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill Reuters Staff 1 Min Read CAPE TOWN, May 29 (Reuters) - South Africa’s parliament on Tuesday passed a national minimum wage bill by an overwhelming majority, a policy championed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as an important step to tackle labor instability and wage inequality. The measure, opposed by the official Democratic Alliance opposition party, will see millions of workers earn 3,500 rand ($277) a month, and had been initially meant to be introduced earlier in May as part of efforts to boost the economy. The bill will be sent to parliament’s upper house for ratification and becomes law once it is signed by Ramaphosa. ($1 = 12.6327 rand) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf Editing by James Macharia) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-05-29T19:15:00.000+03:00|KKR to buy BMC Software|May 29 (Reuters) - Investment firm KKR & Co will buy enterprise software provider BMC Software from an investor group, the companies said on Tuesday. The investor group includes Bain Capital Private Equity, Golden Gate Capital, GIC, Insight Venture Partners and Elliott Management. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal. The New York Post reported here last week the deal was worth about $10 billion. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|1
2018-05-29T19:20:00.000+03:00|Indian banks ask exporters to close Iran deals due to sanctions|May 29, 2018 / 4:23 PM / Updated 10 hours ago Indian banks ask exporters to close Iran deals due to sanctions Reuters Staff 3 Min Read NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Two Indian banks have asked exporters to complete their financial transactions with Iran by August in response to the threat of new U.S. sanctions, according to the country’s main exporters’ organisation and bank letters seen by Reuters. Commuters walk past a bank sign along a road in New Delhi, India, November 25, 2015. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month pulled out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions. India and Iran have long-standing political and commercial ties, but New Delhi has been careful to not fall foul of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) said IndusInd and UCO, the two banks facilitating exports to Iran, had set August 6. as the deadline for winding up deals. “IndusInd and UCO bank are telling exporters that you complete all Iran business by August 6,” Ajay Sahai, director general of FIEO, told Reuters. Indian exporters mostly receive payments in rupees for exports to Iran, under a mechanism devised in 2012 when banking channels were restricted due to the U.S. sanctions. India, Iran’s top oil customer after China, had implemented a barter-like scheme that allowed it to make some oil payments to Tehran in rupees through UCO Bank. IndusInd Bank in a May 24 letter, seen by Reuters, asked Indian exporters to provide a declaration from customers that the entire export LC (letter of credit) transaction would be completed before August 6, 2018. An Indian exporter executing Iranian orders worth 90 million rupees said he was worried because he would get some payments in the second half of August. “How does an exporter feel safe? I don’t know whether I will get my money or not,” said the exporter, who did not wish to be identified. He said payment for an Iranian export order normally takes between one to one-and-a-half months. Indian companies receive payments for exports to Iran using the oil payments held in rupee balances at UCO. The mechanism helped India to narrow its trade deficit with Iran from about $11.3 billion in 2011/12 to about $3.5 billion in 2015/16, when the Iran sanctions were lifted. In the fiscal year to March 2017, India’s trade deficit with Iran widened to $8.24 billion, according to the government data. UCO Bank told the exporter mentioned above that payment would be made only if the Iran account had enough money. “Payments will also be subjected to any trade restrictions/currency restrictions being put in place by U.S.A. post 08-05-2018 and as per the Government of India guidelines on the date of claim,” UCO said in its letter to the exporter dated May 29, which was seen by Reuters. UCO Bank chairman R. K. Takkar told Reuters his bank was continuing with the rupee mechanism. He refused to elaborate on the letter issued by his bank, and said Iran had 18 billion rupees in its account with UCO. Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-29T19:33:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill|May 29, 2018 / 4:35 PM / Updated 3 hours ago UPDATE 1-South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Adds labour minister, details) CAPE TOWN, May 29 (Reuters) - South Africa’s parliament passed a national minimum wage bill on Tuesday by an overwhelming majority, part of an effort by President Cyril Ramaphosa to tackle strikes and wage inequality. The measure, opposed by the official Democratic Alliance (DA) opposition party, will see millions of workers earn 3,500 rand ($277) a month. It was initially meant to be introduced earlier in May in a bid to boost the economy. The bill will be sent to parliament’s upper house for ratification and becomes law once it is signed by Ramaphosa. Supporters of the minimum wage say it will reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth as workers spend more. Critics say it could lead to increased unemployment, already at record highs, because some employers won’t be able to afford higher wage bills. Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said the bill could address the perennial wage inequality and poverty in South Africa. “I am very pleased that the journey towards addressing the plight of the lowest paid workers in the labour market has reached this milestone,” Oliphant told parliament. The minimum wage bill was one of a raft of labour-related bills passed by parliament and which has drawn criticism from some trade unions worried that policies aimed at preventing prolonged and violent strikes contained in the bills would dilute worker rights. Thousands of union members protested against the proposed minimum wage in April, saying it was inadequate. However, labour federation Cosatu, the country’s biggest union which is also part of the ruling alliance with the African National Congress, welcomed parliament’s decision. “The minimum wage of 20 rand per hour will see the wages of 6.4 million South Africans rise. This is equal to 47 percent of workers and will directly benefit half the nation,” Matthew Parks, Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator, said in a statement. Others disagreed. “Clearly this proposed wage will destroy jobs for the marginal workers and most certainly prevent their entrance into the economy,” said Michael Bagraim, the DA’s shadow labour minister during the debate. More than two decades after the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa’s economy is still characterised by deep wealth inequality between whites and blacks and high levels of unemployment. $1 = 12.6327 rand Reporting by Wendell Roelf Editing by James Macharia and Edmund Blair 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-05-29T19:56:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Shareholders demand Japan's Takeda assuage fears over Shire deal|* Proposal says Shire deal could damage existing shareholders * Demands deals over 1 tln yen receive shareholder approval * Takeda board opposes proposal, says would damage competitiveness (Adds details of board’s opposition to proposal) By Sam Nussey TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd faces demands from disgruntled shareholders to put to a vote its $62-billion acquisition of London-listed Shire and do more to assuage concerns over the record-breaking deal. The deal “carries overly high risks to the company” given its size, 12 shareholders said in a proposal to be voted on at next month’s annual shareholders’ meeting, adding that new shares to be issued to fund the deal threaten “a danger of causing a great disadvantage to existing shareholders”. The Shire deal and any future deals worth more than 1 trillion yen ($9.19 billion) should be put to a shareholder vote, says the proposal - which will need two thirds of votes at the meeting to pass, according to a Takeda spokesman. Takeda’s board of directors opposes the proposal, according to the company’s notice of convocation that contained the proposal, saying the need for prior approval for such deals would damage competitiveness and the company’s ability to make decisions. However, the drugmaker already plans to put the Shire deal to a vote at an extraordinary general meeting, with two-thirds support needed. It will also need three-quarters backing from Shire investors. Many investors have been lukewarm on the deal, fearing it will overstretch Takeda’s finances, with shares at the drugmaker trading down more than 25 percent since it first said it was considering bidding for Shire. The proposal was received on April 27, a Takeda spokesman said, before the terms of the Shire deal were announced on May 8. ($1=108.8300 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T20:00:00.000+03:00|Bayer wins U.S. approval for Monsanto deal|FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) after agreeing to sell about $9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas, Venezuela March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo Makan Delrahim, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division, said the asset sales agreed to by Bayer were the “largest ever divestiture ever required by the United States.” A Bayer spokesman said the planned sale of businesses with 2.2 billion euros ($2.54 billion) in sales to BASF already agreed to address antitrust concerns, mainly in Europe, were not materially different from the DoJ’s demands. “Receipt of the DOJ’s approval brings us close to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement. Shares in Bayer jumped to the top of Germany's DAX .GDAXI index in early Wednesday trading and were trading up 2.8 percent at 101.6 euros by 0833 GMT. Bernstein analysts said the DoJ approval made it possible for Bayer to close the Monsanto deal by the end of June. After months of delays in a drawn-out review process the ruling brings Bayer close to creating an agricultural supplies giant with sales of about 20 billion euros, based on 2017 figures, when taking into account the divestments. At current foreign exchange rates, that compares to about 12.4 billion euros at DowDuPont’s ( DWDP.N ) Corteva Agriscience unit, 11 billion euros at ChemChina’s Syngenta and 7.9 billion at BASF, including businesses to be acquired. Related Coverage Bayer says EU approves BASF as buyer of antitrust divestments Bayer’s move to combine its crop chemicals business, the world’s second-largest after Syngenta AG SYNN.S, with Monsanto’s industry-leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals tie-ups. U.S. chemicals giants Dow Chemical DOW.N and DuPont merged in September 2017 and are now in the process of splitting into three units. In other consolidation in the sector, China’s state-owned ChemChina purchased Syngenta and two huge Canadian fertilizer producers merged to form a new company, now called Nutrien ( NTR.TO ). Bayer committed to selling its entire cotton, canola, soybean and vegetable seeds businesses and digital farming business, as well its Liberty herbicide, which competes with Monsanto’s Roundup. Under agreements with European and other antitrust enforcers, Bayer agreed to sell assets with revenues of 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), to rival BASF ( BASFn.DE ) for 7.6 billion euros. Bayer said in a statement it expected Bayer and Monsanto to begin the integration process as soon as the sales to BASF are complete, which it said are expected to take two months to complete. If Bayer does not close the deal by June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. It has already secured the go-ahead from key jurisdictions, including the European Union, Brazil and Russia. Apart from the United States, it still needs clearance in Canada and Mexico. In a separate statement, Bayer said on Tuesday said the European Commission had approved BASF as a suitable buyer of the businesses to be divested. German seed seller KWS Saat ( KWSG.DE ), which had made an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s vegetable seed business, said on Wednesday it accepted the Commission’s decision. Bayer last week said synergies from folding Monsanto into its organization would be about $300 million below its previous target because it will have to sell more businesses than initially expected. Additional reporting by Patricia Weiss; Editing by Mark Potter, Dan Grebler and David Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-05-29T20:08:00.000+03:00|Nepal says to scrap hydropower deal with Chinese firm|May 29, 2018 / 5:13 PM / Updated 9 hours ago Nepal says to scrap hydropower deal with Chinese firm Gopal Sharma 3 Min Read KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal’s government said on Tuesday it will build a 750 megawatt hydroelectric plant that was earlier cleared to be developed by China’s state-owned Three Gorges International Corp, in a surprise announcement made while laying out the annual budget. FILE PHOTO: A worker installs new cables on an electric pole in Kathmandu September 15, 2014. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar/File Photo “We will mobilize Nepal’s internal resources and build the West Seti hydroelectric project,” the country’s Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada said while unveiling a $12.18 billion annual budget in parliament on Tuesday. The announcement effectively scraps a $1.6 billion plan by the Chinese firm to build the plant on West Seti river in the west of the Himalayan nation, the second such plant to be withdrawn from Chinese builders in six months. Three Gorges, China’s biggest hydropower developer and the operator of the world’s largest hydropower plant at the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze river, could not be immediately contacted for comments on Nepal’s decision. In 2015, Nepal cleared the Chinese firm to build the long-delayed West Seti hydropower project that was scheduled for completion by 2021-22. Power from the facility was to be sold to Nepal which now imports nearly 500 megawatts of electricity from India to offset crippling shortages. According to Nepali officials, work had yet to begin as the Chinese company was haggling with the government for better terms on construction and tariffs. In November last year, Nepal scrapped a $2.5 billion deal with another Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, to build a 1,200 MW hydroelectric plant on the Budhi Gandaki river also in west Nepal. One of the world’s poorest countries, Nepal is opening up its vast hydropower potential to help ease chronic power shortages and develop an economy still emerging from a decade-long civil war and a devastating earthquake that killed 9,000 people in 2015. That has prompted a rush by China and India to invest billions exploiting their neighbour’s rivers. This month, India began the construction of a 900 MW hydro-power project to be built in east Nepal by state-run Indian firm Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited at a cost $1.04 billion during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Nepal. Nepal is estimated to have the potential to generate some 42,000 MW of hydropower, but it currently produces 1,000 MW — less than the demand of about 1,500 MW. Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Alexandra Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INsouthAsiaNews|0
2018-05-29T20:20:00.000+03:00|Shipper BW LPG offers to buy Dorian LPG in $1.1 bln deal|OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s BW LPG, the world’s largest liquid petroleum gas shipper, said on Tuesday it had offered to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market. Dorian shareholders will receive 2.05 BW LPG shares for each Dorian share, equal to $7.86 per share, a premium of 13 percent from Friday’s closing price, and based on BW LPG’s share price on May 28. Shares of Dorian closed 5.2 percent higher at $7.32, its best day since December 2017. In a separate statement, Dorian confirmed BW LPG’s “unsolicited proposal”, adding that its board was reviewing the offer. New York-listed Dorian LPG’s equity is valued at about $441 million and including debt the transaction is valued at $1.1 billion. The deal is backed by shipping conglomerate BW Group, owned by the Hong Kong-based Sohmen-Pao family, which owns 14.2 percent of Dorian and about 45 percent of BW LPG. Dorian LPG’s fleet consists of 22 very large gas carriers (VLGC) and the combined company would own 73 vessels, of which 68 would be very large gas carriers, 2 VLGCs currently under order and 3 large gas carriers if the deal goes through. BW LPG said it expected minimum annual savings of $15 million from the deal. Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord; Editing by Adrian Croft and Anil D'Silva  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T20:20:00.000+03:00|Bayer says EU approves BASF as buyer of antitrust divestments|FRANKFURT, May 29 (Reuters) - Bayer said on Tuesday said the European Commission had approved BASF as a suitable buyer of the businesses Bayer will divest to win regulatory approval for the planned acquisition of Monsanto. The EU commission, which is Europe’s antitrust regulator, ruled in March that the assets Bayer agreed to shed are sufficient to approve the Monsanto deal, but it had yet to give a final nod on whether BASF would sufficiently stoke competition as new owner. Bayer is close to wrapping up the Monsanto deal following months of delays. Earlier on Tuesday it won conditional U.S. antitrust approval for the $62.5 billion transaction. Reporting by Ludwig Burger Editing by Mark Heinrich  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-29T20:24:00.000+03:00|Saudi Cabinet approves measure criminalising sexual harassment|DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure criminalising sexual harassment, the state news agency SPA reported, weeks before a decades-old ban on women driving is set to expire. Saudi Arabia women arrive to a rally to celebrate the 87th annual National Day of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser The legislation, which awaits an expected royal decree to become law, is the latest in a series of reforms that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has initiated in a bid to modernise the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. Prince Mohammed is also trying to diversify the Arab world’s largest economy away from oil exports and open up Saudis’ cloistered lifestyles by easing strict social rules and promoting entertainment. The anti-harassment measure, which was approved on Monday by the Shura Council advisory body, introduces a jail sentence of up to five years and a 300,000 riyals ($80,000) fine. “(The legislation) aims at combating the crime of harassment, preventing it, applying punishment against perpetrators and protecting the victims in order to safeguard the individual’s privacy, dignity and personal freedom which are guaranteed by Islamic law and regulations,” a statement from the Shura Council said. Last year’s decision to end the ban on women driving cars, set to take effect on June 24, has been hailed as proof of a progressive trend in the kingdom. But earlier this month, authorities arrested nearly a dozen women’s rights campaigners who had previously agitated for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system. The United Nations called on the Saudi government on Tuesday to provide information about the detained activists, disclose their locations and ensure their rights. ($1 = 3.7503 riyals) Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Peter Cooney  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-29T20:26:00.000+03:00|Bayer wins U.S. approval for Monsanto deal|May 29, 2018 / 11:40 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago Bayer wins U.S. approval for Monsanto deal Patricia Weiss , Diane Bartz 3 Min Read FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) won U.S. antitrust approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) on condition that it sells about $9 billion (6.8 billion pounds) in assets, the Justice Department said on Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal. FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas, Venezuela March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo The divestiture required by U.S. antitrust enforcers “aligns closely” with divestitures the European Union required, according to a source knowledgeable about the agreement between Bayer and the U.S. government. Makan Delrahim, who heads the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, said the asset sales agreed to by Bayer were the “largest ever divestiture ever required by the United States.” Related Coverage Bayer says EU approves BASF as buyer of antitrust divestments In agreements with global antitrust enforcers, Bayer committed to sell its entire cotton, canola, soybean and vegetable seeds businesses and digital farming business, as well its Liberty herbicide, which competes with Monsanto’s Roundup. Under agreements with European and other antitrust enforcers, Bayer has agreed to sell assets that include its seed and some crop chemicals activities, with revenues of 2.2 billion euros (£1.9 billion), to rival BASF ( BASFn.DE ) for 7.6 billion euros. Bayer said in a statement that it expected Bayer and Monsanto to begin the integration process as soon as the sales to BASF are complete, which it said are expected to take two months to complete. The German pharmaceuticals and life sciences company had said it was on track to wrap up the deal soon. If it is not closed by June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. Bayer has already secured the go-ahead from key jurisdictions, including the European Union, Brazil and Russia. Apart from the United States, it still needs clearance in Canada and Mexico. Bayer last week said synergies from folding Monsanto into its organisation would be about $300 million below its previous target because it will have to sell more businesses than initially expected. “Receipt of the DOJ’s (Justice Department’s) approval brings us close to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement. Ludwig Burger; Editing by Mark Potter and Dan Grebler|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-05-29T21:06:00.000+03:00|British regulator lays out scope of SSE/Npower merger inquiry|LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Britain’s competition regulator on Tuesday set out more detail about what it intends to examine in its investigation of the tie-up between the retail power units of energy companies SSE and Innogy’s Npower. * The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said earlier this month it had launched in-depth investigation into the tie-up between the companies, saying it may reduce competition and increase prices for some households. [nL8N1SF1LQ} * On Tuesday, the CMA said it would consider the impact of the merger on the supply of gas and electricity to customers in Britain. * The CMA will also consider any implications arising from plans for a larger asset swap between Innogy’s parent company RWE and E.ON, which also has a British retail energy business. * The CMA will also look at the potential impact on British independent energy supplier Utility Warehouse, which has around 600,000 customers and relies on Npower for is gas and electricity supplies. * “This theory of harm considers whether the Merged Entity would have an incentive to raise SVT (standard variable tariff) prices to increase its wholesale prices to Utility Warehouse,” the CMA said. * The SSE/Npower merger would create Britain’s second-largest retail power provider and reduce the “Big Six” dominating the market to five companies when they are already facing political scrutiny for high prices. * The CMA is expected to issue a final report by Oct 22. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-29T21:09:00.000+03:00|Bayer wins U.S. nod for Monsanto deal to create agriculture giant|May 29, 2018 / 11:57 AM / Updated an hour ago Bayer wins U.S. nod for Monsanto deal to create agriculture giant Diane Bartz , Ludwig Burger 4 Min Read FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) after agreeing to sell about $9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas, Venezuela March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo Makan Delrahim, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division, said the asset sales agreed to by Bayer were the “largest ever divestiture ever required by the United States.” A Bayer spokesman said the planned sale of businesses with 2.2 billion euros ($2.54 billion) in sales to BASF already agreed to address antitrust concerns, mainly in Europe, were not materially different from the DoJ’s demands. “Receipt of the DOJ’s approval brings us close to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement. After months of delays in a drawn-out review process the ruling brings Bayer close to creating an agricultural supplies giant with sales of about 20 billion euros, based on 2017 figures, when taking into account the divestments. At current foreign exchange rates, that compares to about 12.4 billion euros at DowDuPont’s ( DWDP.N ) Corteva Agriscience unit, 11 billion euros at ChemChina’s Syngenta and 7.9 billion at BASF, including businesses to be acquired. Bayer’s move to combine its crop chemicals business, the world’s second-largest after Syngenta AG SYNN.S, with Monsanto’s industry-leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals tie-ups. U.S. chemicals giants Dow Chemical DOW.N and DuPont merged in September 2017 and are now in the process of splitting into three units. In other consolidation in the sector, China’s state-owned ChemChina purchased Syngenta and two huge Canadian fertilizer producers merged to form a new company, now called Nutrien ( NTR.TO ). Bayer committed to selling its entire cotton, canola, soybean and vegetable seeds businesses and digital farming business, as well its Liberty herbicide, which competes with Monsanto’s Roundup. Under agreements with European and other antitrust enforcers, Bayer agreed to sell assets with revenues of 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), to rival BASF ( BASFn.DE ) for 7.6 billion euros. Bayer said in a statement it expected Bayer and Monsanto to begin the integration process as soon as the sales to BASF are complete, which it said are expected to take two months to complete. If Bayer does not close the deal by June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. It has already secured the go-ahead from key jurisdictions, including the European Union, Brazil and Russia. Apart from the United States, it still needs clearance in Canada and Mexico. In a separate statement, Bayer said on Tuesday said the European Commission had approved BASF as a suitable buyer of the businesses to be divested. Bayer last week said synergies from folding Monsanto into its organization would be about $300 million below its previous target because it will have to sell more businesses than initially expected. ($1 = 0.8668 euros)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-05-29T21:54:00.000+03:00|ANZ Bank New Zealand sells life insurance business to Cigna Corp|(Reuters) - ANZ Bank New Zealand agreed to sell its New Zealand life insurance business to U.S-listed Cigna Corp ( CI.N ) for NZ$700 million ($482.4 million), as its parent boosts its capital base by hiving off non-core businesses. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is pictured on a local branch in Sydney in this April 30, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo ANZ Bank New Zealand said the deal to sell OnePath Life NZ would add about 5 basis points to the level 1 CET ratio of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ). The deal would generate a gain on sale of around NZ$50 million, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The transaction marks ANZ’s second disposal this month, after it sold a majority stake in a Cambodian joint venture to Japan’s J Trust ( 8508.T ). This follows a trend among major Australian banks to offload non-core businesses to trim their capital requirements and simplify business structure. National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ) said earlier this month it was looking to exit part of its wealth management arm by 2019. ANZ New Zealand said the deal included a 20-year strategic alliance for Cigna to provide insurance to ANZ Bank customers. It added that current policy holders would continue with existing coverage. Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-29T23:29:00.000+03:00|WellCare Health to buy Meridian for $2.5 bln|(Reuters) - WellCare Health Plans Inc said on Tuesday it would buy Meridian Health Plans of Michigan and Illinois for $2.5 billion in cash to become the top Medicaid provider in those states. The deal will help WellCare add about 1.07 million Medicaid members in Michigan and Illinois and includes the acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager MeridianRx, WellCare said in a statement. “This transaction strategically aligns with our focus on government-sponsored health plans...,” WellCare Chief Executive Officer Ken Burdick said in a statement. Meridian’s businesses are expected to generate more than $4.3 billion in total revenue in 2018, WellCare said. The deal comes as healthcare payers and pharmacies are responding to a shifting landscape, including changes in the Affordable Care Act, rising drug prices and the threat of competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. In December, U.S. drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp agreed to buy U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring healthcare spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies. U.S. retailer Walmart Inc was reported to have been in early-stage talks in March with health insurer Humana Inc about developing closer ties. The WellCare-Meridian deal would add 40 to 50 cents per share to WellCare’s adjusted earnings in 2019, 70-80 cents per share in 2020, and more than $1.00 per share in 2021. WellCare said it expected to fund the transaction through cash on hand, as well as from issuing new equity of up to $1.2 billion and debt of up to $1 billion. The company also said it had secured $2.5 billion in committed bridge financing. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-29T23:59:00.000+03:00|PRECIOUS-Gold gains as Italy crisis drives safe-haven buying|"BENGALURU, May 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as political turmoil in Italy and concerns over Sino-U.S. trade conflict spurred safe-haven demand. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold had risen 0.3 percent to $1,301.98 per ounce by 0125 GMT. * U.S. gold futures for June delivery were up 0.2 percent at $1,301.50 per ounce. * Italy may hold repeat elections as early as July after the man asked to be prime minister failed to secure support from major political parties for even a stop-gap government, sources said on Tuesday, as markets tumbled on the growing political turmoil. * The United States said on Tuesday that it still holds the threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and will use it unless Beijing addresses the issue of theft of American intellectual property. * Asian shares looked set for a sharp fall on Wednesday as Italy's political crisis provoked a sell-off on Wall Street, sent the euro to a 10-month low and spiked borrowing costs for the government in Rome. * U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields posted their largest one-day drop on Tuesday since Britain voted to exit the European Union nearly two years ago. * The U.S. Federal Reserve will have difficulty raising interest rates significantly beyond the settings of its Japanese and European counterparts, which are still pursuing accommodative policy, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Tuesday. * U.S. interest rates futures rallied on Tuesday as traders slashed their expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise key overnight borrowing costs three more times in 2018 as Italy's political situation threatens European economic growth. * A top North Korean official was headed to New York on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. * Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.35 percent to 851.45 tonnes on Tuesday. * Shandong Gold Group Co Ltd , China's largest gold producer, is hunting for gold around the world and is ""looking forward to investing in Peru"", the chairman of the company said during a presentation Tuesday. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0600 Germany Import prices April 0600 Germany Retail sales April 0645 France Detailed GDP Q1 0645 France Consumer spending April 0800 Germany Unemployment rate May 0900 Euro zone Business climate May 1200 Germany Consumer prices May 1215 U.S. ADP national employment May 1230 U.S. GDP 2nd estimate Q1 1230 U.S. Goods trade balance April 1230 U.S. Wholesale inventories April 1800 Federal Reserve issues Beige Book on economic condition (Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru Editing by Joseph Radford)  "|https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-05-30T00:04:00.000+03:00|South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill|CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa’s parliament passed a national minimum wage bill on Tuesday by an overwhelming majority, part of an effort by President Cyril Ramaphosa to tackle strikes and wage inequality. The measure, opposed by the official Democratic Alliance (DA) opposition party, will see millions of workers earn 3,500 rand ($277) a month. It was initially meant to be introduced earlier in May in a bid to boost the economy. The bill will be sent to parliament’s upper house for ratification and becomes law once it is signed by Ramaphosa. Supporters of the minimum wage say it will reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth as workers spend more. Critics say it could lead to increased unemployment, already at record highs, because some employers won’t be able to afford higher wage bills. Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said the bill could address the perennial wage inequality and poverty in South Africa. “I am very pleased that the journey towards addressing the plight of the lowest paid workers in the labor market has reached this milestone,” Oliphant told parliament. The minimum wage bill was one of a raft of labor-related bills passed by parliament and which has drawn criticism from some trade unions worried that policies aimed at preventing prolonged and violent strikes contained in the bills would dilute worker rights. Thousands of union members protested against the proposed minimum wage in April, saying it was inadequate. However, labor federation Cosatu, the country’s biggest union which is also part of the ruling alliance with the African National Congress, welcomed parliament’s decision. “The minimum wage of 20 rand per hour will see the wages of 6.4 million South Africans rise. This is equal to 47 percent of workers and will directly benefit half the nation,” Matthew Parks, Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator, said in a statement. Others disagreed. “Clearly this proposed wage will destroy jobs for the marginal workers and most certainly prevent their entrance into the economy,” said Michael Bagraim, the DA’s shadow labor minister during the debate. More than two decades after the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa’s economy is still characterised by deep wealth inequality between whites and blacks and high levels of unemployment. Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia and Edmund Blair  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-30T00:07:00.000+03:00|WellCare Health to buy Meridian for $2.5 billion|May 29, 2018 / 8:32 PM / Updated 13 hours ago WellCare Health to buy Meridian Health Plans for $2.5 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - WellCare Health Plans Inc said on Tuesday it would buy Meridian Health Plans of Michigan and Illinois for $2.5 billion in cash to become the top Medicaid provider in those states. The deal will help WellCare add about 1.07 million Medicaid members in Michigan and Illinois and includes the acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager MeridianRx, WellCare said in a statement. “This transaction strategically aligns with our focus on government-sponsored health plans...,” WellCare Chief Executive Officer Ken Burdick said in a statement. Meridian’s businesses are expected to generate more than $4.3 billion in total revenue in 2018, WellCare said. The deal comes as healthcare payers and pharmacies are responding to a shifting landscape, including changes in the Affordable Care Act, rising drug prices and the threat of competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. In December, U.S. drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp agreed to buy U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring healthcare spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies. U.S. retailer Walmart Inc was reported to have been in early-stage talks in March with health insurer Humana Inc about developing closer ties. The WellCare-Meridian deal would add 40 to 50 cents per share to WellCare’s adjusted earnings in 2019, 70-80 cents per share in 2020, and more than $1.00 per share in 2021. WellCare said it expected to fund the transaction through cash on hand, as well as from issuing new equity of up to $1.2 billion and debt of up to $1 billion. The company also said it had secured $2.5 billion in committed bridge financing. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKhealth/|1
2018-05-30T00:35:00.000+03:00|Altice refuses to propose new remedies in Media Capital deal|LISBON, May 29 (Reuters) - Dutch-based Altice will not propose any new market remedies to secure a takeover of Media Capital after its earlier proposals were rejected by Portugal’s antitrust authority, but will still pursue the deal, Altice said on Tuesday. The authority told Reuters earlier its decision “was not final as the company is free to present other remedies.” In a statement, Altice Portugal said it disagreed with the regulator’s decision and was ready to provide all explanations to the authorities in order to still be able to proceed with the deal agreed with Spain’s Prisa last year for Media Capital, which owns the TVI television channel. (Reporting By Catarina Demony, writing by Andrei Khalip)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-30T00:49:00.000+03:00|BHP-Mitsubishi JV to sell Australia coal mine to Japan's Sojitz|(Reuters) - Global miner BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) said on Wednesday that its joint venture with a unit of Mitsubishi Corp ( 8058.T ) would sell a coal mine in Queensland in Australia to Japan’s Sojitz Corp ( 2768.T ) for A$100 million ($74.89 million). FILE PHOTO: A sign adorns the building where mining company BHP Billiton has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo/File Photo The Gregory Crinum hard coking coal mine had ceased production by the end of 2015. BHP said its annual capacity was 6 million tonnes prior to that. “(The BHP-Mitsubishi alliance) made the decision to sell the mine after a detailed review that concluded there is potential for another party to realize greater value (there),” BHP said in a statement. BHP’s Australia-listed shares were 0.8 percent lower on Wednesday, in line with the broader market. Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T01:01:00.000+03:00|Nikkei tumbles to 6-week low on Italian crisis; BOJ's ETF buying expected|TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average tumbled to six-week lows on Wednesday morning after political turmoil in Italy sparked concerns about the stability of the euro zone, hurting most sectors on the board. Traders said they expected the Bank of Japan to buy exchange-traded funds to support the market amid the morning weakness. The BOJ had bought ETFs for five straight sessions up until Tuesday as part of its wider policy of supporting asset prices in the economy. The Nikkei dropped 1.4 percent to 22,043.53 in midmorning trade, after falling to a six-week low of 21,931.65. The Nikkei managed to stay above its 75-day moving average of 21,920.77, which has become the index’s immediate support level. Sources close to some of Italy’s main parties said Italy may hold repeat elections as early as July after the man asked to be prime minister failed to secure support from major political parties for even a stop-gap government. The political crisis in Rome, and the threat to the euro project it represents, triggered a rush to safe havens like U.S. debt and the Japanese yen. “The Italian political problems triggered global investors’ risk-off stances. Exporters and financials are hard hit and they will likely remain vulnerable,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Insurers and banks, which have invested in higher-yielding foreign bonds due to low yield environment in Japan, underperformed and stumbled 3.0 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Sompo Holdings shed 2.6 percent, Dai-ichi Life Holdings declined 4.2 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 3.4 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group declined 2.6 percent. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields on Tuesday posted their largest one-day drop in nearly two years. Exporters were under pressure as the dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 108.38 yen, edging towards a five-week low of 108.115 yen hit the previous day. Toyota Motor Corp dropped 2.1 percent, Mazda Motor Corp stumbled 3.0 percent and Hitachi Ltd shed 3.0 percent. The broader Topix dropped 1.6 percent to 1,734.08. Editing by Sam Holmes  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-05-30T01:21:00.000+03:00|Shipper BW LPG offers to buy Dorian LPG in $1.1 bln deal|OSLO, May 29 (Reuters) - The world’s largest liquid petroleum gas (LPG) shipper, Norway’s BW LPG, is offering to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Dorian shareholders will receive 2.05 BW LPG shares for each Dorian share, equal to $7.86 per share, a premium of 13 percent from Friday’s closing price, and based on BW LPG’s share price on May 28. New York-listed Dorian LPG’s equity is valued at about $441 million and including debt the transaction is valued at $1.1 billion. The deal is backed by shipping conglomerate BW Group, owned by the Hong Kong-based Sohmen-Pao family, which owns 14.2 percent of Dorian and about 45 percent of BW LPG. Dorian LPG’s fleet consists of 22 very large gas carriers (VLGC) and the combined company would own 73 vessels, of which 68 would be very large gas carriers, 2 VLGCs currently under order and 3 large gas carriers if the deal goes through. There was no immediate response from Dorian, whose shares rose 6.2 percent on the news to $7.39. (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord; Editing by Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-30T01:21:00.000+03:00|Saudi Cabinet approves measure criminalizing sexual harassment|May 29, 2018 / 10:23 PM / Updated an hour ago Saudi Cabinet approves measure criminalizing sexual harassment Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure criminalizing sexual harassment, the state news agency SPA reported, weeks before a decades-old ban on women driving is set to expire. FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman leaves the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo The legislation, which awaits an expected royal decree to become law, is the latest in a series of reforms that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has initiated in a bid to modernise the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. Prince Mohammed is also trying to diversify the Arab world’s largest economy away from oil exports and open up Saudis’ cloistered lifestyles by easing strict social rules and promoting entertainment. The anti-harassment measure, which was approved on Monday by the Shura Council advisory body, introduces a jail sentence of up to five years and a 300,000 riyals (£60,345) fine. “(The legislation) aims at combating the crime of harassment, preventing it, applying punishment against perpetrators and protecting the victims in order to safeguard the individual’s privacy, dignity and personal freedom which are guaranteed by Islamic law and regulations,” a statement from the Shura Council said. Last year’s decision to end the ban on women driving cars, set to take effect on June 24, has been hailed as proof of a progressive trend in the kingdom. But earlier this month, authorities arrested nearly a dozen women’s rights campaigners who had previously agitated for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system. The United Nations called on the Saudi government on Tuesday to provide information about the detained activists, disclose their locations and ensure their rights. Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Peter Cooney|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-05-30T01:21:00.000+03:00|Saudi Cabinet approves measure criminalizing sexual harassment|May 29, 2018 / 10:25 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Saudi Cabinet approves measure criminalizing sexual harassment Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure criminalizing sexual harassment, the state news agency SPA reported, weeks before a decades-old ban on women driving is set to expire. FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman leaves the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo The legislation, which awaits an expected royal decree to become law, is the latest in a series of reforms that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has initiated in a bid to modernise the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. Prince Mohammed is also trying to diversify the Arab world’s largest economy away from oil exports and open up Saudis’ cloistered lifestyles by easing strict social rules and promoting entertainment. The anti-harassment measure, which was approved on Monday by the Shura Council advisory body, introduces a jail sentence of up to five years and a 300,000 riyals (£60,345) fine. “(The legislation) aims at combating the crime of harassment, preventing it, applying punishment against perpetrators and protecting the victims in order to safeguard the individual’s privacy, dignity and personal freedom which are guaranteed by Islamic law and regulations,” a statement from the Shura Council said. Last year’s decision to end the ban on women driving cars, set to take effect on June 24, has been hailed as proof of a progressive trend in the kingdom. But earlier this month, authorities arrested nearly a dozen women’s rights campaigners who had previously agitated for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system. The United Nations called on the Saudi government on Tuesday to provide information about the detained activists, disclose their locations and ensure their rights. Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Peter Cooney 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-30T01:23:00.000+03:00|Bayer says EU approves BASF as buyer of antitrust divestments|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said on Tuesday said the European Commission had approved BASF ( BASFn.DE ) as a suitable buyer of the businesses Bayer will divest to win regulatory approval for the planned acquisition of Monsanto. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender//File Photo The EU commission, which is Europe’s antitrust regulator, ruled in March that the assets Bayer agreed to shed are sufficient to approve the Monsanto deal, but it had yet to give a final nod on whether BASF would sufficiently stoke competition as new owner. Bayer is close to wrapping up the Monsanto deal following months of delays. Earlier on Tuesday it won conditional U.S. antitrust approval for the $62.5 billion transaction. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T01:23:00.000+03:00|Saudi Cabinet approves measure criminalizing sexual harassment|DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure criminalizing sexual harassment, the state news agency SPA reported, weeks before a decades-old ban on women driving is set to expire. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 10, 2018. Yoan Valat/Pool via Reuters The legislation, which awaits an expected royal decree to become law, is the latest in a series of reforms that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has initiated in a bid to modernize the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. Prince Mohammed is also trying to diversify the Arab world’s largest economy away from oil exports and open up Saudis’ cloistered lifestyles by easing strict social rules and promoting entertainment. The anti-harassment measure, which was approved on Monday by the Shura Council advisory body, introduces a jail sentence of up to five years and a 300,000 riyals ($80,000) fine. “(The legislation) aims at combating the crime of harassment, preventing it, applying punishment against perpetrators and protecting the victims in order to safeguard the individual’s privacy, dignity and personal freedom which are guaranteed by Islamic law and regulations,” a statement from the Shura Council said. Last year’s decision to end the ban on women driving cars, set to take effect on June 24, has been hailed as proof of a progressive trend in the kingdom. But earlier this month, authorities arrested nearly a dozen women’s rights campaigners who had previously agitated for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system. The United Nations called on the Saudi government on Tuesday to provide information about the detained activists, disclose their locations and ensure their rights. Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Peter Cooney  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-05-30T01:59:00.000+03:00|Facebook's size no barrier to deals in new areas: executive|May 30, 2018 / 3:59 AM / Updated 15 hours ago Facebook's size no barrier to deals in new areas: executive David Ingram 2 Min Read RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc believes it could acquire other large companies without running afoul of antitrust enforcers if the world’s largest social media network chose to enter a new market, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said on Tuesday. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, addresses the Facebook Gather conference in Brussels, Belgium January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Files Sandberg was asked on stage by a journalist at the Code Conference whether Facebook, because of its size, would be allowed in the future to buy companies as it has such as virtual reality firm Oculus and messaging service WhatsApp. “It really depends what it is. If it was in something that wasn’t core to what we were doing and a new area, like Oculus was, I think it would probably be allowed,” Sandberg said. She gave no indication that a deal was forthcoming. Facebook, one of the largest corporations by market capitalization, has grown in part through acquisitions. In 2014 it bought WhatsApp for $22 billion and Oculus for $3 billion, but has not made a similar purchase since. It bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. EU regulators have expressed concern about a plan by Facebook and WhatsApp to begin sharing users’ phone numbers and other data. Sandberg said sharing data between the two services had benefits, such as catching people who exploit children, and that Facebook should not be broken up. “If you are doing child-exploitative content, WhatsApp’s encrypted, but we know who you are from Facebook. We can take your account down on WhatsApp, too,” she said. The logo of Facebook is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/Files Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Stephen Coates|https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-05-30T02:26:00.000+03:00|Brazil, Petrobras near rights-transfer deal: deputy minister|RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Brazil’s government are “very close” to resolving a long-running dispute over an oil-rich offshore area, a deputy minister said, dismissing concerns a fuel pricing crisis had emerged as an obstacle in talks. FILE PHOTO: Tanks of Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company are seen in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File photo On Sunday, Brazilian President Michel Temer offered new fuel subsidies to soften the blow from a run-up in diesel prices that has sparked a nationwide truckers’ protest, paralyzing the country’s economy. His government also promised to compensate Petrobras for losses it may incur by abandoning a market-focused pricing policy. The offers of the subsidies fanned fears among investors that the turmoil could delay Petrobras’ bid to conclude a longstanding compensation dispute with the government over the so-called transfer-of-rights area, dimming hopes for a windfall for the world’s most indebted oil company. Despite overlapping with the truckers’ strike, talks “were not suspended,” Deputy Mining and Energy Minister Marcio Felix told Reuters late on Monday. “There are just a few sticking points ... They are very close.” Earlier this month, a Brazilian paper reported that Petrobras was likely to get the rights to produce an additional 1 billion to 2 billion barrels of oil to settle the dispute. Resolving the dispute would let the cash-strapped government, which is expected to be ousted in elections in October, raise extra revenue to close a huge budget gap by auctioning off the rights to billions of barrels of oil. Following a resolution of the dispute, Felix said such an auction could still be possible in November, before the current government turns over power to a new president in January. He emphasized that the goal was shared by Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente, who has been rumored to be considering resigning from the company he is credited with turning around after a massive corruption scandal and years of mismanagement. “Transfer-of rights would be a crowning achievement for him after two years in management,” Felix said, adding that “it would not be good for him to leave now.” The dispute has its roots in a 2010 deal under which Brazil’s government granted Petrobras rights to extract 5 billion barrels of oil and gas from under a thick layer of salt beneath the ocean floor for a price based on oil prices then. However, the contract stipulated that costs, among other things, would be reviewed after the area was declared commercially viable in 2014. That has led to years of sparring, as oil prices have fluctuated. Oil executives say a bid round for the remaining areas would draw enormous bids, thanks to top notch geology and lack of risk. Additional reporting by Maria Clara Pestre; Editing by Paul Simao  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T02:42:00.000+03:00|ANZ Bank New Zealand sells life insurance business to Cigna Corp|May 30 (Reuters) - ANZ Bank New Zealand on Wednesday agreed to sell its New Zealand life insurance business to U.S-listed Cigna Corp for NZ$700 million ($482.4 million). Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s New Zealand unit said the deal to sell OnePath Life NZ would add about 5 basis points to the parent’s level 1 CET ratio. It added the deal would generate a gain on sale of around NZ$50 million. ($1 = 1.4512 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-30T03:00:00.000+03:00|Prosecutor to announce details of deal reached with Missouri governor - techinfopk|Prosecutor to announce details of deal reached with Missouri governor By 0 (Reuters) – A St. Louis prosecutor is about to make public particulars of a deal she reached on a felony cost towards Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on Wednesday, a day after he introduced his resignation after his quick tenure as governor grew to become embroiled in scandal. FILE PHOTO: Missouri Governor Eric Greitens seen at an industrial web site on this undated picture from his social media web site made out there Could 30, 2017. Workplace of the Missouri Governor/Handout through REUTERS The 44-year-old first-term governor, who was seen as a rising star within the Republican Occasion, abruptly resigned on Tuesday amid accusations stemming from an extramarital affair and his political fundraising. Greitens was charged a month in the past with felony laptop tampering. He’s accused of illegally acquiring a donor checklist to assist his 2016 election marketing campaign from a veterans’ charity he based in 2007. St. Louis Circuit Legal professional Kim Gardner stated in a press release to native media on Tuesday that she has been involved with the governor’s protection group and that she has “reached a good and simply decision of the pending costs.” Greitens, a former Navy SEAL commando, confronted the potential of changing into the primary Missouri governor to be impeached because the Republican-controlled Missouri Common Meeting started a particular session on Could 18 to think about what disciplinary steps to take towards him. FILE PHOTO: Missouri Governor Eric Greitens seems in a police reserving picture in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., February 22, 2018. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Dept./Handout through REUTERS/File Image Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson, additionally a Republican, will change into governor when Greitens formally leaves workplace on Friday. Greitens was beforehand charged with felony invasion of privateness in reference to an admitted extramarital affair in 2015 with a hairdresser earlier than he was elected. He has stated he’s harmless and referred to as the connection consensual. St. Louis prosecutors dismissed the legal invasion of privateness cost towards Greitens on Could 14 earlier than his trial received beneath method. A particular prosecutor assigned to the case stated on Tuesday that her investigation will proceed, in accordance with native media. Greitens had beforehand referred to as the costs towards him a part of a political witch hunt and on Tuesday he complained of “authorized harassment” with “no finish in sight.” Republican leaders within the state Home of Representatives stated Greitens’ exit was greatest for the state. State Senate Democratic chief Gina Walsh stated Greitens nonetheless wanted to reply for the scandals. Enhancing by Richard Balmforth ||0
2018-05-30T03:00:00.000+03:00|Samsung Life sells $ 1 billion worth of shares in Samsung Electronics | SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd said on Thursday it sold 1.12 trillion won ($1 billion) worth of its shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Share this: |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-30T04:30:00.000+03:00|WellCare Health to buy Meridian for $2.5 bln|May 29 (Reuters) - Health insurer WellCare Health Plans Inc said on Tuesday it agreed to buy for-profit managed care company Meridian for $2.5 billion in cash. Meridian is expected to generate more than $4.3 billion in total revenue in 2018, WellCare said in a statement. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|1
2018-05-30T04:59:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Boerse beefs up forex business with $100 million buy|BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse AG ( DB1Gn.DE ) is beefing up its foreign exchange business with a $100 million deal to buy GTX’s Electronic Communication Network (ECN) business from GAIN Capital Holdings Inc. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that GTX’s ECN business, which had gross revenues of around $23 million in 2017, would help it add access to deep FX spot liquidity. Deutsche Boerse expects the deal to be cash accretive in the first year after closing. The acquisition should meet its return on investment target of more than 10 per cent at the latest in the third year after closing, it said. Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Victoria Bryan  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-30T05:14:00.000+03:00|Ousted WPP boss Sorrell takes control of shell vehicle to buy marketing companies|May 30, 2018 / 7:14 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago Sorrell plots comeback with new listed company after WPP exit Kate Holton 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Martin Sorrell is staging a comeback just six weeks after he was ousted from WPP, using the same formula as in the 1980s when he transformed a little-known shell company into the world’s biggest advertising group. Sir Martin Sorrell speaks during an interview with CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 13, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Files One of Britain’s best known businessmen, Sorrell said he would invest 40 million pounds ($53 million) of his own money into Derriston Capital while institutional investors have pledged 150 million pounds to buy marketing companies. The London-listed group will be renamed S4 Capital, in reference to four generations of Sorrell’s family, while he will become executive chairman. Its next moves are likely to be closely watched in an industry facing questions over whether the ad guru’s model is still the best way to deliver adverts, marketing, research data and media buying in a digital world. WPP and its peers have struggled in recent years as major consumer goods groups such as Unilever trimmed spending on marketing and took some services in house, while consultancies such as Accenture have stepped up competition and Facebook and Google dominate the online ad market. “S4 Capital is a company that aims to build a multi-national communication services business focused on growth,” the 73-year-old said. “There are significant opportunities for development in technology, data and content.” The new company, which has raised 51 million pounds through Sorrell and institutional investors including Lombard Odier, Miton, a Rothschild investment unit, Schroders and Toscafund, is in early talks over a number of potential acquisitions. The group is looking to buy assets in the faster growing part of the industry such as technology and data which can be used to maximise the effectiveness of advertising, while markets such as India could also be of interest. TRIED AND TESTED Taking charge of a listed shell company repeats the tactic Sorrell used in the 1980s when he took a stake in Wire and Plastics Products, a maker of shopping baskets, and used it as a vehicle to buy some of the most famous advertising agencies such as JWT and Ogilvy & Mather. Derriston Capital is a little-known two-year-old listed shell company set up to invest in medical technology. Over 30 years Sorrell built WPP into a company with 200,000 staff in 112 countries by adding market research groups, media buyers, and public relations firms such as Finsbury. Worth 16 billion pounds, WPP returned millions to shareholders, including its CEO, and dominated the industry for decades. According to Thomson Reuters data, Sorrell is still the eighth biggest investor in WPP, with a 1.4 percent stake. Sorrell had vowed to break down the barriers at WPP to make it easier for clients to get all the services they needed from a small team, rather than from a range of people among the more than 400 agencies it owned. Starting again should make it easier to mould a business more aligned to the needs of today. WPP competes with U.S. groups Omnicom and IPG, France’s Publicis and Japan’s Dentsu, while thousands of small independent companies provide everything from ads for mobile phones to creative work and data analytics. Sorrell quit WPP after the board opened an investigation into an allegation of personal misconduct. The company has not given any details and Sorrell has denied any wrongdoing. He told staff he had stepped down because the disruption was putting too much pressure on the business. ($1 = 0.7543 pounds)|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T05:45:00.000+03:00|LIVESTOCK-Hogs touch five-week high on technical buying, pork gains|"By Michael Hirtzer CHICAGO, May 29 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures climbed to a five-week high on Tuesday, bolstered by technical buying and gains in prices for cash hogs and pork, traders said. Live cattle futures were lower, easing on chart-based selling. Feeder cattle were higher, supported in part by lower corn prices as trading resumed following Monday's U.S. Memorial Day holiday. The holiday weekend is the unofficial beginning of the summer grilling season and traders were looking for clues on meat demand, including whether retailers were actively buying pork and beef to restock stores. Lean hogs opened sharply higher but came off their early peaks, still extending the rally to the fourth straight session. Most-active CME July hogs were up 1.300 cents to 78.850 cents. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday morning said wholesale pork prices were up $2.52 at $78.12 per cwt, but the agency after the close of trading said values were up on 74 cents at $76.34. Hogs in the Iowa and Minnesota cash market were up 79 cents at $66.09 per cwt. Some of the earlier buying was linked to the morning reports, said independent livestock trader Dan Norcini, who added that warm weekend weather in the United States was conducive to outdoor cooking and meat demand. ""The weather was pretty good all over the country ... and the morning cutout price was really good,"" Norcini said. By contrast, wholesale beef prices late on Tuesday were up only 13 cents at $227.56 per cwt for choice-grade and down 97 cents at $203.65 per cwt for select grade, USDA data showed, suggesting relatively tepid retailer demand to begin the week. CME June live cattle were 1.525 cents lower at 103.125 cents per pound and most-active August cattle was down 0.850 cent at 101.450 cents per pound. CME August feeder cattle were up 0.050 cent at 144.975 cents, firming as corn prices fell about 1.5 percent. Lower prices for corn, the most widely consumed cattle feed, can lower costs and boost demand for cattle to bring into feedlots for fattening. A USDA report on Friday showed a steep drop of cattle placed on feed in April, which also supported feeder prices. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data on Friday showed speculative investors reducing net long positions in live cattle - activity that may have continued on Tuesday. ""There may have been some residual longs in the June (cattle) contract and they are dumping them,"" Norcini said. (Reporting by Michael Hirtzer in Chicago Editing by Matthew Lewis)  "|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-30T05:45:00.000+03:00|BHP-Mitsubishi JV to sell Australia coal mine to Japan's Sojitz|May 30, 2018 / 2:48 AM / a few seconds ago BHP-Mitsubishi JV to sell Australia coal mine to Japan's Sojitz Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Global miner BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) said on Wednesday that its joint venture with Mitsubishi Development would sell the Gregory Crinum coal mine in Australia’s Queensland to Japan’s Sojitz Corp ( 2768.T ) for A$100 million ($74.89 million). “(The BHP-Mitsubishi alliance) made the decision to sell the mine after a detailed review that concluded there is potential for another party to realize greater value (there),” BHP said in a statement. Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-05-30T05:56:00.000+03:00|Nikkei tumbles to 6-week low on Italian crisis; BOJ's ETF buying expected|TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average tumbled to six-week lows on Wednesday morning after political turmoil in Italy sparked concerns about the stability of the euro zone, hurting most sectors on the board. Traders said they expected the Bank of Japan to buy exchange-traded funds to support the market amid the morning weakness. The BOJ had bought ETFs for five straight sessions up until Tuesday as part of its wider policy of supporting asset prices in the economy. The Nikkei dropped 1.4 percent to 22,043.53 in midmorning trade, after falling to a six-week low of 21,931.65. The Nikkei managed to stay above its 75-day moving average of 21,920.77, which has become the index’s immediate support level. Sources close to some of Italy’s main parties said Italy may hold repeat elections as early as July after the man asked to be prime minister failed to secure support from major political parties for even a stop-gap government. The political crisis in Rome, and the threat to the euro project it represents, triggered a rush to safe havens like U.S. debt and the Japanese yen. “The Italian political problems triggered global investors’ risk-off stances. Exporters and financials are hard hit and they will likely remain vulnerable,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Insurers and banks, which have invested in higher-yielding foreign bonds due to low yield environment in Japan, underperformed and stumbled 3.0 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Sompo Holdings shed 2.6 percent, Dai-ichi Life Holdings declined 4.2 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 3.4 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group declined 2.6 percent. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields on Tuesday posted their largest one-day drop in nearly two years. Exporters were under pressure as the dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 108.38 yen, edging towards a five-week low of 108.115 yen hit the previous day. Toyota Motor Corp dropped 2.1 percent, Mazda Motor Corp stumbled 3.0 percent and Hitachi Ltd shed 3.0 percent. The broader Topix dropped 1.6 percent to 1,734.08. Editing by Sam Holmes  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T06:49:00.000+03:00|Turkey, U.S. reach deal on plan for withdrawal of YPG militia from Syria's Manbij|ANKARA (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Wednesday denied media reports that a deal had been reached between the United States and Turkey on a three-step plan for withdrawing the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from Syria’s Manbij. U.S. forces set up a new base in Manbij, Syria May 8, 2018. Picture Taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said “We don’t have any agreements yet with the government of Turkey,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement in Washington. “We’re continuing to have ongoing conversations regarding Syria and other issues of mutual concern,” she said, adding that American and Turkish officials had met in Ankara last week for talks on the issue. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday Ankara and Washington had reached a technical agreement on the withdrawal plan, a move Turkey has long sought from the United States. The report comes as differences over Syria policy and Washington’s decision in December to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem have strained ties between the NATO allies. Turkey is outraged by U.S. support for the YPG militia, considering them a terrorist organisation. Ankara has threatened to push its offensive in northern Syria’s Afrin region further east to Manbij. Manbij is a potential flashpoint. The Syrian government, Kurdish militants, Syrian rebel groups, Turkey, and the United States all have a military presence in northern Syria. Under the terms of the plan to be finalised during a visit by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Washington on June 4, the YPG will withdraw from Manbij 30 days after the deal is signed, Anadolu said, quoting sources who attended meetings at which the decisions were made. Turkish and U.S. military forces will start joint supervision in Manbij 45 days after the agreement is signed and a local administration will be formed 60 days after June 4, Anadolu said. Earlier on Wednesday, Cavusoglu told broadcaster AHaber that a timetable for the Manbij plans could be set during talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, and that it could be implemented before the end of the summer. Cavusoglu was also Quote: d by media on his return flight from Germany saying that, if finalised, the plan for Manbij could be applied throughout northern Syria. However, a local Manbij official later told Reuters that Cavusoglu’s assertions that U.S. and Turkish forces would temporarily control the region were “premature” and lacked credibility. Relations between Ankara and Washington have hit a low-point due to factors such as the sentencing this month in New York of a former Turkish state bank executive to 32 months in prison for taking part in an Iran sanctions-busting scheme, a case Turkey has called a political attack. DEFENCE PROCUREMENT Turkey has also caused unease in Washington with its decision to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia and drew criticism over its detention of a U.S. Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, on terrorism charges. Brunson faces up to 35 years in prison on charges of links to the network Ankara blames for a 2016 coup attempt. The pastor denied the charges in a Turkish court this month. A U.S. Senate committee last week passed its version of a $716 billion defence policy bill, including a measure to prevent Turkey from buying Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, citing Brunson and the Russian missile deal. Cavusoglu, however, said that if the United States blocked Turkey from buying the jets, Ankara would go elsewhere to meet its needs, adding that it was unlikely Washington would be able to back out of the deal. Turkey has plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 jets and the Pentagon last year awarded Lockheed $3.7 billion in an interim payment for the production of 50 of the aircraft earmarked for non-U.S. customers, including Ankara. Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Tom Brown  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T06:52:00.000+03:00|Facebook's size no barrier to deals in new areas -executive|RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc believes it could acquire other large companies without running afoul of antitrust enforcers if the world’s largest social media network chose to enter a new market, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg arrives to watch CEO Mark Zuckerberg speak at Facebook Inc's annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S. May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Sandberg was asked on stage by a journalist at the Code Conference whether Facebook, because of its size, would be allowed in the future to buy companies as it has such as virtual reality firm Oculus and messaging service WhatsApp. “It really depends what it is. If it was in something that wasn’t core to what we were doing and a new area, like Oculus was, I think it would probably be allowed,” Sandberg said. She gave no indication that a deal was forthcoming. Facebook, one of the largest corporations by market capitalization, has grown in part through acquisitions. In 2014 it bought WhatsApp for $22 billion and Oculus for $3 billion, but has not made a similar purchase since. It bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. EU regulators have expressed concern about a plan by Facebook and WhatsApp to begin sharing users’ phone numbers and other data. Sandberg said sharing data between the two services had benefits, such as catching people who exploit children, and that Facebook should not be broken up. “If you are doing child-exploitative content, WhatsApp’s encrypted, but we know who you are from Facebook. We can take your account down on WhatsApp, too,” she said. Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Stephen Coates  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T06:53:00.000+03:00|Facebook's size no barrier to deals in new areas - executive|May 30, 2018 / 3:58 Facebook's size no barrier to deals in new areas: executive David Ingram 2 Min Read RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc believes it could acquire other large companies without running afoul of antitrust enforcers if the world’s largest social media network chose to enter a new market, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg arrives to watch CEO Mark Zuckerberg speak at Facebook Inc's annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S. May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Sandberg was asked on stage by a journalist at the Code Conference whether Facebook, because of its size, would be allowed in the future to buy companies as it has such as virtual reality firm Oculus and messaging service WhatsApp. “It really depends what it is. If it was in something that wasn’t core to what we were doing and a new area, like Oculus was, I think it would probably be allowed,” Sandberg said. She gave no indication that a deal was forthcoming. Facebook, one of the largest corporations by market capitalization, has grown in part through acquisitions. In 2014 it bought WhatsApp for $22 billion and Oculus for $3 billion, but has not made a similar purchase since. It bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. EU regulators have expressed concern about a plan by Facebook and WhatsApp to begin sharing users’ phone numbers and other data. Sandberg said sharing data between the two services had benefits, such as catching people who exploit children, and that Facebook should not be broken up. “If you are doing child-exploitative content, WhatsApp’s encrypted, but we know who you are from Facebook. We can take your account down on WhatsApp, too,” she said. Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Stephen Coates|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-05-30T07:25:00.000+03:00|Aviva Investors merges businesses into new real assets unit|LONDON (Reuters) - Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva ( AV.L ), said on Wednesday it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets. Aviva said the business, which would manage 37 billion pounds ($49.08 billion) in assets, would focus on investments where it was a direct operator, with full control over fund management, asset management, origination and distribution. As a result, it said it had agreed to sell its indirect real estate multi-manager business and an interest in Encore+, a pan-European commercial property fund, with a combined 6 billion pounds in assets, to Lasalle Investment Management. Further financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Aviva Investors said Mark Versey would be chief investment officer of the new unit, overseeing 300 staff. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Emma Rumney Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-30T07:35:00.000+03:00|Greece sells stake in telecoms operator OTE to Deutsche Telekom|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece concluded on Wednesday the sale of a 5 percent stake in its biggest telecoms operator OTE ( OTEr.AT ) to Germany’s Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) for 284 million euros, ($329.50 million) the privatizations agency said. The sale was agreed under Greece’s third international bailout. Deutsche previously held a 40 percent stake in OTE, a former national monopoly. Following the deal its holding in the firm will stand at 45 percent. Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T07:39:00.000+03:00|Gold inches up as Italy crisis drives safe-haven buying|LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices were steady on Wednesday as concerns about political turmoil in Italy and over a trade conflict between China and the United States outweighed strength in the dollar. Sets of gold bangles are displayed in a showcase of a showroom selling bridal jewellery in Peshawar, Pakistan May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/Files Italy kept the dollar at 10-month highs versus the euro amid concerns that repeat elections may become a de-facto referendum on Italian membership of the currency bloc. The turbulence underpinned gold due to its appeal as a store of value during political and financial uncertainty. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, hovered near its 6-1/2 month peak from the previous session. A stronger dollar makes assets such as gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, curbing demand. “There has been a little bit of support from what has been happening in Italy and the potential implications for the Eurozone from the Italian crisis,” Capital Economics commodities economist Simona Gambarini said. “But it doesn’t seem like the worries are big enough to warrant an increase in prices,” she said, adding that price support was slightly eroded by the potential for an interest rate increase in June by the U.S. Federal Reserve. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields on Tuesday registered their largest one-day drop since Brexit nearly two years ago. Higher rates could dent demand for non-interest-paying gold. Spot gold barely changed at $1,298.98 per ounce by 0932 GMT while U.S. gold futures for June delivery edged slightly lower to $1,298.70 per ounce. China on Wednesday lashed out at Washington’s unexpected statement that it still holds the threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods, saying Beijing was ready to fight back in any trade war. But Capital Economics’ Gambarini said the potential trade war between China and the United States was mostly priced into gold, which would need an escalation or resolution to become a catalyst to prices again. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.35 percent to 851.45 tonnes on Tuesday. In other precious metals, spot silver was stead at $16.40 an ounce. Platinum fell 0.5 percent to $899.35 an ounce, while palladium was 0.6-percent lower at $973.90. Additional reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-30T07:50:00.000+03:00|ANZ Bank New Zealand sells life insurance business to Cigna Corp|(Reuters) - ANZ Bank New Zealand agreed to sell its New Zealand life insurance business to U.S-listed Cigna Corp ( CI.N ) for NZ$700 million ($482.4 million), as its parent boosts its capital base by hiving off non-core businesses. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is pictured on a local branch in Sydney in this April 30, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo ANZ Bank New Zealand said the deal to sell OnePath Life NZ would add about 5 basis points to the level 1 CET ratio of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ). The deal would generate a gain on sale of around NZ$50 million, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The transaction marks ANZ’s second disposal this month, after it sold a majority stake in a Cambodian joint venture to Japan’s J Trust ( 8508.T ). This follows a trend among major Australian banks to offload non-core businesses to trim their capital requirements and simplify business structure. National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ) said earlier this month it was looking to exit part of its wealth management arm by 2019. ANZ New Zealand said the deal included a 20-year strategic alliance for Cigna to provide insurance to ANZ Bank customers. It added that current policy holders would continue with existing coverage. Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-30T08:14:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank looking to sell stake in Dubai-based Abraaj -sources|DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is looking to sell its small stake in Dubai-based Abraaj, the embattled private equity firm involved in a row over alleged misuse of investor money, two sources familiar with the matter said. The potential sale, which the German bank has been considering for some time, has become more urgent since Abraaj, the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, has been locked in a dispute with investors, said the sources. Deutsche, which is undergoing a restructuring and said last week it plans to cut at least 7,000 jobs worldwide, has an 8.8 percent stake in Abraaj Holdings, according to the bank’s latest annual report. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the planned stake sale. An Abraaj spokeswoman said Abraaj Holdings could not comment on a matter related to its shareholders. Deutsche considers its share in Abraaj as a non-core asset. One of the sources said the bank asked for a valuation of its shareholding about two years ago, but the valuation was not as strong as hoped. As part of a global scaling back of its equities business, Germany’s largest lender has cut eight positions within its equities research team in Dubai as it moves to close the unit, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. The restructuring process added more urgency to the plan to get rid of its stake in Abraaj, the sources said. “There was never an active pitching process before, maybe they are regretting it now. Any sale now will be at a big discount,” said one of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. According to Abraaj’s 2014-15 annual review - the latest available on its website - Deutsche Bank had a representative on Abraaj’s board. A source close to the matter said that was no longer the case. A valuation of Deutsche’s stake is difficult because Abraaj has not disclosed the quantum of its debt, bankers say. One way to look at it, amid no visibility of future fund raising, is that Abraaj Holdings’ investment management unit is valued at as much as $500 million, one of the bankers said. Abraaj is facing an investigation by four investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm - the International Finance Corporation - over the alleged misuse of some of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Following the row the firm, which has denied any wrongdoing, has been considering selling some or all of its investment business unit. The cash from the sale of the investment business unit, and from a sale of Abraaj’s stake in Pakistani utility K-Electric, would ease cashflow pressures that have seen the company violating certain conditions related to a portion of its debt, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Since the investor dispute erupted earlier this year, Abraaj, which at one point was managing $13.6 billion, has undertaken a review of its corporate structure. That has included cutting around 15 percent of jobs, shaking up its management, suspending new investments, and freeing up large investors from millions of dollars in capital commitments. In the latest sign of changes, Bisher Barazi, the chief financial officer of Abraaj’s private equity unit, and Matthew McGuire, the chief operating officer, have resigned from the firm, a source close to the matter said. Neither could immediately be reached for comment. (Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar Editing by Susan Fenton) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T08:59:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|May 30 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by Wednesday 1430 GMT on Wednesday: ** Twenty-First Century Fox Inc will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co, the company said. ** Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV fell 5 percent after China’s latest warning against U.S. trade threats dulled hopes of an early approval by Beijing for Qualcomm’s $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker. ** Drugmaker Allergan Plc plans to sell off its women’s health and infectious disease businesses as Chief Executive Brent Saunders works to end the steep slide in its share price over the last year. ** Zynga Inc has bought mobile gaming startup Gram Games for $250 million to boost its portfolio of franchise-based titles, it said. ** The European Commission said it had cleared the purchase of Dutch cable operator Ziggo by Liberty Global subject to conditions. ** Standard Life Aberdeen said it expected to save an extra 100 million pounds ($132.64 million) a year in ‘efficiency savings’ by 2020 after it completes the sale of its insurance business to Phoenix Group. ** Italian utility Enel and its Spanish peer Iberdrola have until the end of Wednesday to present improved bids for Eletropaulo, the Brazilian power grid operator said, citing the country’s market regulator. ** Deutsche Bank is looking to sell its small stake in Dubai-based Abraaj, the embattled private equity firm involved in a row over alleged misuse of investor money, two sources familiar with the matter said. ** Samsung Group’s two insurance firms said they will sell $1.3 billion worth of stock in the conglomerate’s biggest earner, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, to maintain regulatory compliance. ** Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva, said it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets. ** Bayer won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto after agreeing to sell about $9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the $62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. ** German seed seller KWS Saat has bowed out of an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s vegetable seed business saying it accepts a decision by the European Commission that BASF is the most suitable buyer. ** Deutsche Boerse AG is beefing up its foreign exchange business with a $100 million deal to buy GTX’s Electronic Communication Network (ECN) business from GAIN Capital Holdings Inc. ** The supervisory board of Uniper has recommended that shareholders reject calls to appoint a special auditor to probe possible breaches of duty by the group’s management in relation to Fortum’s proposed acquisition. ** WellCare Health Plans Inc said it would buy Meridian Health Plans of Michigan and Illinois for $2.5 billion in cash to become the top Medicaid provider in those states. ** Marketing company Didit has made an offer of $1.1 million for defunct news gossip website Gawker, an initial proposal that will set the floor for higher bids in a bankruptcy auction, according to a filing. ** Norway’s BW LPG, the world’s largest liquid petroleum gas shipper, said it had offered to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market. (Compiled by Akshara P in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-30T09:08:00.000+03:00|China's slow approvals of biotech crops cost U.S. $7 billion, says industry group|CHICAGO (Reuters) - Delays in Chinese approvals of imported genetically modified crops have cut U.S. gross domestic product by about $7 billion over the past five years by reducing sales of crops and other goods, an industry group that represents global seed companies said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Genetically modified corn are seen cultivated at a greenhouse in Syngenta Biotech Center in Beijing, China, February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The report by CropLife International indicates what is at stake for the administration of President Donald Trump as it seeks better access for U.S. GMO crops into China as part of a trade deal under discussion. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to visit Beijing this week for talks, after months of escalating tensions that had threatened a trade war. The United States said on Tuesday it still held its threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and would use it unless Beijing addressed its concerns over the theft of American intellectual property. Global seeds and chemical companies have long wanted wider access for GMO crops in China because it is the world’s top buyer of soybeans and a major buyer of other grains. China does not permit planting of GMO food crops but allows imports of GMO soybeans and corn for use in its massive animal feed industry. But the approval process for new GMO strains is slow, unpredictable and not based on science, according to the U.S. biotech industry. The sector says delays in Chinese approvals hurt the value of U.S. corn harvests by preventing farmers from using new seeds that can protect crops from pests and weeds. As a result, farmers spend less on products ranging from fertilizer to equipment, with ripple effects on economic growth, said Scott Richman, senior vice president at Informa Agribusiness Consulting Group, which CropLife commissioned to do the study. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which regulates GMO crop approvals, did not respond to a fax seeking comment on how its reviews affect the U.S. economy. “We need a system in China that facilitates trade,” said Matt O’Mara, a vice president for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a CropLife affiliate. Companies such as Bayer AG, Monsanto Co, DowDuPont and ChemChina’s [CNNCC.UL] Syngenta have been waiting as long as seven years for China to approve strains of soybeans, canola and alfalfa. Reporting by Tom Polanesk, Additional reporting by Dominique Patton in Beijing, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-05-30T09:12:00.000+03:00|Sorrell takes control of shell vehicle to buy marketing companies|LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Martin Sorrell, the recently ousted boss of WPP, has taken control of a listed shell company to use it as a vehicle to buy marketing firms, replicating the approach he took in the 1980s to build the world’s biggest advertising group. In a statement Sorrell said he would invest 40 million pounds ($53 million) of his own money into Derriston Capital , a little-known two-year-old listed shell company, which would be renamed S4 Capital, an entity controlled by Sorrell. Sorrell will become executive chairman while institutional investors have provided 11 million pounds and indicated they will be willing to provide 150 million pounds of further equity to make acquisitions. $1 = 0.7543 pounds Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Sarah Young  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-30T09:13:00.000+03:00|South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill|May 30, 2018 / 6:16 AM / Updated 5 hours ago South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill Reuters Staff 1 Min Read CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa’s parliament on Tuesday passed a national minimum wage bill by an overwhelming majority, a policy championed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as an important step to tackle labor instability and wage inequality. Workers are seen at a South African retailer in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 19,2018. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo The measure, opposed by the official Democratic Alliance opposition party, will see millions of workers earn 3,500 rand ($277) a month, and had been initially meant to be introduced earlier in May as part of efforts to boost the economy. The bill will be sent to parliament’s upper house for ratification and becomes law once it is signed by Ramaphosa. ($1 = 12.6327 rand) Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-05-30T09:22:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Sorrell takes control of shell vehicle to buy marketing companies|May 30, 2018 / 6:23 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Sorrell takes control of shell vehicle to buy marketing companies Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds comment, details) LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Martin Sorrell, the recently ousted boss of WPP, has taken control of a listed shell company to use it as a vehicle to buy marketing firms, replicating the approach he took in the 1980s to build the world’s biggest advertising group. In a statement Sorrell said he would invest 40 million pounds ($53 million) of his own money into Derriston Capital , a little-known two-year-old listed shell company, while investors had pledged 150 million pounds to do deals. The company will be renamed S4 Capital, an entity controlled by Sorrell who will become executive chairman. “S4 Capital is a company that aims to build a multi-national communication services business focused on growth,” he said. “There are significant opportunities for development in technology, data and content. I look forward to making this happen.” One of the most high profile businessmen in Britain, Sorrell is repeating the tactic he used in the 1980s when he took a listed company, Wire and Plastics Products, and used it to buy some of the world’s most famous advertising agencies. The news comes just over six weeks after he quit WPP, a company that employed 200,000 staff in 112 countries after he built it up through years of deal making. The board had opened an investigation into an allegation of personal misconduct, leading Sorrell to step down. The company has not given any details about the allegation, and Sorrell has denied any wrongdoing. $1 = 0.7543 pounds Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Sarah Young|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-30T09:23:00.000+03:00|Sorrell takes control of shell vehicle to buy marketing companies|May 30, 2018 / 6:14 AM / Updated an hour ago Sorrell takes control of shell vehicle to buy marketing companies Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Martin Sorrell, the recently ousted boss of WPP ( WPP.L ), has taken control of a listed shell company to use it as a vehicle to buy marketing firms, replicating the approach he took in the 1980s to build the world’s biggest advertising group. FILE PHOTO: Sir Martin Sorrell, then chairman and CEO of advertising company WPP, attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo In a statement Sorrell said he would invest 40 million pounds of his own money into Derriston Capital ( DERR.L ), a little-known two-year-old listed shell company, while investors had pledged 150 million pounds to do deals. The company will be renamed S4 Capital, an entity controlled by Sorrell who will become executive chairman. “S4 Capital is a company that aims to build a multi-national communication services business focused on growth,” he said. “There are significant opportunities for development in technology, data and content. I look forward to making this happen.” One of the most high profile businessmen in Britain, Sorrell is repeating the tactic he used in the 1980s when he took a listed company, Wire and Plastics Products, and used it to buy some of the world’s most famous advertising agencies. The news comes just over six weeks after he quit WPP, a company that employed 200,000 staff in 112 countries after he built it up through years of deal making. The board had opened an investigation into an allegation of personal misconduct, leading Sorrell to step down. The company has not given any details about the allegation, and Sorrell has denied any wrongdoing. Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Sarah Young|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T09:41:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Samsung Life to sell $925 mln Samsung Electronics stake -report|May 30, 2018 / 6:43 AM / Updated an hour ago UPDATE 1-Samsung Life to sell $925 mln Samsung Electronics stake -report Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds regulatory call for ownership restructuring, shares) SEOUL, May 30 (Reuters) - Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd plans to sell part of its shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd worth 1 trillion won ($925.75 million), local media reported on Wednesday. ChosunBiz cited an unidentified finance industry source as saying Samsung Life’s board had passed the sale plan. An official at Samsung Life said he was checking the report. The block deal, if confirmed, would come after South Korea’s antitrust chief called on Samsung Group, the country’s biggest conglomerate, to streamline its cross-shareholding structure which he said was “not sustainable”. However, the group will need to find a way to simplify its complex ownership without weakening the founding family’s grip on 62 affiliates that have $375 billion in assets. The biggest issue in any restructuring relates to Samsung Life’s 8.63 percent stake, worth around $26 billion, in Samsung Electronics. In April, Samsung SDI Co Ltd sold $526 million worth shares in affiliate Samsung C&T Corp to reduce cross-shareholding ties and secure funds for investment. Shares in Samsung Electronics fell 3.5 percent while those of Samsung Life gained 0.9 percent. $1 = 1,080.2000 won Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Christopher Cushing|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-30T09:56:00.000+03:00|PRECIOUS-Gold gains as Italy crisis drives safe-haven buying|"BENGALURU, May 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as political turmoil in Italy and concerns over Sino-U.S. trade conflict spurred safe-haven demand. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold had risen 0.3 percent to $1,301.98 per ounce by 0125 GMT. * U.S. gold futures for June delivery were up 0.2 percent at $1,301.50 per ounce. * Italy may hold repeat elections as early as July after the man asked to be prime minister failed to secure support from major political parties for even a stop-gap government, sources said on Tuesday, as markets tumbled on the growing political turmoil. * The United States said on Tuesday that it still holds the threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and will use it unless Beijing addresses the issue of theft of American intellectual property. * Asian shares looked set for a sharp fall on Wednesday as Italy's political crisis provoked a sell-off on Wall Street, sent the euro to a 10-month low and spiked borrowing costs for the government in Rome. * U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields posted their largest one-day drop on Tuesday since Britain voted to exit the European Union nearly two years ago. * The U.S. Federal Reserve will have difficulty raising interest rates significantly beyond the settings of its Japanese and European counterparts, which are still pursuing accommodative policy, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Tuesday. * U.S. interest rates futures rallied on Tuesday as traders slashed their expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise key overnight borrowing costs three more times in 2018 as Italy's political situation threatens European economic growth. * A top North Korean official was headed to New York on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. * Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.35 percent to 851.45 tonnes on Tuesday. * Shandong Gold Group Co Ltd , China's largest gold producer, is hunting for gold around the world and is ""looking forward to investing in Peru"", the chairman of the company said during a presentation Tuesday. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0600 Germany Import prices April 0600 Germany Retail sales April 0645 France Detailed GDP Q1 0645 France Consumer spending April 0800 Germany Unemployment rate May 0900 Euro zone Business climate May 1200 Germany Consumer prices May 1215 U.S. ADP national employment May 1230 U.S. GDP 2nd estimate Q1 1230 U.S. Goods trade balance April 1230 U.S. Wholesale inventories April 1800 Federal Reserve issues Beige Book on economic condition (Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru Editing by Joseph Radford)  "|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180529.html|0
2018-05-30T10:35:00.000+03:00|Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10|(Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), the company said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Tennis - US Open - Mens Final - New York, U.S. - September 10, 2017 - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar The Fox board also recommended backing the deal but said that it was aware of Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) moves to make an offer for certain assets of the company. Comcast said last week it was preparing a higher, all-cash offer for most of the media assets of Fox, but sources say it will only proceed if a federal judge next month allows AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) planned $85-billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ). Slideshow (2 Images) The announcement of the special meeting date comes after the largest U.S. cable operator Comcast put pressure on Fox and its shareholders to not rush into approving the Disney deal by going public with its plans of a “superior” offer. Disney in December offered stock then worth $52.4 billion to buy Fox’s film, television and international businesses to beef up its offering against streaming rivals Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). A regulatory filing in April showed Comcast offered to buy most of Fox’s assets in an all-stock deal valued at $34.41 per share, or $64 billion last November, just before Disney’s offer was agreed upon. Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Shounak Dasgupta  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T10:40:00.000+03:00|Iran's oil exports fall in May, when U.S. quit nuclear deal - Petro-Logistics| Iran’s crude oil exports have declined slightly in May, according to estimates from a leading tanker-tracking company, in the first sign that the threat of U.S. sanctions may be deterring buyers. The estimates from Geneva-based Petro-Logistics also suggest Iranian oil buyers are not rushing to cut volumes from OPEC’s third-largest producer. The U.S. sanctions have a 180-day period during which buyers should “wind down” purchases. U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 said the United States was exiting a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and would impose new sanctions that seek to reduce the country’s oil shipments. “Exports are down by more than 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the very high levels seen in April, but there is no sign of a mass exodus at this time,” Daniel Gerber, chief executive of Petro-Logistics, told Reuters. Supply and demand in large parts of the oil market is opaque and Petro-Logistics is among a number of consultancies that estimate supply from OPEC countries by tracking tanker shipments and other methods. Petro-Logistics did not specify the absolute volume of Iran’s exports in May or April. Iran said it exported 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, a record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in January 2016. Reuters shipping data also suggests Iranian crude exports have dropped since Trump’s sanctions announcement, falling to around 2.5 million bpd in May, a drop of about 100,000 bpd from April. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. Petro-Logistics said the overall rate of Iran’s exports remained strong in May compared with recent months and companies in Europe were still buying. “In fact, May exports remain significantly higher than the previous 12-month average, with European refiners continuing to load cargoes throughout the month,” Gerber said. Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said on May 19 Tehran’s oil exports would not change if the EU could salvage the nuclear pact, as it is trying to do. But trading sources expect financing issues to hinder Iranian oil trade as banks grow wary. (Editing by Mark Potter)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-05-30T10:46:00.000+03:00|BHP-Mitsubishi JV to sell Australia coal mine to Japan's Sojitz|(Reuters) - Global miner BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) said on Wednesday that its joint venture with a unit of Mitsubishi Corp ( 8058.T ) would sell a coal mine in Queensland in Australia to Japan’s Sojitz Corp ( 2768.T ) for A$100 million ($74.89 million). FILE PHOTO: A sign adorns the building where mining company BHP Billiton has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo/File Photo The Gregory Crinum hard coking coal mine had ceased production by the end of 2015. BHP said its annual capacity was 6 million tonnes prior to that. “(The BHP-Mitsubishi alliance) made the decision to sell the mine after a detailed review that concluded there is potential for another party to realize greater value (there),” BHP said in a statement. BHP’s Australia-listed shares were 0.8 percent lower on Wednesday, in line with the broader market. Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T10:48:00.000+03:00|Iran's oil exports fall in May, when U.S. quit nuclear deal: Petro-Logistics|LONDON (Reuters) - Iran’s crude oil exports have declined slightly in May, according to estimates from a leading tanker-tracking company, in the first sign that the threat of U.S. sanctions may be deterring buyers. FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf, Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo The estimates from Geneva-based Petro-Logistics also suggest Iranian oil buyers are not rushing to cut volumes from OPEC’s third-largest producer. The U.S. sanctions have a 180-day period during which buyers should “wind down” purchases. U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 said the United States was exiting a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and would impose new sanctions that seek to reduce the country’s oil shipments. “Exports are down by more than 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the very high levels seen in April, but there is no sign of a mass exodus at this time,” Daniel Gerber, chief executive of Petro-Logistics, told Reuters. Supply and demand in large parts of the oil market is opaque and Petro-Logistics is among a number of consultancies that estimate supply from OPEC countries by tracking tanker shipments and other methods. Petro-Logistics did not specify the absolute volume of Iran’s exports in May or April. Iran said it exported 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, a record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in January 2016. Reuters shipping data also suggests Iranian crude exports have dropped since Trump’s sanctions announcement, falling to around 2.5 million bpd in May, a drop of about 100,000 bpd from April. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. Petro-Logistics said the overall rate of Iran’s exports remained strong in May compared with recent months and companies in Europe were still buying. “In fact, May exports remain significantly higher than the previous 12-month average, with European refiners continuing to load cargoes throughout the month,” Gerber said. Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said on May 19 Tehran’s oil exports would not change if the EU could salvage the nuclear pact, as it is trying to do. But trading sources expect financing issues to hinder Iranian oil trade as banks grow wary. Editing by Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-05-30T11:11:00.000+03:00|KWS bows out of bid to buy Bayer's vegetable business|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German seed seller KWS Saat ( KWSG.DE ) has bowed out of an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s ( BAYGn.DE ) vegetable seed business saying it accepts a decision by the European Commission that BASF ( BASFn.DE ) is the most suitable buyer. “We have accepted the decision that the business will go to BASF,” a KWS spokesman said on Wednesday. “Possible new steps are now up to BASF.” Bayer said on Tuesday it had won approval from the EU commission for BASF to take over the businesses it will divest to win regulatory clearance for its planned acquisition of Monsanto. Reporting by Patricia Weiss; Writing by Caroline Copley  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T11:13:00.000+03:00|KWS bows out of bid to buy Bayer's vegetable business|May 30, 2018 / 8:14 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago KWS bows out of bid to buy Bayer's vegetable business Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German seed seller KWS Saat ( KWSG.DE ) has bowed out of an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s ( BAYGn.DE ) vegetable seed business saying it accepts a decision by the European Commission that BASF ( BASFn.DE ) is the most suitable buyer. “We have accepted the decision that the business will go to BASF,” a KWS spokesman said on Wednesday. “Possible new steps are now up to BASF.” Bayer said on Tuesday it had won approval from the EU commission for BASF to take over the businesses it will divest to win regulatory clearance for its planned acquisition of Monsanto. Reporting by Patricia Weiss; Writing by Caroline Copley|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T11:30:00.000+03:00|NXP shares fall as China's warning revives concerns over Qualcomm deal|(Reuters) - Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ) fell 5 percent on Wednesday after China’s latest warning against U.S. trade threats dulled hopes of an early approval by Beijing for Qualcomm’s ( QCOM.O ) $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker. FILE PHOTO: A booth of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is pictured at an expo in Beijing, China, September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo The company’s shares gained about 9 percent since May 18 on media reports that the chances of the deal winning approval were looking “optimistic” as a U.S.-China trade spat cooled. Also helping was a deal the U.S. government reached to put Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ), ( 0763.HK ) back in business. Qualcomm lawyers were expected to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance, three sources told Reuters on Sunday. The meeting was expected before U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in China on Saturday, the sources briefed on Qualcomm’s discussions had said. FILE PHOTO: A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo However, the team of lawyers remained at the company’s San Diego headquarters, as of late Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said. “On hold now,” another person familiar with Qualcomm’s talks with the Chinese government said on Wednesday, declining to be identified as the negotiations are confidential. The deal, announced in October 2016, has been approved by eight of the nine required global regulators, with China the only one pending. Shares of NXP were down 1.2 percent while Qualcomm stock was marginally up premarket. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T11:36:00.000+03:00|Oil majors steady Britain's FTSE after global sell-off|(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window) * FTSE 100 index flat * BP up 1 pct, Shell gains 0.8 pct * Financials suffer By Julien Ponthus LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - A rebound by oil majors helped to steady Britain’s blue-chip index after a global sell-off prompted by the political crisis in Italy, concerns about euro zone stability and fresh fears of a trade war between the United States and China. The UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.07 percent at 0814 GMT but spent most of the first trading hour in negative territory. Heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell added 1 percent and 0.8 percent respectively as oil prices steadied after falling steeply in recent days on concerns that Saudi Arabia and Russia would pump more crude in response to falling global oil inventories and rising consumer prices. With little corporate news or fresh economic indicators to help investors assess the health of the British economy, the fate of the session is likely to be linked to developments on the Italian political front or on the U.S. trade policy of the Trump administration. “With little else on its agenda, the FTSE will be hoping that things don’t take another downturn in the euro zone,” said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. British banks weighed most heavily on the FTSE 100, with Lloyds, Standard Chartered, RBS and HSBC down by between 0.5 percent and 1 percent. European banks are still under pressure after the sector suffered heavy losses in the previous session on fears about the sustainability of Italian government debt and the euro zone. On Wall Street the threat prompted a rush to traditional safe havens such as U.S. debt, pulling down U.S. 10-year Treasury yields and triggering losses for U.S. banks, which registered their biggest one-day decline in more than two months. Among smaller UK companies, engineering firm Bodycote rose nearly 7 percent after predicting it would top market expectations for full-year profit and said it would pay a special dividend. British discount retailer B&M European Value reported a 25 percent jump in full-year profit on Wednesday and rose 0.2 percent. Among small-caps, Photo-Me International tumbled 22 percent after the photobooth operator’s market update disappointed investors. (Reporting by Julien Ponthus Editing by David Goodman)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-30T11:38:00.000+03:00|Oil majors steady FTSE after global sell-off|May 30, 2018 / 8:38 AM / Updated an hour ago Oil majors help FTSE recover after global sell-off Julien Ponthus 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A rebound by oil stocks helped Britain’s blue-chip index recover from a global sell-off prompted by a political crisis in Italy and fresh fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China. Traders looks at financial information on computer screens on the IG Index trading floor in London, Britain February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson The UK’s FTSE 100 ended up 0.75 percent on Wednesday after ending the previous session at its lowest level in nearly three weeks. “The FTSE 100 is in recovery mode, clawing back some of yesterday’s losses on the combined support of a slightly stronger (dollar) ... and oil prices retreating from week’s lows,” said Accendo Markets analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants. Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell both rose more than 2 percent as oil prices climbed to $76 a barrel, supported by tight supplies despite expectations OPEC and its allies will pump more in the second half of 2018. Among smaller companies, engineering firm Bodycote rose nearly 7 percent after predicting it would top market expectations for full-year profit and said it would pay a special dividend. Discount retailer B&M European Value reported a 25 percent jump in full-year profit, sending its shares up 4.5 percent. Photo-Me International tumbled 26 percent after the photo booth operator’s market update disappointed investors. Reporting by Julien Ponthus; Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-30T12:24:00.000+03:00|Aviva Investors merges businesses into new real assets unit|May 30, 2018 / 9:25 AM / Updated a day ago Aviva Investors merges businesses into new real assets unit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva ( AV.L ), said on Wednesday it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets. Aviva said the business, which would manage 37 billion pounds in assets, would focus on investments where it was a direct operator, with full control over fund management, asset management, origination and distribution. As a result, it said it had agreed to sell its indirect real estate multi-manager business and an interest in Encore+, a pan-European commercial property fund, with a combined 6 billion pounds in assets, to Lasalle Investment Management. Further financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Aviva Investors said Mark Versey would be chief investment officer of the new unit, overseeing 300 staff. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Emma Rumney|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-05-30T12:32:00.000+03:00|Prosecutor to announce details of deal reached with Missouri governor|(Reuters) - Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, who resigned on Tuesday, had offered to leave office in exchange for dismissal of a felony computer tampering charge against him in a wider scandal, a prosecutor’s spokeswoman said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Missouri Governor Eric Greitens seen at an industrial site in this undated photo from his social media site made available May 30, 2017. Office of the Missouri Governor/Handout via REUTERS St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner spoke to reporters about the deal but declined to comment on an ongoing investigation against Greitens involving possible felony invasion of privacy in connection with an admitted extramarital affair in 2015 with a hairdresser before he was elected. Greitens has said he is innocent and called the relationship consensual. In the computer tampering case stemming from questionable fundraising activities, Greitens offered to leave office if Gardner would dismiss the charge, prosecutor’s spokeswoman Susan Ryan said. Saying most of the deal was sealed and could not be discussed, Ryan said the most impactful part of it was Greitens saying he would furnish his resignation in exchange for the charge being dropped. “They offered to do that for the dismissal,” Ryan said. Neither Greitens lawyer nor his representatives immediately responded to a request for comment. The 44-year-old first-term governor, who was seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, abruptly resigned amid accusations stemming from an extramarital affair and his political fundraising. Greitens was charged a month ago with felony computer tampering. He is accused of illegally obtaining a donor list to aid his 2016 election campaign from a veterans’ charity he founded in 2007. “Sometimes, pursuing charges is not the right or just thing to do for our city and state,” Gardner told reporters. FILE PHOTO: Missouri Governor Eric Greitens appears in a police booking photo in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., February 22, 2018. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Dept./Handout via REUTERS/File Picture Greitens, a former Navy SEAL commando, faced the possibility of becoming the first Missouri governor to be impeached as the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly began a special session on May 18 to consider what disciplinary steps to take against him. Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson, also a Republican, will become governor when Greitens officially leaves office on Friday. St. Louis prosecutors dismissed the criminal invasion of privacy charge against Greitens on May 14 before his trial got under way but said it would be refiled. A special prosecutor assigned to the case said Tuesday her investigation will continue, according to local news media. Like Gardner, the special prosecutor is a Democrat. Greitens has called the charges against him part of a political witch hunt and on Tuesday he complained of “legal harassment” with “no end in sight.” But Gardner on Wednesday said Greitens has only himself to blame. “The consequences Mr. Greitens has suffered, he brought upon himself. By his decisions, his ambition, his pursuit for power,” Gardner said. Scott Simpson, the attorney for the woman with whom Greitens had an affair and for whom he faces the possible invasion of privacy charge, said his client hopes to move past the scandal. “Now that the governor has resigned, I hope my client can go back to being a private citizen and put this matter behind her,” he said in an email. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Barbara Goldberg in New York and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; editing by Richard Balmforth and Jonathan Oatis Our |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/PoliticsNews|0
2018-05-30T12:35:00.000+03:00|'Words with Friends' maker Zynga buys Gram Games for $250 million|(Reuters) - Zynga Inc has bought mobile gaming startup Gram Games for $250 million to boost its portfolio of franchise-based titles, it said on Wednesday. The Zynga logo is pictured at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California April 23, 2014. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo With Istanbul-based Gram, the company behind “Words with Friends” and “Farmville” will gain access to easy-to-play and addictive titles such as “1010!” and “Merge Dragons!”. “Merge Dragons!” in particular had the potential to become a long-running franchise for Zynga, its Chief Executive Officer Frank Gibeau said in a statement. The acquisition is Zynga’s latest attempt to bolster its mobile gaming business — which generates revenue through ads and in-game purchases of additional features — as it shifts focus away from once-popular titles such as “Farmville”. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-05-30T13:07:00.000+03:00|FDA approves TherapeuticsMD's hormone therapy|(Reuters) - Women’s healthcare company TherapeuticsMD Inc won its first-ever U.S. approval on Wednesday with the drug regulator clearing its hormone therapy for a painful condition triggered by menopause after rejecting it a year earlier. A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo The company’s shares were volatile, oscillating between gains and losses. They had risen more than 50 percent since the U.S. FDA declined to approve the treatment and then agreed to let the company reapply without a new study. “Given the drug’s review history and apparent market skepticism as to its approvability, the FDA’s decision should be viewed as a major event,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst William Tanner said. The treatment, Imvexxy, has been approved for use in two doses to treat moderate-to-severe dyspareunia, or vaginal pain associated with sex, but comes with a black box warning, the regulator’s strictest, flagging risks of cardiovascular disorders, probable dementia and endometrial and breast cancers. On a call with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Robert Finizio said the drug’s label was better than expected, despite the warning. Dyspareunia is a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy, a condition triggered by the loss of female hormone estrogen after menopause that the company estimates affect about 32 million women in the United States. The company said its 4 mcg dose is set to be the lowest available on the market, at a time when the FDA is pushing for lower doses of hormone therapies. “When you have the lowest effective dose, that’s a huge advantage,” Finizio said. Imvexxy is expected to bring in peak U.S. sales of $650 million by 2032, according to an estimate by Jefferies analyst Matthew Andrews. The company, which plans to conduct a post-approval observational study, plans to price Imvexxy on a par with currently available treatments. Imvexxy is delivered through a softgel capsule inserted into the vagina, distinguishing it from competing products including Allergan Plc’s Estrace cream and NovoNordisk’s Vagifem insert. The approval also turns the spotlight on TherapeuticsMD’s second hormone therapy, TX-001, which analysts expect to be approved by October. TX-001, which will treat menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes, is already being seen as a potential blockbuster by analysts. Imvexxy and TX-001 are expected to rake in revenue of $112 million in 2019, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Tanner. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T13:10:00.000+03:00|Chinese e-commerce firm Suning.Com sells $1.5 billion of Alibaba shares|BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce company Suning.Com Co Ltd ( 002024.SZ ) has sold $1.5 billion worth of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ), cutting its stake in the tech giant to 0.51 percent. Suning.Com is expected to make a net profit of about 5.6 billion yuan ($872.3 million) from the sale, it said in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Suning.Com did not specify how many Alibaba shares it had sold or what price it achieved. In May, the Nanjing-based company said it planned to sell up to 7.66 million shares in Alibaba Group, equivalent to a 0.3 percent stake. The plan was then approved at Suning.Com’s 2017 annual shareholders’ meeting. Gains from the share sale will be used in areas such as product development and business expansion, Suning.Com said. Alibaba Group also has a 19.99 percent stake in Suning.Com, according to the filing. Reporting by Min Zhang in Beijing and Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; Editing by Adrian Croft  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T13:12:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank looking to sell stake in Dubai-based Abraaj -sources|DUBAI (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) is looking to sell its small stake in Dubai-based Abraaj, the embattled private equity firm involved in a row over alleged misuse of investor money, two sources familiar with the matter said. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the Deutsche Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo The potential sale, which the German bank has been considering for some time, has become more urgent since Abraaj, the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, has been locked in a dispute with investors, said the sources. Deutsche, which is undergoing a restructuring and said last week it plans to cut at least 7,000 jobs worldwide, has an 8.8 percent stake in Abraaj Holdings, according to the bank’s latest annual report. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the planned stake sale. An Abraaj spokeswoman said Abraaj Holdings could not comment on a matter related to its shareholders. Deutsche considers its share in Abraaj as a non-core asset. One of the sources said the bank asked for a valuation of its shareholding about two years ago, but the valuation was not as strong as hoped. As part of a global scaling back of its equities business, Germany’s largest lender has cut eight positions within its equities research team in Dubai as it moves to close the unit, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. The restructuring process added more urgency to the plan to get rid of its stake in Abraaj, the sources said. “There was never an active pitching process before, maybe they are regretting it now. Any sale now will be at a big discount,” said one of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. According to Abraaj’s 2014-15 annual review - the latest available on its website - Deutsche Bank had a representative on Abraaj’s board. A source close to the matter said that was no longer the case. A valuation of Deutsche’s stake is difficult because Abraaj has not disclosed the quantum of its debt, bankers say. One way to look at it, amid no visibility of future fund raising, is that Abraaj Holdings’ investment management unit is valued at as much as $500 million, one of the bankers said. Abraaj is facing an investigation by four investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm - the International Finance Corporation - over the alleged misuse of some of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Following the row the firm, which has denied any wrongdoing, has been considering selling some or all of its investment business unit. The cash from the sale of the investment business unit, and from a sale of Abraaj’s stake in Pakistani utility K-Electric, would ease cashflow pressures that have seen the company violating certain conditions related to a portion of its debt, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Since the investor dispute erupted earlier this year, Abraaj, which at one point was managing $13.6 billion, has undertaken a review of its corporate structure. That has included cutting around 15 percent of jobs, shaking up its management, suspending new investments, and freeing up large investors from millions of dollars in capital commitments. In the latest sign of changes, Bisher Barazi, the chief financial officer of Abraaj’s private equity unit, and Matthew McGuire, the chief operating officer, have resigned from the firm, a source close to the matter said. Neither could immediately be reached for comment. Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-30T13:12:00.000+03:00|FDA approves TherapeuticsMD's hormone therapy|(Reuters) - Women’s healthcare company TherapeuticsMD Inc won its first-ever U.S. approval on Wednesday with the drug regulator clearing its hormone therapy for a painful condition triggered by menopause after rejecting it a year earlier. A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo The company’s shares were volatile, oscillating between gains and losses. They had risen more than 50 percent since the U.S. FDA declined to approve the treatment and then agreed to let the company reapply without a new study. “Given the drug’s review history and apparent market skepticism as to its approvability, the FDA’s decision should be viewed as a major event,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst William Tanner said. The treatment, Imvexxy, has been approved for use in two doses to treat moderate-to-severe dyspareunia, or vaginal pain associated with sex, but comes with a black box warning, the regulator’s strictest, flagging risks of cardiovascular disorders, probable dementia and endometrial and breast cancers. On a call with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Robert Finizio said the drug’s label was better than expected, despite the warning. Dyspareunia is a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy, a condition triggered by the loss of female hormone estrogen after menopause that the company estimates affect about 32 million women in the United States. The company said its 4 mcg dose is set to be the lowest available on the market, at a time when the FDA is pushing for lower doses of hormone therapies. “When you have the lowest effective dose, that’s a huge advantage,” Finizio said. Imvexxy is expected to bring in peak U.S. sales of $650 million by 2032, according to an estimate by Jefferies analyst Matthew Andrews. The company, which plans to conduct a post-approval observational study, plans to price Imvexxy on a par with currently available treatments. Imvexxy is delivered through a softgel capsule inserted into the vagina, distinguishing it from competing products including Allergan Plc’s Estrace cream and NovoNordisk’s Vagifem insert. The approval also turns the spotlight on TherapeuticsMD’s second hormone therapy, TX-001, which analysts expect to be approved by October. TX-001, which will treat menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes, is already being seen as a potential blockbuster by analysts. Imvexxy and TX-001 are expected to rake in revenue of $112 million in 2019, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Tanner. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INhealth|0
2018-05-30T13:12:00.000+03:00|FDA approves TherapeuticsMD's hormone therapy|May 30, 2018 / 10:13 AM / Updated 2 hours ago TherapeuticsMD's therapy for menopause-related condition gets approval Tamara Mathias 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Women’s healthcare company TherapeuticsMD Inc won its first-ever U.S. approval on Wednesday with the drug regulator clearing its hormone therapy for a painful condition triggered by menopause after rejecting it a year earlier. A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo The company’s shares were volatile, oscillating between gains and losses. They had risen more than 50 percent since the U.S. FDA declined to approve the treatment and then agreed to let the company reapply without a new study. “Given the drug’s review history and apparent market skepticism as to its approvability, the FDA’s decision should be viewed as a major event,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst William Tanner said. The treatment, Imvexxy, has been approved for use in two doses to treat moderate-to-severe dyspareunia, or vaginal pain associated with sex, but comes with a black box warning, the regulator’s strictest, flagging risks of cardiovascular disorders, probable dementia and endometrial and breast cancers. On a call with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Robert Finizio said the drug’s label was better than expected, despite the warning. Dyspareunia is a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy, a condition triggered by the loss of female hormone estrogen after menopause that the company estimates affect about 32 million women in the United States. The company said its 4 mcg dose is set to be the lowest available on the market, at a time when the FDA is pushing for lower doses of hormone therapies. “When you have the lowest effective dose, that’s a huge advantage,” Finizio said. Imvexxy is expected to bring in peak U.S. sales of $650 million by 2032, according to an estimate by Jefferies analyst Matthew Andrews. The company, which plans to conduct a post-approval observational study, plans to price Imvexxy on a par with currently available treatments. Imvexxy is delivered through a softgel capsule inserted into the vagina, distinguishing it from competing products including Allergan Plc’s Estrace cream and NovoNordisk’s Vagifem insert. The approval also turns the spotlight on TherapeuticsMD’s second hormone therapy, TX-001, which analysts expect to be approved by October. TX-001, which will treat menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes, is already being seen as a potential blockbuster by analysts. Imvexxy and TX-001 are expected to rake in revenue of $112 million in 2019, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Tanner. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKhealth/|0
2018-05-30T13:19:00.000+03:00|Samsung firms sell $1.3 billion Samsung Electronics stock to maintain compliance|May 30, 2018 / 10:24 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Samsung firms sell $1.3 billion Samsung Electronics stock to maintain compliance Ju-min Park , Joyce Lee 3 Min Read SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Group’s two insurance firms said on Wednesday they will sell $1.3 billion worth of stock in the conglomerate’s biggest earner, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, to maintain regulatory compliance. A man leaves Samsung Life's main office building in Seoul March 31, 2010. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won/Files Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co Ltd separately said their electronics affiliate’s current policy of cancelling its own shares to raise the value of investors’ holdings risks pushing their own holdings beyond regulatory limits. Samsung Electronics stock fell 3.5 percent after local media first reported the sales plans, as investors feared the sudden increased supply would push down its price, analysts said. The announcements come at a time when regulators are questioning conglomerates’ cross-shareholding arrangements, saying the web-like ownership structures undermine corporate governance by allowing founding families to control business empires with only direct minority stakes in key units. In South Korea, conglomerates’ financial arms are required to limit their combined stake in a non-financial affiliate to 10 percent. Samsung Life owns 8.63 percent of Samsung Electronics stock with a market value of $26 billion. It said it will sell 1.2 trillion won ($1.11 billion) worth in a single transaction before the stock market opens on Thursday, reducing its stake to 7.92 percent. Samsung Fire & Marine said it will also conduct a block sale of 206 billion won worth of stock, reducing its stake to 1.38 percent from 1.45 percent. Samsung Life may need to further reduce its holding should parliament push through a 2016 proposal to limit an insurer’s investment in any affiliate to 3 percent or less of the insurer’s total assets, to promote stable asset management. The ownership of South Korea’s powerful conglomerates has come under increased scrutiny this year following a series of scandals involving members of conglomerates’ founding families. The chairman of the Financial Services Commission recently said Samsung - a group of 62 affiliates - must consider ways to reduce the risk of having too much of its $375 billion assets concentrated in one place, including selling some or all of Samsung Life’s stake in Samsung Electronics. The chief of the Korea Fair Trade Commission also called the group’s ownership structure “unsustainable”. In April, Samsung SDI Co Ltd sold $526 million worth of shares in affiliate Samsung C&T Corp to reduce cross-shareholding and secure funds for investment. ($1 = 1,079.0100 won)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-30T13:21:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Telepizza Approves Share Buyback Program Of Up To 3.4 Pct Of Share Capital|May 30 (Reuters) - Telepizza Group SA: * SAID ON TUESDAY IT HAD APPROVED SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM OF UP TO 3.4 MILLION SHARES, REPRESENTING 3.41 PERCENT OF SHARE CAPITAL, FOR UP TO 15.5 MILLION EUROS * THE PROGRAM WILL RUN FROM MAY 30, 2018 TILL MAY 29, 2019 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-30T13:24:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank looking to sell stake in Dubai-based Abraaj - sources|May 30, 2018 / 10:24 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Deutsche Bank looking to sell stake in Dubai-based Abraaj - sources Davide Barbuscia , Tom Arnold 4 Min Read DUBAI (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) is looking to sell its small stake in Dubai-based Abraaj, the embattled private equity firm involved in a row over alleged misuse of investor money, two sources familiar with the matter said. FILE PHOTO: 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 The potential sale, which the German bank has been considering for some time, has become more urgent since Abraaj, the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, has been locked in a dispute with investors, said the sources. Deutsche, which is undergoing a restructuring and said last week it plans to cut at least 7,000 jobs worldwide, has an 8.8 percent stake in Abraaj Holdings, according to the bank’s latest annual report. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the planned stake sale. An Abraaj spokeswoman said Abraaj Holdings could not comment on a matter related to its shareholders. Deutsche considers its share in Abraaj as a non-core asset. One of the sources said the bank asked for a valuation of its shareholding about two years ago, but the valuation was not as strong as hoped. As part of a global scaling back of its equities business, Germany’s largest lender has cut eight positions within its equities research team in Dubai as it moves to close the unit, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. The restructuring process added more urgency to the plan to get rid of its stake in Abraaj, the sources said. “There was never an active pitching process before, maybe they are regretting it now. Any sale now will be at a big discount,” said one of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. According to Abraaj’s 2014-15 annual review - the latest available on its website - Deutsche Bank had a representative on Abraaj’s board. A source close to the matter said that was no longer the case. A valuation of Deutsche’s stake is difficult because Abraaj has not disclosed the quantum of its debt, bankers say. One way to look at it, amid no visibility of future fund raising, is that Abraaj Holdings’ investment management unit is valued at as much as $500 million (377 million pounds), one of the bankers said. Abraaj is facing an investigation by four investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm - the International Finance Corporation - over the alleged misuse of some of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Following the row the firm, which has denied any wrongdoing, has been considering selling some or all of its investment business unit. The cash from the sale of the investment business unit, and from a sale of Abraaj’s stake in Pakistani utility K-Electric, would ease cash flow pressures that have seen the company violating certain conditions related to a portion of its debt, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Since the investor dispute erupted earlier this year, Abraaj, which at one point was managing $13.6 billion, has undertaken a review of its corporate structure. That has included cutting around 15 percent of jobs, shaking up its management, suspending new investments, and freeing up large investors from millions of dollars in capital commitments. In the latest sign of changes, Bisher Barazi, the chief financial officer of Abraaj’s private equity unit, and Matthew McGuire, the chief operating officer, have resigned from the firm, a source close to the matter said. Neither could immediately be reached for comment. Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Susan Fenton|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T13:24:00.000+03:00|Brazil's Taesa seeks shareholder approval to take part in transmission auction|SAO PAULO, May 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian power transmission company Transmissora Aliança de Energia Eletrica SA will seek approval at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on June 14 to participate in an upcoming government transmission auction, either alone or in a consortium, it said in a filing on Wednesday morning. According to the website of Brazilian power regulator Aneel, the auction in question will occur on June 28 at Sao Paulo’s B3 SA stock exchange. Taesa is controlled by Colombia’s ISA and Brazil’s Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA. (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T13:26:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-FDA approves TherapeuticsMD's hormone therapy|May 30, 2018 / 10:26 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago UPDATE 1-FDA approves TherapeuticsMD's hormone therapy Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Adds details on approval, background) May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TherapeuticsMD Inc’s hormone therapy for a painful condition triggered by menopause, giving the women’s health company its first approved drug. The treatment, Imvexxy, treats a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy, a condition caused by the loss of female hormone estrogen after menopause. The drug is delivered via a softgel capsule inserted into the vagina, distinguishing it from competing products including Allergan Plc’s Estrace cream and NovoNordisk’s Vagifem insert. Safety warnings on Imvexxy’s label flag risks of endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disorders, breast cancer, and probable dementia. Last year, the FDA declined to approve the drug, citing a requirement for long-term safety data, but allowed the company to apply for approval again without conducting a new study. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T14:10:00.000+03:00|China's slow approvals of biotech crops cost U.S. $7 billion, says industry group|May 30, 2018 / 11:10 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago China's slow approvals of biotech crops cost U.S. $7 billion, says industry group Tom Polansek 3 Min Read CHICAGO (Reuters) - Delays in Chinese approvals of imported genetically modified crops have cut U.S. gross domestic product by about $7 billion (5.3 billion pounds) over the past five years by reducing sales of crops and other goods, an industry group that represents global seed companies said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Genetically modified corn are seen cultivated at a greenhouse in Syngenta Biotech Center in Beijing, China, February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The report by CropLife International indicates what is at stake for the administration of President Donald Trump as it seeks better access for U.S. GMO crops into China as part of a trade deal under discussion. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to visit Beijing this week for talks, after months of escalating tensions that had threatened a trade war. The United States said on Tuesday it still held its threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and would use it unless Beijing addressed its concerns over the theft of American intellectual property. Global seeds and chemical companies have long wanted wider access for GMO crops in China because it is the world’s top buyer of soybeans and a major buyer of other grains. China does not permit planting of GMO food crops but allows imports of GMO soybeans and corn for use in its massive animal feed industry. But the approval process for new GMO strains is slow, unpredictable and not based on science, according to the U.S. biotech industry. The sector says delays in Chinese approvals hurt the value of U.S. corn harvests by preventing farmers from using new seeds that can protect crops from pests and weeds. As a result, farmers spend less on products ranging from fertilizer to equipment, with ripple effects on economic growth, said Scott Richman, senior vice president at Informa Agribusiness Consulting Group, which CropLife commissioned to do the study. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which regulates GMO crop approvals, did not respond to a fax seeking comment on how its reviews affect the U.S. economy. “We need a system in China that facilitates trade,” said Matt O’Mara, a vice president for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a CropLife affiliate. Companies such as Bayer AG ( BAYGn.DE ), Monsanto Co ( MON.N ), DowDuPont ( DWDP.N ) and ChemChina’s Syngenta have been waiting as long as seven years for China to approve strains of soybeans, canola and alfalfa. Reporting by Tom Polanesk, Additional reporting by Dominique Patton in Beijing, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T14:21:00.000+03:00|Samsung Life to sell $925 mln Samsung Elec stake via block deal -report|SEOUL, May 30 (Reuters) - Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd plans to sell part of its shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd worth 1 trillion won ($925.75 million), local media reported on Wednesday. ChosunBiz cited an unidentified finance industry source as saying Samsung Life’s board had passed the sale plan. An official at Samsung Life said he was checking the report. $1 = 1,080.2000 won Reporting by Ju-min Park  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-30T14:32:00.000+03:00|Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO|May 30, 2018 / 11:36 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO Reuters Staff * Company expects to see fruits of past investments in 2019 * Industry-wide costs will likely start rising * Might seek junior partner to help finance Chile project * South Deep mine in South Africa ‘improving slowly’ * World gold output likely to plateau at 100 mln ounces By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes LIMA, Africa’s Gold Fields is setting aside pursuit of new acquisitions for a year as it focuses on its existing operations and nearby prospects instead, the bullion producer’s chief executive told Reuters late on Tuesday. Gold Fields’ finances might be “a little bit negative” this year before likely improving in 2019, when the company should begin to reap the rewards from two years of heavy investing, Nick Holland said. In March, Gold Fields announced it was spending $202.6 million on a partnership with Canadian miner Asanko Gold Inc , part of a strategy of buying cash generative, operative mines. But Gold Fields plans to hold off on additional acquisitions through at least early next year. “We don’t want to really stretch ourselves,” Holland said in an interview at the International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima, Peru. “The strategy of the company now is more focused on organic brownfields, near-mine growth, in and around where we are,” Holland said. Gold Fields operates producing mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Peru. It recently submitted an environmental impact assessment for its proposed Salares Norte mine in Chile, though construction would not likely begin until 2020, Holland said. The company might seek out a junior partner to help finance Salares Norte, which is estimated to cost $850 million. “That’s a big check to pay,” Holland said. “We want to build it, for sure...we’re just trying to figure out if we should do it on our own.” AUTONOMOUS MINING Holland warned that costs for the global gold mining industry will likely start rising on higher fuel prices, wages and inflation more broadly, while ore grades continue to fall and remaining reserves become harder to reach. Holland said he expects annual global gold production going forward to plateau at current levels of around 100 million ounces. “The way we’ve mined over the past 50 years is not the way we’re going to mine in the future,” Holland said. “We are going to have to look at autonomous mining, we are going to have to look at different ways of extracting the ore.” Gold Fields has already deployed remotely operated or semi-autonomous equipment in Australia, Ghana and South Africa, and plans to use more going forward, Holland said, noting deep cost savings for the iron ore industry thanks to automation. Technological advances are also helping Gold Fields extend the life of its Cerro Corona mine in northern Peru, through 2030 or maybe longer, Holland said. “We’re looking at all of our mines in terms of life extension,” Holland said. “Most have potential that we haven’t fully unlocked. And that’s the more cost-effective way for us to grow.” Holland added that the company’s South Deep mine in South Africa appears to be stabilizing. “I think things are improving slowly,” Holland said. South Deep, the company’s last South African asset, has faced numerous operational obstacles in a tough geological setting 3 km (2 miles) below the surface and made a loss of 337.6 million rand ($27 million) in 2017. Reporting By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes Editing by Chizu Nomiyama 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-05-30T14:32:00.000+03:00|Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO|* Company expects to see fruits of past investments in 2019 * Industry-wide costs will likely start rising * Might seek junior partner to help finance Chile project * South Deep mine in South Africa ‘improving slowly’ * World gold output likely to plateau at 100 mln ounces By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes LIMA, May 30 (Reuters) - South Africa’s Gold Fields is setting aside pursuit of new acquisitions for a year as it focuses on its existing operations and nearby prospects instead, the bullion producer’s chief executive told Reuters late on Tuesday. Gold Fields’ finances might be “a little bit negative” this year before likely improving in 2019, when the company should begin to reap the rewards from two years of heavy investing, Nick Holland said. In March, Gold Fields announced it was spending $202.6 million on a partnership with Canadian miner Asanko Gold Inc , part of a strategy of buying cash generative, operative mines. But Gold Fields plans to hold off on additional acquisitions through at least early next year. “We don’t want to really stretch ourselves,” Holland said in an interview at the International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima, Peru. “The strategy of the company now is more focused on organic brownfields, near-mine growth, in and around where we are,” Holland said. Gold Fields operates producing mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Peru. It recently submitted an environmental impact assessment for its proposed Salares Norte mine in Chile, though construction would not likely begin until 2020, Holland said. The company might seek out a junior partner to help finance Salares Norte, which is estimated to cost $850 million. “That’s a big check to pay,” Holland said. “We want to build it, for sure...we’re just trying to figure out if we should do it on our own.” AUTONOMOUS MINING Holland warned that costs for the global gold mining industry will likely start rising on higher fuel prices, wages and inflation more broadly, while ore grades continue to fall and remaining reserves become harder to reach. Holland said he expects annual global gold production going forward to plateau at current levels of around 100 million ounces. “The way we’ve mined over the past 50 years is not the way we’re going to mine in the future,” Holland said. “We are going to have to look at autonomous mining, we are going to have to look at different ways of extracting the ore.” Gold Fields has already deployed remotely operated or semi-autonomous equipment in Australia, Ghana and South Africa, and plans to use more going forward, Holland said, noting deep cost savings for the iron ore industry thanks to automation. Technological advances are also helping Gold Fields extend the life of its Cerro Corona mine in northern Peru, through 2030 or maybe longer, Holland said. “We’re looking at all of our mines in terms of life extension,” Holland said. “Most have potential that we haven’t fully unlocked. And that’s the more cost-effective way for us to grow.” Holland added that the company’s South Deep mine in South Africa appears to be stabilizing. “I think things are improving slowly,” Holland said. South Deep, the company’s last South African asset, has faced numerous operational obstacles in a tough geological setting 3 km (2 miles) below the surface and made a loss of 337.6 million rand ($27 million) in 2017. Reporting By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes Editing by Chizu Nomiyama  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T14:36:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (May 30)|BRUSSELS, May 30 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Investment firm HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK insurance broker Capita Specialist Insurance Soluions Ld (approved May 29) — U.S. insurer American International Group to acquire Bermuda-based reinsurer Validus Holdings Ltd (approved May 29) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE MAY 30 — U.S. cable company Liberty Global to acquire Dutch peer Ziggo (notified April 4/deadline extended to May 30 from May 15 after Liberty Global offered concessions) JUNE 1 — Swiss engineering company ABB to acquire General Electric’s industrial solutions business (notified April 20/deadline June 1) JUNE 8 — Private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire packaging company Walki Holding (notified April 27/deadline June 8/simplified) JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-30T15:00:00.000+03:00|Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO|May 30, 2018 / 12:01 PM / Updated 19 hours ago Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO Mitra Taj, Teresa Cespedes 4 Min Read LIMA (Reuters) - South Africa’s Gold Fields is setting aside pursuit of new acquisitions for a year as it focuses on its existing operations and nearby prospects instead, the bullion producer’s chief executive told Reuters late on Tuesday. Nick Holland, CEO of Gold Fields Limited, attends the 13th International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima, Peru May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo Gold Fields’ finances might be “a little bit negative” this year before likely improving in 2019, when the company should begin to reap the rewards from two years of heavy investing, Nick Holland said. In March, Gold Fields announced it was spending $202.6 million on a partnership with Canadian miner Asanko Gold Inc, part of a strategy of buying cash generative, operative mines. But Gold Fields plans to hold off on additional acquisitions through at least early next year. “We don’t want to really stretch ourselves,” Holland said in an interview at the International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima, Peru. “The strategy of the company now is more focused on organic brownfields, near-mine growth, in and around where we are,” Holland said. Gold Fields operates producing mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Peru. It recently submitted an environmental impact assessment for its proposed Salares Norte mine in Chile, though construction would not likely begin until 2020, Holland said. The company might seek out a junior partner to help finance Salares Norte, which is estimated to cost $850 million. “That’s a big check to pay,” Holland said. “We want to build it, for sure...we’re just trying to figure out if we should do it on our own.” AUTONOMOUS MINING Holland warned that costs for the global gold mining industry will likely start rising on higher fuel prices, wages and inflation more broadly, while ore grades continue to fall and remaining reserves become harder to reach. Holland said he expects annual global gold production going forward to plateau at current levels of around 100 million ounces. “The way we’ve mined over the past 50 years is not the way we’re going to mine in the future,” Holland said. “We are going to have to look at autonomous mining, we are going to have to look at different ways of extracting the ore.” Gold Fields has already deployed remotely operated or semi-autonomous equipment in Australia, Ghana and South Africa, and plans to use more going forward, Holland said, noting deep cost savings for the iron ore industry thanks to automation. Technological advances are also helping Gold Fields extend the life of its Cerro Corona mine in northern Peru, through 2030 or maybe longer, Holland said. “We’re looking at all of our mines in terms of life extension,” Holland said. “Most have potential that we haven’t fully unlocked. And that’s the more cost-effective way for us to grow.” Holland added that the company’s South Deep mine in South Africa appears to be stabilizing. “I think things are improving slowly,” Holland said. South Deep, the company’s last South African asset, has faced numerous operational obstacles in a tough geological setting 3 km (2 miles) below the surface and made a loss of 337.6 million rand ($27 million) in 2017. Reporting By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-05-30T15:01:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Boerse beefs up forex business with $100 million buy|BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse AG ( DB1Gn.DE ) is beefing up its foreign exchange business with a $100 million deal to buy GTX’s Electronic Communication Network (ECN) business from GAIN Capital Holdings Inc. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that GTX’s ECN business, which had gross revenues of around $23 million in 2017, would help it add access to deep FX spot liquidity. Deutsche Boerse expects the deal to be cash accretive in the first year after closing. The acquisition should meet its return on investment target of more than 10 per cent at the latest in the third year after closing, it said. Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Victoria Bryan  |https://www.reuters.com/|1
2018-05-30T15:01:00.000+03:00|Sri Lankan shares fall to 4-month closing low on foreign selling|COLOMBO, May 30 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares fell for a third straight session on Wednesday and posted their lowest close in more than four months, as foreign investors sold diversified stocks such as conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc and Aitken Spence Plc. A weaker rupee, political uncertainty and the recent fuel price hike also weighed on sentiment, with investors mostly keeping to the sidelines awaiting cues about the real impact of the floods that hit the island nation over the past week, brokers said. Foreign investors sold net 1.11 billion rupees worth of equities on Wednesday, turning the year-to-date foreign trade to a net outflow of 900.9 million rupees worth of shares. The Colombo stock index ended 0.5 percent weaker at 6,420.98. It fell 0.4 percent last week. Turnover was 1.7 billion rupees ($10.76 million) on Wednesday, well above this year’s daily average of 984.5 million rupees. “Market came down on heavy foreign selling on John Keells,” said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Holdings. “Foreign investors are worried over the rupee depreciation. Currency depreciation is the major worry for foreigners in any country.” Analysts said investors are waiting to see the full impact of the floods, which killed 24 people last week. Shares of John Keells Holdings fell 2.2 percent, Aitken Spence and Company lost 8.1 percent, Sampath Bank Plc ended 1.7 percent weaker and Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc slipped 0.6 percent. The rupee hit a fresh low of 158.50 per dollar on May 16 on importer demand for the U.S. currency. Analysts said market sentiment had been dented by concerns over political instability following President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to suspend parliament last month after 16 legislators from his ruling coalition defected. On May 8, Sirisena urged his own coalition government and the opposition to end a power struggle to achieve ambitious goals including anti-corruption measures. ($1 = 158.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-30T15:08:00.000+03:00|PSA production move wins deal with German unions, angers French|May 30, 2018 / 12:23 PM / a few seconds ago PSA production move wins deal with German unions, angers French Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - French carmaker PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) said on Wednesday it will move production of the Opel Grandland X model from France to Germany under a deal with Opel unions, drawing immediate criticism from domestic workers’ representatives. FILE PHOTO: People walk to the Opel plant in Eisenach, Germany April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo PSA, which bought Opel and sister brand Vauxhall from General Motors ( GM.N ) last year, agreed to build the SUV in Eisenach under a broader deal with Opel workers. On Wednesday it confirmed that Grandland assembly would end in Sochaux, eastern France, but said new overflow production of the Peugeot 5008 model would make up for some lost volume. France’s moderate CFTC union decried the move as “bad news for the plant” and demanded more information from management on the distribution of work between PSA and Opel plants. “As long as we don’t have a clear picture of 5008 volumes, the Grandland’s departure will be a concern,” said Christelle Toillon, an official with the CFE-CGC, another centrist union. PSA had been locked in a standoff with Germany’s IG Metall union until the deal was struck on Tuesday, . Tensions among national unions were already in evidence during the protracted talks, which saw German workers hold out for a 4.3 percent pay rise even as group sites in the UK, Spain and several other countries matched earlier French labor concessions including wage restraint. Under the Opel deal, which includes new production investments at other German sites, workers received five-year job guarantees in return for postponing the nationally negotiated pay hike until 2020. The agreement also validated 3,700 voluntary job cuts already underway at Opel. Reporting by Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Alexandra Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T15:18:00.000+03:00|Turkey says to go elsewhere if U.S. won't sell it F-35 jets - media|ANKARA, May 30 (Reuters) - Turkey will meet its needs elsewhere if the United States does not allow it to procure Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jets, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was Quote: d as saying by broadcaster CNN Turk on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters on a return flight from a visit to Germany, Cavusoglu also said that Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, who had been recalled for consultations after Israeli forces killed Palestinian protesters in Gaza earlier this month, would return to Washington. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-30T15:29:00.000+03:00|Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10|(Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), the company said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Tennis - US Open - Mens Final - New York, U.S. - September 10, 2017 - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar The Fox board also recommended backing the deal but said that it was aware of Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) moves to make an offer for certain assets of the company. Slideshow (2 Images) Comcast said last week it was preparing a higher, all-cash offer for most of the media assets of Fox, but sources say it will only proceed if a federal judge next month allows AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) planned $85-billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ). The announcement of the special meeting date comes after the largest U.S. cable operator Comcast put pressure on Fox and its shareholders to not rush into approving the Disney deal by going public with its plans of a “superior” offer. Disney in December offered stock then worth $52.4 billion to buy Fox’s film, television and international businesses to beef up its offering against streaming rivals Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). A regulatory filing in April showed Comcast offered to buy most of Fox’s assets in an all-stock deal valued at $34.41 per share, or $64 billion last November, just before Disney’s offer was agreed upon. Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Shounak Dasgupta Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T15:33:00.000+03:00|Turkey says to go elsewhere if U.S. won't sell it F-35 jets: media|ANKARA (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Wednesday denied media reports that a deal had been reached between the United States and Turkey on a three-step plan for withdrawing the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from Syria’s Manbij. “We don’t have any agreements yet with the government of Turkey,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement in Washington. “We’re continuing to have ongoing conversations regarding Syria and other issues of mutual concern,” she said, adding that American and Turkish officials had met in Ankara last week for talks on the issue. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday Ankara and Washington had reached a technical agreement on the withdrawal plan, a move Turkey has long sought from the United States. The report comes as differences over Syria policy and Washington’s decision in December to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem have strained ties between the NATO allies. Turkey is outraged by U.S. support for the YPG militia, considering them a terrorist organization. Ankara has threatened to push its offensive in northern Syria’s Afrin region further east to Manbij. Manbij is a potential flashpoint. The Syrian government, Kurdish militants, Syrian rebel groups, Turkey, and the United States all have a military presence in northern Syria. Under the terms of the plan to be finalised during a visit by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Washington on June 4, the YPG will withdraw from Manbij 30 days after the deal is signed, Anadolu said, quoting sources who attended meetings at which the decisions were made. Turkish and U.S. military forces will start joint supervision in Manbij 45 days after the agreement is signed and a local administration will be formed 60 days after June 4, Anadolu said. Earlier on Wednesday, Cavusoglu told broadcaster AHaber that a timetable for the Manbij plans could be set during talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, and that it could be implemented before the end of the summer. Cavusoglu was also Quote: d by media on his return flight from Germany saying that, if finalised, the plan for Manbij could be applied throughout northern Syria. However, a local Manbij official later told Reuters that Cavusoglu’s assertions that U.S. and Turkish forces would temporarily control the region were “premature” and lacked credibility. Relations between Ankara and Washington have hit a low-point due to factors such as the sentencing this month in New York of a former Turkish state bank executive to 32 months in prison for taking part in an Iran sanctions-busting scheme, a case Turkey has called a political attack. DEFENSE PROCUREMENT Turkey has also caused unease in Washington with its decision to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia and drew criticism over its detention of a U.S. Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, on terrorism charges. Brunson faces up to 35 years in prison on charges of links to the network Ankara blames for a 2016 coup attempt. The pastor denied the charges in a Turkish court this month. A U.S. Senate committee last week passed its version of a $716 billion defense policy bill, including a measure to prevent Turkey from buying Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, citing Brunson and the Russian missile deal. Cavusoglu, however, said that if the United States blocked Turkey from buying the jets, Ankara would go elsewhere to meet its needs, adding that it was unlikely Washington would be able to back out of the deal. Turkey has plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 jets and the Pentagon last year awarded Lockheed $3.7 billion in an interim payment for the production of 50 of the aircraft earmarked for non-U.S. customers, including Ankara. Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Tom Brown  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T15:34:00.000+03:00|Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10|May 30, 2018 / 12:35 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), the company said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The 21st Century Fox logo is displayed on the side of a building in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The Fox board also recommended backing the deal but said that it was aware of Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) moves to make an offer for the company. Comcast said last week it was preparing a higher, all-cash offer for most of the media assets of Fox, but sources say it will only proceed if a federal judge next month allows AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) planned $85-billion (64 billion pounds) acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ). Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T15:41:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Engie buys Swiss company Priora FM SA|May 30 (Reuters) - Engie SA: * ENGIE Switzerland acquires Priora FM SA from Priora Group, further expanding its business for airports * Priora FM SA is based in Geneva, handles the management of buildings, infrastructures and performs all facility management tasks for its clients.  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|1
2018-05-30T15:44:00.000+03:00|Blackstone sees scope for Italian deals despite political strife|NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alternative asset manager Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) is still open to doing deals in Italy despite political turmoil in the euro zone country, President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid “Sure. It’s a function of price,” Gray said at a conference organized by Deutsche Bank, when asked if the company would buy Italian assets right now. “If you look back after Brexit, in our real estate business, we bought a couple of hundred million of pounds of warehouses. It was literally 10 days after Brexit. We tend to focus more on long-term value than short-term market movements.” Gray also said Blackstone, with $449.6 billion of assets under management, continues to consider switching over from a partnership to a corporation after peers KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) and Ares Management ( ARES.N ) said they would convert this year. “We’re going to watch it, see what markets do, see how these companies trade, think about it ourselves,” Gray said. “When we think it’s the right time, we’ll make that decision,” Gray added. In January, Blackstone agreed to buy a majority stake in the Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters Corp ( TRI.N ), ( TRI.TO ), the parent company of Reuters News, in a $20 billion deal. Reuters News will remain part of Thomson Reuters. (This version of the story removes extraneous word from second paragraph) Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Richard Chang  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-30T15:53:00.000+03:00|Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10|May 30, 2018 / 12:33 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), the company said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The Twenty-First Century Fox Studios flag flies over the company building in Los Angeles, California U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson The Fox board also recommended backing the deal but said that it was aware of Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) moves to make an offer for certain assets of the company. Comcast said last week it was preparing a higher, all-cash offer for most of the media assets of Fox, but sources say it will only proceed if a federal judge next month allows AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) planned $85-billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ). The announcement of the special meeting date comes after the largest U.S. cable operator Comcast put pressure on Fox and its shareholders to not rush into approving the Disney deal by going public with its plans of a “superior” offer. Disney in December offered stock then worth $52.4 billion to buy Fox’s film, television and international businesses to beef up its offering against streaming rivals Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). A regulatory filing in April showed Comcast offered to buy most of Fox’s assets in an all-stock deal valued at $34.41 per share, or $64 billion last November, just before Disney’s offer was agreed upon. Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Shounak Dasgupta|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-30T15:53:00.000+03:00|Sweden set to close $1 bln Patriot missile deal|STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden will close a deal in the next few weeks with U.S. arms maker Raytheon Co ( RTN.N ) to buy the Patriot air defense missile system as it modernizes its armed forces amid heightened tensions with Russia. FILE PHOTO: Logo of the U.S. defense company Raytheon is pictured at an international military fair in Kielce, Poland September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Moscow’s brief war with Georgia in 2008 and its annexation of the Crimea Peninsula six years later has pushed Sweden, not a NATO member but with close ties to the alliance, to rebuild its armed forces after decades of neglect. “We are now done negotiating with the U.S. about Patriot and will now ask the government’s permission to sign the contract,” said Joakim Lewin, head of the Army Design Office at the Swedish Materiel Administration (FMV), which procures and maintains equipment for the military. The deal is initially worth around 10 billion crowns ($1.13 billion) and is the biggest military purchase since 2013 when Sweden started to upgrade 60 Saab SAAB.ST Gripen fighters, a deal worth around 47 billion crowns. Sweden’s current air defense system, which is over a decade old, cannot shoot down enemy ballistic robots. According to Lewin, the Patriot deal includes four firing units, parts, training and an undisclosed number of missiles. The contract also includes an option to expand the purchase to up to 300 missiles. If the option is used, the final bill will be around $3 billion, Lewin said. Delivery is expected to start in 2021. So far, 15 other countries have purchased the Patriots, including NATO members Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland. Neutral Switzerland has said it is considering Patriot among other systems. The Swedish government has until August 10th to make a final decision on the deal. Reporting by Johan Sennero; Editing by Simon Johnson and Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T15:56:00.000+03:00|Sweden set to close $1 billion Patriot missile deal|May 30, 2018 / 12:59 PM / a few seconds ago Sweden set to close $1 billion Patriot missile deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden will close a deal in the next few weeks with U.S. arms maker Raytheon Co ( RTN.N ) to buy the Patriot air defense missile system as it modernizes its armed forces amid heightened tensions with Russia. FILE PHOTO: Logo of the U.S. defense company Raytheon is pictured at an international military fair in Kielce, Poland September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Moscow’s brief war with Georgia in 2008 and its annexation of the Crimea Peninsula six years later has pushed Sweden, not a NATO member but with close ties to the alliance, to rebuild its armed forces after decades of neglect. “We are now done negotiating with the U.S. about Patriot and will now ask the government’s permission to sign the contract,” said Joakim Lewin, head of the Army Design Office at the Swedish Materiel Administration (FMV), which procures and maintains equipment for the military. The deal is initially worth around 10 billion crowns ($1.13 billion) and is the biggest military purchase since 2013 when Sweden started to upgrade 60 Saab SAAB.ST Gripen fighters, a deal worth around 47 billion crowns. Sweden’s current air defense system, which is over a decade old, cannot shoot down enemy ballistic robots. According to Lewin, the Patriot deal includes four firing units, parts, training and an undisclosed number of missiles. The contract also includes an option to expand the purchase to up to 300 missiles. If the option is used, the final bill will be around $3 billion, Lewin said. Delivery is expected to start in 2021. So far, 15 other countries have purchased the Patriots, including NATO members Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland. Neutral Switzerland has said it is considering Patriot among other systems. The Swedish government has until August 10th to make a final decision on the deal. Reporting by Johan Sennero; Editing by Simon Johnson and Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T16:00:00.000+03:00|Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals|BERLIN (Reuters) - Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ) can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike ( NKE.N ) in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams. However, the German sportswear brand, which is also the official sponsor of the tournament, expects only a limited financial impact, partly because this year’s World Cup takes place in Russia, where the economy is in the doldrums. “The World Cup in Russia does carry lower financial opportunities than the similar event four years ago in Brazil,” Adidas Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said earlier this month. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fantastic way of bringing our brand to life globally,” Rorsted added. Since the last tournament in 2014, Adidas has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalizing on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market. Nevertheless, soccer remains important for the image of the German brand, which has supplied the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a deal to sponsor the event until 2030. It also announced last week it will extend its partnership with the UEFA Champions League until 2021. After Nike kitted out more teams for the first time in Brazil in 2014, Adidas has fought back, this year sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. Nike, which only got heavily involved in soccer when the World Cup was played in the United States in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. “The World Cup is such a powerful moment in sport, and we look forward to amplifying its energy,” Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said in March. (For graphic on kit manufacturers throughout World Cup tournaments, click tmsnrt.rs/2JiAK6W ) Slideshow (2 Images) NO IRANIANS WEAR NIKE While team deals are important for sales of soccer jerseys, more critical for sales of boots is the sponsorship of top players, particularly the likes of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who wears Nike, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in Adidas. Nike expects 60 percent of all the players heading to Russia will be wearing its boots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians, even though they will be wearing Adidas shirts. An exception is Iran, which faces new sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal. Nike says none of the country’s players are wearing its shoes, while Adidas is providing the team’s jerseys. A Nike spokesman said: “This has no relation to any political situation.” German brand Puma ( PUMG.DE ) is a distant third, sponsoring just four relatively lowly teams in the competition, compared with the eight it kitted out in 2014, dented by the failure of its top team Italy to qualify. Still, Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden says the World Cup has helped its order book for the second and third quarters. Adidas reported soccer-related sales of 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in 2014, when it sold 14 million official match balls and 8 million jerseys, including 3 million for the winning German team. Sales rose to 2.5 billion euros by 2016, but slipped as a proportion of total Adidas revenue to 13.5 percent from 14.5 percent in 2014. It has not disclosed figures since then. Nike saw soccer sales fall a currency-adjusted 4 percent to $2 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, accounting for less than 6 percent of group revenue. The World Cup could add about 3 to 4 percentage points to Adidas group revenue growth in 2018, lower than previous tournaments due to the fact it is happening in Russia, according to Piral Dadhania, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. However, Dadhania noted much of the benefit occurs before the event as the jerseys have already been sold to retailers. “Any incremental boost during or after the event relating to jersey sales depends on the extent to which specific teams progress through the competition,” Dadhania said. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Holmes  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-30T16:00:00.000+03:00|'Words with Friends' maker Zynga buys Gram Games for $250 mln|(Reuters) - Zynga Inc ( ZNGA.O ) has bought mobile gaming startup Gram Games for $250 million to boost its portfolio of franchise-based titles, it said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO - The Zynga logo is pictured at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California April 23, 2014. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo With Istanbul-based Gram, the company behind “Words with Friends” and “Farmville” will gain access to easy-to-play and addictive titles such as “1010!” and “Merge Dragons!”. “Merge Dragons!” in particular had the potential to become a long-running franchise for Zynga, its Chief Executive Officer Frank Gibeau said in a statement. The acquisition is Zynga’s latest attempt to bolster its mobile gaming business — which generates revenue through ads and in-game purchases of additional features — as it shifts focus away from once-popular titles such as “Farmville”. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-30T16:03:00.000+03:00|Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals|May 30, 2018 / 1:04 PM / Updated 42 minutes ago Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals Emma Thomasson 5 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ) can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike ( NKE.N ) in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams. FILE PHOTO: Shareholders arrive for Adidas annual general meeting in Fuerth near Nuremberg, Germany, May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo/File Photo However, the German sportswear brand, which is also the official sponsor of the tournament, expects only a limited financial impact, partly because this year’s World Cup takes place in Russia, where the economy is in the doldrums. “The World Cup in Russia does carry lower financial opportunities than the similar event four years ago in Brazil,” Adidas Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said earlier this month. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fantastic way of bringing our brand to life globally,” Rorsted added. Since the last tournament in 2014, Adidas has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalising on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market. Nevertheless, soccer remains important for the image of the German brand, which has supplied the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a deal to sponsor the event until 2030. It also announced last week it will extend its partnership with the UEFA Champions League until 2021. After Nike kitted out more teams for the first time in Brazil in 2014, Adidas has fought back, this year sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. Nike, which only got heavily involved in soccer when the World Cup was played in the United States in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. “The World Cup is such a powerful moment in sport, and we look forward to amplifying its energy,” Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said in March. NO IRANIANS WEAR NIKE While team deals are important for sales of soccer jerseys, more critical for sales of boots is the sponsorship of top players, particularly the likes of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who wears Nike, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in Adidas. Nike expects 60 percent of all the players heading to Russia will be wearing its boots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians, even though they will be wearing Adidas shirts. An exception is Iran, which faces new sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal. Nike says none of the country’s players are wearing its shoes, while Adidas is providing the team’s jerseys. German brand Puma ( PUMG.DE ) is a distant third, sponsoring just four relatively lowly teams in the competition, compared with the eight it kitted out in 2014, dented by the failure of its top team Italy to qualify. Still, Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden says the World Cup has helped its order book for the second and third quarters. Adidas reported soccer-related sales of 2.1 billion euros (1.8 billion pounds) in 2014, when it sold 14 million official match balls and 8 million jerseys, including 3 million for the winning German team. Sales rose to 2.5 billion euros by 2016, but slipped as a proportion of total Adidas revenue to 13.5 percent from 14.5 percent in 2014. It has not disclosed figures since then. Nike saw soccer sales fall a currency-adjusted 4 percent to $2 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, accounting for less than 6 percent of group revenue. The World Cup could add about 3 to 4 percentage points to Adidas group revenue growth in 2018, lower than previous tournaments due to the fact it is happening in Russia, according to Piral Dadhania, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. However, Dadhania noted much of the benefit occurs before the event as the jerseys have already been sold to retailers. “Any incremental boost during or after the event relating to jersey sales depends on the extent to which specific teams progress through the competition,” Dadhania said. Graphic: Kit manufacturers throughout World Cup tournaments - tmsnrt.rs/2JiAK6W Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Holmes|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T16:10:00.000+03:00|REFILE-UPDATE 1-Blackstone sees scope for Italian deals despite political strife|(Removes extraneous word from second paragraph) By Joshua Franklin NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Alternative asset manager Blackstone Group LP is still open to doing deals in Italy despite political turmoil in the euro zone country, President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said on Wednesday. “Sure. It’s a function of price,” Gray said at a conference organized by Deutsche Bank, when asked if the company would buy Italian assets right now. “If you look back after Brexit, in our real estate business, we bought a couple of hundred million of pounds of warehouses. It was literally 10 days after Brexit. We tend to focus more on long-term value than short-term market movements.” Gray also said Blackstone, with $449.6 billion of assets under management, continues to consider switching over from a partnership to a corporation after peers KKR & Co LP and Ares Management said they would convert this year. “We’re going to watch it, see what markets do, see how these companies trade, think about it ourselves,” Gray said. “When we think it’s the right time, we’ll make that decision,” Gray added. In January, Blackstone agreed to buy a majority stake in the Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters Corp, , the parent company of Reuters News, in a $20 billion deal. Reuters News will remain part of Thomson Reuters. Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Richard Chang  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-30T16:19:00.000+03:00|Israel anti-trust authority rejects Mizrahi-Union bank merger|JERUSALEM, May 30 (Reuters) - Israel’s anti-trust authority said on Wednesday it was opposed to the planned merger between Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank and Union Bank on the grounds it was liable to harm competition. Mizrahi, Israel’s third-largest bank, had agreed to buy Union, the country’s sixth-largest, in an all share deal valued at 1.4 billion shekels ($391 million). The authority said its decision was final, but the parties have the right to appeal. Earlier in the day, Supervisor of Banks Hedva Ber told reporters the merger would not hurt competition. $1 = 3.5808 shekels Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-30T16:28:00.000+03:00|NXP shares fall as China's warning revives concerns over Qualcomm deal|(Reuters) - Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ) fell 5 percent on Wednesday after China’s latest warning against U.S. trade threats dulled hopes of an early approval by Beijing for Qualcomm’s ( QCOM.O ) $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker. FILE PHOTO: A booth of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is pictured at an expo in Beijing, China, September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo The company’s shares gained about 9 percent since May 18 on media reports that the chances of the deal winning approval were looking “optimistic” as a U.S.-China trade spat cooled. Also helping was a deal the U.S. government reached to put Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ), ( 0763.HK ) back in business. FILE PHOTO: A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Qualcomm lawyers were expected to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance, three sources told Reuters on Sunday. The meeting was expected before U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in China on Saturday, the sources briefed on Qualcomm’s discussions had said. However, the team of lawyers remained at the company’s San Diego headquarters, as of late Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said. “On hold now,” another person familiar with Qualcomm’s talks with the Chinese government said on Wednesday, declining to be identified as the negotiations are confidential. The deal, announced in October 2016, has been approved by eight of the nine required global regulators, with China the only one pending. Shares of NXP were down 1.2 percent while Qualcomm stock was marginally up premarket. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-30T16:36:00.000+03:00|Ryanair has option to buy all of Laudamotion|VIENNA (Reuters) - Irish airline Ryanair ( RYA.I ) has agreed an option with Niki Lauda that could see it take full ownership of the Laudamotion leisure airline in four years, the company said on Wednesday. Niki Lauda and Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary pose before a news conference in Vienna, Austria, March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader Europe’s largest budget carrier is waiting for European regulatory approval to take a 75 percent stake in the re-branded former Niki airline, the remains of which the former Formula One star bought out of insolvency earlier this year. Ryanair agreed in March to take a 24.9 percent stake in the Austrian carrier and said it planned to raise that to 75 percent as soon as possible. Lauda and Ryanair also agreed an option that allows the Irish carrier to buy the rest of Laudamotion as well, a Ryanair spokeswoman said, confirming a report by Austrian daily Kurier. Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said he would have to pay a “weirdly high price” if he decided to do so, according to the paper. Ryanair said it hoped for the nod from Brussels for the 75 percent stake purchase in the coming weeks. With the acquisition, the budget airline secures its foothold in Austria, which has become a rapidly expanding hub for eastern European destinations. To help Laudamotion to deal with a recent rise in oil prices and become profitable, Ryanair is prepared to increase its investment in the carrier by 20 million euros, to take it to 120 million, it said. Laudamotion will start flying from Vienna on Saturday after starting from Germany in March and from Basel in Switzerland in April. The airline, which mainly flies to tourist destinations in Europe, will have four planes stationed in the Austrian capital in the summer season and plans to double that for winter, Lauda said last week. Ryanair said it planned to expand in Vienna in the coming years and build up a base with up to 50 planes. Germany’s Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) currently has around 90 planes stationed in the Austrian capital. The former Niki airline had 21 carriers in Vienna at its high point. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-30T16:39:00.000+03:00|Ryanair has option to buy all of Laudamotion|May 30, 2018 / 1:44 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Ryanair has option to buy all of Laudamotion Reuters Staff 3 Min Read VIENNA (Reuters) - Irish airline Ryanair ( RYA.I ) has agreed an option with Niki Lauda that could see it take full ownership of the Laudamotion leisure airline in four years, the company said on Wednesday. Niki Lauda and Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary pose before a news conference in Vienna, Austria, March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader Europe’s largest budget carrier is waiting for European regulatory approval to take a 75 percent stake in the re-branded former Niki airline, the remains of which the former Formula One star bought out of insolvency earlier this year. Ryanair agreed in March to take a 24.9 percent stake in the Austrian carrier and said it planned to raise that to 75 percent as soon as possible. Lauda and Ryanair also agreed an option that allows the Irish carrier to buy the rest of Laudamotion as well, a Ryanair spokeswoman said, confirming a report by Austrian daily Kurier. Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said he would have to pay a “weirdly high price” if he decided to do so, according to the paper. Ryanair said it hoped for the nod from Brussels for the 75 percent stake purchase in the coming weeks. With the acquisition, the budget airline secures its foothold in Austria, which has become a rapidly expanding hub for eastern European destinations. To help Laudamotion to deal with a recent rise in oil prices and become profitable, Ryanair is prepared to increase its investment in the carrier by 20 million euros, to take it to 120 million, it said. Laudamotion will start flying from Vienna on Saturday after starting from Germany in March and from Basel in Switzerland in April. The airline, which mainly flies to tourist destinations in Europe, will have four planes stationed in the Austrian capital in the summer season and plans to double that for winter, Lauda said last week. Ryanair said it planned to expand in Vienna in the coming years and build up a base with up to 50 planes. Germany’s Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) currently has around 90 planes stationed in the Austrian capital. The former Niki airline had 21 carriers in Vienna at its high point. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-05-30T16:40:00.000+03:00|NXP shares fall as China's warning revives concerns over Qualcomm deal|(Reuters) - Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV fell 5 percent on Wednesday after China’s latest warning against U.S. trade threats dulled hopes of an early approval by Beijing for Qualcomm’s $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker. A booth of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is pictured at an expo in Beijing, China, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/Files The company’s shares gained about 9 percent since May 18 on media reports that the chances of the deal winning approval were looking “optimistic” as a U.S.-China trade spat cooled. Also helping was a deal the U.S. government reached to put Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp, back in business. Qualcomm lawyers were expected to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance, three sources told Reuters on Sunday. The meeting was expected before U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in China on Saturday, the sources briefed on Qualcomm’s discussions had said. However, the team of lawyers remained at the company’s San Diego headquarters, as of late Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said. “On hold now,” another person familiar with Qualcomm’s talks with the Chinese government said on Wednesday, declining to be identified as the negotiations are confidential. The deal, announced in October 2016, has been approved by eight of the nine required global regulators, with China the only one pending. Shares of NXP were down 1.2 percent while Qualcomm stock was marginally up premarket. A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/Files Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-05-30T16:50:00.000+03:00|Euro zone, IMF to seek last-minute deal on Greek debt at G7 this week|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone policy-makers will seek last-minute backing this week from the International Monetary Fund for their debt-relief offer to Greece, to ensure it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout. Euro coins are seen in front of a displayed Greece flag in this picture illustration, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo The talks are to take place on the sidelines of a meeting of in Canada of finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s top seven economies, the G7, in June, officials involved in the negotiations said. The bailout ends on Aug. 20. “This thing has to be done now,” one senior official involved in the talks said. If no deal is agreed by next Monday, the official said, the IMF would most likely not take part in the bailout at all. After three successive bailouts since Athens lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Greece’s main creditors, with total loans of 230 billion euros ($268.20 billion) so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but has refused to join in the third, which began in 2015. It says the euro zone must agree on how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Euro zone finance ministers have argued they can only give such details towards the end of the three-year bailout. So the IMF has remained only an observer over the past three years. Many euro zone countries, especially fiscal hawks like Germany, want the IMF on board to make sure private investors are ready to lend to Athens again and that Greece will not come back for more euro zone loans in a few years. But at the same time Berlin does not like the IMF’s view that Greece needs substantial debt relief. Germany argues that if Greece keeps its primary surplus — its budget balance before debt costs — big enough for long enough, it might not be needed at all. The IMF believes asking Greece to keep a high primary surplus for decades is unrealistic. It is also more cautious on Greek growth assumptions than the euro zone. The IMF and the euro zone agree there should be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. To make sure that Greece does not reverse reforms after it gets the debt deal, the euro zone also wants a clause in the agreement that it would be null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022 — a condition the IMF is ready to accept. Reporting By Jan Strupczewski, editing by Larry King  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T17:20:00.000+03:00|Sri Lanka signs deal with Schlumberger subsidiary for $50 million seismic study|COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed an agreement with a subsidiary of U.S. firm Schlumberger ( SLB.N ) for a $50 million seismic study off the country’s east coast to evaluate any prospective oil resources, a senior government official said. Sri Lanka signed the agreement with Eastern Echo DMCC, a subsidiary of Schlumberger, to carry out seismic data acquisition surveys, advance data processing and interpretation work or modelling of petroleum systems. “The main objective of entering into this agreement is to acquire more petroleum data using modern acquisition and processing techniques,” Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Petroleum Resources Development told reporters after signing the agreement in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Ranatunga also said that the company would invest at least $50 million for several data acquisition projects, including 2D and 3D seismic, in selected offshore areas around Sri Lanka and would recover the investment from sales proceeds to multiple investors. This agreement follows comments on May 4 from the Director general at Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS) Vajira Dassanayake, who said Sri Lanka would sign agreements with French oil company Total ( TOTF.PA ) and Eastern Echo DMCC for a seismic study off its east coast. Sri Lanka first signed a deal with Total in 2016 to conduct a study off the eastern coast but this did not take place. Total had earlier signed a two-year agreement with PRDS to survey around 50,000 sq km off the east coast from the air, at a cost of $25 million to acquire data on unexplored areas. Dassanayake earlier in May said Total would invest $3 million to $10 million for the seismic study, while Eastern Echo DMCC would carry out the marine survey. Officials from Total and Schlumberger did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sri Lanka produces no oil and is dependent on imports for all of its fuel requirements, despite trying to reinvigorate oil and gas exploration after its 25-year civil war with Tamil separatists ended nine years ago. Importing oil cost the island $3.2 billion in 2017. Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Shihar Aneez and Jane Merriman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T17:25:00.000+03:00|Euro zone, IMF to seek last-minute deal on Greek debt at G7 this week|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone policy-makers will seek last-minute backing this week from the International Monetary Fund for their debt-relief offer to Greece, to ensure it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout. Euro coins are seen in front of a displayed Greece flag in this picture illustration, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo The talks are to take place on the sidelines of a meeting of in Canada of finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s top seven economies, the G7, in June, officials involved in the negotiations said. The bailout ends on Aug. 20. “This thing has to be done now,” one senior official involved in the talks said. If no deal is agreed by next Monday, the official said, the IMF would most likely not take part in the bailout at all. After three successive bailouts since Athens lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Greece’s main creditors, with total loans of 230 billion euros ($268.20 billion) so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but has refused to join in the third, which began in 2015. It says the euro zone must agree on how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Euro zone finance ministers have argued they can only give such details towards the end of the three-year bailout. So the IMF has remained only an observer over the past three years. Many euro zone countries, especially fiscal hawks like Germany, want the IMF on board to make sure private investors are ready to lend to Athens again and that Greece will not come back for more euro zone loans in a few years. But at the same time Berlin does not like the IMF’s view that Greece needs substantial debt relief. Germany argues that if Greece keeps its primary surplus — its budget balance before debt costs — big enough for long enough, it might not be needed at all. The IMF believes asking Greece to keep a high primary surplus for decades is unrealistic. It is also more cautious on Greek growth assumptions than the euro zone. The IMF and the euro zone agree there should be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. To make sure that Greece does not reverse reforms after it gets the debt deal, the euro zone also wants a clause in the agreement that it would be null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022 — a condition the IMF is ready to accept. ($1 = 0.8576 euros) Reporting By Jan Strupczewski, editing by Larry King  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-30T17:26:00.000+03:00|Aviva Investors merges businesses into new real assets unit|LONDON (Reuters) - Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva ( AV.L ), said on Wednesday it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets. Aviva said the business, which would manage 37 billion pounds ($49.08 billion) in assets, would focus on investments where it was a direct operator, with full control over fund management, asset management, origination and distribution. As a result, it said it had agreed to sell its indirect real estate multi-manager business and an interest in Encore+, a pan-European commercial property fund, with a combined 6 billion pounds in assets, to Lasalle Investment Management. Further financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Aviva Investors said Mark Versey would be chief investment officer of the new unit, overseeing 300 staff. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Emma Rumney  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-30T17:37:00.000+03:00|Greece sells stake in telecoms operator OTE to Deutsche Telekom|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece concluded on Wednesday the sale of a 5 percent stake in its biggest telecoms operator OTE ( OTEr.AT ) to Germany’s Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) for 284 million euros, ($329.50 million) the privatizations agency said. The sale was agreed under Greece’s third international bailout. Deutsche previously held a 40 percent stake in OTE, a former national monopoly. Following the deal its holding in the firm will stand at 45 percent. Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-05-30T17:40:00.000+03:00|Turkey, U.S. reach deal on plan for withdrawal of YPG militia from Syria's Manbij|May 30, 2018 / 7:28 AM / Updated an hour ago U.S. says in talks with Turkey on YPG withdrawal from Syria's Manbij Tuvan Gumrukcu , Ece Toksabay 4 Min Read ANKARA (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Wednesday denied media reports that a deal had been reached between the United States and Turkey on a three-step plan for withdrawing the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from Syria’s Manbij. U.S. forces set up a new base in Manbij, Syria May 8, 2018. Picture Taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said “We don’t have any agreements yet with the government of Turkey,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement in Washington. “We’re continuing to have ongoing conversations regarding Syria and other issues of mutual concern,” she said, adding that American and Turkish officials had met in Ankara last week for talks on the issue. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday Ankara and Washington had reached a technical agreement on the withdrawal plan, a move Turkey has long sought from the United States. The report comes as differences over Syria policy and Washington’s decision in December to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem have strained ties between the NATO allies. Turkey is outraged by U.S. support for the YPG militia, considering them a terrorist organisation. Ankara has threatened to push its offensive in northern Syria’s Afrin region further east to Manbij. Manbij is a potential flashpoint. The Syrian government, Kurdish militants, Syrian rebel groups, Turkey, and the United States all have a military presence in northern Syria. Under the terms of the plan to be finalised during a visit by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Washington on June 4, the YPG will withdraw from Manbij 30 days after the deal is signed, Anadolu said, quoting sources who attended meetings at which the decisions were made. Turkish and U.S. military forces will start joint supervision in Manbij 45 days after the agreement is signed and a local administration will be formed 60 days after June 4, Anadolu said. Earlier on Wednesday, Cavusoglu told broadcaster AHaber that a timetable for the Manbij plans could be set during talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, and that it could be implemented before the end of the summer. Cavusoglu was also quoted by media on his return flight from Germany saying that, if finalised, the plan for Manbij could be applied throughout northern Syria. However, a local Manbij official later told Reuters that Cavusoglu’s assertions that U.S. and Turkish forces would temporarily control the region were “premature” and lacked credibility. Relations between Ankara and Washington have hit a low-point due to factors such as the sentencing this month in New York of a former Turkish state bank executive to 32 months in prison for taking part in an Iran sanctions-busting scheme, a case Turkey has called a political attack. DEFENCE PROCUREMENT Turkey has also caused unease in Washington with its decision to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia and drew criticism over its detention of a U.S. Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, on terrorism charges. Brunson faces up to 35 years in prison on charges of links to the network Ankara blames for a 2016 coup attempt. The pastor denied the charges in a Turkish court this month. A U.S. Senate committee last week passed its version of a $716 billion defence policy bill, including a measure to prevent Turkey from buying Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, citing Brunson and the Russian missile deal. Cavusoglu, however, said that if the United States blocked Turkey from buying the jets, Ankara would go elsewhere to meet its needs, adding that it was unlikely Washington would be able to back out of the deal. Turkey has plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 jets and the Pentagon last year awarded Lockheed $3.7 billion in an interim payment for the production of 50 of the aircraft earmarked for non-U.S. customers, including Ankara. Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Tom Brown|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-05-30T17:40:00.000+03:00|Turkey, U.S. reach deal on plan for withdrawal of YPG militia from Syria's Manbij|May 30, 2018 / 7:26 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Turkey, U.S. reach deal on plan for withdrawal of YPG militia from Syria's Manbij Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ece Toksabay 4 Min Read ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States agreed on a three-step plan for withdrawing the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from Syria’s Manbij, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday. The report comes as differences over Syria policy and Washington’s decision in December to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem have strained ties between the NATO allies. Turkey is outraged by U.S. support for the YPG militia, considering them a terrorist organisation. Ankara has threatened to push its offensive in northern Syria’s Afrin region further east to Manbij. Manbij is a potential flashpoint. The Syrian government, Kurdish militants, Syrian rebel groups, Turkey, and the United States all have a military presence in northern Syria. On Wednesday, Anadolu said Ankara and Washington had reached a technical agreement on a three-step plan for the withdrawal of the YPG from Manbij, a move Turkey has long sought from the United States. Under the terms of the plan to be finalised during a visit by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Washington on June 4, the YPG will withdraw from Manbij 30 days after the deal is signed, Anadolu said, quoting sources who attended meetings at which the decisions were made. Turkish and U.S. military forces will start joint supervision in Manbij 45 days after the agreement is signed and a local administration will be formed 60 days after June 4, Anadolu said. Earlier on Wednesday, Cavusoglu told broadcaster AHaber that a timetable for the Manbij plans could be set during talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, and that it could be implemented before the end of the summer. Cavusoglu was also quoted by media on his return flight from Germany saying that, if finalised, the plan for Manbij could be applied throughout northern Syria. However, a local Manbij official later told Reuters that Cavusoglu’s assertions that U.S. and Turkish forces would temporarily control the region were “premature” and lacked credibility. Relations between Ankara and Washington have hit a low-point due to factors such as the sentencing this month in New York of a former Turkish state bank executive to 32 months in prison for taking part in an Iran sanctions-busting scheme, a case Turkey has called a political attack. DEFENCE PROCUREMENT Turkey has also caused unease in Washington with its decision to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia and drew criticism over its detention of a U.S. Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, on terrorism charges. Brunson faces up to 35 years in prison on charges of links to the network Ankara blames for a 2016 coup attempt. The pastor denied the charges in a Turkish court this month. A U.S. Senate committee last week passed its version of a $716 billion defence policy bill, including a measure to prevent Turkey from buying Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, citing Brunson and the Russian missile deal. Cavusoglu, however, said that if the United States blocked Turkey from buying the jets, Ankara would go elsewhere to meet its needs, adding that it was unlikely Washington would be able to back out of the deal. Turkey has plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 jets and the Pentagon last year awarded Lockheed $3.7 billion in an interim payment for the production of 50 of the aircraft earmarked for non-U.S. customers, including Ankara. Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-30T17:44:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Blackstone Group, Reliance Communications, Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, Grammer) May 30 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by Wednesday 2000 GMT on Wednesday: ** Alternative asset manager Blackstone Group LP is still open to doing deals in Italy despite political turmoil in the euro zone country, President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said. ** India’s Reliance Communications said it expects to complete its asset sale to Reliance Jio Infocomm and Canada’s Brookfield in coming weeks, after the bankruptcy appeals court halted insolvency proceedings against the debt-laden company. ** Israel’s anti-trust authority said it had rejected a planned merger between Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank and Union Bank after a review that pitted two regulators against each other on the consequences for banking competition. ** Grammer shareholder Cascade international said it sees fair value of Grammer stocks at up to 100 euros ($116.14) a share, dismissing a 61.25 euros indicative bid from a Chinese rival as insufficient. ** Twenty-First Century Fox Inc will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co, the company said. ** Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV fell 5 percent after China’s latest warning against U.S. trade threats dulled hopes of an early approval by Beijing for Qualcomm’s $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker. ** Drugmaker Allergan Plc plans to sell off its women’s health and infectious disease businesses as Chief Executive Brent Saunders works to end the steep slide in its share price over the last year. ** Zynga Inc has bought mobile gaming startup Gram Games for $250 million to boost its portfolio of franchise-based titles, it said. ** The European Commission said it had cleared the purchase of Dutch cable operator Ziggo by Liberty Global subject to conditions. ** Standard Life Aberdeen said it expected to save an extra 100 million pounds ($132.64 million) a year in ‘efficiency savings’ by 2020 after it completes the sale of its insurance business to Phoenix Group. ** Italian utility Enel and its Spanish peer Iberdrola have until the end of Wednesday to present improved bids for Eletropaulo, the Brazilian power grid operator said, citing the country’s market regulator. ** Deutsche Bank is looking to sell its small stake in Dubai-based Abraaj, the embattled private equity firm involved in a row over alleged misuse of investor money, two sources familiar with the matter said. ** Samsung Group’s two insurance firms said they will sell $1.3 billion worth of stock in the conglomerate’s biggest earner, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, to maintain regulatory compliance. ** Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva, said it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets. ** German seed seller KWS Saat has bowed out of an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s vegetable seed business saying it accepts a decision by the European Commission that BASF is the most suitable buyer. ** Deutsche Boerse AG is beefing up its foreign exchange business with a $100 million deal to buy GTX’s Electronic Communication Network (ECN) business from GAIN Capital Holdings Inc. ** The supervisory board of Uniper has recommended that shareholders reject calls to appoint a special auditor to probe possible breaches of duty by the group’s management in relation to Fortum’s proposed acquisition. ** WellCare Health Plans Inc said it would buy Meridian Health Plans of Michigan and Illinois for $2.5 billion in cash to become the top Medicaid provider in those states. ** Marketing company Didit has made an offer of $1.1 million for defunct news gossip website Gawker, an initial proposal that will set the floor for higher bids in a bankruptcy auction, according to a filing. ** Norway’s BW LPG, the world’s largest liquid petroleum gas shipper, said it had offered to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market. (Compiled by Akshara P and Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-30T17:55:00.000+03:00|Newcastle sign goalkeeper Dubravka on permanent deal|"(Reuters) - Newcastle United have completed the permanent signing of Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Sparta Prague after a successful loan spell last season, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 9, 2018 Newcastle United's Martin Dubravka Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ""live"" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. The 29-year-old arrived at St James’ Park in January and made 12 league appearances as Rafa Benitez’s side finished 10th in the top flight. Dubravka becomes Newcastle’s first signing in the close season, on a contract until June 2022, after the club activated the option to sign him. “Ever since he arrived with us on loan he has shown a fantastic attitude and great work ethic, and of course we have been very impressed with his performances for us on the pitch last season,” Benitez said in a statement. “This was one of the key positions we had identified we needed to strengthen and had been concerned about, so it is excellent news that we are able now to sign him on a permanent basis.” Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed "|https://in.reuters.com/news/sports|0
2018-05-30T17:59:00.000+03:00|Chinese e-commerce firm Suning.Com sells $1.5 bln of Alibaba shares|BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce company Suning.Com Co Ltd ( 002024.SZ ) has sold $1.5 billion worth of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ), cutting its stake in the tech giant to 0.51 percent. Suning.Com is expected to make a net profit of about 5.6 billion yuan ($872.3 million) from the sale, it said in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Suning.Com did not specify how many Alibaba shares it had sold or what price it achieved. In May, the Nanjing-based company said it planned to sell up to 7.66 million shares in Alibaba Group, equivalent to a 0.3 percent stake. The plan was then approved at Suning.Com’s 2017 annual shareholders’ meeting. Gains from the share sale will be used in areas such as product development and business expansion, Suning.Com said. Alibaba Group also has a 19.99 percent stake in Suning.Com, according to the filing. Reporting by Min Zhang in Beijing and Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; Editing by Adrian Croft  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T18:08:00.000+03:00|FDA approves TherapeuticsMD's hormone therapy|May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved TherapeuticsMD Inc’s hormone therapy for a painful condition triggered by menopause, the women’s health company said on Wednesday. Its estrogen treatment, Imvexxy, treats vulvar and vaginal atrophy, a condition caused by the loss of female hormone estrogen after menopause. Safety warnings on the drug’s label point to risks of endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disorders, breast cancer, and probable dementia. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-30T18:22:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Israel anti-trust watchdog rejects Mizrahi-Union bank deal|(Adds details, comments from authority and Mizrahi, share reaction) By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, May 30 (Reuters) - Israel’s anti-trust authority said on Wednesday it had rejected a planned merger between Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank and Union Bank after a review that pitted two regulators against each other on the consequences for banking competition. Mizrahi, Israel’s third-largest bank, late in 2017 had agreed to buy Union, the country’s sixth-largest, in an all share deal valued at 1.4 billion shekels ($391 million). “The disappearance of Union Bank as a competitor likely would harm the already limited competition over private customers in the banking sector,” the anti-trust authority said. It said Union Bank, the smallest bank in Israel, offered certain incentives to customers that would likely disappear in a merger and that could lead to a rise in the cost of credit. The regulator also said the planned merger came at a time when there were a number of reforms aimed at improving banking competition under consideration. The ruling by Ori Schwartz, the acting anti-trust commissioner, is final but the parties can appeal. When asked about an appeal, a Mizrahi spokesman said the bank would think about it and then decide. The Bank of Israel, the country’s banking regulator, has been a longstanding supporter of the proposed deal. Supervisor of Banks Hedva Ber told reporters on Wednesday the merger would not hurt competition but would help it by enabling a mid-sized bank to compete more effectively with Israel’s two largest lenders — Hapoalim and Leumi . These two together hold a 56 percent share of the bank credit supply market. The remaining 44 percent is held by the next three banks. “Our banking understanding is that it was possible to approve the merger,” Ber said. Despite the central bank’s backing, the deal faced heavy opposition from Israel’s finance and economy ministers as well as several other politicians. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon in 2015 had run on a platform of reforming Israel’s banks and lowering the cost of credit. The head of Israel’s parliamentary finance committee last November had warned the Bank of Israel that it could be stripped of its banking supervisory role over its support of the merger. Mizrahi criticised the anti-trust authority’s decision, saying it was unreasonable, based on unfounded arguments and completely ignored the central bank’s expertise in banking competition. “The imaginary competitive fears held on to by the anti-trust authority are baseless,” it said in a statement. “The merger not only would have not have harmed competition but would have dramatically benefited the consumer.” Union’s shares closed down 2.5 percent, while Mizrahi’s were flat. ($1 = 3.5808 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-30T19:08:00.000+03:00|China's slow approvals of biotech crops cost U.S. $7 billion, says industry group|CHICAGO (Reuters) - Delays in Chinese approvals of imported genetically modified crops have cut U.S. gross domestic product by about $7 billion over the past five years by reducing sales of crops and other goods, an industry group that represents global seed companies said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Genetically modified corn are seen cultivated at a greenhouse in Syngenta Biotech Center in Beijing, China, February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The report by CropLife International indicates what is at stake for the administration of President Donald Trump as it seeks better access for U.S. GMO crops into China as part of a trade deal under discussion. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to visit Beijing this week for talks, after months of escalating tensions that had threatened a trade war. The United States said on Tuesday it still held its threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and would use it unless Beijing addressed its concerns over the theft of American intellectual property. Global seeds and chemical companies have long wanted wider access for GMO crops in China because it is the world’s top buyer of soybeans and a major buyer of other grains. China does not permit planting of GMO food crops but allows imports of GMO soybeans and corn for use in its massive animal feed industry. But the approval process for new GMO strains is slow, unpredictable and not based on science, according to the U.S. biotech industry. The sector says delays in Chinese approvals hurt the value of U.S. corn harvests by preventing farmers from using new seeds that can protect crops from pests and weeds. As a result, farmers spend less on products ranging from fertilizer to equipment, with ripple effects on economic growth, said Scott Richman, senior vice president at Informa Agribusiness Consulting Group, which CropLife commissioned to do the study. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which regulates GMO crop approvals, did not respond to a fax seeking comment on how its reviews affect the U.S. economy. “We need a system in China that facilitates trade,” said Matt O’Mara, a vice president for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a CropLife affiliate. Companies such as Bayer AG, Monsanto Co, DowDuPont and ChemChina’s [CNNCC.UL] Syngenta have been waiting as long as seven years for China to approve strains of soybeans, canola and alfalfa. Reporting by Tom Polanesk, Additional reporting by Dominique Patton in Beijing, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-05-30T19:08:00.000+03:00|FDA approves Pfizer's Xeljanz to treat ulcerative colitis|May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Pfizer Inc’s drug Xeljanz to treat adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, making it the first oral drug to be approved for chronic use in such patients. Xeljanz is already approved by the FDA to treat rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease affecting the colon and causing recurrent flares of abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. More than 900,000 patients are affected with the disease in the United States, according to the FDA. (Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T19:28:00.000+03:00|French lawmakers approve field-to-fork food bill|May 30, 2018 / 4:29 PM / Updated an hour ago French lawmakers approve field-to-fork food bill Reuters Staff 3 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - France’s National Assembly on Wednesday approved a draft bill that would raise regulated minimum food prices and put curbs on supermarket promotions, legislation designed to increase farmers’ income, improve food quality and fight waste. FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the hemicycle during the questions to the government session at the French the National Assembly in Paris, France, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes The field-to-fork review was a campaign promise of President Emmanuel Macron to farmers who complain they bear the brunt of price wars between retailers. The text, approved in the lower house after 77 hours of hard-fought debate, now goes to the Senate. Here is a summary of the main measures adopted and some key amendments that were rejected. APPROVED * The government will be allowed to raise by decree the threshold below which retailers cannot sell food products by 10 percent. The increase in the Resale Below Cost threshold caters for the inclusion of additional costs such as retailer logistics and staff. * The bill also empowers the government to curb promotional offers. Retailers will not be allowed to discount products by more than 34 percent of their value and sell more than 25 percent of a product’s volume in a promotional offer. This is to tackle aggressive price competition such as two-for-one discounts. Analysts say this could accelerate food inflation, potentially benefiting retailers’ profit margins in the short-term. The agriculture minister says farmers would see a “rebalancing” in margins further down the chain. * From 2022, fifty percent of food products sold in canteens must be either organic or come from food chain meeting specific quality criteria. * The government will also implement measures to reverse the process of determining prices by taking farmers’ production costs as the starting point. * Lawmakers adopted an amendment making “doggy bags”, which allow restaurant-goers to leave with their leftovers, mandatory in from July 2021 in a bid to fight food waste. REJECTED * Glyphosate ban - A lawmaker close to Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot sought the inclusion of Macron’s promise in 2017 to ban weed-killer glyphosate “at the latest within three years”. Farmers lobbied hard against the Glyphosate amendment, arguing three years was too soon to find an economic and environmentally viable alternative, and it was opposed robustly by Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert. The exclusion is a political blow for Hulot, a former Green activist. Glyphosate was developed by Monsanto ( MON.N ) under the brand Roundup. A U.N. health agency said it caused cancer — an allegation denied by Monsanto and dismissed by some studies. Macron said in January he would never impose the ban if there was no credible alternative. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday said the three-year promise would be kept. * Mandatory vegetarian menus in canteens. * Mandatory video monitoring in slaughterhouses. Reporting by Simon Carraud; Writing by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Richard Lough|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-30T20:21:00.000+03:00|PSA production move wins deal with German unions, angers French|PARIS (Reuters) - French carmaker PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) said on Wednesday it will move production of the Opel Grandland X model from France to Germany under a deal with Opel unions, drawing immediate criticism from domestic workers’ representatives. FILE PHOTO: People walk to the Opel plant in Eisenach, Germany April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo PSA, which bought Opel and sister brand Vauxhall from General Motors ( GM.N ) last year, agreed to build the SUV in Eisenach under a broader deal with Opel workers. On Wednesday it confirmed that Grandland assembly would end in Sochaux, eastern France, but said new overflow production of the Peugeot 5008 model would make up for some lost volume. France’s moderate CFTC union decried the move as “bad news for the plant” and demanded more information from management on the distribution of work between PSA and Opel plants. “As long as we don’t have a clear picture of 5008 volumes, the Grandland’s departure will be a concern,” said Christelle Toillon, an official with the CFE-CGC, another centrist union. PSA had been locked in a standoff with Germany’s IG Metall union until the deal was struck on Tuesday, . Tensions among national unions were already in evidence during the protracted talks, which saw German workers hold out for a 4.3 percent pay rise even as group sites in the UK, Spain and several other countries matched earlier French labor concessions including wage restraint. Under the Opel deal, which includes new production investments at other German sites, workers received five-year job guarantees in return for postponing the nationally negotiated pay hike until 2020. The agreement also validated 3,700 voluntary job cuts already underway at Opel. Reporting by Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Alexandra Hudson  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-30T20:31:00.000+03:00|Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10|May 30 (Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co, the company said on Wednesday. The Fox board also recommended backing the deal but said that it was aware of Comcast Corp’s moves to make an offer for the company. Comcast said last week it was preparing a higher, all-cash offer for most of the media assets of Fox, but sources say it will only proceed if a federal judge next month allows AT&T Inc’s planned $85-billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc . (Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T20:34:00.000+03:00|Blackstone's Gray sees scope for Italian deals despite political strife|NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Alternative asset manager Blackstone Group LP is still open to doing deals in Italy despite political turmoil in the euro zone country, President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said on Wednesday. “Sure,” Gray said at a conference organized by Deutsche Bank, when asked if the firm would be buy Italian assets right now. “It’s a function of price.” In January, Blackstone agreed to buy a majority stake in the Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters Corp, , the parent company of Reuters News, in a $20 billion deal. Reuters News will remain part of Thomson Reuters. Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T20:42:00.000+03:00|Blackstone's Gray sees scope for Italian deals despite political strife|NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alternative asset manager Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) is still open to doing deals in Italy despite political turmoil in the euro zone country, President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid “Sure. It’s a function of price,” Gray said at a conference organized by Deutsche Bank, when asked if the company would buy Italian assets right now. “If you look back after Brexit, in our real estate business, we bought a couple of hundred million of pounds of warehouses. It was literally 10 days after Brexit. We tend to focus more on long-term value than short-term market movements.” Gray also said Blackstone, with $449.6 billion of assets under management, continues to consider switching over from a partnership to a corporation after peers KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) and Ares Management ( ARES.N ) said they would convert this year. “We’re going to watch it, see what markets do, see how these companies trade, think about it ourselves,” Gray said. “When we think it’s the right time, we’ll make that decision,” Gray added. In January, Blackstone agreed to buy a majority stake in the Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters Corp ( TRI.N ), ( TRI.TO ), the parent company of Reuters News, in a $20 billion deal. Reuters News will remain part of Thomson Reuters. (This version of the story removes extraneous word from second paragraph) Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Richard Chang  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-30T20:47:00.000+03:00|Central African Republic approves war crimes court|May 30, 2018 / 5:52 PM / Updated 21 hours ago Central African Republic approves war crimes court Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BANGUI, May 30 (Reuters) - Central African Republic has approved a law creating a special criminal court to investigate allegations of humanity during more than a decade of ethnic and religious conflict, a lawmaker said. Hundreds have died in the violence tortured but the perpetrators have not faced any meaningful legal pursuit, rights activists say. “With this law, we will now be able to count on the justice system to put an end to the conflicts, to the killings, to the massacres,” Ernest Mezedio, a national deputy, told Reuters on Wednesday. “The executioners who walk around freely should know that the hour of justice has sounded,” he said. The country’s parliament approved the law late on Tuesday. The United Nations’ deputy representative said on Monday that the tribunal - which will be composed of both national and international judges - would begin week. Rights activists say the court represents the best hope at reversing years of impunity, but concede that the considerable power wielded by potential investigation targets and vast swaths of territory beyond government control pose steep obstacles. Central African Republic has suffered a series of violent political crises since former president Francois Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup d’etat. Major violence erupted again in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A United Nations report last year said the litany of killings, rapes, mutilation, looting and torture committed by successive governments and armed groups from 2003-2015 may constitute crimes against humanity. (Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Aaron Ross/Mark Heinrich) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAcentralAfricanRepublicNews|0
2018-05-30T20:48:00.000+03:00|Iran's oil exports fall in May, when U.S. quit nuclear deal: Petro-Logistics|LONDON (Reuters) - Iran’s crude oil exports have declined slightly in May, according to estimates from a leading tanker-tracking company, in the first sign that the threat of U.S. sanctions may be deterring buyers. FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf, Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo The estimates from Geneva-based Petro-Logistics also suggest Iranian oil buyers are not rushing to cut volumes from OPEC’s third-largest producer. The U.S. sanctions have a 180-day period during which buyers should “wind down” purchases. U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 said the United States was exiting a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and would impose new sanctions that seek to reduce the country’s oil shipments. “Exports are down by more than 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the very high levels seen in April, but there is no sign of a mass exodus at this time,” Daniel Gerber, chief executive of Petro-Logistics, told Reuters. Supply and demand in large parts of the oil market is opaque and Petro-Logistics is among a number of consultancies that estimate supply from OPEC countries by tracking tanker shipments and other methods. Petro-Logistics did not specify the absolute volume of Iran’s exports in May or April. Iran said it exported 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, a record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in January 2016. Reuters shipping data also suggests Iranian crude exports have dropped since Trump’s sanctions announcement, falling to around 2.5 million bpd in May, a drop of about 100,000 bpd from April. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. Petro-Logistics said the overall rate of Iran’s exports remained strong in May compared with recent months and companies in Europe were still buying. “In fact, May exports remain significantly higher than the previous 12-month average, with European refiners continuing to load cargoes throughout the month,” Gerber said. Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said on May 19 Tehran’s oil exports would not change if the EU could salvage the nuclear pact, as it is trying to do. But trading sources expect financing issues to hinder Iranian oil trade as banks grow wary. Editing by Mark Potter  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-30T20:52:00.000+03:00|Central African Republic approves war crimes court|May 30, 2018 / 5:53 PM / Updated an hour ago Central African Republic approves war crimes court Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic has approved a law creating a special criminal court to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during more than a decade of ethnic and religious conflict, a lawmaker said. Hundreds have died in the violence and scores more have been raped and tortured but the perpetrators have not faced any meaningful legal pursuit, rights activists say. “With this law, we will now be able to count on the justice system to put an end to the conflicts, to the killings, to the massacres,” Ernest Mezedio, a national deputy, told Reuters on Wednesday. “The executioners who walk around freely should know that the hour of justice has sounded,” he said. The country’s parliament approved the law late on Tuesday. The United Nations’ deputy representative in Central African Republic said on Monday that the tribunal - which will be composed of both national and international judges - would begin formal investigations next week. Rights activists say the court represents the best hope at reversing years of impunity, but concede that the considerable power wielded by potential investigation targets and vast swaths of territory beyond government control pose steep obstacles. Central African Republic has suffered a series of violent political crises since former president Francois Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup d’etat. Major violence erupted again in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A United Nations report last year said the litany of killings, rapes, mutilation, looting and torture committed by successive governments and armed groups from 2003-2015 may constitute crimes against humanity. Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Aaron Ross/Mark Heinrich|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-30T20:52:00.000+03:00|Central African Republic approves war crimes court|May 30, 2018 / 5:57 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Central African Republic approves war crimes court Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic has approved a law creating a special criminal court to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during more than a decade of ethnic and religious conflict, a lawmaker said. Hundreds have died in the violence and scores more have been raped and tortured but the perpetrators have not faced any meaningful legal pursuit, rights activists say. “With this law, we will now be able to count on the justice system to put an end to the conflicts, to the killings, to the massacres,” Ernest Mezedio, a national deputy, told Reuters on Wednesday. “The executioners who walk around freely should know that the hour of justice has sounded,” he said. The country’s parliament approved the law late on Tuesday. The United Nations’ deputy representative in Central African Republic said on Monday that the tribunal - which will be composed of both national and international judges - would begin formal investigations next week. Rights activists say the court represents the best hope at reversing years of impunity, but concede that the considerable power wielded by potential investigation targets and vast swaths of territory beyond government control pose steep obstacles. Central African Republic has suffered a series of violent political crises since former president Francois Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup d’etat. Major violence erupted again in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A United Nations report last year said the litany of killings, rapes, mutilation, looting and torture committed by successive governments and armed groups from 2003-2015 may constitute crimes against humanity. Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Aaron Ross/Mark Heinrich 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-30T21:37:00.000+03:00|Sri Lanka signs deal with Schlumberger subsidiary for $50 mln seismic study|COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed an agreement with a subsidiary of U.S. firm Schlumberger for a $50 million seismic study off the country’s east coast to evaluate any prospective oil resources, a senior government official said. Sri Lanka signed the agreement with Eastern Echo DMCC, a subsidiary of Schlumberger, to carry out seismic data acquisition surveys, advance data processing and interpretation work or modeling of petroleum systems. “The main objective of entering into this agreement is to acquire more petroleum data using modern acquisition and processing techniques,” Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Petroleum Resources Development told reporters after signing the agreement in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Ranatunga also said that the company would invest at least $50 million for several data acquisition projects, including 2D and 3D seismic, in selected offshore areas around Sri Lanka and would recover the investment from sales proceeds to multiple investors. This agreement follows comments on May 4 from the Director general at Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS) Vajira Dassanayake, who said Sri Lanka would sign agreements with French oil company Total and Eastern Echo DMCC for a seismic study off its east coast. Sri Lanka first signed a deal with Total in 2016 to conduct a study off the eastern coast but this did not take place. Total had earlier signed a two-year agreement with PRDS to survey around 50,000 sq km off the east coast from the air, at a cost of $25 million to acquire data on unexplored areas. Dassanayake earlier in May said Total would invest $3 million to $10 million for the seismic study, while Eastern Echo DMCC would carry out the marine survey. Officials from Total and Schlumberger did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sri Lanka produces no oil and is dependent on imports for all of its fuel requirements, despite trying to reinvigorate oil and gas exploration after its 25-year civil war with Tamil separatists ended nine years ago. Importing oil cost the island $3.2 billion in 2017. Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Shihar Aneez and Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T21:47:00.000+03:00|Euro zone, IMF to seek last-minute deal on Greek debt at G7 this week|May 30, 2018 / 6:48 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Euro zone, IMF to seek last-minute deal on Greek debt at G7 this week Jan Strupczewski 3 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone policy-makers will seek last-minute backing this week from the International Monetary Fund for their debt-relief offer to Greece, to ensure it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout. FILE PHOTO: A Greek flag flutters in front of the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill archaeological site in Athens, Greece, June 26, 2015. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo The talks are to take place on the sidelines of a meeting of in Canada of finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s top seven economies, the G7, in June, officials involved in the negotiations said. The bailout ends on Aug. 20. “This thing has to be done now,” one senior official involved in the talks said. If no deal is agreed by next Monday, the official said, the IMF would most likely not take part in the bailout at all. After three successive bailouts since Athens lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Greece’s main creditors, with total loans of 230 billion euros (£201.8 billion) so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but has refused to join in the third, which began in 2015. It says the euro zone must agree on how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Euro zone finance ministers have argued they can only give such details towards the end of the three-year bailout. So the IMF has remained only an observer over the past three years. Many euro zone countries, especially fiscal hawks like Germany, want the IMF on board to make sure private investors are ready to lend to Athens again and that Greece will not come back for more euro zone loans in a few years. But at the same time Berlin does not like the IMF’s view that Greece needs substantial debt relief. Germany argues that if Greece keeps its primary surplus — its budget balance before debt costs — big enough for long enough, it might not be needed at all. The IMF believes asking Greece to keep a high primary surplus for decades is unrealistic. It is also more cautious on Greek growth assumptions than the euro zone. The IMF and the euro zone agree there should be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. To make sure that Greece does not reverse reforms after it gets the debt deal, the euro zone also wants a clause in the agreement that it would be null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022 — a condition the IMF is ready to accept. Reporting By Jan Strupczewski, editing by Larry King|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-05-30T21:56:00.000+03:00|Newcastle sign goalkeeper Dubravka on permanent deal|May 30, 2018 / 6:59 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Newcastle sign goalkeeper Dubravka on permanent deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Newcastle United have completed the permanent signing of Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Sparta Prague after a successful loan spell last season, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace vs Newcastle United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - February 4, 2018 Newcastle's Martin Dubravka during the warm up before the match REUTERS/David Klein The 29-year-old arrived at St James’ Park in January and made 12 league appearances as Rafa Benitez’s side finished 10th in the top flight. Dubravka becomes Newcastle’s first signing in the close season, on a contract until June 2022, after the club activated the option to sign him. “Ever since he arrived with us on loan he has shown a fantastic attitude and great work ethic, and of course we have been very impressed with his performances for us on the pitch last season,” Benitez said in a statement. “This was one of the key positions we had identified we needed to strengthen and had been concerned about, so it is excellent news that we are able now to sign him on a permanent basis.” Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-05-30T22:53:00.000+03:00|Gazprom says to make bulk of gas discount deal payments to Turkey soon|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian gas giant Gazprom will make the bulk of payments to Turkey as part of a gas discount deal in the near future, a company official said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Russian gas giant Gazprom is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Turkey and Russia had reached a retroactive agreement for a 10.25 percent discount on the natural gas Ankara buys from Moscow, which will also pay $1 billion as part of the deal. The Gazprom official said a smaller part of the payments will be made in the form of a price discount. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Tom Balmforth  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-05-30T23:22:00.000+03:00|Superior Plus to buy NGL Energy's retail propane unit for $900 mln|May 30 (Reuters) - Superior Plus Corp said on Wednesday it would buy all of the outstanding equity interest in NGL Energy Partners’s retail propane business for $900 million in cash. NGL Propane sells propane and distillates to over 316,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-30T23:42:00.000+03:00|French poultry group LDC extends international push with Hungary deal|PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) - France’s largest poultry processor, LDC, said on Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Hungarian group Tranzit, continuing its expansion in Europe. The takeover will give LDC a production base in Hungary for geese and ducks and a significant export business to Germany, the French group said. The acquisition, subject to regulatory clearance, will see LDC take a 70 percent stake for an undisclosed sum, with Tranzit’s family owners retaining the remaining 30 percent. Tranzit had sales of 108 million euros ($126 million) last year and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 20 million euros, LDC said. “We have a European project and Hungary is a stage in that,” Chairman Denis Lambert told reporters, declining to specify other countries or potential targets LDC was looking at. LDC has in recent years developed operations in Poland in parallel to further expansion in the French market. The group this month won approval from a French court to acquire assets from insolvent rival Doux, an export-focused poultry producer that has struggled to compete against cheaper Brazilian chicken in the Middle East. LDC said production sites secured from Doux would help it further increase its chicken volumes in a growing French market, although the difficulties of French peers meant imported chicken was maintaining market share above 40 percent. Reporting results for its financial year that ended on Feb. 28, LDC said full-year current operating profit rose to 184.7 million euros from 176.6 million euros a year earlier. That surpassed its forecast for a stable operating profit, partly because commodity costs for its convenience food division rose less sharply than expected, it said. Net profit rose to 140.7 million euros from 130.3 million. For 2018/19, the group said it targeted stable current operating profit for its main poultry division, and increases for convenience food and international businesses, which Lambert said suggested a slight rise in overall operating profit. However, he cautioned that the outlook was subject to commodity costs. Further inflation in cereals and soybeans - used in poultry feed - after price rises in recent months could lead it to renegotiate tariffs with customers, Lambert said. $1 = 0.8603 euros Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Susan Fenton  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-31T00:19:00.000+03:00|Peru's Buenaventura seeks deal with Southern on copper project|LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian precious metals miner Buenaventura said Southern Copper Corp is evaluating its proposal to jointly develop Southern’s $2 billion copper project Michiquillay, Buenaventura’s chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday. “They were receptive ... but it’s up to them to evaluate the preliminary proposal,” Victor Gobitz said in an interview at the International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima, Peru. The two companies jointly own the Coimolache mining company in Peru, and are both junior partners in large mines in Peru controlled by U.S.-based companies. Buenaventura believes it is well-positioned to help develop the copper project because it already operates a large open-pit gold mine in the same northern Andean region where Southern will develop Michiquillay. Southern, controlled by Grupo Mexico, operates mines in southern Peru and Mexico. “Our logic is that there would be synergies,” Gobitz said. “You create more value.” Southern was not immediately available for comment but when the deal first became public last month said it was evaluating Buenaventura’s proposal. But the two companies building a major new mine together might also make Michiquillay a target for local opposition, according to an industry source. The project might require lengthy negotiations to resettle communities in the Andes, where obtaining a so-called social license can be one of the biggest hurdles to mining investments. Buenaventura and Southern were both forced to halt plans to build mining projects in Peru following deadly protests by activists and farmers worried about environmental impacts. Southern suspended its $1.2 billion Tia Maria project in 2015. Newmont Mining Corp’s $4.8 billion gold and copper Conga project, which Buenaventura owns a 43.7 percent stake in, has been shelved since 2011. Gobitz said Buenaventura owed it to shareholders to create a business model that paves a path to the eventual construction of Conga. “It’s part of my mandate,” Gobitz said. Southern has said it hopes the government of the country’s new president, Martin Vizcarra, will issue a construction permit for Tia Maria this year. But reviving Tia Maria or Conga this year, when opposing the projects could become a platform for anti-mining candidates in regional elections, might be difficult. Gobitz added that Buenaventura has been implementing an “ambitious” plan to cut costs to trim debt as fuel prices rise. “This year we want to be more rigorous and critical before venturing into an investment...with disciplined control of capital expenditure,” Gobitz said. New projects should deliver a return on investments of at least 15 percent, Gobitz said. The company expects its production of gold and silver to rise 8 percent this year, thanks in part to its mine Tambomayo, Gobitz said. Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-05-31T00:22:00.000+03:00|French lawmakers approve field-to-fork food bill|PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) - France’s National Assembly on Wednesday approved a draft bill that would raise regulated minimum food prices and put curbs on supermarket promotions, legislation designed to increase farmers’ income, improve food quality and fight waste. The field-to-fork review was a campaign promise of President Emmanuel Macron to farmers who complain they bear the brunt of price wars between retailers. The text, approved in the lower house after 77 hours of hard-fought debate, now goes to the Senate. Here is a summary of the main measures adopted and some key amendments that were rejected. APPROVED * The government will be allowed to raise by decree the threshold below which retailers cannot sell food products by 10 percent. The increase in the Resale Below Cost threshold caters for the inclusion of additional costs such as retailer logistics and staff. * The bill also empowers the government to curb promotional offers. Retailers will not be allowed to discount products by more than 34 percent of their value and sell more than 25 percent of a product’s volume in a promotional offer. This is to tackle aggressive price competition such as two-for-one discounts. Analysts say this could accelerate food inflation, potentially benefiting retailers’ profit margins in the short-term. The agriculture minister says farmers would see a “rebalancing” in margins further down the chain. * From 2022, fifty percent of food products sold in canteens must be either organic or come from food chain meeting specific quality criteria. * The government will also implement measures to reverse the process of determining prices by taking farmers’ production costs as the starting point. * Lawmakers adopted an amendment making “doggy bags”, which allow restaurant-goers to leave with their leftovers, mandatory in from July 2021 in a bid to fight food waste. REJECTED * Glyphosate ban - A lawmaker close to Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot sought the inclusion of Macron’s promise in 2017 to ban weed-killer glyphosate “at the latest within three years”. Farmers lobbied hard against the Glyphosate amendment, arguing three years was too soon to find an economic and environmentally viable alternative, and it was opposed robustly by Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert. The exclusion is a political blow for Hulot, a former Green activist. Glyphosate was developed by Monsanto under the brand Roundup. A U.N. health agency said it caused cancer — an allegation denied by Monsanto and dismissed by some studies. Macron said in January he would never impose the ban if there was no credible alternative. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday said the three-year promise would be kept. * Mandatory vegetarian menus in canteens. * Mandatory video monitoring in slaughterhouses. (Reporting by Simon Carraud; Writing by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Richard Lough)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-31T00:37:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Oil majors help Britain's FTSE recover after global sell-off|* FTSE 100 index ends up 0.75 pct * BP, Shell supported by higher oil prices (Adds details, closing prices) By Julien Ponthus LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - A rebound by oil stocks helped Britain’s blue-chip index recover from a global sell-off prompted by a political crisis in Italy and fresh fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China. The UK’s FTSE 100 ended up 0.75 percent on Wednesday after ending the previous session at its lowest level in nearly three weeks. “The FTSE 100 is in recovery mode, clawing back some of yesterday’s losses on the combined support of a slightly stronger (dollar) ... and oil prices retreating from week’s lows,” said Accendo Markets analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants. Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell both rose more than 2 percent as oil prices climbed to $76 a barrel, supported by tight supplies despite expectations OPEC and its allies will pump more in the second half of 2018. Among smaller companies, engineering firm Bodycote rose nearly 7 percent after predicting it would top market expectations for full-year profit and said it would pay a special dividend. Discount retailer B&M European Value reported a 25 percent jump in full-year profit, sending its shares up 4.5 percent. Photo-Me International tumbled 26 percent after the photobooth operator’s market update disappointed investors. (Reporting by Julien Ponthus Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180530.html|0
2018-05-31T00:39:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Canada's Superior Plus to buy NGL Energy's retail propane unit|(Adds details on financing, cost savings and shares) May 30 (Reuters) - Canadian specialty chemicals firm Superior Plus Corp said on Wednesday it would buy NGL Energy Partners’ retail propane unit for $900 million in cash to boost its presence in the United States. NGL’s shares surged 14 percent to 12.20 in trading after the bell. NGL Propane sells propane and distillates to over 316,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the U.S. Northeast, Southeast and Upper Midwest under regional brands, including Osterman Propane, Downeast Energy and Eastern Propane. In the 12 months to March 31, NGL Propane sold about 182 million gallons of fuel, generating about $85 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Superior said the deal would help save about $20 million to $25 million within the first two years of its closure, which is expected in the third quarter, and immediately add to its adjusted cash flow. The Toronto-based company said it planned to raise C$400 million ($310.68 million) by issuing 32 million subscription receipts at a price of $12.50 per piece to finance a portion of the acquisition. TD Securities Inc and CIBC Capital Markets are leading a syndicate of underwriters for the offering, Superior said, adding the rest of the purchase price will be funded through a $400 million bridge facility. $1 = 1.2875 Canadian dollars Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-31T01:50:00.000+03:00|Central African Republic approves war crimes court|BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic has approved a law creating a special criminal court to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during more than a decade of ethnic and religious conflict, a lawmaker said. Hundreds have died in the violence and scores more have been raped and tortured but the perpetrators have not faced any meaningful legal pursuit, rights activists say. “With this law, we will now be able to count on the justice system to put an end to the conflicts, to the killings, to the massacres,” Ernest Mezedio, a national deputy, told Reuters on Wednesday. “The executioners who walk around freely should know that the hour of justice has sounded,” he said. The country’s parliament approved the law late on Tuesday. The United Nations’ deputy representative in Central African Republic said on Monday that the tribunal - which will be composed of both national and international judges - would begin formal investigations next week. Rights activists say the court represents the best hope at reversing years of impunity, but concede that the considerable power wielded by potential investigation targets and vast swaths of territory beyond government control pose steep obstacles. Central African Republic has suffered a series of violent political crises since former president Francois Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup d’etat. Major violence erupted again in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A United Nations report last year said the litany of killings, rapes, mutilation, looting and torture committed by successive governments and armed groups from 2003-2015 may constitute crimes against humanity. Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Aaron Ross/Mark Heinrich  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-31T02:48:00.000+03:00|Euro zone, IMF to seek last-minute deal on Greek debt at G7 this week|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone policy-makers will seek last-minute backing this week from the International Monetary Fund for their debt-relief offer to Greece, to ensure it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout. Euro coins are seen in front of a displayed Greece flag in this picture illustration, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo The talks are to take place on the sidelines of a meeting of in Canada of finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s top seven economies, the G7, in June, officials involved in the negotiations said. The bailout ends on Aug. 20. “This thing has to be done now,” one senior official involved in the talks said. If no deal is agreed by next Monday, the official said, the IMF would most likely not take part in the bailout at all. After three successive bailouts since Athens lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Greece’s main creditors, with total loans of 230 billion euros ($268.20 billion) so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but has refused to join in the third, which began in 2015. It says the euro zone must agree on how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Euro zone finance ministers have argued they can only give such details towards the end of the three-year bailout. So the IMF has remained only an observer over the past three years. Many euro zone countries, especially fiscal hawks like Germany, want the IMF on board to make sure private investors are ready to lend to Athens again and that Greece will not come back for more euro zone loans in a few years. But at the same time Berlin does not like the IMF’s view that Greece needs substantial debt relief. Germany argues that if Greece keeps its primary surplus — its budget balance before debt costs — big enough for long enough, it might not be needed at all. The IMF believes asking Greece to keep a high primary surplus for decades is unrealistic. It is also more cautious on Greek growth assumptions than the euro zone. The IMF and the euro zone agree there should be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. To make sure that Greece does not reverse reforms after it gets the debt deal, the euro zone also wants a clause in the agreement that it would be null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022 — a condition the IMF is ready to accept. Reporting By Jan Strupczewski, editing by Larry King  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-31T02:53:00.000+03:00|Samsung Life sells $ 1 billion worth of shares in Samsung Electronics|SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd said on Thursday it sold 1.12 trillion won ($1 billion) worth of its shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo The stake sale, aimed at removing regulatory risks, was scheduled to be completed before Thursday’s market opening, it said in a regulatory filing. Reporting by Haejin Choi; Editing by Stephen Coates Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-31T04:01:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's Orient Cement gains on deal termination cheer|** Cement maker Orient Cement Ltd’s shares rise as much as 13.5 pct to 139.45 rupees, their biggest intraday pct gain since Feb 6 ** Business transfer agreement with Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) and Share Purchase Agreement with JAL stands terminated, co said on Thursday ** Analysts say the deals were a drag on Orient’s profitability and balance sheet, given its debt issues ** More than 550,000 shares change hands as of 0555 GMT, nine times their 30-day moving average ** Stock has declined about 15 pct since May 31, when the deals were first announced  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-05-31T04:26:00.000+03:00|Britain's competition watchdog clears Informa-UBM deal|(Reuters) - Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday that Informa’s ( INF.L ) 5.6 billion pound ($7.45 billion) takeover of rival UBM ( UBM.L ) did not qualify for an investigation. The deal, announced in December, will create a global leader in business events and conferences, almost a decade after UBM tried to buy Informa. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Kate Holton  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-31T04:28:00.000+03:00|New Zealand plans to invest in more recycling plants as it deals with China waste ban|WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand is planning to invest more in recycling plants and set up government-led taskforce to work out how to grapple with the fallout from China’s ban on waste imports, its associate environment minister said on Thursday. New Zealand had been sending 15 million kgs (33 million pounds) - worth around NZ$21 million ($14.67 million) - a year of waste to China, mostly paper and plastics that were now piling up as waste companies scrambled to divert it to processors in South-East Asia. “The ban has had a greater impact than the industry expected and we need a coordinated response from central and local government, together with the waste and business sectors,” Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said in an emailed statement. The government plans to use its existing waste levy to invest in more onshore recycling plants, she added. China, the world’s biggest importer of plastic waste, has stopped accepting shipments of rubbish, such as plastic and paper, as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”. The ban has upended the world’s waste handling supply chain and caused massive pile-ups of trash from Asia to Europe, as exporters struggled to find new buyers for the garbage. Much of New Zealand’s waste had been diverted to processing plants in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, but some stockpiles were building up around the country. “We are also looking at options such as expanding the waste levy to more landfills, improving the data we have on waste including recyclables, and other tools to reduce the environment harm of products such as product stewardship, levies and bans,” Sage said. Governments in Britain, the European Union and Australia have announced plans to confront growing waste as a result of ban with the British introducing a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and the EU mulling a plastic tax. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/environment|0
2018-05-31T04:28:00.000+03:00|New Zealand plans to invest in more recycling plants as it deals with China waste ban|WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand is planning to invest more in recycling plants and set up government-led taskforce to work out how to grapple with the fallout from China’s ban on waste imports, its associate environment minister said on Thursday. New Zealand had been sending 15 million kgs (33 million pounds) - worth around NZ$21 million ($14.67 million) - a year of waste to China, mostly paper and plastics that were now piling up as waste companies scrambled to divert it to processors in South-East Asia. “The ban has had a greater impact than the industry expected and we need a coordinated response from central and local government, together with the waste and business sectors,” Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said in an emailed statement. The government plans to use its existing waste levy to invest in more onshore recycling plants, she added. China, the world’s biggest importer of plastic waste, has stopped accepting shipments of rubbish, such as plastic and paper, as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”. The ban has upended the world’s waste handling supply chain and caused massive pile-ups of trash from Asia to Europe, as exporters struggled to find new buyers for the garbage. Much of New Zealand’s waste had been diverted to processing plants in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, but some stockpiles were building up around the country. “We are also looking at options such as expanding the waste levy to more landfills, improving the data we have on waste including recyclables, and other tools to reduce the environment harm of products such as product stewardship, levies and bans,” Sage said. Governments in Britain, the European Union and Australia have announced plans to confront growing waste as a result of ban with the British introducing a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and the EU mulling a plastic tax. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-05-31T04:34:00.000+03:00|New Zealand plans to invest in more recycling plants as it deals with China waste ban|May 31, 2018 / 1:39 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago New Zealand plans to invest in more recycling plants as it deals with China waste ban Charlotte Greenfield 2 Min Read WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand is planning to invest more in recycling plants and set up government-led taskforce to work out how to grapple with the fallout from China’s ban on waste imports, its associate environment minister said on Thursday. New Zealand had been sending 15 million kgs (33 million pounds) - worth around NZ$21 million (11.05 million pounds) - a year of waste to China, mostly paper and plastics that were now piling up as waste companies scrambled to divert it to processors in South-East Asia. “The ban has had a greater impact than the industry expected and we need a coordinated response from central and local government, together with the waste and business sectors,” Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said in an emailed statement. The government plans to use its existing waste levy to invest in more onshore recycling plants, she added. China, the world’s biggest importer of plastic waste, has stopped accepting shipments of rubbish, such as plastic and paper, as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”. The ban has upended the world’s waste handling supply chain and caused massive pile-ups of trash from Asia to Europe, as exporters struggled to find new buyers for the garbage. Much of New Zealand’s waste had been diverted to processing plants in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, but some stockpiles were building up around the country. “We are also looking at options such as expanding the waste levy to more landfills, improving the data we have on waste including recyclables, and other tools to reduce the environment harm of products such as product stewardship, levies and bans,” Sage said. Governments in Britain, the European Union and Australia have announced plans to confront growing waste as a result of ban with the British introducing a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and the EU mulling a plastic tax. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T04:34:00.000+03:00|New Zealand plans to invest in more recycling plants as it deals with China waste ban|May 31, 2018 / 1:38 AM / Updated an hour ago New Zealand plans to invest in more recycling plants as it deals with China waste ban Charlotte Greenfield 2 Min Read WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand is planning to invest more in recycling plants and set up government-led taskforce to work out how to grapple with the fallout from China’s ban on waste imports, its associate environment minister said on Thursday. New Zealand had been sending 15 million kgs (33 million pounds) - worth around NZ$21 million (11.05 million pounds) - a year of waste to China, mostly paper and plastics that were now piling up as waste companies scrambled to divert it to processors in South-East Asia. “The ban has had a greater impact than the industry expected and we need a coordinated response from central and local government, together with the waste and business sectors,” Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said in an emailed statement. The government plans to use its existing waste levy to invest in more onshore recycling plants, she added. China, the world’s biggest importer of plastic waste, has stopped accepting shipments of rubbish, such as plastic and paper, as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”. The ban has upended the world’s waste handling supply chain and caused massive pile-ups of trash from Asia to Europe, as exporters struggled to find new buyers for the garbage. Much of New Zealand’s waste had been diverted to processing plants in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, but some stockpiles were building up around the country. “We are also looking at options such as expanding the waste levy to more landfills, improving the data we have on waste including recyclables, and other tools to reduce the environment harm of products such as product stewardship, levies and bans,” Sage said. Governments in Britain, the European Union and Australia have announced plans to confront growing waste as a result of ban with the British introducing a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and the EU mulling a plastic tax. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-31T04:56:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-FirstGroup replaces CEO, could sell Greyhound bus business|(Adds chairman comment, detail, background) LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - British transport company FirstGroup replaced its chief executive after what its chairman called a disappointing year, and the company said it could sell its Greyhound bus business in the United States. FirstGroup’s CEO had been under pressure after the company rejected two approaches from a private equity firm earlier this year, and since last year, it has been targeted by Canadian activist investor West Face Capital. The bus and rail operator said its CEO Tim O’Toole would be replaced immediately by Wolfhart Hauser, who becomes executive chairman, and Matthew Gregory, who takes on a chief operating officer role in addition to his duties as chief finance officer. Hauser denied that O’Toole had been sacked and said he had not received a request from any shareholder for the CEO to go. “It was the right time after the results for him to make that decision and I agreed with him on that,” Hauser told Reuters on a call. Hauser said that the annual results “fell short of our ambitions” as the company reported a 5 percent fall in adjusted pretax profit to 197 million pounds ($262 million) for the year to March 31, slightly behind a consensus forecast. FirstGroup blamed the poor performance of Greyhound in the United States for the fall in profit, saying that it was facing intensifying competition from low cost airlines, which are adding capacity between secondary cities. As such it said it had commission an external review of Greyhound which could result in a sale of the business. $1 = 0.7511 pounds Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle and Alistair Smout  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-31T05:03:00.000+03:00|Regrets and relief one year after U.S. ditched global climate deal|NEW YORK, May 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A year after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a global pact to fight climate change, experts lament the move but welcome efforts by cities and states to fill the gap. Trump’s announcement of June 1 last year to ditch the deal agreed upon by nearly 200 countries came over opposition by U.S. businesses and U.S. allies. Trump said leaving the deal signed by his predecessor Barack Obama would boost domestic energy production and speed economic growth. But it raised fears among pact supporters that other nations would follow suit. “That was a dark day,” said Vicki Arroyo, executive director of Georgetown University’s Climate Center. “A domino effect could have happened.” Instead two more countries - Syria and Nicaragua - signed on after Trump’s announcement. The 2015 Paris agreement committed nations to curbing greenhouse emissions and keeping the global hike in temperatures “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. A meeting is planned in December in Poland for countries to look at its implementation, including how to monitor emissions. Experts say momentum is compromised in the absence of the United States, the world’s second largest greenhouse gas emitter after China. “We need the U.S. back at the table,” said Selwin Hart, the ambassador of Barbados, at a panel in Washington organized by the World Resources Institute (WRI). Nevertheless, a deluge of state- and city-level policies adopted over the last twelve months, from greenhouse gas to electric car targets, is a silver lining, said others on the panel. The U.S. departure from the Paris pact “gave us a galvanizing point,” said Angela Navarro, Virginia’s deputy secretary of commerce and trade. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe ordered last year a push for a cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, citing the federal government’s retreat from the climate debate. California Gov. Jerry Brown is planning a global climate summit in September. States, cities and businesses representing more than half the U.S. economy and population have adopted targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to WRI. However, piece-meal regulation cannot match the policy reach of the federal government, Arroyo said. “I don’t think that anyone would argue that we’re in a better position,” she said. “The task definitely got harder.” (Reporting by Sebastien Malo @sebastienmalo, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T05:13:00.000+03:00|Regrets and relief one year after U.S. ditched global climate deal|NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A year after President Donald Trump vowed to pull the United States out of a global pact to fight climate change, experts lamented the move but welcomed efforts by cities and states to fill the gap. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump refers to amounts of temperature change as he announces his decision that the United States will withdraw from the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Trump’s announcement of June 1 last year to ditch the deal agreed upon by nearly 200 countries came over opposition by U.S. businesses and the powerful nation’s allies. Trump said leaving the deal signed by his predecessor Barack Obama would boost domestic energy production and speed economic growth. But it raised fears among supporters of the agreement that other nations would follow suit. “That was a dark day,” said Vicki Arroyo, executive director of Georgetown University’s Climate Center. “A domino effect could have happened.” Instead two more countries - Syria and Nicaragua - signed on after Trump’s announcement. But Trump’s decision means some U.S.-based businesses now have less incentive to move toward clean energy, said Christiana Figueres, the U.N. climate chief when the 2015 Paris Agreement was signed. That will put them at a competitive disadvantage as global competitors shift away from polluting fossil fuels faster, she said. Promoting the use of coal over renewable energy sources “is like prohibiting people from using cell phones and asking them to go back to landlines”, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview on Thursday. “That’s a pretty sad position to be advocating.” But growing public concerns about the health risks of air pollution from coal and other fossil fuels are also driving broader interest in curbing climate change, she said. For a long time, people tended to think climate change was happening far away, to others, or would only affect future generations, she said. Now more understand that “this is happening right now and we can do something about it”, she added. The 2015 Paris deal committed nations to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keeping the global hike in temperatures “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times. In December, countries will meet in Poland to set rules for the accord’s implementation, including how to monitor emissions. Experts say momentum is compromised in the absence of the United States, the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China. “We need the U.S. back at the table,” said Selwin Hart, the ambassador of Barbados, at a panel in Washington organized by the World Resources Institute (WRI). Andrew Norton, director of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development, said Trump’s decision to stop further U.S. payments into a major fund to help poorer countries adopt clean energy and adapt to climate threats also threatened climate action around the world. “Without the money and support crucial to delivering the Paris Agreement, the global effort to address climate change may be fatally undermined,” he warned in a statement. Nevertheless, a deluge of state- and city-level policies adopted over the last 12 months in the United States, from emissions reductions targets to a push for electric cars, is a silver lining, said experts on the WRI panel. The planned U.S. departure from the Paris pact “gave us a galvanizing point”, said Angela Navarro, Virginia’s deputy secretary of commerce and trade. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe last year ordered a push for a cap-and-trade system to cut emissions from power plants, citing the federal government’s retreat from the climate debate. California Gov. Jerry Brown is planning a global climate summit in September. States, cities and businesses representing more than half the U.S. economy and population have adopted targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to WRI. However, piecemeal regulation cannot match the policy reach of the federal government, Arroyo said. “I don’t think that anyone would argue that we’re in a better position,” she said. “The task definitely got harder.” Reporting by Sebastien Malo @sebastienmalo in New York and Laurie Goering in London, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Megan Rowling.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-05-31T05:14:00.000+03:00|Peru's Buenaventura seeks deal with Southern on copper project|LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian precious metals miner Buenaventura said Southern Copper Corp is evaluating its proposal to jointly develop Southern’s $2 billion copper project Michiquillay, Buenaventura’s chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday. “They were receptive ... but it’s up to them to evaluate the preliminary proposal,” Victor Gobitz said in an interview at the International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima, Peru. The two companies jointly own the Coimolache mining company in Peru, and are both junior partners in large mines in Peru controlled by U.S.-based companies. Buenaventura believes it is well-positioned to help develop the copper project because it already operates a large open-pit gold mine in the same northern Andean region where Southern will develop Michiquillay. Southern, controlled by Grupo Mexico, operates mines in southern Peru and Mexico. “Our logic is that there would be synergies,” Gobitz said. “You create more value.” Southern was not immediately available for comment but when the deal first became public last month said it was evaluating Buenaventura’s proposal. But the two companies building a major new mine together might also make Michiquillay a target for local opposition, according to an industry source. The project might require lengthy negotiations to resettle communities in the Andes, where obtaining a so-called social license can be one of the biggest hurdles to mining investments. Buenaventura and Southern were both forced to halt plans to build mining projects in Peru following deadly protests by activists and farmers worried about environmental impacts. Southern suspended its $1.2 billion Tia Maria project in 2015. Newmont Mining Corp’s $4.8 billion gold and copper Conga project, which Buenaventura owns a 43.7 percent stake in, has been shelved since 2011. Gobitz said Buenaventura owed it to shareholders to create a business model that paves a path to the eventual construction of Conga. “It’s part of my mandate,” Gobitz said. Southern has said it hopes the government of the country’s new president, Martin Vizcarra, will issue a construction permit for Tia Maria this year. But reviving Tia Maria or Conga this year, when opposing the projects could become a platform for anti-mining candidates in regional elections, might be difficult. Gobitz added that Buenaventura has been implementing an “ambitious” plan to cut costs to trim debt as fuel prices rise. “This year we want to be more rigorous and critical before venturing into an investment...with disciplined control of capital expenditure,” Gobitz said. New projects should deliver a return on investments of at least 15 percent, Gobitz said. The company expects its production of gold and silver to rise 8 percent this year, thanks in part to its mine Tambomayo, Gobitz said. Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T06:16:00.000+03:00|Soccer: Lampard appointed Derby manager on three-year deal|(Reuters) - Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has been appointed manager of Championship side Derby County, with the second-tier side announcing the 39-year-old had agreed to a three-year deal on Thursday. Soccer Football - FA Cup Semi Final - Chelsea v Southampton - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - April 22, 2018 Former Chelsea player and TV pundit Frank Lampard before the match REUTERS/David Klein Lampard, who was capped 106 times by England between 1999 and 2014, won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League with Chelsea, and will be taking his first steps into senior management by replacing Gary Rowett. “I’ve always wanted to manage a club with a big tradition and history like Derby County, so this is a huge opportunity,” Lampard told the club’s website. Lampard’s move means that he did not wait long to follow former England team mate Steven Gerrard into management, with the ex-Liverpool midfielder taking charge at Scottish side Rangers earlier this month. “We want to build on the club’s top-six finish in the Championship last season, while at the same time bringing through some of the excellent youth and academy talent we have at Pride Park,” Lampard added. “I’m delighted to have someone of Frank’s calibre as our new manager,” Derby executive chairman Mel Morris said. “Few players have achieved what Frank has in his career. He’s a winner, a leader who knows what it takes to succeed and who has the character and charisma to be a fantastic manager.” Rowett guided two-times English champions Derby to the playoffs last season, where they were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Fulham, who went on to earn promotion to Premier League. The 44-year-old left Derby to take charge of Stoke City, who were relegated from the Premier League last season. Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien  |https://in.reuters.com/news/sports|0
2018-05-31T06:36:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's HDFC Bank hits record; Macquarie sees last opportunity for foreigners to buy stock|** Shares of lender HDFC Bank Ltd rise as much as 3.8 pct to an all-time high of 2,126.45 rupees; biggest intraday pct gain since July 2017 ** Macquarie Research expects foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to buy more than $1 bln of the shares on June 1 when a trading window for them opens for a day ** Capital markets regulator has told stock exchanges to close effective July 1 the trading window, which allowed FIIs to trade among themselves in stocks where the foreigners' quota has been exhausted bit.ly/2JmhxkU ** HDFC Bank’s American Depositary Receipts (ADR) premium expected to spike due to ban since it will be the only route for FIIs to buy, Macquarie analysts write in a note, retaining a ‘buy’ on the stock ** Of 50 brokerages covering stock, 45 rate it ‘buy’ or higher, 3 ‘hold’ and 2 ‘sell’; median target price 2,348 rupees - Thomson Reuters data ** More than 4 mln HDFC Bank shares change hands vs 30-day moving avg of around 1.5 mln shares  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-05-31T07:26:00.000+03:00|Malaysia's Petronas buys 25 percent stake in LNG Canada project|KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd [PETR.UL] said on Thursday it is buying a 25 percent stake in a Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, nearly a year after cancelling its own planned terminal. The company, known as Petronas, scrapped plans to build a $36 billion ($28 billion) LNG export terminal in British Columbia last year over concerns of a glut in the market that led to depressed fuel prices. But surprisingly strong demand from China, South Korea and India has erased those concerns, and market sentiment has recovered. Petronas said in a statement that it would buy an equity stake in LNG Canada, an export project led by Royal Dutch Shell located in Kitimat, British Columbia. The purchase is expected to close in the next few months, the company said. Petronas did not give a value for the acquisition. “We believe this to be a positive development for Petronas,” said Prasanth Kakaraparthi senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “We expect the global LNG market to tighten post 2022 and this bodes well for the project,” he added. The C$40 billion LNG Canada project will consist of two LNG production facilities, known as trains, that are expected to export a combined 13 million tonnes per year of LNG. Petronas is joining as Shell and its partners prepare for a final decision to go ahead with the project, which would be the first large-scale LNG plant constructed in several years. Shell will continue to be the biggest owner in LNG Canada, holding a 40 percent stake. Other partners include PetroChina, Mitsubishi’s Diamond LNG and Korea Gas. LONG TERM Since scrapping earlier plans, Petronas had been looking for ways to generate revenue from its assets in that region. Petronas’ North Montney assets in British Columbia are rich in natural gas. Petronas’ and its North Montney joint venture partners are one of the largest natural gas resource owners in Canada with over 52 Tcf of reserves and contingent resources, it said. An equity stake in LNG Canada will enhance the company’s aims to develop natural gas resource in the North Montney through its subsidiary, Progress Energy Canada Ltd. “Petronas is in Canada for the long-term and we are exploring a number of business opportunities that will allow us to increase our production and accelerate the monetisation of our world-class resources in the North Montney,” President and Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said in the statement. “LNG is just one of those opportunities,” he said. In March, Petronas said it was one of the producers involved in TransCanada’s proposal to expand a pipeline system that would open up more markets for its gas produced in Western Canada. Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-31T07:38:00.000+03:00|Spain's Socialists leader says would stick to budget approved by PM Rajoy|MADRID, May 31 (Reuters) - The leader of Spain’s socialist party Pedro Sanchez on Thursday said he would stick to the budget approved by current Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy if he won a no-confidence vote in parliament. “I commit myself to fulfil the obligations of the EU, we want to maintain the budget approved by this assembly,” Sanchez told the parliament at the start of the no-confidence debate. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez needs an absolute majority of 176 votes to become Spain’s new Prime Minister, and information from various parties suggested he had secured 175 as the parliamentary session got under way. (Reporting By Jesús Aguado Editing by Julien Toyer)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-31T08:41:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|May 31 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1030 GMT on Thursday: ** Italy’s oil and gas major Eni is in the process of reducing its stakes in its oilfields in Mexico and Indonesia, Chief Financial Officer Massimo Mondazzi said. ** Integrated energy group Sembcorp Industries has agreed to buy UK Power Reserve, Britain’s largest flexible power generator, for 216 million pounds ($288 million). ** Greek electricity utility Public Power Corp (PPC) invited investors to submit expressions of interest for the sale of coal-fired units by June 21. ** Malaysia’s Petronas said it had agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in the LNG Canada project. ** Jenbacher, the industrial gas engine business of General Electric (GE), would complement Wartsila, the chief financial officer of the Finnish company said. ** Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that Informa’s 5.6 billion pound ($7.45 billion) takeover of rival UBM did not qualify for an investigation. ** Australia’s Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd agreed to a A$530 million ($401 million) takeover offer from U.S. private equity firm Lone Star, saying the risks the company faces in China justified putting the bid to a vote. ** Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy said Australian authorities have approved its plan to acquire Rio Tinto’s stake in the Kestrel coking coal mine in the Australian state of Queensland, and the company expects to finalise financing for the deal on July 1. ** Italy’s Enel SpA outbid Spanish utility Iberdrola SA with a 7.6 billion reais ($2 billion) bid for Brazilian grid operator Eletropaulo Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA, according to a securities filing. ** Canadian specialty chemicals firm Superior Plus Corp said it would buy NGL Energy Partners’ retail propane unit for $900 million in cash to boost its presence in the United States. ** Drugmaker Allergan Plc said it plans to sell two of its smaller businesses, the women’s health and infectious disease units, as Chief Executive Officer Brent Saunders works to end a steep slide in its share price over the last year. ** India’s Reliance Communications (RCom) said it expects to complete its asset sale to Reliance Jio Infocomm and Canada’s Brookfield in coming weeks, after the bankruptcy appeals court halted insolvency proceedings against the debt-laden company. (Compiled by Akshara P in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-31T09:11:00.000+03:00|European funds sell equities and emerging markets in May: Reuters poll|LONDON (Reuters) - Italian political ructions and fears of a U.S.-China trade war persuaded European money managers to dial back allocations to equities and emerging markets in May, while raising bond holdings to the highest since July 2016. The Italian flag waves over the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Reuters’ latest monthly survey of investors was carried out May 14-29, a time when 10-year U.S. yields rose to seven-year highs above 3 percent, oil prices jumped to $80 a barrel and Italy’s massive bond and equity selloff sent the euro to multi-month lows by evoking memories of the 2011-2012 crisis. World shares .MIWD PUS stand some 8 percent below the record highs hit in January. Cedric Baron, head of multi-asset at Generali Investments, said while he remained “constructive” on equities, “in a more volatile environment and with the resurgence of some political risks, we prefer to be less aggressive on this asset class, and to temporarily reduce the risky exposure of the portfolio”. Aside from political risk in Italy, investors were also fretting about inflation, driven by oil price rises, and central bank policy tightening, Baron added. The share of equities in European funds’ global portfolios fell almost 2 percentage points versus April to 41.7 percent, the lowest since November 2016. Debt allocations rose 2.6 percentage points to nearly a two-year high of 43 percent, the poll showed. “Protectionism and the risk of U.S. inflation accelerating remain our primary concerns. However, developments in Italy are also a growing material risk that could (prompt) a dramatic shake out in risk assets,” said Colin Harte, senior portfolio manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management. The poll was conducted at a time when the United States and China held talks on trade, though both sides have repeatedly lashed out at each other with tariff threats. TURKISH LIRA Fund managers showed a marked preference for U.S. assets, raising the share of U.S. debt to the highest since last May. However, while the dollar has steadily risen in recent weeks, few investors appear bullish on it - only one poll respondent had changed their end-2018 forecast on the U.S. currency. Fewer than 20 percent of those who replied to a special question said they would be tempted to buy U.S. Treasury bonds at a 3 percent yield. Raphael Gallardo at Ostrum Asset Management, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, said he had always predicted an end-2018 euro-dollar rate of $1.15, given the yield and interest rate advantage of the United States over other developed markets. But he said he would not buy Treasuries at 3 percent. Jan Bopp, an investment strategist at J Safra Sarasin, is also bearish, considering it premature to rush in at 3 percent. “We believe the market is underpricing the pace of future Fed rate hikes,” he added. A major victim of the recent dollar surge is the developing world, where currencies such as the Turkish lira and Argentine peso have fallen sharply, forcing authorities into sharp interest rate rises or direct interventions. Average emerging local debt yields have risen almost half a percent since the start of the year. In the poll, investors cut their exposure to emerging market bonds by almost 3 percentage points to 13.7 percent. Just over half of those who answered a special question said the recent upheaval had persuaded them to cut emerging market exposure but most remained bullish on long-term prospects. “Emerging markets are adjusting to tighter financial conditions with spread widening and currency depreciation of the idiosyncratic stories in a sort of perfect storm,” said Pascal Blanque, chief investment officer at Amundi. “However, beyond these short-term challenges, the EM story is still intact.” Additional reporting by Claire Milhench in London and Massimo Gaia in Milan; Editing by Alison Williams  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-31T09:16:00.000+03:00|CMA clears Informa-UBM deal|May 31, 2018 / 6:30 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Britain's competition watchdog clears Informa-UBM deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday that Informa’s ( INF.L ) 5.6 billion pound ($7.45 billion) takeover of rival UBM ( UBM.L ) did not qualify for an investigation. The deal, announced in December, will create a global leader in business events and conferences, almost a decade after UBM tried to buy Informa. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Kate Holton|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-05-31T09:20:00.000+03:00|Ireland's CRH to merge some European, Americas units to boost margins|DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish building materials group CRH said on Thursday it would streamline some of its European and American businesses under one division and detailed growth targets that boosted its shares by almost 5 percent. CRH will combine its Europe Distribution, Europe Lightside and Americas Products businesses into a new global products division from next year, a move it said would provide significant opportunities for growth and value creation. The world’s third-largest building group by market capitalization said the simpler, leaner structures would help it improve its core earnings (EBITDA) margin by 300 basis points by 2021. Shares in the group were 4.5 percent higher at 2,800 pence by 0945 GMT, close to its highest level this year and making it the biggest riser in Britain’s top share index. CRH, which has grown to a global giant employing over 85,000 people through decades of acquisitions, said it expected to generate financial capacity of 7 billion euros ($8.2 billion)after capital investment and dividends over the next four years. “There is no other company in the sector with this level of cash firepower,” analysts at Davy Stockbrokers said, saying CRH also set a target last month to raise 1.5 billion to 2.0 billion euros from the sale of assets. Separately, CRH announced a strategic review of its Europe Distribution unit on Thursday to improve margins and returns and will also explore other strategic options for a business it said had a mixed performance in recent years. That will likely lead to speculation of a possible sale of the unit that had sales of 4 billion euros last year, Davy said. Reporting by Padraic Halpin, additional reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter and Edmund Blair  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-31T09:24:00.000+03:00|Ireland's CRH to merge some European, Americas units to boost margins|May 31, 2018 / 6:25 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Ireland's CRH to merge some European, Americas units to boost margins Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Irish building materials group CRH ( CRH.I ) said on Thursday it would streamline certain European and American businesses by combining them, in a move to improve profit margins. CRH said it would combine its Europe Lightside, Europe Distribution and Americas Products divisions into a new Building Products division from Jan. 1, 2019. The world’s third-largest building group said it was aiming to improve the group’s core earnings (EBITDA) margin by 300 basis points by 2021. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-05-31T09:36:00.000+03:00|Central African Republic approves war crimes court|May 31, 2018 / 6:38 AM / a day ago Central African Republic approves war crimes court Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic has approved a law creating a special criminal court to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during more than a decade of ethnic and religious conflict, a lawmaker said. A gavel is seen in a hearing room in a file photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo Hundreds have died in the violence and scores more have been raped and tortured but the perpetrators have not faced any meaningful legal pursuit, rights activists say. “With this law, we will now be able to count on the justice system to put an end to the conflicts, to the killings, to the massacres,” Ernest Mezedio, a national deputy, told Reuters on Wednesday. “The executioners who walk around freely should know that the hour of justice has sounded,” he said. The country’s parliament approved the law late on Tuesday. The United Nations’ deputy representative in Central African Republic said on Monday that the tribunal - which will be composed of both national and international judges - would begin formal investigations next week. Rights activists say the court represents the best hope at reversing years of impunity, but concede that the considerable power wielded by potential investigation targets and vast swaths of territory beyond government control pose steep obstacles. Central African Republic has suffered a series of violent political crises since former president Francois Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup d’etat. Major violence erupted again in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A United Nations report last year said the litany of killings, rapes, mutilation, looting and torture committed by successive governments and armed groups from 2003-2015 may constitute crimes against humanity. Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Aaron Ross/Mark Heinrich 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICATopNews|0
2018-05-31T09:41:00.000+03:00|Graphic: 'Buy now or wait?', Italian sell-off lures back investors|MILAN (Reuters) - Some European and U.S. fund managers are stepping back into Italian equities after fresh angst about a break from the euro zone wiped five months of gains off Milan’s top share index. Traders talk in front of the German share price index DAX board at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski Analysts expect uncertainty about Italy’s role in Europe and worries over its finances are here to stay, keeping markets turbulent, but investors say that could make good companies cheaper, boosting returns over the longer term. “In the last couple of weeks we’ve been investing a little bit more in Italy as prices have come down,” said Luiz Sauerbronn, director at San Diego, California-based Brandes Investment Partners, where he helps manage $30 billion. “We’re long-term investors and if people sell off indiscriminately Italy, we see an opportunity,” he said. Brandes’s European funds hold stakes in companies such as oil group Eni ( ENI.MI ), cement maker Buzzi Unicem ( BZU.MI ) and Danieli ( DANI.MI ), which builds steelmaking plants. Italy-based global companies could be interesting picks, but so too are some domestically focused firms and banks, which were hit hardest during this month’s rout, traders said. After days of twists and turns, Italy on Thursday was awaiting a decision from the right-wing League party on whether to join a last-ditch attempt to form a government with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and avoid snap elections that would be focused on membership of the euro zone. Worries that the parties’ binge-spending agenda could put Rome on a collision course with Brussels, and that new elections could put Italy’s role in Europe into question, have caused panic selling on the bond market and sparked record weekly outflows from Italian equities. Possible bargains include Eni, cable maker Prysmian ( PRY.MI ), caterer Autogrill ( AGL.MI ) or fitness equipment firm Technogym ( TGYM.MI ). Debt collector Cerved ( CERV.MI ) and well capitalised banks like Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) or UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) have become more attractive. Their valuations have been squeezed in the sell-off. To view a graphic on Sell-off puts Italy Inc's valuations under pressure, click: reut.rs/2Jh9WnE ITALY LOOKS CHEAPER Investors taking a constructive view on Italy, however, believe that checks and balances on its political system would make it hard for any government to blow up state finances, while they see a euro zone break-up as a remote option. Gilles Guibout, who helps manage 746 billion euros ($871 billion) at AXA Investment Managers in Paris, believes volatility stemming from Italy’s political instability is a risk worth taking. “Italy is cheaper and has more earnings growth (than the rest of Europe). You must accept this extra bit of volatility but I believe that will be rewarded with better returns,” Guibout said. “Italy is systemic and I don’t think it will leave the euro, but if it does happen it will be a problem for the whole of Europe and you would have to rethink all your euro zone equity allocation, not only Italy’s,” he said. Two polls on Thursday showed that between 60 and 72 percent of Italians want the country to remain part of the euro. In early May Italy's main share index .FTMIB was up 12 percent year to date, the best performer among top European benchmarks. On Thursday it was up 0.6 percent year to date. To view a graphic on Italian stocks look cheaper to euro zone peers, click: reut.rs/2Jh9WnE “TURBULENCE IS NOT OVER” Banks are also being eyed by bargain hunters but any move is seen as highly risky because their big holdings of government bonds have made them a target for hedge funds seeking to profit from a fall in their share prices. “UniCredit for example is a very solid bank but I don’t think turbulence is over,” said Antonio Garufi at Decalia Asset Management in Geneva. “We must be careful when our positions are being shorted and use volatility to our advantage,” he added. More broadly the key question is about timing. Investors said purchases needed to be very gradual to avoid being trapped in any further sell-off or missing out on the chance to buy when prices are even lower. It’s a matter of “buy now or wait”, said JCI Capital fund manager Alessandro Balsotti. Kepler Cheuvreux strategist Christopher Potts forecast this week that Italian stocks could fall another 10-15 percent. “There is still a significant degree of downside risk attached to Italian financial assets because there are so few incentives for the investor to move to the buy side at this time,” he said in a note. To view a graphic on What's the FTSE MIB's downside potential?, click: reut.rs/2L6UtDW Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Susan Fenton  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-31T09:55:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-FirstGroup replaces CEO, could sell Greyhound bus business|* FY pretax profit down 5 pct to 197 mln stg * Sees 2018/19 earnings flat, consensus saw 13 pct rise * Review of Greyhound business could lead to sale (Adds share price, background, analyst comment,) By Sarah Young LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - British transport company FirstGroup replaced its chief executive after a disappointing performance last year and lowered expectations for this year, wiping 14 percent off its share price. FirstGroup’s CEO had been under pressure for some time. The company has not paid a dividend since 2013, has rejected two approaches from private equity firms and has been targeted by Canadian activist investor West Face Capital. The bus and rail operator said Tim O’Toole, CEO since 2010, would be replaced immediately by Wolfhart Hauser, who becomes executive chairman, and Matthew Gregory, who becomes chief operating officer in addition to his role as chief finance officer. Profit fell 5 percent in its last financial year, hit by a poor performance in its Greyhound bus division in the United States, which the firm said it could now sell. In the current year, it said British rail contracts would bring in less profit. That meant earnings would be flat for the 12 months to March 31, 2019, undershooting a consensus forecast for profit to grow by 13 percent according to Thomson Reuters data. Chairman Hauser said O’Toole had not been sacked and said he had not received a request from any shareholder for the CEO to go. “It was the right time after the results for him to make that decision,” Hauser told Reuters on a call. Shares in the company lost 14 percent to trade down at 96 pence at 0830 GMT. The shares have tumbled 34 percent over the last 12 months. GREYHOUND UP FOR SALE Investors have had five years of disappointments since the company scrapped its dividend and raised 615 million pounds ($820 million) in a rights issue. The stock is 2 percent lower than in 2013, while Britain’s midcap index has risen 46 percent. “The CEO’s departure should be viewed as an opportunity to pursue a different approach, although there is a lack of clarity as to what that might be at this stage,” said Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo, who rates the stock a buy. FirstGroup, which also runs yellow school buses in the United States, blamed the poor performance of Greyhound for the fall in last year’s profit, saying it faced competition from low cost airlines as they added capacity between secondary cities. The company said it had commissioned an external review of Greyhound which could result in selling the business. The company’s rail business in Britain will also disappoint this year, as growth at the Trans-Pennine Express (TPE) contract is behind its forecasts. “New rail franchises were meant to help restore the group’s cash flow profile. TPE recognised now as an onerous contract, with over 100 million pounds of future losses to come, is a material disappointment,” Jefferies analyst Joe Spooner, who has a hold rating on the stock, said. $1 = 0.7499 pounds Reporting by Sarah Young Editing by Paul Sandle and Alistair Smout  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-31T10:06:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Sembcorp Industries to buy UK Power Reserve for $288 mln|(Adds detail on equity value) LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Integrated energy group Sembcorp Industries has agreed to buy UK Power Reserve, Britain’s largest flexible power generator, for an equity value of 216 million pounds ($288 million). The Singapore-listed company said on Thursday it was buying UK Power Reserve, which was founded in 2010 to meet growing demand for flexible reserve power capacity, from investment firm Equistone Partners Europe and Inflexion Private Equity. Following the acquisition of shares, Sembcorp will consolidate all the assets and liabilities of UK Power Reserve, including its net debt. In Britain, demand for more flexible power generation capacity has grown due to the closure of ageing thermal plants, the rise of variable renewable energy and electric vehicles. UK Power Reserve has 32 rapid-response power stations with a total capacity of 533 megawatts (MW) in operation, enough to power 375,000 homes. A further 480 MW of capacity, included 120 MW of battery storage assets, is under construction and development and expected to come online by 2019. Sembcorp Industries has an energy portfolio of more than 12 gigawatts (GW) worldwide, including thermal power plants and renewable energy assets. Sembcorp UK, which has 210 MW of combined heat and power, steam power and renewable generation capacity at its Wilton International industrial site in Teesside, northeast England, is also seeking planning approval to develop two combined-cycle gas turbine units of up to 1.7 GW at that site. $1 = 0.7503 pounds Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|1
2018-05-31T10:27:00.000+03:00|Ahead of Sainsbury's takeover, Asda says results on track|LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Asda, the British supermarket arm of Walmart that is set to be acquired by Sainsbury’s , posted a 13 percent fall in profit in 2017, a performance which it said was in line with expectations and showed its recovery was on track. Sainsbury’s and Asda announced plans to combine in April in a deal which will see Britain’s no.2 and no.3 supermarkets respectively overtake Tesco as Britain’s biggest supermarket group. The deal comes just as a turnaround plan for Asda gains momentum, with Asda saying it returned to underlying sales growth in 2017, posting sales up 0.5 percent, a big improvement on the 5.7 percent fall it reported last year. Asda said it had benefited from investing in lower prices for customers and improved service in stores and online. Statutory accounts for Asda Group Limited published on Thursday show that operating profit came in at 735.4 million pounds compared to the 845.3 million pounds it made in 2016. “Our 2017 accounts reflect a solid performance and a strong, well-managed business,” said Asda President and CEO, Roger Burnley. “During the year momentum returned driven by a series of planned investments in lowering prices, further improving quality and innovation in our Own Brand ranges and providing an even better shopping experience whether in store or online.” (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-31T10:30:00.000+03:00|Israel's Partner Comms Q1 profit sinks, plans to buy back shares|JERUSALEM, May 31 (Reuters) - Partner Communications , Israel’s second-largest mobile phone operator, reported an 86 percent drop in quarterly profit as it continues to invest heavily in the deployment of a fibre-optics network and its TV service. The company also said it planned to buy back up to 200 million shekels ($56 million) of its own shares traded in Tel Aviv between June 4 and May 30, 2019. The plan will be implemented in tranches, with the first amounting to 50 million shekels. Partner said on Thursday it earned 9 million shekels in the first quarter, down from 64 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 3 percent to 826 million shekels, with its cellular subscriber base falling by 7,000 in the first quarter to 2.67 million. Partner’s revenue and profit have plunged in the wake of a 2012 reform that opened up the mobile market to new players, sharply reducing prices. It is seeking new revenue streams and is making a push to become an integrated multi-service telecoms group. The company said about 65,000 consumers had connected to Partner TV, an internet-based TV service offering cut-rate packages it launched a year ago in partnership with Netflix . In April, Partner signed a deal with Amazon Prime Video. Partner said it was in advanced talks with rival Cellcom regarding possible collaboration in the fibre optic infrastructure that both companies are rolling out, in order to enable a faster deployment rate at a lower cost which will improve the economic returns from the project. “The deployment of the fibre optic infrastructure was accelerated significantly, and by year end, we intend to be present in over half of the cities in Israel,” said Partner chief executive Isaac Benbenisti. Partner also said it was in the process of examining other growth opportunities, including conducting an initial assessment of entry into the credit and debit card market, through either acquisitions or internal development. On Wednesday, Cellcom, Israel’s largest mobile phone operator, reported a 73 percent fall in quarterly profit. Another rival, Pelephone, a unit of Bezeq , posted a 49 percent decline in first-quarter profit. ($1 = 3.5680 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T10:31:00.000+03:00|Ahead of Sainsbury's takeover, Asda says results on track|May 31, 2018 / 7:30 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Ahead of Sainsbury's takeover, Asda says results on track Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Asda, the British supermarket arm of Walmart ( WMT.N ) that is set to be acquired by Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ), posted a 13 percent fall in profit in 2017, a performance which it said was in line with expectations and showed its recovery was on track. FILE PHOTO: People walk past branches of ASDA and Sainsbury's in Stockport, Britain April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Sainsbury’s and Asda announced plans to combine in April in a deal which will see Britain’s no.2 and no.3 supermarkets respectively overtake Tesco ( TSCO.L ) as Britain’s biggest supermarket group. The deal comes just as a turnaround plan for Asda gains momentum, with Asda saying it returned to underlying sales growth in 2017, posting sales up 0.5 percent, a big improvement on the 5.7 percent fall it reported last year. Asda said it had benefited from investing in lower prices for customers and improved service in stores and online. Statutory accounts for Asda Group Limited published on Thursday show that operating profit came in at 735.4 million pounds compared to the 845.3 million pounds it made in 2016. “Our 2017 accounts reflect a solid performance and a strong, well-managed business,” said Asda President and CEO, Roger Burnley. “During the year momentum returned driven by a series of planned investments in lowering prices, further improving quality and innovation in our Own Brand ranges and providing an even better shopping experience whether in store or online.” Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-05-31T10:56:00.000+03:00|RPT-Japan Post Insurance ready to buy short-term Italian debt:CIO|(Repeats to attach to alerts) * Kampo looking to buy short-term Italian bonds after selloff-CIO * Volatility spike in market creates buying opportunity-CIO * Firm had cut Italian debt holdings by 2/3 before March elections By Tomo Uetake and Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, May 31 (Reuters) - Japan Post Insurance Co, one of the largest Japanese institutional investors, is looking to buy short-term Italian government bonds after the recent sell-off made them inexpensive, the firm’s chief investment officer said. The firm, also known as Kampo, holds 76.8 trillion yen ($707 billion) of assets and currently has limited exposure to Italian debt after having reduced its holdings by two-thirds before the country’s election on March 4, Atsushi Tachibana told Reuters. “We are looking to buy short-term Italian bonds now,” Tachibana said, adding that he expects volatility to remain high and present good buying opportunities when the market overreacts. Kampo’s current Italian debt exposure amounts to 1 percent of its total foreign debt holdings. That would suggest about 70 billion yen ($644.45 million) based on its latest disclosure, which puts its holdings of foreign bonds at 7 trillion yen. “We thought Italian political risks were underestimated when the two-year Italian yield was so close to the German yields ahead of the election,” Tachibana said. The two-year Italian debt yield was around minus 0.10-0.20 percent, compared to minus 0.60 percent, just before the inconclusive election. It spiked to almost three percent on Tuesday, making the biggest one-day rise since 1992, after the two anti-establishment parties clashed with the country’s president who rejected their choice of an eurosceptic economist as finance minister. ($1 = 108.6200 yen) (Reporting by Tomo Uetake and Hideyuki Sano Editing by Shri Navaratnam)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-31T12:01:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Japan Post Insurance ready to buy short-term Italian debt:CIO|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Post Insurance Co, one of the largest Japanese institutional investors, is looking to buy short-term Italian government bonds after the recent sell-off made them inexpensive, its chief investment officer said. The firm, also known as Kampo, holds 76.8 trillion yen ($707 billion) of assets and has limited exposure to Italian debt after having reduced its holdings by two-thirds before the country’s election on March 4, Atsushi Tachibana told Reuters. “We are looking to buy short-term Italian bonds now,” Tachibana said, adding that he expects volatility to remain high and present good buying opportunities when the market overreacts. Kampo’s current Italian debt exposure amounts to 1 percent of its total foreign debt holdings. That would suggest about 70 billion yen ($644.5 million) based on its latest disclosure, which puts its holdings of foreign bonds at around 7 trillion yen. “We thought Italian political risks were underestimated when the two-year Italian yield was so close to the German yields ahead of the election,” Tachibana said. The two-year Italian debt yield was around minus 0.10-0.20 percent, compared to minus 0.60 percent, just before the inconclusive election. It spiked to almost 3 percent on Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day rise since 1992, after the two anti-establishment parties clashed with the country’s president who rejected their choice of an eurosceptic economist as finance minister. Tachibana said Japan Post sought to buy some Italian bonds on Wednesday only to be hindered by wide bid-offer spreads. “The market seemed to be overreacting. I don’t think Italy would default on its debts.” Kampo is the insurance arm of formerly state-owned conglomerate Japan Post Holdings and has been increasing investments in riskier assets since it was partially privatized in 2015. In the last financial year, it was one of the most aggressive buyers of foreign bonds among Japanese insurers, boosting its holdings by 1 trillion yen. Japan’s largest private insurer Nippon Life, which holds some 4.8 trillion yen ($44 billion) worth of euro zone bonds, said on Wednesday it had no plans for now to buy or sell its Italian debt holdings. Since the middle of last year, many Japanese investors have been piling into European bonds because their yields after currency hedging are attractive. From October to March, Japanese investors bought 1.57 trillion yen of German bonds, 2.09 trillion yen of French bonds, 695 billion yen of Spanish bonds and 266 billion yen of Irish bonds. But Japanese investors have taken a cautious stance on Italian bonds in the past half year, buying only 52 billion yen. ($1 = 108.62 yen) Reporting by Tomo Uetake and Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-05-31T12:04:00.000+03:00|Italy awaits decision on last-ditch deal to avoid snap elections|ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, ending three months of political turmoil by announcing a government that promises to increase spending, challenge European Union fiscal rules and crack down on immigration. The coalition deal, following inconclusive elections in March, removes the risk of a repeat vote, a prospect that had sparked a big selloff in Italian financial markets this week. The leaders of the right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement patched up their alliance after agreeing to substitute a eurosceptic they had initially proposed as economy minister, a nomination that had been rejected by the head of state. “All the conditions have been fulfilled for a political, 5-Star and League government,” 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini said in a joint statement after several hours of talks in central Rome. Just a few hours later their chosen prime minister Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor who belongs to neither party and has not been elected, presented his list of ministers after receiving his second mandate in eight days. “We will work with determination to improve the quality of life of all Italians,” Conte, who is close to 5-Star, told reporters at the presidential palace after meeting the head of state Sergio Mattarella. His ministers will be sworn in on Friday before the government faces votes of confidence in both houses next week. The deal followed an extraordinary few days in which Di Maio called for Mattarella to be impeached, Conte and another prime minister-designate were tasked to form a government and failed, before Conte was reinstated on Thursday evening. Rome resident Vincenza Cariano summed up the exasperated mood on the street: “I can’t stand it anymore. The country needs certainties, security and equilibrium.” Related Coverage Rome alone? Five key questions for the euro As Italy forms anti-establishment government, row erupts with EU The main ministers in Italy's proposed new government The breakthrough came after the League and 5-Star agreed to drop economist Paolo Savona as their choice for economy minister. Savona, an 81-year-old economist, had said previously that Italy should have a contingency plan to abandon the euro. He will be substituted by economics professor Giovanni Tria, another little-known figure. Savona will be in government as European affairs minister, a less powerful role but one which will still allow him to negotiate with Brussels and speak on EU issues. No sooner had the coalition deal been announced than friction flared with Brussels over remarks by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker about Italy’s impoverished south. [L5N1T271W] MARKET RECOVERY Global financial markets have been recovering over the past two days after tumbling on the specter of repeat elections dominated by debate over Italy’s future in the euro zone. Italy, with debts totaling more than 130 percent of its economic output, is the most heavily indebted euro zone nation after Greece and is often described as “too big to fail”. Italy's Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte talks to the media at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi Though investors were relieved to avoid repeat elections, which they feared could have become a de facto referendum on the euro, they are now likely to refocus on the big spending plans of the League and 5-Star, which would add to its debts. The coalition has also said, in a joint policy manifesto signed during their first attempt at a union, that they will push the European Union to review the bloc’s fiscal rules, which Salvini says have “enslaved” Italians. The parties’ new economics minister-designate, Tria, has been critical of the EU’s economic governance, but unlike Savona he has not advocated a “plan B” for possibly exiting the euro. In recent articles, Tria has called for a change in the EU’s fiscal rules to allow public investments to help growth and, like many mainstream economists, has criticized Germany’s persistently large current account surplus. “Maybe finally we have made it, after so many obstacles, attacks, threats and lies,” Salvini said on Facebook shortly after the deal was announced. Salvini will be the interior minister and Di Maio will take a powerful, newly-created joint ministry made up of the labor and industry portfolios. Both leaders will also be deputy prime ministers and many commentators have forecast that Conte will have a tough time proving he can be more than a puppet in the hands of his powerful political sponsors. Salvini has promised as minister to ramp up deportations of irregular immigrants and to revamp the country’s asylum system. Enzo Moavero, a former EU affairs minister under the technocratic government of Mario Monti, will be foreign minister. Slideshow (10 Images) After the first coalition attempt failed, President Mattarella named former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli to form a stop-gap government of experts to lead the country to elections no sooner than September. But Cottarelli failed to present a cabinet and received no support from any of the major parties. On Thursday, he formally gave up his mandate. Additional reporting by Eleanor Biles, Giselda Vagnoni, Philip Pullella, Giuseppe Fonte and Stefano Bernabei in Rome and Stephen Jewkes and Francesca Landini in Milan; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Hugh Lawson  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T12:06:00.000+03:00|Italy awaits decision on last-ditch deal to avoid snap elections|May 31, 2018 / 9:07 AM / Updated 40 minutes ago Italy's anti-establishment leaders revive governing coalition Steve Scherer , Gavin Jones 5 Min Read ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, ending three months of political turmoil by announcing a government that promises to increase spending, challenge European Union fiscal rules and crack down on immigration. The coalition deal, following inconclusive elections in March, removes the risk of a repeat vote, a prospect that had sparked a big selloff in Italian financial markets this week. The leaders of the right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement patched up their alliance after agreeing to substitute a eurosceptic they had initially proposed as economy minister, a nomination that had been rejected by the head of state. “All the conditions have been fulfilled for a political, 5-Star and League government,” 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini said in a joint statement after several hours of talks in central Rome. Just a few hours later their chosen prime minister Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor who belongs to neither party and has not been elected, presented his list of ministers after receiving his second mandate in eight days. “We will work with determination to improve the quality of life of all Italians,” Conte, who is close to 5-Star, told reporters at the presidential palace after meeting the head of state Sergio Mattarella. His ministers will be sworn in on Friday before the government faces votes of confidence in both houses next week. The deal followed an extraordinary few days in which Di Maio called for Mattarella to be impeached, Conte and another prime minister-designate were tasked to form a government and failed, before Conte was reinstated on Thursday evening. Rome resident Vincenza Cariano summed up the exasperated mood on the street: “I can’t stand it anymore. The country needs certainties, security and equilibrium.” Related Coverage The breakthrough came after the League and 5-Star agreed to drop economist Paolo Savona as their choice for economy minister. Savona, an 81-year-old economist, had said previously that Italy should have a contingency plan to abandon the euro. He will be substituted by economics professor Giovanni Tria, another little-known figure. Savona will be in government as European affairs minister, a less powerful role but one which will still allow him to negotiate with Brussels and speak on EU issues. No sooner had the coalition deal been announced than friction flared with Brussels over remarks by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker about Italy’s impoverished south. MARKET RECOVERY Global financial markets have been recovering over the past two days after tumbling on the spectre of repeat elections dominated by debate over Italy’s future in the euro zone. Italy, with debts totalling more than 130 percent of its economic output, is the most heavily indebted euro zone nation after Greece and is often described as “too big to fail”. Italy's Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte talks to the media at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi Though investors were relieved to avoid repeat elections, which they feared could have become a de facto referendum on the euro, they are now likely to refocus on the big spending plans of the League and 5-Star, which would add to its debts. The coalition has also said, in a joint policy manifesto signed during their first attempt at a union, that they will push the European Union to review the bloc’s fiscal rules, which Salvini says have “enslaved” Italians. The parties’ new economics minister-designate, Tria, has been critical of the EU’s economic governance, but unlike Savona he has not advocated a “plan B” for possibly exiting the euro. In recent articles, Tria has called for a change in the EU’s fiscal rules to allow public investments to help growth and, like many mainstream economists, has criticised Germany’s persistently large current account surplus. “Maybe finally we have made it, after so many obstacles, attacks, threats and lies,” Salvini said on Facebook shortly after the deal was announced. Salvini will be the interior minister and Di Maio will take a powerful, newly-created joint ministry made up of the labour and industry portfolios. Both leaders will also be deputy prime ministers and many commentators have forecast that Conte will have a tough time proving he can be more than a puppet in the hands of his powerful political sponsors. Salvini has promised as minister to ramp up deportations of irregular immigrants and to revamp the country’s asylum system. Enzo Moavero, a former EU affairs minister under the technocratic government of Mario Monti, will be foreign minister. Slideshow (11 Images) After the first coalition attempt failed, President Mattarella named former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli to form a stop-gap government of experts to lead the country to elections no sooner than September. But Cottarelli failed to present a cabinet and received no support from any of the major parties. On Thursday, he formally gave up his mandate. Additional reporting by Eleanor Biles, Giselda Vagnoni, Philip Pullella, Giuseppe Fonte and Stefano Bernabei in Rome and Stephen Jewkes and Francesca Landini in Milan; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Hugh Lawson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-05-31T12:30:00.000+03:00|Lampard appointed Derby manager on three-year deal|"May 31, 2018 / 9:33 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Lampard appointed Derby manager on three-year deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has been appointed as manager of Championship side Derby County, with the second-tier side announcing the 39-year-old had agreed to a three-year deal on Thursday. Former Chelsea player and TV pundit Frank Lampard before the match. REUTERS/David Klein Lampard, who was capped 106 times by England between 1999 and 2014, won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League with Chelsea and will be taking his first steps into senior management. ""I've always wanted to manage a club with a big tradition and history like Derby County, so this is a huge opportunity,"" Lampard told the club's website here “We want to build on the club’s top-six finish in the Championship last season, while at the same time bringing through some of the excellent youth and academy talent we have at Pride Park.” Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien 0 : 0"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICASportNews|0
2018-05-31T13:01:00.000+03:00|U.N. and Myanmar agree outline of Rohingya return deal, but not details|GENEVA/YANGON (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it had struck an outline deal with Myanmar aimed at eventually allowing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice. An exhausted Rohingya refugee woman touches the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui Since August 2017, about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, many reporting killings, rape and arson on a large scale, U.N. and other aid organisations have said. “Since the conditions are not conducive for voluntary return yet, the MoU (memorandum of understanding) is the first and necessary step to support the government’s efforts to change that situation,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. Myanmar’s government said in a brief statement late on Thursday the MoU would be signed “soon” and U.N. agencies would “support access to livelihoods through the design and implementation of community-based interventions”. Myanmar civilian government spokesman Zaw Htay said he had nothing to add to the statement. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides persist, impeding implementation of the plan. In a separate statement on Thursday, Myanmar’s government said it would set up an independent commission to investigate “the violation of human rights and related issues” in Rakhine State following the army operation there in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts. The commission will be assisted by international experts, the statement said without elaborating. In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, senior UNHCR official George William Okoth-Obbo told reporters after a five-day visit to Rohingya refugee camps along the border that conditions in Myanmar did not yet allow a “safe and sustainable return”. Okoth-Obbo said an immediate challenge for humanitarian agencies was to relocate 200,000 Rohingya refugees threatened by seasonal monsoon flooding and landslides to a safer place. The United Nations and aid agencies have described the crackdown on the Rohingya as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, an accusation Myanmar rejects. The Security Council asked Myanmar in November to ensure no “further excessive use of military force” and to allow “freedom of movement, equal access to basic services, and equal access to full citizenship for all”. Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services such as healthcare. Many in Myanmar regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from mostly Muslim Bangladesh. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Shoon Naing and Yimou Lee in Yangon and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Editing by Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-31T13:06:00.000+03:00|Japan's Idemitsu says no oil refineries will close in touted merger|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan ( 5019.T ) does not expect to close any domestic oil refineries as part of its long-delayed merger with smaller rival Showa Shell Sekiyu ( 5002.T ) even as local demand for oil continues to fall. Idemitsu Kosan's President and Chief Executive Officer Shunichi Kito speaks during an interview with Reuters at the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon That comes as Idemitsu, Japan’s No.2 oil refiner by sales, battles to overcome entrenched opposition to the touted merger from its founding family at a time when the country’s refining market is going through the biggest shake-up in its history. The two refiners have struck a business alliance ahead of the possible merger, integrating the so-called loading programs they use to buy crude and working to jointly operate their seven group refineries. “Idemitsu has already reduced refineries by half to three and will not close any more,” CEO Shunichi Kito told Reuters in an interview last month. JXTG Holdings ( 5020.T ), the dominant player in a country where a falling population is using ever more efficient vehicles, was formed last year out of the merger of JX and TonenGeneral. It has been considering closing at least one of its 11 domestic refineries. “Seven refineries for Idemitsu and Showa Shell would balance domestic demand. (Integration or elimination) would be unlikely to happen to us,” he said. Slideshow (3 Images) Kito said he could not give a timeline for the proposed merger with Showa Shell as there has been little progress in its talks to win approval from the founding family. Meanwhile, he also said Idemitsu was considering a minor upgrade to a secondary refining unit in response to the International Maritime Organization’s move to ban use of high sulphur fuel. He added that the firm planned to raise its overseas oil sales to roughly match domestic levels by 2020/21, pushing to compensate for a projected 30-40 percent decline in local gasoline demand by 2030. Idemitsu currently operates two filling stations in Vietnam, where it participates in the 200,000 barrels-per-day Nghi Son oil refinery project, and wants to increase that to 10 as it mulls the best way to expand in the country. Kito said it would also consider how to enter the gas stand business in nearby nations such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. “I expect acquisition, capital participation or a tie-up will be an effective way rather than building it from scratch,” he said. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Joseph Radford  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-31T13:11:00.000+03:00|Sembcorp Industries to buy UK Power Reserve for $288 mln|May 31, 2018 / 10:12 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Sembcorp Industries to buy UK Power Reserve for $288 mln Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Integrated energy group Sembcorp Industries ( SCIL.SI ) has agreed to buy UK Power Reserve, Britain’s largest flexible power generator, for 216 million pounds. The Singapore-listed company said on Thursday it was buying UK Power Reserve, which was founded in 2010 to meet growing demand for flexible reserve power capacity, from investment firm Equistone Partners Europe and Inflexion Private Equity. In Britain, demand for more flexible power generation capacity has grown due to the closure of ageing thermal plants, the rise of variable renewable energy and electric vehicles. UK Power Reserve has 32 rapid-response power stations with a total capacity of 533 megawatts (MW) in operation, enough to power 375,000 homes. A further 480 MW of capacity, included 120 MW of battery storage assets, is under construction and development and expected to come online by 2019. Sembcorp Industries has an energy portfolio of more than 12 gigawatts (GW) worldwide, including thermal power plants and renewable energy assets. Sembcorp UK, which has 210 MW of combined heat and power, steam power and renewable generation capacity at its Wilton International industrial site in Teesside, northeast England, is also seeking planning approval to develop two combined-cycle gas turbine units of up to 1.7 GW at that site. Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Alexander Smith|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-05-31T13:13:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $90 bln in bills|WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auctions of 13-week and 26-week bills next week, see: 13-week bills here 26-week bills here Washington economics newsroom Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-31T13:20:00.000+03:00|Foreigners sell $1.15 bln of Turkish bonds and stocks May 1-25 -IIF|LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Foreign investors withdrew $1.15 billion from Turkish government bonds and stocks in the first three weeks of May, data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed, as doubts over the country’s monetary policy roiled markets. Outflows from Turkish local currency-denominated bonds amounted to $1 billion between May 1 and May 25, the IIF said. In the week ending last Friday, non-residents sold Turkish equities to the tune of $9 million, while debt markets saw outflows of $153 million. The IIF’s data applies to government local currency debt securities. Reporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Sujata Rao Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-05-31T13:21:00.000+03:00|Foreigners sell $1.15 bln of Turkish bonds and stocks May 1-25 -IIF|LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Foreign investors withdrew $1.15 billion from Turkish government bonds and stocks in the first three weeks of May, data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed, as doubts over the country’s monetary policy roiled markets. Outflows from Turkish local currency-denominated bonds amounted to $1 billion between May 1 and May 25, the IIF said. In the week ending last Friday, non-residents sold Turkish equities to the tune of $9 million, while debt markets saw outflows of $153 million. The IIF’s data applies to government local currency debt securities. Reporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Sujata Rao  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-31T13:36:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Uzbekistan to buy out GM stake in car factory - report|(Adds context) TASHKENT, May 31 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan plans to buy GM’s remaining 10 percent stake in the U.S. carmaker’s plant in the country this year, Uzbek news website Gazeta.uz Quote: d state auto company chief Umidjan Salimov as saying on Thursday. GM had previously held a 25 percent stake in the joint venture. Salimov did not say when and at what price his company, Uzavtosanoat, bought the 15 percent of shares and how much it would pay for the remainder. The car factory in the central Asian nation’s eastern Andijan region was originally founded as a joint venture with South Korea’s Daewoo Motors in 1996. It was renamed GM Uzbekistan in 2008 following GM’s acquisition of Daewoo. In 2017 the plant increased its output by more than 50 percent to about 135,000 vehicles, which are sold under the Chevrolet brand locally and under the Ravon brand outside the country, mainly in Russia. Its full capacity is 250,000 vehicles per year. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticised the factory this month for failing to create jobs despite enjoying tax and other benefits for decades. Mirziyoyev said the plant was “useless” because it had no competitors. His remarks were the first official criticism of the factory which was traditionally regarded as one of the main achievements of the country since its independence from the Soviet Union. The factory relies heavily on imported parts and had until last year sold cars domestically for foreign currency. Because of high demand, ordinary Uzbeks sometimes wait in queues for months in order to buy a vehicle. Gazeta.uz Quote: d Salimov as saying his company was in talks with other major carmakers including Volkswagen about setting up factories in the nation of 32 million. Uzbekistan is also discussing buying GM’s 70 percent stake in another joint venture which produces engines, he said. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov Writing by Olzhas Auyezov Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin and David Holmes)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-31T13:38:00.000+03:00|Nokia sells digital health venture, executive to leave|May 31, 2018 / 10:44 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Nokia sells digital health venture, executive to leave Reuters Staff 1 Min Read HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said on Thursday it had sold its small digital health business, including activity trackers and smartwatches, and said the head of its Technologies unit would step down. FILE PHOTO: The logo and ticker for Nokia are displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid The business was sold to Eric Carreel, co-founder and former chairman of the digital health business, for an undisclosed price. Nokia had announced the plan earlier this month. Gregory Lee, the head of Nokia’s Technologies unit and former Samsung executive, will leave the company following the deal after less than a year in the job, Nokia said. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-05-31T13:39:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds SoftBank, Hellenic Petroleum, GM, Banco, HSBC) May 31 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday: ** Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp will invest $2.25 billion in General Motors Co’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise, the companies said, a deal that validates the venerable Detroit automaker’s leadership in self-driving cars and sent GM shares up more than 10 percent. ** Orange, France’s biggest telecoms operator, is looking to merge its Orange Cinema Series (OCS) arm with Altice Studio to create a new business big enough to challenge the likes of Netflix, Le Figaro newspaper reported. ** Swiss private bank and asset manager Union Bancaire Privee has agreed to buy Carnegie Investment Bank AB unit Banque Carnegie Luxembourg SA (BCL), the parties said without revealing financial terms. ** Nokia said it had sold its small digital health business, including activity trackers and smartwatches, and the executive who wound down the company’s consumer ventures will leave Nokia after less than a year in the job. ** Italy’s oil and gas major Eni is in the process of reducing its stakes in its oilfields in Mexico and Indonesia, Chief Financial Officer Massimo Mondazzi said. ** Greek electricity utility Public Power Corp (PPC) invited investors to submit expressions of interest for the sale of coal-fired units by June 21. ** Malaysia’s Petronas said it had agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in the LNG Canada project. ** Integrated energy group Sembcorp Industries has agreed to buy UK Power Reserve, Britain’s largest flexible power generator, for an equity value of 216 million pounds ($288 million. ** Jenbacher, the industrial gas engine business of General Electric (GE), would complement Wartsila, the chief financial officer of the Finnish company said. ** Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that Informa’s 5.6 billion pound ($7.45 billion) takeover of rival UBM did not qualify for an investigation. ** Australia’s Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd agreed to a A$530 million ($401 million) takeover offer from U.S. private equity firm Lone Star, saying the risks the company faces in China justified putting the bid to a vote. ** Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy said Australian authorities have approved its plan to acquire Rio Tinto’s stake in the Kestrel coking coal mine in the Australian state of Queensland, and the company expects to finalise financing for the deal on July 1. ** Italy’s Enel SpA outbid Spanish utility Iberdrola SA with a 7.6 billion reais ($2 billion) bid for Brazilian grid operator Eletropaulo Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA, according to a securities filing. ** Canadian specialty chemicals firm Superior Plus Corp said it would buy NGL Energy Partners’ retail propane unit for $900 million in cash to boost its presence in the United States. ** Drugmaker Allergan Plc said it plans to sell two of its smaller businesses, the women’s health and infectious disease units, as Chief Executive Officer Brent Saunders works to end a steep slide in its share price over the last year. ** Hellenic Petroleum expects that the sale of a majority stake in Greece’s gas grid DESFA will be completed early next year, its deputy chief executive said on Thursday. ** Uzbekistan plans to buy GM’s remaining 10 percent stake in the U.S. carmaker’s plant in the country this year, Uzbek news website Gazeta.uz Quote: d state auto company chief Umidjan Salimov as saying on Thursday. ** Italy’s third largest bank, Banco BPM, is looking to sell part of its debt servicing unit as it strives to meet its bad-loan reduction goals two years ahead of time, sources familiar with the matter said. ** At least 10 high-profile dealmakers in Europe have left HSBC in recent months at a time of record merger activity, after the bank failed to overhaul its investment banking unit and revamp client teams, four sources said. (Compiled by Akshara P in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-05-31T13:42:00.000+03:00|Nokia sells digital health venture, executive to leave|HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said on Thursday it had sold its small digital health business, including activity trackers and smartwatches, and the executive who wound down the company’s consumer ventures will leave Nokia after less than a year in the job. FILE PHOTO: The logo and ticker for Nokia are displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Digital health was one of the areas the Finnish company had been counting on for future growth opportunities amid a tough market for its mainstay telecom network equipment business. But Gregory Lee, a former Samsung executive who took the helm of Nokia’s Technologies unit last year, pulled Nokia away from the business as well as a virtual camera venture, leaving the unit to focus on patent and brand licensing. The health business was sold to Eric Carreel, co-founder and former chairman of the operation, for an undisclosed price. Nokia had announced plans to sell the business earlier this month. “Gregory came to Nokia... and took the bold decision to refocus Nokia Technologies on licensing... We have agreed that his work at Nokia is done,” Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said in a statement. Chief Legal Officer Maria Varsellona will take over the Technologies unit, Nokia said. The licensing business, highly profitable, includes royalties from handset vendors for the use of Nokia’s brand and smartphone patents. As an initial move into the health market, Nokia in 2016 bought France’s Withings for 170 million euros ($199 million). An internal memo from February showed that the business failed to meet Nokia’s growth expectations. Nokia has not given exact sales figures for the business, but digital health and virtual camera products in total generated 52 million euros of sales last year, compared to Nokia’s total revenue of 23.2 billion euros. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Edmund Blair and Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|1
2018-05-31T14:00:00.000+03:00|Littlewoods Pensions Scheme completes 880 million pound bulk annuity deal|May 31, 2018 / 11:01 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Littlewoods Pensions Scheme completes 880 million pound bulk annuity deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The Littlewoods Pensions Scheme has completed an 880 million pound bulk annuity deal with Scottish Widows, an adviser to the trustees of the scheme said on Thursday. The deal will see the risks of around 60 percent of the liabilities in the scheme passed to Scottish Widows, and is the largest bulk annuity transaction to date for Scottish Widows, part of Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ). Structured as a so-called ‘buy-in’, the deal will provide a monthly income to the trustee of the scheme to meet the pensions payable to nearly 7,000 members of the scheme, adviser LCP said in a statement. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Maiya Keidan|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T14:14:00.000+03:00|Kenyan solar energy firm signs 40 MW power deal with state-run utility|May 31, 2018 / 11:18 AM / 2 days ago Kenyan solar energy firm signs 40 MW power deal with state-run utility Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI, May 31 (Reuters) - A private Kenyan power firm has signed a 20-year deal to sell 40 megawatts it will generate from a solar plant it is building to the East African nation’s state-run distributor, its chief executive said. Kenergy Renewables signed the agreement to sell the electricity to Kenya Power at $0.08 per kilowatt hour, Khilna Dodhia said in an interview on Thursday. The company requires a letter of support from the government which will provide clarity on when the plant will become operational, she told Reuters. “Once you secure a PPA (power purchase agreement) that’s a sign you are on your way. But lenders require a letter of support from government to green light funding,” she said. Dodhia did not say what the total cost of the project would be, but said they typically cost $60 to $70 million. Kenergy has already invested more than $2 million in the early stages of development for the Rumuruti project in Laikipia County in northern Kenya, Dodhia said. Kenya has an installed generating capacity of 2,370 MW and peak demand of about 1,770 MW. It relies heavily on renewables such as geothermal and hydro power. (Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by George Obulutsa/Aaron Maasho/Alexander Smith) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAkenyaNews|0
2018-05-31T14:20:00.000+03:00|Kenyan solar energy firm signs 40 MW power deal with state-run utility|May 31, 2018 / 11:23 AM / Updated 19 hours ago Kenyan solar energy firm signs 40 MW power deal with state-run utility Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI (Reuters) - A private Kenyan power firm has signed a 20-year deal to sell 40 megawatts it will generate from a solar plant it is building to the East African nation’s state-run distributor, its chief executive said. A woman walks her child to school past high voltage electrical pylons on the outskirts of Kenya's capital Nairobi, March 14, 2011. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo Kenergy Renewables signed the agreement to sell the electricity to Kenya Power at $0.08 per kilowatt hour, Khilna Dodhia said in an interview on Thursday. The company requires a letter of support from the government which will provide clarity on when the plant will become operational, she told Reuters. “Once you secure a PPA (power purchase agreement) that’s a sign you are on your way. But lenders require a letter of support from government to green light funding,” she said. Dodhia did not say what the total cost of the project would be, but said they typically cost $60 to $70 million. Kenergy has already invested more than $2 million in the early stages of development for the Rumuruti project in Laikipia County in northern Kenya, Dodhia said. Kenya has an installed generating capacity of 2,370 MW and peak demand of about 1,770 MW. It relies heavily on renewables such as geothermal and hydro power. Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by George Obulutsa/Aaron Maasho/Alexander Smith 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-05-31T14:23:00.000+03:00|Ireland's CRH to merge some European, Americas units to boost margins|May 31 (Reuters) - Irish building materials group CRH said on Thursday it would streamline certain European and American businesses by combining them, in a move to improve profit margins. CRH said it would combine its Europe Lightside, Europe Distribution and Americas Products divisions into a new Building Products division from Jan. 1, 2019. The world’s third-largest building group said it was aiming to improve the group’s core earnings (EBITDA) margin by 300 basis points by 2021. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|1
2018-05-31T14:24:00.000+03:00|Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup|May 31, 2018 / 11:28 AM / Updated a day ago Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Kieran Guilbert 4 Min Read ABUJA/LONDON, May 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human traffickers are planning to exploit relaxed Russian visa controls for next month’s World Cup to sell Nigerian women into sex work, state officials and anti-slavery activists said. Officials in Nigeria said they had intelligence showing plans were well underway to traffic local women into Russia for the football tournament, exploiting a move by Moscow to let spectators enter the country with just a ticket and a fan pass. “This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa. She said Russia’s strict visa process had typically made trafficking people into the nation time-consuming and costly and the eased visa rules had now left the system open to abuse. Many women and girls have been lured from Nigeria in recent years with promises of work and good wages only to end up trapped in debt bondage, and the World Cup could see the number of victims arriving in Russia soar, according to Alternativa. “We discovered that about 30 victims (Nigerian women) were brought to the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year ... we expect to face the same problem during the World Cup this year,” Siluyanova told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email. Visa-free entry was trialled at the Confederations Cup and will apply to the entire World Cup, which runs in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, and the ten days either side. PLANS AFOOT Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP said it had received intelligence that human traffickers were planning to take advantage of the tournament, and that it was working with the Russian embassy in the capital of Abuja to tackle the issue. “If we alert Nigerians, we disrupt them (traffickers) ... and let them know that these plans are in the works,” said Arinze Orakwu, head of public enlightenment at NAPTIP. NAPTIP was unable to say how many women were trafficked into Russia, but an official in Nigeria’s Edo state said it was sizeable. “Women are being trafficked to Russia, and we get returnees back from Russia,” said Yinka Omorogbe, head of Edo’s anti-trafficking task force. “It is not a frequent destination in the same way as Italy is, but we do get a pretty large number.” Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year, making the treacherous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, and trafficked into sex work, the United Nations says. The number of female Nigerians arriving in Italy by boat surged to more than 11,000 in 2016 from 1,500 in 2014, with at least four in five of them forced into prostitution, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A spokesman for football’s governing body FIFA said it was committed to ensuring human rights were respected, but that crimes such as human trafficking were the responsibility of local and international authorities. The Russian government could not be reached for comment. From the Olympics to the Super Bowl, big sporting events regularly trigger warnings over an influx of sex workers, many of whom are victims of modern slavery, yet experts are split on whether such spectacles actively fuel trafficking. (Writing By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths (Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org ) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAlibyaNews|0
2018-05-31T14:24:00.000+03:00|Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup|May 31, 2018 / 11:28 AM / Updated 21 hours ago Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Kieran Guilbert 4 Min Read ABUJA/LONDON, May 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human traffickers are planning to exploit relaxed Russian visa controls for next month’s World Cup to sell Nigerian women into sex work, state officials and anti-slavery activists said. Officials in Nigeria said they had intelligence showing plans were well underway to traffic local women into Russia for the football tournament, exploiting a move by Moscow to let spectators enter the country with just a ticket and a fan pass. “This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa. She said Russia’s strict visa process had typically made trafficking people into the nation time-consuming and costly and the eased visa rules had now left the system open to abuse. Many women and girls have been lured from Nigeria in recent years with promises of work and good wages only to end up trapped in debt bondage, and the World Cup could see the number of victims arriving in Russia soar, according to Alternativa. “We discovered that about 30 victims (Nigerian women) were brought to the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year ... we expect to face the same problem during the World Cup this year,” Siluyanova told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email. Visa-free entry was trialled at the Confederations Cup and will apply to the entire World Cup, which runs in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, and the ten days either side. PLANS AFOOT Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP said it had received intelligence that human traffickers were planning to take advantage of the tournament, and that it was working with the Russian embassy in the capital of Abuja to tackle the issue. “If we alert Nigerians, we disrupt them (traffickers) ... and let them know that these plans are in the works,” said Arinze Orakwu, head of public enlightenment at NAPTIP. NAPTIP was unable to say how many women were trafficked into Russia, but an official in Nigeria’s Edo state said it was sizeable. “Women are being trafficked to Russia, and we get returnees back from Russia,” said Yinka Omorogbe, head of Edo’s anti-trafficking task force. “It is not a frequent destination in the same way as Italy is, but we do get a pretty large number.” Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year, making the treacherous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, and trafficked into sex work, the United Nations says. The number of female Nigerians arriving in Italy by boat surged to more than 11,000 in 2016 from 1,500 in 2014, with at least four in five of them forced into prostitution, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A spokesman for football’s governing body FIFA said it was committed to ensuring human rights were respected, but that crimes such as human trafficking were the responsibility of local and international authorities. The Russian government could not be reached for comment. From the Olympics to the Super Bowl, big sporting events regularly trigger warnings over an influx of sex workers, many of whom are victims of modern slavery, yet experts are split on whether such spectacles actively fuel trafficking. (Writing By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths (Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org ) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAnigeriaNews|0
2018-05-31T14:28:00.000+03:00|"GRAPHIC-""Buy now or wait?"", Italian sell-off lures back investors"|MILAN (Reuters) - Some European and U.S. fund managers are stepping back into Italian equities after fresh angst about a break from the euro zone wiped five months of gains off Milan’s top share index. Traders talk in front of the German share price index DAX board at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski Analysts expect uncertainty about Italy’s role in Europe and worries over its finances are here to stay, keeping markets turbulent, but investors say that could make good companies cheaper, boosting returns over the longer term. “In the last couple of weeks we’ve been investing a little bit more in Italy as prices have come down,” said Luiz Sauerbronn, director at San Diego, California-based Brandes Investment Partners, where he helps manage $30 billion. “We’re long-term investors and if people sell off indiscriminately Italy, we see an opportunity,” he said. Brandes’s European funds hold stakes in companies such as oil group Eni, cement maker Buzzi Unicem and Danieli, which builds steelmaking plants. Italy-based global companies could be interesting picks, but so too are some domestically focused firms and banks, which were hit hardest during this month’s rout, traders said. After days of twists and turns, Italy on Thursday was awaiting a decision from the right-wing League party on whether to join a last-ditch attempt to form a government with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and avoid snap elections that would be focused on membership of the euro zone. Worries that the parties’ binge-spending agenda could put Rome on a collision course with Brussels, and that new elections could put Italy’s role in Europe into question, have caused panic selling on the bond market and sparked record weekly outflows from Italian equities. Possible bargains include Eni, cable maker Prysmian, caterer Autogrill or fitness equipment firm Technogym. Debt collector Cerved and well capitalised banks like Intesa Sanpaolo or UniCredit have become more attractive. Their valuations have been squeezed in the sell-off. To view a graphic on Sell-off puts Italy Inc's valuations under pressure, click: reut.rs/2Jh9WnE ITALY LOOKS CHEAPER Investors taking a constructive view on Italy, however, believe that checks and balances on its political system would make it hard for any government to blow up state finances, while they see a euro zone break-up as a remote option. Gilles Guibout, who helps manage 746 billion euros ($871 billion) at AXA Investment Managers in Paris, believes volatility stemming from Italy’s political instability is a risk worth taking. “Italy is cheaper and has more earnings growth (than the rest of Europe). You must accept this extra bit of volatility but I believe that will be rewarded with better returns,” Guibout said. “Italy is systemic and I don’t think it will leave the euro, but if it does happen it will be a problem for the whole of Europe and you would have to rethink all your euro zone equity allocation, not only Italy’s,” he said. Two polls on Thursday showed that between 60 and 72 percent of Italians want the country to remain part of the euro. In early May Italy’s main share index was up 12 percent year to date, the best performer among top European benchmarks. On Thursday it was up 0.6 percent year to date. To view a graphic on Italian stocks look cheaper to euro zone peers, click: reut.rs/2La0obk “TURBULENCE IS NOT OVER” Banks are also being eyed by bargain hunters but any move is seen as highly risky because their big holdings of government bonds have made them a target for hedge funds seeking to profit from a fall in their share prices. “UniCredit for example is a very solid bank but I don’t think turbulence is over,” said Antonio Garufi at Decalia Asset Management in Geneva. “We must be careful when our positions are being shorted and use volatility to our advantage,” he added. More broadly the key question is about timing. Investors said purchases needed to be very gradual to avoid being trapped in any further sell-off or missing out on the chance to buy when prices are even lower. It’s a matter of “buy now or wait”, said JCI Capital fund manager Alessandro Balsotti. Kepler Cheuvreux strategist Christopher Potts forecast this week that Italian stocks could fall another 10-15 percent. “There is still a significant degree of downside risk attached to Italian financial assets because there are so few incentives for the investor to move to the buy side at this time,” he said in a note. To view a graphic on What's the FTSE MIB's downside potential?, click: reut.rs/2L6UtDW Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T14:28:00.000+03:00|Britain's competition watchdog clears Informa-UBM deal|(Reuters) - Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday that Informa’s ( INF.L ) 5.6 billion pound ($7.45 billion) takeover of rival UBM ( UBM.L ) did not qualify for an investigation. The deal, announced in December, will create a global leader in business events and conferences, almost a decade after UBM tried to buy Informa. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Kate Holton  |https://www.reuters.com/|1
2018-05-31T14:34:00.000+03:00|Swiss private bank UBP buys Carnegie's Luxembourg arm|ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss private bank and asset manager Union Bancaire Privee has agreed to buy Carnegie Investment Bank AB unit Banque Carnegie Luxembourg SA (BCL), the parties said on Thursday without revealing financial terms. The transaction is set to close during the fourth quarter of 2018 pending regulatory approval. UBP, whose assets under management totaled 125.3 billion Swiss francs ($127 billion) at the end of last year, is broadening its footprint in Luxembourg, where its assets under management will now reach nearly 24 billion francs for both its private banking and its asset management activities, it said. Established in Luxembourg in 1976, BCL offers international private banking services to Nordic clients. “In a period where access to the European Union is crucial, we are extremely pleased with this transaction which reflects our desire to reinforce our presence in Luxembourg, where we have our European hub,” UBP Chief Executive Guy de Picciotto said. “Furthermore, this acquisition complements UBP both geographically and culturally, bringing extensive knowledge of Nordic markets, which are key for our bank.” Bjoern Jansson, chief executive of Carnegie Investment Bank, said: “UBP has the necessary capacity to further develop the products, services and operations in Luxembourg, while Carnegie can focus on its domestic markets”. Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Edmund Blair  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|1
2018-05-31T14:38:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Malaysia's Petronas buys 25 pct stake in LNG Canada project|KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd [PETR.UL] said on Thursday it is buying a 25 percent stake in a Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, nearly a year after cancelling its own planned terminal. The company, known as Petronas, scrapped plans to build a $36 billion ($28 billion) LNG export terminal in British Columbia last year over concerns of a glut in the market that led to depressed fuel prices. But surprisingly strong demand from China, South Korea and India has erased those concerns, and market sentiment has recovered. Petronas said in a statement that it would buy an equity stake in LNG Canada, an export project led by Royal Dutch Shell located in Kitimat, British Columbia. The purchase is expected to close in the next few months, the company said. Petronas did not give a value for the acquisition. “We believe this to be a positive development for Petronas,” said Prasanth Kakaraparthi senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “We expect the global LNG market to tighten post 2022 and this bodes well for the project,” he added. The C$40 billion LNG Canada project will consist of two LNG production facilities, known as trains, that are expected to export a combined 13 million tonnes per year of LNG. Petronas is joining as Shell and its partners prepare for a final decision to go ahead with the project, which would be the first large-scale LNG plant constructed in several years. Shell will continue to be the biggest owner in LNG Canada, holding a 40 percent stake. Other partners include PetroChina, Mitsubishi’s Diamond LNG and Korea Gas. LONG TERM Since scrapping earlier plans, Petronas had been looking for ways to generate revenue from its assets in that region. Petronas’ North Montney assets in British Columbia are rich in natural gas. Petronas’ and its North Montney joint venture partners are one of the largest natural gas resource owners in Canada with over 52 Tcf of reserves and contingent resources, it said. An equity stake in LNG Canada will enhance the company’s aims to develop natural gas resource in the North Montney through its subsidiary, Progress Energy Canada Ltd. “Petronas is in Canada for the long-term and we are exploring a number of business opportunities that will allow us to increase our production and accelerate the monetisation of our world-class resources in the North Montney,” President and Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said in the statement. “LNG is just one of those opportunities,” he said. In March, Petronas said it was one of the producers involved in TransCanada’s proposal to expand a pipeline system that would open up more markets for its gas produced in Western Canada. Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T14:40:00.000+03:00|Buy now or wait?', Italian sell-off lures back investors|May 31, 2018 / 11:45 AM / a day ago 'Buy now or wait?', Italian sell-off lures back investors Danilo Masoni 5 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - Some European and U.S. fund managers are stepping back into Italian equities after fresh angst about a break from the euro zone wiped five months of gains off Milan’s top share index. Traders talk in front of the German share price index DAX board at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski Analysts expect uncertainty about Italy’s role in Europe and worries over its finances are here to stay, keeping markets turbulent, but investors say that could make good companies cheaper, boosting returns over the longer term. “In the last couple of weeks we’ve been investing a little bit more in Italy as prices have come down,” said Luiz Sauerbronn, director at San Diego, California-based Brandes Investment Partners, where he helps manage $30 billion. “We’re long-term investors and if people sell off indiscriminately Italy, we see an opportunity,” he said. Brandes’s European funds hold stakes in companies such as oil group Eni, cement maker Buzzi Unicem and Danieli, which builds steelmaking plants. Italy-based global companies could be interesting picks, but so too are some domestically focused firms and banks, which were hit hardest during this month’s rout, traders said. After days of twists and turns, Italy on Thursday was awaiting a decision from the right-wing League party on whether to join a last-ditch attempt to form a government with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and avoid snap elections that would be focused on membership of the euro zone. Worries that the parties’ binge-spending agenda could put Rome on a collision course with Brussels, and that new elections could put Italy’s role in Europe into question, have caused panic selling on the bond market and sparked record weekly outflows from Italian equities. Possible bargains include Eni, cable maker Prysmian, caterer Autogrill or fitness equipment firm Technogym. Debt collector Cerved and well capitalised banks like Intesa Sanpaolo or UniCredit have become more attractive. Their valuations have been squeezed in the sell-off. To view a graphic on Sell-off puts Italy Inc's valuations under pressure, click: reut.rs/2Jh9WnE ITALY LOOKS CHEAPER Investors taking a constructive view on Italy, however, believe that checks and balances on its political system would make it hard for any government to blow up state finances, while they see a euro zone break-up as a remote option. Gilles Guibout, who helps manage 746 billion euros ($871 billion) at AXA Investment Managers in Paris, believes volatility stemming from Italy’s political instability is a risk worth taking. “Italy is cheaper and has more earnings growth (than the rest of Europe). You must accept this extra bit of volatility but I believe that will be rewarded with better returns,” Guibout said. “Italy is systemic and I don’t think it will leave the euro, but if it does happen it will be a problem for the whole of Europe and you would have to rethink all your euro zone equity allocation, not only Italy’s,” he said. Two polls on Thursday showed that between 60 and 72 percent of Italians want the country to remain part of the euro. In early May Italy’s main share index was up 12 percent year to date, the best performer among top European benchmarks. On Thursday it was up 0.6 percent year to date. To view a graphic on Italian stocks look cheaper to euro zone peers, click: https://reut.rs/2La0obk “TURBULENCE IS NOT OVER” Banks are also being eyed by bargain hunters but any move is seen as highly risky because their big holdings of government bonds have made them a target for hedge funds seeking to profit from a fall in their share prices. “UniCredit for example is a very solid bank but I don’t think turbulence is over,” said Antonio Garufi at Decalia Asset Management in Geneva. “We must be careful when our positions are being shorted and use volatility to our advantage,” he added. More broadly the key question is about timing. Investors said purchases needed to be very gradual to avoid being trapped in any further sell-off or missing out on the chance to buy when prices are even lower. It’s a matter of “buy now or wait”, said JCI Capital fund manager Alessandro Balsotti. Kepler Cheuvreux strategist Christopher Potts forecast this week that Italian stocks could fall another 10-15 percent. “There is still a significant degree of downside risk attached to Italian financial assets because there are so few incentives for the investor to move to the buy side at this time,” he said in a note. To view a graphic on What's the FTSE MIB's downside potential?, click: reut.rs/2L6UtDW Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Susan Fenton|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-05-31T14:49:00.000+03:00|Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup|May 31, 2018 / 11:53 AM / Updated 19 hours ago Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Kieran Guilbert 4 Min Read ABUJA/LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human traffickers are planning to exploit relaxed Russian visa controls for next month’s World Cup to sell Nigerian women into sex work, state officials and anti-slavery activists said. Murals for the 2018 FIFA World Cup are seen on the wall of a house in Rostov-on-Don, Russia May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov Officials in Nigeria said they had intelligence showing plans were well underway to traffic local women into Russia for the football tournament, exploiting a move by Moscow to let spectators enter the country with just a ticket and a fan pass. “This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa. She said Russia’s strict visa process had typically made trafficking people into the nation time-consuming and costly and the eased visa rules had now left the system open to abuse. Many women and girls have been lured from Nigeria in recent years with promises of work and good wages only to end up trapped in debt bondage, and the World Cup could see the number of victims arriving in Russia soar, according to Alternativa. “We discovered that about 30 victims (Nigerian women) were brought to the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year ... we expect to face the same problem during the World Cup this year,” Siluyanova told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email. Visa-free entry was trialled at the Confederations Cup and will apply to the entire World Cup, which runs in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, and the ten days either side. PLANS AFOOT Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP said it had received intelligence that human traffickers were planning to take advantage of the tournament, and that it was working with the Russian embassy in the capital of Abuja to tackle the issue. “If we alert Nigerians, we disrupt them (traffickers) ... and let them know that these plans are in the works,” said Arinze Orakwu, head of public enlightenment at NAPTIP. NAPTIP was unable to say how many women were trafficked into Russia, but an official in Nigeria’s Edo state said it was sizeable. “Women are being trafficked to Russia, and we get returnees back from Russia,” said Yinka Omorogbe, head of Edo’s anti-trafficking task force. “It is not a frequent destination in the same way as Italy is, but we do get a pretty large number.” Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year, making the treacherous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, and trafficked into sex work, the United Nations says. The number of female Nigerians arriving in Italy by boat surged to more than 11,000 in 2016 from 1,500 in 2014, with at least four in five of them forced into prostitution, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A spokesman for football’s governing body FIFA said it was committed to ensuring human rights were respected, but that crimes such as human trafficking were the responsibility of local and international authorities. The Russian government could not be reached for comment. From the Olympics to the Super Bowl, big sporting events regularly trigger warnings over an influx of sex workers, many of whom are victims of modern slavery, yet experts are split on whether such spectacles actively fuel trafficking. [nL2N1PK159] Writing By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICATopNews|0
2018-05-31T14:51:00.000+03:00|Swiss private bank UBP buys Carnegie's Luxembourg arm|May 31, 2018 / 11:52 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago Swiss private bank UBP buys Carnegie's Luxembourg arm Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss private bank and asset manager Union Bancaire Privee has agreed to buy Carnegie Investment Bank AB unit Banque Carnegie Luxembourg SA (BCL), the parties said on Thursday without revealing financial terms. FILE PHOTO: Union Bancaire Privee's (UBP) logo is seen at a branch office in Zurich, Switzerland June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The transaction is set to close during the fourth quarter of 2018 pending regulatory approval. UBP, whose assets under management totalled 125.3 billion Swiss francs (95.2 billion pounds) at the end of last year, is broadening its footprint in Luxembourg, where its assets under management will now reach nearly 24 billion francs for both its private banking and its asset management activities, it said. Established in Luxembourg in 1976, BCL offers international private banking services to Nordic clients. “In a period where access to the European Union is crucial, we are extremely pleased with this transaction which reflects our desire to reinforce our presence in Luxembourg, where we have our European hub,” UBP Chief Executive Guy de Picciotto said. “Furthermore, this acquisition complements UBP both geographically and culturally, bringing extensive knowledge of Nordic markets, which are key for our bank.” Bjoern Jansson, chief executive of Carnegie Investment Bank, said: “UBP has the necessary capacity to further develop the products, services and operations in Luxembourg, while Carnegie can focus on its domestic markets”. Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T15:02:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Sembcorp Industries to buy UK Power Reserve for $288 mln|(Adds detail on equity value) LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Integrated energy group Sembcorp Industries has agreed to buy UK Power Reserve, Britain’s largest flexible power generator, for an equity value of 216 million pounds ($288 million). The Singapore-listed company said on Thursday it was buying UK Power Reserve, which was founded in 2010 to meet growing demand for flexible reserve power capacity, from investment firm Equistone Partners Europe and Inflexion Private Equity. Following the acquisition of shares, Sembcorp will consolidate all the assets and liabilities of UK Power Reserve, including its net debt. In Britain, demand for more flexible power generation capacity has grown due to the closure of ageing thermal plants, the rise of variable renewable energy and electric vehicles. UK Power Reserve has 32 rapid-response power stations with a total capacity of 533 megawatts (MW) in operation, enough to power 375,000 homes. A further 480 MW of capacity, included 120 MW of battery storage assets, is under construction and development and expected to come online by 2019. Sembcorp Industries has an energy portfolio of more than 12 gigawatts (GW) worldwide, including thermal power plants and renewable energy assets. Sembcorp UK, which has 210 MW of combined heat and power, steam power and renewable generation capacity at its Wilton International industrial site in Teesside, northeast England, is also seeking planning approval to develop two combined-cycle gas turbine units of up to 1.7 GW at that site. $1 = 0.7503 pounds Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|1
2018-05-31T15:11:00.000+03:00|Sri Lankan rupee hits record closing low as banks, importers buy dollar|COLOMBO, May 31 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee touched a record closing low on Thursday on strong dollar demand from foreign banks and importers while exporters stayed on the sidelines expecting the rupee to weaken further in line with other emerging market currencies. The spot rupee ended at 158.50/60 per dollar, its lowest close, compared with Wednesday’s close of 158.20/30. The rupee hit an all-time low of 158.50 per dollar on May 16. The currency has declined 0.35 percent so far this month after a 1.5 percent fall in April. It has fallen 3.1 percent so far this year. “Demand was there today from importers and some foreign banks,” a currency dealer said. Dealers said the rupee will be under pressure with exporters staying on the sidelines in anticipation of a fall in the unit, in line with other emerging market currencies. A possible slump in the country’s top agriculture export, tea, due to heavy monsoon rains also weighed on sentiment. Dealers expect lower dollar inflows from tea exports to weigh on the currency, apart from debt repayments by the government, and see the rupee declining between 4 percent and 5 percent this year. The pressure on the currency is unwarranted as gross external reserves are at $9.1 billion and the real effective exchange rate indexes indicate that the currency is competitive, the central bank had said. Foreign investors sold government securities worth a net 457 million rupees ($2.89 million) in the week ended May 23, bringing the outflow so far this year to 16.2 billion rupees, central bank data showed. ($1 = 158.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Vyas Mohan)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-31T15:12:00.000+03:00|Rice prices in India up as buyers cash in on recent dip; Bangladesh to axe deal|May 31, 2018 / 12:16 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Rice prices in India up as buyers cash in on recent dip; Bangladesh to axe deal Arpan Varghese 3 Min Read BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice export rates in India rose this week from a one-year low hit last week as weaker prices attracted buyers from Africa, while Bangladesh said it would cancel a deal with the top exporter due to shipment delays. A labourer carries a sack filled with rice to load onto a truck from the railway's goods yard in Ahmedabad, February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files “African buyers are turning to India due to the recent price fall. In the last few days, inquiries have risen from buyers,” said an exporter based at Pune in the western state of Maharashtra. Prices for India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety rose by $5 to $399-$403 per tonne. Even after this week’s rise, Indian rice is competitive in the world market due to a depreciating rupee, the exporter said. The rupee has fallen more than 6 percent so far in 2018, increasing exporters’ margins from overseas sales. India’s exports in April jumped over 12 percent from a year earlier to 989,848 tonnes, a government body said. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will cancel a deal with India to import 150,000 tonnes, Badrul Hasan, the head of Bangladesh’s state grain buyer, said on Thursday. The agreement with India’s state-run National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) was signed in December as Bangladesh raced to shore up depleted stocks and combat record domestic prices of the staple after floods last year. “We’ve no option but to terminate the deal as they couldn’t supply the rice on time,” Hasan said. In Thailand, prices of the 5 percent broken variety stood at $430-446 per tonne, free on board (FOB) Bangkok, versus $435-438 last week. “At the moment the price only moves with changes in the currency exchange because there’s no new demand this week,” a Bangkok-based trader said. Another trader said Thai exporters were still fulfilling shipments to the Philippines from last week and were anticipating fresh deals. “We heard that next month, the Philippines wants to buy 250,000 tonnes while Indonesia is interested in buying some 500,000 tonnes,” the trader said, adding that prices could change over the coming weeks as exporters step up purchases amid lower supplies due to seasonal rain. Prices of Vietnam’s 5 percent broken rice eased slightly to $455-$460 a tonne from $460-$465 previously, the highest since August 2014, but demand from markets such as the Philippines looked steady with orders still in the pipeline, even as supply remained tight, traders said. Supply for the 5-percent broken variety has reduced since the last harvest owing to the Vietnamese government’s plan of gradually switching to fragrant rice and sticky rice strains, which are of better quality and sold at higher prices. Prices could be pressured going into the next harvest in mid-June or early July, the traders added. Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Mai Nguyen in Hanoi, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Editing by Dale Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-05-31T15:59:00.000+03:00|Orange aiming to merge video arm with Altice Studio - Le Figaro|PARIS (Reuters) - Orange ( ORAN.PA ), France’s biggest telecoms operator, is looking to merge its Orange Cinema Series (OCS) arm with Altice Studio ( ATCA.AS ) to create a new business big enough to challenge the likes of Netflix ( NFLX.O ), Le Figaro newspaper reported. FILE PHOTO: The logo of French telecom operator Orange is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Le Figaro said on its website the deal would see Orange and SFR - which is owned by Altice - link up their OCS and Altice Studio video services, allowing Orange to access U.S. content signed up by Altice Studio. Orange’s OCS has an exclusive contract with HBO, while Altice has exclusive distribution deals with Discovery Communications [DISCAD.UL] and NBC Universal ( CMCSA.O ). Le Figaro added in its unsourced report that a merger between OCS and Altice Studio could represent a setback for Vivendi’s ( VIV.PA ) Canal Plus TV division by creating even tougher competition for Canal Plus. Spokesmen for Orange and Altice declined to comment on the report. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Helen Reid; Editing by Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T16:04:00.000+03:00|RPT-Norway to sell NOK 750 mln of FX per day in June|(Repeats story without changes to attach to additional alert) OSLO, May 31 (Reuters) - Norway’s central bank will sell foreign exchange equivalent of 750 million Norwegian crowns ($91.96 million) per day in June, down from 800 million in May, the bank said on Thursday. In order to make funds available to be spent as part of the government’s fiscal budget, Norges Bank exchanges currency earned from the country’s oil industry and its sovereign wealth fund into Norwegian crowns. More details on how and why the central bank trades currency can be seen here: bit.ly/2iIfmLq ($1 = 8.1560 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Oslo newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T16:04:00.000+03:00|Norway to sell NOK 750 mln of FX per day in June|OSLO, May 31 (Reuters) - Norway’s central bank will sell foreign exchange equivalent of 750 million Norwegian crowns ($91.96 million) per day in June, down from 800 million in May, the bank said on Thursday. In order to make funds available to be spent as part of the government’s fiscal budget, Norges Bank exchanges currency earned from the country’s oil industry and its sovereign wealth fund into Norwegian crowns. More details on how and why the central bank trades currency can be seen here: bit.ly/2iIfmLq ($1 = 8.1560 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Oslo newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T16:08:00.000+03:00|Nokia sells digital health venture, executive to leave|HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said on Thursday it had sold its small digital health business, including activity trackers and smartwatches, and the executive who wound down the company’s consumer ventures will leave Nokia after less than a year in the job. A cyclist rides past a Nokia logo during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Files Digital health was one of the areas the Finnish company had been counting on for future growth opportunities amid a tough market for its mainstay telecom network equipment business. But Gregory Lee, a former Samsung executive who took the helm of Nokia’s Technologies unit last year, pulled Nokia away from the business as well as a virtual camera venture, leaving the unit to focus on patent and brand licensing. The health business was sold to Eric Carreel, co-founder and former chairman of the operation, for an undisclosed price. Nokia had announced plans to sell the business earlier this month. “Gregory came to Nokia... and took the bold decision to refocus Nokia Technologies on licensing... We have agreed that his work at Nokia is done,” Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said in a statement. Chief Legal Officer Maria Varsellona will take over the Technologies unit, Nokia said. The licensing business, highly profitable, includes royalties from handset vendors for the use of Nokia’s brand and smartphone patents. As an initial move into the health market, Nokia in 2016 bought France’s Withings for 170 million euros ($199 million). An internal memo from February showed that the business failed to meet Nokia’s growth expectations. Nokia has not given exact sales figures for the business, but digital health and virtual camera products in total generated 52 million euros of sales last year, compared to Nokia’s total revenue of 23.2 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8562 euros) Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Edmund Blair and Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|1
2018-05-31T16:12:00.000+03:00|HSBC loses senior European deal-makers as M&A ranking drops: sources|LONDON (Reuters) - At least 10 high-profile dealmakers in Europe have left HSBC ( HSBA.L ) in recent months at a time of record merger activity, after the bank failed to overhaul its investment banking unit and revamp client teams, four sources said. A HSBC and a Barclays bank building is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Overall dozens of investment bankers have quit, including senior managers at the bank’s top performing European private equity team, the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The departures reflect a growing sense of frustration over what the sources said was a lack of clear investment banking strategy at Europe’s biggest bank and its failure to rebuild a competitive team on the continent. They also highlight the difficulties European banks face in catching up with Wall Street rivals, whose dominance in investment banking league tables has increased. A spokesman for HSBC said the bank hired dozens of senior bankers recently, significantly outweighing the number of departures. The majority of the hires are based in North America and Asia, according to a list provided by the bank. “We continue to see good momentum across our financing and advisory franchise, taking leading roles in recent high-profile transactions,” the spokesman said. Chief Executive John Flint said in April that he wanted to double down on HSBC’s “pivot” to Asia and China in particular. On Feb. 27, the bank announced two hires in North America to strengthen its investment banking there. Flint will unveil his strategy on June 11 and is expected to announce further investment in China. While there is no hiring spree, the bank is seeking to scale up its presence outside Europe. Some staff told Reuters they left because they felt the European business was rudderless. One of HSBC’s most senior dealmakers in Germany, Norbert Reis, will leave in June, according to the sources. He previously served as head of global banking in Germany. HSBC’s consumer and retail director Patrick Philion and European private equity co-head Umberto Giacometti both quit in May to join Nomura, the sources added. The departures follow the abrupt exit in November of HSBC’s top investment banker, Matthew Westerman, a Goldman Sachs veteran hired with a mandate to shake up the investment banking unit in Europe and revive growth. “BARE BONES” Like most global banks, HSBC had been shrinking its investment banking business following the financial crisis. In 2015 it slashed nearly 50,000 jobs and cut its investment bank by a third to restore growth across its sprawling empire. Westerman’s appointment in 2016 was aimed at regaining market share and competing with U.S. rivals. Instead, he left after 18 months, having cut 100 jobs, and has not been replaced. “Westerman did the clean-up job but had no time to rebuild and reorganize the unit,” said one banker who left recently. “Most teams have been reduced to the bare bones.” Other bankers also said HSBC had lost direction since Westerman’s departure and questioned the depth of its commitment to growing its investment banking franchise. The turnover appears to have taken its toll, with HSBC dropping to 42nd this year in the global M&A advisory ranking from 15th a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. M&A advisory has never been a strong area for HSBC, which is mostly known for its debt capital markets and lending activity. But over the past five years its M&A ranking ranged between 17th and 24th. DEFECTIONS The bank’s private equity and leveraged finance teams have been hit hard by recent defections. HSBC global private equity head Alexis Maskell left in March to join Citi while Bala Ramesh, a director in leveraged credit syndicate, quit in October to join Jefferies. Maskell’s right-hand man Giacometti left in mid-May after 11 years at the bank while Tim Kerry, a managing director specializing in leveraged finance, resigned to join Barclays. Omar Faruqui, previously co-head of European private equity, also joined Barclays in January. Dan Cohen, the head of HSBC’s high-yield trading, left the bank in April to join Nomura while Stephen Smith joined Barclays last year as a director in the high-yield syndicate team. Senior managing director Luca Pietrantoni was among the most recent departures. A number of more junior bankers also moved on in recent weeks, including two associates in the financial sponsors team — Gerald Aichberger and Carol Rusin — and analyst Emiel Khakhar. Some industry sectors as well as regional teams in Europe have been left unstaffed, the sources said. HSBC recently advised JAB Holdings on its 1.5 billion pound purchase of UK food chain Pret A Manger and worked with Dulux paint maker Akzo Nobel on its 10.1 billion euro sale of its specialty chemicals unit in March. But the bank missed out on major roles in some of the biggest deals this year, including Japanese firm Takeda’s 45.3 billion pound purchase of London-listed drugmaker Shire. In a bid to win more M&A work, HSBC is in the process of hiring former Morgan Stanley banker Kamal Jabre, who used to run the Middle East and North African region, as its global head of advisory, a source close to the bank said. HSBC declined to comment on the appointment. It recently named one of its senior bankers, Borja Azpilicueta, as global head of financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and institutional private clients. Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mike Collett-White  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-05-31T16:16:00.000+03:00|Orange aiming to merge video arm with Altice Studio - Le Figaro|May 31, 2018 / 1:16 PM / a day ago Orange aiming to merge video arm with Altice Studio - Le Figaro Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - Orange, France’s biggest telecoms operator, is looking to merge its Orange Cinema Series (OCS) arm with Altice Studio to create a new business big enough to challenge the likes of Netflix, Le Figaro newspaper reported. FILE PHOTO: The logo of telecom company Orange is seen at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard Le Figaro said on its website the deal would see Orange and SFR - which is owned by Altice - link up their OCS and Altice Studio video services, allowing Orange to access U.S. content signed up by Altice Studio. Orange’s OCS has an exclusive contract with HBO, while Altice has exclusive distribution deals with Discovery Communications and NBC Universal. Le Figaro added in its unsourced report that a merger between OCS and Altice Studio could represent a setback for Vivendi’s Canal Plus TV division by creating even tougher competition for Canal Plus. Spokesmen for Orange and Altice declined to comment on the report. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Helen Reid; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T17:03:00.000+03:00|Italy awaits decision on last-ditch deal to avoid snap elections|ROME, May 31 (Reuters) - Italy on Thursday was awaiting a decision from right-wing leader Matteo Salvini on whether to join a last-ditch attempt to form a government and avoid snap elections that would be focused on membership of the euro zone. Salvini, the head of the League, has said he would “seriously consider” an offer on Wednesday from 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio to resurrect their bid to govern together. The first effort by the two largest anti-establishment forces was torpedoed on Sunday when President Sergio Mattarella rejected their candidate for economy minister - 81-year-old economist Paolo Savona, who has spoken out forcefully against the single currency. Mattarella then appointed a former International Monetary Fund official, Carlo Cottarelli, to form a stop-gap government of experts to lead the country to snap elections. But Cottarelli has so far failed to form a viable cabinet. Di Maio, whose 5-Star emerged from the inconclusive March 4 elections as the largest single party, urged Salvini to drop his insistence on Savona for the economy portfolio and agree to give him another post in the next government. “Di Maio - Salvini: the Final Deal,” was the headline in Corriere della Sera newspaper, echoing the national feeling of crisis put into a holding pattern. Salvini cancelled his scheduled appointments in northern Italy to fly to Rome and was expected to have a private meeting with Di Maio, a political source said. Opinion polls show Salvini’s League would see huge gains in any early elections while the 5-Star would remain steady. Italian stocks were trading higher as signs emerged of a compromise to avoid snap elections that could be dominated by the issue of euro membership, calming investors. Borrowing costs meanwhile edged lower. Italy’s 2-year government bond yield, which has been the focus of a recent selloff, was down as much as 95 basis points at 1.40 percent . The latest development came amid a general calming of financial markets after Tuesday’s rout, when investor concerns prompted the biggest one-day rise since 1992 in Italian two-year bond yields and dented the euro’s exchange rate. “I have lost my patience. I have had enough, that is the truth,” said exasperated Rome resident Teresa Gallo as she was walking to a market for her regular morning shopping. Two polls released on Wednesday night showed that between 60-72 percent of Italians want the country to remain part of the euro while 23-24 percent would choose to drop the common currency. Lupo Rattazzi, a prominent Italian businessman, ran a full-page advertisement in several national newspapers addressed to Salvini and Di Maio, warning their electorate of the dire consequences of leaving the euro. (Additional reporting by Eleanor Biles, Giselda Vagnoni and Stefano Bernabei in Rome and Steven Jukes and Francesca Landini in Milan, writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Richard Balmforth)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T17:11:00.000+03:00|Uzbekistan to buy out GM stake in car factory - Gazeta.uz|TASHKENT, May 31 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan plans to buy U.S. carmaker GM’s remaining 10 percent stake in the GM Uzbekistan factory this year, Uzbek news website Gazeta.uz Quote: d Uzbek state auto company chief executive, Umidjan Salimov, as saying on Thursday. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T17:22:00.000+03:00|NAFTA deal very difficult before Mexico election: Guajardo|MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s economy minister said on Thursday that it would be “very difficult” to reach a deal to revamp NAFTA before Mexico’s July 1 presidential election. Speaking on local radio, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum would have an impact on negotiations to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, but talks would continue. Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-31T17:38:00.000+03:00|Spain's Socialists leader says would stick to budget approved by PM Rajoy|MADRID, May 31 (Reuters) - The leader of Spain’s socialist party Pedro Sanchez on Thursday said he would stick to the budget approved by current Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy if he won a no-confidence vote in parliament. “I commit myself to fulfil the obligations of the EU, we want to maintain the budget approved by this assembly,” Sanchez told the parliament at the start of the no-confidence debate. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez needs an absolute majority of 176 votes to become Spain’s new Prime Minister, and information from various parties suggested he had secured 175 as the parliamentary session got under way. (Reporting By Jesús Aguado Editing by Julien Toyer)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T17:41:00.000+03:00|Spain's Socialists leader says would stick to budget approved by PM Rajoy|MADRID (Reuters) - The leader of Spain’s socialist party Pedro Sanchez on Thursday said he would stick to the budget approved by current Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy if he won a no-confidence vote in parliament. Spain's Socialist (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech during a motion of no confidence debate at Parliament in Madrid, Spain, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Perez “I commit myself to fulfill the obligations of the EU, we want to maintain the budget approved by this assembly,” Sanchez told the parliament at the start of the no-confidence debate. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez needs an absolute majority of 176 votes to become Spain’s new Prime Minister, and information from various parties suggested he had secured 175 as the parliamentary session got under way. Reporting By Jesús Aguado; Editing by Julien Toyer  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T18:08:00.000+03:00|Sembcorp Industries to buy UK Power Reserve for $288 mln|LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Integrated energy group Sembcorp Industries has agreed to buy UK Power Reserve, Britain’s largest flexible power generator, for 216 million pounds ($288 million). The Singapore-listed company said on Thursday it was buying UK Power Reserve, which was founded in 2010 to meet growing demand for flexible reserve power capacity, from investment firm Equistone Partners Europe and Inflexion Private Equity. In Britain, demand for more flexible power generation capacity has grown due to the closure of ageing thermal plants, the rise of variable renewable energy and electric vehicles. UK Power Reserve has 32 rapid-response power stations with a total capacity of 533 megawatts (MW) in operation, enough to power 375,000 homes. A further 480 MW of capacity, included 120 MW of battery storage assets, is under construction and development and expected to come online by 2019. Sembcorp Industries has an energy portfolio of more than 12 gigawatts (GW) worldwide, including thermal power plants and renewable energy assets. Sembcorp UK, which has 210 MW of combined heat and power, steam power and renewable generation capacity at its Wilton International industrial site in Teesside, northeast England, is also seeking planning approval to develop two combined-cycle gas turbine units of up to 1.7 GW at that site. ($1 = 0.7503 pounds) (Reporting by Nina Chestney Editing by Alexander Smith)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|1
2018-05-31T18:31:00.000+03:00|Croatia's Agrokor wins creditors' support for debt settlement deal|ZAGREB, May 31 (Reuters) - Croatia’s indebted food group Agrokor has secured the support of a majority of creditors for a debt settlement agreement by which all the firm’s assets will be transferred to a new company owned by creditors, manager Fabris Perusko said. Agrokor, the largest company in the Balkans with 60,000 staff, was put under state-run administration in April 2017, crippled by debts built up during an ambitious expansion drive. Last week, Agrokor’s crisis management team said Agrokor would be taken over by a new Dutch-based company owned by creditors that will be called Aisle Dutch TopCo. Perusko said that Russian bank Sberbank, Agrokor’s biggest creditor, had agreed to swap an 18.5 percent stake in Mercator - which is owned by Agrokor - for a stake in the new company. This will allow Sberbank to increase its stake as part of restructuring process. Sberbank, with loans worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), is set to become the biggest single shareholder in the new company. The debt settlement must be finalised before the Commercial Court approves it, Perusko said. Two-thirds of the creditors need to adopt the debt settlement agreement by July 10 to avert bankruptcy. “A large number of creditors came to a compromise in this process and agreed to write off debt in order to provide for the company survival and future operation,” said Perusko, without elaborating. Croatia’s deputy prime minister Martina Dalic resigned on May 14 under pressure from opposition groups who accused her of failing to prevent conflicts of interest during the restructuring of Agrokor. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac and Maja Zuvela. Editing by Jane Merriman)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-31T18:32:00.000+03:00|Orange aiming to merge video arm with Altice Studio - Le Figaro|May 31, 2018 / 3:37 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Orange aiming to merge video arm with Altice Studio - Le Figaro Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - Orange, France’s biggest telecoms operator, is looking to merge its Orange Cinema Series (OCS) arm with Altice Studio to create a new business big enough to challenge the likes of Netflix, Le Figaro newspaper reported. The logo of French telecom operator Orange is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Le Figaro said on its website the deal would see Orange and SFR - which is owned by Altice - link up their OCS and Altice Studio video services, allowing Orange to access U.S. content signed up by Altice Studio. Orange’s OCS has an exclusive contract with HBO, while Altice has exclusive distribution deals with Discovery Communications and NBC Universal. Le Figaro added in its unsourced report that a merger between OCS and Altice Studio could represent a setback for Vivendi’s Canal Plus TV division by creating even tougher competition for Canal Plus. Spokesmen for Orange and Altice declined to comment on the report. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Helen Reid; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-05-31T18:38:00.000+03:00|Nokia sells digital health venture, executive to leave|HELSINKI, May 31 (Reuters) - Nokia said on Thursday it had sold its small digital health business, including activity trackers and smartwatches, and said the head of its Technologies unit would step down. The business was sold to Eric Carreel, co-founder and former chairman of the digital health business, for an undisclosed price. Nokia had announced the plan earlier this month. Gregory Lee, the head of Nokia’s Technologies unit and former Samsung executive, will leave the company following the deal after less than a year in the job, Nokia said. (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl Editing by Edmund Blair)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|1
2018-05-31T18:44:00.000+03:00|Singapore's co-working space firm JustCo plans 100 centres in Asia by 2020; eyes deals|BANGKOK (Reuters) - Co-working space operator JustCo plans to set up 100 centers by 2020 in Asia and is looking to acquire firms that complement its operations, Chief Executive Kong Wan Sing said on Thursday. “We are tapping into companies’ need for flexibility,” Kong told Reuters in an interview in Bangkok. JustCo opened its first co-working center outside of Singapore in Thailand this year with plans to add offices in Jakarta and Shanghai by year end, towards a goal of 50 centers in Asia by 2019, each with minimum space of 3,000 square meters, he said. Corporations make up 60-70 percent of clients, Kong said, unlike other operators who offer workspace to entrepreneurs, freelancers and companies. Demand for co-working spaces in the world’s largest cities has surged, drawing billions of dollars in capital into the sector. Last year, New York-based WeWork, acquired Singaporean Spacemob and planned to invest $500 million in Southeast Asia and South Korea. Kong, who founded JustCo in 2015, said that curating a big community of members through its large spaces will help it beat competitors. JustCo will launch an application this year with plans for an e-payment platform later, he said. In May, Frasers Property and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, GIC agreed on a $177 million partnership with JustCo. Frasers Property is owned by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. Part of the capital will be used for expansion and also to “beef up our IT and design capabilities,” Kong said. “We are looking for ideal acquisition targets ... would be more applications, tech and design that can help us,” he said. In addition to capital, JustCo would have “immediate access” to GIC and Frasers’ properties in Asia, helping it to quickly expand, he added. Another source of revenue is management fees. JustCo announced earlier this week it would manage half of Verizon Communication’s 20,000 square feet (1,858 square meters) head office in Singapore. Last year, Thai developer Sansiri took a 6.09 percent stake in JustCo in Series B funding for $12 million, valuing the company at $200 million. Kong declined to comment on the firm’s valuation after the agreement with GIC and Frasers Property. “We will continue to do our rounds,” he said, adding that an initial public offer could happen in 3-5 years. Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Vyas Mohan  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|1
2018-05-31T19:04:00.000+03:00|Littlewoods Pensions Scheme completes 880 mln stg bulk annuity deal|LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - The Littlewoods Pensions Scheme has completed an 880 million pound ($1.17 billion) bulk annuity deal with Scottish Widows, an adviser to the trustees of the scheme said on Thursday. The deal will see the risks of around 60 percent of the liabilities in the scheme passed to Scottish Widows, and is the largest bulk annuity transaction to date for Scottish Widows, part of Lloyds Banking Group. Structured as a so-called ‘buy-in’, the deal will provide a monthly income to the trustee of the scheme to meet the pensions payable to nearly 7,000 members of the scheme, adviser LCP said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7506 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Maiya Keidan)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T19:04:00.000+03:00|RPT-Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals|(Repeats story to link to graphic, no changes to text) * Adidas sponsors 12 teams, Nike 10, Puma four * Nike says 60 percent of players will wear its boots * Adidas sold 14 million balls, 8 million jerseys in 2014 * Russia set to yield lower sales than Brazil By Emma Thomasson BERLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - Adidas can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams. However, the German sportswear brand, which is also the official sponsor of the tournament, expects only a limited financial impact, partly because this year’s World Cup takes place in Russia, where the economy is in the doldrums. “The World Cup in Russia does carry lower financial opportunities than the similar event four years ago in Brazil,” Adidas Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said earlier this month. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fantastic way of bringing our brand to life globally,” Rorsted added. Since the last tournament in 2014, Adidas has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalising on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market. Nevertheless, soccer remains important for the image of the German brand, which has supplied the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a deal to sponsor the event until 2030. It also announced last week it will extend its partnership with the UEFA Champions League until 2021. After Nike kitted out more teams for the first time in Brazil in 2014, Adidas has fought back, this year sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. Nike, which only got heavily involved in soccer when the World Cup was played in the United States in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. “The World Cup is such a powerful moment in sport, and we look forward to amplifying its energy,” Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said in March. NO IRANIANS WEAR NIKE While team deals are important for sales of soccer jerseys, more critical for sales of boots is the sponsorship of top players, particularly the likes of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who wears Nike, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in Adidas. Nike expects 60 percent of all the players heading to Russia will be wearing its boots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians, even though they will be wearing Adidas shirts. An exception is Iran, which faces new sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal. Nike says none of the country’s players are wearing its shoes, while Adidas is providing the team’s jerseys. German brand Puma is a distant third, sponsoring just four relatively lowly teams in the competition, compared with the eight it kitted out in 2014, dented by the failure of its top team Italy to qualify. Still, Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden says the World Cup has helped its order book for the second and third quarters. Adidas reported soccer-related sales of 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in 2014, when it sold 14 million official match balls and 8 million jerseys, including 3 million for the winning German team. Sales rose to 2.5 billion euros by 2016, but slipped as a proportion of total Adidas revenue to 13.5 percent from 14.5 percent in 2014. It has not disclosed figures since then. Nike saw soccer sales fall a currency-adjusted 4 percent to $2 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, accounting for less than 6 percent of group revenue. The World Cup could add about 3 to 4 percentage points to Adidas group revenue growth in 2018, lower than previous tournaments due to the fact it is happening in Russia, according to Piral Dadhania, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. However, Dadhania noted much of the benefit occurs before the event as the jerseys have already been sold to retailers. “Any incremental boost during or after the event relating to jersey sales depends on the extent to which specific teams progress through the competition,” Dadhania said. ($1 = 0.8598 euros) Reporting by Emma Thomasson Editing by David Holmes  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T19:08:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-ASM Group Updates On Acquisition Of Company Operating In Germany, Austria And Switzerland|May 31(Reuters) - ASM Group SA: * SAID ON WEDNESDAY IT HAS TAKEN FURTHER STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING A 91.6 PERCENT STAKE IN A HOLDING COMPANY FOR THE CAPITAL GROUP OPERATING IN GERMANY, AUSTRIA AND SWITZERLAND * THE HOLDING COMPANY WILL BE ACQUIRED BY A SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE FENTUS 91.GMBH (SUBSEQUENTLY TO OPERATE UNDER NAME ASM GERMANY GMBH) * UNDER THE PREVIOUSLY SIGNED INVESTMENT AGREEMENT WITH AN INVESTMENT FUND FUNDUSZ EKSPANSJI ZAGRANICZNEJ FIZAN (THE FUND) THE FUND HAS ACQUIRED 49.9 PERCENT STAKE IN FENTUS 91.GMBH FROM THE COMPANY FOR 13,723 EUROS * THE COMPANY AND THE FUND HAVE ALSO RESOLVED TO RECAPITALISE FENTUS 91.GMBH BY 8.8 MILLION EUROS EACH * TOTAL FINANCING FOR THE ACQUISITION SHOULD NOT EXCEED 23.3 MILLION EUROS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T19:14:00.000+03:00|European funds sell equities and emerging markets in May: Reuters poll|LONDON (Reuters) - Italian political ructions and fears of a U.S.-China trade war persuaded European money managers to dial back allocations to equities and emerging markets in May, while raising bond holdings to the highest since July 2016. The Italian flag waves over the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Reuters’ latest monthly survey of investors was carried out May 14-29, a time when 10-year U.S. yields rose to seven-year highs above 3 percent, oil prices jumped to $80 a barrel and Italy’s massive bond and equity selloff sent the euro to multi-month lows by evoking memories of the 2011-2012 crisis. World shares .MIWD PUS stand some 8 percent below the record highs hit in January. Cedric Baron, head of multi-asset at Generali Investments, said while he remained “constructive” on equities, “in a more volatile environment and with the resurgence of some political risks, we prefer to be less aggressive on this asset class, and to temporarily reduce the risky exposure of the portfolio”. Aside from political risk in Italy, investors were also fretting about inflation, driven by oil price rises, and central bank policy tightening, Baron added. The share of equities in European funds’ global portfolios fell almost 2 percentage points versus April to 41.7 percent, the lowest since November 2016. Debt allocations rose 2.6 percentage points to nearly a two-year high of 43 percent, the poll showed. “Protectionism and the risk of U.S. inflation accelerating remain our primary concerns. However, developments in Italy are also a growing material risk that could (prompt) a dramatic shake out in risk assets,” said Colin Harte, senior portfolio manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management. The poll was conducted at a time when the United States and China held talks on trade, though both sides have repeatedly lashed out at each other with tariff threats. TURKISH LIRA Fund managers showed a marked preference for U.S. assets, raising the share of U.S. debt to the highest since last May. However, while the dollar has steadily risen in recent weeks, few investors appear bullish on it - only one poll respondent had changed their end-2018 forecast on the U.S. currency. Fewer than 20 percent of those who replied to a special question said they would be tempted to buy U.S. Treasury bonds at a 3 percent yield. Raphael Gallardo at Ostrum Asset Management, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, said he had always predicted an end-2018 euro-dollar rate of $1.15, given the yield and interest rate advantage of the United States over other developed markets. But he said he would not buy Treasuries at 3 percent. Jan Bopp, an investment strategist at J Safra Sarasin, is also bearish, considering it premature to rush in at 3 percent. “We believe the market is underpricing the pace of future Fed rate hikes,” he added. A major victim of the recent dollar surge is the developing world, where currencies such as the Turkish lira and Argentine peso have fallen sharply, forcing authorities into sharp interest rate rises or direct interventions. Average emerging local debt yields have risen almost half a percent since the start of the year. In the poll, investors cut their exposure to emerging market bonds by almost 3 percentage points to 13.7 percent. Just over half of those who answered a special question said the recent upheaval had persuaded them to cut emerging market exposure but most remained bullish on long-term prospects. “Emerging markets are adjusting to tighter financial conditions with spread widening and currency depreciation of the idiosyncratic stories in a sort of perfect storm,” said Pascal Blanque, chief investment officer at Amundi. “However, beyond these short-term challenges, the EM story is still intact.” Additional reporting by Claire Milhench in London and Massimo Gaia in Milan; Editing by Alison Williams  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T19:25:00.000+03:00|U.N. and Myanmar agree outline of Rohingya return deal, no details|May 31, 2018 / 3:05 PM / Updated an hour ago U.N. and Myanmar agree outline of Rohingya return deal, no details Reuters Staff 3 Min Read GENEVA/YANGON (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it had struck a deal with Myanmar aimed at eventually allowing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice. Smoke is seen on the Myanmar border as Rohingya refugees walk on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui Since August 2017, about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, many reporting killings, rape and arson on a large scale, U.N. and other aid organisations have said. “Since the conditions are not conducive for voluntary return yet, the MoU (memorandum of understanding) is the first and necessary step to support the government’s efforts to change that situation,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. Myanmar’s government said in a brief statement late on Thursday the MoU would be signed “soon” and U.N. agencies would “support access to livelihoods through the design and implementation of community-based interventions”. Myanmar civilian government spokesman Zaw Htay said he had nothing to add to the statement. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides remain and implementation of the plan has been slow. In a separate statement on Thursday, Myanmar’s government said it would set up an independent commission to investigate “the violation of human rights and related issues” in Rakhine State following the army operation there in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts. The commission will be assisted by international experts, the statement said without elaborating. The United Nations and aid agencies have described the crackdown on the Rohingya as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, an accusation Myanmar rejects. The Security Council asked Myanmar in November to ensure no “further excessive use of military force” and to allow “freedom of movement, equal access to basic services, and equal access to full citizenship for all”. Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services such as healthcare. Many in Myanmar regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from mostly Muslim Bangladesh. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Shoon Naing and Yimou Lee; Editing by Tom Miles/Mark Heinrich|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T19:27:00.000+03:00|Loan repricings lead to market fatigue as deals pulled|NEW YORK (LPC) - Fatigue for repricings has settled over the US$1trn US leveraged loan market after more than 275 companies have turned to the segment over the last three months, many to cut borrowing costs, leading some of the most aggressively priced deals to trade off or even be pulled. American Airlines and aircraft leasing company Avolon are among borrowers that have cut their payments, taking advantage of more than US$60bn that has poured into the US leveraged loan market this year as investors seek a safe haven in the floating-rate product that can serve as a hedge to rising rates. The Federal Reserve has increased rates six times since December 2015. But the leveraged loan market, which backs buyouts and helps companies refinance existing debt, is becoming weary of the practice as pent-up supply of new loans, along with volatility in equity markets and sovereign debt, has lessened the appetite for opportunistic repricings. A number of loans are now trading below their issue price and some companies have been forced to withdraw their proposals entirely. American Airlines’ US$1.8bn loan was Quote: d at 98.625-99.125 Wednesday, below its 99.625 cents on the dollar issue price, after it cut its interest rate to pay 175bp, according to a source. Avolon was not able to tighten its interest payments as much as proposed, but still cut the rate to 200bp, according to another source. The loan was issued at a discount of 99.75 cents but was Quote: d at 99.125-99.5 on Wednesday, the first source said. The 175bp coupon that American Airlines now pays is a hard fit for the largest buyer base in the loan market, Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs), which are challenged to pay their own investors when they receive lower interest payments. “The [Libor] plus 175 credits are not naturally a great fit for CLOs; that is the real tight end of the range for leveraged loans,” said Mark Pelletier, head of the leveraged finance group at Ryan Labs Asset Management. “With any type of risk sentiment, the market tries to push back on credits trying to reprice.” Leveraged loans pay investors a set coupon plus Libor, so as rates rise, so do payments, making it an attractive investment when more rate hikes are expected. The demand has pushed US CLO issuance to about US$53bn this year, up 41% from the same period in 2017, and has led to US$9.5bn of inflows into loan mutual funds through May 23, according to Thomson Reuters LPC Collateral and Lipper data. MARKET PUSHBACK The pushback comes amid increased global market volatility. The euro tanked to a 10-month low this week, as short-term Italian bond yields on Tuesday suffered the biggest one-day jump since 1992, Reuters reported, as concerns about Italy’s political crisis and a trade war sent shockwaves through markets. The US on Thursday said it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The SMi100, an index that tracks the 100 most widely held loans, dropped slightly this month to 98.4 on May 30 from 98.6 on May 1. Repricings have not just challenged trading levels, some proposals didn’t even make it through the market. Gaming and entertainment property owner VICI Properties and automotive supplies producer American Axle & Manufacturing both pulled repricings in May. “Spreads have tightened quite a bit so at some point investors are going to push back,” said Kimberly Flynn, a managing director at XA Investments. “The median and longer-term trends are that you have a lot of hungry buyers of loans. It might be more of a short-term adjustment as opposed to something fundamental.” Spokespeople for American Axle, American Airlines and Avolon did not immediately return calls seeking comment. A VICI spokesperson declined to comment. The pushback has not extended to the entire loan market as managers are eager to put their new money to work, with some firms selling their repriced loans to make way for new, better-priced credits. The forward calendar hit US$76.1bn in May, the highest level since last July, according to LPC data. Financial technology company Blackhawk Network Holdings tightened pricing on a US$1.35bn first-lien term loan backing its buyout by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and P2 Capital Partners, cutting the interest rate to 300bp from guidance of 325bp-350bp, according to a source. “There is a view that demand is going to stay strong in 2018 and that the asset class is appealing in a rising-rate environment, and across the board from Moody’s [Investors Service] to the sellside, we all see growth this year,” said Chris Padgett, head of leveraged finance at Moody’s. Reporting by Kristen Haunss, Jonathan Schwarzberg and Yun Li; Editing by Michelle Sierra and Lynn Adler  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-05-31T19:33:00.000+03:00|U.N. and Myanmar agree outline of Rohingya return deal, no details|GENEVA/YANGON (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it had struck an outline deal with Myanmar aimed at eventually allowing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice. Since August 2017, about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, many reporting killings, rape and arson on a large scale, U.N. and other aid organizations have said. “Since the conditions are not conducive for voluntary return yet, the MoU (memorandum of understanding) is the first and necessary step to support the government’s efforts to change that situation,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. Myanmar’s government said in a brief statement late on Thursday the MoU would be signed “soon” and U.N. agencies would “support access to livelihoods through the design and implementation of community-based interventions”. Myanmar civilian government spokesman Zaw Htay said he had nothing to add to the statement. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides persist, impeding implementation of the plan. In a separate statement on Thursday, Myanmar’s government said it would set up an independent commission to investigate “the violation of human rights and related issues” in Rakhine State following the army operation there in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts. The commission will be assisted by international experts, the statement said without elaborating. In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, senior UNHCR official George William Okoth-Obbo told reporters after a five-day visit to Rohingya refugee camps along the border that conditions in Myanmar did not yet allow a “safe and sustainable return”. Okoth-Obbo said an immediate challenge for humanitarian agencies was to relocate 200,000 Rohingya refugees threatened by seasonal monsoon flooding and landslides to a safer place. The United Nations and aid agencies have described the crackdown on the Rohingya as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, an accusation Myanmar rejects. The Security Council asked Myanmar in November to ensure no “further excessive use of military force” and to allow “freedom of movement, equal access to basic services, and equal access to full citizenship for all”. Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services such as healthcare. Many in Myanmar regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from mostly Muslim Bangladesh. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Shoon Naing and Yimou Lee in Yangon and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-05-31T19:54:00.000+03:00|Traffickers plot to sell Nigerians for sex at Russia's World Cup|ABUJA/LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human traffickers are planning to exploit relaxed Russian visa controls for next month’s World Cup to sell Nigerian women into sex work, state officials and anti-slavery activists said. Officials in Nigeria said they had intelligence showing plans were well underway to traffic local women into Russia for the football tournament, exploiting a move by Moscow to let spectators enter the country with just a ticket and a fan pass. “This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa. She said Russia’s strict visa process had typically made trafficking people into the nation time-consuming and costly and the eased visa rules had now left the system open to abuse. Many women and girls have been lured from Nigeria in recent years with promises of work and good wages only to end up trapped in debt bondage, and the World Cup could see the number of victims arriving in Russia soar, according to Alternativa. “We discovered that about 30 victims (Nigerian women) were brought to the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year ... we expect to face the same problem during the World Cup this year,” Siluyanova told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email. Visa-free entry was trailed at the Confederations Cup and will apply to the entire World Cup, which runs in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, and the ten days either side. PLANS AFOOT Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP said it had received intelligence that human traffickers were planning to take advantage of the tournament, and that it was working with the Russian embassy in the capital of Abuja to tackle the issue. “If we alert Nigerians, we disrupt them (traffickers) ... and let them know that these plans are in the works,” said Arinze Orakwu, head of public enlightenment at NAPTIP. NAPTIP was unable to say how many women were trafficked into Russia, but an official in Nigeria’s Edo state said it was sizeable. “Women are being trafficked to Russia, and we get returnees back from Russia,” said Yinka Omorogbe, head of Edo’s anti-trafficking task force. “It is not a frequent destination in the same way as Italy is, but we do get a pretty large number.” Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year, making the treacherous sea crossing from Libya to Italy, and trafficked into sex work, the United Nations says. The number of female Nigerians arriving in Italy by boat surged to more than 11,000 in 2016 from 1,500 in 2014, with at least four in five of them forced into prostitution, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A spokesman for football’s governing body FIFA said it was committed to ensuring human rights were respected, but that crimes such as human trafficking were the responsibility of local and international authorities. The Russian government could not be reached for comment. From the Olympics to the Super Bowl, big sporting events regularly trigger warnings over an influx of sex workers, many of whom are victims of modern slavery, yet experts are split on whether such spectacles actively fuel trafficking. [nL2N1PK159] Writing By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org  |https://www.reuters.com/places/africa|0
2018-05-31T20:05:00.000+03:00|U.N. and Myanmar agree outline of Rohingya return deal, no details|May 31, 2018 / 3:04 PM / Updated 38 minutes ago U.N. and Myanmar agree outline of Rohingya return deal, no details Reuters Staff 3 Min Read GENEVA/YANGON (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it had struck a deal with Myanmar aimed at eventually allowing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice. Smoke is seen on the Myanmar border as Rohingya refugees walk on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui Since August 2017, about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, many reporting killings, rape and arson on a large scale, U.N. and other aid organisations have said. “Since the conditions are not conducive for voluntary return yet, the MoU (memorandum of understanding) is the first and necessary step to support the government’s efforts to change that situation,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. Myanmar’s government said in a brief statement late on Thursday the MoU would be signed “soon” and U.N. agencies would “support access to livelihoods through the design and implementation of community-based interventions”. Myanmar civilian government spokesman Zaw Htay said he had nothing to add to the statement. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides remain and implementation of the plan has been slow. In a separate statement on Thursday, Myanmar’s government said it would set up an independent commission to investigate “the violation of human rights and related issues” in Rakhine State following the army operation there in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts. The commission will be assisted by international experts, the statement said without elaborating. The United Nations and aid agencies have described the crackdown on the Rohingya as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, an accusation Myanmar rejects. The Security Council asked Myanmar in November to ensure no “further excessive use of military force” and to allow “freedom of movement, equal access to basic services, and equal access to full citizenship for all”. Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services such as healthcare. Many in Myanmar regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from mostly Muslim Bangladesh. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Shoon Naing and Yimou Lee; Editing by Tom Miles/Mark Heinrich 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-05-31T20:05:00.000+03:00|Italy's League, 5-Star clinch deal on coalition government: sources|ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s League party and 5-Star Movement have agreed to form a coalition government in which the little-known economics professor Giovanni Tria will take over the pivotal economy ministry job, sources from the two parties said on Thursday. The Italian flag waves over the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile President Sergio Mattarella torpedoed an initial attempt by the League and 5-Star to form a coalition, rejecting their previous candidate for the economy portfolio, 81-year-old economist Paolo Savona, who has spoken out against the euro single currency. Reporting by Steve Scherer  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews|0
2018-05-31T20:51:00.000+03:00|FOCUS-HSBC loses senior European deal-makers as M&A ranking drops - sources|* More than 10 bankers quit in last 6 months - sources * HSBC ranking in global M&A advisory list slips to 42 * Bankers complain of lack of leadership, strategy - sources * Spokesman says new hires globally outweigh EU departures By Pamela Barbaglia LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - At least 10 high-profile dealmakers in Europe have left HSBC in recent months at a time of record merger activity, after the bank failed to overhaul its investment banking unit and revamp client teams, four sources said. Overall dozens of investment bankers have quit, including senior managers at the bank’s top performing European private equity team, the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The departures reflect a growing sense of frustration over what the sources said was a lack of clear investment banking strategy at Europe’s biggest bank and its failure to rebuild a competitive team on the continent. They also highlight the difficulties European banks face in catching up with Wall Street rivals, whose dominance in investment banking league tables has increased. A spokesman for HSBC said the bank hired dozens of senior bankers recently, significantly outweighing the number of departures. The majority of the hires are based in North America and Asia, according to a list provided by the bank. “We continue to see good momentum across our financing and advisory franchise, taking leading roles in recent high-profile transactions,” the spokesman said. Chief Executive John Flint said in April that he wanted to double down on HSBC’s “pivot” to Asia and China in particular. On Feb. 27, the bank announced two hires in North America to strengthen its investment banking there. Flint will unveil his strategy on June 11 and is expected to announce further investment in China. While there is no hiring spree, the bank is seeking to scale up its presence outside Europe. Some staff told Reuters they left because they felt the European business was rudderless. One of HSBC’s most senior dealmakers in Germany, Norbert Reis, will leave in June, according to the sources. He previously served as head of global banking in Germany. HSBC’s consumer and retail director Patrick Philion and European private equity co-head Umberto Giacometti both quit in May to join Nomura, the sources added. The departures follow the abrupt exit in November of HSBC’s top investment banker, Matthew Westerman, a Goldman Sachs veteran hired with a mandate to shake up the investment banking unit in Europe and revive growth. “BARE BONES” Like most global banks, HSBC had been shrinking its investment banking business following the financial crisis. In 2015 it slashed nearly 50,000 jobs and cut its investment bank by a third to restore growth across its sprawling empire. Westerman’s appointment in 2016 was aimed at regaining market share and competing with U.S. rivals. Instead, he left after 18 months, having cut 100 jobs, and has not been replaced. “Westerman did the clean-up job but had no time to rebuild and reorganise the unit,” said one banker who left recently. “Most teams have been reduced to the bare bones.” Other bankers also said HSBC had lost direction since Westerman’s departure and questioned the depth of its commitment to growing its investment banking franchise. The turnover appears to have taken its toll, with HSBC dropping to 42nd this year in the global M&A advisory ranking from 15th a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. M&A advisory has never been a strong area for HSBC, which is mostly known for its debt capital markets and lending activity. But over the past five years its M&A ranking ranged between 17th and 24th. DEFECTIONS The bank’s private equity and leveraged finance teams have been hit hard by recent defections. HSBC global private equity head Alexis Maskell left in March to join Citi while Bala Ramesh, a director in leveraged credit syndicate, quit in October to join Jefferies. Maskell’s right-hand man Giacometti left in mid-May after 11 years at the bank while Tim Kerry, a managing director specialising in leveraged finance, resigned to join Barclays. Omar Faruqui, previously co-head of European private equity, also joined Barclays in January. Dan Cohen, the head of HSBC’s high-yield trading, left the bank in April to join Nomura while Stephen Smith joined Barclays last year as a director in the high-yield syndicate team. Senior managing director Luca Pietrantoni was among the most recent departures. A number of more junior bankers also moved on in recent weeks, including two associates in the financial sponsors team — Gerald Aichberger and Carol Rusin — and analyst Emiel Khakhar. Some industry sectors as well as regional teams in Europe have been left unstaffed, the sources said. HSBC recently advised JAB Holdings on its 1.5 billion pound purchase of UK food chain Pret A Manger and worked with Dulux paint maker Akzo Nobel on its 10.1 billion euro sale of its specialty chemicals unit in March. But the bank missed out on major roles in some of the biggest deals this year, including Japanese firm Takeda’s 45.3 billion pound purchase of London-listed drugmaker Shire. In a bid to win more M&A work, HSBC is in the process of hiring former Morgan Stanley banker Kamal Jabre, who used to run the Middle East and North African region, as its global head of advisory, a source close to the bank said. HSBC declined to comment on the appointment. It recently named one of its senior bankers, Borja Azpilicueta, as global head of financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and institutional private clients. Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mike Collett-White  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T20:51:00.000+03:00|FOCUS-HSBC loses senior European deal-makers as M&A ranking drops - sources|LONDON (Reuters) - At least 10 high-profile dealmakers in Europe have left HSBC ( HSBA.L ) in recent months at a time of record merger activity, after the bank failed to overhaul its investment banking unit and revamp client teams, four sources said. A HSBC and a Barclays bank building is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Overall dozens of investment bankers have quit, including senior managers at the bank’s top performing European private equity team, the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The departures reflect a growing sense of frustration over what the sources said was a lack of clear investment banking strategy at Europe’s biggest bank and its failure to rebuild a competitive team on the continent. They also highlight the difficulties European banks face in catching up with Wall Street rivals, whose dominance in investment banking league tables has increased. A spokesman for HSBC said the bank hired dozens of senior bankers recently, significantly outweighing the number of departures. The majority of the hires are based in North America and Asia, according to a list provided by the bank. “We continue to see good momentum across our financing and advisory franchise, taking leading roles in recent high-profile transactions,” the spokesman said. Chief Executive John Flint said in April that he wanted to double down on HSBC’s “pivot” to Asia and China in particular. On Feb. 27, the bank announced two hires in North America to strengthen its investment banking there. Flint will unveil his strategy on June 11 and is expected to announce further investment in China. While there is no hiring spree, the bank is seeking to scale up its presence outside Europe. Some staff told Reuters they left because they felt the European business was rudderless. One of HSBC’s most senior dealmakers in Germany, Norbert Reis, will leave in June, according to the sources. He previously served as head of global banking in Germany. HSBC’s consumer and retail director Patrick Philion and European private equity co-head Umberto Giacometti both quit in May to join Nomura, the sources added. The departures follow the abrupt exit in November of HSBC’s top investment banker, Matthew Westerman, a Goldman Sachs veteran hired with a mandate to shake up the investment banking unit in Europe and revive growth. “BARE BONES” Like most global banks, HSBC had been shrinking its investment banking business following the financial crisis. In 2015 it slashed nearly 50,000 jobs and cut its investment bank by a third to restore growth across its sprawling empire. Westerman’s appointment in 2016 was aimed at regaining market share and competing with U.S. rivals. Instead, he left after 18 months, having cut 100 jobs, and has not been replaced. “Westerman did the clean-up job but had no time to rebuild and reorganize the unit,” said one banker who left recently. “Most teams have been reduced to the bare bones.” Other bankers also said HSBC had lost direction since Westerman’s departure and questioned the depth of its commitment to growing its investment banking franchise. The turnover appears to have taken its toll, with HSBC dropping to 42nd this year in the global M&A advisory ranking from 15th a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. M&A advisory has never been a strong area for HSBC, which is mostly known for its debt capital markets and lending activity. But over the past five years its M&A ranking ranged between 17th and 24th. DEFECTIONS The bank’s private equity and leveraged finance teams have been hit hard by recent defections. HSBC global private equity head Alexis Maskell left in March to join Citi while Bala Ramesh, a director in leveraged credit syndicate, quit in October to join Jefferies. Maskell’s right-hand man Giacometti left in mid-May after 11 years at the bank while Tim Kerry, a managing director specializing in leveraged finance, resigned to join Barclays. Omar Faruqui, previously co-head of European private equity, also joined Barclays in January. Dan Cohen, the head of HSBC’s high-yield trading, left the bank in April to join Nomura while Stephen Smith joined Barclays last year as a director in the high-yield syndicate team. Senior managing director Luca Pietrantoni was among the most recent departures. A number of more junior bankers also moved on in recent weeks, including two associates in the financial sponsors team — Gerald Aichberger and Carol Rusin — and analyst Emiel Khakhar. Some industry sectors as well as regional teams in Europe have been left unstaffed, the sources said. HSBC recently advised JAB Holdings on its 1.5 billion pound purchase of UK food chain Pret A Manger and worked with Dulux paint maker Akzo Nobel on its 10.1 billion euro sale of its specialty chemicals unit in March. But the bank missed out on major roles in some of the biggest deals this year, including Japanese firm Takeda’s 45.3 billion pound purchase of London-listed drugmaker Shire. In a bid to win more M&A work, HSBC is in the process of hiring former Morgan Stanley banker Kamal Jabre, who used to run the Middle East and North African region, as its global head of advisory, a source close to the bank said. HSBC declined to comment on the appointment. It recently named one of its senior bankers, Borja Azpilicueta, as global head of financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and institutional private clients. Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mike Collett-White  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-05-31T20:58:00.000+03:00|HSBC loses senior European deal-makers as M&A ranking drops - sources|May 31, 2018 / 6:15 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago HSBC loses senior European deal-makers as M&A ranking drops: sources Pamela Barbaglia 6 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - At least 10 high-profile dealmakers in Europe have left HSBC ( HSBA.L ) in recent months at a time of record merger activity, after the bank failed to overhaul its investment banking unit and revamp client teams, four sources said. A HSBC and a Barclays bank building is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Overall dozens of investment bankers have quit, including senior managers at the bank’s top performing European private equity team, the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The departures reflect a growing sense of frustration over what the sources said was a lack of clear investment banking strategy at Europe’s biggest bank and its failure to rebuild a competitive team on the continent. They also highlight the difficulties European banks face in catching up with Wall Street rivals, whose dominance in investment banking league tables has increased. A spokesman for HSBC said the bank hired dozens of senior bankers recently, significantly outweighing the number of departures. The majority of the hires are based in North America and Asia, according to a list provided by the bank. “We continue to see good momentum across our financing and advisory franchise, taking leading roles in recent high-profile transactions,” the spokesman said. Chief Executive John Flint said in April that he wanted to double down on HSBC’s “pivot” to Asia and China in particular. On Feb. 27, the bank announced two hires in North America to strengthen its investment banking there. Flint will unveil his strategy on June 11 and is expected to announce further investment in China. While there is no hiring spree, the bank is seeking to scale up its presence outside Europe. Some staff told Reuters they left because they felt the European business was rudderless. One of HSBC’s most senior dealmakers in Germany, Norbert Reis, will leave in June, according to the sources. He previously served as head of global banking in Germany. HSBC’s consumer and retail director Patrick Philion and European private equity co-head Umberto Giacometti both quit in May to join Nomura, the sources added. The departures follow the abrupt exit in November of HSBC’s top investment banker, Matthew Westerman, a Goldman Sachs veteran hired with a mandate to shake up the investment banking unit in Europe and revive growth. “BARE BONES” Like most global banks, HSBC had been shrinking its investment banking business following the financial crisis. In 2015 it slashed nearly 50,000 jobs and cut its investment bank by a third to restore growth across its sprawling empire. Westerman’s appointment in 2016 was aimed at regaining market share and competing with U.S. rivals. Instead, he left after 18 months, having cut 100 jobs, and has not been replaced. “Westerman did the clean-up job but had no time to rebuild and reorganize the unit,” said one banker who left recently. “Most teams have been reduced to the bare bones.” Other bankers also said HSBC had lost direction since Westerman’s departure and questioned the depth of its commitment to growing its investment banking franchise. The turnover appears to have taken its toll, with HSBC dropping to 42nd this year in the global M&A advisory ranking from 15th a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. M&A advisory has never been a strong area for HSBC, which is mostly known for its debt capital markets and lending activity. But over the past five years its M&A ranking ranged between 17th and 24th. DEFECTIONS The bank’s private equity and leveraged finance teams have been hit hard by recent defections. HSBC global private equity head Alexis Maskell left in March to join Citi while Bala Ramesh, a director in leveraged credit syndicate, quit in October to join Jefferies. Maskell’s right-hand man Giacometti left in mid-May after 11 years at the bank while Tim Kerry, a managing director specializing in leveraged finance, resigned to join Barclays. Omar Faruqui, previously co-head of European private equity, also joined Barclays in January. Dan Cohen, the head of HSBC’s high-yield trading, left the bank in April to join Nomura while Stephen Smith joined Barclays last year as a director in the high-yield syndicate team. Senior managing director Luca Pietrantoni was among the most recent departures. A number of more junior bankers also moved on in recent weeks, including two associates in the financial sponsors team — Gerald Aichberger and Carol Rusin — and analyst Emiel Khakhar. Some industry sectors as well as regional teams in Europe have been left unstaffed, the sources said. HSBC recently advised JAB Holdings on its 1.5 billion pound purchase of UK food chain Pret A Manger and worked with Dulux paint maker Akzo Nobel on its 10.1 billion euro sale of its specialty chemicals unit in March. But the bank missed out on major roles in some of the biggest deals this year, including Japanese firm Takeda’s 45.3 billion pound purchase of London-listed drugmaker Shire. In a bid to win more M&A work, HSBC is in the process of hiring former Morgan Stanley banker Kamal Jabre, who used to run the Middle East and North African region, as its global head of advisory, a source close to the bank said. HSBC declined to comment on the appointment. It recently named one of its senior bankers, Borja Azpilicueta, as global head of financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and institutional private clients. Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mike Collett-White|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-05-31T22:56:00.000+03:00|Icahn sells 10.5 million Herbalife shares back to company|BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who sparred for years with short-seller William Ackman over the future of Herbalife Nutrition Ltd ( HLF.N ), on Thursday said he sold roughly $552 million worth of Herbalife stock back to the company, trimming his stake to 21 percent. FILE PHOTO: Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S., February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Icahn said in a regulatory filing that he sold 10.5 million shares back to the company, for $52.50 a share, after having announced last week that he was ready to part with 11.4 million shares. The 82-year-old investor remains the nutrition and supplements company’s biggest owner after cutting his stake to 35.2 million shares from 45.7 million, which represented a 26.2 percent stake. Herbalife shares were trading at $50.72, up 2.3 percent, on Thursday shortly before the market close. Icahn said he was selling because the position had become too large within his portfolio. The sale comes roughly three months after Ackman ended his campaign against the company. In late 2012, Ackman unveiled a $1 billion short position and predicted Herbalife’s share price would eventually fall to zero. Icahn, however, was convinced that the company’s future was bright and began buying. In February 2013 Icahn said in a filing that he paid an average $21.03 for his shares. He continued to buy Herbalife shares after that. Since January, Herbalife’s shares have climbed 46.4 percent. Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Leslie Adler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-05-31T23:04:00.000+03:00|Japan's Idemitsu says no oil refineries will close in touted merger|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan ( 5019.T ) does not expect to close any domestic oil refineries as part of its long-delayed merger with smaller rival Showa Shell Sekiyu ( 5002.T ) even as local demand for oil continues to fall. Idemitsu Kosan's President and Chief Executive Officer Shunichi Kito speaks during an interview with Reuters at the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon That comes as Idemitsu, Japan’s No.2 oil refiner by sales, battles to overcome entrenched opposition to the touted merger from its founding family at a time when the country’s refining market is going through the biggest shake-up in its history. The two refiners have struck a business alliance ahead of the possible merger, integrating the so-called loading programs they use to buy crude and working to jointly operate their seven group refineries. “Idemitsu has already reduced refineries by half to three and will not close any more,” CEO Shunichi Kito told Reuters in an interview last month. Slideshow (3 Images) JXTG Holdings ( 5020.T ), the dominant player in a country where a falling population is using ever more efficient vehicles, was formed last year out of the merger of JX and TonenGeneral. It has been considering closing at least one of its 11 domestic refineries. “Seven refineries for Idemitsu and Showa Shell would balance domestic demand. (Integration or elimination) would be unlikely to happen to us,” he said. Kito said he could not give a timeline for the proposed merger with Showa Shell as there has been little progress in its talks to win approval from the founding family. Meanwhile, he also said Idemitsu was considering a minor upgrade to a secondary refining unit in response to the International Maritime Organization’s move to ban use of high sulphur fuel. He added that the firm planned to raise its overseas oil sales to roughly match domestic levels by 2020/21, pushing to compensate for a projected 30-40 percent decline in local gasoline demand by 2030. Idemitsu currently operates two filling stations in Vietnam, where it participates in the 200,000 barrels-per-day Nghi Son oil refinery project, and wants to increase that to 10 as it mulls the best way to expand in the country. Kito said it would also consider how to enter the gas stand business in nearby nations such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. “I expect acquisition, capital participation or a tie-up will be an effective way rather than building it from scratch,” he said. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Joseph Radford  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-05-31T23:13:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $90 bln in bills|WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auctions of 13-week and 26-week bills next week, see: 13-week bills here 26-week bills here Washington economics newsroom  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-05-31T23:20:00.000+03:00|Foreigners sell $1.15 bln of Turkish bonds and stocks May 1-25 -IIF|LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Foreign investors withdrew $1.15 billion from Turkish government bonds and stocks in the first three weeks of May, data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed, as doubts over the country’s monetary policy roiled markets. Outflows from Turkish local currency-denominated bonds amounted to $1 billion between May 1 and May 25, the IIF said. In the week ending last Friday, non-residents sold Turkish equities to the tune of $9 million, while debt markets saw outflows of $153 million. The IIF’s data applies to government local currency debt securities. Reporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Sujata Rao  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T23:38:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Uzbekistan to buy out GM stake in car factory - report|(Adds context) TASHKENT, May 31 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan plans to buy GM’s remaining 10 percent stake in the U.S. carmaker’s plant in the country this year, Uzbek news website Gazeta.uz Quote: d state auto company chief Umidjan Salimov as saying on Thursday. GM had previously held a 25 percent stake in the joint venture. Salimov did not say when and at what price his company, Uzavtosanoat, bought the 15 percent of shares and how much it would pay for the remainder. The car factory in the central Asian nation’s eastern Andijan region was originally founded as a joint venture with South Korea’s Daewoo Motors in 1996. It was renamed GM Uzbekistan in 2008 following GM’s acquisition of Daewoo. In 2017 the plant increased its output by more than 50 percent to about 135,000 vehicles, which are sold under the Chevrolet brand locally and under the Ravon brand outside the country, mainly in Russia. Its full capacity is 250,000 vehicles per year. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticised the factory this month for failing to create jobs despite enjoying tax and other benefits for decades. Mirziyoyev said the plant was “useless” because it had no competitors. His remarks were the first official criticism of the factory which was traditionally regarded as one of the main achievements of the country since its independence from the Soviet Union. The factory relies heavily on imported parts and had until last year sold cars domestically for foreign currency. Because of high demand, ordinary Uzbeks sometimes wait in queues for months in order to buy a vehicle. Gazeta.uz Quote: d Salimov as saying his company was in talks with other major carmakers including Volkswagen about setting up factories in the nation of 32 million. Uzbekistan is also discussing buying GM’s 70 percent stake in another joint venture which produces engines, he said. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov Writing by Olzhas Auyezov Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin and David Holmes)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-05-31T23:45:00.000+03:00|Scotiabank to buy MD Financial for C$2.59 bln|(Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia ( BNS.TO ) said on Thursday it would buy MD Financial Management, a financial services company for Canadian doctors, in a C$2.59 billion ($2.00 billion) all-cash deal. FILE PHOTO: A woman leaves a Scotiabank branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo MD Financial, which provides investment management and financial planning services, is owned by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and has more than C$49 billion in assets under management and administration. Scotiabank said the deal is expected to be partly financed by a public offering of 19.7 million common shares at C$76.15 per share on a bought-deal basis for gross proceeds of C$1.50 billion. “Scotiabank will invest C$115 million over the next ten years to support the advancement of the medical profession and health care in Canada,” Chief Executive Officer Brian Porter said in a statement. The transaction, expected to close in the fiscal fourth quarter, will impact the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio by about 30 basis points. Scotiabank’s global banking and markets unit and J.P. Morgan served as financial advisers to Scotiabank on the acquisition. Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-01T00:03:00.000+03:00|Italy's 5-Star, League close to deal on ministers: 5-Star sources|ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League are close to an agreement over a cabinet team, two 5-Star sources said on Thursday as talks between the two parties continued. Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio speaks at the media after a round of consultations with Italy's newly appointed Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the Lower House in Rome, Italy, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile The groups are locked in talks to try to form a coalition government and end three months of political deadlock following inconclusive March 4 elections. Reporting By Gavin Jones and Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Steve Scherer  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-06-01T00:22:00.000+03:00|Loan repricings lead to market fatigue as deals pulled|NEW YORK (LPC) - Fatigue for repricings has settled over the US$1trn US leveraged loan market after more than 275 companies have turned to the segment over the last three months, many to cut borrowing costs, leading some of the most aggressively priced deals to trade off or even be pulled. American Airlines and aircraft leasing company Avolon are among borrowers that have cut their payments, taking advantage of more than US$60bn that has poured into the US leveraged loan market this year as investors seek a safe haven in the floating-rate product that can serve as a hedge to rising rates. The Federal Reserve has increased rates six times since December 2015. But the leveraged loan market, which backs buyouts and helps companies refinance existing debt, is becoming weary of the practice as pent-up supply of new loans, along with volatility in equity markets and sovereign debt, has lessened the appetite for opportunistic repricings. A number of loans are now trading below their issue price and some companies have been forced to withdraw their proposals entirely. American Airlines’ US$1.8bn loan was Quote: d at 98.625-99.125 Wednesday, below its 99.625 cents on the dollar issue price, after it cut its interest rate to pay 175bp, according to a source. Avolon was not able to tighten its interest payments as much as proposed, but still cut the rate to 200bp, according to another source. The loan was issued at a discount of 99.75 cents but was Quote: d at 99.125-99.5 on Wednesday, the first source said. The 175bp coupon that American Airlines now pays is a hard fit for the largest buyer base in the loan market, Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs), which are challenged to pay their own investors when they receive lower interest payments. “The [Libor] plus 175 credits are not naturally a great fit for CLOs; that is the real tight end of the range for leveraged loans,” said Mark Pelletier, head of the leveraged finance group at Ryan Labs Asset Management. “With any type of risk sentiment, the market tries to push back on credits trying to reprice.” Leveraged loans pay investors a set coupon plus Libor, so as rates rise, so do payments, making it an attractive investment when more rate hikes are expected. The demand has pushed US CLO issuance to about US$53bn this year, up 41% from the same period in 2017, and has led to US$9.5bn of inflows into loan mutual funds through May 23, according to Thomson Reuters LPC Collateral and Lipper data. MARKET PUSHBACK The pushback comes amid increased global market volatility. The euro tanked to a 10-month low this week, as short-term Italian bond yields on Tuesday suffered the biggest one-day jump since 1992, Reuters reported, as concerns about Italy’s political crisis and a trade war sent shockwaves through markets. The US on Thursday said it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The SMi100, an index that tracks the 100 most widely held loans, dropped slightly this month to 98.4 on May 30 from 98.6 on May 1. Repricings have not just challenged trading levels, some proposals didn’t even make it through the market. Gaming and entertainment property owner VICI Properties and automotive supplies producer American Axle & Manufacturing both pulled repricings in May. “Spreads have tightened quite a bit so at some point investors are going to push back,” said Kimberly Flynn, a managing director at XA Investments. “The median and longer-term trends are that you have a lot of hungry buyers of loans. It might be more of a short-term adjustment as opposed to something fundamental.” Spokespeople for American Axle, American Airlines and Avolon did not immediately return calls seeking comment. A VICI spokesperson declined to comment. The pushback has not extended to the entire loan market as managers are eager to put their new money to work, with some firms selling their repriced loans to make way for new, better-priced credits. The forward calendar hit US$76.1bn in May, the highest level since last July, according to LPC data. Financial technology company Blackhawk Network Holdings tightened pricing on a US$1.35bn first-lien term loan backing its buyout by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and P2 Capital Partners, cutting the interest rate to 300bp from guidance of 325bp-350bp, according to a source. “There is a view that demand is going to stay strong in 2018 and that the asset class is appealing in a rising-rate environment, and across the board from Moody’s [Investors Service] to the sellside, we all see growth this year,” said Chris Padgett, head of leveraged finance at Moody’s. Reporting by Kristen Haunss, Jonathan Schwarzberg and Yun Li; Editing by Michelle Sierra and Lynn Adler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T00:25:00.000+03:00|Loan repricings lead to market fatigue as deals pulled|May 31, 2018 / 9:26 PM / a few seconds ago Loan repricings lead to market fatigue as deals pulled Kristen Haunss , Jonathan Schwarzberg , Yun Li 5 Min Read NEW YORK (LPC) - Fatigue for repricings has settled over the US$1trn US leveraged loan market after more than 275 companies have turned to the segment over the last three months, many to cut borrowing costs, leading some of the most aggressively priced deals to trade off or even be pulled. American Airlines and aircraft leasing company Avolon are among borrowers that have cut their payments, taking advantage of more than US$60bn that has poured into the US leveraged loan market this year as investors seek a safe haven in the floating-rate product that can serve as a hedge to rising rates. The Federal Reserve has increased rates six times since December 2015. But the leveraged loan market, which backs buyouts and helps companies refinance existing debt, is becoming weary of the practice as pent-up supply of new loans, along with volatility in equity markets and sovereign debt, has lessened the appetite for opportunistic repricings. A number of loans are now trading below their issue price and some companies have been forced to withdraw their proposals entirely. American Airlines’ US$1.8bn loan was quoted at 98.625-99.125 Wednesday, below its 99.625 cents on the dollar issue price, after it cut its interest rate to pay 175bp, according to a source. Avolon was not able to tighten its interest payments as much as proposed, but still cut the rate to 200bp, according to another source. The loan was issued at a discount of 99.75 cents but was quoted at 99.125-99.5 on Wednesday, the first source said. The 175bp coupon that American Airlines now pays is a hard fit for the largest buyer base in the loan market, Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs), which are challenged to pay their own investors when they receive lower interest payments. “The [Libor] plus 175 credits are not naturally a great fit for CLOs; that is the real tight end of the range for leveraged loans,” said Mark Pelletier, head of the leveraged finance group at Ryan Labs Asset Management. “With any type of risk sentiment, the market tries to push back on credits trying to reprice.” Leveraged loans pay investors a set coupon plus Libor, so as rates rise, so do payments, making it an attractive investment when more rate hikes are expected. The demand has pushed US CLO issuance to about US$53bn this year, up 41% from the same period in 2017, and has led to US$9.5bn of inflows into loan mutual funds through May 23, according to Thomson Reuters LPC Collateral and Lipper data. MARKET PUSHBACK The pushback comes amid increased global market volatility. The euro tanked to a 10-month low this week, as short-term Italian bond yields on Tuesday suffered the biggest one-day jump since 1992, Reuters reported, as concerns about Italy’s political crisis and a trade war sent shockwaves through markets. The US on Thursday said it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The SMi100, an index that tracks the 100 most widely held loans, dropped slightly this month to 98.4 on May 30 from 98.6 on May 1. Repricings have not just challenged trading levels, some proposals didn’t even make it through the market. Gaming and entertainment property owner VICI Properties and automotive supplies producer American Axle & Manufacturing both pulled repricings in May. “Spreads have tightened quite a bit so at some point investors are going to push back,” said Kimberly Flynn, a managing director at XA Investments. “The median and longer-term trends are that you have a lot of hungry buyers of loans. It might be more of a short-term adjustment as opposed to something fundamental.” Spokespeople for American Axle, American Airlines and Avolon did not immediately return calls seeking comment. A VICI spokesperson declined to comment. The pushback has not extended to the entire loan market as managers are eager to put their new money to work, with some firms selling their repriced loans to make way for new, better-priced credits. The forward calendar hit US$76.1bn in May, the highest level since last July, according to LPC data. Financial technology company Blackhawk Network Holdings tightened pricing on a US$1.35bn first-lien term loan backing its buyout by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and P2 Capital Partners, cutting the interest rate to 300bp from guidance of 325bp-350bp, according to a source. “There is a view that demand is going to stay strong in 2018 and that the asset class is appealing in a rising-rate environment, and across the board from Moody’s [Investors Service] to the sellside, we all see growth this year,” said Chris Padgett, head of leveraged finance at Moody’s. Reporting by Kristen Haunss, Jonathan Schwarzberg and Yun Li; Editing by Michelle Sierra and Lynn Adler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-01T02:47:00.000+03:00|CPUC approves $738 million for transport electrification projects|(Reuters) - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday said it would invest $738 million in transportation electrification projects across the state, as a part of its 2030 goal for clean air and greenhouse gas reduction. CPUC approved setting up charging stations and infrastructure to support electric passenger vehicles and trucks. The program, which will be implemented over the next five years, will provide rebates to residents for installing charging stations at their homes and will also set up infrastructure at several sites to support the electrification of medium- or heavy-duty vehicles. ChargePoint, the U.S. maker and operator of electric vehicle charging stations, said the program would be a model for utilities and regulatory agencies across the nation. “This will lead to major benefits for California drivers, ratepayers, utilities, public and private fleet operators and transit agencies, and riders of public transportation,” ChargePoint’s vice president of utility solutions, Dave Packard, said in an emailed statement. However, the California Independent Oil Marketers Association in response termed the move “California’s largest utility companies’ $500 million money grab from the CPUC.” “This money will be paid by California’s hardworking families to protect big business profits and finance projects for the 4 percent of the vehicle market whose average incomes exceed $100,000 annually,” said the association’s executive director, Ryan Hanretty, in a statement. CPUC said it has allocated an additional $29.5 million for program evaluation, bringing the total to nearly $768 million. Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru and Rishika Chaterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Gopakumar Warrier  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/domesticNews/|0
2018-06-01T03:17:00.000+03:00|NAFTA deal very difficult before Mexico election: Guajardo| Mexico’s economy minister said on Thursday that it would be “very difficult” to reach a deal to revamp NAFTA before Mexico’s July 1 presidential election. Speaking on local radio, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum would have an impact on negotiations to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, but talks would continue. Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom  |https://www.reuters.com/places/mexico|0
2018-06-01T03:49:00.000+03:00|JGBs fall after BOJ unexpectedly trims buying in 5-10 yr bonds|TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond prices fell on Friday after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly trimmed its buying of government bonds for the first time in three months. Many market players expected the BOJ eventually to reduce the scale of its massive bond buying, since it now holds more than 40 percent of the market, but the timing was a surprise given the volatility in global markets caused by the Italian political crisis. “Many had thought the BOJ would have to reduce buying at some point. So in that sense, no one is talking up a dramatic narrative that today’s move is a step towards an exit,” said Naomi Muguruma, senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. The BOJ has been reluctant to reduce its bond purchases after a small cut in its February bond buying was interpreted as a move towards an eventual exit from its stimulus, sparking an unwanted strengthening in the yen. On Friday, the BOJ trimmed its buying in JGBs with five to 10 years left to maturity to 430 billion yen, 20 billion yen less than the 450 billion yen worth it had been buying since late February. The BOJ buys those maturities six times a month, meaning it had soaked up 2.7 trillion yen worth per month. That is 500 billion yen more than 2.2 trillion yen of 10-year JGBs the Ministry of Finance sells each month. The BOJ’s massive bond buying has led to scarcity of bonds for market participants to trade among themselves. That illiquidity has reached the point where no benchmark 10-year JGBs were traded on Monday and Thursday this week. “This has become a bond market where a benchmark issue had no trade when so many things are happening around the world. There was clearly a problem in terms of market function,” said Muguruma at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Ten-year JGB futures fell 0.13 point to 150.84. The 10-year JGB yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.045 percent. The 20-year JGB yield rose 1.0 basis point to 0.515 percent while the 30-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 0.72 percent. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano Editing by Eric Meijer) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-01T04:49:00.000+03:00|Scotiabank to buy MD Financial for C$2.59 bln|May 31 (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia said on Thursday it would buy MD Financial Management, a Canadaian insurance provider to physicians and their families, in a C$2.59 billion ($2.00 billion) all-cash deal. The deal is expected to be partly financed by a public offering of 19.7 million common shares at C$76.15 per share on a bought-deal basis for gross proceeds of C$1.50 billion. ($1 = C$1.30) (Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|1
2018-06-01T04:49:00.000+03:00|Nikkei edges lower in choppy trade on large cap selling, U.S. trade jitters|TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average ended lower on Friday, as selling in large cap stocks and concerns about U.S. tariffs on metal imports erased earlier gains made after a weaker yen supported exporter firms. The Nikkei fell 0.1 percent to 22,171.35, swinging into negative territory after a rise earlier in the session. For the week, it dropped 1.2 percent. Fast Retailing declined 1.7 percent and contributed a hefty 30 points to the Nikkei, while Kao Corp dropped 3.0 percent and added 9.3 negative points to the index. The broader Topix added 0.1 percent to 1,749.17. On Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent levy on aluminium imports from allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union would go into effect on Friday. Analysts said that the direct impact from renewed worries over global trade war on Japanese stocks remains limited for now. “Trump’s move had been expected so markets in Japan are not reacting to it. That said, investors are remaining cautious as they try to get more clues on trade matters next week,” said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities. Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday called for “rational” debate among G7 nations to prevent protectionist trade measures from disrupting the global economy. Investors are also focused on the outcome of trade talks when U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet on June 7 at the White House. Exporters gained ground after the dollar was up 0.3 percent to 109.14. Toyota Motor Corp rose 2.9 percent and Mazda Motor Corp surged 1.2 percent. Banking shares also staged a rally, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group surging 1.6 percent and Mizuho Financial Group rising 0.7 percent. Olympus Corp soared 4.0 percent after U.S. hedge fund ValueAct Capital became a major shareholder in the Japanese medical equipment and camera maker with a 5.04 percent stake that is worth around $612 million at current shares prices. Editing by Sam Holmes  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-06-01T05:09:00.000+03:00|BOC Aviation to buy three Boeing 878-9's for list price of $845 million|(Reuters) - BOC Aviation said it has agreed to buy three Boeing 787-9 aircraft at an aggregate list price of $845 million from Boeing Co. Asia’s second-biggest aircraft lessor expects to take delivery of the aircraft in 2020, the company said in a statement on Friday. The Singapore-based company, which is majority-owned by Bank of China, had also placed an order for six Boeing 787-9s in March for $1.7 billion. (This story corrects headline to say BOC Aviation will buy three Boeing 787-9, not 878-9, aircraft.) Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T05:32:00.000+03:00|European shares jump into June as coalition deal revived in Italy|(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window) LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - European shares began June on a strong footing on Friday as Italian stocks led the pack after a coalition deal appeared to end three months of political deadlock. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5 percent in early trading, while German stocks also gained 0.5 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent. Italian stocks rallied 2.3 percent, the standout performers in Europe as Italian banks gained 3.6 percent. Recent political uncertainty has roiled Italian stocks, resulting in a slide of more than 9 percent for the Italian benchmark in May, its worst month since June 2016. However, Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, removing the risk of a repeat vote. Away from politics, semiconductor stocks were a weak spot after shares in Dialog Semiconductor plunged 16 percent. The chipmaker said that Apple was planning on cutting smartphone power chip orders, which will shave 5 percent off Dialog’s 2018 revenues. Peer AMS declined 2.6 percent, while STMicro edged 0.8 percent lower. Elsewhere shares in Deutsche Bank climbed 1.8 percent higher following a drop of more than 7 percent in the previous session, after a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve last year designated the bank’s U.S. operations to be in “troubled condition”. On Thursday, S&P downgraded Deutsche Bank’s credit rating to BBB+ from A-. Reporting by Kit Rees Editing by Alison Williams  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-01T05:43:00.000+03:00|China's markets regulator says still reviewing Qualcomm: NXP deal|June 1, 2018 / 7:43 AM / Updated 4 hours ago China's markets regulator says still reviewing Qualcomm: NXP deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s markets regulator said on Friday it is still reviewing Qualcomm Inc’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV and is in talks with Qualcomm about ways to eliminate negative impact from the deal. Visitors are seen by a booth of Qualcomm Inc at the China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, Guizhou province, China May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/Files The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is conducting the antitrust review in a fair and open way, the regulator said in a faxed response to a Reuters request for comment. Clearance for the takeover comes at a time of rising U.S.-China trade tension. People familiar with the matter have told Reuters that approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the unwinding of a U.S. government ban on sales by U.S. companies to China’s ZTE Corp. The Qualcomm merger of NXP has been approved by eight of nine required global regulators, with Chinese clearance the only one pending. The U.S. chipmaker, which initially announced its bid for the Dutch semiconductor company in October 2016, refiled its application to Chinese authorities for the second time in April. “SAMR is currently conducting an antitrust review of the case of Qualcomm’s equity acquisition of NXP, and is in discussions with Qualcomm on how to eliminate the negative effects created by this deal,” the regulator said. “SAMR, in line with anti-monopoly law, will conduct this review openly, fairly and impartially,” it said. Reuters reported on Sunday that Qualcomm was expecting to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance for the deal. Qualcomm made its latest submission regarding the deal to SAMR early this week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Matthew Miller; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Clarence Fernandez|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-01T05:44:00.000+03:00|South Africa's rand recovers from tariff driven sell-off|JOHANNESBURG, June 1 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was firmer on Friday, after a bout of aggressive selling in the previous session triggered by Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports. * At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.41 percent firmer at 12.6450 per dollar from an overnight low of 12.7350. * Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports from key allies provoked a swift response, with Canada, Mexico and the EU imposing retaliatory tariffs. * The rand was on the front foot in early trade as investors took profits on the dollar following a short squeeze on emerging markets. * With U.S. employment data due trading is expected to be subdued, with the rand seen in a range between 12.40 and 12.75. * Stocks opened firmer, with the Johannesburg Top-40 index up 1 percent to 50,283 points. * Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 paper up 3.5 basis points to 8.59 percent. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana Editing by Alexander Smith) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-01T05:48:00.000+03:00|China's markets regulator says still reviewing Qualcomm-NXP deal|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s markets regulator said on Friday it is still reviewing Qualcomm Inc’s ( QCOM.O ) proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ) and is in talks with Qualcomm about ways to eliminate negative market impacts from the deal. FILE PHOTO: Visitors are seen by a booth of Qualcomm Inc at the China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, Guizhou province, China May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) will conduct the antitrust review in a fair and open way, the regulator said in a faxed response to a question from Reuters. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-01T05:59:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Italian bonds rebound on coalition deal, no-confidence vote in Spain looms|* 5-Star, League revive coalition deal * Spain’s PM Rajoy set to lose no-confidence vote * Italy 2-yr yields back at levels prior to Tuesday rout * Italy's 2-year bond yield reut.rs/2Jm6oAc (Adds chart, updates price action in Spain) By Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Italy’s borrowing costs fell sharply on Friday after anti-establishment parties revived a coalition deal, apparently averting snap elections just as focus switched to Spain where the prime minister is set to be toppled. Pedro Sanchez was almost certain to become Spain’s new leader after his Socialist party secured enough votes to force Mariano Rajoy from office in a no-confidence vote on Friday that will throw the political spotlight onto a second southern European state. Still, efforts to end three months of political turmoil in Italy were the main focus in early trade, pushing peripheral euro zone bond yields down for a third straight day. Italian two-year yields, which soared to five-year highs above 2.7 percent on Tuesday in a throwback to the euro debt crisis, retreated back to Monday’s levels. The leaders of Italy’s right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement late on Thursday patched up their alliance after agreeing to substitute a eurosceptic they had initially proposed as economy minister and who had been rejected by the head of state. The coalition deal promises to increase spending and challenge European Union fiscal rules, policies that could limit any recovery in bond markets. “We think the relief rally in Italian BTPs (bonds), stemming from the reduction in uncertainty in the near term, should prove short-lived,” said Antoine Bouvet, rates strategist at Mizuho International. “The fiscally profligate agenda remains.” Italian two-year bond yields fell 45 basis points to 0.72 percent. Ten-year Italian bond yields were 23 bps lower at 2.61 percent, well below multi-year peaks seen earlier this week above 3 percent. The yield gap over benchmark 10-year German bond yields tightened to 223 basis points from around 242 bps late Thursday. Spanish and Portuguese bond yields fell with Italian peers, but Spanish bonds underperformed. Spain’s 10-year bond yield fell 3 bps to 1.46 percent, while Portuguese yields tumbled almost 10 bps. Friday’s no-confidence vote in Spain could bring some volatility but was unlikely to deal bond markets a significant blow, analysts said. “We’ve had a rude awakening of European political risks this week, so the potential fall of the Spanish government would cause volatility but the situation in Spain is very different from Italy,” said Michael Metcalfe, head of global macro strategy, State Street Global Markets. “The parties leading in the polls in Spain are centrists so we’re not getting the proposals for fiscal extremes as we have in Italy.” The rally in southern European bond markets added to a sell-off in safer, top-rated bond markets in the region. In Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy, 10-year bond yields were up 4 basis points at 0.38 percent — above 13-month lows touched earlier this week at 0.19 percent. Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Alison Williams  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-01T07:02:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-European shares jump into June as coalition deal revived in Italy|* STOXX 600 up 0.8 pct * Italian stocks rise 2.7 pct after coalition deal revived * Dialog Semi tumbles after Apple warning (Adds Quote: , graphic and detail, updates prices) By Kit Rees LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - European shares breathed a sigh of relief on Friday with Italian stocks leading the pack after a coalition deal appeared to end three months of political deadlock. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8 percent, while German stocks gained 0.9 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent. Italian stocks rallied 2.7 percent, the standout performers in Europe as Italian banks gained 4.7 percent. Recent political uncertainty has roiled Italian stocks, resulting in a slide of more than 9 percent for the Italian benchmark in May, its worst month since June 2016. However, Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, removing the risk of a repeat vote. Shares in Italian banks Banco BPM, BPER, UBI and Intesa Sanpaolo were among the biggest risers on the STOXX, up between 4.9 percent to 7.5 percent after sustaining heavy losses in the previous month. However, some market watchers remained cautious given that Italy’s anti-establishment parties, the League and 5-Star, are planning to spend big. “Pending better visibility on the new government’s actions, Italian assets may continue to price in some policy uncertainty,” Matteo Ramenghi, chief investment officer UBS WM Italy, said in a note. Elsewhere Spanish equities rose 1.4 percent, shrugging off any jitters as a no confidence motion in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was set to be voted. Away from politics, semiconductor stocks were a weak spot after shares in Dialog Semiconductor plunged 15 percent. The chipmaker said that Apple was planning on cutting smartphone power chip orders, which will shave 5 percent off Dialog’s 2018 revenues. Peer AMS declined before recovering losses to trade flat. “Becoming more positive for the investment case remains difficult due to the uncertainty related to the company’s Apple business,” analysts at Baader Helvea said in a note. Dialog’s shares have slumped nearly 40 percent so far in 2018, following a loss of 35 percent in 2017. Elsewhere shares in Deutsche Bank recovered some of the previous session’s heavy losses, climbing 3.6 percent higher following Thursday’s drop of more than 7 percent in the after a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve last year designated the bank’s U.S. operations to be in “troubled condition”. On Thursday, S&P downgraded Deutsche Bank’s credit rating to BBB+ from A-. Reporting by Kit Rees Editing by Alison Williams  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-01T07:33:00.000+03:00|China's Pengxin in talks to buy Indonesian gold mine Martabe: WSJ|(Reuters) - China’s Pengxin International Mining Co Ltd ( 600490.SS ) is in advanced talks to buy Indonesian gold and silver mine Martabe from a consortium led by EMR Capital, for about $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources. Pengxin’s deal for Martabe, a giant gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, hasn’t been finalised, the Journal reported. Australia-based EMR Capital had spearheaded a consortium ­that bought 95 percent of the mine from Hong Kong’s G-Resources ( 1051.HK ) in 2016 for $775 million. Many companies have shown interest in buying Martabe, which has resources of 7.5 million ounces of gold and 67 million ounces of silver. Pengxin International Mining and Martabe’s majority owner EMR Capital, declined to comment on the matter. The other stakeholders in the mine are U.S. investment group Farallon Capital Management, with a 20.6 percent stake, and Indonesian billionaires Martua Sitorus with 11 percent and the Hartono family with 7 percent. Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru and Muyu Xu in Beijing; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-01T07:44:00.000+03:00|CPUC approves $738 mln for transport electrification projects|May 31 (Reuters) - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday said it would invest $738 million in transportation electrification projects across the state, as a part of its 2030 goal for clean air and greenhouse gas reduction. CPUC approved setting up charging stations and infrastructure to support electric passenger vehicles and trucks. The program, which will be implemented over the next five years, will provide rebates to residents for installing charging stations at their homes and will also set up infrastructure at several sites to support the electrification of medium- or heavy-duty vehicles. An additional $29.5 million was allocated for program evaluation. (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180531.html|0
2018-06-01T08:30:00.000+03:00|RPT-FOCUS-HSBC loses senior European deal-makers as M&A ranking drops - sources|(Repeats Thursday’s story with no changes to text) * More than 10 bankers quit in last 6 months - sources * HSBC ranking in global M&A advisory list slips to 42 * Bankers complain of lack of leadership, strategy - sources * Spokesman says new hires globally outweigh EU departures By Pamela Barbaglia LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - At least 10 high-profile dealmakers in Europe have left HSBC in recent months at a time of record merger activity, after the bank failed to overhaul its investment banking unit and revamp client teams, four sources said. Overall dozens of investment bankers have quit, including senior managers at the bank’s top performing European private equity team, the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The departures reflect a growing sense of frustration over what the sources said was a lack of clear investment banking strategy at Europe’s biggest bank and its failure to rebuild a competitive team on the continent. They also highlight the difficulties European banks face in catching up with Wall Street rivals, whose dominance in investment banking league tables has increased. A spokesman for HSBC said the bank hired dozens of senior bankers recently, significantly outweighing the number of departures. The majority of the hires are based in North America and Asia, according to a list provided by the bank. “We continue to see good momentum across our financing and advisory franchise, taking leading roles in recent high-profile transactions,” the spokesman said. Chief Executive John Flint said in April that he wanted to double down on HSBC’s “pivot” to Asia and China in particular. On Feb. 27, the bank announced two hires in North America to strengthen its investment banking there. Flint will unveil his strategy on June 11 and is expected to announce further investment in China. While there is no hiring spree, the bank is seeking to scale up its presence outside Europe. Some staff told Reuters they left because they felt the European business was rudderless. One of HSBC’s most senior dealmakers in Germany, Norbert Reis, will leave in June, according to the sources. He previously served as head of global banking in Germany. HSBC’s consumer and retail director Patrick Philion and European private equity co-head Umberto Giacometti both quit in May to join Nomura, the sources added. The departures follow the abrupt exit in November of HSBC’s top investment banker, Matthew Westerman, a Goldman Sachs veteran hired with a mandate to shake up the investment banking unit in Europe and revive growth. “BARE BONES” Like most global banks, HSBC had been shrinking its investment banking business following the financial crisis. In 2015 it slashed nearly 50,000 jobs and cut its investment bank by a third to restore growth across its sprawling empire. Westerman’s appointment in 2016 was aimed at regaining market share and competing with U.S. rivals. Instead, he left after 18 months, having cut 100 jobs, and has not been replaced. “Westerman did the clean-up job but had no time to rebuild and reorganise the unit,” said one banker who left recently. “Most teams have been reduced to the bare bones.” Other bankers also said HSBC had lost direction since Westerman’s departure and questioned the depth of its commitment to growing its investment banking franchise. The turnover appears to have taken its toll, with HSBC dropping to 42nd this year in the global M&A advisory ranking from 15th a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. M&A advisory has never been a strong area for HSBC, which is mostly known for its debt capital markets and lending activity. But over the past five years its M&A ranking ranged between 17th and 24th. DEFECTIONS The bank’s private equity and leveraged finance teams have been hit hard by recent defections. HSBC global private equity head Alexis Maskell left in March to join Citi while Bala Ramesh, a director in leveraged credit syndicate, quit in October to join Jefferies. Maskell’s right-hand man Giacometti left in mid-May after 11 years at the bank while Tim Kerry, a managing director specialising in leveraged finance, resigned to join Barclays. Omar Faruqui, previously co-head of European private equity, also joined Barclays in January. Dan Cohen, the head of HSBC’s high-yield trading, left the bank in April to join Nomura while Stephen Smith joined Barclays last year as a director in the high-yield syndicate team. Senior managing director Luca Pietrantoni was among the most recent departures. A number of more junior bankers also moved on in recent weeks, including two associates in the financial sponsors team — Gerald Aichberger and Carol Rusin — and analyst Emiel Khakhar. Some industry sectors as well as regional teams in Europe have been left unstaffed, the sources said. HSBC recently advised JAB Holdings on its 1.5 billion pound purchase of UK food chain Pret A Manger and worked with Dulux paint maker Akzo Nobel on its 10.1 billion euro sale of its specialty chemicals unit in March. But the bank missed out on major roles in some of the biggest deals this year, including Japanese firm Takeda’s 45.3 billion pound purchase of London-listed drugmaker Shire. In a bid to win more M&A work, HSBC is in the process of hiring former Morgan Stanley banker Kamal Jabre, who used to run the Middle East and North African region, as its global head of advisory, a source close to the bank said. HSBC declined to comment on the appointment. It recently named one of its senior bankers, Borja Azpilicueta, as global head of financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and institutional private clients. Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mike Collett-White  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-01T09:45:00.000+03:00|Nikkei edges lower in choppy trade on large cap selling, U.S. trade jitters|TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average ended lower on Friday, as selling in large cap stocks and concerns about U.S. tariffs on metal imports erased earlier gains made after a weaker yen supported exporter firms. The Nikkei fell 0.1 percent to 22,171.35, swinging into negative territory after a rise earlier in the session. For the week, it dropped 1.2 percent. Fast Retailing declined 1.7 percent and contributed a hefty 30 points to the Nikkei, while Kao Corp dropped 3.0 percent and added 9.3 negative points to the index. The broader Topix added 0.1 percent to 1,749.17. On Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent levy on aluminium imports from allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union would go into effect on Friday. Analysts said that the direct impact from renewed worries over global trade war on Japanese stocks remains limited for now. “Trump’s move had been expected so markets in Japan are not reacting to it. That said, investors are remaining cautious as they try to get more clues on trade matters next week,” said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities. Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday called for “rational” debate among G7 nations to prevent protectionist trade measures from disrupting the global economy. Investors are also focused on the outcome of trade talks when U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet on June 7 at the White House. Exporters gained ground after the dollar was up 0.3 percent to 109.14. Toyota Motor Corp rose 2.9 percent and Mazda Motor Corp surged 1.2 percent. Banking shares also staged a rally, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group surging 1.6 percent and Mizuho Financial Group rising 0.7 percent. Olympus Corp soared 4.0 percent after U.S. hedge fund ValueAct Capital became a major shareholder in the Japanese medical equipment and camera maker with a 5.04 percent stake that is worth around $612 million at current shares prices. Editing by Sam Holmes  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T10:28:00.000+03:00|European shares jump into June as coalition deal revived in Italy|(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window) LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - European shares began June on a strong footing on Friday as Italian stocks led the pack after a coalition deal appeared to end three months of political deadlock. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5 percent in early trading, while German stocks also gained 0.5 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent. Italian stocks rallied 2.3 percent, the standout performers in Europe as Italian banks gained 3.6 percent. Recent political uncertainty has roiled Italian stocks, resulting in a slide of more than 9 percent for the Italian benchmark in May, its worst month since June 2016. However, Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, removing the risk of a repeat vote. Away from politics, semiconductor stocks were a weak spot after shares in Dialog Semiconductor plunged 16 percent. The chipmaker said that Apple was planning on cutting smartphone power chip orders, which will shave 5 percent off Dialog’s 2018 revenues. Peer AMS declined 2.6 percent, while STMicro edged 0.8 percent lower. Elsewhere shares in Deutsche Bank climbed 1.8 percent higher following a drop of more than 7 percent in the previous session, after a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve last year designated the bank’s U.S. operations to be in “troubled condition”. On Thursday, S&P downgraded Deutsche Bank’s credit rating to BBB+ from A-. Reporting by Kit Rees Editing by Alison Williams  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T10:31:00.000+03:00|European shares jump into June as coalition deal revived in Italy|June 1, 2018 / 7:32 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago European shares jump into June as coalition deal revived in Italy Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - European shares began June on a strong footing on Friday as Italian stocks led the pack after a coalition deal appeared to end three months of political deadlock. Traders work at their desks at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, November 22, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5 percent in early trading, while German stocks .GDAXI also gained 0.5 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 0.6 percent. Italian stocks .FTMIB rallied 2.3 percent, the standout performers in Europe as Italian banks .FTIT8300 gained 3.6 percent. Recent political uncertainty has roiled Italian stocks, resulting in a slide of more than 9 percent for the Italian benchmark in May, its worst month since June 2016. However, Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, removing the risk of a repeat vote. Away from politics, semiconductor stocks were a weak spot after shares in Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ) plunged 16 percent. The chipmaker said that Apple was planning on cutting smartphone power chip orders, which will shave 5 percent off Dialog’s 2018 revenues. Peer AMS ( AMS.S ) declined 2.6 percent, while STMicro ( STM.MI ) edged 0.8 percent lower. Elsewhere shares in Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) climbed 1.8 percent higher following a drop of more than 7 percent in the previous session, after a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve last year designated the bank’s U.S. operations to be in “troubled condition”. On Thursday, S&P downgraded Deutsche Bank’s credit rating to BBB+ from A-. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Alison Williams|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-01T10:37:00.000+03:00|China's markets regulator says still reviewing Qualcomm-NXP deal|BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - China’s markets regulator said on Friday it is still reviewing Qualcomm Inc’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV and is in talks with Qualcomm about ways to eliminate negative market impacts from the deal. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) will conduct the antitrust review in a fair and open way, the regulator said in a faxed response to a question from Reuters. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk Editing by Clarence Fernandez)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T10:39:00.000+03:00|South Africa's rand recovers from tariff driven sell-off|June 1, 2018 / 7:41 AM / Updated an hour ago South Africa's rand recovers from tariff driven sell-off Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG, June 1 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was firmer on Friday, after a bout of aggressive selling in the previous session triggered by Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports. * At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.41 percent firmer at 12.6450 per dollar from an overnight low of 12.7350. * Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports from key allies provoked a swift response, with Canada, Mexico and the EU imposing retaliatory tariffs. * The rand was on the front foot in early trade as investors took profits on the dollar following a short squeeze on emerging markets. * With U.S. employment data due trading is expected to be subdued, with the rand seen in a range between 12.40 and 12.75. * Stocks opened firmer, with the Johannesburg Top-40 index up 1 percent to 50,283 points. * Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 paper up 3.5 basis points to 8.59 percent. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana Editing by Alexander Smith) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-01T10:39:00.000+03:00|South Africa's rand recovers from tariff driven sell-off|JOHANNESBURG, June 1 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was firmer on Friday, after a bout of aggressive selling in the previous session triggered by Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports. * At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.41 percent firmer at 12.6450 per dollar from an overnight low of 12.7350. * Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports from key allies provoked a swift response, with Canada, Mexico and the EU imposing retaliatory tariffs. * The rand was on the front foot in early trade as investors took profits on the dollar following a short squeeze on emerging markets. * With U.S. employment data due trading is expected to be subdued, with the rand seen in a range between 12.40 and 12.75. * Stocks opened firmer, with the Johannesburg Top-40 index up 1 percent to 50,283 points. * Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 paper up 3.5 basis points to 8.59 percent. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana Editing by Alexander Smith)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T10:58:00.000+03:00|South Africa's rand recovers from tariff driven sell-off|June 1, 2018 / 7:59 AM / Updated an hour ago South Africa's rand recovers from tariff driven sell-off Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was firmer on Friday, after a bout of aggressive selling in the previous session triggered by Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports. A shopkeeper counts out change above her cash box at her shop in Hillcrest, west of Durban, South Africa, January 11, 2016. REUTERS/Rogan Ward At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.41 percent firmer at 12.6450 per dollar from an overnight low of 12.7350. Washington’s decision to impose trade tariffs on metal imports from key allies provoked a swift response, with Canada, Mexico and the EU imposing retaliatory tariffs. The rand was on the front foot in early trade as investors took profits on the dollar following a short squeeze on emerging markets. With U.S. employment data due trading is expected to be subdued, with the rand seen in a range between 12.40 and 12.75. Stocks opened firmer, with the Johannesburg Top-40 index up 1 percent to 50,283 points. Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 paper up 3.5 basis points to 8.59 percent. Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-01T12:02:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-European shares jump into June as coalition deal revived in Italy|* STOXX 600 up 0.8 pct * Italian stocks rise 2.7 pct after coalition deal revived * Dialog Semi tumbles after Apple warning (Adds Quote: , graphic and detail, updates prices) By Kit Rees LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - European shares breathed a sigh of relief on Friday with Italian stocks leading the pack after a coalition deal appeared to end three months of political deadlock. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8 percent, while German stocks gained 0.9 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent. Italian stocks rallied 2.7 percent, the standout performers in Europe as Italian banks gained 4.7 percent. Recent political uncertainty has roiled Italian stocks, resulting in a slide of more than 9 percent for the Italian benchmark in May, its worst month since June 2016. However, Italy’s anti-establishment parties revived coalition plans on Thursday, removing the risk of a repeat vote. Shares in Italian banks Banco BPM, BPER, UBI and Intesa Sanpaolo were among the biggest risers on the STOXX, up between 4.9 percent to 7.5 percent after sustaining heavy losses in the previous month. However, some market watchers remained cautious given that Italy’s anti-establishment parties, the League and 5-Star, are planning to spend big. “Pending better visibility on the new government’s actions, Italian assets may continue to price in some policy uncertainty,” Matteo Ramenghi, chief investment officer UBS WM Italy, said in a note. Elsewhere Spanish equities rose 1.4 percent, shrugging off any jitters as a no confidence motion in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was set to be voted. Away from politics, semiconductor stocks were a weak spot after shares in Dialog Semiconductor plunged 15 percent. The chipmaker said that Apple was planning on cutting smartphone power chip orders, which will shave 5 percent off Dialog’s 2018 revenues. Peer AMS declined before recovering losses to trade flat. “Becoming more positive for the investment case remains difficult due to the uncertainty related to the company’s Apple business,” analysts at Baader Helvea said in a note. Dialog’s shares have slumped nearly 40 percent so far in 2018, following a loss of 35 percent in 2017. Elsewhere shares in Deutsche Bank recovered some of the previous session’s heavy losses, climbing 3.6 percent higher following Thursday’s drop of more than 7 percent in the after a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve last year designated the bank’s U.S. operations to be in “troubled condition”. On Thursday, S&P downgraded Deutsche Bank’s credit rating to BBB+ from A-. Reporting by Kit Rees Editing by Alison Williams  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T12:28:00.000+03:00|China's Pengxin in talks to buy Indonesian gold mine Martabe -WSJ|(Reuters) - China’s Pengxin International Mining Co Ltd ( 600490.SS ) is in advanced talks to buy Indonesian gold and silver mine Martabe from a consortium led by EMR Capital, for about $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources. Pengxin’s deal for Martabe, a giant gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, hasn’t been finalised, the Journal reported. Australia-based EMR Capital had spearheaded a consortium ­that bought 95 percent of the mine from Hong Kong’s G-Resources ( 1051.HK ) in 2016 for $775 million. Many companies have shown interest in buying Martabe, which has resources of 7.5 million ounces of gold and 67 million ounces of silver. Pengxin International Mining and Martabe’s majority owner EMR Capital, declined to comment on the matter. The other stakeholders in the mine are U.S. investment group Farallon Capital Management, with a 20.6 percent stake, and Indonesian billionaires Martua Sitorus with 11 percent and the Hartono family with 7 percent. Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru and Muyu Xu in Beijing; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T12:28:00.000+03:00|China's Pengxin in talks to buy Indonesian gold mine Martabe -WSJ|June 1 (Reuters) - China’s Pengxin International Mining Co Ltd is in advanced talks to buy Indonesian gold and silver mine Martabe from a consortium led by EMR Capital, for about $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources. Pengxin's deal for Martabe, a giant gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, hasn't been finalised, the Journal reported. on.wsj.com/2J2N0Jp Australia-based EMR Capital had spearheaded a consortium ­that bought 95 percent of the mine from Hong Kong’s G-Resources in 2016 for $775 million. Many companies have shown interest in buying Martabe, which has resources of 7.5 million ounces of gold and 67 million ounces of silver. A Pengxin spokesman declined to comment on the matter, while Martabe’s majority owner EMR Capital was not immediately available for comment. The other stakeholders in the mine are U.S. investment group Farallon Capital Management, with a 20.6 percent stake, and Indonesian billionaires Martua Sitorus with 11 percent and the Hartono family with 7 percent. (Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru and Muyu Xu in Beijing; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T12:54:00.000+03:00|RPT-COFCO buys U.S. soybeans but new Trump threats make China buyers nervous|June 1, 2018 / 9:54 AM / Updated 6 minutes ago CORRECTED-RPT-COFCO buys U.S. soybeans but new Trump threats make China buyers nervous Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Corrects amount of U.S. soybeans to at least 10 cargoes instead of 10 million tonnes in paragraph 5) * Worries linger after Trump renewed threats on Chinese exports * CBOT soybean prices down this week on trade tensions By Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - China’s state grains and agricultural trader COFCO has bought cargoes of soybeans from the United States, two sources familiar with the matter said, though future purchases may be jeopardized by renewed trade tensions between them. China last week gave state-controlled companies the nod to resume buying the oilseed, used in animal feed, after Beijing agreed on May 19 to import more goods and services from the U.S., its top trading partner, in order to ease the $335 billion trade gap between the two countries. This was considered a sign that the brewing trade war between the world’s two biggest economies was averted for the time being. However, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly toughened his trade stance this week. He called for tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China unless it addressed the issue of theft of American intellectual property. While it was not clear how many cargoes COFCO booked, one of the two sources briefed on the buying said COFCO and state grain stockpiler Sinograin have together bought at least 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans. COFCO did not reply to an email seeking comment. Sinograin declined to comment. Soybeans are America’s top agricultural export to China, worth $12 billion in 2017. In response to Trump’s new call for tariffs, Beijing warned it was ready to fight back if the U.S. was looking for a trade war. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will visit the Chinese capital from June 2 to 3. Should China’s government decide to pressure the U.S. by rescinding agriculture imports, COFCO may be able to redirect its supply to other countries if it purchased the shipments through its trading unit based in Geneva, Switzerland. “China might still impose measures on U.S. soybeans given the current development of Sino-U.S. trade situation. If the deal was done in Geneva, the cargoes might be traded in the international market instead of being brought to China to crush,” said Tian Hao, a senior analyst with First Futures. Buyers in China remain cautious about buying U.S. beans because of the uncertainty, four traders involved in the market said. A source at an international trading house based in China said enquiries about U.S. agricultural products have increased, but buyers are still nervous. “Even though some buyers wanted to buy from the U.S., we dared not sell. We would want a higher deposit, but buyers would not want to give us that. So still, no trade,” he said. Benchmark soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are set to fall 1.8 percent this week because of the pressure from the trade dispute. Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton; additional reporting by Karl Plume in CHICAGO; Editing by Josephine Mason and Christian Schmollinger|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T13:19:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Investis Holding Buys 10.8% Of Share Capital Of Flatfox AG|June 1 (Reuters) - INVESTIS HOLDING SA: * HAS PURCHASED 10.8% OF THE SHARE CAPITAL OF FLATFOX AG, A ZURICH-BASED START-UP COMPANY * THE PARTIES HAVE AGREED NOT TO DISCLOSE THE PURCHASE PRICE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T13:36:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Stanbic, REPAY, KKR, Richemont) June 1 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday: ** The European Commission said it had cleared ABB’s acquisition of General Electric’s Industrial Solutions business, saying it would not raise competition concerns. ** China’s markets regulator said it is still reviewing Qualcomm Inc’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV and is in talks with Qualcomm about ways to eliminate negative impact from the deal. ** India’s Fortis Healthcare said its board would look at a new round of bids from four local and international parties, after shareholders opposed a previous board decision last month to accept an offer from a consortium. ** Japan’s Toshiba Corp said it had completed the $18 billion sale of its chip unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital. ** Bank of Nova Scotia said it would buy MD Financial Management, a financial services company for Canadian doctors, in a C$2.59 billion ($2.00 billion) all-cash deal. ** China’s Pengxin International Mining Co Ltd is in advanced talks to buy Indonesian gold and silver mine Martabe from a consortium led by EMR Capital, for about $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. ** China’s markets regulator said it is still reviewing Qualcomm Inc’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV and is in talks with Qualcomm about ways to eliminate negative impact from the deal. ** Metair has offered to buy Slovenian car battery maker Tovarna Akumulatorskih Baterij (TAB) in a $350 million deal that would expand the South African auto parts maker’s energy storage business. ** Some 1.14 billion shares of Stanbic IBTC Holding were sold at 53.75 naira each, the stock exchange said on Friday in a block deal valued at about $195 million. ** Realtime Electronic Payments (REPAY) is exploring a sale that could value the private equity-owned provider of payment services to the consumer finance industry at up to $900 million, including debt, people familiar with the matter said. ** Private equity firm KKR & Co LP wants to buy divisions from Japanese companies seeking to streamline their businesses in the world’s third-largest economy, co-Chief Executive Henry Kravis said on Friday. ** Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA said on Friday it is to buy Watchfinder.co.uk Limited, in another sign that luxury watchmakers are trying to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned timepieces. (Compiled by Akshara P and Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-01T13:49:00.000+03:00|JGBs fall after BOJ unexpectedly trims buying in 5-10 yr bonds|TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond prices fell on Friday after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly trimmed its buying of government bonds for the first time in three months. Many market players expected the BOJ eventually to reduce the scale of its massive bond buying, since it now holds more than 40 percent of the market, but the timing was a surprise given the volatility in global markets caused by the Italian political crisis. “Many had thought the BOJ would have to reduce buying at some point. So in that sense, no one is talking up a dramatic narrative that today’s move is a step towards an exit,” said Naomi Muguruma, senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. The BOJ has been reluctant to reduce its bond purchases after a small cut in its February bond buying was interpreted as a move towards an eventual exit from its stimulus, sparking an unwanted strengthening in the yen. On Friday, the BOJ trimmed its buying in JGBs with five to 10 years left to maturity to 430 billion yen, 20 billion yen less than the 450 billion yen worth it had been buying since late February. The BOJ buys those maturities six times a month, meaning it had soaked up 2.7 trillion yen worth per month. That is 500 billion yen more than 2.2 trillion yen of 10-year JGBs the Ministry of Finance sells each month. The BOJ’s massive bond buying has led to scarcity of bonds for market participants to trade among themselves. That illiquidity has reached the point where no benchmark 10-year JGBs were traded on Monday and Thursday this week. “This has become a bond market where a benchmark issue had no trade when so many things are happening around the world. There was clearly a problem in terms of market function,” said Muguruma at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Ten-year JGB futures fell 0.13 point to 150.84. The 10-year JGB yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.045 percent. The 20-year JGB yield rose 1.0 basis point to 0.515 percent while the 30-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 0.72 percent. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano Editing by Eric Meijer)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T14:13:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 1)|BRUSSELS, June 1 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Swiss engineering company ABB to acquire General Electric’s industrial solutions business (approved June 1) — U.S. cable company Liberty Global to acquire Dutch peer Ziggo (approved May 30) — Private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire packaging company Walki Holding (approved May 30) NEW LISTINGS — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-01T15:13:00.000+03:00|Richemont to buy Watchfinder as pre-owned watch market heats up|"ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA ( CFR.S ) said on Friday it is to buy Watchfinder.co.uk Limited, in another sign that luxury watchmakers are trying to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned timepieces. FILE PHOTO: The model Crash by Cartier is pictured at the ""Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie"" (SIHH) watch fair, organised by the Richemont group, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo British-based Watchfinder, with about 200 employees, provides a platform to research, buy and sell premium pre-owned watches, online and through seven boutiques, Richemont said in a statement. Luxury brands have long shunned the second-hand market for premium watches and other luxury goods because of fears that these businesses would impact sales of their products.But several are now looking to break into it, pressured by a sluggish primary market and because they are wary of ceding too much ground to third-parties.Compared to other luxury firms, including high-end clothing and handbag makers, watchmakers might have more to lose by not getting involved, analysts at Berenberg said in a report earlier this year. They cited the greater average markdowns on the price of timepieces compared to other items in the second-hand market, giving watchmakers an incentive to take more control over this business.Switzerland’s Audemars Piguet upped the ante on rivals earlier this year, saying it would launch its own second-hand business, starting with its outlets in its home market. LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of the Hublot, Tag-Heuer and Zenith brands, was also considering launching a pre-owned watch business, a Swiss newspaper reported in March.Many third-party second-hand watch businesses operate primarily online, including Chronext and Chrono24.The Watchfinder deal comes as Richemont, which owns fashion labels like Chloe and other watch brands like Baume & Mercier - takes control of luxury goods shopping platform Yoox Net-A-Porter ( YNAP.MI ) to boost its online presence. “Together with YOOX NET-A-PORTER and our stake in (Swiss duty free company) Dufry ( DUFN.S ), the acquisition of Watchfinder is another step in Richemont’s strategy,” the company said. The transaction is expected to close in summer of 2018, Richemont said, adding it would have no material impact on consolidated net assets or the operating result for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Richemont did not give details on the price of the deal. Reporting by John Miller in Zurich and Sarah White in Paris. Editing by Jane Merriman  "|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-01T15:16:00.000+03:00|Sri Lankan shares end near 5-month closing low; foreign investors buy|COLOMBO, June 1 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares ended largely unchanged near a five-month closing low on Friday as gains led by conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc were offset by losses in large-cap shares such as Ceylon Tobacco Company , while foreign investors turned net buyers of equities. Foreign investors, who sold shares of John Keells, in the previous two sessions, bought the market heavyweight after lower price made it attractive, stockbrokers said. Reports that MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index, which captures large- and mid-cap representation across 29 frontier markets, will remove Keells from its index triggered foreign selling in the last two sessions. Foreign investors bought net 234.6 million rupees ($1.48 million) worth of equities on Friday, but the market has seen a year-to-date net foreign outflow to 1.14 billion rupees worth of shares. The Colombo stock index ended 0.04 percent firmer at 6,401.03, its first gain in five session. It is down 1 percent over the week. “Keells bounced back on foreign buying. Foreign investors are looking at the market with optimism,” said Hussain Gani, deputy CEO at Softlogic Stockbrokers. Turnover was 839.7 million rupees ($5.30 million), less than this year’s daily average of 996.4 million rupees. A weaker rupee, political uncertainty and the recent fuel price hike also weighed on sentiment, with local investors mostly keeping to the sidelines as they gauge the real impact of the floods that killed 24 people in the island nation over the past week, brokers said.. Shares of John Keells gained 4 percent while Ceylon Tobacco Company fell 0.7 percent. The rupee hit a fresh low of 158.80 per dollar on Friday owing to dollar demand from foreign banks and importers, but ended steady on late inflows from remittances. Analysts said market sentiment was dented by concerns over political instability following President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to suspend parliament last month after 16 legislators from his ruling coalition defected. On May 8, Sirisena urged his own coalition government and the opposition to end a power struggle to achieve ambitious goals including anti-corruption measures. ($1 = 158.5500 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Vyas Mohan)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-01T15:49:00.000+03:00|China's markets regulator says still reviewing Qualcomm-NXP deal|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s markets regulator said on Friday it is still reviewing Qualcomm Inc’s ( QCOM.O ) proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ) and is in talks with Qualcomm about ways to eliminate negative impact from the deal. FILE PHOTO: Visitors are seen by a booth of Qualcomm Inc at the China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, Guizhou province, China May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is conducting the antitrust review in a fair and open way, the regulator said in a faxed response to a Reuters request for comment. Clearance for the takeover comes at a time of rising U.S.-China trade tension. People familiar with the matter have told Reuters that approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the unwinding of a U.S. government ban on sales by U.S. companies to China’s ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ). The Qualcomm merger of NXP has been approved by eight of nine required global regulators, with Chinese clearance the only one pending. The U.S. chipmaker, which initially announced its bid for the Dutch semiconductor company in October 2016, refiled its application to Chinese authorities for the second time in April. “SAMR is currently conducting an antitrust review of the case of Qualcomm’s equity acquisition of NXP, and is in discussions with Qualcomm on how to eliminate the negative effects created by this deal,” the regulator said. “SAMR, in line with anti-monopoly law, will conduct this review openly, fairly and impartially,” it said. Reuters reported on Sunday that Qualcomm was expecting to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance for the deal. Qualcomm made its latest submission regarding the deal to SAMR early this week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Matthew Miller; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Clarence Fernandez  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-01T16:19:00.000+03:00|NORWEGIAN STOCKS-Gjensidige gains on Goldman upgrade, Kongsberg spikes on U.S. Navy deal|OSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - * Norwegian shares traded up on Friday * Oslo’s benchmark index rose 0.65 pct, or 5.67 points, to 881.21 points and was up by 7.50 pct year-to-date * The broader Oslo All Share Index was up 0.64 percent * Brent crude futures, a trigger for the oil heavy Oslo Bourse, fell $-0.04 to $77.51 a barrel * Among the biggest firms on the Oslo Bourse, Equinor rose 0.2 pct, Telenor fell -0.62 pct and DNB rose 1.60 pct * Turnover at the Oslo Bourse was 844 million Norwegian crowns and most traded shares were Yara, Equinor and Aker BP * Shares of tanker firm Frontline Ltd were down 2.57 pct to NOK 46.28 after rising 11 pct on Thursday due to better than expected Q1 earning and upbeat comments about outlook * OPEC oil output, which is key for Frontline, fell to a 13-month low in May due to declining Venezuelan production, Nigerian outages and strong compliance with a supply-cutting deal, while U.S. oil production hit a new record in March, data showed * Shares of insurer Gjensidige Forsikring were up 4.20 pct to NOK 131.6 * Goldman Sachs upgrades Gjensidige Forsikring to “buy” * Biggest gainers: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA 7.42 pct, Bergenbio ASA 4.80 pct and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA 4.20 pct * Kongsberg Gruppen’s Naval strike missile system (NSM) picked for U.S. Navy program * Losers: Nordic Nanovector -3.87 pct, Asetek -3.25 pct * Abroad European shares rose 0.74 pct, Japan’s main share index Nikkei ended down -0.14 pct, while in China Shanghai index was down -0.65 pct and Dow Jones index in the United States -1.02 pct on Thursday (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord, editing by Terje Solsvik)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T17:05:00.000+03:00|CORRECTED-COFCO buys U.S. soybeans but new Trump threats make China buyers nervous|(Corrects amount of U.S. soybeans to at least 10 cargoes instead of 10 million tonnes in paragraph 5) * Worries linger after Trump renewed threats on Chinese exports * CBOT soybean prices down this week on trade tensions By Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - China’s state grains and agricultural trader COFCO has bought cargoes of soybeans from the United States, two sources familiar with the matter said, though future purchases may be jeopardized by renewed trade tensions between them. China last week gave state-controlled companies the nod to resume buying the oilseed, used in animal feed, after Beijing agreed on May 19 to import more goods and services from the U.S., its top trading partner, in order to ease the $335 billion trade gap between the two countries. This was considered a sign that the brewing trade war between the world’s two biggest economies was averted for the time being. However, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly toughened his trade stance this week. He called for tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China unless it addressed the issue of theft of American intellectual property. While it was not clear how many cargoes COFCO booked, one of the two sources briefed on the buying said COFCO and state grain stockpiler Sinograin have together bought at least 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans. COFCO did not reply to an email seeking comment. Sinograin declined to comment. Soybeans are America’s top agricultural export to China, worth $12 billion in 2017. In response to Trump’s new call for tariffs, Beijing warned it was ready to fight back if the U.S. was looking for a trade war. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will visit the Chinese capital from June 2 to 3. Should China’s government decide to pressure the U.S. by rescinding agriculture imports, COFCO may be able to redirect its supply to other countries if it purchased the shipments through its trading unit based in Geneva, Switzerland. “China might still impose measures on U.S. soybeans given the current development of Sino-U.S. trade situation. If the deal was done in Geneva, the cargoes might be traded in the international market instead of being brought to China to crush,” said Tian Hao, a senior analyst with First Futures. Buyers in China remain cautious about buying U.S. beans because of the uncertainty, four traders involved in the market said. A source at an international trading house based in China said enquiries about U.S. agricultural products have increased, but buyers are still nervous. “Even though some buyers wanted to buy from the U.S., we dared not sell. We would want a higher deposit, but buyers would not want to give us that. So still, no trade,” he said. Benchmark soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are set to fall 1.8 percent this week because of the pressure from the trade dispute. Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton; additional reporting by Karl Plume in CHICAGO; Editing by Josephine Mason and Christian Schmollinger  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T17:07:00.000+03:00|COFCO buys U.S. soybeans but new Trump threats make buyers nervous|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s state grains and agricultural trader COFCO [CNCOF.UL] has bought cargoes of soybeans from the United States, two sources familiar with the matter said, though future purchases may be jeopardized by renewed trade tensions between them. FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the headquarters of China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) in Beijing, China, November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo China last week gave state-controlled companies the nod to resume buying the oilseed, used in animal feed, after Beijing agreed on May 19 to import more goods and services from the U.S., its top trading partner, in order to ease the $335 billion trade gap between the two countries. This was considered a sign that the brewing trade war between the world’s two biggest economies was averted for the time being. However, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly toughened his trade stance this week. He called for tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China unless it addressed the issue of theft of American intellectual property. While it was not clear how many cargoes COFCO booked, one of the two sources briefed on the buying said COFCO and state grain stockpiler Sinograin have together bought at least 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans. COFCO did not reply to an email seeking comment. Sinograin declined to comment. Soybeans are America’s top agricultural export to China, worth $12 billion in 2017. In response to Trump’s new call for tariffs, Beijing warned it was ready to fight back if the U.S. was looking for a trade war. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will visit the Chinese capital from June 2 to 3. Should China’s government decide to pressure the U.S. by rescinding agriculture imports, COFCO may be able to redirect its supply to other countries if it purchased the shipments through its trading unit based in Geneva, Switzerland. “China might still impose measures on U.S. soybeans given the current development of Sino-U.S. trade situation. If the deal was done in Geneva, the cargoes might be traded in the international market instead of being brought to China to crush,” said Tian Hao, a senior analyst with First Futures. Buyers in China remain cautious about buying U.S. beans because of the uncertainty, four traders involved in the market said. A source at an international trading house based in China said enquiries about U.S. agricultural products have increased, but buyers are still nervous. “Even though some buyers wanted to buy from the U.S., we dared not sell. We would want a higher deposit, but buyers would not want to give us that. So still, no trade,” he said. Benchmark soybean futures Sv1 at the Chicago Board of Trade are set to fall 1.8 percent this week because of the pressure from the trade dispute. [GRA/] (This version of the story corrects amount of U.S. soybeans to at least 10 cargoes instead of 10 million tonnes in paragraph 5.) Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton; additional reporting by Karl Plume in CHICAGO; Editing by Josephine Mason and Christian Schmollinger  |https://www.reuters.com/places/china|0
2018-06-01T17:08:00.000+03:00|Trump says U.S. might prefer separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico instead of NAFTA|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he might prefer to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which the United States is renegotiating with Canada and Mexico, in favor of two bilateral agreements with its neighbors. U.S. President Donald Trump talks with the media as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looks on after a meeting with North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis “I wouldn’t mind seeing NAFTA where you go by a different name, where you make a separate deal with Canada and a separate deal with Mexico. Because you’re talking about a very different two countries,” Trump told reporters. Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by David Alexander Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-01T17:25:00.000+03:00|Mothercare gets creditor approval for store closure plan|June 1, 2018 / 2:21 PM / Updated 35 minutes ago Mothercare gets creditor approval for store closure plan Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Struggling British mother and baby products retailer Mothercare ( MTC.L ) said its creditors approved its proposal to close over a third of its UK stores as part of a survival plan. People walk past a Mothercare store in Altricham, Britain, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Yates Shares of Mothercare were up 7.1 percent at 1355 GMT. Mothercare said it secured creditor approval for so-called company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposals that would enable it to shut 50 stores and secure rent reductions on 21 others. As many as 800 jobs could be lost. The chain has rehired Chief Executive Mark Newton-Jones, who was sacked eight weeks ago, on a lower salary. The firm’s sales and profit have been hammered by intense competition from supermarket groups and online retailers in its main UK market as well as by rising costs, resulting in what the company called “a perilous financial condition.” The CVA route, which allows firms to avoid insolvency or administration, has already been taken this year by fellow UK retail strugglers - fashion chain New Look, floor coverings group Carpetright ( CPRC.L ) and department store group House of Fraser. The company, which was founded in 1849, has stores in 59 locations across Britain and Ireland, including a flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street. Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-01T17:55:00.000+03:00|Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln|June 1, 2018 / 2:56 PM / a day ago Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LAGOS, June 1 (Reuters) - Some 1.14 billion shares of Stanbic IBTC Holding were sold at 53.75 naira each the stock exchange said on Friday in a block deal valued at about $195 million. The deal was negotiated trade between seller Rencap Securities Ltd and buyer Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd. Stanbic IBTC Holding’s shares closed at 46.60 naira. Stanbic IBTC, is the local subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank. ($1 = 315.00 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha. Editing by Jane Merriman) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAnigeriaNews|0
2018-06-01T17:55:00.000+03:00|Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln|June 1, 2018 / 2:56 PM / a day ago Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LAGOS, June 1 (Reuters) - Some 1.14 billion shares of Stanbic IBTC Holding were sold at 53.75 naira each the stock exchange said on Friday in a block deal valued at about $195 million. The deal was negotiated trade between seller Rencap Securities Ltd and buyer Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd. Stanbic IBTC Holding’s shares closed at 46.60 naira. Stanbic IBTC, is the local subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank. ($1 = 315.00 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha. Editing by Jane Merriman) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-01T18:01:00.000+03:00|Rosneft seen quickly recovering oil output once OPEC deal curbs eased: analyst|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft will be able to restore 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil output in just two days if global production limits are lifted, Renaissance Capital wrote in a client note. FILE PHOTO: A view shows a helmet with the logo of Rosneft company in Vung Tau, Vietnam April 27, 2018. Picture taken April 27, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Rosneft accounts for about 40 percent of total oil output in Russia, which pledged to cut its output by 300,000 bpd from January 2017 as part of the global deal with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The current global deal on oil output cuts is valid until the end of the year. OPEC and non-OPEC oil ministers will gather in Vienna on June 22-23 to review the agreement. Russia and the OPEC leader Saudi Arabia have signaled there could be a need to gradually boost oil production to prevent any supply shortages. Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin told Reuters that Russia would be able to recover its oil output within a few months. Rosneft said it has been producing oil within the quotas set by the OPEC+ deal. “That said, the company should be ready to possible changes in external environment,” a spokesman said. Renaissance Capital analysts visited Rosneft’s new Yurubcheno-Takhomskoye oil field in Russia’s East Siberia. “Rosneft’s management during the trip confirmed that the company’s current spare production capacity stands at 120,000-150,000 bpd (due to OPEC+ restrictions), which is ahead of our own recent estimate of 100,000 bpd,” they wrote in the note. “According to Rosneft, it has been able to recover 70,000 bpd of oil production in just two days, with more near-term production upside likely to support its second quarter 2018 results, in our view.” Aton brokerage, which also was on the trip, said Rosneft expected to be able to produce a further 80,000-85,000 bpd on the third day of the process, citing First Vice President Eric Liron. “Mr Liron outlined that his company differed from other Russian oil majors in its approach to cutting production in that unlike most companies that chose to cut brownfield output, Rosneft reduced output at its mature greenfields, while continuing investments into their respective development.” Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Edmund Blair and Jane Merriman  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-01T18:24:00.000+03:00|FDA approves lower dose of Lilly-Incyte arthritis drug|June 1, 2018 / 3:29 PM / 4 days ago FDA approves lower dose of Lilly-Incyte arthritis drug Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the lower dose of a rheumatoid arthritis drug developed by Eli Lilly and Incyte Corp, but declined to approve its higher and more lucrative dose. The logo of Lilly is seen on a wall of the Lilly France company unit, part of the Eli Lilly and Co drugmaker group, in Fegersheim near Strasbourg, France, February 1, 2018. Picture taken February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler The drug, Olumiant, was approved to treat adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to commonly-used treatments known as TNF inhibitors. Analysts have said that a U.S. approval of just the lower dose will limit the business opportunity for Lilly and Incyte. Both the doses of the drug are approved in over 40 countries. Analysts said the use of the drug in only TNF refractory patients could limit use more than expected. The decision comes after an independent advisory panel to the agency voted in favor of the lower, 2-milligram dose of Olumiant in April, and against the 4-milligram dose, citing safety concerns. “The Olumiant approval was a bit worse than the panel’s recommendation,” Morgan Stanley analyst David Risinger said, noting that the vote in favor was for patients who were resistant to methotrexate, another commonly used rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The drug's label here carries a boxed warning, the strictest form of an FDA warning, and warns of serious infections, malignancies including lymphoma and risk of blood clotting. Reporting by Manas Mishra and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Shounak Dasgupta|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T18:28:00.000+03:00|FDA approves lower dose of Lilly-Incyte arthritis drug|June 1, 2018 / 3:32 PM / Updated 5 hours ago FDA approves lower dose of Lilly-Incyte arthritis drug Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the lower dose of a rheumatoid arthritis drug developed by Eli Lilly and Incyte Corp, but declined to approve its higher and more lucrative dose. The logo of Lilly is seen on a wall of the Lilly France company unit, part of the Eli Lilly and Co drugmaker group, in Fegersheim near Strasbourg, France, February 1, 2018. Picture taken February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler The drug, Olumiant, was approved to treat adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to commonly-used treatments known as TNF inhibitors. Analysts have said that a U.S. approval of just the lower dose will limit the business opportunity for Lilly and Incyte. Both the doses of the drug are approved in over 40 countries. Analysts said the use of the drug in only TNF refractory patients could limit use more than expected. The decision comes after an independent advisory panel to the agency voted in favor of the lower, 2-milligram dose of Olumiant in April, and against the 4-milligram dose, citing safety concerns. “The Olumiant approval was a bit worse than the panel’s recommendation,” Morgan Stanley analyst David Risinger said, noting that the vote in favor was for patients who were resistant to methotrexate, another commonly used rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The drug's label here carries a boxed warning, the strictest form of an FDA warning, and warns of serious infections, malignancies including lymphoma and risk of blood clotting. Reporting by Manas Mishra and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Shounak Dasgupta|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKhealth/|0
2018-06-01T18:59:00.000+03:00|FDA approves lower dose of Lilly-Incyte arthritis drug|(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the lower dose of a rheumatoid arthritis drug developed by Eli Lilly and Incyte Corp, but declined to approve its higher and more lucrative dose. The logo of Lilly is seen on a wall of the Lilly France company unit, part of the Eli Lilly and Co drugmaker group, in Fegersheim near Strasbourg, France, February 1, 2018. Picture taken February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler The drug, Olumiant, was approved to treat adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to commonly-used treatments known as TNF inhibitors. Analysts have said that a U.S. approval of just the lower dose will limit the business opportunity for Lilly and Incyte. Both the doses of the drug are approved in over 40 countries. Analysts said the use of the drug in only TNF refractory patients could limit use more than expected. The decision comes after an independent advisory panel to the agency voted in favor of the lower, 2-milligram dose of Olumiant in April, and against the 4-milligram dose, citing safety concerns. “The Olumiant approval was a bit worse than the panel’s recommendation,” Morgan Stanley analyst David Risinger said, noting that the vote in favor was for patients who were resistant to methotrexate, another commonly used rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The drug's label here carries a boxed warning, the strictest form of an FDA warning, and warns of serious infections, malignancies including lymphoma and risk of blood clotting. Reporting by Manas Mishra and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Shounak Dasgupta  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INhealth|0
2018-06-01T19:03:00.000+03:00|Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln|June 1, 2018 / 4:04 PM / 2 days ago Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LAGOS (Reuters) - Some 1.14 billion shares of Stanbic IBTC Holding were sold at 53.75 naira each the stock exchange said on Friday in a block deal valued at about $195 million. A security guard stands at the entrance of the Stanbic Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Luc Gnago The deal was negotiated trade between seller Rencap Securities Ltd and buyer Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd. Stanbic IBTC Holding’s shares closed at 46.60 naira. Stanbic IBTC, is the local subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank. ($1 = 315.00 naira) Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha. Editing by Jane Merriman 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-01T19:11:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 1)|BRUSSELS, June 1 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Swiss engineering company ABB to acquire General Electric’s industrial solutions business (approved June 1) — U.S. cable company Liberty Global to acquire Dutch peer Ziggo (approved May 30) — Private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire packaging company Walki Holding (approved May 30) NEW LISTINGS — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-01T19:18:00.000+03:00|Roche's Perjeta wins approval in Europe for expanded use|ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche’s on Friday won European Union approval for its Perjeta medicine to treat a type of breast cancer whose sufferers are at a high risk of re-occurrence, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement. The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The European Commission backed Perjeta in combination with Herceptin and chemotherapy for post-surgery treatment of adult patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer that is lymph node-positive or hormone receptor-negative disease. The combination was approved in the United States in December, helping to bolster Roche’s position in new medicines as it braces for falling sales of older patent-expired products that now account for about half its drug revenue. Perjeta is one of Roche’s fastest growing medicines, having racked up 2.2 billion Swiss francs ($2.23 billion) last year. Reporting by John Miller. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/healthNews/|0
2018-06-01T19:18:00.000+03:00|Roche's Perjeta wins approval in Europe for expanded use|ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche’s on Friday won European Union approval for its Perjeta medicine to treat a type of breast cancer whose sufferers are at a high risk of re-occurrence, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement. The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The European Commission backed Perjeta in combination with Herceptin and chemotherapy for post-surgery treatment of adult patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer that is lymph node-positive or hormone receptor-negative disease. The combination was approved in the United States in December, helping to bolster Roche’s position in new medicines as it braces for falling sales of older patent-expired products that now account for about half its drug revenue. Perjeta is one of Roche’s fastest growing medicines, having racked up 2.2 billion Swiss francs ($2.23 billion) last year. Reporting by John Miller. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INhealth|0
2018-06-01T19:18:00.000+03:00|Roche's Perjeta wins approval in Europe for expanded use|June 1, 2018 / 4:22 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Roche's Perjeta wins approval in Europe for expanded use Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche’s on Friday won European Union approval for its Perjeta medicine to treat a type of breast cancer whose sufferers are at a high risk of re-occurrence, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement. The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The European Commission backed Perjeta in combination with Herceptin and chemotherapy for post-surgery treatment of adult patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer that is lymph node-positive or hormone receptor-negative disease. The combination was approved in the United States in December, helping to bolster Roche’s position in new medicines as it braces for falling sales of older patent-expired products that now account for about half its drug revenue. Perjeta is one of Roche’s fastest growing medicines, having racked up 2.2 billion Swiss francs ($2.23 billion) last year. Reporting by John Miller. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKhealth/|0
2018-06-01T19:54:00.000+03:00|Tyson to sell Sara Lee, three other non-protein brands|(Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc ( TSN.N ), the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said on Friday it would sell Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and three other non-protein brands to private equity firm Kohlberg & Co, as the company sharpens its focus on its core business. Tyson did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which includes the sale of Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and its breakfast brand Van’s. “We’re focused on expanding Tyson Foods’ leadership position in protein,” Sally Grimes, group president of prepared foods unit, said in a statement. The news comes a month after Tyson said it would buy poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins Inc for about $850 million. Tyson also raised its stake in plant-based protein maker Beyond Meat late last year. Rothschild & Co was the company’s financial adviser on the sale of the brands. Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-01T20:12:00.000+03:00|Richemont to buy Britain's Watchfinder as used watch market heats up|"June 1, 2018 / 5:14 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Richemont to buy Britain's Watchfinder as used watch market heats up Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA said on Friday it is to buy Watchfinder.co.uk Limited, extending its reach into the second-hand watch market seen by some in the industry as a fast-growing business. FILE PHOTO: Visitors are pictured at the IWC stand at the ""Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie"" (SIHH) watch fair, organised by the Richemont group, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Britain-based Watchfinder, with about 200 employees, provides a platform to research, buy and sell premium pre-owned watches, online and through seven boutiques, Richemont said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close in summer of 2018, Richemont said, adding it would have no material impact on consolidated net assets or the operating result for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Richemont did not give details on the price of the deal. Reporting by John Miller. Editing by Jane Merriman"|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-01T20:31:00.000+03:00|MCR closes first fund, aims to spend $1 billion buying U.S. hotels|NEW YORK (Reuters) - MCR, a large U.S. hotelier, has closed a fund with an estimated $1 billion in purchasing power with plans to acquire around 50 to 55 Marriott- and Hilton-branded hotels, the firm said on Friday. The MCR Hospitality Fund LP, the firm’s first fund, has capital commitments of about $300 million and is on track to acquire 25 hotels by year’s end, the company said. Eleven hotels with 1,272 rooms already have been acquired for about $160 million and five hotels with 550 rooms are in the pipeline in deals expected to close by August, it said. MCR buys select service hotels, which offer limited services, from non-institutional investors who do not fully understand the hospitality business, Tyler Morse, chief executive of New York-based MCR, said in an interview. “This is a sharpshooter approach to the fund. We’re doing one thing over and over and over again, and we’re doing it really well,” said Morse, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and assistant to property mogul Barry Sternlicht. “We know where the bodies are buried, we know what works, what doesn’t work,” he said about the firm’s more than 100 acquisitions over the past 12 years. The United States has about 55,000 hotels and MCR would be happy to own 8,000 of them, about 400 of which go on the market any given year, Morse said. The fund will take on about $700 million in debt, taking on individual loans for every transaction, he said. MCR has returned about 18 to 20 percent in the past, when leverage from loans is included, Morse told Reuters. The 11 deals were done at an average purchase price of almost $126,000 per room, which is 20 percent below their replacement cost, the company said. MCR says it is the seventh-largest U.S. hotel owner and operator. The fund’s investors include endowments, foundations, charitable trusts, high net worth individuals and principals of MCR, the company said. Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Phil Berlowitz  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T20:40:00.000+03:00|Richemont to buy Watchfinder as pre-owned watch market heats up|"June 1, 2018 / 5:12 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Richemont to buy Watchfinder as pre-owned watch market heats up Reuters Staff 3 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA ( CFR.S ) said on Friday it is to buy Watchfinder.co.uk Limited, in another sign that luxury watchmakers are trying to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned timepieces. FILE PHOTO: The model Crash by Cartier is pictured at the ""Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie"" (SIHH) watch fair, organised by the Richemont group, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo British-based Watchfinder, with about 200 employees, provides a platform to research, buy and sell premium pre-owned watches, online and through seven boutiques, Richemont said in a statement. Luxury brands have long shunned the second-hand market for premium watches and other luxury goods because of fears that these businesses would impact sales of their products.But several are now looking to break into it, pressured by a sluggish primary market and because they are wary of ceding too much ground to third-parties.Compared to other luxury firms, including high-end clothing and handbag makers, watchmakers might have more to lose by not getting involved, analysts at Berenberg said in a report earlier this year. They cited the greater average markdowns on the price of timepieces compared to other items in the second-hand market, giving watchmakers an incentive to take more control over this business.Switzerland’s Audemars Piguet upped the ante on rivals earlier this year, saying it would launch its own second-hand business, starting with its outlets in its home market. LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of the Hublot, Tag-Heuer and Zenith brands, was also considering launching a pre-owned watch business, a Swiss newspaper reported in March.Many third-party second-hand watch businesses operate primarily online, including Chronext and Chrono24.The Watchfinder deal comes as Richemont, which owns fashion labels like Chloe and other watch brands like Baume & Mercier - takes control of luxury goods shopping platform Yoox Net-A-Porter ( YNAP.MI ) to boost its online presence. “Together with YOOX NET-A-PORTER and our stake in (Swiss duty free company) Dufry ( DUFN.S ), the acquisition of Watchfinder is another step in Richemont’s strategy,” the company said. The transaction is expected to close in summer of 2018, Richemont said, adding it would have no material impact on consolidated net assets or the operating result for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Richemont did not give details on the price of the deal. Reporting by John Miller in Zurich and Sarah White in Paris. Editing by Jane Merriman"|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-01T21:26:00.000+03:00|Tanzania to issue mining licences through cabinet approval|June 1, 2018 / 6:37 PM / 2 days ago Tanzania to issue mining licences through cabinet approval Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala 3 Min Read DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania will issue large-scale mining licences only after cabinet approval, a senior official said on Friday, part of new measures aimed at further tightening control of the industry. The East African country previously issued licences for large-scale projects through its mining ministry, but then delegated powers to a newly-appointed mining commission under new regulations passed in January. Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, is seeking a bigger return from its vast mineral resources by overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector. “The whole government, through the cabinet, will now be involved in approving licences for large-scale mining companies to make sure that national interests are safeguarded,” Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi told members of parliament. “For far too long, our mining laws have presided over the exploitation of our natural resource wealth instead of overseeing investments for the benefit of the nation,” Kabudi added. The government overhauled the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector last year, unnerving some foreign investors. On Friday, Tanzania also announced that it would no longer sign new mineral development agreements (MDAs), which guarantee a stable tax regime for existing mining companies. Foreign-owned mining companies that currently have MDAs in place in Tanzania include three gold-producing mines owned by London-listed Acacia Mining Plc and one gold mine owned by Anglogold Ashanti. President John Magufuli has approved a series of actions since election in late 2015 that sent shockwaves through the Tanzanian mining industry. In July last year, he suspended the issuance of all new mining licences until the new mining regulatory regime was in place. The government has also imposed a ban on exports of gold and copper concentrates. Barrick Gold Corp., majority shareholder of Acacia Mining, is currently at loggerheads with the government after Acacia was banned from exporting gold and copper concentrates, having been accused of tax evasion. Acacia, which denies the allegations, has said it was seeking international arbitration for its investment dispute. It has since launched talks with the government. At Friday’s parliamentary session, Mining Minister Angellah Kairuki said the government’s ban on exports of gold and copper concentrates would remain in force until mineral smelters were built in the East African nation. “So far, 27 companies have already expressed interest to build mineral sand smelters in the country,” she said. Kairuki said the ban on exports of mineral sand was aimed at boosting government revenue collection by adding value to the minerals in Tanzania. Editing by Aaron Maasho and Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-01T21:26:00.000+03:00|Tanzania to issue mining licences through cabinet approval|June 1, 2018 / 6:27 PM / 6 days ago Tanzania to issue mining licences through cabinet approval Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala 3 Min Read DAR ES SALAAM, June 1 (Reuters) - Tanzania will issue large-scale mining licences only after cabinet approval, a senior official said on Friday, part of new measures aimed at further tightening control of the industry. The East African country previously issued licences for large-scale projects through its mining ministry, but then delegated powers to a newly-appointed mining commission under new regulations passed in January. Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, is seeking a bigger return from its vast mineral resources by overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector. “The whole government, through the cabinet, will now be involved in approving licences for large-scale mining companies to make sure that national interests are safeguarded,” Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi told members of parliament. “For far too long, our mining laws have presided over the exploitation of our natural resource wealth instead of overseeing investments for the benefit of the nation,” Kabudi added. The government overhauled the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector last year, unnerving some foreign investors. On Friday, Tanzania also announced that it would no longer sign new mineral development agreements (MDAs), which guarantee a stable tax regime for existing mining companies. Foreign-owned mining companies that currently have MDAs in place in Tanzania include three gold-producing mines owned by London-listed Acacia Mining Plc and one gold mine owned by Anglogold Ashanti. President John Magufuli has approved a series of actions since election in late 2015 that sent shockwaves through the Tanzanian mining industry. In July last year, he suspended the issuance of all new mining licences until the new mining regulatory regime was in place. The government has also imposed a ban on exports of gold and copper concentrates. Barrick Gold Corp., majority shareholder of Acacia Mining, is currently at loggerheads with the government after Acacia was banned from exporting gold and copper concentrates, having been accused of tax evasion. Acacia, which denies the allegations, has said it was seeking international arbitration for its investment dispute. It has since launched talks with the government. At Friday’s parliamentary session, Mining Minister Angellah Kairuki said the government’s ban on exports of gold and copper concentrates would remain in force until mineral smelters were built in the East African nation. “So far, 27 companies have already expressed interest to build mineral sand smelters in the country,” she said. Kairuki said the ban on exports of mineral sand was aimed at boosting government revenue collection by adding value to the minerals in Tanzania. (Editing by Aaron Maasho and Adrian Croft) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAtanzaniaNews|0
2018-06-01T21:26:00.000+03:00|Tanzania to issue mining licences through cabinet approval|June 1, 2018 / 6:27 PM / a day ago Tanzania to issue mining licences through cabinet approval Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala 3 Min Read DAR ES SALAAM, June 1 (Reuters) - Tanzania will issue large-scale mining licences only after cabinet approval, a senior official said on Friday, part of new measures aimed at further tightening control of the industry. The East African country previously issued licences for large-scale projects through its mining ministry, but then delegated powers to a newly-appointed mining commission under new regulations passed in January. Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, is seeking a bigger return from its vast mineral resources by overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector. “The whole government, through the cabinet, will now be involved in approving licences for large-scale mining companies to make sure that national interests are safeguarded,” Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi told members of parliament. “For far too long, our mining laws have presided over the exploitation of our natural resource wealth instead of overseeing investments for the benefit of the nation,” Kabudi added. The government overhauled the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector last year, unnerving some foreign investors. On Friday, Tanzania also announced that it would no longer sign new mineral development agreements (MDAs), which guarantee a stable tax regime for existing mining companies. Foreign-owned mining companies that currently have MDAs in place in Tanzania include three gold-producing mines owned by London-listed Acacia Mining Plc and one gold mine owned by Anglogold Ashanti. President John Magufuli has approved a series of actions since election in late 2015 that sent shockwaves through the Tanzanian mining industry. In July last year, he suspended the issuance of all new mining licences until the new mining regulatory regime was in place. The government has also imposed a ban on exports of gold and copper concentrates. Barrick Gold Corp., majority shareholder of Acacia Mining, is currently at loggerheads with the government after Acacia was banned from exporting gold and copper concentrates, having been accused of tax evasion. Acacia, which denies the allegations, has said it was seeking international arbitration for its investment dispute. It has since launched talks with the government. At Friday’s parliamentary session, Mining Minister Angellah Kairuki said the government’s ban on exports of gold and copper concentrates would remain in force until mineral smelters were built in the East African nation. “So far, 27 companies have already expressed interest to build mineral sand smelters in the country,” she said. Kairuki said the ban on exports of mineral sand was aimed at boosting government revenue collection by adding value to the minerals in Tanzania. (Editing by Aaron Maasho and Adrian Croft) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-01T22:16:00.000+03:00|Trump says U.S. might prefer separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico instead of NAFTA|June 1, 2018 / 7:17 PM / Updated 37 minutes ago Trump says U.S. might prefer separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico instead of NAFTA Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he might prefer to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which the United States is renegotiating with Canada and Mexico, in favour of two bilateral agreements with its neighbours. U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the U.S. Coast Guard Change-of-Command ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis “I wouldn’t mind seeing NAFTA where you go by a different name, where you make a separate deal with Canada and a separate deal with Mexico. Because you’re talking about a very different two countries,” Trump told reporters. Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by David Alexander|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-01T22:20:00.000+03:00|Britain's Mothercare gets creditor approval for store closure plan|June 1 (Reuters) - Struggling British mother and baby products retailer Mothercare said its creditors approved its proposal to close over a third of its UK stores as part of a survival plan. Shares of Mothercare were up 7.1 percent at 1355 GMT. Mothercare said it secured creditor approval for so-called company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposals that would enable it to shut 50 stores and secure rent reductions on 21 others. As many as 800 jobs could be lost. The chain has rehired Chief Executive Mark Newton-Jones, who was sacked eight weeks ago, on a lower salary. The firm’s sales and profit have been hammered by intense competition from supermarket groups and online retailers in its main UK market as well as by rising costs, resulting in what the company called “a perilous financial condition.” The CVA route, which allows firms to avoid insolvency or administration, has already been taken this year by fellow UK retail strugglers - fashion chain New Look, floor coverings group Carpetright and department store group House of Fraser. The company, which was founded in 1849, has stores in 59 locations across Britain and Ireland, including a flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T22:56:00.000+03:00|Nigeria's Stanbic shares traded in block deal worth about $195 mln|LAGOS, June 1 (Reuters) - Some 1.14 billion shares of Stanbic IBTC Holding were sold at 53.75 naira each the stock exchange said on Friday in a block deal valued at about $195 million. The deal was negotiated trade between seller Rencap Securities Ltd and buyer Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd. Stanbic IBTC Holding’s shares closed at 46.60 naira. Stanbic IBTC, is the local subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank. ($1 = 315.00 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha. Editing by Jane Merriman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T22:57:00.000+03:00|Russia, UAE sign partnership deal, aim for stability in oil markets|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates signed a declaration on a strategic partnership on Friday which included an agreement to continue cooperation in the oil and gas sphere. Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (2nd L) of the United Arab Emirates attend a signing ceremony following the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 1, 2018. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS This cooperation is aimed at providing balance and stability on the global oil market, the declaration said. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Polina Ivanova; Editing by Adrian Croft  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-01T23:25:00.000+03:00|FDA approves lower dose of Lilly-Incyte arthritis drug|June 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the lower dose of a rheumatoid arthritis drug developed by Eli Lilly and Incyte Corp, but declined to approve its higher and more lucrative dose. The decisi here comes after an independent advisory panel to the agency voted in favor of the lower, 2-milligram dose of the drug, Olumiant, in April, and against the 4-milligram dose, citing safety concerns. Analysts have said that a U.S. approval of just the lower dose will limit the business opportunity for Lilly and Incyte. The drug is approved in both doses in over 40 countries. (Reporting by Manas Mishra and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-01T23:40:00.000+03:00|Chances of Macedonia name deal in coming days getting 'slimmer': Greek official|ATHENS (Reuters) - A deal between Greece and Macedonia over a decades-old dispute on the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name is not likely to be reached in the coming days, a Greek government official said on Friday. Macedonia and Greece have been holding talks to resolve the long-running row, which has frustrated the tiny Balkan state’s hopes to join NATO and the European Union. Their aim has been to resolve the dispute before an EU summit in late June. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on Monday that he and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov had concluded talks on the issue and their prime ministers were expected to take over to negotiate a final deal. The two leaders were expected to discuss the issue over the phone on Friday. “The chances of a deal within the coming days seem to be getting slimmer,” the official said, adding that Skopje was not “ready to respond” to what was agreed between the two ministers. The call between the two prime ministers was “possibly also drifting away”, the official said. Earlier, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said there were still legal and political issues to be solved. Macedonia’s dispute with Greece dates back to 1991, when it peacefully broke away from Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Athens says that name implies a territorial claim over a northern province of Greece, also called Macedonia. Because of Greek objections, Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations with the provisional name Former Yugolsav Republic of Macedonia, but it has not been able to join NATO or the EU. Both countries are under pressure to resolve the dispute, as Western countries see the integration of Balkan countries into the EU and NATO as a way to improve stability. Macedonia’s opposition has called for a protest against a name change on Saturday evening. Greek activists were also gearing for rallies on June 6 against a possible settlement. Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Additional reporting by Kole Casule in Skopje; Editing by Peter Graff  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-02T00:14:00.000+03:00|Google plans not to renew military deal protested by employees -source|June 1, 2018 / 9:20 PM / a day ago Google plans not to renew military deal protested by employees: source Paresh Dave , Heather Somerville 2 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google told employees on Friday that it would not renew a contract expiring next March to help the U.S. military analyze aerial drone imagery, a person familiar with the matter said, as the company seeks to defuse internal uproar over the deal. The logo of Google is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Google plans to honor what is left of its subcontract on Project Maven, the person said. More than 6,400 employees signed a petition calling for Google to cancel the deal, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in protest at Google’s involvement, according to a second person familiar with the deal. Company executives have defended the contract, saying that its cloud computing and data analysis tools are being used for non-offensive tasks and would help save lives. Tech publication Gizmodo first reported on Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene’s statement to employees on Friday, which one source confirmed. Google declined to comment. Several hundred employees planned to hold a public rally in San Francisco in July to protest the contract, according to one source. Company officials have told employees in recent months that the small deal was seen as a gateway to further, more lucrative government work, the person said. It was not immediately clear whether Greene’s remarks on Friday would alleviate employee concerns and if the rally would go ahead. The company has said it would soon release ethics guidelines for future military contracts. Reporting by Paresh Dave and Heather Somerville, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-02T00:15:00.000+03:00|Google plans not to renew military deal protested by employees - source|June 1, 2018 / 9:17 PM / a minute ago Google plans not to renew military deal protested by employees: source Paresh Dave , Heather Somerville 2 Min Alphabet Inc’s Google told employees on Friday that it would not renew a contract expiring next March to help the U.S. military analyze aerial drone imagery, a person familiar with the matter said, as the company seeks to defuse internal uproar over the deal. The logo of Google is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Google plans to honor what is left of its subcontract on Project Maven, the person said. More than 6,400 employees signed a petition calling for Google to cancel the deal, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in protest at Google’s involvement, according to a second person familiar with the deal. Company executives have defended the contract, saying that its cloud computing and data analysis tools are being used for non-offensive tasks and would help save lives. Tech publication Gizmodo first reported on Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene’s statement to employees on Friday, which one source confirmed. Google declined to comment. Several hundred employees planned to hold a public rally in San Francisco in July to protest the contract, according to one source. Company officials have told employees in recent months that the small deal was seen as a gateway to further, more lucrative government work, the person said. It was not immediately clear whether Greene’s remarks on Friday would alleviate employee concerns and if the rally would go ahead. The company has said it would soon release ethics guidelines for future military contracts. Reporting by Paresh Dave and Heather Somerville, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-02T00:16:00.000+03:00|Google plans not to renew military deal protested by employees: source|June 1, 2018 / 9:19 PM / a day ago Google to scrub U.S. military deal protested by employees - source Paresh Dave , Heather Somerville 5 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google will not renew a contract to help the U.S. military analyse aerial drone imagery when it expires in March, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the company moves to defuse internal uproar over the deal. The logo of Google is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau The defence program, called Project Maven, set off a revolt inside Google, as factions of employees opposed Google technology being used in warfare. The dissidents said it clashed with the company’s stated principle of doing no harm and cited risks around using a nascent artificial intelligence technology in lethal situations. Google plans to honour what is left of its contract on Project Maven, the person said. More than 4,600 employees signed a petition calling for Google to cancel the deal, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in protest at Google’s involvement, according to a second person familiar with the deal. Through Project Maven, Google provides artificial intelligence technology to the Pentagon to help humans detect and identify targets captured by drone images. Company executives have defended the contract, saying its cloud computing and data analysis tools were being used for non-offensive tasks and would help save lives. Tech publication Gizmodo first reported that Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene told employees on Friday Google’s role in the program would end. A source confirmed that, but Google declined to comment. “I am incredibly happy about this decision, and have a deep respect for the many people who worked and risked to make it happen. Google should not be in the business of war,” Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist affiliated with Google and New York University, wrote on Twitter. More than 700 Google employees had joined an online group inside the company called Maven Conscientious Objectors, using it to vent their concerns about the project and discuss ways of protesting against it. Some employees planned to hold a public rally in San Francisco in July, coinciding with a Google conference, according to one source. Company officials have told employees in recent months that the deal was seen as a gateway to further, more lucrative government work, the source said. As Google ventures into new territory, a group of nine people are working on a set of ethical guidelines for any future military contracts. The guidelines will be released, “very, very soon,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in a recording of a staff meeting last week reviewed by Reuters. Maven had an initial budget of $70 million. Google has told employees it was getting less than $10 million for its work on the program, according to one source who requested anonymity because the information has not been made public. Selling cloud computing services, including the object detection tool being used with drone footage, is one of the top areas Google is counting on to diversify revenue. But Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) have won far more cloud business. Google in August 2017 hosted defence executives to demonstrate its artificial intelligence capabilities, according to a document shared with Google employees and seen by Reuters. An internal email sent in October 2017 entitled “MAVEN Kickoff Meeting Notes” quoted Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan as saying during a meeting with Google in Mountain View, California, that he wanted “a built-in AI capability” in all future Department of Defense systems deployed in the field. The email was shared with the Maven Conscientious Objectors and Reuters viewed it on the group’s online forum. Google declined to comment on internal documents and messages seen by Reuters. Project Maven includes several subcontractors. Pentagon spokeswoman Major Audricia Harris said in email to Reuters on Friday that the Pentagon values “all of our relationships with academic institutions and commercial companies involved with Project Maven.” The primary contractor on the project, ECS Federal, did not respond to a request to comment. Reporting by Paresh Dave and Heather Somerville, additional reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Tom Brown|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-02T00:48:00.000+03:00|Tyson to sell Sara Lee, three other non-protein brands|(Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc ( TSN.N ), the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said on Friday it would sell Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and three other non-protein brands to private equity firm Kohlberg & Co, as the company sharpens its focus on its core business. Tyson did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which includes the sale of Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and its breakfast brand Van’s. “We’re focused on expanding Tyson Foods’ leadership position in protein,” Sally Grimes, group president of prepared foods unit, said in a statement. The news comes a month after Tyson said it would buy poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins Inc for about $850 million. Tyson also raised its stake in plant-based protein maker Beyond Meat late last year. Rothschild & Co was the company’s financial adviser on the sale of the brands. Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-02T01:02:00.000+03:00|Tyson to sell Sara Lee, three other non-protein brands|June 1, 2018 / 10:02 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Tyson to sell Sara Lee, three other non-protein brands Reuters Staff 1 Tyson Foods Inc ( TSN.N ), the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said on Friday it would sell Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and three other non-protein brands to private equity firm Kohlberg & Co, as the company sharpens its focus on its core business. Tyson did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which includes the sale of Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and its breakfast brand Van’s. “We’re focussed on expanding Tyson Foods’ leadership position in protein,” Sally Grimes, group president of prepared foods unit, said in a statement. The news comes a month after Tyson said it would buy poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins Inc for about $850 million (£636.8 million). Tyson also raised its stake in plant-based protein maker Beyond Meat late last year. Rothschild & Co was the company’s financial adviser on the sale of the brands. Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-02T01:05:00.000+03:00|Richemont to buy Britain's Watchfinder as used watch market heats up|ZURICH, June 1 (Reuters) - Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA said on Friday it is to buy Watchfinder.co.uk Limited, extending its reach into the second-hand watch market seen by some in the industry as a fast-growing business. Britain-based Watchfinder, with about 200 employees, provides a platform to research, buy and sell premium pre-owned watches, online and through seven boutiques, Richemont said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close in summer of 2018, Richemont said, adding it would have no material impact on consolidated net assets or the operating result for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Richemont did not give details on the price of the deal. (Reporting by John Miller. Editing by Jane Merriman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|1
2018-06-02T01:11:00.000+03:00|Richemont to buy Watchfinder as pre-owned watch market heats up|"ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA ( CFR.S ) said on Friday it is to buy Watchfinder.co.uk Limited, in another sign that luxury watchmakers are trying to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned timepieces. FILE PHOTO: The model Crash by Cartier is pictured at the ""Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie"" (SIHH) watch fair, organised by the Richemont group, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo British-based Watchfinder, with about 200 employees, provides a platform to research, buy and sell premium pre-owned watches, online and through seven boutiques, Richemont said in a statement. Luxury brands have long shunned the second-hand market for premium watches and other luxury goods because of fears that these businesses would impact sales of their products.But several are now looking to break into it, pressured by a sluggish primary market and because they are wary of ceding too much ground to third-parties.Compared to other luxury firms, including high-end clothing and handbag makers, watchmakers might have more to lose by not getting involved, analysts at Berenberg said in a report earlier this year. They cited the greater average markdowns on the price of timepieces compared to other items in the second-hand market, giving watchmakers an incentive to take more control over this business.Switzerland’s Audemars Piguet upped the ante on rivals earlier this year, saying it would launch its own second-hand business, starting with its outlets in its home market. LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of the Hublot, Tag-Heuer and Zenith brands, was also considering launching a pre-owned watch business, a Swiss newspaper reported in March.Many third-party second-hand watch businesses operate primarily online, including Chronext and Chrono24.The Watchfinder deal comes as Richemont, which owns fashion labels like Chloe and other watch brands like Baume & Mercier - takes control of luxury goods shopping platform Yoox Net-A-Porter ( YNAP.MI ) to boost its online presence. “Together with YOOX NET-A-PORTER and our stake in (Swiss duty free company) Dufry ( DUFN.S ), the acquisition of Watchfinder is another step in Richemont’s strategy,” the company said. The transaction is expected to close in summer of 2018, Richemont said, adding it would have no material impact on consolidated net assets or the operating result for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Richemont did not give details on the price of the deal. Reporting by John Miller in Zurich and Sarah White in Paris. Editing by Jane Merriman  "|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|1
2018-06-02T01:13:00.000+03:00|Apple approves update to messaging app Telegram amid Russia flap|June 1, 2018 / 10:18 PM / a day ago Apple approves update to messaging app Telegram amid Russia flap Joseph Menn 3 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple has approved an updated version of the Telegram messaging service, a day after Telegram complained that it had been prevented from getting software improvements into the hands of iPhone owners worldwide. FILE PHOTO - The Telegram logo is seen on a screen of a smartphone in this picture illustration taken April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin Telegram Chief Executive Pavel Durov announced the turnabout on Twitter, thanking Apple and CEO Tim Cook for getting the latest Telegram version “to millions of users, despite the recent setbacks.” On Thursday, Durov had said Apple had refused to allow updates in its App Store since April. Apple has thus far resisted a Russian order that month to remove the application from the store entirely, and the update delay sparked concern that Apple was moving to appease authorities there. Without an update, not all Telegram features worked on the latest iPhone software, and Telegram also said it was running afoul of new European data privacy laws. If the ban had become permanent, Telegram would have grown unsafe over time as security flaws were discovered but unable to be patched through the normal update process. Neither Apple nor Telegram explained the reason for the prior lack of approval or for the reversal. On Friday, Apple did not respond to requests for comment. Apple’s control over the applications in its store enables it to inspect and approve or disapprove of every new version, including updates that fix minor technical issues. If it does not approve an updated version of the software, it cannot be distributed through the App Store. “Russia banned Telegram on its territory in April because we refused to provide decryption keys for all our users’ communications to Russia’s security agencies,” Durov said Thursday. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it needed to guard against security threats. After Russia’s decision to block the popular messaging service, protest rallies in Moscow against what demonstrators called internet censorship drew thousands. Telegram is challenging the block in Russian courts. Governments have stepped up pressure on technology companies to more actively police content in more forms, including applications. In China, Apple recently banned Virtual Private Network applications and removed the New York Times from its digital marketplace. Apple has said publicly that it would notify developers when applications were removed at a government’s request, that it would limit takedowns to specific countries when possible, and that beginning in the second half of this year it would note in periodic transparency reports the number of requests for application removals. None of that would necessarily cover restrictions on updates. Reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco, additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in London|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-02T01:18:00.000+03:00|Apple approves update to messaging app Telegram amid Russia flap|June 1, 2018 / 10:24 PM / 2 days ago Apple approves update to messaging app Telegram amid Russia flap Joseph Menn 3 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple has approved an updated version of the Telegram messaging service, a day after Telegram complained that it had been prevented from getting software improvements into the hands of iPhone owners worldwide. FILE PHOTO: A customer stands underneath an illuminated Apple logo as he looks out the window of the Apple store located in central Sydney, Australia, May 28, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Telegram Chief Executive Pavel Durov announced the turnabout on Twitter, thanking Apple and CEO Tim Cook for getting the latest Telegram version “to millions of users, despite the recent setbacks.” On Thursday, Durov had said Apple had refused to allow updates in its App Store since April. Apple has thus far resisted a Russian order that month to remove the application from the store entirely, and the update delay sparked concern that Apple was moving to appease authorities there. Without an update, not all Telegram features worked on the latest iPhone software, and Telegram also said it was running afoul of new European data privacy laws. If the ban had become permanent, Telegram would have grown unsafe over time as security flaws were discovered but unable to be patched through the normal update process. Neither Apple nor Telegram explained the reason for the prior lack of approval or for the reversal. On Friday, Apple did not respond to requests for comment. Apple’s control over the applications in its store enables it to inspect and approve or disapprove of every new version, including updates that fix minor technical issues. If it does not approve an updated version of the software, it cannot be distributed through the App Store. “Russia banned Telegram on its territory in April because we refused to provide decryption keys for all our users’ communications to Russia’s security agencies,” Durov said Thursday. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it needed to guard against security threats. After Russia’s decision to block the popular messaging service, protest rallies in Moscow against what demonstrators called internet censorship drew thousands. Telegram is challenging the block in Russian courts. Governments have stepped up pressure on technology companies to more actively police content in more forms, including applications. In China, Apple recently banned Virtual Private Network applications and removed the New York Times from its digital marketplace. Apple has said publicly that it would notify developers when applications were removed at a government’s request, that it would limit takedowns to specific countries when possible, and that beginning in the second half of this year it would note in periodic transparency reports the number of requests for application removals. None of that would necessarily cover restrictions on updates. Reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco, additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in London|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-02T02:00:00.000+03:00|Google plans not to renew military deal protested by employees - source|June 1, 2018 / 9:16 PM / Updated 16 hours ago Google to scrub U.S. military deal protested by employees - source Paresh Dave , Heather Somerville 5 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google will not renew a contract to help the U.S. military analyse aerial drone imagery when it expires in March, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the company moves to defuse internal uproar over the deal. The logo of Google is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau The defence programme, called Project Maven, set off a revolt inside Google, as factions of employees opposed Google technology being used in warfare. The dissidents said it clashed with the company’s stated principle of doing no harm and cited risks around using a nascent artificial intelligence technology in lethal situations. Google plans to honour what is left of its contract on Project Maven, the person said. More than 4,600 employees signed a petition calling for Google to cancel the deal, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in protest at Google’s involvement, according to a second person familiar with the deal. Through Project Maven, Google provides artificial intelligence technology to the Pentagon to help humans detect and identify targets captured by drone images. Company executives have defended the contract, saying its cloud computing and data analysis tools were being used for non-offensive tasks and would help save lives. Tech publication Gizmodo first reported that Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene told employees on Friday Google’s role in the programme would end. A source confirmed that, but Google declined to comment. “I am incredibly happy about this decision, and have a deep respect for the many people who worked and risked to make it happen. Google should not be in the business of war,” Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist affiliated with Google and New York University, wrote on Twitter. More than 700 Google employees had joined an online group inside the company called Maven Conscientious Objectors, using it to vent their concerns about the project and discuss ways of protesting against it. Some employees planned to hold a public rally in San Francisco in July, coinciding with a Google conference, according to one source. Company officials have told employees in recent months that the deal was seen as a gateway to further, more lucrative government work, the source said. As Google ventures into new territory, a group of nine people are working on a set of ethical guidelines for any future military contracts. The guidelines will be released, “very, very soon,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in a recording of a staff meeting last week reviewed by Reuters. Maven had an initial budget of $70 million (£52.4 million). Google has told employees it was getting less than $10 million for its work on the program, according to one source who requested anonymity because the information has not been made public. Selling cloud computing services, including the object detection tool being used with drone footage, is one of the top areas Google is counting on to diversify revenue. But Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) have won far more cloud business. Google in August 2017 hosted defence executives to demonstrate its artificial intelligence capabilities, according to a document shared with Google employees and seen by Reuters. An internal email sent in October 2017 entitled “MAVEN Kickoff Meeting Notes” quoted Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan as saying during a meeting with Google in Mountain View, California, that he wanted “a built-in AI capability” in all future Department of Defense systems deployed in the field. The email was shared with the Maven Conscientious Objectors and Reuters viewed it on the group’s online forum. Google declined to comment on internal documents and messages seen by Reuters. Project Maven includes several subcontractors. Pentagon spokeswoman Major Audricia Harris said in email to Reuters on Friday that the Pentagon values “all of our relationships with academic institutions and commercial companies involved with Project Maven.” The primary contractor on the project, ECS Federal, did not respond to a request to comment. Reporting by Paresh Dave and Heather Somerville, additional reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Tom Brown|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-06-02T03:00:00.000+03:00|FDA chief outlines new methods to hurry most cancers drug approvals|Home » FDA chief outlines new methods to hurry most cancers drug approvals FDA chief outlines new methods to hurry most cancers drug approvals June 2, 2018 By Jackky Leave a Comment CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to streamline the approval course of for most cancers medication, reviewing scientific trial information up entrance to verify purposes corporations submit are full. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb attends an interview at Reuters headquarters in New York City, U.S., October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz The new method, outlined on Saturday in a speech by FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb on the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) assembly in Chicago, is a part of an effort to take away regulatory obstacles that drag out critiques of promising new most cancers remedies. The new evaluation course of, which Gottlieb known as a “real-time oncology review,” is already being piloted in quite a lot of purposes for expanded use of already authorised most cancers medication. Gottlieb believes the early peek at information would permit corporations to handle high quality points earlier than submitting their the complete utility searching for approval. If the method succeeds, will probably be expanded to purposes for brand new most cancers remedies. gtag('config', 'UA-114047264-2'); As a part of the pilot program, FDA is making an attempt out a shared utility doc that permits FDA reviewers so as to add their feedback to background paperwork submitted by corporations. The FDA can be taking steps to streamline and standardize the evaluation of producing processes for gene therapies and cell based mostly merchandise, equivalent to new chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, or CAR-Ts, which contain eradicating and altering sufferers’ immune cells to acknowledge and assault most cancers. Gottlieb mentioned such a transfer might allow extra websites, equivalent to hospitals or analysis amenities, to fabricate these cells, increasing remedy choices for sufferers. Currently, harvested T-cells are shipped again to the businesses for processing, and it takes about three weeks earlier than the cells are returned and administered to sufferers. FDA additionally plans to broaden its database on the long-term issues of safety associated to CAR-T remedy to greater than 1,000 sufferers by later this summer season. The data might be used to check potential biomarkers that may predict long-term remission. For extra ASCO protection, see: right here Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment ||0
2018-06-02T03:06:00.000+03:00|Trump says U.S. might prefer separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico instead of NAFTA|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he might prefer to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which the United States is renegotiating with Canada and Mexico, in favor of two bilateral agreements with its neighbors. U.S. President Donald Trump talks with the media as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looks on after a meeting with North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis “I wouldn’t mind seeing NAFTA where you go by a different name, where you make a separate deal with Canada and a separate deal with Mexico. Because you’re talking about a very different two countries,” Trump told reporters. Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by David Alexander  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-02T04:13:00.000+03:00|Petrobras board approves CFO as interim CEO following Parente exit: source|RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The board of Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro approved current Chief Financial Officer Ivan Monteiro to act as interim chief executive officer, a company source said on Friday. Monteiro will replace Pedro Parente, who resigned earlier on Friday in a surprise move that wiped some $12 billion off the company’s market valuation after a national trucker strike drove the government to intervene in Petrobras’ fuel pricing policy. Reporting by Marta Nogueira; writing by Alexandra Alper; editing by Jonathan Oatis  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-02T05:40:00.000+03:00|LIVESTOCK-Bargain buying and short-covering lift CME hogs|"CHICAGO, June 1 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures settled higher on Friday, with support from bargain buying and short-covering heading into the weekend, said traders. CME June hog futures led gainers after investors bought that contract and simultaneously sold deferred months in a trading strategy known as bull spreads, they said. June hogs closed 0.975 cents per pound higher at 77.600 cents. July ended 0.750 cents higher at 78.800 cents. Cash hog prices rallied for nearly a week after hot weather in parts of the U.S. Midwest slowed animal weight gains, delaying delivery to packers, said traders and analysts. On Friday, some investors bought futures after digesting Thursday's news of a potential trade war after the United States imposed tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico. Mexico retaliated with immediate duties on some U.S. pork products. By volume, Mexico is the top importer of U.S. pork, according to industry analysts. Friday's weaker wholesale pork values, along with future's premiums to cash prices, tempered CME hog market advances, said traders and analysts. CATTLE FUTURES MOVE LOWER CME live cattle drew pressure from technical selling and expectations of larger supplies in the weeks ahead, said traders. ""As each week goes by in June, the calendar will take the industry into the heart of one of the most well-advertised 'walls' of market-ready cattle in memory,"" said Cassandra Fish, author of industry blog The Beef. Future's discounts to this week's prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle limited front-month losses, traders said. This week packers paid mostly $110 per cwt for cash cattle in the U.S. Plains, which was nearly consistent with last week's sales. Retail and restaurant featuring of beef for Father's Day could help stabilize the cash price decline in recent weeks, a trader said. Packers are operating plants with record-high margins, which might encourage them to pay more for cattle next week, he said. June live cattle closed down 0.150 cent per pound at 104.900 cents. August ended down 0.325 cent at 103.625 cents. Technical selling and lower back-month CME live cattle futures dropped the exchange's feeder cattle market for a second straight session. August closed 1.075 cents per pound lower at 146.325 cents. (Reporting by Theopolis Waters Editing by Tom Brown)  "|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-02T05:50:00.000+03:00|Tyson to sell Sara Lee, three other non-protein brands|June 1 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc, the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said on Friday it would sell Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and three other non-protein brands to private equity firm Kohlberg & Co, as the company sharpens its focus on its core business. Tyson did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which includes the sale of Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and its breakfast brand Van’s. “We’re focused on expanding Tyson Foods’ leadership position in protein,” Sally Grimes, group president of prepared foods unit, said in a statement. The news comes a month after Tyson said it would buy poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins Inc for about $850 million. Tyson also raised its stake in plant-based protein maker Beyond Meat late last year. Rothschild & Co was the company’s financial adviser on the sale of the brands. (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/funds|1
2018-06-02T05:59:00.000+03:00|Britain won't sign any U.S. trade deal if it's not in UK interest: minister|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain won’t sign up to any trade deal with the United States if it is not in its own interest, trade minister Liam Fox said on Saturday, after U.S. tariffs on metals imports drew a rebuke from one of Washington’s major European allies. Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox arrives for a Brexit subcommittee meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Britain has talked up the prospect of a trade deal with the United States as it prepares to leave the European Union, its biggest trading partner, next year. But Britain, along with other EU countries, Canada and Mexico, has been hit by tariffs on steel and aluminium on exports to the United States. Fox, a champion of free trade, has called the move unlawful and asked Washington to reconsider, but he said it was not a mistake to pursue a trade deal. “If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox told BBC radio when he was asked whether Britain would accept a deal if were on the terms of President Donald Trump. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by David Stamp  |https://in.reuters.com/finance|0
2018-06-02T07:20:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals|* Adidas sponsors 12 teams, Nike 10, Puma four * Nike says 60 percent of players will wear its boots * Adidas sold 14 million balls, 8 million jerseys in 2014 * Russia set to yield lower sales than Brazil (Adds comment from Nike spokesman to May 30 report) By Emma Thomasson BERLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - Adidas can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams. However, the German sportswear brand, which is also the official sponsor of the tournament, expects only a limited financial impact, partly because this year’s World Cup takes place in Russia, where the economy is in the doldrums. “The World Cup in Russia does carry lower financial opportunities than the similar event four years ago in Brazil,” Adidas Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said earlier this month. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fantastic way of bringing our brand to life globally,” Rorsted added. Since the last tournament in 2014, Adidas has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalising on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market. Nevertheless, soccer remains important for the image of the German brand, which has supplied the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a deal to sponsor the event until 2030. It also announced last week it will extend its partnership with the UEFA Champions League until 2021. After Nike kitted out more teams for the first time in Brazil in 2014, Adidas has fought back, this year sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. Nike, which only got heavily involved in soccer when the World Cup was played in the United States in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. “The World Cup is such a powerful moment in sport, and we look forward to amplifying its energy,” Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said in March. NO IRANIANS WEAR NIKE While team deals are important for sales of soccer jerseys, more critical for sales of boots is the sponsorship of top players, particularly the likes of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who wears Nike, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in Adidas. Nike expects 60 percent of all the players heading to Russia will be wearing its boots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians, even though they will be wearing Adidas shirts. An exception is Iran, which faces new sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal. Nike says none of the country’s players are wearing its shoes, while Adidas is providing the team’s jerseys. A Nike spokesman said: “This has no relation to any political situation.” German brand Puma is a distant third, sponsoring just four relatively lowly teams in the competition, compared with the eight it kitted out in 2014, dented by the failure of its top team Italy to qualify. Still, Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden says the World Cup has helped its order book for the second and third quarters. Adidas reported soccer-related sales of 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in 2014, when it sold 14 million official match balls and 8 million jerseys, including 3 million for the winning German team. Sales rose to 2.5 billion euros by 2016, but slipped as a proportion of total Adidas revenue to 13.5 percent from 14.5 percent in 2014. It has not disclosed figures since then. Nike saw soccer sales fall a currency-adjusted 4 percent to $2 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, accounting for less than 6 percent of group revenue. The World Cup could add about 3 to 4 percentage points to Adidas group revenue growth in 2018, lower than previous tournaments due to the fact it is happening in Russia, according to Piral Dadhania, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. However, Dadhania noted much of the benefit occurs before the event as the jerseys have already been sold to retailers. “Any incremental boost during or after the event relating to jersey sales depends on the extent to which specific teams progress through the competition,” Dadhania said. ($1 = 0.8598 euros) Reporting by Emma Thomasson Editing by David Holmes  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-02T07:42:00.000+03:00|More difficult to deal with China trade issues after U.S. tariffs move: EU|WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The United States is making trade concerns related to China more difficult to deal with when Washington ignores World Trade Organisation rules in the case of steel and aluminum tariffs, a senior European Union official said on Friday. The U.S. has bypassed WTO procedures and imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from Friday, hitting Canada, Mexico and the European Union, even though the steel and aluminum over-capacity stems mainly from China. Washington cited national security reasons for the tariffs. (This version of the story has been refiled to fix dateline) Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by G Crosse  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-02T08:40:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Google to scrub U.S. military deal protested by employees -source|(Adds details on Maven, Defense Dept statement, employee protests) By Paresh Dave and Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO, June 1 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google will not renew a contract to help the U.S. military analyze aerial drone imagery when it expires in March, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the company moves to defuse internal uproar over the deal. The defense program, called Project Maven, set off a revolt inside Google, as factions of employees opposed Google technology being used in warfare. The dissidents said it clashed with the company’s stated principle of doing no harm and cited risks around using a nascent artificial intelligence technology in lethal situations. Google plans to honor what is left of its contract on Project Maven, the person said. More than 4,600 employees signed a petition calling for Google to cancel the deal, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in protest at Google’s involvement, according to a second person familiar with the deal. Through Project Maven, Google provides artificial intelligence technology to the Pentagon to help humans detect and identify targets captured by drone images. Company executives have defended the contract, saying its cloud computing and data analysis tools were being used for non-offensive tasks and would help save lives. Tech publication Gizmodo first reported that Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene told employees on Friday Google’s role in the program would end. A source confirmed that, but Google declined to comment. “I am incredibly happy about this decision, and have a deep respect for the many people who worked and risked to make it happen. Google should not be in the business of war,” Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist affiliated with Google and New York University, wrote on Twitter. More than 700 Google employees had joined an online group inside the company called Maven Conscientious Objectors, using it to vent their concerns about the project and discuss ways of protesting against it. Some employees planned to hold a public rally in San Francisco in July, coinciding with a Google conference, according to one source. Company officials have told employees in recent months that the deal was seen as a gateway to further, more lucrative government work, the source said. As Google ventures into new territory, a group of nine people are working on a set of ethical guidelines for any future military contracts. The guidelines will be released, “very, very soon,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in a recording of a staff meeting last week reviewed by Reuters. Maven had an initial budget of $70 million. Google has told employees it was getting less than $10 million for its work on the program, according to one source who requested anonymity because the information has not been made public. Selling cloud computing services, including the object detection tool being used with drone footage, is one of the top areas Google is counting on to diversify revenue. But Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp have won far more cloud business. Google in August 2017 hosted defense executives to demonstrate its artificial intelligence capabilities, according to a document shared with Google employees and seen by Reuters. An internal email sent in October 2017 entitled “MAVEN Kickoff Meeting Notes” Quote: d Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan as saying during a meeting with Google in Mountain View, California, that he wanted “a built-in AI capability” in all future Department of Defense systems deployed in the field. The email was shared with the Maven Conscientious Objectors and Reuters viewed it on the group’s online forum. Google declined to comment on internal documents and messages seen by Reuters. Project Maven includes several subcontractors. Pentagon spokeswoman Major Audricia Harris said in email to Reuters on Friday that the Pentagon values “all of our relationships with academic institutions and commercial companies involved with Project Maven.” The primary contractor on the project, ECS Federal, did not respond to a request to comment. (Reporting by Paresh Dave and Heather Somerville, additional reporting by Kristina Cooke Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Tom Brown)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180601.html|0
2018-06-02T10:48:00.000+03:00|Britain won't sign any U.S. trade deal if it's not in UK interest - minister|June 2, 2018 / 7:49 AM / Updated 9 hours ago Britain won't sign any U.S. trade deal if it's not in UK interest - minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain won’t sign up to any trade deal with the United States if it is not in its own interest, trade minister Liam Fox said on Saturday, after U.S. tariffs on metals imports drew a rebuke from one of Washington’s major European allies. Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox arrives for a Brexit subcommittee meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Britain has talked up the prospect of a trade deal with the United States as it prepares to leave the European Union, its biggest trading partner, next year. But Britain, along with other EU countries, Canada and Mexico, has been hit by tariffs on steel and aluminium on exports to the United States. Fox, a champion of free trade, has called the move unlawful and asked Washington to reconsider, but he said it was not a mistake to pursue a trade deal. “If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox told BBC radio when he was asked whether Britain would accept a deal if were on the terms of President Donald Trump. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by David Stamp|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-02T11:10:00.000+03:00|Iran oil exports highest since nuclear deal at 2.7 million bpd|LONDON (Reuters) - Iran’s oil exports hit 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the Oil Ministry’s news agency SHANA reported on Saturday, a new record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in 2016, and despite the threats of fresh U.S. sanctions. FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf, Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 said the United States was exiting a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and would impose new sanctions that seek to reduce the country’s oil shipments. Iran exported 2.4 million bpd of crude oil in May, SHANA reported, and 300,000 bpd of natural gas condensate. Iran’s oil exports was 2.6 bpd in April. The estimates from Geneva-based Petro-Logistics suggested this week that Iranian oil buyers are not rushing to cut volumes from OPEC’s third-largest producer. The U.S. sanctions have a 180-day period during which buyers should “wind down” purchases. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. European powers still see the nuclear accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and have intensified efforts to save the pact. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on May 23 that European powers must protect Iranian oil sales from U.S. sanctions, and continue buying Iranian crude, if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said this week that he was hopeful that an agreement with Europe would inspire other potential buyers of Iranian oil. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Andrew Bolton  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-02T12:16:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals|June 2, 2018 / 9:17 AM / in 4 minutes UPDATE 1-Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals Reuters Staff * Adidas sponsors 12 teams, Nike 10, Puma four * Nike says 60 percent of players will wear its boots * Adidas sold 14 million balls, 8 million jerseys in 2014 * Russia set to yield lower sales than Brazil (Adds comment from Nike spokesman to May 30 report) By Emma Thomasson BERLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - Adidas can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams. However, the German sportswear brand, which is also the official sponsor of the tournament, expects only a limited financial impact, partly because this year’s World Cup takes place in Russia, where the economy is in the doldrums. “The World Cup in Russia does carry lower financial opportunities than the similar event four years ago in Brazil,” Adidas Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said earlier this month. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fantastic way of bringing our brand to life globally,” Rorsted added. Since the last tournament in 2014, Adidas has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalising on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market. Nevertheless, soccer remains important for the image of the German brand, which has supplied the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a deal to sponsor the event until 2030. It also announced last week it will extend its partnership with the UEFA Champions League until 2021. After Nike kitted out more teams for the first time in Brazil in 2014, Adidas has fought back, this year sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. Nike, which only got heavily involved in soccer when the World Cup was played in the United States in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. “The World Cup is such a powerful moment in sport, and we look forward to amplifying its energy,” Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said in March. NO IRANIANS WEAR NIKE While team deals are important for sales of soccer jerseys, more critical for sales of boots is the sponsorship of top players, particularly the likes of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who wears Nike, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in Adidas. Nike expects 60 percent of all the players heading to Russia will be wearing its boots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians, even though they will be wearing Adidas shirts. An exception is Iran, which faces new sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal. Nike says none of the country’s players are wearing its shoes, while Adidas is providing the team’s jerseys. A Nike spokesman said: “This has no relation to any political situation.” German brand Puma is a distant third, sponsoring just four relatively lowly teams in the competition, compared with the eight it kitted out in 2014, dented by the failure of its top team Italy to qualify. Still, Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden says the World Cup has helped its order book for the second and third quarters. Adidas reported soccer-related sales of 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in 2014, when it sold 14 million official match balls and 8 million jerseys, including 3 million for the winning German team. Sales rose to 2.5 billion euros by 2016, but slipped as a proportion of total Adidas revenue to 13.5 percent from 14.5 percent in 2014. It has not disclosed figures since then. Nike saw soccer sales fall a currency-adjusted 4 percent to $2 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, accounting for less than 6 percent of group revenue. The World Cup could add about 3 to 4 percentage points to Adidas group revenue growth in 2018, lower than previous tournaments due to the fact it is happening in Russia, according to Piral Dadhania, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. However, Dadhania noted much of the benefit occurs before the event as the jerseys have already been sold to retailers. “Any incremental boost during or after the event relating to jersey sales depends on the extent to which specific teams progress through the competition,” Dadhania said. ($1 = 0.8598 euros) Reporting by Emma Thomasson Editing by David Holmes|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-02T12:45:00.000+03:00|U.S. commerce secretary to press China to buy as allies seethe over tariffs|June 2, 2018 / 4:33 AM / Updated 13 hours ago U.S. commerce secretary to press China to buy as allies seethe over tariffs Ben Blanchard , Michael Martina 5 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in Beijing on Saturday aiming to secure more Chinese purchases of U.S. goods and energy, days after Washington intensified pressure in its dispute with China and infuriated allies with tariffs on metals. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross leaves a hotel ahead of trade talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, China, June 2, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Ross did not speak to reporters at his Beijing hotel on Saturday afternoon. He was scheduled to have dinner on Saturday with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, Beijing’s lead negotiator in the trade dispute, at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, a U.S. official said. The two were also due to meet on Sunday. The visit by Ross follows renewed tariff threats this week against China by the Trump administration, and as U.S. allies are in a foul mood with Washington after they were hit with duties on steel and aluminum. The United States and China have threatened tit-for-tat tariffs on goods worth up to $150 billion each. After it had appeared a trade truce between the two economic heavyweights was on the cards, the White House this week warned it would continue to pursue tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, as well as impose restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States and tighter export controls. Related Coverage Britain won't sign any U.S. trade deal if it's not in UK interest: minister Ross, who was preceded in Beijing this week by more than 50 U.S. officials, was expected during the two-day visit to try to secure long-term purchases of U.S. farm and energy commodities to help shrink a $375 billion trade deficit with China. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that China take steps to reduce the gap by $200 billion annually by 2020. The U.S. team also wants to secure greater intellectual property protection and an end to Chinese subsidies that have contributed to overproduction of steel and aluminum. While many countries share U.S. frustration with Chinese trade and economic practices, critics of U.S. policy under Trump have warned that Washington risks alienating the European Union, Canada and Mexico with 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross leaves a hotel ahead of trade talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, China, June 2, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter On Friday, the United States’ closest allies attacked the Trump administration over the tariffs, with Japan calling the U.S. action “deeply deplorable” during a meeting of G7 finance leaders in Canada. While U.S. officials have sent conflicting signals during the dispute with China, one person familiar with planning for Ross’ visit said his aim was to keep dialogue going. Ross is “going there to tread water”, the person said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. “The more Trump is irritating allies and asking Chinese to buy stuff, the better off they are, because he’s not sitting there and attacking the hard issues,” the person said. Those hard issues include what the U.S. complains is rampant theft of intellectual property, as well as Beijing’s support for cutting-edge technologies under its Made in China 2025 policy. Slideshow (2 Images) TECH ON TENTERHOOKS On Friday, China’s markets regulator said it was still reviewing San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc’s $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors. Some people familiar with the matter have told Reuters that approval may depend on progress of broader talks and a reprieve from a U.S. government ban on sales by U.S. companies to China’s ZTE Corp, penalized for illegally supplying telecommunications gear to Iran and North Korea. The Trump administration may soon fine ZTE as much as $1.7 billion as it looks to punish and tighten control over the firm before allowing it back into business, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Reuters reported last Sunday that Qualcomm was expecting to meet this week in Beijing with China’s antitrust regulators in a final push to secure clearance for the deal, but the meeting never materialized and the San Diego-based firm is now waiting to see the outcome of the Ross talks before executives travel to China, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday. China’s exports have mushroomed since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, making it the world’s second-largest economy. It has positioned itself as a defender of the global trade system in the face of a tougher U.S. stance under Trump. “It’s useful and meaningful for China to make allies under the WTO’s multilateral trade system,” said Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank in Shanghai. “However, what the U.S. is saying right now is: ‘I’m done with you, I don’t want to stick with the rules anymore’, and there’s not much we can do.” Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Additional reporting by Matthew Miller and Stella Qiu in BEIJING and David Lawder in WHISTLER, British Columbia; Writing by Brenda Goh and Tony Munroe; Editing by Robert Birsel, Shri Navaratnam|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-02T13:29:00.000+03:00|Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals|June 2, 2018 / 10:32 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals Emma Thomasson 5 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Adidas can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams. Shareholders arrive for Adidas annual general meeting. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo/File Photo However, the German sportswear brand, which is also the official sponsor of the tournament, expects only a limited financial impact, partly because this year’s World Cup takes place in Russia, where the economy is in the doldrums. “The World Cup in Russia does carry lower financial opportunities than the similar event four years ago in Brazil,” Adidas Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said earlier this month. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fantastic way of bringing our brand to life globally,” Rorsted added. Since the last tournament in 2014, Adidas has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalising on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market. Nevertheless, soccer remains important for the image of the German brand, which has supplied the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a deal to sponsor the event until 2030. It also announced last week it will extend its partnership with the UEFA Champions League until 2021. After Nike kitted out more teams for the first time in Brazil in 2014, Adidas has fought back, this year sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. Nike, which only got heavily involved in soccer when the World Cup was played in the United States in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. “The World Cup is such a powerful moment in sport, and we look forward to amplifying its energy,” Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker said in March. NO IRANIANS WEAR NIKE While team deals are important for sales of soccer jerseys, more critical for sales of boots is the sponsorship of top players, particularly the likes of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who wears Nike, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in Adidas. Nike expects 60 percent of all the players heading to Russia will be wearing its boots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians, even though they will be wearing Adidas shirts. An exception is Iran, which faces new sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal. Nike says none of the country’s players are wearing its shoes, while Adidas is providing the team’s jerseys. A Nike spokesman said: “This has no relation to any political situation.” German brand Puma is a distant third, sponsoring just four relatively lowly teams in the competition, compared with the eight it kitted out in 2014, dented by the failure of its top team Italy to qualify. Still, Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden says the World Cup has helped its order book for the second and third quarters. Adidas reported soccer-related sales of 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in 2014, when it sold 14 million official match balls and 8 million jerseys, including 3 million for the winning German team. Sales rose to 2.5 billion euros by 2016, but slipped as a proportion of total Adidas revenue to 13.5 percent from 14.5 percent in 2014. It has not disclosed figures since then. Nike saw soccer sales fall a currency-adjusted 4 percent to $2 billion for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, accounting for less than 6 percent of group revenue. The World Cup could add about 3 to 4 percentage points to Adidas group revenue growth in 2018, lower than previous tournaments due to the fact it is happening in Russia, according to Piral Dadhania, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. However, Dadhania noted much of the benefit occurs before the event as the jerseys have already been sold to retailers. “Any incremental boost during or after the event relating to jersey sales depends on the extent to which specific teams progress through the competition,” Dadhania said. ($1 = 0.8598 euros) Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Holmes 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICASportNews|0
2018-06-02T15:11:00.000+03:00|FDA chief outlines new ways to speed cancer drug approvals|CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to streamline the approval process for cancer drugs, reviewing clinical trial data up front to make sure applications companies submit are complete. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb attends an interview at Reuters headquarters in New York City, U.S., October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz The new approach, outlined on Saturday in a speech by FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, is part of an effort to remove regulatory barriers that drag out reviews of promising new cancer treatments. The new review process, which Gottlieb called a “real-time oncology review,” is already being piloted in a number of applications for expanded use of already approved cancer drugs. Gottlieb believes the early peek at data would allow companies to address quality issues before submitting their the full application seeking approval. If the process succeeds, it will be expanded to applications for new cancer treatments. As part of the pilot program, FDA is trying out a shared application document that allows FDA reviewers to add their comments to background documents submitted by companies. The FDA is also taking steps to streamline and standardize the review of manufacturing processes for gene therapies and cell based products, such as new chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, or CAR-Ts, which involve removing and altering patients’ immune cells to recognize and attack cancer. Gottlieb said such a move could enable more sites, such as hospitals or research facilities, to manufacture these cells, expanding treatment options for patients. Currently, harvested T-cells are shipped back to the companies for processing, and it takes about three weeks before the cells are returned and administered to patients. FDA also plans to expand its database on the long-term safety issues related to CAR-T therapy to more than 1,000 patients by later this summer. The information will be used to study potential biomarkers that can predict long-term remission. For more ASCO coverage, see: here Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill |https://in.reuters.com/news/health|0
2018-06-02T15:43:00.000+03:00|Britain won't sign any U.S. trade deal if it's not in UK interest - minister|LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Britain won’t sign up to any trade deal with the United States if it is not in its own interest, trade minister Liam Fox said on Saturday, after U.S. tariffs on metals imports drew a rebuke from one of Washington’s major European allies. Britain has talked up the prospect of a trade deal with the United States as it prepares to leave the European Union, its biggest trading partner, next year. But Britain, along with other EU countries, Canada and Mexico, has been hit by tariffs on steel and aluminium on exports to the United States. Fox, a champion of free trade, has called the move unlawful and asked Washington to reconsider, but he said it was not a mistake to pursue a trade deal. “If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox told BBC radio when he was asked whether Britain would accept a deal if were on the terms of President Donald Trump. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by David Stamp  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180602.html|0
2018-06-02T15:48:00.000+03:00|Britain won't sign any U.S. trade deal if it's not in UK interest: minister|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain won’t sign up to any trade deal with the United States if it is not in its own interest, trade minister Liam Fox said on Saturday, after U.S. tariffs on metals imports drew a rebuke from one of Washington’s major European allies. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox arrives for a Brexit subcommittee meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Britain has talked up the prospect of a trade deal with the United States as it prepares to leave the European Union, its biggest trading partner, next year. But Britain, along with other EU countries, Canada and Mexico, has been hit by tariffs on steel and aluminum on exports to the United States. Fox, a champion of free trade, has called the move unlawful and asked Washington to reconsider, but he said it was not a mistake to pursue a trade deal. “If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox told BBC radio when he was asked whether Britain would accept a deal if were on the terms of President Donald Trump. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by David Stamp  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-02T15:53:00.000+03:00|China's HNA, COMAC sign deal for 200 C919, 100 ARJ21 jets|SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Group [HNAIRC.UL] has agreed to purchase 200 C919 and 100 ARJ-21 planes from the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC), the companies said on Saturday. FILE PHOTO: The second prototype of China's home-built C919 passenger jet takes off for a test flight in Shanghai, China December 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer HNA and COMAC said in a statement that they had signed a strategic cooperation under which HNA had agreed to introduce and operate the jets in China and in overseas markets such as Africa over an unspecified period of time. It did not disclose financial terms or say whether these were firm orders or options. FILE PHOTO: An ARJ21-700, China's first domestically produced regional jet, arrives at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport after making its first flight from Chengdu to Shanghai, China June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song The Chinese conglomerate, which has been selling assets to raise cash, holds stakes in over ten airlines, including Hainan Airlines ( 600221.SS ), Capital Airlines and Africa World Airlines in Ghana. It signed a deal for 15 C919 planes in 2010. HNA said it had signed the deal to support the development of China’s aviation industry as well as Beijing-led “Made in China 2025” and Belt and Road initiatives, it said. The C919 aircraft is a symbol of China’s ambition to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next two decades, as well as of Beijing’s broader “Made in China 2025” plan to spur home-made products, from medicines to robots. The state planemaker sent the C919 narrowbody plane on its maiden flight last year and obtained approval to begin mass production of the ARJ-21 regional jet last July. In February, COMAC said its total order book for the C919 jet was 815 aircraft, while orders for the ARJ21 stood at 453. Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Andrew Bolton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-02T17:19:00.000+03:00|China's HNA, COMAC sign deal for 200 C919, 100 ARJ21 jets|June 2, 2018 / 2:21 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago China's HNA, COMAC sign deal for 200 C919, 100 ARJ21 jets Reuters Staff 2 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has agreed to purchase 200 C919 and 100 ARJ-21 planes from the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC), the companies said on Saturday. FILE PHOTO: A HNA Group logo is seen on the building of HNA Plaza in Beijing, China February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo HNA and COMAC said in a statement that they had signed a strategic cooperation under which HNA had agreed to introduce and operate the jets in China and in overseas markets such as Africa over an unspecified period of time. It did not disclose financial terms or say whether these were firm orders or options. The Chinese conglomerate, which has been selling assets to raise cash, holds stakes in over ten airlines, including Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines and Africa World Airlines in Ghana. It signed a deal for 15 C919 planes in 2010. HNA said it had signed the deal to support the development of China’s aviation industry as well as Beijing-led “Made in China 2025” and Belt and Road initiatives, it said. The C919 aircraft is a symbol of China’s ambition to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next two decades, as well as of Beijing’s broader “Made in China 2025” plan to spur home-made products, from medicines to robots. The state planemaker sent the C919 narrowbody plane on its maiden flight last year and obtained approval to begin mass production of the ARJ-21 regional jet last July. In February, COMAC said its total order book for the C919 jet was 815 aircraft, while orders for the ARJ21 stood at 453. Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Andrew Bolton|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-02T19:07:00.000+03:00|French-German deal on euro zone 'fiscal capacity' in reach: Le Maire|WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday he was confident of reaching an agreement with Germany this month about creating a joint “fiscal capacity” within the euro zone. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire walks at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer Le Maire and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz are hammering out a roadmap for euro zone reform with the aim of reaching a deal at a June 19 meeting of President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Speaking after a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada, Le Maire said that the fiscal capacity was at the core of the French proposals. However, it is a very sensitive subject in Germany, where concerns run deep that German taxpayers could be left footing the bill for unsound economic policies in other euro zone countries. Though the details are still vague and need to be fleshed out, the French want a joint fund that could be used to absorb economic shocks and smooth out differences between the euro zone countries’ economies. “If you want to reduce the economic divergences among the members of the euro zone you need a fiscal capacity,” Le Maire said at the meeting in the Canadian mountain resort town of Whistler, British Columbia. “We will still have in-depth discussions with Olaf Scholz to try to better understand the difficulties that the German government might have with that idea, but at the end I’m quite sure we will find a consensus and find an agreement,” Le Maire added. The fiscal capacity question is likely to be one of the most difficult issues to resolve before the road-map can be agreed along with a shared bank deposit insurance mechanism, which is also a taboo in Germany, one French official said. The French and German positions are closer on the issue of transforming the euro zone’s bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund and using it as a backstop to help prop up a country’s banking sector if necessary, the official said. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Hugh Lawson  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-02T19:17:00.000+03:00|Greek debt deal will be credible to markets: Centeno|WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Euro zone lenders will put together a debt relief deal for Greece that will be credible to markets and involve a rescheduling of loans from the second Greek bailout, said Mario Centeno, chairman of the euro zone finance ministers group. Portugal's Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Mario Centeno attends a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman Centeno spoke to Reuters after talks on Saturday morning between top euro zone policymakers and the International Monetary Fund on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 financial leaders in the Canadian mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia. The aim was to secure last-minute backing from the IMF for the euro zone debt relief offer for Greece so that it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout on Aug. 20. There was no deal on Saturday, but the euro zone and the IMF agreed to continue talks next week to have an agreement ready for June 21, when euro zone finance ministers, called the Eurogroup, want to seal the details of the debt offer. “We continue to work with the IMF, there are meetings scheduled on our way to June 21st and everyone must be reassured that the decision (on debt relief) will provide Greece with market access ... from the 20th of August,” said Centeno, who is Portugal’s finance minister. After three successive bailouts since Greece lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Athens’ main creditors with outstanding loans of 230 billion euros so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but refused to join in the third, started in 2015, until the euro zone agrees how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Without substantial debt relief from the euro zone, private investors will stay away from Greece, fearing a collapse of its public finances at some point, the IMF argues. ELEMENTS OF DEBT RELIEF PACKAGE There is agreement between the IMF and the euro zone there will be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. In May 2016, the euro zone promised to extend the maturities and grace periods on Greek loans so that Greece’s gross financing needs are below 15 percent of GDP after 2018 for the medium term, and below 20 percent of GDP later. Last June, under strong pressure from the IMF, euro zone ministers said they would be ready to consider extending the maturities and grace periods by a range from zero to 15 years. The average maturity now is 32 years. Many euro zone policymakers see the IMF’s stamp of approval on the debt relief offer as key for its credibility with financial markets. But Centeno thought differently. “I wouldn’t put it like that,” he said. “I think people will be able to read the final package that will be agreed upon and the IMF is going to be involved in the future no matter what because of the huge financial engagement that the IMF has in Greece already,” he said. He said the euro zone planned to consider only the 131 billion euros of loans from the second bailout for maturity reprofiling. “We continue to work within the agreed lines. This means vis-à-vis the EFSF loans that the extension can be up to 15 years. This is what is being discussed. Along with other debt measures that will be also considered now,” he said, referring to the European Financial Stability Facility. Other measures include replacing more expensive IMF loans to Greece with cheaper euro zone ones, returning profits made by euro zone central banks on Greek bonds to Athens and linking the pace of debt repayments to the rate of Greek economic growth. The IMF wants the EFSF loan maturity and grace period extension to be the maximum 15 years. It also wants it to be automatically prolonged for an indefinite period, if needed to ensure Greek gross financing needs stay below 20 percent of GDP. Germany and several other northern European countries would like shorter extensions and no automatic prolongation, but instead quarterly reviews to make sure Greece is not reversing reforms agreed and implemented under the three bailouts. To make sure that Greece sticks to reforms, the euro zone wants to insert a clause into the debt agreement that it would become null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022. Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Paul Simao  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-02T20:10:00.000+03:00|FDA chief outlines new ways to speed cancer drug approvals|June 2, 2018 / 5:15 PM / Updated 21 hours ago FDA chief outlines new ways to speed cancer drug approvals Julie Steenhuysen 3 Min Read CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to streamline the approval process for cancer drugs, reviewing clinical trial data up front to make sure applications companies submit are complete. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb attends an interview at Reuters headquarters in New York City, U.S., October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz The new approach, outlined on Saturday in a speech by FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, is part of an effort to remove regulatory barriers that drag out reviews of promising new cancer treatments. The new review process, which Gottlieb called a “real-time oncology review,” is already being piloted in a number of applications for expanded use of already approved cancer drugs. Gottlieb believes the early peek at data would allow companies to address quality issues before submitting their the full application seeking approval. If the process succeeds, it will be expanded to applications for new cancer treatments. As part of the pilot program, FDA is trying out a shared application document that allows FDA reviewers to add their comments to background documents submitted by companies. The FDA is also taking steps to streamline and standardize the review of manufacturing processes for gene therapies and cell based products, such as new chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, or CAR-Ts, which involve removing and altering patients’ immune cells to recognize and attack cancer. Gottlieb said such a move could enable more sites, such as hospitals or research facilities, to manufacture these cells, expanding treatment options for patients. Currently, harvested T-cells are shipped back to the companies for processing, and it takes about three weeks before the cells are returned and administered to patients. FDA also plans to expand its database on the long-term safety issues related to CAR-T therapy to more than 1,000 patients by later this summer. The information will be used to study potential biomarkers that can predict long-term remission. For more ASCO coverage, see: here Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKHealthNews|0
2018-06-02T20:10:00.000+03:00|FDA chief outlines new ways to speed cancer drug approvals|CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to streamline the approval process for cancer drugs, reviewing clinical trial data up front to make sure applications companies submit are complete. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb attends an interview at Reuters headquarters in New York City, U.S., October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz The new approach, outlined on Saturday in a speech by FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, is part of an effort to remove regulatory barriers that drag out reviews of promising new cancer treatments. The new review process, which Gottlieb called a “real-time oncology review,” is already being piloted in a number of applications for expanded use of already approved cancer drugs. Gottlieb believes the early peek at data would allow companies to address quality issues before submitting their the full application seeking approval. If the process succeeds, it will be expanded to applications for new cancer treatments. As part of the pilot program, FDA is trying out a shared application document that allows FDA reviewers to add their comments to background documents submitted by companies. The FDA is also taking steps to streamline and standardize the review of manufacturing processes for gene therapies and cell based products, such as new chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, or CAR-Ts, which involve removing and altering patients’ immune cells to recognize and attack cancer. Gottlieb said such a move could enable more sites, such as hospitals or research facilities, to manufacture these cells, expanding treatment options for patients. Currently, harvested T-cells are shipped back to the companies for processing, and it takes about three weeks before the cells are returned and administered to patients. FDA also plans to expand its database on the long-term safety issues related to CAR-T therapy to more than 1,000 patients by later this summer. The information will be used to study potential biomarkers that can predict long-term remission. For more ASCO coverage, see: here Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/healthNews/|0
2018-06-02T20:27:00.000+03:00|Iran oil exports highest since nuclear deal at 2.7 million bpd|LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Iran’s oil exports hit 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the Oil Ministry’s news agency SHANA reported on Saturday, a new record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in January 2016. Iran exported 300,000 bpd of natural gas condensate in May, SHANA reported, and 2.4 million bpd of crude oil. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by David Stamp)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180602.html|0
2018-06-02T20:39:00.000+03:00|Iran oil exports highest since nuclear deal at 2.7 million bpd|LONDON (Reuters) - Iran’s oil exports hit 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the Oil Ministry’s news agency SHANA reported on Saturday, a new record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in 2016, and despite the threats of fresh U.S. sanctions. FILE PHOTO: Gas flares from an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Phot U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 said the United States was exiting a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and would impose new sanctions that seek to reduce the country’s oil shipments. Iran exported 2.4 million bpd of crude oil in May, SHANA reported, and 300,000 bpd of natural gas condensate. Iran’s oil exports was 2.6 bpd in April. The estimates from Geneva-based Petro-Logistics suggested this week that Iranian oil buyers are not rushing to cut volumes from OPEC’s third-largest producer. The U.S. sanctions have a 180-day period during which buyers should “wind down” purchases. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. European powers still see the nuclear accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and have intensified efforts to save the pact. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on May 23 that European powers must protect Iranian oil sales from U.S. sanctions, and continue buying Iranian crude, if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said this week that he was hopeful that an agreement with Europe would inspire other potential buyers of Iranian oil. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Andrew Bolton  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180602.html|0
2018-06-02T23:38:00.000+03:00|NASCAR notebook: Busch’s track sweep is a done deal - for now|LONG POND, Pa. - Kyle Busch completed an unprecedented, monumental feat last Sunday in winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jun 2, 2018; Long Pond, PA, USA; NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Kyle Busch (18) celebrates after winning the Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports The victory gave the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs racing Toyota a win at every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series track at which he has competed. Only one problem. Busch expects the accomplishment to be short-lived. With the addition of the road course at Charlotte this fall for the first elimination race in the Playoff, Busch expects the arbiters of the sport — whoever they may be — to demand that he take the checkered flag on the “new and different” track. “Everybody wants to make my life more difficult,” quipped Busch, who was fastest in Saturday’s final practice for Sunday’s Pocono 400 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “So I’m sure that I won’t be credited for all the race tracks once the Roval gets here, so that would certainly be the next one that comes up. “It’s in the same vicinity. Richard Petty has won 13 races at Richmond, right, but nobody characterizes the dirt track versus the pavement track being different.” In fact, Petty won on three different iterations of Richmond Raceway, both on dirt and pavement, but never on the current .75-mile configuration. But a big item on Busch’s bucket list is a race Petty won seven times. “It’s my life, so we’ll just keep going, keep trying to win in it, and the Roval is next,” Busch said. “And then after that, it’s about the Daytona 500 and trying to get that one. “It took another guy that’s very, very popular (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) 20 years to get it done, so I’d like to think it won’t take me that long, although I’m creeping up on that number. So we’ll see how soon we can get that one accomplished.” CHANGE IN TEAM AND EMPHASIS HAS IMPROVED KEVIN HARVICK’S QUALIFYING In 13 years with Richard Childress racing, Kevin Harvick won six poles. When he moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Harvick won eight poles in his first season with the team. With SHR, Harvick is a threat to win the top starting spot wherever he races. He has five front-row starts this year, including two poles, and has qualified in the top 10 in all but two of 14 races. In those two events, Harvick never made a qualifying run — at Bristol after a wreck in practice forced him to a backup car, and at Charlotte when his No. 4 Ford failed to clear pre-qualifying Inspection. To Harvick, the dramatic shift in results from time trials is primarily about priorities, both on his part and on the part of his organization. “It is really just preparation,” Harvick said on Friday after qualifying second for Sunday’s Pocono 400 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “For me, in my previous life, it was about not worrying about qualifying and just get what you can get and go from there. The emphasis was different when I came to SHR, and the difference was that there was a lot of preparation and time spent in the differences of the setups and things you needed to do. “The expectations were much different. When the expectations are different, it makes you think about things differently. There are two different processes. For me, I feel like I can do what I need to do on the race track for the race, but I prepare more for qualifying on a weekend more than I do a race, if that tells you the emphasis they put on it.” DAVID RAGAN TESTS “ALL-STAR PACKAGE,” FAVORS IT FOR CERTAIN TRACKS Given the strong buzz about the higher-downforce, restrictor-plate competition package used for the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race in May, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the configuration would get additional test — sooner rather than later. That happened on Tuesday and Wednesday at Michigan International Speedway in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series manufacturers’ wheel-force test at the two-mile track. David Ragan drove a Ford, Justin Allgaier a Chevrolet and Drew Herring a Toyota. “They’ve got a new tire for Michigan, so the manufacturers elected to use one of our wheel-force tests to go up, and we ran some laps with the current aero package, and we ran some laps with the new All-Star package,” Ragan said. “I felt like, with just three cars there, it’s really hard to get a really good read on what kind of draft you would have, what kind of ability you would have to pass cars. “But I felt like it was similar to Charlotte. The cars drove really good. You could stay in the throttle. You felt like you were definitely going slower, but it did create a little bit of a draft, and it bunched everybody up. We only had three cars there, but we did run some together, and it was pretty easy to stay caught up with the person in front of you, and you could feel a pretty good draft going down the straightaway, and you could make up three or four car-lengths pretty easy.” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said in an interview on FS1 Saturday morning that the package could be used in as many as three Cup points races this year to evaluate its possible viability for certain tracks in 2019. “For us, it’s making sure everybody has had enough time to look at it, has enough time to evaluate it,” O’Donnell said. “If you look back at it, we really only ran it last year at Indy (Xfinity) and the All-Star Race, and this weekend is the first-time in Xfinity at Pocono. “Taking all that data and evaluating if this is right direction to go is the first step.” Ragan believes certain minor changes to the All-Star package could facilitate the ability to pass. “I feel like they’ve got to tweak the package to allow a car that does get a run the ability to get out of line and continue with that run,” Ragan said. “Sometimes, at the All-Star race, a car in front of us would lift, and we would get a run, and you would pull out to pass, and you would still get stalled out. “I think there are probably some different variations of spoiler height, maybe the front ducts or maybe a gear to tweak. The thought process behind the package would be ideal at some race tracks, but I don’t think it would work at every race track — at some race tracks, we don’t need anything different from what we have now.” —By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/sportsNews|0
2018-06-02T23:51:00.000+03:00|French-German deal on euro zone 'fiscal capacity' in reach - Le Maire|WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday he was confident of reaching an agreement with Germany this month about creating a joint “fiscal capacity” within the euro zone. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire walks at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer Le Maire and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz are hammering out a roadmap for euro zone reform with the aim of reaching a deal at a June 19 meeting of President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Speaking after a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada, Le Maire said that the fiscal capacity was at the core of the French proposals. However, it is a very sensitive subject in Germany, where concerns run deep that German taxpayers could be left footing the bill for unsound economic policies in other euro zone countries. Though the details are still vague and need to be fleshed out, the French want a joint fund that could be used to absorb economic shocks and smooth out differences between the euro zone countries’ economies. “If you want to reduce the economic divergences among the members of the euro zone you need a fiscal capacity,” Le Maire said at the meeting in the Canadian mountain resort town of Whistler, British Columbia. “We will still have in-depth discussions with Olaf Scholz to try to better understand the difficulties that the German government might have with that idea, but at the end I’m quite sure we will find a consensus and find an agreement,” Le Maire added. The fiscal capacity question is likely to be one of the most difficult issues to resolve before the road-map can be agreed along with a shared bank deposit insurance mechanism, which is also a taboo in Germany, one French official said. The French and German positions are closer on the issue of transforming the euro zone’s bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund and using it as a backstop to help prop up a country’s banking sector if necessary, the official said. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Hugh Lawson  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-03T00:01:00.000+03:00|French-German deal on euro zone 'fiscal capacity' in reach - Le Maire|June 2, 2018 / 9:02 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago French-German deal on euro zone 'fiscal capacity' in reach - Le Maire Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday he was confident of reaching an agreement with Germany this month about creating a joint “fiscal capacity” within the euro zone. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Le Maire and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz are hammering out a roadmap for euro zone reform with the aim of reaching a deal at a June 19 meeting of President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Speaking after a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada, Le Maire said that the fiscal capacity was at the core of the French proposals. However, it is a very sensitive subject in Germany, where concerns run deep that German taxpayers could be left footing the bill for unsound economic policies in other euro zone countries. Though the details are still vague and need to be fleshed out, the French want a joint fund that could be used to absorb economic shocks and smooth out differences between the euro zone countries’ economies. “If you want to reduce the economic divergences among the members of the euro zone you need a fiscal capacity,” Le Maire said at the meeting in the Canadian mountain resort town of Whistler, British Columbia. “We will still have in-depth discussions with Olaf Scholz to try to better understand the difficulties that the German government might have with that idea, but at the end I’m quite sure we will find a consensus and find an agreement,” Le Maire added. The fiscal capacity question is likely to be one of the most difficult issues to resolve before the road-map can be agreed along with a shared bank deposit insurance mechanism, which is also a taboo in Germany, one French official said. The French and German positions are closer on the issue of transforming the euro zone’s bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund and using it as a backstop to help prop up a country’s banking sector if necessary, the official said. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Hugh Lawson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-03T00:21:00.000+03:00|Greek debt deal will be credible to markets - Centeno|"June 2, 2018 / 9:22 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago Greek debt deal will be credible to markets - Centeno Jan Strupczewski 5 Min Read WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Euro zone lenders will put together a debt relief deal for Greece that will be credible to markets and involve a rescheduling of loans from the second Greek bailout, said Mario Centeno, chairman of the euro zone finance ministers group. Eurogroup President Mario Centeno speaks during a panel entitled ""Reforming the Euro Area: Views from Inside and Outside of Europe"" during IMF spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein Centeno spoke to Reuters after talks on Saturday morning between top euro zone policymakers and the International Monetary Fund on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 financial leaders in the Canadian mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia. The aim was to secure last-minute backing from the IMF for the euro zone debt relief offer for Greece so that it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout on Aug. 20. There was no deal on Saturday, but the euro zone and the IMF agreed to continue talks next week to have an agreement ready for June 21, when euro zone finance ministers, called the Eurogroup, want to seal the details of the debt offer. “We continue to work with the IMF, there are meetings scheduled on our way to June 21st and everyone must be reassured that the decision (on debt relief) will provide Greece with market access ... from the 20th of August,” said Centeno, who is Portugal’s finance minister. After three successive bailouts since Greece lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Athens’ main creditors with outstanding loans of 230 billion euros so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but refused to join in the third, started in 2015, until the euro zone agrees how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Without substantial debt relief from the euro zone, private investors will stay away from Greece, fearing a collapse of its public finances at some point, the IMF argues. ELEMENTS OF DEBT RELIEF PACKAGE There is agreement between the IMF and the euro zone there will be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. In May 2016, the euro zone promised to extend the maturities and grace periods on Greek loans so that Greece’s gross financing needs are below 15 percent of GDP after 2018 for the medium term, and below 20 percent of GDP later. Last June, under strong pressure from the IMF, euro zone ministers said they would be ready to consider extending the maturities and grace periods by a range from zero to 15 years. The average maturity now is 32 years. Many euro zone policymakers see the IMF’s stamp of approval on the debt relief offer as key for its credibility with financial markets. But Centeno thought differently. “I wouldn’t put it like that,” he said. “I think people will be able to read the final package that will be agreed upon and the IMF is going to be involved in the future no matter what because of the huge financial engagement that the IMF has in Greece already,” he said. He said the euro zone planned to consider only the 131 billion euros of loans from the second bailout for maturity reprofiling. “We continue to work within the agreed lines. This means vis-à-vis the EFSF loans that the extension can be up to 15 years. This is what is being discussed. Along with other debt measures that will be also considered now,” he said, referring to the European Financial Stability Facility. Other measures include replacing more expensive IMF loans to Greece with cheaper euro zone ones, returning profits made by euro zone central banks on Greek bonds to Athens and linking the pace of debt repayments to the rate of Greek economic growth. The IMF wants the EFSF loan maturity and grace period extension to be the maximum 15 years. It also wants it to be automatically prolonged for an indefinite period, if needed to ensure Greek gross financing needs stay below 20 percent of GDP. Germany and several other northern European countries would like shorter extensions and no automatic prolongation, but instead quarterly reviews to make sure Greece is not reversing reforms agreed and implemented under the three bailouts. To make sure that Greece sticks to reforms, the euro zone wants to insert a clause into the debt agreement that it would become null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022. Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Paul Simao"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-03T05:15:00.000+03:00|Greek debt deal will be credible to markets: Centeno|WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Euro zone lenders will put together a debt relief deal for Greece that will be credible to markets and involve a rescheduling of loans from the second Greek bailout, said Mario Centeno, chairman of the euro zone finance ministers group. Portugal's Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Mario Centeno attends a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman Centeno spoke to Reuters after talks on Saturday morning between top euro zone policymakers and the International Monetary Fund on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 financial leaders in the Canadian mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia. The aim was to secure last-minute backing from the IMF for the euro zone debt relief offer for Greece so that it is credible with markets and draws investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout on Aug. 20. There was no deal on Saturday, but the euro zone and the IMF agreed to continue talks next week to have an agreement ready for June 21, when euro zone finance ministers, called the Eurogroup, want to seal the details of the debt offer. “We continue to work with the IMF, there are meetings scheduled on our way to June 21st and everyone must be reassured that the decision (on debt relief) will provide Greece with market access ... from the 20th of August,” said Centeno, who is Portugal’s finance minister. After three successive bailouts since Greece lost market access in 2010, euro zone governments are now Athens’ main creditors with outstanding loans of 230 billion euros so far. The IMF took part in the first two bailouts, but refused to join in the third, started in 2015, until the euro zone agrees how to make Greek debt, now at 179 percent of GDP, sustainable. Without substantial debt relief from the euro zone, private investors will stay away from Greece, fearing a collapse of its public finances at some point, the IMF argues. ELEMENTS OF DEBT RELIEF PACKAGE There is agreement between the IMF and the euro zone there will be no “haircut” - a reduction in the principal of the debt - but only an extension of maturities and grace periods. In May 2016, the euro zone promised to extend the maturities and grace periods on Greek loans so that Greece’s gross financing needs are below 15 percent of GDP after 2018 for the medium term, and below 20 percent of GDP later. Last June, under strong pressure from the IMF, euro zone ministers said they would be ready to consider extending the maturities and grace periods by a range from zero to 15 years. The average maturity now is 32 years. Many euro zone policymakers see the IMF’s stamp of approval on the debt relief offer as key for its credibility with financial markets. But Centeno thought differently. “I wouldn’t put it like that,” he said. “I think people will be able to read the final package that will be agreed upon and the IMF is going to be involved in the future no matter what because of the huge financial engagement that the IMF has in Greece already,” he said. He said the euro zone planned to consider only the 131 billion euros of loans from the second bailout for maturity reprofiling. “We continue to work within the agreed lines. This means vis-à-vis the EFSF loans that the extension can be up to 15 years. This is what is being discussed. Along with other debt measures that will be also considered now,” he said, referring to the European Financial Stability Facility. Other measures include replacing more expensive IMF loans to Greece with cheaper euro zone ones, returning profits made by euro zone central banks on Greek bonds to Athens and linking the pace of debt repayments to the rate of Greek economic growth. The IMF wants the EFSF loan maturity and grace period extension to be the maximum 15 years. It also wants it to be automatically prolonged for an indefinite period, if needed to ensure Greek gross financing needs stay below 20 percent of GDP. Germany and several other northern European countries would like shorter extensions and no automatic prolongation, but instead quarterly reviews to make sure Greece is not reversing reforms agreed and implemented under the three bailouts. To make sure that Greece sticks to reforms, the euro zone wants to insert a clause into the debt agreement that it would become null and void unless Greece keeps its primary surplus at 3.5 percent of GDP until at least 2022. Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Paul Simao  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180602.html|0
2018-06-03T11:24:00.000+03:00|Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday - report|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. The German drugmaker had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities, it said in a statement on Monday. “Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it said. Bayer launched a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for the deal, shortly after clearing the last major antitrust hurdle in the United States. The deal is the first of a trio of major U.S.-German merger deals to cross the finish line at a time of harsh criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump of Germany’s trade surplus with the United States. FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas, Venezuela March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile U.S. plans to merge with Sprint for $26 billion, while industrial gases makers Linde and Praxair are also seeking to combine. Bayer was expected to rid itself of the target’s name. Monsanto, the largest - though not the only - maker of genetically modified seeds, has been a lightning rod for environmentalists’ opposition to the technology. The U.S. seed maker has also drawn criticism for pursuing its intellectual property rights with farmers, many of which depend on its seeds, more aggressively than its peers. FILE PHOTO: A woman uses a Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller spray without glyphosate in a garden in Ercuis near Paris, France, May 6, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier “We aim to deepen our dialogue with society. We will listen to our critics and work together where we find common ground. Agriculture is too important to allow ideological differences to bring progress to a standstill,” Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann said in the statement. The companies’ separately listed Indian units, Bayer CropScience Ltd. and Monsanto India Ltd., will continue to operate independently for the time being, Bayer said in a separate statement. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan/Keith Weir  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/economy|1
2018-06-03T14:52:00.000+03:00|Israel's Enlight in talks to buy 300 megawatt wind farm in Europe|JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel’s Enlight Renewable Energy said on Sunday it is in talks to buy a 300 megawatt wind energy project in western Europe. The company did not identify the seller of the wind farm, which is in late-stage development. It said it would likely invest a total of 320-350 million euros ($373-$408 million) in the project. Enlight estimated the capital requirement would be 40-50 percent of the total investment, and that it expects to bring in financial partners. Enlight is a unit of Israeli holding company Eurocom Group. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-03T15:06:00.000+03:00|Bayer launches $7 bln cash call to fund Monsanto deal|BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - Bayer launched a 6 billion euros ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for its planned $62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto. Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. The cash call is smaller than initially envisaged by Bayer because Monsanto reduced its debt while the antitrust review dragged on. ($1 = 0.8576 euros) (Reporting by Emma Thomasson. Editing by Jane Merriman)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-03T15:15:00.000+03:00|Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday - report|June 3, 2018 / 12:39 PM / in 2 days Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday: report Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayer’s planned $62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto is set to close on Thursday, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntags Zeitung reported. FILE PHOTO: A woman uses a Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller spray without glyphosate in a garden in Ercuis near Paris, France, May 6, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier A Bayer spokesman declined to comment on the Sunday newspaper report. Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover after months of delays in a drawn-out review, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. Bayer has said it would very soon close the transaction, which it needs to do because after June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Dale Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-03T15:26:00.000+03:00|Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday - report|June 3, 2018 / 12:42 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday: report Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayer’s planned $62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto is set to close on Thursday, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntags Zeitung reported. FILE PHOTO: A woman uses a Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller spray without glyphosate in a garden in Ercuis near Paris, France, May 6, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier A Bayer spokesman declined to comment on the Sunday newspaper report. Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover after months of delays in a drawn-out review, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. Bayer has said it would very soon close the transaction, which it needs to do because after June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Dale Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-03T17:50:00.000+03:00|Italy's UniCredit exploring merger with French rival SocGen: FT|(Reuters) - Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA ( CRDI.MI ) is exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA ( SOGN.PA ) in a move that would see the European banks leading the way for banking mergers on the continent, the FT said on Sunday. FILE PHOTO: Unicredit's bank logo is pictured on block notes and pens at the headquarters in Milan, Italy, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo UniCredit’s French chief executive, Jean-Pierre Mustier, a former head of SocGen’s investment banking unit, has been developing the idea for several months now, the FT said, citing sources. Although no formal approach has been made, SocGen directors have also been exploring the possibility of a combination, according to the newspaper. Senior executives representing both parties stressed planning was at an early stage, the FT said, and that Italy’s volatile political situation caused a delay in the timetable for a deal from the original plan of 18 months. On Sunday, SocGen denied “any board discussion regarding a potential merger with UniCredit”, according to an emailed statement to Reuters. UniCredit declined to comment on the FT report, while saying their ‘Transform 2019’ turnaround plan is based on “organic assumptions”. SocGen has been at the center of speculation over merger talks with UniCredit, while more recent takeover talk within the European banking industry has centered on Germany’s Commerzbank AG ( CBKG.DE ). Societe Generale Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said in November last year that cross-border bank deals in Europe were unlikely over the coming quarters, adding that the bank’s new three-year strategy would put it in a strong position for mergers when the time came. Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-03T18:20:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Qatar Petroleum buys stake in Exxon's Argentina shale assets|(Adds details, Quote: s, background) DOHA, June 3 (Reuters) - Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement on Sunday with Exxon Mobil to acquire a 30 percent stake in two of Exxon’s affiliates in Argentina giving QP access to oil and gas shale assets in the Latin American country. The deal would give QP, the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a 30 percent share in two of Exxon’s local affiliates in Argentina - ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina S.R.L. and Mobil Argentina S.A., which holds rights with other partners for seven blocks, QP said in a statement. The blocks are under “unconventional exploration licenses with active drilling plans as well as exploitation licenses with pilot drilling and production,” QP said. The deal between QP and Exxon comes as the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer looks to rapidly expand its upstream operations under Chief Executive Darren Woods, who inherited a portfolio with relatively few international growth operations compared to peers. For QP, the deal offers a chance to invest for the first time in a sizeable shale operation while avoiding the public relations difficulties that would have likely arisen had it invested in shale operations in the United States, where public sentiment still sees Qatar and other OPEC member nations as economic competitors. It also comes at a time when Doha’s Gulf neighbours - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt - are imposing a year-long political and economic boycott on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies. The deal with Exxon appears to be a show of strength by QP as the boycott continues. “I would like to stress that our oil and gas sector has not been impacted by the blockade, nor has our previously planned expansion,” QP’s Chief Executive Saad Al-Kaabi said in the statement. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by David Stamp/David Evans)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-03T18:20:00.000+03:00|AccorHotels interested in buying minority stake in Air France KLM|PARIS (Reuters) - Europe’s largest hotel group, AccorHotels ( ACCP.PA ) said on Sunday it was interested in acquiring a minority stake in Air France-KLM ( AIRF.PA ). The logo of French hotel operator AccorHotels is seen on a flag pole at the financial and business district of La Defense in Puteaux, near Paris, France, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau “AccorHotels confirms having resumed its reflections on the matter, being at very early stage of assessing the feasibility and potential terms and conditions which will be discussed with Air France-KLM in due time,” the company said in a statement. The French government is considering selling all or part of its 14.3 percent stake in Air France KLM and has received interest from the management of AccorHotels, French news daily Les Échos reported on Sunday. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva. Editing by Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-03T20:04:00.000+03:00|Bayer launches $7 bln cash call to fund Monsanto deal|June 3, 2018 / 5:06 PM / Updated 20 hours ago Bayer launches $7 bln cash call to fund Monsanto deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - Bayer launched a 6 billion euros ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for its planned $62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto. Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. The cash call is smaller than initially envisaged by Bayer because Monsanto reduced its debt while the antitrust review dragged on. ($1 = 0.8576 euros) (Reporting by Emma Thomasson. Editing by Jane Merriman)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-03T20:32:00.000+03:00|Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday - report|June 3, 2018 / 12:27 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Bayer set to close Monsanto takeover on Thursday - report Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayer’s ( BAYGn.DE ) planned $62.5 billion (46.82 billion pounds) takeover of seeds maker Monsanto ( MON.N ) is set to close on Thursday, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntags Zeitung reported. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender//File Photo A Bayer spokesman declined to comment on the Sunday newspaper report. Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover after months of delays in a drawn-out review, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. Bayer has said it would very soon close the transaction, which it needs to do because after June 14, Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Dale Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-06-03T20:33:00.000+03:00|Bayer launches $7 billion cash call to fund Monsanto deal|June 3, 2018 / 5:07 PM / 2 days ago Bayer launches $7 billion cash call to fund Monsanto deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) launched a 6 billion euros ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for its planned $62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto ( MON.N ). FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo/File Photo Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. The cash call is smaller than initially envisaged by Bayer because Monsanto reduced its debt while the antitrust review dragged on. FILE PHOTO: Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, and Werner Wenning, chairman of Bayer's supervisory board, shake hands before the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay Also, Bayer raised 4.5 billion euros more from selling down its stake in plastics maker Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) than initially expected. The German drugmaker also grossed 7.6 billion euros in proceeds from selling assets to BASF ( BASFn.DE ), as the antitrust reviews were stricter than anticipated, but that did not cut the need to raise money via a share issue because future cash flows to service debts would also be lower. When the merger was agreed in September 2016, Bayer said it would raise $19 billion worth of fresh equity capital for the takeover deal, parts of which was covered by issuing 4 billion euros in mandatory convertible notes in November 2016. Bayer has said it would close the transaction very soon, which it needs to do because Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price after June 14. Bayer is set to close the transaction on June 7, according to a media report on Sunday. Bayer will create an agricultural supplies giant with sales of about 20 billion euros, based on 2017 figures, when taking into account the divestments. At current foreign exchange rates, that compares to about 12.4 billion euros at DowDuPont’s ( DWDP.N ) Corteva Agriscience unit, 11 billion euros at ChemChina’s Syngenta and 7.9 billion at BASF, including businesses to be acquired. Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Ludwig Burger. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews|1
2018-06-03T21:47:00.000+03:00|Qatar Petroleum signs deal with Exxon for stake in Argentine assets|DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement on Sunday with Exxon Mobil to acquire a 30 percent stake in two of Exxon’s affiliates in Argentina, giving QP access to oil and gas shale assets in the Latin American country. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Qatar Petroleum is seen at its headquartes in Doha, Qatar, July 8, 2017. Picture taken July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer /File Photo The deal would give QP, the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a 30 percent share in two of Exxon’s local affiliates in Argentina - ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina S.R.L. and Mobil Argentina S.A., which holds rights with other partners for seven blocks, QP said in a statement. “This is an important milestone, as it marks Qatar Petroleum’s first investment in Argentina as well as its first significant international investment in unconventional oil and gas resources,” QP’s Chief Executive Saad Al-Kaabi said in the statement. The agreements were signed by Al-Kaabi, and Andrew Swiger, senior vice president at Exxon Mobil Corp., in Doha. The announcement did not disclose the value of the investment. The blocks, in Vaca Muerta in the onshore Neuquén basin in Argentina, are under “unconventional exploration licenses with active drilling plans as well as exploitation licenses with pilot drilling and production,” QP said. The deal between QP and Exxon comes as the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer looks to rapidly expand its upstream operations under Chief Executive Darren Woods, who inherited a portfolio with relatively few international growth operations compared to peers. Exxon has been investing heavily in its U.S. shale operations and in Guyana, though its development in Argentina has been slow due to a host of factors, including the geographic remoteness of the country from U.S. shale operations as well as government price controls for natural gas. By bringing in QP as a partner, Exxon cuts its financial risk and also pushes the project forward. For QP, the deal offers a chance to invest for the first time in a sizeable shale operation while avoiding the public relations difficulties that would have likely arisen had it invested in shale operations in the United States, where public sentiment still sees Qatar and other OPEC members as economic competitors. It would also help Qatar guarantee long-term access to gas assets abroad, when decades from now its own gas reserves could start depleting. For Qatar it also signals its ability to sign big multi-billion-dollar deals with oil majors despite a prolonged regional political crisis and pressure on governments and companies by other Gulf neighbors to reduce ties with Doha. Last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies. In May, the International Petroleum Technology Conference decided to move its 2020 IPTC event which was due to be held in Doha, to Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, prompting Al-Kaabi to instruct heads of QP’s subsidiaries and joint ventures to cut all ties with the organization, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The deal with Exxon appears as a show of strength by QP as the boycott continues. “This agreement... goes hand in hand with the planned expansion of our local production from the North Field, which will further boost Qatar’s leading global position by raising its LNG production from 77 million to 100 million tons per year,” Al-Kaabi said. “Our oil and gas sector has not been impacted by the blockade, nor has our previously planned expansion.” Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Ernest Scheyder; Writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by David Stamp, David Evans and Andrea Ricci  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-03T21:59:00.000+03:00|Iran calls on world to stand up to Trump, save nuclear deal|LONDON (Reuters) - The world should stand up to Washington’s bullying behavior, Iran’s foreign minister was quoted as saying on Sunday by state media in a letter to counterparts, as the top diplomat intensifies efforts to save a nuclear deal after a U.S. exit. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers Council in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Hudaverdi Arif Yaman/Pool via Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out last month from the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. The remaining signatories of the deal - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - still see the international accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran developing a nuclear weapon and are trying to salvage it. In a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to his counterparts last week, he asked “the remaining signatories and other trade partners” to “make up for Iran’s losses” caused by the U.S. exit, if they sought to save the deal. “The JCPOA (nuclear deal) does not belong to its signatories, so one party can reject it based on domestic policies or political differences with a former ruling administration,” Zarif was quoted as saying in the letter, parts of which were published by the state news agency IRNA on Sunday. The nuclear deal was the result of “meticulous, sensitive and balanced multilateral talks”, Zarif said, and could not be renegotiated as the United States has demanded. He said U.S. “illegal withdrawal” from the deal and its “bullying methods to bring other governments in line” with that decision have discredited the rule of law in international arena. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has set out a series of conditions on for European powers if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal, including steps to safeguard trade with Tehran and guarantee Iranian oil sales. The remaining parties to the nuclear deal have warned the United States that its decision to withdraw from the pact jeopardizes efforts to limit Iran’s ability to develop atomic weapons. Trump abandoned the agreement on May 8, arguing that he wanted a bigger deal that not only limited Iran’s atomic work but also reined in its support for proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon and that curbed its ballistic missile program. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by David Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-03T22:05:00.000+03:00|Iran calls on world to stand up to Trump, save nuclear deal|June 3, 2018 / 7:05 PM / Updated 10 hours ago Iran calls on world to stand up to Trump, save nuclear deal Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The world should stand up to Washington’s bullying behaviour, Iran’s foreign minister was quoted as saying on Sunday by state media in a letter to counterparts, as the top diplomat intensifies efforts to save a nuclear deal after a U.S. exit. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrives at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, May 15, 2018. Thierry Monasse/Pool via Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out last month from the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear programme. The remaining signatories of the deal - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - still see the international accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran developing a nuclear weapon and are trying to salvage it. In a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to his counterparts last week, he asked “the remaining signatories and other trade partners” to “make up for Iran’s losses” caused by the U.S. exit, if they sought to save the deal. “The JCPOA (nuclear deal) does not belong to its signatories, so one party can reject it based on domestic policies or political differences with a former ruling administration,” Zarif was quoted as saying in the letter, parts of which were published by the state news agency IRNA on Sunday. The nuclear deal was the result of “meticulous, sensitive and balanced multilateral talks”, Zarif said, and could not be renegotiated as the United States has demanded. He said U.S. “illegal withdrawal” from the deal and its “bullying methods to bring other governments in line” with that decision have discredited the rule of law in international arena. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has set out a series of conditions on for European powers if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal, including steps to safeguard trade with Tehran and guarantee Iranian oil sales. The remaining parties to the nuclear deal have warned the United States that its decision to withdraw from the pact jeopardises efforts to limit Iran’s ability to develop atomic weapons. Trump abandoned the agreement on May 8, arguing that he wanted a bigger deal that not only limited Iran’s atomic work but also reined in its support for proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon and that curbed its ballistic missile programme. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by David Evans|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-06-03T22:05:00.000+03:00|Iran calls on world to stand up to Trump, save nuclear deal|June 3, 2018 / 7:06 Iran calls on world to stand up to Trump, save nuclear deal Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The world should stand up to Washington’s bullying behaviour, Iran’s foreign minister was quoted as saying on Sunday by state media in a letter to counterparts, as the top diplomat intensifies efforts to save a nuclear deal after a U.S. exit. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrives at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, May 15, 2018. Thierry Monasse/Pool via Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out last month from the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear programme. The remaining signatories of the deal - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - still see the international accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran developing a nuclear weapon and are trying to salvage it. In a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to his counterparts last week, he asked “the remaining signatories and other trade partners” to “make up for Iran’s losses” caused by the U.S. exit, if they sought to save the deal. “The JCPOA (nuclear deal) does not belong to its signatories, so one party can reject it based on domestic policies or political differences with a former ruling administration,” Zarif was quoted as saying in the letter, parts of which were published by the state news agency IRNA on Sunday. The nuclear deal was the result of “meticulous, sensitive and balanced multilateral talks”, Zarif said, and could not be renegotiated as the United States has demanded. He said U.S. “illegal withdrawal” from the deal and its “bullying methods to bring other governments in line” with that decision have discredited the rule of law in international arena. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has set out a series of conditions on for European powers if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal, including steps to safeguard trade with Tehran and guarantee Iranian oil sales. The remaining parties to the nuclear deal have warned the United States that its decision to withdraw from the pact jeopardises efforts to limit Iran’s ability to develop atomic weapons. Trump abandoned the agreement on May 8, arguing that he wanted a bigger deal that not only limited Iran’s atomic work but also reined in its support for proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon and that curbed its ballistic missile programme. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-03T22:47:00.000+03:00|Italy's UniCredit exploring merger with French rival SocGen - FT|(Reuters) - Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA ( CRDI.MI ) is exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA ( SOGN.PA ) in a move that would see the European banks leading the way for banking mergers on the continent, the FT said on Sunday. FILE PHOTO: Unicredit's bank logo is pictured on block notes and pens at the headquarters in Milan, Italy, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo UniCredit’s French chief executive, Jean-Pierre Mustier, a former head of SocGen’s investment banking unit, has been developing the idea for several months now, the FT said, citing sources. Although no formal approach has been made, SocGen directors have also been exploring the possibility of a combination, according to the newspaper. Senior executives representing both parties stressed planning was at an early stage, the FT said, and that Italy’s volatile political situation caused a delay in the timetable for a deal from the original plan of 18 months. On Sunday, SocGen denied “any board discussion regarding a potential merger with UniCredit”, according to an emailed statement to Reuters. UniCredit declined to comment on the FT report, while saying their ‘Transform 2019’ turnaround plan is based on “organic assumptions”. SocGen has been at the center of speculation over merger talks with UniCredit, while more recent takeover talk within the European banking industry has centered on Germany’s Commerzbank AG ( CBKG.DE ). Societe Generale Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said in November last year that cross-border bank deals in Europe were unlikely over the coming quarters, adding that the bank’s new three-year strategy would put it in a strong position for mergers when the time came. Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-03T23:01:00.000+03:00|Italy's UniCredit exploring merger with French rival SocGen - FT|June 3, 2018 / 8:02 PM / Updated an hour ago Italy's UniCredit exploring merger with French rival SocGen - FT Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA ( CRDI.MI ) is exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA ( SOGN.PA ) in a move that would see the European banks leading the way for banking mergers on the continent, the FT said on Sunday. The logo of Societe Generale is pictured outside the headquarters of the French bank at the financial and business district of La Defense at Puteaux near Paris, outside Paris, France, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau UniCredit’s French chief executive, Jean-Pierre Mustier, a former head of SocGen’s investment banking unit, has been developing the idea for several months now, the FT said, citing sources. Although no formal approach has been made, SocGen directors have also been exploring the possibility of a combination, according to the newspaper. Senior executives representing both parties stressed planning was at an early stage, the FT said, and that Italy’s volatile political situation caused a delay in the timetable for a deal from the original plan of 18 months. On Sunday, SocGen denied “any board discussion regarding a potential merger with UniCredit”, according to an emailed statement to Reuters. UniCredit declined to comment on the FT report, while saying their ‘Transform 2019’ turnaround plan is based on “organic assumptions”. SocGen has been at the centre of speculation over merger talks with UniCredit, while more recent takeover talk within the European banking industry has centred on Germany’s Commerzbank AG ( CBKG.DE ). Societe Generale Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said in November last year that cross-border bank deals in Europe were unlikely over the coming quarters, adding that the bank’s new three-year strategy would put it in a strong position for mergers when the time came. Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-03T23:04:00.000+03:00|Bayer launches $7 billion cash call to fund Monsanto deal|June 3, 2018 / 5:32 PM / Updated 9 hours ago Bayer launches $7 billion cash call to fund Monsanto deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) launched a 6 billion euros ($7 billion/5.24 billion pounds) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for its planned $62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto ( MON.N ). FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo/File Photo Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. The cash call is smaller than initially envisaged by Bayer because Monsanto reduced its debt while the antitrust review dragged on. Also, Bayer raised 4.5 billion euros more from selling down its stake in plastics maker Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) than initially expected. The German drugmaker also grossed 7.6 billion euros in proceeds from selling assets to BASF ( BASFn.DE ), as the antitrust reviews were stricter than anticipated, but that did not cut the need to raise money via a share issue because future cash flows to service debts would also be lower. When the merger was agreed in September 2016, Bayer said it would raise $19 billion worth of fresh equity capital for the takeover deal, parts of which was covered by issuing 4 billion euros in mandatory convertible notes in November 2016. Bayer has said it would close the transaction very soon, which it needs to do because Monsanto could withdraw from the takeover agreement and seek a higher price after June 14. Bayer is set to close the transaction on June 7, according to a media report on Sunday. Bayer will create an agricultural supplies giant with sales of about 20 billion euros, based on 2017 figures, when taking into account the divestments. At current foreign exchange rates, that compares to about 12.4 billion euros at DowDuPont’s ( DWDP.N ) Corteva Agriscience unit, 11 billion euros at ChemChina’s Syngenta and 7.9 billion at BASF, including businesses to be acquired. Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Ludwig Burger. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-06-03T23:17:00.000+03:00|AccorHotels interested in buying minority stake in Air France KLM|June 3, 2018 / 8:19 PM / Updated 33 minutes ago AccorHotels interested in buying minority stake in Air France KLM Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - Europe’s largest hotel group, AccorHotels ( ACCP.PA ) said on Sunday it was interested in acquiring a minority stake in Air France-KLM ( AIRF.PA ). The Air France-KLM company logo is seen at the annual shareholder meeting in the La Defense business district in Puteaux, France, May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer “AccorHotels confirms having resumed its reflections on the matter, being at very early stage of assessing the feasibility and potential terms and conditions which will be discussed with Air France-KLM in due time,” the company said in a statement. The French government is considering selling all or part of its 14.3 percent stake in Air France KLM and has received interest from the management of AccorHotels, French news daily Les Échos reported on Sunday. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-04T02:51:00.000+03:00|Qatar Petroleum signs deal with Exxon for stake in Argentine assets|June 3, 2018 / 6:51 PM / Updated 19 hours ago Qatar Petroleum signs deal with Exxon for stake in Argentine assets Reuters Staff 1 Min Read DOHA, June 3 (Reuters) - Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement on Sunday with Exxon Mobil to acquire a 30 percent stake in two of Exxon’s affiliates in Argentina, QP’s chief executive told a news conference in Doha. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by David Stamp)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-04T03:35:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's Bank of Baroda falls; govt considers merging 4 state-run banks - report|** Bank of Baroda Ltd, India’s third-biggest state-run lenders by assets, falls as much as 4.1 pct to 131.35 rupees, in its sharpest intraday fall since May 16 ** Govt considers merging at least four state-run banks - Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank Ltd, Oriental Bank of Commerce Ltd and Central Bank of India Ltd, local financial daily Mint reports here ** “Big banks like Bank of Baroda, SBI already have a lot of stress and when these small banks like IDBI Bank are merged with the big ones, that would put a lot of pressure on them and it’s a big negative for the stock,” says Yuvraj Choudhary, an analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage Anand Rathi ** Shares of IDBI Bank, which has the worst bad-loan ratio among all Indian lenders, down 0.5 pct, while Oriental Bank of Commerce and Central bank of India up over 0.5 pct each ** Bank of Baroda has fallen nearly 15 pct this year as of Friday ** India’s banks, burdened by 9.5 trillion rupees ($141.64 billion) of bad loans at the end of 2017, saw a further surge in bad loans in March quarter after the central bank withdrew half a dozen restructuring schemes and tightened other rules $1 = 67.0700 Indian rupees  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-06-04T04:12:00.000+03:00|Bayer to close Monsanto takeover, to retire target's name|FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer will wrap up the $62.5 billion takeover of Monsanto on Thursday this week and also retire the name of the U.S. seeds maker, it said on Monday. The German drugmaker had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities, it said in a statement. “Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it said. Bayer launched a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for the deal. Reporting by Ludwig Burger Editing by Maria Sheahan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-04T04:15:00.000+03:00|With deal to close this week, Bayer to retire Monsanto name|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo/File Photo The German drugmaker had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities, it said in a statement on Monday. “Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it said. Bayer launched a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for the deal, shortly after clearing the last major antitrust hurdle in the United States. The deal is the first of a trio of major U.S.-German merger deals to cross the finish line at a time of harsh criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump of Germany’s trade surplus with the United States. FILE PHOTO: Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, reacts as he attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Deutsche Telekom’s ( DTEGn.DE ) T-Mobile US ( TMUS.O ) plans to merge with Sprint for $26 billion, while industrial gases makers Linde ( LING.DE ) and Praxair ( PX.N ) are also seeking to combine. Bayer was expected to rid itself of the target’s name. Monsanto, the largest - though not the only - maker of genetically modified seeds, has been a lightning rod for environmentalists’ opposition to the technology. The U.S. seed maker has also drawn criticism for pursuing its intellectual property rights with farmers, many of which depend on its seeds, more aggressively than its peers. “We aim to deepen our dialogue with society. We will listen to our critics and work together where we find common ground. Agriculture is too important to allow ideological differences to bring progress to a standstill,” Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann said in the statement. The companies’ separately listed Indian units, Bayer CropScience Ltd. ( BAYE.NS ) and Monsanto India Ltd. ( MNSN.NS ), will continue to operate independently for the time being, Bayer said in a separate statement. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan/Keith Weir  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-04T04:16:00.000+03:00|AccorHotels interested in buying minority stake in Air France KLM|PARIS (Reuters) - Europe’s largest hotel group, AccorHotels ( ACCP.PA ) said on Sunday it was interested in acquiring a minority stake in Air France-KLM ( AIRF.PA ). The logo of French hotel operator AccorHotels is seen on a flag pole at the financial and business district of La Defense in Puteaux, near Paris, France, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau “AccorHotels confirms having resumed its reflections on the matter, being at very early stage of assessing the feasibility and potential terms and conditions which will be discussed with Air France-KLM in due time,” the company said in a statement. The French government is considering selling all or part of its 14.3 percent stake in Air France KLM and has received interest from the management of AccorHotels, French news daily Les Échos reported on Sunday. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180603.html|0
2018-06-04T04:16:00.000+03:00|AccorHotels interested in buying minority stake in Air France KLM|PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) - Europe’s largest hotel group, AccorHotels said on Sunday it was interested in acquiring a minority stake in Air France-KLM. “AccorHotels confirms having resumed its reflections on the matter, being at very early stage of assessing the feasibility and potential terms and conditions which will be discussed with Air France-KLM in due time,” the company said in a statement. The French government is considering selling all or part of its 14.3 percent stake in Air France KLM and has received interest from the management of AccorHotels, French news daily Les Échos reported on Sunday. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva. Editing by Jane Merriman)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180603.html|0
2018-06-04T04:35:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's Bank of Baroda falls; govt considers merging 4 state-run banks - report|(Adds disclosures, updates stocks) ** Bank of Baroda Ltd, India’s third-biggest state-run lender by assets, falls as much as 4.3 pct to 131 rupees, in its sharpest intraday fall since May 16 ** Govt considers merging at least four state-run banks - Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank Ltd, Oriental Bank of Commerce Ltd and Central Bank of India Ltd, reports here the Mint daily ** Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Central Bank of India were not immediately available for comment ** Big banks like Bank of Baroda and SBI already have a lot of stress and when small banks like IDBI Bank are merged with the big ones, that will put a lot of pressure on them and it’s a big negative for the stock, says Yuvraj Choudhary, an analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage Anand Rathi ** Shares of IDBI Bank, which has the worst bad-loan ratio among all Indian lenders, fell 1.5 pct, while Oriental Bank of Commerce and Central bank of India were down 1 pct and 0.3 pct respectively ** Bank of Baroda has fallen nearly 15 pct this year as of Friday ** India’s banks, burdened by 9.5 trillion rupees ($141.64 billion) of bad loans at the end of 2017, saw a further surge in bad loans in March quarter after the central bank withdrew half a dozen restructuring schemes and tightened other rules $1 = 67.0700 Indian rupees  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-06-04T04:54:00.000+03:00|Bain says will help Toshiba Memory pursue big acquisitions|TOKYO (Reuters) - Bain Capital, which led the $18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corp, said on Monday it plans to support the business in pursuing M&A in the chip industry, including potentially large deals. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Bain Capital is screened at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The world’s No. 2 maker of NAND chips is expected to have significant funding and spending needs - partly due to the high capital cost nature of the semiconductor industry but also because it has to please the many members of the winning Bain consortium. The U.S. private equity firm and Toshiba Memory will discuss what kind of technologies or acquisitions will be required, with Toshiba Memory president Yasuo Naruke noting that in the longer term technology relating to next generation memory chips would be needed. “I believe our financing power will enable Toshiba Memory engage in large-scale M&A deals,” Yuji Sugimoto, head of Bain Capital in Japan, told a news conference following the completion of the deal last week. Talk of potential acquisitions comes amid booming demand for chips as the rise of powerful smartphones, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving require ever-larger amounts of data storage. Last September, the Bain consortium won a long and highly contentious battle for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip business - put up for sale after cost overruns at a U.S. nuclear unit plunged the Japanese conglomerate into crisis. Under the deal, Toshiba has reinvested in the unit, holding some 40 percent. Other consortium members include Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ), Dell Technologies, Seagate Technology ( STX.O ), Kingston Technology and Hoya Corp ( 7741.T ). Its new owners plan an IPO for the business within three years. Toshiba had 19.3 percent of the NAND market in the January-March quarter, trailing arch-rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) which held 37 percent, according to research firm TrendForce. “Compared to our bigger rival...we are lagging behind in volume, including production capacity,” Naruke said, adding that there had been a slight delay in investing in the shift to so-called 3D NAND chips from planar ones. Three-dimensional NAND chips have a stacked cell structure giving them far more storage capacity than conventional chips. Aggressive capacity expansion for 3D NAND chips is underway at Toshiba Memory, with its sixth production line set to start operating this summer at its Yokkaichi plant in central Japan, already the largest single NAND production site in the world. Construction of a new memory chip plant in Kitakami, northern Japan, will also start in July this year. Further capacity expansions will depend on market demand, Naruke said, but added that new production lines could be built either in Yokkaichi or in Kitakami. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T06:31:00.000+03:00|Iran calls on world to stand up to Trump, save nuclear deal|LONDON (Reuters) - The world should stand up to Washington’s bullying behaviour, Iran’s foreign minister was Quote: d as saying on Sunday by state media in a letter to counterparts, as the top diplomat intensifies efforts to save a nuclear deal after a U.S. exit. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers Council in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Hudaverdi Arif Yaman/Pool via Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out last month from the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear programme. The remaining signatories of the deal - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - still see the international accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran developing a nuclear weapon and are trying to salvage it. In a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to his counterparts last week, he asked “the remaining signatories and other trade partners” to “make up for Iran’s losses” caused by the U.S. exit, if they sought to save the deal. “The JCPOA (nuclear deal) does not belong to its signatories, so one party can reject it based on domestic policies or political differences with a former ruling administration,” Zarif was Quote: d as saying in the letter, parts of which were published by the state news agency IRNA on Sunday. The nuclear deal was the result of “meticulous, sensitive and balanced multilateral talks”, Zarif said, and could not be renegotiated as the United States has demanded. He said U.S. “illegal withdrawal” from the deal and its “bullying methods to bring other governments in line” with that decision have discredited the rule of law in international arena. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has set out a series of conditions on for European powers if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal, including steps to safeguard trade with Tehran and guarantee Iranian oil sales. The remaining parties to the nuclear deal have warned the United States that its decision to withdraw from the pact jeopardises efforts to limit Iran’s ability to develop atomic weapons. Trump abandoned the agreement on May 8, arguing that he wanted a bigger deal that not only limited Iran’s atomic work but also reined in its support for proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon and that curbed its ballistic missile programme. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by David Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-04T09:13:00.000+03:00|Bayer to close Monsanto takeover, to retire target's name|June 4, 2018 / 6:13 AM / a day ago With deal to close this week, Bayer to retire Monsanto name Ludwig Burger 3 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. The German drugmaker had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities, it said in a statement on Monday. “Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it said. Bayer launched a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for the deal, shortly after clearing the last major antitrust hurdle in the United States. The deal is the first of a trio of major U.S.-German merger deals to cross the finish line at a time of harsh criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump of Germany’s trade surplus with the United States. Slideshow (2 Images) Deutsche Telekom’s ( DTEGn.DE ) T-Mobile US ( TMUS.O ) plans to merge with Sprint for $26 billion, while industrial gases makers Linde ( LING.DE ) and Praxair ( PX.N ) are also seeking to combine. Bayer was expected to rid itself of the target’s name. Monsanto, the largest - though not the only - maker of genetically modified seeds, has been a lightning rod for environmentalists’ opposition to the technology. The U.S. seed maker has also drawn criticism for pursuing its intellectual property rights with farmers, many of which depend on its seeds, more aggressively than its peers. “We aim to deepen our dialogue with society. We will listen to our critics and work together where we find common ground. Agriculture is too important to allow ideological differences to bring progress to a standstill,” Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann said in the statement. The companies’ separately listed Indian units, Bayer CropScience Ltd. ( BAYE.NS ) and Monsanto India Ltd. ( MNSN.NS ), will continue to operate independently for the time being, Bayer said in a separate statement. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan/Keith Weir|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-04T09:21:00.000+03:00|Nomad Foods buys UK's Aunt Bessie's for $281 million|(Reuters) - Nomad Foods ( NOMD.N ) said on Monday it would buy British frozen foods maker Aunt Bessie’s from William Jackson & Son Ltd for 240 million euros ($281.33 million). Aunt Bessie’s, known for its Yorkshire puddings and frozen potatoes, will expand Nomad’s footprint in the UK adding to its Birds Eye brand. The acquisition is Nomad’s second this year, following the company’s 225 million euro ($263.70 million) acquisition of Goodfella’s Pizza which it completed in April. Aunt Bessie’s is expected to immediately add to Nomad’s earnings and will expand its presence within the potatoes category, one of the largest segments in frozen food, the company said. Credit Suisse acted as financial adviser and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal adviser to Nomad Foods on the transaction while Stamford Partners acted as financial adviser and Addleshaw Goddard acted as legal adviser to William Jackson & Son. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T09:23:00.000+03:00|SocGen reaches deal to resolve Libya and IBOR rates probes|June 4, 2018 / 6:24 AM / a day ago SocGen reaches deal to resolve Libya and IBOR rates probes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale said on Monday it had reached agreements in principle with U.S. and French authorities to resolve probes on its transactions in Libya and on its handling of the ‘IBOR’ money market rates. SocGen added that penalties to be paid as a result of this had already been covered by earlier provisions and booked into the bank’s accounts. SocGen had previously booked a 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) provision regarding those various probes. Last year, SocGen agreed to pay 1 billion euros to settle a long-running dispute with the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). The French bank reached an 11th-hour settlement over LIA allegations that trades were secured as part of a “fraudulent and corrupt scheme” involving the payment of $58.5 million by SocGen to a Panamanian-registered company. SocGen also denied over the weekend any boardroom talks over a merger with Italian bank UniCredit. $1 = 0.8557 euros Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Bate Felix 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAlibyaNews|0
2018-06-04T09:27:00.000+03:00|REFILE-China bans non-textile companies from buying cotton from state reserves this year|(Refiles to add ‘cotton’ to headline) BEIJING, June 4 (Reuters) - * China will from Monday ban non-textile companies from buying cotton from 2017/18 state reserve auctions, the country’s cotton industry website cottonchina.org said on the weekend. * Companies not using cotton to make textiles will be disqualified from buying from state reserves from now on this year, according to a statement released on the industry website. * Textile companies can only buy cotton from state reserves for their own use and are banned from reselling, the statement said. (Reporting by Hallie Gu and Josephine Mason Editing by Joseph Radford)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180603.html|0
2018-06-04T09:39:00.000+03:00|Virgin, CYBG see cost efficiencies in acquisition|June 4, 2018 / 6:42 AM / in 2 days Virgin, CYBG see cost efficiencies in acquisition Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - The acquisition of British bank Virgin Money by lender CYBG could result in significant efficiency gains, the boards of the two companies said, after CYBG raised its offer. CYBG said on Sunday it had raised its offer to buy Virgin Money by a 7 percent increase in the exchange ratio through an all-share combination. Under the terms of CYBG’s revised proposal, Virgin Money shareholders would own about 38 percent of the combined group compared with the original 36.5 percent offer. Virgin Money shareholders would also be entitled to retain any dividend declared and paid in respect of the period ending June 30. CYBG now has until June 18 to make an offer. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, editing by Louise Heavens)|http://www.reuters.com/rssFeed/newIssuesNews|0
2018-06-04T10:06:00.000+03:00|Breakingviews - Italy’s politics is new obstacle to UniCredit deal|LONDON Jean Pierre Mustier can’t be faulted for his ambition. In the middle of a demanding turnaround of UniCredit, the Frenchman has once again raised the idea of merging Italy’s biggest bank by assets with his former employer Société Générale, according to the Financial Times. The much-mooted combination would create a behemoth stretching from France to Russia. But Italy’s radical new government presents a fresh obstacle. Italy's largest bank UniCredit is pictured in downtown Milan September 12, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini ( ITALY - Tags: BUSINESS) - GM1E99C1OND01 There are good reasons why the idea of uniting the two lenders has been kicked around for a decade and a half – and why it has not happened. The combined bank would derive over two-fifths of its revenue from France, Italy and Germany, and another 16 percent from eastern Europe, according to analysts at KBW. Its bigger investment banking unit would be better able to compete with American rivals. Jefferies analysts reckon the two could cut costs by around 1.6 billion euros a year before tax, equal to 18 percent of their combined 2017 pre-tax profit. The merger would also fulfil the European Central Bank’s aspirations for bigger, more diversified European banks. Though past talks have foundered on clashing executive egos, there is some overlap between the two lenders’ respective management teams. Mustier once ran SocGen’s investment banking arm. The 30 billion euro French group’s Chairman, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, is a respected Italian economist and former ECB board member. Yet the usual barriers to cross-border European consolidation still apply. The larger bank would face extra capital requirements and struggle to mesh disparate computer systems. A merger would also do little to lower national barriers that require UniCredit’s German unit to maintain an unusually high capital buffer, more than a decade after the Italian group took control. The new stumbling block, however, is Italy’s politics. The 32 billion UniCredit holds 51 billion euros of Italian government bonds, making it vulnerable to doubts about the new government’s commitment to the single currency. The administration’s policies would also make Italy’s labour market less flexible, and could make it harder for lenders to seize collateral backing bad loans. Despite a recent bounce, UniCredit shares are down 17 percent over the past two weeks. Shifting UniCredit’s head office to Paris might help to insulate the bank’s non-Italian operations from political turmoil in Rome. But unless Italy’s euro zone tantrums diminish, the SocGen merger dream looks likely to remain just that.  |https://in.reuters.com/breakingviews|0
2018-06-04T10:31:00.000+03:00|As World Cup approaches, soccer-mad Brazilians rush to buy TVs|June 4, 2018 / 12:31 PM / a day ago As World Cup approaches, soccer-mad Brazilians rush to buy TVs Gram Slattery 4 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - While still more than a week away, the World Cup has already had a major impact on retailers in the self-described “Country of Soccer,” as football-mad Brazilians feverishly scoop up new televisions. An employee carries a television set in a store in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto Brazilian TV production - much of it by international companies like Panasonic Corp and LG Corp in a tax-free zone in Amazonas state - has risen 25 percent by some measures, while the country’s leading electronics retailers are reporting a spike in sales in recent months. Stores are also coming up with novel methods to get Brazilians to pull the trigger on new TV sets, with many offering major discounts. Electronics and appliance chain and local e-commerce standout Magazine Luiza SA, for instance, is allowing customers to pay for new TVs in part by trading in their old sets. “We’re seeing sales get stronger week after week as we get closer to the Cup,” said commercial director Fabio Gabaldo. The boost is not unique to Brazil, which is the only country to have appeared in every tournament in history. In neighboring Peru, which will make its first World Cup appearance in 36 years, first-quarter TV sales rose 25 percent from a year earlier, according to pollster GfK. That nation’s congress came under fire recently for planning to buy 60 TVs and a number of mini-fridges, purchases that many Peruvians suspect are related to the World Cup, a charge legislators have denied. The rise in sales in Brazil shows how enthusiasm for the Cup shows no signs of fading even after an embarrassing exit from the 2014 tournament, which was played at home and sparked a number of major corruption investigations. A man checks prices of television sets for sale in a store in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto Various other sectors, including brewing and food retail, are set for a major boost during the Cup itself, potentially providing a small shot of adrenaline for an economy that has struggled to recover from a deep recession and most recently has been roiled by a truckers strike. January-to-March industrial production for the electronics category, which includes TVs, rose more than 26 percent from the same period a year before, according to government statistics. In the interior of impoverished Amazonas, a state dominated by lush rain forest but also a major producer of TVs because of tax incentives, production jumped some 47 percent. In a conference call earlier in the month, Carrefour Brasil’s chief executive of retail, José Luis Gutierrez, said electronics sales were showing a pick-up in May and are set to be “very strong” in the second quarter because of the tournament. Major electronics retailer Via Varejo SA has boosted inventories to deal with the event, the company’s newly installed CEO, Peter Paul Estermann, told investors in late April. Some retailers are betting on fans’ superstition to help them sell televisions, especially after Brazil was unceremoniously axed from the 2014 contest in a 7-1 blowout loss to Germany. Slideshow (10 Images) An ad on Magazine Luiza’s website asks readers, “Are you really going to watch Brazil on the same TV as the 7-1 match?” Reporting by Gram Slattery; additional reporting by Mitra Taj in Lima; Editing by Steve Orlofsky|https://in.reuters.com/news/lifestyle|0
2018-06-04T10:51:00.000+03:00|Walmart to sell majority stake in Brazil unit to Advent International|NEW YORK/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Walmart Inc ( WMT.N ) said on Monday that it has sold an 80 percent stake in its Brazilian operations to private equity firm Advent International, exiting an underperforming business in its third major international deal since April. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Walmart is seen on shopping trolleys at their store in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File photo The world’s biggest retailer has been looking to jumpstart its overseas business by retreating from lower-growth markets and investing in places like China and India. Brazil had for a decade been the focus of expansion but the unit stumbled in recent years as operational issues compounded the effects of a deep recession. Walmart did not disclose the value of the transaction but said it would record a noncash charge of roughly $4.5 billion related to the deal in the second quarter. The retailer will retain the remaining 20 percent stake in Walmart Brazil. Two people involved in the deal said that charge is close to the value of the Brazilian unit on Walmart’s books, meaning the deal value was close to zero. The sources declined to specify the exact value of the deal. Walmart is trying to catch up with competitors ranging from grocer Aldi Inc to Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) in key international markets. The U.S.-based retailer’s underperforming international business made up less than one-quarter of total revenue of $500.3 billion in fiscal 2018. In an effort to fix its international performance, Walmart in January appointed Chief Operating Officer Judith McKenna to run the international unit and a slew of changes have been made under her leadership. Walmart recently sold a majority stake in its UK arm ASDA to J Sainsbury Plc ( SBRY.L ) and paid $16 billion for a majority stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart. Walmart had been looking for buyers for its Brazilian business and sounded out possible investors last year but received no interest from rival retailers, which led the company to seek out buyout firms, according to a source. Reuters had reported in January that Walmart was shopping its Brazilian unit to private equity firm Advent and others. In March, Reuters reported that in the due diligence process potential buyers had estimated Walmart owes up to $3 billion in back taxes to state governments in Brazil, potentially adding to pressure for a discount sale. Walmart entered Brazil in 1995 and had grown into the country’s third-largest retailer following two major acquisitions in 2004 and 2005 and a period of rapid store expansion that came to a halt in 2013. It operates 471 stores in Brazil, according to the company’s local website. The Brazilian unit reported revenues of almost 30 billion reais ($9.4 billion) in 2016. Walmart has posted operating losses in Brazil for seven straight years after the aggressive, decade-long expansion left it with poor locations, inefficient operations, labor troubles and uncompetitive prices. ( reut.rs/2DWNOtp ) A source with knowledge of the deal said Walmart’s operations in Brazil had not improved over the last two years, which coincided with the country’s harshest recession in decades. Walmart’s brand Maxxi has been underperforming the Atacadão SA ( CRFB3.SA ) division of Carrefour SA ( CARR.PA ) and GPA SA ( PCAR4.SA ) unit Assaí. The company’s shares were up 2.5 percent at $85.03 in early trade on Monday. CASH AND CARRY One of the sources, who requested anonymity because details of the transaction have not all been made public, said Advent is expected to invest mainly in the cash-and-carry business, where big box stores sell groceries and other staples in bulk quantities. That format has soared in popularity during Brazil’s recent recession, with stores acting as a wholesaler for smaller retailers but also attracting bargain-hunting consumers. The deal includes a commitment from the buyout firm to invest in the business in coming years, the same source said, giving Walmart potential upside from its remaining 20 percent stake. “We plan to invest in the business, work with the Walmart Brazil management team, associates, Walmart and our industry advisors to create a more agile and modern company,” Patrice Etlin, a managing partner at Advent International in Brazil said in a statement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and the retailer expects it to close later this year. A significant portion of the expected $4.5 billion net loss will be due to foreign currency translation losses, and the final loss could fluctuate significantly due to changes in forex rates up to the closing date, the retailer said. The retailer said it expects no material impact to earnings per share in the current fiscal year and a slight positive impact next fiscal year. Reporting by Nandita Bose in New York and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Gram Slattery in Sao Paulo; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Meredith Mazzilli  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T11:11:00.000+03:00|Microsoft to buy coding site GitHub for $7.5 billion|(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Monday it would buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc for $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal to beef up its cloud computing business and challenge market leader Amazon.com Inc. The deal is a big bet on Azure, the company’s fast-growing cloud business, as it will be able to lure more code developers who use GitHub and drive more business to Microsoft. By pulling off its largest acquisition since the $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, Microsoft gets a platform universally known by developers. GitHub calls itself the world’s largest code host with more than 28 million developers using its platform. After reports of a likely deal between Microsoft and GitHub emerged on Sunday, some users of the software development platform raised doubts on social network Reddit that GitHub would “eventually favor Microsoft products over competing alternatives.” But Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella downplayed those concerns by saying on a conference call that GitHub will continue to be an open platform that works with all public clouds. He said Microsoft will use GitHub to promote company’s own developer tools and use its sales team to speed up adoption of GitHub by its big business customers. The deal reflects the company’s ongoing pivot to open source software and seeks to further broaden its large and growing development community, Moody’s analyst Richard Lane said. It’s also a smart move by Microsoft, which has seen scorching growth in its cloud business over the past few years. Azure posted a 93 percent jump in revenue in the third quarter ended March 31. Last year, the software giant shut down CodePlex, its own rival for GitHub, saying the latter was the dominant location for open source sharing and that most such projects had already migrated there. After closing the acquisition, expected by the end of the calendar year, GitHub will become a part of Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud unit. Microsoft’s Nat Friedman will take over as the Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco-headquartered GitHub, whose current CEO Chris Wanstrath will become a Microsoft technical fellow. On an adjusted basis, Microsoft expects the deal to add to its operating income in fiscal 2020 and reduce earnings per share by less than 1 percent in 2019 and 2020. Microsoft shares rose nearly 1 percent to hit a record high of $101.79. Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of Microsoft logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Files Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Salvador Rodriguez in San Francisco; Editing by Arun Koyyur  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-04T11:11:00.000+03:00|Microsoft to buy coding site GitHub for $7.5 billion|(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) said on Monday it would buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc for $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal to expand its clout among software developers. FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo - RC17B8BED5A00 GitHub supplies coding tools for developers and calls itself the world’s largest code host with more than 28 million developers using its platform. “Microsoft is a developer-first company, and by joining forces with GitHub we strengthen our commitment to developer freedom, openness and innovation,” said Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a statement. Microsoft’s Nat Friedman will take over as the Chief Executive of San Francisco-headquartered GitHub, whose current CEO Chris Wanstrath will become a Microsoft technical fellow. Microsoft last year shut down CodePlex, its own rival for GitHub, saying the latter was the dominant location for open source sharing and that most such projects had already migrated there. On an adjusted basis, Microsoft expects the deal to add to its operating income in fiscal 2020 and reduce earnings per share by less than 1 percent in 2019 and 2020. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the calendar year. Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T11:26:00.000+03:00|Iran sells first cargo of West Karoun oil to Spain's Repsol: sources|NEW DELHI/ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran has awarded its first cargo of West Karoun oil to Spain’s Repsol, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, indicating that Tehran is keen to boost its oil exports despite the looming threat of sanctions. The logo of Spanish energy giant Repsol SA is seen during the opening ceremony of its first gas station in Mexico City, Mexico March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso The Persian Gulf nation’s exports hit 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, the oil ministry’s news agency SHANA reported on Saturday, a new record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in 2016. Iran exported 2.4 million bpd of crude oil in May, SHANA reported, and 300,000 bpd of natural gas condensate. U.S. President Donald Trump last month pulled out of the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear programme. The remaining signatories of the deal - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - still see the international accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and are trying to salvage it. Iran is marketing the West Karoun crude as Pars oil, two sources said. Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Tehran considers the nuclear deal in place as long as Iran could sell its crude and receive its money. National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) has already distributed the samples of the heavy oil from West Karoun oilfields in southwest Iran to some customers. Production from the field has nearly doubled in the past year to 300,000 bpd, sources told Reuters last month. Repsol has agreed to take 500,000 barrels of Pars crude on a spot basis, one of the sources said. The Spanish firm will be co-loading the cargo with Iranian heavy grade, this source said, adding Repsol is scheduled to lift the cargo later this week or early next week. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on May 23 that European powers must protect Iranian oil sales from U.S. sanctions, and continue buying Iranian crude, if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. A Repsol spokesman said the company does not comment on individual cargoes. The logo of Spanish energy giant Repsol SA is seen at a barrel during the opening ceremony of its first gas station in Mexico City, Mexico March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso Additional Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore, Amanda Cooper in LONDON and Jose Elias Rodriguez in MADRID; editing by David Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T11:26:00.000+03:00|As World Cup approaches, soccer-mad Brazilians rush to buy TVs|SAO PAULO (Reuters) - While still more than a week away, the World Cup has already had a major impact on retailers in the self-described “Country of Soccer,” as football-mad Brazilians feverishly scoop up new televisions. A man checks prices of television sets for sale in a store in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto Brazilian TV production - much of it by international companies like Panasonic Corp and LG Corp in a tax-free zone in Amazonas state - has risen 25 percent by some measures, while the country’s leading electronics retailers are reporting a spike in sales in recent months. Stores are also coming up with novel methods to get Brazilians to pull the trigger on new TV sets, with many offering major discounts. Electronics and appliance chain and local e-commerce standout Magazine Luiza SA, for instance, is allowing customers to pay for new TVs in part by trading in their old sets. “We’re seeing sales get stronger week after week as we get closer to the Cup,” said commercial director Fabio Gabaldo. The boost is not unique to Brazil, which is the only country to have appeared in every tournament in history. In neighboring Peru, which will make its first World Cup appearance in 36 years, first-quarter TV sales rose 25 percent from a year earlier, according to pollster GfK. That nation’s congress came under fire recently for planning to buy 60 TVs and a number of mini-fridges, purchases that many Peruvians suspect are related to the World Cup, a charge legislators have denied. The rise in sales in Brazil shows how enthusiasm for the Cup shows no signs of fading even after an embarrassing exit from the 2014 tournament, which was played at home and sparked a number of major corruption investigations. Customers put television sets in the trunk of a car, after buying them in a store in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto Various other sectors, including brewing and food retail, are set for a major boost during the Cup itself, potentially providing a small shot of adrenaline for an economy that has struggled to recover from a deep recession and most recently has been roiled by a truckers strike. January-to-March industrial production for the electronics category, which includes TVs, rose more than 26 percent from the same period a year before, according to government statistics. In the interior of impoverished Amazonas, a state dominated by lush rain forest but also a major producer of TVs because of tax incentives, production jumped some 47 percent. In a conference call earlier in the month, Carrefour Brasil’s chief executive of retail, José Luis Gutierrez, said electronics sales were showing a pick-up in May and are set to be “very strong” in the second quarter because of the tournament. Major electronics retailer Via Varejo SA has boosted inventories to deal with the event, the company’s newly installed CEO, Peter Paul Estermann, told investors in late April. Some retailers are betting on fans’ superstition to help them sell televisions, especially after Brazil was unceremoniously axed from the 2014 contest in a 7-1 blowout loss to Germany. Slideshow (3 Images) An ad on Magazine Luiza’s website asks readers, “Are you really going to watch Brazil on the same TV as the 7-1 match?” Reporting by Gram Slattery; additional reporting by Mitra Taj in Lima; Editing by Steve Orlofsky  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T11:41:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds ConocoPhillips, Enel; updates Microsoft, Anatol) June 4 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday: ** ConocoPhillips is preparing to offload its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc that it acquired as part of an asset sale to the Canadian oil and gas producer last year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. ** Microsoft Corp said it would buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc for $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal to beef up its cloud computing business and challenge market leader Amazon.com Inc. ** Italy’s Enel SpA bought 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo in an offer at local exchange B3 , paying around 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion. ** Discovery Inc, the owner of Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, said it will invest more than $2 billion over the next decade to broadcast and stream golf’s PGA Tour outside the United States. ** Walmart Inc said that private equity firm Advent International will pick up an 80 percent stake in Walmart Brazil and the retailer will retain the remaining 20 percent, without disclosing the value of the transaction. ** Richemont has completed the sale of its struggling French leather bag maker Lancel to Italian high-end briefcase maker Piquadro in a profit share deal, the luxury goods maker said. ** Germany’s Bayer will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. ** AccorHotels is looking at taking a minority stake in troubled airline Air France KLM to compete better with the broader travel packages offered by online rivals such as Expedia and Booking.com. ** Nomad Foods said it would buy British frozen foods maker Aunt Bessie’s from William Jackson & Son Ltd for 240 million euros ($281.33 million). ** Scandinavian payments group Nets is planning to merge with German peer Concardis in a roughly $6 billion transaction, adding to a string of deals in the rapidly consolidating industry. ** Israel’s Enlight Renewable Energy said on Sunday it is in talks to buy a 300 megawatt wind energy project in western Europe. ** UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc has offered to buy Spanish rival Europac for 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) including debt to bolster its position in western Europe’s fast-growing packaging market. ** Planemaker Boeing Co and French aerospace firm Safran SA will join forces to make and service auxiliary power units (APUs), used to start aircraft engines and run other aircraft systems. ** eBay Inc could end up with a stake of up to 5 percent in Adyen as part of a deal the two companies agreed in January that will see the Dutch fintech company become eBay’s primary payment processor, a Dutch newspaper reported. ** Italy’s third largest bank, Banco BPM, is looking to sell part of its debt servicing unit as it strives to meet its bad-loan reduction goals two years ahead of time, sources familiar with the matter said. ** Shareholders of Slovenian shipping firm Intereuropa on Monday announced a tender for expressions of interest in buying 72.13 percent of the company, financial consultancy PwC said. ** Luxembourg’s Anatol S.a.r.l. plans to lauch a takeover bid for all of Slovenia’s metal products maker Cinkarna Celje , Nova Ljubljanska Banka, which is leading the process, said. ** Shares in lender CYBG rose 3 percent on Monday after it announced a revised bid for rival Virgin Money, increasing the likelihood of a deal that would create a new competitor to Britain’s biggest banks. ** Britain’s Rolls-Royce said it had completed the sale of Germany-based diesel parts maker L’Orange to U.S.-based engineering company Woodward Inc with net proceeds totalling 673 million euros. ** Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA is exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA in a move that would see the European banks leading the way for banking mergers on the continent, the FT said on Sunday. ** UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc offered to buy Europac, valuing its Spanish rival at 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) as it looks to strengthen its business in western Europe in what would be its biggest-ever acquisition. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T11:45:00.000+03:00|With deal to close this week, Bayer to retire Monsanto name|June 4, 2018 / 6:14 AM / Updated 4 hours ago With deal to close this week, Bayer to retire Monsanto name Ludwig Burger 3 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto ( MON.N ) on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo/File Photo The German drugmaker had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities, it said in a statement on Monday. “Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it said. FILE PHOTO: Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, reacts as he attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Bayer launched a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for the deal, shortly after clearing the last major antitrust hurdle in the United States. The deal is the first of a trio of major U.S.-German merger deals to cross the finish line at a time of harsh criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump of Germany’s trade surplus with the United States. Deutsche Telekom’s ( DTEGn.DE ) T-Mobile US ( TMUS.O ) plans to merge with Sprint for $26 billion, while industrial gases makers Linde ( LING.DE ) and Praxair ( PX.N ) are also seeking to combine. Bayer was expected to rid itself of the target’s name. Monsanto, the largest - though not the only - maker of genetically modified seeds, has been a lightning rod for environmentalists’ opposition to the technology. The U.S. seed maker has also drawn criticism for pursuing its intellectual property rights with farmers, many of which depend on its seeds, more aggressively than its peers. “We aim to deepen our dialogue with society. We will listen to our critics and work together where we find common ground. Agriculture is too important to allow ideological differences to bring progress to a standstill,” Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann said in the statement. The companies’ separately listed Indian units, Bayer CropScience Ltd. ( BAYE.NS ) and Monsanto India Ltd. ( MNSN.NS ), will continue to operate independently for the time being, Bayer said in a separate statement. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan/Keith Weir|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-04T11:57:00.000+03:00|ECB blames German bond redemptions for lower buys in Italy|FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank bought more government bonds from Germany and fewer from Italy and France in April to compensate for the previous month, when it had done the opposite due to “high” redemptions in Germany, an ECB spokesman said on Monday. He was seeking to counter speculation in Italy that the ECB had deliberately bought less of the country’s debt to influence the formation of a new government in Rome late last month. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Kevin Liffey)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-04T12:45:00.000+03:00|Japan's Sharp close to deal to buy Toshiba's PC business: sources|TOKYO (Reuters) - Sharp Corp is in talks to finalize a deal to buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business for around 5 billion yen ($45.7 million), as the Japanese electronics unit of Taiwan’s Foxconn seeks to re-enter the PC market, sources said. FILE PHOTO - A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The two companies are aiming to clinch the deal as early as this week, the sources close to the transaction said. They declined to be identified because the talks are private. Sharp’s return to the PC market, first reported by the Nikkei business daily, marks a rare move among Japanese electronics manufacturers, many of which have exited smartphones, PCs and television sets amid price competition with Asian rivals. Sharp, which withdrew from the PC business in 2010, plans to leverage the vast purchasing network of Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer and major Apple Inc supplier. The Taiwanese company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, already assembles PCs for other global brands. Toshiba’s PC business reported a loss of 9.6 billion yen on sales of 167.3 billion yen in the year ended March. The embattled Japanese conglomerate has sold its television business to China’s Hisense Group and its white goods business to China’s Midea Group as it scrambles for funds to cover billions of dollars in liabilities arising from its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Toshiba said in a statement the company was considering various options for its PC business and was in negotiations with potential buyers. But nothing specific has been decided, it added. Sharp declined to comment. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-04T13:08:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $35 bln in 4-week bills|WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of 4-week bills on Tuesday, see: here Washington economics newsroom  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-04T13:17:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Amrest Holdings Completes Deal For Pizza Hut Franchise For Russia, Azerbaijan And Armenia|June 4 (Reuters) - AMREST HOLDINGS SE: * SAID ON FRIDAY THAT IT FINALISED FRAMEWORK FRANCHISE AGREEMENT WITH PIZZA HUT EUROPE AND BECAME THE ONLY MASTER FRANCHISEE FOR PIZZA HUT BRAND IN RUSSIA, AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA * IN APRIL COMPANY SIGNED FRAMEWORK FRANCHISE AGREEMENT FOR TEN YEARS WITH POSSIBILITY OF EXTENSION * UNDER DEAL COMPANY AND ITS UNITS TO PAY 2 MILLION EUROS TO PIZZA HUT RUSSIA FOR ASSETS OF 16 PIZZA HUT RESTAURANTS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T13:24:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-ECB buying of Italian debt dwindles just as Rome needs it most|* ECB buys more German debt after Apr redemptions * Italian, French debt stock still well above capital key (Adds detail) FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank slowed its purchases of Italian government bonds last month, just as investors were offloading them on fears of a eurosceptic government taking power in Rome, ECB data showed on Monday. The ECB bought 3.6 billion euros ($4.22 billion) worth of Italian government bonds and 4.2 billion euros of French debt as part of its stimulus programme in May, in each case roughly 8 percent less than its rules dictate, according to Reuters calculations on ECB data. The ECB explained the reduced purchases by saying it needed to buy up more paper from Germany, where a large amount of debt had expired in April. The bank was seeking to counter speculation in Italy that it had deliberately bought less of that country’s debt to influence the formation of a new government in Rome, where the president vetoed the appointment of a eurosceptic finance minister amid a market storm. “This is the result of agreed and communicated rules on the timing of re-investments during the net purchases phase,” an ECB spokesman said. “German bond redemptions were high in April 2018 and... had to be spread also to May 2018 to ensure a smooth implementation,” he added. Indeed, the ECB bought 6.9 billion euros of German bonds last month, making up for record-low purchases a month earlier as it had announced. Italy’s two main anti-establishment parties eventually managed to form a government late last week but eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona was not given the finance ministry after the presidential veto. The ECB did not intervene in the market rout that engulfed Italy, sending its borrowing costs soaring, because indicators showed no sign of stress among banks, sources close to the matter told Reuters last week. France and Italy, whose governments have large stocks of debt and run deficits, have benefitted from over-sized ECB purchases for years. The ECB’s holdings of French and Italian debt is nearly 5 percent larger than the rules of the stimulus programme would indicate based on the size of their economies. ($1 = 0.8534 euros) (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Gareth Jones)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-04T13:42:00.000+03:00|Richemont sells luxury leather bagmaker Lancel to Piquadro|ZURICH, June 4 (Reuters) - Richemont has completed the sale of its French leather bag maker Lancel to Italian leather goods company Piquadro, the luxury goods maker said on Monday. Richemont, the owner of Cartier jewellery as well as watch brands including Piaget and IWC, said the deal would have no material impact on its balance sheet, cash flow or results for year ending 31 March 2019. Terms of the deal for Lancel, which has struggled in recent years, were not disclosed. (Reporting by John Revill, editing by John Miller)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|1
2018-06-04T13:47:00.000+03:00|Richemont sells luxury leather bagmaker Lancel to Piquadro|ZURICH (Reuters) - Richemont ( CFR.S ) has completed the sale of its struggling French leather bag maker Lancel to Italian high-end briefcase maker Piquadro ( PQ.MI ) in a profit share deal, the luxury goods maker said on Monday. Richemont, the owner of Cartier jewellery as well as watch brands including Piaget and IWC, said the deal would have no material impact on its balance sheet, cash flow or results for year ending 31 March 2019. Under the arrangement Richemont will get a share of the profits earned by Lancel over the next 10 years, up to a maximum of 35 million euros. The deal is the latest by Richemont, which has been reshaping parts of its portfolio in recent months, to move out of so-called soft luxury areas like fashion and increase its presence in the online sector. “The disposal of Lancel makes sense,” said Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux. “Richemont couldn’t get it to work.” On Friday, Richemont said it was buying Watchfinder.co.uk, an online platform for pre-owned watches. The company has also completed the take of Yoox Net-a-Porter ( YNAP.MI ), the online fashion retailer it originally spun off in 2015. Richemont had been in talks with Bologna-based Piquadro since March to sell Lancel, which was founded in 1876, but has struggled in recent years. For the fiscal year ended March 31, Lancel made a loss of 23 million euros from sales of around 53 million euros, Piquadro said. Still, Piquadro Chief Executive Marco Palmieri contends the brand offered “great potential for growth.” “This acquisition is part of a strategy of bringing together accessory brands that we began about a year ago with the acquisition of the historic Florentine leather goods brand The Bridge, a strategy that we intend to pursue with a view to generating greater and greater synergies,” he said in a statement. Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said the deal was a small positive for Richemont, showing it was getting to grips with the loss-making “other divisions” which also include pen maker Montblanc and French fashion house Chloe. “Richemont had acquired the Maison Lancel brand back in 1997 for 270 million euros, but it struggled to grow it,” Solca said. Reporting by John Revill, editing by John Miller  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T14:09:00.000+03:00|Kenyan ride-hailing app Little sells stake of around 10 pct for $3 mln|June 4, 2018 / 7:04 AM / 2 days ago Kenyan ride-hailing app Little sells stake of around 10 pct for $3 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read NAIROBI, June 4 (Reuters) - Kenyan taxi-hailing firm, Little, which has a partnership with telecoms operator Safaricom , has sold just under 10 percent of its shares to an unnamed Indian investor for $3 million, it said on Monday. Kamal Budhabhatti, the CEO of the firm which was founded in 2016 and offers 12,000 rides a day in peak times, told Reuters the investment was unplanned and that Little would still raise another $100 million for pan-African expansion. He said Little had started operations in Uganda and Rwanda would follow later in June, followed by Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania. Little competes with Uber and Taxify. Little’ s parent company, Nairobi-based software developer Craft Silicon, has invested $6 million in the app. Budhabhatti had told Reuters in September last year that the company, which has about 5,000 active drivers and 345,000 active users, would look towards Silicon Valley in the United States to raise its target of $100 million. Reporting by Duncan Miriri, editing by Louise Heavens 0 : 0|http://feeds.kenyanews.net/rss/a262965e0c331d64|0
2018-06-04T14:20:00.000+03:00|Bain Capital to support Toshiba Memory pursue chip sector acquisitions|TOKYO, June 4 (Reuters) - Bain Capital, which led the $18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corp, said on Monday it plans to support the business in pursuing acquisitions in the chip industry. “I believe our financing power will enable Toshiba Memory engage in large-scale M&A deals,” Yuji Sugimoto, head of Bain Capital in Japan, said at a news conference after its consortium completed the deal last week. Bain will hold discussions with Toshiba Memory president Yasuo Naruke on what kind of technologies or acquisitions would be needed strategically for the company ahead, he added. Naruke said the firm would in the longer term need various technologies relating to next generation memory chips. Last September, the Bain consortium won a long and highly contentious battle for Toshiba Corp’s chip business, the world’s No. 2 producer of NAND chips. Toshiba Corp, which put the business up for sale after billions of dollars in cost overruns at its Westinghouse nuclear unit plunged it into crisis, has reinvested in its former unit and now owns roughly 40 percent. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs  |http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/nav/rss/d805653303cbbba8|0
2018-06-04T14:20:00.000+03:00|Bayer to close Monsanto takeover, to retire target's name|FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - Germany’s Bayer will wrap up the $62.5 billion takeover of Monsanto on Thursday this week and also retire the name of the U.S. seeds maker, it said on Monday. The German drugmaker had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities, it said in a statement. “Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it said. Bayer launched a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for the deal. Reporting by Ludwig Burger Editing by Maria Sheahan  |http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/nav/rss/876f91efcbd818cb|1
2018-06-04T14:27:00.000+03:00|SocGen reaches deal to resolve Libya and IBOR rates probes|PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale said on Monday it had reached agreements in principle with U.S. and French authorities to resolve probes on its transactions in Libya and on its handling of the ‘IBOR’ money market rates. SocGen added that penalties to be paid as a result of this had already been covered by earlier provisions and booked into the bank’s accounts. SocGen had previously booked a 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) provision regarding those various probes. Last year, SocGen agreed to pay 1 billion euros to settle a long-running dispute with the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). The French bank reached an 11th-hour settlement over LIA allegations that trades were secured as part of a “fraudulent and corrupt scheme” involving the payment of $58.5 million by SocGen to a Panamanian-registered company. SocGen also denied over the weekend any boardroom talks over a merger with Italian bank UniCredit. $1 = 0.8557 euros Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Bate Felix  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T14:28:00.000+03:00|UK's DS Smith to buy Europac in $2.2 billion packaging deal|(Reuters) - UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc ( SMDS.L ) has offered to buy Spanish rival Europac ( PYCE.MC ) for 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) including debt to bolster its position in western Europe’s fast-growing packaging market. A deal would be DS Smith’s biggest acquisition to date and the latest in an industry benefiting from growing demand from online retailers. “Europac’s board of directors has confirmed that the acquisition is friendly and attractive,” DS Smith said on Monday, adding it had received undertakings to accept the offer from shareholders owning 58.97 percent of the Spanish company. Chief Executive Miles Roberts said the deal would cement DS Smith as the market leader in France and make it number two in Spain, serving customers in fast-moving consumer goods, food products and e-commerce, where it is already a leading supplier to customers including Amazon. “It’s an exceptional opportunity to enhance our customer offer in a key packaging growth region,” he told reporters. The proposed deal is the latest in a consolidating sector. Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa ( SKG.I ) agreed to buy Dutch paper and recycling firm Reparenco last month in an attempt to see off a takeover bid from U.S. rival International Paper ( IP.N ). Europac shares rose 8 percent to 16.8 euros on Monday, matching DS Smith’s offer price, while DS Smith’s climbed 3.7 percent to a record 583 pence. Trevor Green, head of UK equities at Aviva, the biggest shareholder in DS Smith with a 7.15 percent stake, said it was an “exciting deal” at an opportune time. “This management team has an excellent track record of integrating and turning around acquisitions,” he said. Roberts said the additional paper production from Europac would be absorbed in the coming years as the group’s package requirements were growing at over 200,000 tonnes a year, so there would be no need for major capacity reductions in Spain. Europac made about 940,000 tonnes of the “kraftliner” used in corrugated paper boxes last year. PAPER OVER PLASTIC DS Smith also said it had started a strategic review of its plastics business, which accounts for 6-7 percent of turnover, as it increases its focus on production of fiber products. Roberts said it was too early to indicate any conclusions. The British company will finance the acquisition by raising 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) from issuing new shares, plus a new debt facility of 740 million euros, it said. The offer price values Europac’s equity at 1.67 billion euros. Including debt, the deal is worth 1.9 billion euros. The deal is conditional on acceptances from Europac shareholders representing at least 50 percent plus one share, regulatory approvals and the approval of DS Smith’s shareholders, DS Smith said. It said the undertakings of support it had received included certain members of the Isidro family, which owns around 42 percent of Europac. Family member and Europac Executive Chairman José Miguel Isidro Rincón said the deal would deliver operating and commercial synergies for both companies. DS Smith said the offer valued Europac at 8.4 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) for the year ended March. Roberts said there were many opportunities to improve efficiency at Europac, which employs 2,300 people across 23 locations, for example by reducing the weight of its cardboard boxes that are on average 20 percent heavier than DS Smith’s. DS Smith expects annual pretax cost savings of 50 million euros. Roberts said there was little overlap between the two firms, with Europac having a greater focus on paper than DS Smith, making him confident of winning regulatory approval. DS Smith said it expected to have a net debt to EBITDA ratio of less than 2.5 times by the end of its current financial year, after completing the deal, and remained committed to its medium-term target of 2.0 times. It added that it had performed in line with its expectations since the start of its financial year. Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Mark Potter  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T14:28:00.000+03:00|SocGen reaches deal to resolve Libya and IBOR rates probes|PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) will pay $1.3 billion to resolve criminal and civil charges in the United States and France for bribing Gaddafi-era Libyan officials and manipulating the Libor interest rate benchmark, U.S. authorities said on Monday. The logo of Societe Generale is pictured outside the headquarters of the French bank at the financial and business district of La Defense in Puteaux, outside Paris, France, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau The Paris-based bank is due to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, to resolve the foreign bribery case, the Justice Department said in a statement. Earlier on Monday, SocGen said it had agreed to pay 250 million euros ($293 million) to the French treasury as part of the overall U.S.-France settlement. The resolution is the first coordinated between U.S. and French authorities in a foreign bribery case, the Justice Department said. “Today’s resolution ... sends a strong message that transnational corruption and manipulation of our markets will be met with a global and coordinated law enforcement response,” John Cronan, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement. SocGen said in a statement that the settlement was “not expected” to affect its ability to continue serving clients and that it had taken extensive steps to strengthen its risk and compliance controls. The bank said the total penalties were already covered by a previously booked provision of 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion). FILE PHOTO: A logo of French bank Societe Generale is pictured on a building in Geneva, Switzerland, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo The Justice Department penalties include a $585 million fine relating to a multi-year scheme to pay bribes to officials in Libya and $275 million for violations arising from its manipulation of Libor, the Justice Department said. The London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, is used as a benchmark against which rates on hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of contracts and loans are set across the world. Societe Generale bank also agreed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates derivatives, to pay $475 million for rigging Libor. SocGen’s agreement to pay 250 million euros ($293 million) to the French treasury brings the bank’s total settlement to $1.3 billion. “We regret these past misconducts, which are contrary to our values and ethical standards that led to these settlements,” Frédéric Oudéa, chief executive of Societe Generale, said in the bank’s statement, calling the settlement “an important step for the Bank.” Between 2004 and 2009, SocGen paid more than $90 million in bribes through a Libyan broker to secure 14 investments by Libyan state-owned financial institutions, the Justice Department said. The bank will enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement while its European subsidiary, SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V., will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. SocGen also agreed to continue to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation and adopt and maintain enhanced compliance procedures, the Justice Department said. On Monday, the Justice Department said that Maryland-based investment management firm Legg Mason Inc entered into a non-prosecution agreement to pay $64.2 million to resolve a probe of the firm’s Permal Group Ltd subsidiary. Permal had partnered with SocGen to help solicit business from the state-owned financial institutions in Libya, and Legg Mason had ultimately benefited from some of the bribes paid by SocGen, the Justice Department said. In a letter to stakeholders on Monday, Legg Mason’s chairman and chief executive, Joseph Sullivan, said the firm was in discussions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission to settle civil charges on the same matter. “The misconduct by former employees of the legacy Permal business that the government found was totally unacceptable. It violated our high standards...,” he wrote. He said that over the last decade Legg Mason “has substantially enhanced its anti-corruption oversight, compliance policies, procedures and other related mechanisms.” Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Karen Freifeld; Additional reportig by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Michelle Price in Washington; Editing by Paul Simao and Leslie Adler  |https://www.reuters.com/places/africa|0
2018-06-04T14:54:00.000+03:00|Britain's small banks ripe for takeover as CYBG and Virgin Money deal looms|June 4, 2018 / 6:43 AM / Updated an hour ago Britain's small banks ripe for takeover as CYBG and Virgin Money deal looms Emma Rumney , Lawrence White 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in lender CYBG rose as much as 3 percent on Monday after it announced a revised bid for rival Virgin Money, increasing the likelihood of a deal that would create a new competitor to Britain’s biggest banks. Signage is see outside a branch of Virgin Money in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. Picture taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble CYBG, owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, and Virgin Money, founded almost 25 years ago by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, would combine to create Britain’s sixth-largest bank by assets, albeit one still dwarfed by rivals such as Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland. The revised offer values Virgin Money at around 1.6 billion pounds ($2.14 billion) based on Friday’s closing share price. The CYBG-Virgin deal comes at a time when mid-sized banks like them in Britain face competition from both the incumbents with their bigger branch networks and technology budgets, and nimbler digital-only rivals like Monzo, Starling and Atom. CYBG said on Sunday it had improved its all-share offer for Virgin Money by raising the exchange ratio by 7 percent, an increase which analysts said should be enough to get the deal over the line. “With Virgin Money management clearly showing less enthusiasm for the fight than we believe is warranted... we suspect that the deal will go through on these revised terms,” said Edward Firth, analyst at KBW. “A clear home-run for CYBG; a reasonable return for Virgin Money shareholders who have had some years of frustration.” Under the terms of CYBG’s revised proposal, Virgin Money shareholders would own about 38 percent of the combined group compared with the original 36.5 percent offer. MORE DEALS While the combined CYBG and Virgin would have assets of around 84 billion pounds, based on the most recent company data, that pales in comparison to rivals like RBS and Lloyds with assets of 739 and 805 billion pounds respectively. CYBG/Virgin would have around 250 branches, compared with 893 for RBS and 1,795 for Lloyds. Analysts said that the combined banks could, once merged, go hunting for further acquisitions to achieve scale, in a banking landscape where increasing regulatory and technology costs mean sub-scale players are likely to wither. Co-operative Bank could be the next target, analyst John Cronin at Irish broker Goodbody said on Monday, as it was rescued last year by hedge funds that are unlikely to be long-term owners and it has an attractive customer base. Shares in Virgin Money rivals Metro Bank and OneSavingsBank rose on May 8 when Virgin confirmed the CYBG bid, in a sign that investors consider those lenders possible acquisition targets. CYBG now has until June 18 to make a firm offer. Additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, editing by Louise Heavens and Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-04T14:57:00.000+03:00|Bain Capital to support Toshiba Memory pursue chip sector acquisitions|TOKYO (Reuters) - Bain Capital, which led the $18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corp, said on Monday it plans to support the business in pursuing M&A in the chip industry, including potentially large deals. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Bain Capital is screened at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The world’s No. 2 maker of NAND chips is expected to have significant funding and spending needs - partly due to the high capital cost nature of the semiconductor industry but also because it has to please the many members of the winning Bain consortium. The U.S. private equity firm and Toshiba Memory will discuss what kind of technologies or acquisitions will be required, with Toshiba Memory president Yasuo Naruke noting that in the longer term technology relating to next generation memory chips would be needed. “I believe our financing power will enable Toshiba Memory engage in large-scale M&A deals,” Yuji Sugimoto, head of Bain Capital in Japan, told a news conference following the completion of the deal last week. Talk of potential acquisitions comes amid booming demand for chips as the rise of powerful smartphones, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving require ever-larger amounts of data storage. Last September, the Bain consortium won a long and highly contentious battle for Toshiba Corp’s ( 6502.T ) chip business - put up for sale after cost overruns at a U.S. nuclear unit plunged the Japanese conglomerate into crisis. Under the deal, Toshiba has reinvested in the unit, holding some 40 percent. Other consortium members include Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ), Dell Technologies, Seagate Technology ( STX.O ), Kingston Technology and Hoya Corp ( 7741.T ). Its new owners plan an IPO for the business within three years. Toshiba had 19.3 percent of the NAND market in the January-March quarter, trailing arch-rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) which held 37 percent, according to research firm TrendForce. “Compared to our bigger rival...we are lagging behind in volume, including production capacity,” Naruke said, adding that there had been a slight delay in investing in the shift to so-called 3D NAND chips from planar ones. Three-dimensional NAND chips have a stacked cell structure giving them far more storage capacity than conventional chips. Aggressive capacity expansion for 3D NAND chips is underway at Toshiba Memory, with its sixth production line set to start operating this summer at its Yokkaichi plant in central Japan, already the largest single NAND production site in the world. Construction of a new memory chip plant in Kitakami, northern Japan, will also start in July this year. Further capacity expansions will depend on market demand, Naruke said, but added that new production lines could be built either in Yokkaichi or in Kitakami. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/technologyNews|0
2018-06-04T15:00:00.000+03:00|As World Cup approaches, soccer-mad Brazilians rush to buy TVs|June 4, 2018 / 12:31 PM / 3 days ago As World Cup approaches, soccer-mad Brazilians rush to buy TVs Gram Slattery 4 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - While still more than a week away, the World Cup has already had a major impact on retailers in the self-described “Country of Soccer,” as football-mad Brazilians feverishly scoop up new televisions. An employee carries a television set in a store in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto Brazilian TV production - much of it by international companies like Panasonic Corp and LG Corp in a tax-free zone in Amazonas state - has risen 25 percent by some measures, while the country’s leading electronics retailers are reporting a spike in sales in recent months. Stores are also coming up with novel methods to get Brazilians to pull the trigger on new TV sets, with many offering major discounts. Electronics and appliance chain and local e-commerce standout Magazine Luiza SA, for instance, is allowing customers to pay for new TVs in part by trading in their old sets. “We’re seeing sales get stronger week after week as we get closer to the Cup,” said commercial director Fabio Gabaldo. A man checks prices of television sets for sale in a store in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto The boost is not unique to Brazil, which is the only country to have appeared in every tournament in history. In neighboring Peru, which will make its first World Cup appearance in 36 years, first-quarter TV sales rose 25 percent from a year earlier, according to pollster GfK. That nation’s congress came under fire recently for planning to buy 60 TVs and a number of mini-fridges, purchases that many Peruvians suspect are related to the World Cup, a charge legislators have denied. The rise in sales in Brazil shows how enthusiasm for the Cup shows no signs of fading even after an embarrassing exit from the 2014 tournament, which was played at home and sparked a number of major corruption investigations. Slideshow (10 Images) Various other sectors, including brewing and food retail, are set for a major boost during the Cup itself, potentially providing a small shot of adrenaline for an economy that has struggled to recover from a deep recession and most recently has been roiled by a truckers strike. January-to-March industrial production for the electronics category, which includes TVs, rose more than 26 percent from the same period a year before, according to government statistics. In the interior of impoverished Amazonas, a state dominated by lush rain forest but also a major producer of TVs because of tax incentives, production jumped some 47 percent. In a conference call earlier in the month, Carrefour Brasil’s chief executive of retail, José Luis Gutierrez, said electronics sales were showing a pick-up in May and are set to be “very strong” in the second quarter because of the tournament. Major electronics retailer Via Varejo SA has boosted inventories to deal with the event, the company’s newly installed CEO, Peter Paul Estermann, told investors in late April. Some retailers are betting on fans’ superstition to help them sell televisions, especially after Brazil was unceremoniously axed from the 2014 contest in a 7-1 blowout loss to Germany. An ad on Magazine Luiza’s website asks readers, “Are you really going to watch Brazil on the same TV as the 7-1 match?” Reporting by Gram Slattery; additional reporting by Mitra Taj in Lima; Editing by Steve Orlofsky|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-04T15:02:00.000+03:00|Kenyan ride-hailing app Little sells stake of around 10 pct for $3 mln|NAIROBI, June 4 (Reuters) - Kenyan taxi-hailing firm, Little, which has a partnership with telecoms operator Safaricom , has sold just under 10 percent of its shares to an unnamed Indian investor for $3 million, it said on Monday. Kamal Budhabhatti, the CEO of the firm which was founded in 2016 and offers 12,000 rides a day in peak times, told Reuters the investment was unplanned and that Little would still raise another $100 million for pan-African expansion. He said Little had started operations in Uganda and Rwanda would follow later in June, followed by Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania. Little competes with Uber and Taxify. Little’ s parent company, Nairobi-based software developer Craft Silicon, has invested $6 million in the app. Budhabhatti had told Reuters in September last year that the company, which has about 5,000 active drivers and 345,000 active users, would look towards Silicon Valley in the United States to raise its target of $100 million. Reporting by Duncan Miriri, editing by Louise Heavens  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T15:10:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Scandinavian payments group Nets to merge with German peer Concardis|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Scandinavian payments group Nets is planning to merge with German peer Concardis in a roughly $6 billion transaction, adding to a string of deals in the rapidly consolidating industry. The deal will create a business with 2018 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 500 million euros ($587 million) on revenue of 1.3 billion euros and 3,500 staff, the two private equity-backed companies said on Monday. Usually set up by banks, payments firms have long enjoyed a cosy relationship with lenders as customers but often have lacked the funds needed to invest in technology. Payments companies now also need scale to navigate increasing regulatory complexity, which has spurred M&A activity in the sector. As part of the deal, Concardis’ private equity owners - Bain and Advent - will receive Nets shares for their holdings in Concardis, while Hellman & Friedman’s Nets shareholdings will be diluted. Concardis and Nets were acquired by the private equity groups last year. Concardis was valued at about 700 million euros ($821 million)in the January 2017 deal, sources close to the matter said at the time, while Hellman & Friedman announced the acquisition of Nets for 33.1 billion Danish crowns ($5.22 billion) last September. Worldline ( WLN.PA ) bought Swiss peer SIX Payment Services in May at a post synergies valuation of 17.5 times expected 2019 EBITDA, a target which Nets had also aimed for. “There will be more deals,” Nets Chief Executive Bo Nilsson told Reuters. “We are looking at possible targets in the Nordics, the German-speaking countries and even other geographies and expect to have financial backing for deals from our private equity owners.” He added that the company was targeting annual capital expenditure of 100 million euros to expand the business. “In the Nordics, 75 percent of payments are digital and 25 percent cash. In Germany, it’s still the other way around, so there is abundant scope for growth,” Nilsson said. Reporting by Arno Schuetze; editing by Maria Sheahan and Jason Neely  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-04T15:17:00.000+03:00|SocGen and UniCredit shares rise on merger talk|PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - Shares in French bank Societe Generale and its Italian rival UniCredit rose on Monday after the Financial Times reported that both banks were exploring a merger. SocGen shares were up 2.4 percent while UniCredit shares rose 3.8 percent. Analysts at investment bank Jefferies said that while such a deal could make sense at an operational level, it could face hurdles, such as the uncertain political climate in Italy. “What surprises us in terms of timing is: 1) The Italian political situation has increased the costs of capital of all Italian assets; 2) SG still remains difficult, with one litigation case to close as SG today announced a finalization of settlement of Libor and Libya for less than 1 billion euros,” wrote Jefferies in a note. On Sunday, SocGen denied “any board discussion regarding a potential merger with UniCredit”, according to an emailed statement to Reuters. UniCredit declined to comment on the FT report, while saying their ‘Transform 2019’ turnaround plan is based on “organic assumptions”. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Louise Heavens  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T15:25:00.000+03:00|DS Smith to buy Europac for $2.2 billion as paper deals accelerate|June 4, 2018 / 6:40 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago DS Smith to buy Europac for $2.2 billion as paper deals accelerate Justin George Varghese , Paul Sandle 5 Min Read (Reuters) - UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc ( SMDS.L ) has offered to buy Spanish rival Europac ( PYCE.MC ) for 1.9 billion euros (1.64 billion pounds) including debt to bolster its position in western Europe’s fast-growing packaging market. A deal would be DS Smith’s biggest acquisition to date and the latest in an industry benefiting from growing demand from online retailers. “Europac’s board of directors has confirmed that the acquisition is friendly and attractive,” DS Smith said on Monday, adding it had received undertakings to accept the offer from shareholders owning 58.97 percent of the Spanish company. Chief Executive Miles Roberts said the deal would cement DS Smith as the market leader in France and make it number two in Spain, serving customers in fast-moving consumer goods, food products and e-commerce, where it is already a leading supplier to customers including Amazon. “It’s an exceptional opportunity to enhance our customer offer in a key packaging growth region,” he told reporters. The proposed deal is the latest in a consolidating sector. Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa ( SKG.I ) agreed to buy Dutch paper and recycling firm Reparenco last month in an attempt to see off a takeover bid from U.S. rival International Paper ( IP.N ). Europac shares rose 8 percent to 16.8 euros on Monday, matching DS Smith’s offer price, while DS Smith’s climbed 3.7 percent to a record 583 pence. Trevor Green, head of UK equities at Aviva, the biggest shareholder in DS Smith with a 7.15 percent stake, said it was an “exciting deal” at an opportune time. “This management team has an excellent track record of integrating and turning around acquisitions,” he said. Roberts said the additional paper production from Europac would be absorbed in the coming years as the group’s package requirements were growing at over 200,000 tonnes a year, so there would be no need for major capacity reductions in Spain. Europac made about 940,000 tonnes of the “kraftliner” used in corrugated paper boxes last year. PAPER OVER PLASTIC DS Smith also said it had started a strategic review of its plastics business, which accounts for 6-7 percent of turnover, as it increases its focus on production of fibre products. Roberts said it was too early to indicate any conclusions. The British company will finance the acquisition by raising 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) from issuing new shares, plus a new debt facility of 740 million euros, it said. The offer price values Europac’s equity at 1.67 billion euros. Including debt, the deal is worth 1.9 billion euros. The deal is conditional on acceptances from Europac shareholders representing at least 50 percent plus one share, regulatory approvals and the approval of DS Smith’s shareholders, DS Smith said. It said the undertakings of support it had received included certain members of the Isidro family, which owns around 42 percent of Europac. Family member and Europac Executive Chairman José Miguel Isidro Rincón said the deal would deliver operating and commercial synergies for both companies. DS Smith said the offer valued Europac at 8.4 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for the year ended March. Roberts said there were many opportunities to improve efficiency at Europac, which employs 2,300 people across 23 locations, for example by reducing the weight of its cardboard boxes that are on average 20 percent heavier than DS Smith’s. DS Smith expects annual pretax cost savings of 50 million euros. Roberts said there was little overlap between the two firms, with Europac having a greater focus on paper than DS Smith, making him confident of winning regulatory approval. DS Smith said it expected to have a net debt to EBITDA ratio of less than 2.5 times by the end of its current financial year, after completing the deal, and remained committed to its medium-term target of 2.0 times. It added that it had performed in line with its expectations since the start of its financial year. Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-04T15:36:00.000+03:00|Walmart sells majority of Brazil unit, takes $4.5 billion charge|NEW YORK/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Walmart Inc said on Monday that it has sold an 80 percent stake in its Brazilian operations to private equity firm Advent International, exiting an underperforming business in its third major international deal since April. The main entrance to a Walmart store is pictured in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/Files The world’s biggest retailer has been looking to jumpstart its overseas business by retreating from lower-growth markets and investing in places like China and India. Brazil had for a decade been the focus of expansion but the unit stumbled in recent years as operational issues compounded the effects of a deep recession. Walmart did not disclose the value of the transaction but said it would record a noncash charge of roughly $4.5 billion related to the deal in the second quarter. The retailer will retain the remaining 20 percent stake in Walmart Brazil. Shares in Walmart rose more than 2 percent, with analysts saying the deal allows the company to focus on more promising markets. Two people involved in the deal said that the charge is close to the value of the Brazilian unit on Walmart’s books, meaning the deal value was close to zero. The sources declined to specify the exact value of the deal and one of the sources said the final value of liabilities was not yet determined. Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said the retailer will not receive payment for the unit but could receive up to $250 million from Advent based on the unit’s performance. Walmart does not disclose detailed financial statements for Brazil. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer is trying to catch up with competitors ranging from grocer Aldi Inc to Amazon.com Inc in key markets. Walmart’s underperforming international business made up less than one-quarter of total revenue of $500.3 billion in fiscal 2018. In an effort to fix its international performance, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon in January appointed Chief Operating Officer Judith McKenna to run the international unit. Walmart recently sold a majority stake in its UK arm ASDA to J Sainsbury Plc and paid $16 billion for a majority stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart. Steven Roorda, portfolio manager with Minnesota-based Stonebridge Capital Advisors and holds Walmart shares, said the retailer has struggled outside North America and “CEO McMillon (is) picking markets that he thinks he can scale and win in.” The move is credit positive as it allows Walmart to make investments in places that have more long-term potential, said Moody’s retail analyst Charlie O’Shea. Walmart had been looking for buyers for its Brazilian business and sounded out possible investors last year but received no interest from rival retailers, according to a source. Reuters had reported in January that Walmart was shopping its Brazilian unit to private equity firm Advent and others. In March, Reuters reported that in the due diligence process potential buyers estimated Walmart owes up to $3 billion in back taxes to state governments in Brazil, potentially adding to pressure for a discount sale. Walmart entered Brazil in 1995 and had grown into the country’s third-largest retailer following two major acquisitions in 2004 and 2005 and a period of rapid store expansion that came to a halt in 2013. It operates 471 stores in Brazil, according to the company’s local website. The Brazilian unit reported sales of more than $25 billion Brazilian real ($6.68 billion) in 2017. Walmart has posted operating losses in Brazil for seven straight years after the aggressive, decade-long expansion left it with poor locations, inefficient operations, labor troubles and uncompetitive prices. ( reut.rs/2DWNOtp ) A source with knowledge of the deal said Walmart’s operations in Brazil had not improved over the last two years, which coincided with the country’s harshest recession in decades. Walmart’s brand Maxxi has been underperforming the Atacadão SA division of Carrefour SA and GPA SA unit Assaí. CASH AND CARRY One of the sources, who requested anonymity because details of the transaction have not all been made public, said Advent is expected to invest mainly in the cash-and-carry business, where big box stores sell groceries and other staples in bulk quantities. That format has soared in popularity during Brazil’s recent recession, with stores acting as a wholesaler but also attracting bargain-hunting consumers. The deal includes a commitment from the buyout firm to invest in the business in coming years, the source said, giving Walmart potential upside from its remaining stake. “We plan to invest in the business, work with the Walmart Brazil management team ... to create a more agile and modern company,” Patrice Etlin, a managing partner at Advent International in Brazil said in a statement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and the retailer expects it to close later this year. A significant portion of the expected $4.5 billion net loss will be due to foreign currency translation losses, and the final loss could fluctuate significantly due to changes in forex rates up to the closing date, the retailer said. The retailer expects no material impact to earnings per share in the current fiscal year and a slight positive impact next fiscal year. Walmart was advised by Goldman Sachs and Advent was advised by Credit Suisse and Euro Latina Finance. Law firms in the deal were Skadden, Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey e Quiroga Advogados and Saiani & Saglietti. Reporting by Nandita Bose in New York and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Gram Slattery in Sao Paulo and Uday Sampath Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Meredith Mazzilli Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-04T15:37:00.000+03:00|Russia says Egypt approves halted wheat cargo after second test|June 4, 2018 / 12:42 PM / a day ago Russia says Egypt approves halted wheat cargo after second test Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MOSCOW, June 4 (Reuters) - Egypt has approved a Russian wheat cargo, which was halted by Cairo last week, after a second test showed it did not contain high levels of the grain fungus ergot, Russia’s state Grain Quality Service said on Monday. The second test showed the cargo contained 0.01 percent levels of ergot — below the 0.05 percent limit enforced by Egypt — compared with 0.06 percent in an initial test, it said in a statement. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, halted the entry of a 63,000-tonne Russian wheat cargo last Thursday, but port officials told Reuters on Sunday that the results of a second test indicated ergot levels fell within acceptable limits. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Jason Neely) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAegyptNews|0
2018-06-04T15:42:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Discovery Inc in $2 bln deal for international PGA golf rights|(Reuters) - Discovery Inc, the owner of Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, will invest more than $2 billion over the next decade to broadcast and stream golf’s PGA Tour outside the United States, the company said on Monday. The 12-year partnership involves the development of a new PGA Tour-branded video streaming service, the company said. Discovery will get global TV and online rights to all PGA tour media properties, including tournaments such as The Players Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs and the Presidents Cup. The company will start investing in 2019, it said. Discovery, best known in the United States for cable networks such as TLC, is already an established sports broadcaster in Europe through its subsidiary Eurosport. The PGA partnership will be led by Discovery’s Alex Kaplan, previously executive vice president for Eurosport Digital. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-04T15:46:00.000+03:00|U.S. Senate Democrats vow to buck Trump on N.Korea without tough deal|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats on Monday told President Donald Trump not to make a deal with North Korea that leaves it in possession of nuclear weapons, and threatened to maintain economic sanctions on Pyongyang if that condition is not met. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic Leader, and ranking Democrats from national security committees, released a letter to Trump laying out five demands for any pact. They said they would not only oppose easing sanctions on North Korea but also seek to impose tougher ones if the conditions are not met. Trump plans to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore, the latest twist in the high-stakes diplomacy over U.S. attempts to eliminate Pyongyang’s nuclear arms program. Any plan to ease sanctions under a deal with North Korea might need congressional approval. Under Senate rules, most legislation requires 60 votes to proceed in the 100-member Senate. Since Trump’s fellow Republicans hold only 51 seats, they likely would need Democratic support. The Democrats’ demands include North Korea dismantling and removing every nuclear, chemical and biological weapon, ending the production and enrichment of uranium and plutonium for weapons purposes and permanently dismantling its nuclear weapons infrastructure. They said Kim must also agree to suspend all of North Korea’s ballistic missile tests and disable its programs and commit to robust compliance inspections. “Now that the meeting will proceed as planned, we want to make sure that the president’s desire for a deal with North Korea doesn’t saddle the United States, Japan and (South) Korea with a bad deal,” Schumer told a conference call with reporters. He said Democrats want Trump to achieve “a lasting and strong agreement,” but want him to take time to construct a deal, keep allies in mind and engage closely with Congress in the process of finalizing any pact. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alistair Bell  |https://in.reuters.com/news/world|0
2018-06-04T15:57:00.000+03:00|SocGen upgraded to 'buy' by brokerage Kepler on UniCredit merger talk|PARIS (Reuters) - Brokerage Kepler raised its rating on France’s Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) to “buy” from “hold” on Monday, following the Financial Times’ report that UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) was exploring a merger with SocGen. FILE PHOTO: A logo of French bank Societe Generale is pictured on a building in Geneva, Switzerland, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo - “Société Générale is now at play, in our view, and this warrants an upgrade of our rating from ‘Hold’ to ‘Buy’,” Kepler wrote in a note. On Sunday, SocGen denied “any board discussion regarding a potential merger with UniCredit”, according to an emailed statement to Reuters. UniCredit declined to comment on the FT report, while saying their ‘Transform 2019’ turnaround plan is based on “organic assumptions”. Reporting by Blandine Henault and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Bate Felix  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T16:21:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: ConocoPhillips prepares to sell stake in Canada's Cenovus - sources|(Reuters) - ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) is preparing to offload its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO ), which it acquired as part of an asset sale to the Canadian oil and gas producer last year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Logos of ConocoPhillips are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world's biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The U.S. energy company has held discussions with investment banks about appointing advisers to the sale and could offer the shares to institutional investors as early as this month, said the people. They cautioned that the precise timing would depend on market conditions and could change. If ConocoPhillips does not complete the sale in June or early July, it would then likely wait until September when institutional investors will have returned from their summer vacations, they added. The ConocoPhillips stake in Cenovus is worth C$2.6 billion ($2 billion) based on its current share price but it would likely be sold at a small discount, the sources said. It would still be one of the biggest Canadian equity share sales this year. ConocoPhillips has been actively selling assets and cutting costs in the past two years in order to cull debt and boost its dividend. It sold $17 billion in assets in 2017. When Cenovus acquired oil sands and natural gas assets from ConocoPhillips for C$17 billion last year, it took 208 million shares of Cenovus, as well as C$14.1 billion of cash. The deal made ConocoPhillips the biggest investor in the Calgary, Alberta-based company, although the U.S. oil giant has said it would not be a long-term holder of Cenovus equity. ConocoPhillips and Cenovus declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified as the information is not public. Shares of Cenovus extended their losses, to fall as much as 8.8 percent after the Reuters report. They closed down 5.7 percent at C$12.67 on Monday. The broader Canadian energy index was down 2.1 percent. Cenovus shares have had a wild ride since the acquisition, declining as investors punished the stock over the deal, which was regarded as significantly stretching the Canadian company’s finances. While still down 27 percent since the deal was announced, they have been bouncing back of late on the back of an oil price CLc1 rebound. The stock is up 24 percent in the last three months. The move follows a similar overnight stock sale by Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ), which last month sold its entire stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ) for $3.3 billion. At the time of the 2017 deal, ConocoPhillips valued its Cenovus stake at $9.41 per share based on Cenovus’ New York-listed stock. Since the May 17, 2017, transaction close, the share price has see-sawed above and below that value, although it has consistently traded higher since April 25. While overnight trades tend to be discounted from current share price levels, in order to incentivize investors, Conoco would need Cenovus’ value to be at a point where it is making money even after the discount to make the sale worthwhile. If the same 2.9 percent reduction was applied from Shell’s overnight sale of Canadian Natural Resources shares, the Cenovus stock would need to be above $9.68 to generate a profit. Conoco has also moved aggressively to get cash in other areas, including by seizing international assets controlled by Venezuelan state-controlled oil producer PDVSA. Much of the fresh cash the company has raked in has gone back to shareholders, with the company’s dividend up about 8 percent in the first quarter to 28 cents and a plan to buy back $2 billion in shares this year. Reporting by John Tilak in Toronto, David French in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Denny Thomas, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-04T16:26:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - ConocoPhillips prepares to sell stake in Canada's Cenovus: sources|(Reuters) - ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) is preparing to offload its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO ), which it acquired as part of an asset sale to the Canadian oil and gas producer last year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Logos of ConocoPhillips are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world's biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The U.S. energy company has held discussions with investment banks about appointing advisers to the sale and could offer the shares to institutional investors as early as this month, said the people. They cautioned that the precise timing would depend on market conditions and could change. If ConocoPhillips does not complete the sale in June or early July, it would then likely wait until September when institutional investors will have returned from their summer vacations, they added. The ConocoPhillips stake in Cenovus is worth C$2.6 billion ($2 billion) based on its current share price but it would likely be sold at a small discount, the sources said. It would still be one of the biggest Canadian equity share sales this year. ConocoPhillips has been actively selling assets and cutting costs in the past two years in order to cull debt and boost its dividend. It sold $17 billion in assets in 2017. When Cenovus acquired oil sands and natural gas assets from ConocoPhillips for C$17 billion last year, it took 208 million shares of Cenovus, as well as C$14.1 billion of cash. The deal made ConocoPhillips the biggest investor in the Calgary, Alberta-based company, although the U.S. oil giant has said it would not be a long-term holder of Cenovus equity. ConocoPhillips and Cenovus declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified as the information is not public. Shares of Cenovus extended their losses, to fall as much as 8.8 percent after the Reuters report. They closed down 5.7 percent at C$12.67 on Monday. The broader Canadian energy index was down 2.1 percent. Cenovus shares have had a wild ride since the acquisition, declining as investors punished the stock over the deal, which was regarded as significantly stretching the Canadian company’s finances. While still down 27 percent since the deal was announced, they have been bouncing back of late on the back of an oil price CLc1 rebound. The stock is up 24 percent in the last three months. The move follows a similar overnight stock sale by Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ), which last month sold its entire stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ) for $3.3 billion. At the time of the 2017 deal, ConocoPhillips valued its Cenovus stake at $9.41 per share based on Cenovus’ New York-listed stock. Since the May 17, 2017, transaction close, the share price has see-sawed above and below that value, although it has consistently traded higher since April 25. While overnight trades tend to be discounted from current share price levels, in order to incentivize investors, Conoco would need Cenovus’ value to be at a point where it is making money even after the discount to make the sale worthwhile. If the same 2.9 percent reduction was applied from Shell’s overnight sale of Canadian Natural Resources shares, the Cenovus stock would need to be above $9.68 to generate a profit. Conoco has also moved aggressively to get cash in other areas, including by seizing international assets controlled by Venezuelan state-controlled oil producer PDVSA. Much of the fresh cash the company has raked in has gone back to shareholders, with the company’s dividend up about 8 percent in the first quarter to 28 cents and a plan to buy back $2 billion in shares this year. Reporting by John Tilak in Toronto, David French in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Denny Thomas, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis  |https://in.reuters.com/finance|0
2018-06-04T16:26:00.000+03:00|Abraaj expects deal on secured debt, Kuwaiti creditor holds out|DUBAI (Reuters) - Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. Dubai-based Abraaj Holdings is trying to push through a sale of Abraaj Investment Management to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management as it tries to stem the fallout from allegations it misused investor money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Abraaj, which is the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, denies any wrongdoing. “The secured creditors are expected to imminently conclude a standstill which will provide Abraaj the ability to meet its obligations in an orderly fashion,” Abraaj said in a statement after a meeting with lenders, shareholders and other parties to discuss the restructuring of the firm. Most of the creditors agreed to the standstill, which would see Abraaj’s debt frozen for around 90 to 120 days, two sources said, estimating Abraaj’s total debt at around $1 billion. But the sources said that in order for the sale of its business investment management business to go ahead, Abraaj needs the support of all lenders, including unsecured creditors. A potential obstacle to that deal emerged when Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), an unsecured creditor, refused to agree to the standstill, the sources said. A third source said Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey ( HLI.N ), is still holding talks with unsecured lenders. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that PIFSS filed a case in a Cayman Islands court against Abraaj, claiming it is unable to repay a $100 million loan and $7 million interest. Under the deal offered to lenders, secured creditors would get paid in full with cash now and unsecured creditors would have to wait for payment, with the delay due to the recovery of assets at the holding company level, one of the sources said. Another source said PIFSS was given a 48-hour deadline to agree to the deal and that creditors expected Cerberus would be able to persuade the Kuwaitis to accept too as failure to do so would put the sale in jeopardy and Abraaj’s future at risk. Cerberus, which manages more assets totaling more than $30 billion, specializes in investments in distressed assets. Kuwait’s PIFSS and Cerberus did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Abraaj declined to comment on the discussions with the Kuwaiti lender. Abraaj is facing an investigation by some of its investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm over how the firm used some of their money in its healthcare fund. Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Smith  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-04T17:21:00.000+03:00|Mystery dinosaur skeleton sells for over $2 million at Paris auction|PARIS (Reuters) - The 9-metre long (30 ft) skeleton of a unidentified type of dinosaur, believed to be that of a new species, fetched more than $2.3 million at an auction staged on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday. A dinosaur fossil is on display at the Eiffel tower, in Paris, France, June 2, 2018 ahead of its auction on Monday. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY The fossil, dug up in the western United States in 2013, is known only to belong to a large, carnivorous dinosaur. Scientists who have studied it say there are several differences with known species. “The buyer is French and he told me before the sale ... ‘if I get it, I would present it to the public’ and this is amazing,” auctioneer Claude Aguttes said. “Everyone will be able to see it, it will soon be lent to a museum, it will be studied by scientists, everything is perfect.” The buyer and the seller, identified only as a British businessman, were both unnamed. The sale had been expected to fetch up to $2.1 million. French auction house Aguttes, which had previously sold a mammoth skeleton and that of another dinosaur, had said before Monday’s sale that the buyer might be able to name the new species, sparking objections from a U.S. scientific association. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, had argued in a statement this might run counter to naming rules. It called for the auction to be canceled, saying that private ownership could limit the reach of scientific study even if the skeleton was then released to researchers. Some of the proceeds from the auction will go to two charities working with endangered species, including cheetahs and ocean wildlife. ($1 = 0.8549 euros) Reporting by Celia Mebroukine, Writing by Sarah White,; Editing by Catherine Evans Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/news/science|0
2018-06-04T17:26:00.000+03:00|Mystery dinosaur skeleton sells for over $2 mln at Paris auction|PARIS (Reuters) - The 9-metre long (30 ft) skeleton of a unidentified type of dinosaur, believed to be be that of a new species, fetched more than $2.3 million at an auction staged on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday. A dinosaur fossil is on display at the Eiffel tower, in Paris, France, June 2, 2018 ahead of its auction on Monday. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer The fossil, dug up in the western United States in 2013, is known only to belong to a large, carnivorous dinosaur. Scientists who have studied it say there are several differences with known species. “The buyer is French and he told me before the sale ... ‘if I get it, I would present it to the public’ and this is amazing,” auctioneer Claude Aguttes said. “Everyone will be able to see it, it will soon be lent to a museum, it will be studied by scientists, everything is perfect.” The buyer and the seller, identified only as a British businessman, were both unnamed. Workers reconstruct dinosaur fossil at the Eiffel tower, in Paris, France, June 2, 2018 ahead of its auction on Monday. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer The sale had been expected to fetch up to $2.1 million. French auction house Aguttes, which had previously sold a mammoth skeleton and that of another dinosaur, had said before Monday’s sale that the buyer might be able to name the new species, sparking objections from a U.S. scientific association. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, had argued in a statement this might run counter to naming rules. It called for the auction to be cancelled, saying that private ownership could limit the reach of scientific study even if the skeleton was then released to researchers. Slideshow (9 Images) Some of the proceeds from the auction will go to two charities working with endangered species, including cheetahs and ocean wildlife. Reporting by Celia Mebroukine, Writing by Sarah White,; Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T17:31:00.000+03:00|Van Gogh landscape sells for 7 million euros at auction|June 4, 2018 / 7:31 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Van Gogh landscape sells for 7 million euros at auction Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - An early landscape by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the art world’s most sought-after painters, sold for 7.07 million euros ($8.27 million) at an auction in Paris on Monday. Painted in 1882, “Fishing Net Menders in the Dunes” depicts peasant women working on the land under a cloudy sky, inspired by the countryside around The Hague, where Van Gogh passed a short but formative period. The painting, the first Van Gogh to be auctioned in France for more than 20 years, had been valued at 3 million to 5 million euros. It was purchased by a buyer based in North America, auction house Artcurial said. On average only two or three works by the Dutch impressionist appear on the international market each year, the auction house said. While hardly cheap, the price comes nowhere near the record $450.3 million paid last November for “Salvator Mundi”, Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th century portrait of Christ, which is due to go on display in a new branch of the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. ($1 = 0.8551 euros) An Artcurial employee poses as he holds the painting «Raccommodeuses de filets dans les dunes, 1882» (Women Mending Nets in the Dunes) by Vincent Van Gogh during a preview for media at their auction house in Paris, France March 28, 2018. Picture taken March 28, 2018. REUTERSGonzalo Fuentes Reporting by Johnny Cotton, Writing by Robin Pomeroy, Editing by Sarah White|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T17:31:00.000+03:00|Van Gogh landscape sells for 7 million euros at auction|June 4, 2018 / 7:31 PM / Updated 15 hours ago Van Gogh landscape sells for 7 million euros at auction Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - An early landscape by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the art world’s most sought-after painters, sold for 7.07 million euros ($8.27 million) at an auction in Paris on Monday. Painted in 1882, “Fishing Net Menders in the Dunes” depicts peasant women working on the land under a cloudy sky, inspired by the countryside around The Hague, where Van Gogh passed a short but formative period. The painting, the first Van Gogh to be auctioned in France for more than 20 years, had been valued at 3 million to 5 million euros. It was purchased by a buyer based in North America, auction house Artcurial said. On average only two or three works by the Dutch impressionist appear on the international market each year, the auction house said. While hardly cheap, the price comes nowhere near the record $450.3 million paid last November for “Salvator Mundi”, Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th century portrait of Christ, which is due to go on display in a new branch of the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. Slideshow (2 Images)|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-04T18:07:00.000+03:00|NORWEGIAN STOCKS-Kongsberg, Hoegh and Questerre rise on deals, upgrades|OSLO, June 4 (Reuters) - * Norwegian shares traded up on Monday * Oslo’s benchmark index rose 0.24 pct, or 2.12 points, to 882.65 points and was up by 8.11 pct year-to-date * The broader Oslo All Share Index was up 0.23 percent * Brent crude futures, a trigger for the oil heavy Oslo Bourse, fell $0.5 to $76.29 a barrel * Among the biggest firms on the Oslo Bourse, Equinor was flat 0.00 pct, Telenor rose 1.44 pct and DNB rose 0.13 pct * Turnover at the Oslo Bourse was 1.4 billion Norwegian crowns and most traded shares were Equinor, Telenor and Marine Harvest * Shares of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA were up 3.17 pct to NOK 189 * Broker DNB Markets raises recommendation to buy from hold and share price target to NOK 210 from 200 after Kongsberg Gruppen on Friday won a missile deal with the U.S. Navy * Shares of BW LPG Ltd were up 2.22 pct to NOK 35.45, peer Avance Gas rose 0.9 pct * Avance Gas spot index for very large gas carriers rose for the third consecutive week to $6,281 per day from $4,774 the previous week * Canadian gas explorer Questerre rose 9.5 pct to NOK 6.31 * Questerre says it has settled a lawsuit in Quebec, which means it will acquire exploration rights to 753,000 net acres in the Lowlands area * Broker Pareto reiterate buy on Questerre and said it was likely it will raise share price target from current NOK 11 per share * Hoegh LNG rose 2 pct after winning a 3 year contract for its Esperanza FSRU unit with China’s CNOOC * Biggest losers: Bergenbio ASA -6.54 pct, BW Offshore Ltd -4.21 pct and Nel ASA -3.99 pct * Abroad European shares rose 0.54 pct, Japan’s main share index Nikkei ended up 1.37 pct, while in China Shanghai index was up 0.52 pct and Dow Jones index in the United States 0.90 pct on Friday (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord, editing by Terje Solsvik)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T18:11:00.000+03:00|Enel buys more than 70 percent of Eletropaulo shares for $1.48 billion|SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Italy’s Enel SpA ( ENEI.MI ) acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo ( ELPL3.SA ) on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. FILE PHOTO: The new logo of Italy's biggest utility Enel is seen inside its flagship store in downtown Milan, Italy, May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo The offer on Monday, accepted by Eletropaulo shareholders, was a formality after Enel won a bidding war with Spain’s Iberdrola SA last week ( IBE.MC ) for Eletropaulo, Brazil’s largest power distribution company by revenue. Enel paid 45.22 reais per share, according to local exchange B3, which oversaw the auction and final offer. It also pledged to make a capital injection of 1.5 billion reais in Eletropaulo. With the deal, Enel overtakes CPFL Energia, which is controlled by China’s State Grid, to lead the Brazil market. Enel’s client base in power distribution in Brazil will jump to 17 million from 7 million. The company’s final price for the Brazilian company represents a 164 percent premium over the value of its shares in March, when the Italian firm first showed interest. Besides Iberdrola, local company Energisa SA ( ENGI11.SA ) also contested the auction. Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-04T18:17:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Nestlé Finalizes Factory Deal In Trenton|June 4 (Reuters) - Nestle SA: * NESTLÉ FINALIZES FACTORY DEAL IN TRENTON, MO FOR FUTURE MANUFACTURING OF CHEF-MATE® PRODUCTS * NESTLE PROFESSIONAL SAYS FINALIZED PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR MANUFACTURING ASSETS IN TRENTON, MO THAT WILL SUPPORT FUTURE PRODUCTION OF CHEF-MATE BRAND Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-04T18:41:00.000+03:00|Brazil-Canada JV to grow though acquisitions in renewable power|(This version of the story has been refiled to fix typographical error in headline) FILE PHOTO: A motorcyclist rides past the name of Votorantim city at a square in the city, Brazil, April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker By Marcelo Teixeira SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A joint venture formalized last week by one of Brazil’s largest conglomerates and a Canadian retirement fund plans to become a major renewable power generator in Brazil, mostly through acquisitions. Brazil’s Votorantim Energia, controlled by privately-held Votorantim SA, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) last week closed a deal to form a 50-50 venture to invest in renewable energy in Brazil. Among the opportunities the JV is looking at are subsidiaries that Brazil’s state-controlled power company Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA ( ELET6.SA ) plans to sell, Votorantim Energia Chief Executive Fabio Zanfelice told Reuters on Monday. “We have high ambition, and if you look at the size of the partners, we want to build a company of presence, of relevance in this market,” Zanfelice said. The venture manages two large wind parks in northeastern Brazil with combined generation capacity of 565 megawatts. It is looking at expansion opportunities in a sector where there have been several deals as indebted local companies sell projects to new investors after Brazil’s deepest depression. “Both partners have the desire and the capital to grow. We are not setting targets, we are looking for good deals that deliver good returns for shareholders,” he said. The Votorantim conglomerate is already a large power generator in Brazil, with around 2.2 gigawatts of installed capacity. But it had until recently only focused on generating energy to supply its subsidiaries such as the Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio (CBA). The decision to enter the broader Brazilian power market, building a portfolio of power plants to compete for long-term contracts in the regulated market, is recent. Zanfelice said current political and financial instability in Brazil is not a deterrent for Canadian investment, adding that contracts in the country’s power sector are solid, with fixed returns. Both the wind parks under management have 20-year supply contracts. The joint-venture sees a future in Brazil for the so-called hybrid parks, which will combine in the same location wind, solar and, in the near future, storage capacity through batteries. “Adding solar panels in the wind parks would complement production, and the batteries would stabilize the generation,” he said. Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Susan Thomas  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-04T18:42:00.000+03:00|Scandinavian payments group Nets to merge with German peer Concardis|FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - Scandinavian payments group Nets is planning to merge with German peer Concardis in a multi-billion euro transaction, adding to a string of deals in the rapidly consolidating industry. The deal will create a business with annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 500 million euros ($587 million) on 1.3 billion euros of revenues, the two private equity-backed companies said on Monday. For decades, payments firms existed as a backwater in the banking landscape. Usually set up by banks, they enjoyed a cosy relationship with them as customers but had few funds at their disposal to invest in technology. As well as investing in innovation, payments companies now also need scale to navigate increasing regulatory complexity, which has been a driver for M&A activity in the sector. As part of the deal, Concardis’ private equity owners - Bain and Advent - will receive Nets shares for their holdings in Concardis, while Hellman & Friedman’s Nets shareholdings will be diluted. Both Concardis and Nets were only acquired by the private equity groups last year. Concardis was valued at about 700 million euros in the January 2017 deal, sources close to the matter said at the time, while Hellman & Friedman announced the acquisition of Nets for 33.1 billion Danish crowns ($5.22 billion) in September. In other recent deals, Worldline bought Swiss peer SIX Payment Services in May, a target which Nets had also vied for. ($1 = 6.3436 Danish crowns) $1 = 0.8524 euros Reporting by Arno Schuetze Editing by Maria Sheahan  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|1
2018-06-04T18:52:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 4 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1045 GMT on Monday: ** Germany’s Bayer will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. ** AccorHotels is looking at taking a minority stake in troubled airline Air France KLM to compete better with the broader travel packages offered by online rivals such as Expedia and Booking.com. ** Italy’s third largest bank, Banco BPM, is looking to sell part of its debt servicing unit as it strives to meet its bad-loan reduction goals two years ahead of time, sources familiar with the matter said. ** Shareholders of Slovenian shipping firm Intereuropa on Monday announced a tender for expressions of interest in buying 72.13 percent of the company, financial consultancy PwC said. ** Luxembourg’s Anatol S.a.r.l. plans to lauch a takeover bid for all of Slovenia’s metal products maker Cinkarna Celje , Nova Ljubljanska Banka, which is leading the process, said. ** Shares in lender CYBG rose 3 percent on Monday after it announced a revised bid for rival Virgin Money, increasing the likelihood of a deal that would create a new competitor to Britain’s biggest banks. ** Britain’s Rolls-Royce said it had completed the sale of Germany-based diesel parts maker L’Orange to U.S.-based engineering company Woodward Inc with net proceeds totalling 673 million euros. ** Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA is exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA in a move that would see the European banks leading the way for banking mergers on the continent, the FT said on Sunday. ** UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc offered to buy Europac, valuing its Spanish rival at 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) as it looks to strengthen its business in western Europe in what would be its biggest-ever acquisition. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|1
2018-06-04T18:53:00.000+03:00|Nomad Foods to buy UK's Aunt Bessie’s|June 4 (Reuters) - Nomad Foods said on Monday it would buy British packaged foods maker Aunt Bessie’s from William Jackson & Son Ltd for 240 million euros ($281.33 million). The acquisition of Aunt Bessie’s, known for its Yorskhire puddings and frozen potatoes, will expand Nomad’s footprint in the U.K. adding to its Birds Eye brand and Goodfella’s Pizza which it acquired in April. ($1 = 0.8531 euros) (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|1
2018-06-04T19:01:00.000+03:00|FDA approves Mylan's biosimilar to Neulasta|June 4, 2018 / 9:01 PM / Updated a day ago FDA approves Mylan drug as first biosimilar to Amgen's Neulasta Tamara Mathias 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Mylan NV on Monday beat a clutch of drugmakers racing to get a biosimilar to Amgen Inc’s blockbuster drug, Neulasta, to market, with U.S. health regulators approving its version of the infection-fighting treatment. Mylan’s shares rose 5.2 percent to $40.50 after the bell, while Amgen fell 1.7 percent to $182.30. Mylan and its partner - India’s Biocon - expect to launch the drug, Fulphila, in the coming weeks, the companies said. Neulasta, which is used to fight infections in cancer patients, brought Amgen revenue of $4.53 billion last year and accounted for nearly 21 percent of total product sales. While competition for the drug has long been expected, Monday’s approval positions Mylan favorably, according to analysts. “Mylan is thus far the only approved biosimilar, and may therefore fill the channel ahead of competition,” Mizuho Securities analyst Irina Koffler said in a note. Koffler estimates that Fulphila could bring in peak sales of $554 million in 2022. Fulphila is the second biosimilar from Mylan and Biocon to be approved in six months, after the FDA gave its nod to the companies’ version of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer treatment, Herceptin, in December. In 2017, the FDA declined to approve Fulphila and asked for more data related to manufacturing facilities of the drug’s developers. The FDA has also previously rejected biosimilars to Neulasta from Novartis AG and Coherus BioSciences Inc. Biologic drugs such as Neulasta are made inside living cells, and it is impossible to make exact generic copies. As a result, regulators are approving products deemed “similar” enough as biologics. in the hope that they . In the wake of widespread criticism of corporate greed in the pharmaceutical industry, the agency has prioritized the approval of cheaper copies of branded medicines to increase competition in the market and tackle soaring branded drug prices. Mylan's Fulphila can cause serious side effects including a rupture of the spleen, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and serious allergic reactions, the FDA said here :newsml:reuters.com:20180604:nPn20lMSma. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel|https://in.reuters.com/news/health|0
2018-06-04T19:22:00.000+03:00|Nomad Foods buys UK's Aunt Bessie's for $281 million|(Reuters) - Nomad Foods ( NOMD.N ) said on Monday it would buy British frozen foods maker Aunt Bessie’s from William Jackson & Son Ltd for 240 million euros ($281.33 million). Aunt Bessie’s, known for its Yorkshire puddings and frozen potatoes, will expand Nomad’s footprint in the UK adding to its Birds Eye brand. The acquisition is Nomad’s second this year, following the company’s 225 million euro ($263.70 million) acquisition of Goodfella’s Pizza which it completed in April. Aunt Bessie’s is expected to immediately add to Nomad’s earnings and will expand its presence within the potatoes category, one of the largest segments in frozen food, the company said. Credit Suisse acted as financial adviser and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal adviser to Nomad Foods on the transaction while Stamford Partners acted as financial adviser and Addleshaw Goddard acted as legal adviser to William Jackson & Son. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber  |https://www.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-04T19:36:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Italy's Enel buys Brazil's Eletropaulo for $1.48 bln|(Adds details of offer, background) By Luciano Costa SAO PAULO, June 4 (Reuters) - Italy’s Enel SpA acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. The offer on Monday, accepted by Eletropaulo shareholders, was a formality after Enel won a bidding war with Spain’s Iberdrola SA last week for Eletropaulo, Brazil’s largest power distribution company by revenue. Enel paid 45.22 reais per share, according to local exchange B3, which oversaw the auction and final offer. It also pledged to make a capital injection of 1.5 billion reais in Eletropaulo. With the deal, Enel overtakes CPFL Energia, which is controlled by China’s State Grid, to lead the Brazil market. Enel’s client base in power distribution in Brazil will jump to 17 million from 7 million. The company’s final price for the Brazilian company represents a 164 percent premium over the value of its shares in March, when the Italian firm first showed interest. Besides Iberdrola, local company Energisa SA also contested the auction. $1 = 3.7377 reais Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|1
2018-06-04T19:37:00.000+03:00|Malaysia mulling task force to probe French submarine deal|June 5th, 2018 South East Asia Malaysia’s cabinet is discussing setting up a special task force to investigate alleged corruption during the purchase of two French submarines in 2002 when the defense ministry was headed by ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak. Since his surprise defeat in an election last month, Najib has been barred from leaving the country, and anti-corruption agents have re-launched a probe into how billions of dollars went missing from a state fund that he founded. Najib has denied any wrongdoing, but during nearly a decade in power he was dogged by scandal, mostly financial, including over suspected kickbacks paid in the submarine deal.  www.reuters.com|https://www.reuters.com/subjects/aerospace-and-defense|0
2018-06-04T20:03:00.000+03:00|Breakingviews - Italy’s politics is new obstacle to UniCredit deal|LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Jean Pierre Mustier can’t be faulted for his ambition. In the middle of a demanding turnaround of UniCredit, the Frenchman has once again raised the idea of merging Italy’s biggest bank by assets with his former employer Société Générale, according to the Financial Times. The much-mooted combination would create a behemoth stretching from France to Russia. But Italy’s radical new government presents a fresh obstacle. Italy's largest bank UniCredit is pictured in downtown Milan September 12, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini ( ITALY - Tags: BUSINESS) - GM1E99C1OND01 There are good reasons why the idea of uniting the two lenders has been kicked around for a decade and a half – and why it has not happened. The combined bank would derive over two-fifths of its revenue from France, Italy and Germany, and another 16 percent from eastern Europe, according to analysts at KBW. Its bigger investment banking unit would be better able to compete with American rivals. Jefferies analysts reckon the two could cut costs by around 1.6 billion euros a year before tax, equal to 18 percent of their combined 2017 pre-tax profit. The merger would also fulfil the European Central Bank’s aspirations for bigger, more diversified European banks. Though past talks have foundered on clashing executive egos, there is some overlap between the two lenders’ respective management teams. Mustier once ran SocGen’s investment banking arm. The 30 billion euro French group’s Chairman, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, is a respected Italian economist and former ECB board member. Yet the usual barriers to cross-border European consolidation still apply. The larger bank would face extra capital requirements and struggle to mesh disparate computer systems. A merger would also do little to lower national barriers that require UniCredit’s German unit to maintain an unusually high capital buffer, more than a decade after the Italian group took control. The new stumbling block, however, is Italy’s politics. The 32 billion UniCredit holds 51 billion euros of Italian government bonds, making it vulnerable to doubts about the new government’s commitment to the single currency. The administration’s policies would also make Italy’s labour market less flexible, and could make it harder for lenders to seize collateral backing bad loans. Despite a recent bounce, UniCredit shares are down 17 percent over the past two weeks. Shifting UniCredit’s head office to Paris might help to insulate the bank’s non-Italian operations from political turmoil in Rome. But unless Italy’s euro zone tantrums diminish, the SocGen merger dream looks likely to remain just that. Breakingviews Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com . All opinions expressed are those of the authors. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T20:24:00.000+03:00|Iran sells first cargo of West Karoun oil to Spain's Repsol: sources|NEW DELHI/ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran has awarded its first cargo of West Karoun oil to Spain’s Repsol, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, indicating that Tehran is keen to boost its oil exports despite the looming threat of sanctions. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Spanish energy giant Repsol SA is seen during the opening ceremony of its first gas station in Mexico City, Mexico March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo The Persian Gulf nation’s exports hit 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, the oil ministry’s news agency SHANA reported on Saturday, a new record since the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran in 2016. Iran exported 2.4 million bpd of crude oil in May, SHANA reported, and 300,000 bpd of natural gas condensate. U.S. President Donald Trump last month pulled out of the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. The remaining signatories of the deal - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - still see the international accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and are trying to salvage it. Iran is marketing the West Karoun crude as Pars oil, two sources said. Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Tehran considers the nuclear deal in place as long as Iran could sell its crude and receive its money. National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) has already distributed the samples of the heavy oil from West Karoun oilfields in southwest Iran to some customers. Production from the field has nearly doubled in the past year to 300,000 bpd, sources told Reuters last month. Repsol has agreed to take 500,000 barrels of Pars crude on a spot basis, one of the sources said. The Spanish firm will be co-loading the cargo with Iranian heavy grade, this source said, adding Repsol is scheduled to lift the cargo later this week or early next week. Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on May 23 that European powers must protect Iranian oil sales from U.S. sanctions, and continue buying Iranian crude, if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal. The bulk of Iran’s crude exports, at least 1.8 million bpd, goes to Asia. Most of the rest goes to Europe and these volumes are seen by analysts and traders as the more vulnerable to being curbed by U.S. sanctions. A Repsol spokesman said the company does not comment on individual cargoes. Additional Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore, Amanda Cooper in LONDON and Jose Elias Rodriguez in MADRID; editing by David Evans  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T20:42:00.000+03:00|Cross-border bond buying may tumble this year as QE unwound - Oxford Economics|LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Global cross-border debt buying could fall by more than half this year from 2017 levels as the ECB looks to reduce its stimulus, exacerbating upward pressure on bond yields, especially in the United States, according to Oxford Economics. The consultancy estimated in a note on Monday that cross-border debt purchases would average $500 billion in 2018, compared with $1.2 trillion last year, with a disproportionate impact from the end of the European Central Bank’s stimulus programme. The ECB is currently expected to wind up its quantitative easing (QE) programme by the end of this year, likely prompting European investors to rotate back into domestic securities to the tune of up to 200 billion euros ($235 billion) a year, Oxford Economics said, while U.S. investors’ cross-border buying is also seen declining. “The consequences for global markets of an end to ECB QE will be much bigger than those associated with the end of the Fed’s QE,” it added. This is because shortages of euro zone debt caused by ECB buying forced European investors to venture overseas, buying an average $500 billion of foreign securities annually in recent years - making them the world’s largest cross-border bond investors. European buying of U.S. debt had mitigated the impact of the U.S. Federal Reserve reducing its own QE in 2014, but U.S. investors are unlikely to pick up the slack from the ECB, OE said, for two main reasons. Firstly, U.S. overseas buying during the Fed QE period averaged just $200 billion a year - much less than European overseas buying of bonds during ECB QE. Secondly, the U.S. government and companies are also stepping up their debt supply. “The expected greater (U.S.) supply, and subdued portfolio growth, imply fewer foreign purchases and thus a more limited provision of liquidity to global markets,” OE wrote. “The liquidity squeeze is large and could even have a macro impact sufficiently strong that it slows down the actions that drive the squeeze,” it added, in a reference to central banks’ policy tightening. Other economies too look unlikely to pick up the slack in cross-border bond purchases. While Europeans last year accounted for 46 percent of cross-border bond purchases, other developed markets bought just 14 percent, OE calculated. It added that emerging markets’ foreign debt buying was also not seen recovering to past levels. U.S. fixed income is most exposed to the “retrenchment” of cross-border liquidity, the note predicted, adding almost a tenth of the debt stock was held by Europeans, alongside 6 percent of emerging debt. The rotation in European investors’ holdings would in turn benefit the euro, OE added. ($1 = 0.8527 euros) (Reporting by Sujata Rao Editing by Hugh Lawson)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T21:07:00.000+03:00|Microsoft to buy coding site GitHub for $7.5 bln|June 4 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Monday it would buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc for $7.5 billion in all-stock deal. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the calendar year. (Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|1
2018-06-04T21:08:00.000+03:00|Microsoft to buy coding site GitHub for $7.5 billion|"(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) said on Monday it would buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc for $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal to beef up its cloud computing business and challenge market leader Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). The deal is a big bet on Azure, the company’s fast-growing cloud business, as it will be able to lure more code developers who use GitHub and drive more business to Microsoft. By pulling off its largest acquisition since the $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, Microsoft gets a platform universally known by developers. GitHub calls itself the world’s largest code host with more than 28 million developers using its platform. After reports of a likely deal between Microsoft and GitHub emerged on Sunday, some users of the software development platform raised doubts on social network Reddit here that GitHub would ""eventually favor Microsoft products over competing alternatives."" But Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella downplayed those concerns by saying on a conference call that GitHub will continue to be an open platform that works with all public clouds. He said Microsoft will use GitHub to promote company’s own developer tools and use its sales team to speed up adoption of GitHub by its big business customers. The deal reflects the company’s ongoing pivot to open source software and seeks to further broaden its large and growing development community, Moody’s analyst Richard Lane said. FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo - RC17B8BED5A00 It’s also a smart move by Microsoft, which has seen scorching growth in its cloud business over the past few years. Azure posted a 93 percent jump in revenue in the third quarter ended March 31. Last year, the software giant shut down CodePlex, its own rival for GitHub, saying the latter was the dominant location for open source sharing and that most such projects had already migrated there. After closing the acquisition, expected by the end of the calendar year, GitHub will become a part of Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud unit. Microsoft’s Nat Friedman will take over as the Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco-headquartered GitHub, whose current CEO Chris Wanstrath will become a Microsoft technical fellow. On an adjusted basis, Microsoft expects the deal to add to its operating income in fiscal 2020 and reduce earnings per share by less than 1 percent in 2019 and 2020. Microsoft shares rose nearly 1 percent to hit a record high of $101.79. Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Salvador Rodriguez in San Francisco; Editing by Arun Koyyur  "|http://feeds.feedburner.com/reuters/businessNews/|1
2018-06-04T21:32:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 4)|BRUSSELS, June 4 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Private equity funds Altor Funds to acquire Swedish packaging company Trioplast Idustrier (approved June 1) — Private equity firm AEA Investors and investment firm British Columbia Investment Management Corp to acquire joint control of window coverings maker SIWF Holdings Inc (Springs) (approved June 1) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (notified May 7/deadline June 15/simplified) — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|1
2018-06-04T21:57:00.000+03:00|ECB blames German bond redemptions for lower buys in Italy|FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank bought more government bonds from Germany and fewer from Italy and France in April to compensate for the previous month, when it had done the opposite due to “high” redemptions in Germany, an ECB spokesman said on Monday. He was seeking to counter speculation in Italy that the ECB had deliberately bought less of the country’s debt to influence the formation of a new government in Rome late last month. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Kevin Liffey)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T22:28:00.000+03:00|U.N. watchdog confident of North Korea role if nuclear deal is struck|VIENNA(Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog is confident that it is best placed to verify any nuclear deal reached with North Korea and would be able to deploy quickly, the head of the agency said on Monday. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano waits for the start of a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger U.S. President Donald Trump plans to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12 in a bid to eliminate Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is best-known for its work in Iran, where it is policing the restrictions placed on the country’s nuclear activities under the 2015 deal with major powers that Trump pulled out of last month. IAEA inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano waits for the start of a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger “No one said, ‘If we reach agreement, please do the verification job’. That’s not like that,” IAEA chief Yukiya Amano told a news conference when asked if either side involved in the summit had indicated that his agency would be called on. Slideshow (2 Images) “However, we have liaised with stakeholders and had a number of exchanges and through these exchanges it is very clear that if there is anybody, any organization that can do the verification, it is us, the IAEA,” he said. Since no deal has been struck yet it is too early to say how big the IAEA’s job would be or what resources it would require, according to Amano. The IAEA deals with verifying that nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes, rather than with disarmament. But the task in North Korea would still be large. Although much remains unknown about the country’s activities, they are advanced - unlike Iran it has built and tested nuclear weapons. Inspectors should, however, be able to deploy there quickly once the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors formally gave the agency the nod, Amano said. “We will be able to resume our activities at short notice, within weeks, not months, once board authorization is given.” Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T22:28:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Playway Sells Over 200,000 Pieces Of 'House Flipper' Game|June 4 (Reuters) - PLAYWAY SA: * SAID ON SUNDAY OVER 200,000 PIECES OF ITS GAME ‘HOUSE FLIPPER’ HAVE BEEN SOLD SINCE IT PREMIERED ON STEAM PLATFORM ON MAY 17 * CO SAID THE GAME WAS PERMANENTLY IN TOP 25 STEAM GLOBAL SALE AND HAS THE LARGEST REVENUE DURING FIRST 14 DAYS IN CO’S HISTORY * DUE TO GREAT INTEREST OF ONLINE SALES STORES, CO IS PLANNING “SIGNIFICANT” EXPOSURE OF THE GAME DURING SALES PERIODS WITH DISCOUNT OF UP TO 20% Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T22:43:00.000+03:00|Japan's Sharp close to deal to buy Toshiba's PC business: sources|TOKYO (Reuters) - Sharp Corp is in talks to finalize a deal to buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business for around 5 billion yen ($45.7 million), as the Japanese electronics unit of Taiwan’s Foxconn seeks to re-enter the PC market, sources said. FILE PHOTO - A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The two companies are aiming to clinch the deal as early as this week, the sources close to the transaction said. They declined to be identified because the talks are private. Sharp’s return to the PC market, first reported by the Nikkei business daily, marks a rare move among Japanese electronics manufacturers, many of which have exited smartphones, PCs and television sets amid price competition with Asian rivals. Sharp, which withdrew from the PC business in 2010, plans to leverage the vast purchasing network of Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer and major Apple Inc supplier. The Taiwanese company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, already assembles PCs for other global brands. Toshiba’s PC business reported a loss of 9.6 billion yen on sales of 167.3 billion yen in the year ended March. The embattled Japanese conglomerate has sold its television business to China’s Hisense Group and its white goods business to China’s Midea Group as it scrambles for funds to cover billions of dollars in liabilities arising from its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Toshiba said in a statement the company was considering various options for its PC business and was in negotiations with potential buyers. But nothing specific has been decided, it added. Sharp declined to comment. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/technologyNews|0
2018-06-04T22:43:00.000+03:00|Mystery dinosaur skeleton sells for over $2 million at Paris auction|June 4, 2018 / 7:25 PM / 2 days ago Mystery dinosaur skeleton sells for over $2 million at Paris auction Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - The 9-metre long (30 ft) skeleton of a unidentified type of dinosaur, believed to be that of a new species, fetched more than $2.3 million at an auction staged on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday. A dinosaur fossil is on display at the Eiffel tower, in Paris, France, June 2, 2018 ahead of its auction on Monday. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY The fossil, dug up in the western United States in 2013, is known only to belong to a large, carnivorous dinosaur. Scientists who have studied it say there are several differences with known species. “The buyer is French and he told me before the sale ... ‘if I get it, I would present it to the public’ and this is amazing,” auctioneer Claude Aguttes said. “Everyone will be able to see it, it will soon be lent to a museum, it will be studied by scientists, everything is perfect.” The buyer and the seller, identified only as a British businessman, were both unnamed. The sale had been expected to fetch up to $2.1 million. French auction house Aguttes, which had previously sold a mammoth skeleton and that of another dinosaur, had said before Monday’s sale that the buyer might be able to name the new species, sparking objections from a U.S. scientific association. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, had argued in a statement this might run counter to naming rules. It called for the auction to be canceled, saying that private ownership could limit the reach of scientific study even if the skeleton was then released to researchers. Some of the proceeds from the auction will go to two charities working with endangered species, including cheetahs and ocean wildlife. ($1 = 0.8549 euros)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKEntertainment/|0
2018-06-04T23:08:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $35 bln in 4-week bills|WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of 4-week bills on Tuesday, see: here Washington economics newsroom  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T23:10:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds ConocoPhillips, Enel; updates Microsoft, Anatol) June 4 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday: ** ConocoPhillips is preparing to offload its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc that it acquired as part of an asset sale to the Canadian oil and gas producer last year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. ** Microsoft Corp said it would buy privately held coding website GitHub Inc for $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal to beef up its cloud computing business and challenge market leader Amazon.com Inc. ** Italy’s Enel SpA bought 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo in an offer at local exchange B3 , paying around 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion. ** Discovery Inc, the owner of Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, said it will invest more than $2 billion over the next decade to broadcast and stream golf’s PGA Tour outside the United States. ** Walmart Inc said that private equity firm Advent International will pick up an 80 percent stake in Walmart Brazil and the retailer will retain the remaining 20 percent, without disclosing the value of the transaction. ** Richemont has completed the sale of its struggling French leather bag maker Lancel to Italian high-end briefcase maker Piquadro in a profit share deal, the luxury goods maker said. ** Germany’s Bayer will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto on Thursday and also retire the U.S. seeds maker’s 117 year-old name. ** AccorHotels is looking at taking a minority stake in troubled airline Air France KLM to compete better with the broader travel packages offered by online rivals such as Expedia and Booking.com. ** Nomad Foods said it would buy British frozen foods maker Aunt Bessie’s from William Jackson & Son Ltd for 240 million euros ($281.33 million). ** Scandinavian payments group Nets is planning to merge with German peer Concardis in a roughly $6 billion transaction, adding to a string of deals in the rapidly consolidating industry. ** Israel’s Enlight Renewable Energy said on Sunday it is in talks to buy a 300 megawatt wind energy project in western Europe. ** UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc has offered to buy Spanish rival Europac for 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) including debt to bolster its position in western Europe’s fast-growing packaging market. ** Planemaker Boeing Co and French aerospace firm Safran SA will join forces to make and service auxiliary power units (APUs), used to start aircraft engines and run other aircraft systems. ** eBay Inc could end up with a stake of up to 5 percent in Adyen as part of a deal the two companies agreed in January that will see the Dutch fintech company become eBay’s primary payment processor, a Dutch newspaper reported. ** Italy’s third largest bank, Banco BPM, is looking to sell part of its debt servicing unit as it strives to meet its bad-loan reduction goals two years ahead of time, sources familiar with the matter said. ** Shareholders of Slovenian shipping firm Intereuropa on Monday announced a tender for expressions of interest in buying 72.13 percent of the company, financial consultancy PwC said. ** Luxembourg’s Anatol S.a.r.l. plans to lauch a takeover bid for all of Slovenia’s metal products maker Cinkarna Celje , Nova Ljubljanska Banka, which is leading the process, said. ** Shares in lender CYBG rose 3 percent on Monday after it announced a revised bid for rival Virgin Money, increasing the likelihood of a deal that would create a new competitor to Britain’s biggest banks. ** Britain’s Rolls-Royce said it had completed the sale of Germany-based diesel parts maker L’Orange to U.S.-based engineering company Woodward Inc with net proceeds totalling 673 million euros. ** Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA is exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA in a move that would see the European banks leading the way for banking mergers on the continent, the FT said on Sunday. ** UK-based packaging group DS Smith Plc offered to buy Europac, valuing its Spanish rival at 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) as it looks to strengthen its business in western Europe in what would be its biggest-ever acquisition. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-04T23:24:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-ECB buying of Italian debt dwindles just as Rome needs it most|* ECB buys more German debt after Apr redemptions * Italian, French debt stock still well above capital key (Adds detail) FRANKFURT, June 4 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank slowed its purchases of Italian government bonds last month, just as investors were offloading them on fears of a eurosceptic government taking power in Rome, ECB data showed on Monday. The ECB bought 3.6 billion euros ($4.22 billion) worth of Italian government bonds and 4.2 billion euros of French debt as part of its stimulus programme in May, in each case roughly 8 percent less than its rules dictate, according to Reuters calculations on ECB data. The ECB explained the reduced purchases by saying it needed to buy up more paper from Germany, where a large amount of debt had expired in April. The bank was seeking to counter speculation in Italy that it had deliberately bought less of that country’s debt to influence the formation of a new government in Rome, where the president vetoed the appointment of a eurosceptic finance minister amid a market storm. “This is the result of agreed and communicated rules on the timing of re-investments during the net purchases phase,” an ECB spokesman said. “German bond redemptions were high in April 2018 and... had to be spread also to May 2018 to ensure a smooth implementation,” he added. Indeed, the ECB bought 6.9 billion euros of German bonds last month, making up for record-low purchases a month earlier as it had announced. Italy’s two main anti-establishment parties eventually managed to form a government late last week but eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona was not given the finance ministry after the presidential veto. The ECB did not intervene in the market rout that engulfed Italy, sending its borrowing costs soaring, because indicators showed no sign of stress among banks, sources close to the matter told Reuters last week. France and Italy, whose governments have large stocks of debt and run deficits, have benefitted from over-sized ECB purchases for years. The ECB’s holdings of French and Italian debt is nearly 5 percent larger than the rules of the stimulus programme would indicate based on the size of their economies. ($1 = 0.8534 euros) (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Gareth Jones)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-04T23:37:00.000+03:00|Senate Democrats vow to buck Trump on North Korea without tough deal| Top Senate Democrats on Monday told President Donald Trump not to make a deal that leaves North Korea with nuclear weapons, and threatened to maintain or toughen sanctions on Pyongyang if that condition is not met. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to members of the media during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and ranking Democrats from national security committees released a letter to Trump laying out demands for any pact, which they said must be permanent. Trump plans a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12, the latest twist in the high-stakes diplomacy over U.S. attempts to eliminate Pyongyang’s nuclear arms program. The Democrats also told Trump to lean hard on Kim’s ally China, to ensure it “will do all it can to help secure an agreement and then insist on strict North Korean compliance with such an agreement.” Easing sanctions under a deal would likely need approval from Congress which has passed sanctions on North Korea. Since most legislation needs 60 votes to pass the 100-member Senate and Trump’s fellow Republicans hold only 51 seats, that would require Democratic support. The Democrats’ demands include North Korea dismantling and removing every nuclear, chemical and biological weapon, ending production and enrichment of uranium for weapons purposes and permanently dismantling its nuclear weapons infrastructure. They said North Korea must also agree to suspend ballistic missile tests and commit to robust inspections. “Now that the meeting will proceed as planned, we want to make sure that the president’s desire for a deal with North Korea doesn’t saddle the United States, Japan and Korea with a bad deal,” Schumer told a conference call with reporters. Democrats have been struggling to balance their support for peace with North Korea and frustration with what they see as Trump’s refusal to work with them. On Monday, they said they want Trump to achieve “a lasting and strong agreement,” but he must respect allies and engage closely with lawmakers. “We just can’t settle for something less than what will ultimately make the peninsula, the region and the world more secure,” said Senator Bob Menendez, the top Foreign Relations Committee Democrat. Schumer said talks with North Korea are far more perilous than negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program because Tehran did not have nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles, unlike Pyongyang. Trump enraged Democrats and frustrated allies last month by announcing he was pulling out of the Iran deal. Many Republicans said Trump was right to withdraw from the pact reached by Democratic former President Barack Obama because it was not a treaty approved by Congress. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alistair Bell  |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/PoliticsNews|0
2018-06-04T23:43:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Givaudan completes the acquisition of Expressions Parfumées|June 4 (Reuters) - Givaudan SA: * GIVAUDAN SAYS GIVAUDAN COMPLETES THE ACQUISITION OF EXPRESSIONS PARFUMÉES * GIVAUDAN SAYS HAD ENTERED EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS TO ACQUIRE EXPRESSIONS PARFUMÉES IN DECEMBER 2017 FROM ORFITE AND EXPRESSIONS PARFUMÉES’ MANAGEMENT Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Reporting By Zurich newsroom)  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|1
2018-06-04T23:58:00.000+03:00|FDA approves Mylan's biosimilar to Neulasta|June 4, 2018 / 9:03 PM / Updated 21 hours ago FDA approves Mylan drug as first biosimilar to Amgen's Neulasta Tamara Mathias 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Mylan NV on Monday beat a clutch of drugmakers racing to get a biosimilar to Amgen Inc’s blockbuster drug, Neulasta, to market, with U.S. health regulators approving its version of the infection-fighting treatment. Mylan’s shares rose 5.2 percent to $40.50 after the bell, while Amgen fell 1.7 percent to $182.30. Mylan and its partner - India’s Biocon - expect to launch the drug, Fulphila, in the coming weeks, the companies said. Neulasta, which is used to fight infections in cancer patients, brought Amgen revenue of $4.53 billion last year and accounted for nearly 21 percent of total product sales. While competition for the drug has long been expected, Monday’s approval positions Mylan favorably, according to analysts. “Mylan is thus far the only approved biosimilar, and may therefore fill the channel ahead of competition,” Mizuho Securities analyst Irina Koffler said in a note. Koffler estimates that Fulphila could bring in peak sales of $554 million in 2022. Fulphila is the second biosimilar from Mylan and Biocon to be approved in six months, after the FDA gave its nod to the companies’ version of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer treatment, Herceptin, in December. In 2017, the FDA declined to approve Fulphila and asked for more data related to manufacturing facilities of the drug’s developers. The FDA has also previously rejected biosimilars to Neulasta from Novartis AG and Coherus BioSciences Inc. Biologic drugs such as Neulasta are made inside living cells, and it is impossible to make exact generic copies. As a result, regulators are approving products deemed “similar” enough as biologics. in the hope that they . In the wake of widespread criticism of corporate greed in the pharmaceutical industry, the agency has prioritized the approval of cheaper copies of branded medicines to increase competition in the market and tackle soaring branded drug prices. Mylan's Fulphila can cause serious side effects including a rupture of the spleen, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and serious allergic reactions, the FDA said here :newsml:reuters.com:20180604:nPn20lMSma. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T00:43:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Benfica Signs 5-Year Deal With Chile International Nicolas Castillo|June 4 (Reuters) - Sport Lisboa e Benfica Futebol SAD : * SAYS SIGNS 5-YEAR CONTRACT WITH PLAYER NICOLAS CASTILLO FROM UNAM PUMAS Source text: bit.ly/2sDm1co Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-05T01:07:00.000+03:00|Japan's Sharp says to buy Toshiba's PC business|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will acquire Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business for $36 million, highlighting its recovery under the control of Foxconn and marking a return to a business it quit eight years ago. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at the CEATEC JAPAN 2017 (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo It will pay 4 billion yen ($36.47 million) for an 80.1 percent stake, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Sharp was once known as a major supplier of high-end TVs and smartphone displays but struggled to compete with Asian rivals and was bought by Taiwan’s Foxconn, or Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, two years ago. It exited the PC market in 2010. ($1 = 109.8200 yen) Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Michael Perry  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-05T02:12:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's Biocon hits record high after FDA approves partner's drug|** Shares of Biocon Ltd rise as much as 6.4 pct to record high of 696.60 rupees ** Co’s partner Mylan NV said on Monday U.S. FDA approved its biosimilar to Amgen Inc’s Neulasta ** Mylan and Biocon said they expect to launch the infection-fighting drug, Fulphila, in the coming weeks ** More than 2.3 mln shares of Biocon change hands as of 0400 GMT, compared with 30-day moving avg of 2 mln ** As of Monday’s close, Biocon stock had nearly doubled in value in the past 12 months ** Mylan shares rose 5.2 pct to $40.50 after market on Monday  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-06-05T02:22:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: ConocoPhillips prepares to sell stake in Canada's Cenovus - sources|June 4, 2018 / 6:22 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Exclusive: ConocoPhillips prepares to sell stake in Canada's Cenovus - sources John Tilak , David French , Ernest Scheyder 4 Min Read (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) is preparing to offload its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO ), which it acquired as part of an asset sale to the Canadian oil and gas producer last year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Logos of ConocoPhillips are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world's biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The U.S. energy company has held discussions with investment banks about appointing advisers to the sale and could offer the shares to institutional investors as early as this month, said the people. They cautioned that the precise timing would depend on market conditions and could change. If ConocoPhillips does not complete the sale in June or early July, it would then likely wait until September when institutional investors will have returned from their summer vacations, they added. The ConocoPhillips stake in Cenovus is worth C$2.6 billion ($2 billion) based on its current share price but it would likely be sold at a small discount, the sources said. It would still be one of the biggest Canadian equity share sales this year. ConocoPhillips has been actively selling assets and cutting costs in the past two years in order to cull debt and boost its dividend. It sold $17 billion in assets in 2017. When Cenovus acquired oil sands and natural gas assets from ConocoPhillips for C$17 billion last year, it took 208 million shares of Cenovus, as well as C$14.1 billion of cash. The deal made ConocoPhillips the biggest investor in the Calgary, Alberta-based company, although the U.S. oil giant has said it would not be a long-term holder of Cenovus equity. ConocoPhillips and Cenovus declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified as the information is not public. Shares of Cenovus extended their losses, to fall as much as 8.8 percent after the Reuters report. They closed down 5.7 percent at C$12.67 on Monday. The broader Canadian energy index was down 2.1 percent. Cenovus shares have had a wild ride since the acquisition, declining as investors punished the stock over the deal, which was regarded as significantly stretching the Canadian company’s finances. While still down 27 percent since the deal was announced, they have been bouncing back of late on the back of an oil price CLc1 rebound. The stock is up 24 percent in the last three months. The move follows a similar overnight stock sale by Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ), which last month sold its entire stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ) for $3.3 billion. At the time of the 2017 deal, ConocoPhillips valued its Cenovus stake at $9.41 per share based on Cenovus’ New York-listed stock. Since the May 17, 2017, transaction close, the share price has see-sawed above and below that value, although it has consistently traded higher since April 25. While overnight trades tend to be discounted from current share price levels, in order to incentivize investors, Conoco would need Cenovus’ value to be at a point where it is making money even after the discount to make the sale worthwhile. If the same 2.9 percent reduction was applied from Shell’s overnight sale of Canadian Natural Resources shares, the Cenovus stock would need to be above $9.68 to generate a profit. Conoco has also moved aggressively to get cash in other areas, including by seizing international assets controlled by Venezuelan state-controlled oil producer PDVSA. Much of the fresh cash the company has raked in has gone back to shareholders, with the company’s dividend up about 8 percent in the first quarter to 28 cents and a plan to buy back $2 billion in shares this year. Reporting by John Tilak in Toronto, David French in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Denny Thomas, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-05T02:28:00.000+03:00|Abraaj expects deal on secured debt, Kuwaiti creditor holds out|DUBAI (Reuters) - Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. Dubai-based Abraaj Holdings is trying to push through a sale of Abraaj Investment Management to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management as it tries to stem the fallout from allegations it misused investor money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Abraaj, which is the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, denies any wrongdoing. “The secured creditors are expected to imminently conclude a standstill which will provide Abraaj the ability to meet its obligations in an orderly fashion,” Abraaj said in a statement after a meeting with lenders, shareholders and other parties to discuss the restructuring of the firm. Most of the creditors agreed to the standstill, which would see Abraaj’s debt frozen for around 90 to 120 days, two sources said, estimating Abraaj’s total debt at around $1 billion. But the sources said that in order for the sale of its business investment management business to go ahead, Abraaj needs the support of all lenders, including unsecured creditors. A potential obstacle to that deal emerged when Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), an unsecured creditor, refused to agree to the standstill, the sources said. A third source said Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey ( HLI.N ), is still holding talks with unsecured lenders. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that PIFSS filed a case in a Cayman Islands court against Abraaj, claiming it is unable to repay a $100 million loan and $7 million interest. Under the deal offered to lenders, secured creditors would get paid in full with cash now and unsecured creditors would have to wait for payment, with the delay due to the recovery of assets at the holding company level, one of the sources said. Another source said PIFSS was given a 48-hour deadline to agree to the deal and that creditors expected Cerberus would be able to persuade the Kuwaitis to accept too as failure to do so would put the sale in jeopardy and Abraaj’s future at risk. Cerberus, which manages more assets totaling more than $30 billion, specializes in investments in distressed assets. Kuwait’s PIFSS and Cerberus did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Abraaj declined to comment on the discussions with the Kuwaiti lender. Abraaj is facing an investigation by some of its investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm over how the firm used some of their money in its healthcare fund. Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Smith  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-05T02:54:00.000+03:00|Auction houses ditch 'art girls' as sex fails to sell|LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two of the world’s oldest auction houses have scrapped the practice of only using only female staff to pose beside their artworks, in the latest indication that sexism doesn’t sell. Sotheby’s and Christie’s both said they were now relying on male employees to pose in promotional shots of artworks sent out to potential bidders before an auction. The move was made public after the artnet.com website published an article mocking the practice under the headline “Is It Even Possible to Comprehend a Work of Art Without Seeing a Woman Next to It (for Scale)?” “Just as we deal with a huge range of art, so too we want to ensure it is shown to our audiences around the world in as varied and engaging a way as possible,” a Sotheby’s spokeswoman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation as she confirmed the move. Christie’s said the media and photographers used to specifically ask that there be female employees in shot, a request it would no longer accommodate as a matter of course. Artist and senior lecturer of photography at the University of Derby, Gemma Marmalade, said the decision was long overdue. “The cliche of the passively observing, most commonly youthful, white, middle-class, heteronormative female art viewer as a stock photographic ‘preview’ image of the market has existed far too long,” she said. Demand for art made by women is on the rise according to the 2018 Art Market Report by auction search engine Barnebys. Reporting by Meka Beresford @mekaberesford, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-05T03:00:00.000+03:00|Japan's Sharp says to buy Toshiba's PC business - techinfopk|0 TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Sharp Corp stated it can purchase Toshiba Corp’s private laptop enterprise for $36 million, highlighting its restoration beneath the management of Foxconn and marking a return to a enterprise it stop eight years in the past. FILE PHOTO: A brand of Sharp Corp is pictured on the CEATEC JAPAN 2017 (Mixed Exhibition of Superior Applied sciences) on the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photograph It’s going to pay four billion yen ($36.47 million) for an 80.1 p.c stake, it stated in an announcement on Tuesday. Sharp was as soon as often known as a significant provider of high-end TVs and smartphone shows however struggled to compete with Asian rivals and was purchased by Taiwan’s Foxconn, or Hon Hai Precision Trade Co Ltd, two years in the past. It exited the PC market in 2010. ($1 = 109.8200 yen) ||0
2018-06-05T03:23:00.000+03:00|Mystery dinosaur skeleton sells for over $2 million at Paris auction|PARIS (Reuters) - The 9-metre long (30 ft) skeleton of a unidentified type of dinosaur, believed to be that of a new species, fetched more than $2.3 million at an auction staged on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday. A dinosaur fossil is on display at the Eiffel tower, in Paris, France, June 2, 2018 ahead of its auction on Monday. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY The fossil, dug up in the western United States in 2013, is known only to belong to a large, carnivorous dinosaur. Scientists who have studied it say there are several differences with known species. “The buyer is French and he told me before the sale ... ‘if I get it, I would present it to the public’ and this is amazing,” auctioneer Claude Aguttes said. “Everyone will be able to see it, it will soon be lent to a museum, it will be studied by scientists, everything is perfect.” The buyer and the seller, identified only as a British businessman, were both unnamed. The sale had been expected to fetch up to $2.1 million. French auction house Aguttes, which had previously sold a mammoth skeleton and that of another dinosaur, had said before Monday’s sale that the buyer might be able to name the new species, sparking objections from a U.S. scientific association. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, had argued in a statement this might run counter to naming rules. It called for the auction to be canceled, saying that private ownership could limit the reach of scientific study even if the skeleton was then released to researchers. Some of the proceeds from the auction will go to two charities working with endangered species, including cheetahs and ocean wildlife. ($1 = 0.8549 euros) Reporting by Celia Mebroukine, Writing by Sarah White,; Editing by Catherine Evans Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/scienceNews|0
2018-06-05T03:33:00.000+03:00|Van Gogh landscape sells for 7 million euros at auction|PARIS (Reuters) - An early landscape by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the art world’s most sought-after painters, sold for 7.07 million euros ($8.27 million) at an auction in Paris on Monday. Painted in 1882, “Fishing Net Menders in the Dunes” depicts peasant women working on the land under a cloudy sky, inspired by the countryside around The Hague, where Van Gogh passed a short but formative period. The painting, the first Van Gogh to be auctioned in France for more than 20 years, had been valued at 3 million to 5 million euros. It was purchased by a buyer based in North America, auction house Artcurial said. On average only two or three works by the Dutch impressionist appear on the international market each year, the auction house said. While hardly cheap, the price comes nowhere near the record $450.3 million paid last November for “Salvator Mundi”, Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th century portrait of Christ, which is due to go on display in a new branch of the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. ($1 = 0.8551 euros) An Artcurial employee poses as he holds the painting «Raccommodeuses de filets dans les dunes, 1882» (Women Mending Nets in the Dunes) by Vincent Van Gogh during a preview for media at their auction house in Paris, France March 28, 2018. Picture taken March 28, 2018. REUTERSGonzalo Fuentes Reporting by Johnny Cotton, Writing by Robin Pomeroy, Editing by Sarah White Our |https://www.reuters.com/news/entertainment/arts|0
2018-06-05T03:57:00.000+03:00|Philips to buy heart rhythm disorder specialist EPD Solutions for $292.1 million|AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch healthcare technology company Philips ( PHG.AS ) said on Tuesday it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. Philips will pay 250 million euros in cash ($292.1 million) upfront, followed by payments estimated to be worth around 210 million euros if milestones are met. The takeover will give Philips a significant position in the rapidly growing market for cardiac arrhythmia ablation procedures within several years, Chief Executive Frans van Houten told reporters. “It will take time to penetrate this market, already worth more than 2 billion euros, as most healthcare providers are conservative”, he said. “But EPD has a highly competitive, breakthrough technology, which can really address unmet needs.” EPD’s system provides surgeons with “unique” detailed 3D anatomical information of the heart during ablation procedures, Van Houten said. Since the separation of its lighting division ( LIGHT.AS ) in 2016, Philips has focused on medical devices and healthcare products. The takeover of EPD Solutions further expands the company’s image-guided therapy business, after the multi-billion dollar acquisitions of heart disease devices maker Spectranetics last year and vascular imaging company Volcano in 2015. Van Houten said Philips will continue to acquire companies in what it sees as core markets, such as image-guided therapy. Philips’ sales in image-guided therapy showed double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2018, driving comparable sales of its Diagnosis & Treatment division up 9 percent to 1.5 billion euros. Reporting by Bart Meijer, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Louise Heavens  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T04:09:00.000+03:00|Enel buys more than 70 percent of Eletropaulo shares for $1.48 billion|SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Italy’s Enel SpA ( ENEI.MI ) acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo ( ELPL3.SA ) on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. The offer on Monday, accepted by Eletropaulo shareholders, was a formality after Enel won a bidding war with Spain’s Iberdrola SA last week ( IBE.MC ) for Eletropaulo, Brazil’s largest power distribution company by revenue. Enel paid 45.22 reais per share, according to local exchange B3, which oversaw the auction and final offer. It also pledged to make a capital injection of 1.5 billion reais in Eletropaulo. With the deal, Enel overtakes CPFL Energia, which is controlled by China’s State Grid, to lead the Brazil market. Enel’s client base in power distribution in Brazil will jump to 17 million from 7 million. The company’s final price for the Brazilian company represents a 164 percent premium over the value of its shares in March, when the Italian firm first showed interest. Besides Iberdrola, local company Energisa SA ( ENGI11.SA ) also contested the auction. Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-05T04:17:00.000+03:00|BOJ deputy gov Wakatabe: won't immediately sell JGBs on exit|TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe said on Tuesday he did not think the central bank would immediately start selling government debt once it decides to exit from quantitative easing. FILE PHOTO: Bank of Japan (BOJ) new Deputy Governors Masazumi Wakatabe (R) and Masayoshi Amamiya attend their inaugural news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Wakatabe, speaking in the upper house of parliament, said the BOJ would first conduct operations to mop up excess liquidity. Wakatabe said consumer prices were still distant from the BOJ’s 2 percent price target. He also reiterated his opposition to the BOJ’s buying U.S. Treasuries for monetary policy. Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-05T04:38:00.000+03:00|Brazil-Canada JV to grow though acquisitions in renewable power|(This version of the story has been refiled to fix typographical error in headline) FILE PHOTO: A motorcyclist rides past the name of Votorantim city at a square in the city, Brazil, April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker By Marcelo Teixeira SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A joint venture formalized last week by one of Brazil’s largest conglomerates and a Canadian retirement fund plans to become a major renewable power generator in Brazil, mostly through acquisitions. Brazil’s Votorantim Energia, controlled by privately-held Votorantim SA, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) last week closed a deal to form a 50-50 venture to invest in renewable energy in Brazil. Among the opportunities the JV is looking at are subsidiaries that Brazil’s state-controlled power company Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA ( ELET6.SA ) plans to sell, Votorantim Energia Chief Executive Fabio Zanfelice told Reuters on Monday. “We have high ambition, and if you look at the size of the partners, we want to build a company of presence, of relevance in this market,” Zanfelice said. The venture manages two large wind parks in northeastern Brazil with combined generation capacity of 565 megawatts. It is looking at expansion opportunities in a sector where there have been several deals as indebted local companies sell projects to new investors after Brazil’s deepest depression. “Both partners have the desire and the capital to grow. We are not setting targets, we are looking for good deals that deliver good returns for shareholders,” he said. The Votorantim conglomerate is already a large power generator in Brazil, with around 2.2 gigawatts of installed capacity. But it had until recently only focused on generating energy to supply its subsidiaries such as the Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio (CBA). The decision to enter the broader Brazilian power market, building a portfolio of power plants to compete for long-term contracts in the regulated market, is recent. Zanfelice said current political and financial instability in Brazil is not a deterrent for Canadian investment, adding that contracts in the country’s power sector are solid, with fixed returns. Both the wind parks under management have 20-year supply contracts. The joint-venture sees a future in Brazil for the so-called hybrid parks, which will combine in the same location wind, solar and, in the near future, storage capacity through batteries. “Adding solar panels in the wind parks would complement production, and the batteries would stabilize the generation,” he said. Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Susan Thomas  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|1
2018-06-05T04:49:00.000+03:00|RPT-UPDATE 1-Abraaj expects deal on secured debt, Kuwaiti creditor holds out|(Repeats JUNE 4 story, no change to text) * Abraaj trying to push through sale to Cerberus -sources * Firm says expects to seal deal with secured creditors * But Kuwaiti unsecured creditor holding out -sources By Davide Barbuscia, Tom Arnold and Saeed Azhar DUBAI, June 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. Dubai-based Abraaj Holdings is trying to push through a sale of Abraaj Investment Management to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management as it tries to stem the fallout from allegations it misused investor money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Abraaj, which is the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, denies any wrongdoing. “The secured creditors are expected to imminently conclude a standstill which will provide Abraaj the ability to meet its obligations in an orderly fashion,” Abraaj said in a statement after a meeting with lenders, shareholders and other parties to discuss the restructuring of the firm. Most of the creditors agreed to the standstill, which would see Abraaj’s debt frozen for around 90 to 120 days, two sources said, estimating Abraaj’s total debt at around $1 billion. But the sources said that in order for the sale of its business investment management business to go ahead, Abraaj needs the support of all lenders, including unsecured creditors. A potential obstacle to that deal emerged when Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), an unsecured creditor, refused to agree to the standstill, the sources said. A third source said Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey, is still holding talks with unsecured lenders. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that PIFSS filed a case in a Cayman Islands court against Abraaj, claiming it is unable to repay a $100 million loan and $7 million interest. Under the deal offered to lenders, secured creditors would get paid in full with cash now and unsecured creditors would have to wait for payment, with the delay due to the recovery of assets at the holding company level, one of the sources said. Another source said PIFSS was given a 48-hour deadline to agree to the deal and that creditors expected Cerberus would be able to persuade the Kuwaitis to accept too as failure to do so would put the sale in jeopardy and Abraaj’s future at risk. Cerberus, which manages more assets totalling more than $30 billion, specialises in investments in distressed assets. Kuwait’s PIFSS and Cerberus did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Abraaj declined to comment on the discussions with the Kuwaiti lender. Abraaj is facing an investigation by some of its investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm over how the firm used some of their money in its healthcare fund. (Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Smith)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-05T04:52:00.000+03:00|Tencent-backed Kuaishou buys rival AcFun in Chinese online video battle|BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ), has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters on Tuesday, amid an intensifying battle over online content. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chinese video-streaming startup Kuaishou is seen in Beijing, China May 10, 2017. Picture taken May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer The platform would keep its independence in branding, operation and development, while Kuaishou would provide support in capital, technology and other resources, an AcFun spokeswoman said. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Chinese tech giants, including Tencent and rival Bytedance, which owns the popular Douyin platform, are making a major push in the fast-growing online video sector, expected by IHS Markit to hit around 96.2 billion yuan ($15 billion) by 2020. Platforms like Kuaishou and Douyin allow their millions of users to upload short video clips that are popular with Chinese youth. AcFun historically is one of the top animation and video sites in China. The platform and recently listed rival Bilibili ( BILI.O ) are known among the country’s netizens as “station A” and “station B”, although their fortunes have recently diverged. In March, Bilibili raised more than $400 million in a New York initial public offering. AcFun, however, has been facing financial and other troubles including a major server crash earlier this year. Kuaishou, meaning “fast hand”, is valued at about $18 billion, according to a Reuters report earlier this year. The firm is boosting its firepower in live streaming of online video content, as the sector attracts a rush of investment from tech juggernauts Tencent, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) and Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ). A Kuaishou representative was not immediately available to comment. Reporting by Pei Li and Adam Jourdan; Editing by Stephen Coates  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-05T04:59:00.000+03:00|FDA approves Mylan's biosimilar to Neulasta|June 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food And Drug Administration on Monday approved a drug from Mylan NV as the first biosimilar to Amgen’s drug Neulasta to help reduce the risk of infection during cancer treatment. In 2017, the FDA declined to approve the copycat drug, Fulphila, and asked for more data related to manufacturing facilities of Mylan and its partner Biocon. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-05T05:09:00.000+03:00|EPA staffer ran errands for Pruitt, looked into buying Trump mattress|June 4, 2018 / 9:09 PM / Updated 17 hours ago EPA staffer ran errands for Pruitt, looked into buying Trump mattress Reuters Staff 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, had an employee carry out his personal errands, including researching the purchase of an old mattress from the Trump International Hotel, according to an interview transcript released by congressional Democrats on Monday. FILE PHOTO: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2019 for the Environmental Protection Agency on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Al Drago The interview with EPA’s Director of Scheduling and Advance Millan Hupp detailed how Pruitt relied on her to find housing in Washington and to book personal travel, without paying her for such services. Pruitt is already under fire for paying below-market rent on a lobbyist-owned condominium, and has established a legal fund to defend himself against a growing list of accusations related to his spending and reported ethical missteps. Hupp, who once worked at Pruitt’s Oklahama-based Political Action Committee and describes the administrator as a personal friend, said she also looked into obtaining a used mattress from the deluxe hotel that President Donald Trump opened in Washington just before he won the 2016 election. The White House is “certainly looking into the matter,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told a regularly scheduled press briefing on Monday. “I couldn’t comment on the specifics of the furniture used in his apartment.” In the interview, which was conducted by Republican and Democratic congressional staff, Hupp said she did not have to help obtain other furnishings for Pruitt and she did not recall if he ultimately got the mattress. Public employees’ salaries are paid by taxpayers so there are strict limits on their work, and federal ethics laws forbid officials from using public office for private gain. Representatives Elijah Cummings and Gerry Connolly, senior Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, called on the committee’s chairman, Republican Trey Gowdy, to look into the matter, saying that if Hupp’s statements were accurate “Pruitt crossed a very clear line and must be held accountable.” “We are working diligently with Chairman Gowdy and are in full cooperation in providing the Committee with the necessary documents, travel vouchers, receipts and witnesses to his inquiries,” EPA Spokesman Jahan Wilcox said. Reporting by Lisa Lambert Additional Reporting by David Shepardson|https://www.reuters.com/home|0
2018-06-05T05:49:00.000+03:00|Hedge fund Caius says any UniCredit deal untenable until capital query resolved|(Reuters) - British hedge fund Caius Capital said on Monday it would be “untenable” for UniCredit SpA ( CRDI.MI ) to undertake any major transaction before issues Caius has raised regarding regulatory treatment of the bank’s core capital are resolved. The Financial Times reported on Sunday that UniCredit — Italy’s top bank by assets — was exploring a merger with France’s Societe Generale SA ( SOGN.PA ). Caius asked the European Banking Authority (EBA) in a May 3 letter seen by Reuters to investigate the regulatory treatment of a 2.98 billion euro ($3.49 billion) convertible bond issued by UniCredit in 2008. It says the convertible was incorrectly classified as Common Equity Tier (CET) 1 — the best-quality capital held by a bank and a key measure of its financial strength. In a statement on Monday, Caius said: “It would be untenable for UniCredit to undertake any major transaction before the issues that we have raised regarding the eligibility of their ordinary shares as regulatory capital ... have been resolved.” “If UniCredit was to merge with another bank, we believe that the issues we have identified would then most likely also apply to the ordinary shares of the combined group, making them ineligible as CET1,” the hedge fund added. “We doubt that any government or the relevant regulators would tolerate the contamination of the regulatory capital of a systemic institution in such a way. However, we are confident that the regulatory authorities will address these issues in the near future, and in any case before such a transaction becomes a reality.” UniCredit declined to comment on Caius’ statement on Monday. A source familiar with the hedge fund’s thinking told Reuters last month that reclassification would reduce UniCredit’s CET 1 ratio by about 50 basis points and that Caius wanted UniCredit to convert the securities into shares. UniCredit said at that time that the regulatory treatment of the convertible securities had been fully disclosed to the market and confirmed and reviewed by regulators. The EBA confirmed in May that it had received the letter from Caius and said it would respond in due course. ($1 = 0.8550 euros) Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-05T07:10:00.000+03:00|Support for NZ Labour government slips after first budget, as Ardern's approval remains high|WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Support for New Zealand’s Labour-led coalition government, headed by 37-year-old pregnant Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, slipped slightly after the release of its first budget, an average of polls found on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo An average in three polls, all taken in the wake of the government’s budget announcement on May 17, showed support for Labour at 42.2 percent, down from 44 percent in February, according to Radio New Zealand. Nevertheless, support for Ardern, who this month will become the first prime minister in the country’s history to take maternity leave while in office, remained at high levels, with a UMR poll showing her approval rating at 76 percent. Labour’s coalition partner, New Zealand First dropped to 3.9 percent, below the threshold needed to gain seats in Parliament just as its leader, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, was about to step up to run the country during Ardern’s six-week leave. Support for the opposition National Party, with new leader Simon Bridges at the helm, rose to 44 percent from 42.7 percent. Despite slipping behind National, Labour still had enough support to govern with the progressive Green Party, which has support of 5.9 percent and shares a support agreement with Labour. Labour’s center-left coalition, which brought an end to almost 10 years of National’s center right rule, gained office in October, planning to pour money into social services and housing and strike a more protectionist stance by tightening up foreign investment rule. But the government had struck a cautious note in its first budget, ramping up investment in housing and health, but holding off dramatic spending increases as it sought to repay government debt and deliver budget surpluses. Ardern is expecting her first child on around June 16, after which she will take six weeks off. She is the first New Zealand prime minister to have a child while in office and only the second elected pregnant leader in the world after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by David Gregorio  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-05T08:17:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Tuesday: ** Britain will give its verdict on Rupert Murdoch’s pursuit of Sky later on Tuesday, potentially paving the way for the mogul’s Twenty-First Century Fox to go head-to-head with rival Comcast Corp for the European pay-TV group. ** Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business and issue $1.8 billion in new shares to buy back preferred stock from banks, highlighting a swift recovery under the control of Foxconn. ** Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters, amid an intensifying battle over online content. ** Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. ** Russia’s VTB bank said it had bought a 40 percent stake in Russian system integrator Tekhnoserv from tycoon Alexei Ananyev, a former co-owner of Promsvyazbank. ** Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. [nL5N1T70ZS ** SoftBank Group Corp said its subsidiary ARM Holdings will cede control of its Chinese operations to a new joint venture with Chinese partners, a move aimed at expanding its business in the country. ** Britain has sold some of its holding in Royal Bank of Scotland, which it rescued in the 2008 financial crisis, but has taken a loss of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) on the deal. ** Italy’s Enel SpA acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T08:25:00.000+03:00|Federal Circuit weighs validity of Allergan patent deal with tribe|June 5, 2018 / 12:25 AM / Updated 19 hours ago Federal Circuit weighs validity of Allergan patent deal with tribe Jan Wolfe 1 Min Read A federal appeals court on Monday appeared divided on whether a deal by which pharmaceutical company Allergan PLC transferred drug patents to a Native American tribe would shield them from administrative review. Before a packed courtroom, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments over whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board has the authority to rule on the validity of patents covering Allergan’s dry eye medicine Restasis now held by upstate New York’s Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. To read the full story on Westlaw Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2Jcp32r|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180604.html|0
2018-06-05T10:22:00.000+03:00|UAE's ADNOC may sell more of distribution business: sources|DUBAI/ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is considering selling another 10 percent stake in its fuel distribution business, which listed in an initial public offering last year, but the timing is uncertain, three sources familiar with the matter said. An Emirati man is seen near the logo of ADNOC in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates May 14, 2018. Picture taken May 14, 2018.REUTERS/Christopher Pike ADNOC listed 10 percent of ADNOC Distribution ADNO.AD in December last year, but the sale of another 10 percent would help ADNOC in its aim of joining the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and attract more international investors, two of the sources said. ADNOC Distribution, the largest operator of retail fuel service stations and convenience stores in the United Arab Emirates, is seeking a minimum free float of 15 percent to improve its chances of joining the index, one of the sources said. An ADNOC spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on market rumors or speculation.” “Adnoc Distribution is currently focused on delivering its business plan and objectives to maximize value for its shareholders,” the spokesperson said. The potential sale was discussed with investors during recent international non-deal roadshows, the three sources said. If the company received sufficient foreign investor interest, it would consider pushing ahead with the listing this year, the same sources said. But tepid market conditions, mainly due to global political tensions and muted growth in the domestic economy, could delay the move, they said. Two of the sources said an obstacle to a listing was that the shares had been trading below the IPO price, making it unattractive for the company to sell and for foreigners to buy if they can purchase the stock cheaper on the public market. However, the shares closed up at 2.50 dirhams ($0.68) on Tuesday, the same level as ADNOC Distribution priced its IPO in December. The shares are down 6.4 percent down so far this year, compared to a 5.0 percent gain for the Abu Dhabi index .ADI. Abu Dhabi is pushing its state companies to list on the bourse, hoping to lure foreign investors with privatizations as part of a reform to make the economy less reliant on oil revenues. Before the initial listing last year, ADNOC said it might sell as much as 20 percent in the fuel distribution unit. Citigroup ( C.N ), First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD, HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ) were joint global coordinators for that offer and bookrunners alongside EFG Hermes, Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ). ADNOC has not yet hired advisers for the sale of the second tranche, the sources said. Editing by Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-05T10:48:00.000+03:00|Japan's Sharp says to buy Toshiba's PC business|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will acquire Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business for $36 million, highlighting its recovery under the control of Foxconn and marking a return to a business it quit eight years ago. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at the CEATEC JAPAN 2017 (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo It will pay 4 billion yen ($36.47 million) for an 80.1 percent stake, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Sharp was once known as a major supplier of high-end TVs and smartphone displays but struggled to compete with Asian rivals and was bought by Taiwan’s Foxconn, or Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, two years ago. It exited the PC market in 2010. Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Michael Perry  |http://feeds.feedburner.com/reuters/businessNews/|0
2018-06-05T11:02:00.000+03:00|Trump may seek separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico: U.S. adviser|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump may seek separate talks with Canada and Mexico in a bid to get individual trade deals with the two countries, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: The flags of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are seen on a lectern before a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City, Mexico, March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo “He is very seriously contemplating kind of a shift in the NAFTA negotiations. His preference now, and he asked me to convey this, is to actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately,” Kudlow said in an interview with Fox News. “He may be moving quickly toward these bilateral discussions instead of as a whole.” The United States, Canada and Mexico have been in months of negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long criticized as having harmed the United States economically. On Friday, Trump said he might prefer to end NAFTA in favor of separate bilateral agreements with the two U.S. neighbors. Kudlow said the U.S. president was moving toward that scenario. “He prefers bilateral negotiations and he’s looking at two much different countries,” he said. “Canada’s a different country than Mexico. They have different problems. “He believes that bilaterals have always been better. He hates these multilaterals ... he hates large treaties.” Such a move toward separate talks would come at a tense time in U.S. trade relations with the two countries. The Trump administration said on Thursday it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, ending a two-month exemption and setting the stage for a possible trade war. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tariffs an affront to the longstanding security partnership between Canada and the United States, and Canada announced retaliatory steps. In a television appearance on Sunday, Kudlow called the trade frictions a “family quarrel.” Reporting by Eric Walsh and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-05T11:47:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Newell; updates Arm Holdings) June 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1340 GMT on Tuesday: ** Britain said Rupert Murdoch will be allowed to buy Sky providing it follows through with a proposal to sell Sky News to Disney or another third party to allay concerns over the media mogul’s influence. ** Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business and issue $1.8 billion in new shares to buy back preferred stock from banks, highlighting a swift recovery under the control of Foxconn. ** Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters, amid an intensifying battle over online content. ** Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. ** Russia’s VTB bank said it had bought a 40 percent stake in Russian system integrator Tekhnoserv from tycoon Alexei Ananyev, a former co-owner of Promsvyazbank. ** Consumer products maker Newell Brands Inc said it would sell its Rawlings Sporting Goods brand to Seidler Equity Partners for about $395 million, as part of a plan to raise about $10 billion through divestitures. ** Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. [nL5N1T70ZS ** British chipmaker Arm Holdings, a unit of SoftBank Group Corp, will cede control of its Chinese business to a group of local investors in a $775 million deal. ** Britain has sold some of its holding in Royal Bank of Scotland, which it rescued in the 2008 financial crisis, but has taken a loss of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) on the deal. ** Italy’s Enel SpA acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T11:58:00.000+03:00|Ethiopia's parliament approves government's move to end emergency rule|June 5, 2018 / 8:39 AM / Updated a day ago Ethiopia's parliament approves government's move to end emergency rule Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s parliament approved on Tuesday the government’s decision to lift a six-month state of emergency two months earlier than planned, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting reported. Ethiopia's newly elected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addresses the members of parliament inside the House of Peoples' Representatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri The government imposed emergency rule in February to clamp down on unrest sparked by a planned development scheme for the capital Addis Ababa which some fear will lead to land seizures in the nearby Oromiya region. The matter led to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to step down. On Saturday, Ethiopia’s cabinet had met to assess the security situation and “noted that law and order has been restored”, setting the stage for Tuesday’s vote in parliament. Abiy Ahmed, a former army officer who replaced Hailemariam as premier, has travelled around Ethiopia, promising to address grievances strengthen a range of political and civil rights. Authorities have pledged to push through a raft of reforms that have included the release of thousands of prisoners. Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICATopNews|0
2018-06-05T12:54:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Givaudan completes acquisition of 40.5 pct of Naturex|June 5 (Reuters) - Givaudan SA: * SAYS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF 40.5% OF SHARES IN NATUREX AND CONFIRMS INTENTION TO LAUNCH CASH TENDER OFFER FOR REMAINING OUTSTANDING SHARE Further company coverage: (Reporting By Zurich newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T13:49:00.000+03:00|U.S. sells 1-month T-bills at highest rate since Aug 2008|NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $35 billion of one-month bills at an interest rate of 1.780 percent, the highest level since August 2008, Treasury data showed. The ratio of bids to the amount of one-month T-bills offered was 3.04, matching the level last seen six weeks ago. This measure of overall auction demand was 3.25 at the previous $35 billion one-month bill sale held last week. (Reporting by Richard Leong)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-05T13:50:00.000+03:00|Philips to buy heart rhythm disorder specialist EPD Solutions for $292.1 mln|AMSTERDAM, June 5 (Reuters) - Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said on Tuesday it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. Philips will pay 250 million euros in cash ($292.1 million) upfront, followed by payments with an estimated value of about 210 million euros, if milestones are met. $1 = 0.8558 euros Reporting by Bart Meijer, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|1
2018-06-05T13:58:00.000+03:00|Philips to buy heart rhythm disorder specialist EPD Solutions for $292.1 million|AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch healthcare technology company Philips ( PHG.AS ) said on Tuesday it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. Philips will pay 250 million euros in cash ($292.1 million) upfront, followed by payments estimated to be worth around 210 million euros if milestones are met. The takeover will give Philips a significant position in the rapidly growing market for cardiac arrhythmia ablation procedures within several years, Chief Executive Frans van Houten told reporters. “It will take time to penetrate this market, already worth more than 2 billion euros, as most healthcare providers are conservative”, he said. “But EPD has a highly competitive, breakthrough technology, which can really address unmet needs.” EPD’s system provides surgeons with “unique” detailed 3D anatomical information of the heart during ablation procedures, Van Houten said. Since the separation of its lighting division ( LIGHT.AS ) in 2016, Philips has focused on medical devices and healthcare products. The takeover of EPD Solutions further expands the company’s image-guided therapy business, after the multi-billion dollar acquisitions of heart disease devices maker Spectranetics last year and vascular imaging company Volcano in 2015. Van Houten said Philips will continue to acquire companies in what it sees as core markets, such as image-guided therapy. Philips’ sales in image-guided therapy showed double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2018, driving comparable sales of its Diagnosis & Treatment division up 9 percent to 1.5 billion euros. Reporting by Bart Meijer, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Louise Heavens  |https://www.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-05T13:59:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Majority Shareholder ACEK Sells 1.48 Pct Of Gestamp|June 5 (Reuters) - Gestamp Automocion SA: * SAID ON MONDAY ACEK DESARROLLO Y GESTION INDUSTRIAL SL SOLD 1.48 PERCENT OF GESTAMP VIA A BLOCK TRADE TO INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS * AS A RESULT, THE COMPANY INCREASES ITS FREE FLOAT TO 30.05 PERCENT * ACEK, THE INVESTMENT VEHICLE OF THE RIBERAS FAMILY, CONTINUES TO HOLD A MAJORITY STAKE IN THE COMPANY AND RATIFIES ITS LONG-TERM COMMITMENT WITH GESTAMP Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T14:08:00.000+03:00|Russia's Gazprom, Austria's OMV sign gas supply deal until 2040|VIENNA (Reuters) - Kremlin-controlled gas producer Gazprom and Austrian energy company OMV signed a new deal on Tuesday on Russian gas supplies to Austria through to 2040, a Reuters correspondent reported from the signing ceremony in Vienna. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Russian gas giant Gazprom is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo No details of the deal were provided. Last year, Gazprom increased gas supplies to Austria to more than 9 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 6.1 bcm in 2016. Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-05T14:18:00.000+03:00|No-deal Brexit could cost businesses 20 billion pounds a year, tax official says|June 5, 2018 / 11:17 AM / Updated 8 hours ago No-deal Brexit could cost businesses 20 billion pounds a year, tax official says Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Companies face an extra 20 billion pounds ($27 billion) a year in costs to comply with the customs arrangement if there is a no-deal Brexit, Britain’s most senior tax official said on Tuesday. An anti-Brexit protester carries flags opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Jon Thompson, permanent secretary at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, told lawmakers that leaving the EU with no deal would cost business a similar amount to a customs arrangement known as “max fac” - or maximum facilitation - because companies would have to fill in customs declarations. “If we move to WTO (World Trade Organization) rules, that would definitely require customs declarations so it would be similar in terms of costs,” Thompson said when asked about the cost of a no-deal Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to take Britain out of the customs union with the EU, a step she argues is necessary so that London can strike its own trade deals around the world. But May’s government has yet to set out to the EU’s satisfaction how it would achieve that without erecting a land border to control goods between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member, the Republic of Ireland, which Britain has promised it will not do. The government is considering two possible options in a debate that has exposed a deep rift within May’s cabinet between those who favour a clean break with Europe and those willing to accept closer cooperation with Brussels. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-06-05T14:20:00.000+03:00|BOJ deputy gov Wakatabe: won't immediately sell JGBs on exit|TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe said on Tuesday he did not think the central bank would immediately start selling government debt once it decides to exit from quantitative easing. FILE PHOTO: Bank of Japan (BOJ) new Deputy Governors Masazumi Wakatabe (R) and Masayoshi Amamiya attend their inaugural news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Wakatabe, speaking in the upper house of parliament, said the BOJ would first conduct operations to mop up excess liquidity. Wakatabe said consumer prices were still distant from the BOJ’s 2 percent price target. He also reiterated his opposition to the BOJ’s buying U.S. Treasuries for monetary policy. Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T14:33:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 5)|BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (approved June 4) — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (approved June 4) NEW LISTINGS — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T14:34:00.000+03:00|British ministers expected to approve new Heathrow runway|LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Senior British ministers are set to approve a new runway at London’s Heathrow airport, paving the way for lawmakers to vote on the issue later this month, and building to start in the coming years. Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport but it is now full. In the past plans to expand the airport have faced opposition from local communities, environmentalists and some lawmakers, but the current 14 billion pound ($18.64 billion) expansion plan is likely to get the go-ahead. The BBC reported that the cabinet is expected to back the plan on Tuesday, following which the transport minister Chris Grayling will make a statement in parliament, with a vote taking place within 21 days. An independent commission recommended Heathrow as the site for a new runway in 2015, saying that adding capacity there would bring the country the greatest economic benefits and government has based its national policy statement on these findings. The approval is expected despite some high profile opposition from lawmakers including foreign minister Boris Johnson. Polling by ComRes shows that a majority of lawmakers intend to vote in favour of expanding Heathrow. ($1 = 0.7510 pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Alistair Smout)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T14:49:00.000+03:00|RPT-UPDATE 1-Abraaj expects deal on secured debt, Kuwaiti creditor holds out|(Repeats JUNE 4 story, no change to text) * Abraaj trying to push through sale to Cerberus -sources * Firm says expects to seal deal with secured creditors * But Kuwaiti unsecured creditor holding out -sources By Davide Barbuscia, Tom Arnold and Saeed Azhar DUBAI, June 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. Dubai-based Abraaj Holdings is trying to push through a sale of Abraaj Investment Management to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management as it tries to stem the fallout from allegations it misused investor money in a $1 billion healthcare fund. Abraaj, which is the Middle East and Africa’s biggest private equity fund, denies any wrongdoing. “The secured creditors are expected to imminently conclude a standstill which will provide Abraaj the ability to meet its obligations in an orderly fashion,” Abraaj said in a statement after a meeting with lenders, shareholders and other parties to discuss the restructuring of the firm. Most of the creditors agreed to the standstill, which would see Abraaj’s debt frozen for around 90 to 120 days, two sources said, estimating Abraaj’s total debt at around $1 billion. But the sources said that in order for the sale of its business investment management business to go ahead, Abraaj needs the support of all lenders, including unsecured creditors. A potential obstacle to that deal emerged when Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), an unsecured creditor, refused to agree to the standstill, the sources said. A third source said Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey, is still holding talks with unsecured lenders. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that PIFSS filed a case in a Cayman Islands court against Abraaj, claiming it is unable to repay a $100 million loan and $7 million interest. Under the deal offered to lenders, secured creditors would get paid in full with cash now and unsecured creditors would have to wait for payment, with the delay due to the recovery of assets at the holding company level, one of the sources said. Another source said PIFSS was given a 48-hour deadline to agree to the deal and that creditors expected Cerberus would be able to persuade the Kuwaitis to accept too as failure to do so would put the sale in jeopardy and Abraaj’s future at risk. Cerberus, which manages more assets totalling more than $30 billion, specialises in investments in distressed assets. Kuwait’s PIFSS and Cerberus did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Abraaj declined to comment on the discussions with the Kuwaiti lender. Abraaj is facing an investigation by some of its investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm over how the firm used some of their money in its healthcare fund. (Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Smith)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-05T14:54:00.000+03:00|Tencent-backed Kuaishou buys rival AcFun in Chinese online video battle|BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ), has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters on Tuesday, amid an intensifying battle over online content. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chinese video-streaming startup Kuaishou is seen in Beijing, China May 10, 2017. Picture taken May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer The platform would keep its independence in branding, operation and development, while Kuaishou would provide support in capital, technology and other resources, an AcFun spokeswoman said. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Chinese tech giants, including Tencent and rival Bytedance, which owns the popular Douyin platform, are making a major push in the fast-growing online video sector, expected by IHS Markit to hit around 96.2 billion yuan ($15 billion) by 2020. Platforms like Kuaishou and Douyin allow their millions of users to upload short video clips that are popular with Chinese youth. AcFun historically is one of the top animation and video sites in China. The platform and recently listed rival Bilibili ( BILI.O ) are known among the country’s netizens as “station A” and “station B”, although their fortunes have recently diverged. In March, Bilibili raised more than $400 million in a New York initial public offering. AcFun, however, has been facing financial and other troubles including a major server crash earlier this year. Kuaishou, meaning “fast hand”, is valued at about $18 billion, according to a Reuters report earlier this year. The firm is boosting its firepower in live streaming of online video content, as the sector attracts a rush of investment from tech juggernauts Tencent, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) and Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ). A Kuaishou representative was not immediately available to comment. Reporting by Pei Li and Adam Jourdan; Editing by Stephen Coates  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T15:16:00.000+03:00|UAE's ADNOC may sell more of distribution business -sources|DUBAI/ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is considering selling another 10 percent stake in its fuel distribution business, which listed in an initial public offering last year, but the timing is uncertain, three sources familiar with the matter said. An Emirati man is seen near the logo of ADNOC in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates May 14, 2018. Picture taken May 14, 2018.REUTERS/Christopher Pike ADNOC listed 10 percent of ADNOC Distribution ADNO.AD in December last year, but the sale of another 10 percent would help ADNOC in its aim of joining the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and attract more international investors, two of the sources said. ADNOC Distribution, the largest operator of retail fuel service stations and convenience stores in the United Arab Emirates, is seeking a minimum free float of 15 percent to improve its chances of joining the index, one of the sources said. An ADNOC spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on market rumors or speculation.” “Adnoc Distribution is currently focused on delivering its business plan and objectives to maximize value for its shareholders,” the spokesperson said. The potential sale was discussed with investors during recent international non-deal roadshows, the three sources said. If the company received sufficient foreign investor interest, it would consider pushing ahead with the listing this year, the same sources said. But tepid market conditions, mainly due to global political tensions and muted growth in the domestic economy, could delay the move, they said. Two of the sources said an obstacle to a listing was that the shares had been trading below the IPO price, making it unattractive for the company to sell and for foreigners to buy if they can purchase the stock cheaper on the public market. However, the shares closed up at 2.50 dirhams ($0.68) on Tuesday, the same level as ADNOC Distribution priced its IPO in December. The shares are down 6.4 percent down so far this year, compared to a 5.0 percent gain for the Abu Dhabi index .ADI. Abu Dhabi is pushing its state companies to list on the bourse, hoping to lure foreign investors with privatizations as part of a reform to make the economy less reliant on oil revenues. Before the initial listing last year, ADNOC said it might sell as much as 20 percent in the fuel distribution unit. Citigroup ( C.N ), First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD, HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ) were joint global coordinators for that offer and bookrunners alongside EFG Hermes, Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ). ADNOC has not yet hired advisers for the sale of the second tranche, the sources said. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-05T15:17:00.000+03:00|Hudson's Bay first-quarter loss widens, says it will sell Gilt|June 5, 2018 / 12:30 PM / a day ago HBC shares pare decline as Lord & Taylor closures ease worry over quarterly loss Nichola Saminather 4 Min Read TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Co pared losses on Tuesday as its plan to sell its unprofitable online banner Gilt and close up to 10 Lord & Taylor stores soothed investors’ worries after the company reported a wider quarterly loss. FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a Hudson's Bay shopping bag in front of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) flagship department store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 27, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo The department store chain’s stock was down 1.7 percent at C$10.44 in afternoon trading, after sliding as much as 12.5 percent earlier. Hudson’s Bay, which also owns GALERIA Kaufhof in Europe, is cutting costs and boosting efficiencies as it wrestles with a run of earnings disappointments as consumers shift away from department stores to e-commerce and off-price offerings. “It looked like pretty lousy results, but the market may be taking some encouragement that they’re retrenching more rapidly,” said Brian Madden, portfolio manager at Goodreid Investment Counsel in Toronto, who has avoided buying HBC shares. “But this is just triage; it’s putting a Band-Aid on a patient having a heart attack.” Hudson’s Bay, which owns the Saks Fifth Avenue luxury retailer, reported a net loss of C$400 million ($308.5 million), or C$1.70 a share, in its first quarter ended May 5, following a net loss of C$221 million, or C$1.21 per share, a year earlier. Its adjusted net loss excluding one-time items was C$286 million, compared with analyst expectations of C$200.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Boston-based e-commerce operator Rue La La, which is owned by billionaire Michael Rubin’s Kynetic, said late on Monday it had agreed to buy Gilt, which Hudson’s Bay acquired in January 2016 for $250 million. The companies didn’t disclose the price, but the Wall Street Journal reported Rue La La paid less than $100 million, citing people familiar with the deal. Its shares are down 7.4 percent for the year, compared with a 0.6 percent decline in the TSE benchmark, although Hudson’s Bay shares have recovered 30 percent since their March trough. On Monday, they surged 7 percent. TROUBLES IN EUROPE The company plans to close its Lord & Taylor flagship store in Manhattan by the end of 2018, with most of the other closures coming in the first quarter of 2019, Chief Financial Officer Ed Record said on a conference call. Comparable sales rose 7.7 percent in Hudson’s Bay’s digital division and 6 percent at Saks Fifth Avenue in the recent quarter. However, those gains were offset by a 6.6 percent drop in comparable sales in its European division, which includes Kaufhof, Germany’s largest retail chain, and new stores in the Netherlands, and a 3.5 percent drop in its Saks OFF 5th banner. The department store group, which includes the Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor and Home Outfitters brands, saw sales slip 0.6 percent. Hudson’s Bay does not provide a breakdown of the earnings of individual divisions. The company is working on improving marketing and merchandising in Europe, where too much inventory weighed on performance, Chief Executive Officer Helena Foulkes said on the call. Europe accounts for almost half the company’s total store space. “We’re constantly evaluating our store portfolio and we’re excited about the real estate we own in Europe and its potential,” she said. “But as I said before, everything’s on the table in terms of focusing on driving improved profitability for the business.” Gross margins across the business rose 20 basis points to 42.1 percent. Hudson’s Bay engaged investment bankers and consultants to advise on potential deals regarding its department store portfolio or a restructure of its business, and reached a conditional agreement to sell its Vancouver flagship store building, people familiar with the matters told Reuters in April and May. Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Paul Simao|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T15:24:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-British ministers expected to approve new Heathrow runway|June 5, 2018 / 7:24 AM / Updated an hour ago UPDATE 3-British ministers back new Heathrow runway, lawmakers vote to follow Reuters Staff * Lawmakers to debate then vote on policy within 21 days * Heathrow could still face legal challenges * Airport must apply for planning permission * Construction could start in 2021 (Adds minister’s statement) By Sarah Young LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - British ministers backed plans for a new runway at London’s Heathrow airport on Tuesday, paving the way for a parliamentary vote on the plan after decades of delays, although the project could still face challenges before building starts. Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport but it is now full. In the past, plans to expand the airport have faced opposition from local communities and environmentalists but the current 14 billion pound ($18.5 billion) expansion plan is making progress. The cabinet gave its blessing to the new runway plan on Tuesday, said transport minister Chris Grayling, paving the way for lawmakers to vote on the issue within 21 days. The decision comes after almost half a century of indecision on how and where to add new airport capacity in densely populated southeast England and will be the first full-length runway to be built in the London area in 70 years. “Expansion at Heathrow presents a unique opportunity to deliver a multi-billion pound boost to our economy, strengthen our global links and maintain our position as a world leader in aviation,” Grayling told parliament. In an attempt to satisfy opponents of the scheme, he said that the new runway would be delivered within existing air quality obligations, and include a 6.5-hour scheduled night flight ban, plus compensation for local residents and a new commission to monitor aviation noise. TRADE LINKS An independent commission recommended Heathrow as the site for a new runway in 2015, saying that adding capacity there would bring the country the greatest economic benefits and government has based its policy on these findings. Business leaders and politicians have argued that a bigger Heathrow is even more important since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, as the expanded airport will enhance trade links and provide a boost to economic growth. Heathrow last came this close to expansion in 2010 but a change in government stopped it proceeding, and the current plan could still face legal challenges. Polling by ComRes last month showed most lawmakers intend to vote in favour of the third runway, which will help the UK catch up with European rivals. Paris and Frankfurt have four runways while Amsterdam has six. Heathrow, owned by Ferrovial, Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corporation among others, will then have to secure planning permission, with construction slated to start in 2021 and the new runway operational by 2026. A group of local councils and environmental group Greenpeace could however try to mount a legal challenge. Editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T15:34:00.000+03:00|German investor to sell unwanted A380 superjumbos for parts|June 5, 2018 / 7:34 AM / in 4 days A decade after debut, first A380 jumbos to be broken up Tim Hepher 4 Min Read SYDNEY (Reuters) - A German investment company said on Tuesday it would strip two unwanted Airbus A380 superjumbo passenger jets for parts after failing to find an airline willing to keep them flying following a decision by Singapore Airlines not to keep them in service. FILE PHOTO: General view shows an Airbus A380 at the final assembly line at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo The decision by Dortmund-based Dr Peters Group deals a fresh blow to the planemaker’s efforts to maintain market interest in the double-decker, barely 10 years after it went into service hailed by heads of state as a symbol of European ambition. “Psychologically it is not good for Airbus, but this is a very large aircraft with a very small second-hand market,” said UK-based aerospace analyst Howard Wheeldon. Despite strong reviews for its quiet and spacious cabin, demand for the 544-seater has fallen as many airlines drop the industry’s largest four-engined aircraft in favor of smaller twin-engined ones that are more efficient, and easier to fill. “It’s too big. There was a battle for airline fashions and it lost out,” Wheeldon said. Airbus says the iconic jet will eventually prove itself as travel demand saturates airport capacity at major cities. “We can’t comment on the decision by Dr Peters, which is the owner of the aircraft,” an Airbus spokesman said. “We remain confident in the secondary market for the A380 and the potential to extend the operator base.” Slideshow (2 Images) Singapore Airlines launched A380 services amid fanfare in December 2007, but returned the first two aircraft to their German financiers when leases expired some 10 years later. The two discarded aircraft were repainted and flown to Tarbes in the French Pyrenees to be stored, and since then their fate has been uncertain as their owner looked for other takers. “After extensive as well as intensive negotiations with various airlines such as British Airways, HiFly and IranAir, Dr Peters Group has decided to sell the aircraft components and will recommend this approach to its investors,” the company said in a statement emailed to Reuters. Airbus has been working for months to try to stimulate a second-hand market for the A380 to encourage new airlines to take the risk of investing in the plane, knowing the asset would be worth the right amount when they decide to sell it on. When it was launched, the A380 boasted highly customized interiors to help airlines promote a luxury feel, but the cost of replacing such bespoke fittings is now seen as a handicap. “The problem is the cost of reconfiguration. It is $40 million or more per plane,” a senior industry source said. PARTS RAID The planes will not be scrapped entirely, but their huge frames will be combed for valuable components such as landing gears and electronics, a Dr Peters official told Reuters. Their engines have already been removed and leased back to manufacturer Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) for use as spares. U.S.-based VAS Aero Services will be responsible for extracting and selling parts. Dr Peters said the deal would yield a positive return for investors in funds used to finance the jets. It operates a number of boutique funds targeted at wealthy individuals and has two more A380s in Singapore that could face the same fate. While dismantling the first two passenger-carrying A380s will embarrass Airbus and dismay the plane’s 3,800 workers, later examples of the flagship jet may not be as vulnerable. Early copies of a new plane tend to be less efficient and Singapore Airlines recently ordered some new A380s. However, overall demand is thinner than Airbus expected, forcing it to slow production to a trickle while looking for more business. Still, Emirates, the largest A380 customer, is keeping faith with the jet which brings millions of passengers a year through its Dubai hub and is associated with the airline’s global brand. Throwing the loss-making program a lifeline for a decade, Emirates recently ordered up to 36 more A380s and set out plans on Tuesday to install 56 Premium Economy seats. Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-05T15:34:00.000+03:00|Sri Lankan shares end higher, foreign buying boosts sentiment|COLOMBO, June 5 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares ended firmer on Tuesday, recovering from their lowest close in over five months hit in the previous session, led by diversified and financial stocks while foreign investor purchases boosted sentiment. Foreign investors bought net 182.9 million rupees ($1.16 million) worth of equities on Tuesday, but the market has witnessed a year-to-date net foreign outflow to 641.1 million rupees worth of shares. The Colombo stock index closed 0.23 percent higher at 6,409.51. “Market is positive mainly due to the foreign and local buying in John Keells and Sampath Bank,” said Hisham Haniffa, assistant manager, Softlogic Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd. “Investors are picking up Keells after the recent sell-off.” Most of the investors have adopted the wait-and-watch approach, hoping for some positive news especially on the economic front, analysts said. Turnover was 680.6 million rupees, well below this year’s daily average of 991.1 million rupees. A weaker rupee, political uncertainty and the recent fuel price hike weighed on sentiment in the past week, as local investors mostly remained on the sidelines as they gauged the impact of the floods that killed 24 people in the island nation over the past two weeks, brokers said. The rupee hit a fresh low of 158.80 per dollar on Friday owing to dollar demand from foreign banks and importers, but ended steady on late inflows from remittances. Shares in conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc ended 1.9 percent higher, while Ceylon Tobacco Co Plc ended 1.0 percent up, Nestle Lanka Plc closed 2.7 percent firmer and Sampath Bank Plc ended up 2.4 percent. Sri Lanka Telecom Plc closed 3.5 percent higher and Dialog Axiata Plc ended 1.4 percent firmer. Foreign investors, who mostly sold shares of John Keells last week, bought the market heavyweight after low share prices “made it more attractive”, stockbrokers said. MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index, which captures large- and mid-cap representation across 29 frontier markets, removed Keells from its index, triggering the foreign selling. $1 = 158.2000 Sri Lankan rupees Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-05T15:34:00.000+03:00|German investor to sell unwanted A380 superjumbos for parts|SYDNEY, June 5 (Reuters) - A German investment company said on Tuesday it planned to sell the components of two unwanted Airbus A380 superjumbo jets, in an apparent move to send the world’s largest jetliner to the breakers yard for the first time due to slack demand. Dortmund-based Dr Peters Group said it had decided to sell the parts of aircraft returned by Singapore Airlines after failing to negotiate new leases with airlines including British Airways, IranAir and HiFly. It did not say how many jets were involved but said they were spread between two funds. Reporting by Tim Hepher, editing by Louise Heavens  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T15:36:00.000+03:00|Iran is preparing for possible increase of enrichment capacity if deal fails - nuclear chief|June 5, 2018 / 9:24 AM / Updated an hour ago Iran is preparing for possible increase of enrichment capacity if deal fails - nuclear chief Babak Dehghanpisheh 3 Min Read BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran has begun preparations to boost its uranium enrichment capacity, its nuclear chief said on Tuesday, adding to pressure on European powers trying to save a nuclear accord with Tehran in peril after a U.S. withdrawal. France, Britain and Germany want to salvage the 2015 deal’s core bargain of sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on Tehran’s atomic activities. Washington has reimposed sanctions against Tehran since quitting the deal last month, arguing Iran posed a security threat. Iran has set out conditions to stay in the nuclear deal, including steps to safeguard trade with Tehran and guarantee Iranian oil sales. But it has also said it could resume its 20 percent uranium enrichment, which is banned under the deal. Iran was developing infrastructure for building at its Natanz facility, Ali Akbar Salehi, director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said in a news conference broadcast on state television.  Ali Khamenei said on Monday for Iran to have greater deal falls apart. Iran’s nuclear agency said it would inform on Tuesday the process to increase capacity had begun. Salehi said this did not violate the nuclear deal but that it marked an increase in the pace of the nuclear programme. “If we were progressing normally, it would have taken six or seven years, but this will now be ready in the coming weeks and months,” he said. Related Coverage|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-05T15:38:00.000+03:00|Pressuring May, Labour tries to force new single market deal|LONDON (Reuters) - The opposition Labour Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit, urging MPs to defeat her in parliament by backing a proposal for Britain to stay in the EU’s single market after leaving the bloc. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Ten months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, May is struggling to unite her party and government over a Brexit strategy. She also faces a parliament where some MPs want to force her to go back on promises to leave the bloc’s single market and customs union. By tabling a new amendment to May’s Brexit blueprint, the EU withdrawal bill, Labour puts the single market back at the centre of a debate that could shape Britain’s trading relationships for years to come. It also challenges many of its own MPs who want Britain to have an even stronger relationship with the EU and stay in its European Economic Area. The move further muddies the water over a vote next week on the EU withdrawal bill, which May needs to pass to sever ties with the bloc and “copy and paste” its laws into British legislation so the country can function after March next year. It first hangs on whether the amendment will even be accepted and debated in parliament on June 12. Then it comes down to whether it can get the numbers to defeat the government. The amendment calls on the government to negotiate full access to the EU’s single market, to keep common minimum standards, rights and protections, to share joint institutions and regulations, and ensure there are no new impediments to trade, while retaining control over immigration. Related Coverage PM May sidesteps questions on publication of Brexit strategy That combination could potentially break with one of the EU’s “four freedoms” — movement of workers, goods, capital and services — that underpin access to the single market. “Labour will only accept a Brexit deal that delivers the benefits of the single market and protects jobs and living standards,” Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit policy chief, said on Tuesday. The move ignites the latest battle in a long series of conflicts waged in both parties, the two houses of parliament and across a deeply divided country since it voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the bloc. A struggle in May’s team of ministers over future customs arrangements with the EU has all but stalled Brexit negotiations, and there is little time left. The EU is expecting her to have made progress by a summit later this month and both sides want to reach a deal by October. On Wednesday in parliament, she again defended her government’s deliberations, saying her ministers would publish a policy document on Britain’s future relationship with the EU. But she did not say when. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses a rally in central London, Britain, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” The Conservative Party attacked Labour’s amendment, saying it “shattered their promise to respect the referendum result”. It also has caused ripples in Labour, where some MPs had lobbied for the party to support an amendment to keep Britain in the EEA, retaining full access to the single market in return for making payments and accepting the four freedoms. Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna accused the leadership of trying to wreck that amendment and preventing what would be a painful government defeat after some Conservative MPs had suggested they could vote for the EEA on June 12. But Seema Malhotra, another Labour lawmaker, said the move could unite the party. Britain’s next election is not due until 2022. “We are running out of time on how we move forward as a country after Brexit with a government too divided make a decision,” Malhotra told Reuters. “Parliament is now taking a lead in setting the direction of travel that is right for the economy.” Starmer told the BBC he believed the EU would be open to negotiating a new deal if Britain dropped its red lines. The bloc has said countries must accept its four freedoms that must be maintained for access to the single market. FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator stands outside the Houses of Parliament during a protest aimed at showing London's solidarity with the European Union following the recent EU referendum, in central London, Britain June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo He called on the party to unite around the new amendment, saying the EEA model would not work as it did not include access to the EU’s customs union. Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Richard Balmforth  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-05T15:43:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Newell to sell Rawlings Sporting Goods for $395 mln|(Reuters) - Consumer products maker Newell Brands Inc ( NWL.N ) said on Tuesday it would sell its Rawlings Sporting Goods brand to Seidler Equity Partners for about $395 million, as part of a plan to raise about $10 billion through divestitures. Newell, which sells everything from Sharpie pens to Crock-Pot cookware, in May sold its plastics packaging unit Waddington Group for $2.3 billion. The company had raised the divestiture target from $6 billion following an agreement with activist investor Carl Icahn. In April, Icahn and fellow activist investor Starboard Value LP placed their nominees on the company’s board. Newell said on Tuesday it expects the sale to result in after-tax proceeds of about $340 million, which the company will use to pay down debt and repurchase shares. Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor to Newell Brands on the deal, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch advised Seidler Equity. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-05T15:48:00.000+03:00|GitLab gains developers after Microsoft buys rival GitHub|(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp’s decision to buy GitHub has been a blessing for rival U.S. coding platform GitLab, which has seen thousands of developers jump ship on worries that GitHub may end up favoring Microsoft products over others. “It has been crazy in the last twenty-four hours. We are seeing thousands switching, tweeting about it,” GitLab Chief Executive Officer Sytse Sijbrandij told Reuters on Tuesday. Microsoft said on Monday it is paying $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal for GitHub as it tries to lure developers in a bid to beef up its cloud computing business and challenge market leader Amazon.com Inc. GitHub, which calls itself the world’s largest code host with more than 28 million developers using its platform, did not respond to a request for comment. GitLab said it has millions of developers on its platform but declined to share an exact count. GitLab, founded by Ukrainian developers Sijbrandij and Dmitriy Zaporozhets in 2011, counts Alphabet Inc’s Google Ventures, Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures among its investors. Sijbrandij said the platform has imported here over a hundred thousand code projects and has seen a seven-fold rise in orders since the Microsoft-GitHub deal unfolded. “There is at least a 10 times increase than the usual number of people switching to GitLab,” he said, adding that the firm is aiming for an IPO in 2020. GitLab has been trying to take advantage of the deal by offering a 75 percent discount on some subscription plans to new customers for moving to its platform. However, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella had promised here that GitHub will remain an open platform. “I don’t think this is going to cause a noticeable dip in user base for GitHub,” Mark Sami, vice president at consultancy firm SPR said. “There were similar scares when Microsoft purchased Yammer, and Yammer saw a surge in increased usage post acquisition.” Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur  |https://in.reuters.com/news/technology|1
2018-06-05T15:59:00.000+03:00|Trump may seek separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico: U.S. adviser|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump may seek separate talks with Canada and Mexico in a bid to get individual trade deals with the two countries, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: The flags of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are seen on a lectern before a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City, Mexico, March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo “He is very seriously contemplating kind of a shift in the NAFTA negotiations. His preference now, and he asked me to convey this, is to actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately,” Kudlow said in an interview with Fox News. “He may be moving quickly toward these bilateral discussions instead of as a whole.” The United States, Canada and Mexico have been in months of negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long criticized as having harmed the United States economically. In Ottawa, a Canadian official indicated there would be no change in the government’s approach. “NAFTA is a trilateral agreement and we continue to negotiate that trilateral agreement,” said the official, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the situation. The United States has mused before about separate deals, including when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held talks with Trump in Washington last October, the official added. On Friday, Trump said he might prefer to end NAFTA in favor of separate bilateral agreements with the two U.S. neighbors. Kudlow said the U.S. president was moving toward that scenario. “He prefers bilateral negotiations and he’s looking at two much different countries,” he said. “Canada’s a different country than Mexico. They have different problems. “He believes that bilaterals have always been better. He hates these multilaterals ... he hates large treaties.” Such a move toward separate talks would come at a tense time in U.S. trade relations with the two countries. The Trump administration said on Thursday it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, ending a two-month exemption and setting the stage for a possible trade war. Trudeau called the tariffs an affront to the longstanding security partnership between Canada and the United States, and Canada announced retaliatory steps. In a television appearance on Sunday, Kudlow called the trade frictions a “family quarrel.” Reporting by Eric Walsh and Doina Chiacu in Washington and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-05T16:12:00.000+03:00|Britain clears Fox bid for Sky if it sells Sky News|LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Britain cleared Rupert Murdoch’s bid to buy Sky on Tuesday so long as Sky News is sold, paving the way for the mogul’s Twenty-First Century Fox to go head-to-head with rival Comcast Corp for the European pay-TV group. Addressing Comcast’s bid for Sky, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said he would not intervene in the bid. (Reporting by Paul Sandle, writing by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T16:24:00.000+03:00|Britain clears Rupert Murdoch's bid for Sky if it sells Sky News|LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch faces a 22 billion pound ($29.3 billion) fight with U.S. cable company Comcast for European pay-TV company Sky after Britain cleared his bid providing he sells off its TV news business. A sale of Sky News to Disney or another third party would be enough to allay concerns over the 87-year-old media mogul’s influence, Britain said on Tuesday. Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox launched a 10.75 pound-a-share bid to buy all of Sky in December 2016, but the takeover has been held up by politicians and regulators who fear it will give him too much sway when combined with his newspaper interests. Comcast took advantage of the delay to make its own move on Sky, with a 12.50 pounds-a-share bid in April trumping the long-standing Fox offer. Shares in Sky were trading up 0.5 percent at 13.55 pounds at 1510 GMT on Tuesday, indicating that investors think the drama has a long way to run. Analysts at Credit Suisse said that having pursued Sky for 16 months through a long regulatory process, they would expect Fox to make an increased bid for Sky in excess of the Comcast bid. “In our view the Sky share price is already anticipating such an outcome with the shares closing on June 4 at 13.50 pounds, 8 percent ahead of the Comcast bid,” they said. Even if Fox beats Comcast, Murdoch’s control of the whole group is unlikely to last long because he has agreed to sell many of his TV and film assets, including Sky, to Walt Disney Co in a separate $52 billion deal. Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said Fox’s final proposal made to divest Sky News to Disney, or to an alternative suitable buyer, with funding secured for at least 10 years, was likely to be the best remedy for the public interest concerns that had been identified. But he said he needed to be sure that Sky News remained financially viable over the long term, was able to operate as a major UK-based news provider and was able to take its editorial decisions independently. The extra commitments will be the subject of consultation in the next 15 days with a view to agreeing an acceptable remedy, he said. “I am optimistic that we can achieve this goal, not least given the willingness 21st Century Fox has shown in developing these credible proposals,” he told lawmakers. FILE PHOTO: Tennis - US Open - Mens Final - New York, U.S. - September 10, 2017 - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar COMCAST CLEARED Comcast announced its firm offer for Sky in April, resulting in Sky’s independent board members withdrawing their recommendation of the offer from Fox, which already owns 39 percent of Sky. Hancock confirmed on Tuesday that he would not intervene in regards to Comcast, either on the grounds of broadcasting standards or on media plurality. Sky was formed in 1990 when Murdoch merged his fledgling British satellite TV service with a rival. The company is chaired by Murdoch’s son James, who played a key role in building the company into a major European broadcaster with operations in Germany, Austria and Italy as well as Britain. Its customer base now numbers nearly 23 million homes, a major prize for media groups that want to scale up against online groups Netflix and Amazon . The already complex deal permutations around Sky became even more complicated last month when Comcast said it was preparing a higher, all-cash offer for all of the assets Fox had agreed to sell to Disney. Fox welcomed Hancock’s announcement, and noted that it had already proposed divesting the platform’s 24-hour news channel to Disney regardless of the fate of its bid for the wider Fox assets. “We now look forward to engaging with DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) and we are confident that we will reach a final decision clearing our transaction,” Fox said in a statement. Sky noted the decision regarding both Fox and Comcast, and said its independent directors were mindful of their fiduciary duties and remained focused on maximizing value for Sky shareholders. Slideshow (5 Images) Hancock’s decision came after an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into whether controlling Sky would give Murdoch, who also owns the Times and Sun newspapers, too much influence on Britain’s news media. Editing by Stephen Addison/Keith Weir  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-05T16:39:00.000+03:00|Britain clears Rupert Murdoch's bid for Sky if it sells Sky News|June 5, 2018 / 8:10 AM / Updated 12 minutes ago Britain clears Rupert Murdoch's bid for Sky if it sells Sky News Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said Rupert Murdoch will be allowed to buy Sky providing it follows through with a proposal to sell Sky News to Disney or another third party to allay concerns over the media mogul’s influence. FILE PHOTO: Tennis - US Open - Mens Final - New York, U.S. - September 10, 2017 - Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar Murdoch launched his bid to buy all of Sky in December 2016, but the takeover has been held up by politicians and regulators who fear it will give him too much sway over the news agenda. Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said Fox’s proposal to divest Sky News to Disney, or to an alternative suitable buyer, with an agreement to ensure it is funded for at least 10 years, was likely to be the most proportionate and effective remedy for the public interest concerns that had been identified. The decision paves the way for Fox to battle rival Comcast to buy the European pay-TV company. Slideshow (5 Images) Comcast made a rival offer for Sky in February, resulting in Sky’s independent board members withdrawing their recommendation of the offer from Fox, which already owns 39 percent of Sky. Even if Fox beats Comcast, Murdoch’s control is unlikely to last long because he has agreed to sell many of his TV and film assets, including Sky, to Walt Disney Co in a separate $52 billion deal. Fox had offered undertakings to fund and protect the editorial independence of Sky News in order to win backing for its bid. Hancock’s decision came after an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into whether controlling Sky would give Murdoch, who also owns the Times and Sun newspapers, too much influence on Britain’s news media. Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-05T16:39:00.000+03:00|Ethiopia's parliament approves government's move to end emergency rule|ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s parliament approved on Tuesday the government’s decision to lift a six-month state of emergency two months earlier than planned, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting reported. FILE PHOTO: Ethiopia's newly elected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addresses the members of parliament inside the House of Peoples' Representatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri The government imposed emergency rule in February to clamp down on unrest sparked by a planned development scheme for the capital Addis Ababa which some fear will lead to land seizures in the nearby Oromiya region. The matter led to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to step down. On Saturday, Ethiopia’s cabinet had met to assess the security situation and “noted that law and order has been restored”, setting the stage for Tuesday’s vote in parliament. Abiy Ahmed, a former army officer who replaced Hailemariam as premier, has travelled around Ethiopia, promising to address grievances strengthen a range of political and civil rights. Authorities have pledged to push through a raft of reforms that have included the release of thousands of prisoners. Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky  |http://feeds.feedburner.com/reuters/euzPJ|0
2018-06-05T16:46:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, HNA Group, International Paper; updates Sky) June 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday: ** Rupert Murdoch faces a 22 billion pound ($29.3 billion) fight with U.S. cable company Comcast for European pay-TV company Sky after Britain cleared his bid providing he sells off its TV news business. ** Wells Fargo & Co is pulling back from retail banking in the U.S. Midwest, selling all of its branches in three states, as the bank embarks on a broader review of branch profitability across the country. ** BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank, has its eye on bolt-on acquisitions in Germany, the head of the group’s German business Lutz Diederichs said. ** Chinese conglomerate HNA Group said it had agreed to sell a stake of 26.5 percent in Spain’s NH Hotels to Thai Minor International. ** International Paper is planning to walk away from its takeover approach for Irish packaging company Smurfit Kappa , according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. ** Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business and issue $1.8 billion in new shares to buy back preferred stock from banks, highlighting a swift recovery under the control of Foxconn. ** Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters, amid an intensifying battle over online content. ** Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. ** Russia’s VTB bank said it had bought a 40 percent stake in Russian system integrator Tekhnoserv from tycoon Alexei Ananyev, a former co-owner of Promsvyazbank. ** Consumer products maker Newell Brands Inc said it would sell its Rawlings Sporting Goods brand to Seidler Equity Partners for about $395 million, as part of a plan to raise about $10 billion through divestitures. ** Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. [nL5N1T70ZS ** British chipmaker Arm Holdings, a unit of SoftBank Group Corp, will cede control of its Chinese business to a group of local investors in a $775 million deal. ** Britain has sold some of its holding in Royal Bank of Scotland, which it rescued in the 2008 financial crisis, but has taken a loss of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) on the deal. ** Italy’s Enel SpA acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-05T16:59:00.000+03:00|Russia's Novak says demand should determine oil deal easing|VIENNA (Reuters) - Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that oil demand should determine how OPEC and non-OPEC countries should adjust a current deal on oil output curbs. FILE PHOTO: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers led by Russia will convene in Vienna on June 22-23 to decide on a possible adjustment of the current oil output cuts deal, which is valid until the end of the year. With oil recently reaching $80 a barrel, the highest since 2014, producers are now discussing easing some of the cuts. “We have to look into the situation which has panned out on the market today, from the point of view of the volume cuts, inventories decline, shortages on the market, and to adjust the figures,” Novak told reporters. “And to look into the possibility of the adjustment of the cuts by taking into account demand,” he added. Novak is a part of the Russian delegation headed by President Vladimir Putin in Austria. Earlier on Tuesday he met OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo in Vienna. After the meeting he said that OPEC and Russia share a common view on the oil market. Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Adrian Croft  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-05T17:04:00.000+03:00|Abu Dhabi's crown prince approves 50 billion-dirham of economic stimulus|DUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s crown prince said on Tuesday he had approved 50 billion dirham ($13.61 billion) worth of measures to stimulate growth in the emirate, which would make it easier to do business, help tourism and create jobs. Mohamed Bin Zayed tweeted that the new initiative will also speed up contract payments to the private sector and exempt new licenses from the requirement of having a physical presence in the emirate in the first two years. He also ordered the provision of at least 10,000 jobs for emiratis in the private and public sectors over the next five years. ($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham) (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi, editing by Larry King)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-05T17:13:00.000+03:00|Abu Dhabi crown prince approves $13.61 billion in economic stimulus|DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s crown prince said on Tuesday he had approved 50 billion dirham ($13.61 billion) worth of measures to stimulate growth in the emirate and make it easier to do business, create jobs and boost tourism. FILE PHOTO: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 1, 2018. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), tweeted that the new initiative would also speed up contract payments to the private sector and exempt new licenses from the requirement of having a physical presence in the emirate in the first two years. “Under the guidance of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, I have approved a 3-year, 50 billion dirham economic stimulus package to support Abu Dhabi’s economic development and have tasked the Executive Council’s Executive Committee to draw up a working plan for allocations within 90 days,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. He also ordered the creation of at least 10,000 jobs for Emiratis in the private and public sectors over the next five years. More money would be spent to establish an “Abu Dhabi Accelerators and Advanced Industries Council” to attract and support value-added investments and new technologies. The UAE economy is expected to recover gradually this year without suffering a significant blow to growth from the introduction of a 5 percent value-added tax in January. Growth rose by 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, accelerating from 0.1 percent in the previous quarter year-on-year, the central bank said last week. Non-oil economic activity in the Gulf Arab country grew by 3.1 percent from a year earlier over the same period, slowing slightly from 3.4 percent in the final quarter of 2017. Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Omar Fahmy, editing by Larry King  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-05T17:19:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-HNA Infrastructure Pushes For Planned Stake Buys In Hong Kong Int'l Construction Investment, Dufry AG|June 5 (Reuters) - HNA Infrastructure Investment Group Co Ltd: * SAYS IT IS VIGOROUSLY PROMOTING THE PLANNED ACQUISITIONS OF UP TO 74.66 PERCENT STAKE IN HONG KONG International CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT, UP TO 20.92 PERCENT STAKE IN DUFRY AG Source text in Chinese: bit.ly/2JvBmWK Further company coverage: (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T17:22:00.000+03:00|Britain asks to join WTO procurement deal in latest Brexit step|June 5, 2018 / 2:23 PM / a day ago Britain asks to join WTO procurement deal in latest Brexit step Tom Miles 3 Min Read GENEVA (Reuters) - Britain has officially applied to join the World Trade Organization’s government procurement agreement, a legal step it needs to take to maintain trading relationships after it leaves the European Union on March 29, 2019. FILE PHOTO: Anti-Brexit demonstrators wave EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Staying in the WTO is potentially important so that British companies can still bid for government work in the United States, European Union and Japan. Britain is a member of the agreement now only by virtue of its EU membership. In letters published by the WTO on Tuesday, the EU and British ambassadors said Britain would make an offer on the degree to which it was willing to open its own procurement markets in return for continued membership. The 46 countries in the agreement have liberalised access to each other’s markets, with an estimated $1.7 trillion annual spend. China is hoping to join, which could add a further incentive for membership. British officials have previously said that rolling over membership of the agreement should be relatively easy, since there was an incentive for other members to retain their access to Britain’s procurement market, too. But any negotiation in the WTO can be an opportunity to make new demands. A British trade official told Reuters in March that a draft offer had already been circulated, part of a strategy of trying to minimise the disruption of Brexit at the WTO. The Geneva-based WTO is already in crisis because of a potential global trade war and a U.S. block on new judicial appointments. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said last year that Brexit was going to be “a bumpy road”, but just how bumpy would depend on many things, including negotiations with the EU. British hopes for a smooth transition at the WTO have already been dashed by disagreement in agriculture, where major suppliers are unhappy with losing the flexibility they have enjoyed with the EU as one market of 28 countries. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told Reuters in Geneva on Monday that the agriculture question was still unresolved. “There is no progress on agreeing the terms of Brexit (at the WTO),” she said. Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by Larry King|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-05T17:52:00.000+03:00|Soccer-Man United agree deal to sign Brazilian Fred|"June 5 (Reuters) - Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Brazil midfielder Fred from Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, the English Premier League club said on Tuesday. British media reported that United will pay Shaktar about 52 million pounds ($70 million) for the 25-year-old, who is in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup in Russia. ""Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk for the transfer of Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos (Fred),"" United said in a statement on their website here “A further announcement will be made in due course.” Fred joined Shakhtar from Brazilian side Internacional in 2013. (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)  "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T17:56:00.000+03:00|Man United agree deal to sign Brazilian Fred|"June 5, 2018 / 3:01 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Man United agree deal to sign Brazilian Fred Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Brazil midfielder Fred from Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, the English Premier League club said on Tuesday. British media reported that United will pay Shaktar about 52 million pounds ($70 million) for the 25-year-old, who is in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup in Russia. ""Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk for the transfer of Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos (Fred),"" United said in a statement on their website here “A further announcement will be made in due course.” Fred joined Shakhtar from Brazilian side Internacional in 2013. Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-05T17:56:00.000+03:00|Trump may seek separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico: U.S. adviser|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump may seek separate talks with Canada and Mexico in a bid to get individual trade deals with the two countries, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday. The flags of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are seen on a lectern before a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City, Mexico March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido “He is very seriously contemplating kind of a shift in the NAFTA negotiations. His preference now, and he asked me to convey this, is to actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately,” Kudlow said in an interview with Fox News. “He may be moving quickly towards these bilateral discussions instead of as a whole.” The United States, Canada and Mexico have been in months of negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long criticized as having harmed the United States economically. In Ottawa, a Canadian official indicated there would be no change in the government’s approach. “NAFTA is a trilateral agreement and we continue to negotiate that trilateral agreement,” said the official, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the situation. The United States has mused before about separate deals, including when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held talks with Trump in Washington last October, the official added. On Friday, Trump said he might prefer to end NAFTA in favor of separate bilateral agreements with the two U.S. neighbors. Kudlow said the U.S. president was moving toward that scenario. “He prefers bilateral negotiations and he’s looking at two much different countries,” he said. “Canada’s a different country than Mexico. They have different problems. “He believes that bilaterals have always been better. He hates these multilaterals ... he hates large treaties.” Such a move toward separate talks would come at a tense time in U.S. trade relations with the two countries. The Trump administration said on Thursday it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, ending a two-month exemption and setting the stage for a possible trade war. Trudeau called the tariffs an affront to the longstanding security partnership between Canada and the United States, and Canada announced retaliatory steps. In a television appearance on Sunday, Kudlow called the trade frictions a “family quarrel.” Reporting by Eric Walsh and Doina Chiacu in Washington and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-05T18:05:00.000+03:00|Short selling interest in Italian govt debt rises - IHS Markit|LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Demand for borrowing Italian government bonds rose by nearly a billion dollars in the two months ending last Thursday, a proxy for short-selling interest, on heightened concerns over political uncertainty in Italy, data from IHS Markit showed. That indicates interest is high to borrow and sell the bonds, in hope of buying them back later at a lower price, a strategy commonly employed by hedge funds. An increase of $959 million of Italian government bonds was seen since the start of April at a time when borrowing interest in European government bonds have broadly declined. That follows from a $7 billion increase in the first quarter of 2018, the data released to Reuters late on Monday showed. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee and Maiya Keidan; Graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T18:13:00.000+03:00|Heathrow approval shows government committed to post-Brexit connections - spokesman|LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Britain’s decision to back plans for a new runway at London’s Heathrow airport show the government is committed to keeping London well connected after Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday. “Today’s decision to support Heathrow’s expansion demonstrates this government’s commitment to deliver the jobs and major infrastructure which this country needs to thrive,” he told reporters. “As we leave the European Union, this new runway will give us the tools to ensure that the UK remains one of the best connected and most outward-looking countries in the world.” (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, editing by William James)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T18:19:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Tuesday: ** Britain will give its verdict on Rupert Murdoch’s pursuit of Sky later on Tuesday, potentially paving the way for the mogul’s Twenty-First Century Fox to go head-to-head with rival Comcast Corp for the European pay-TV group. ** Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business and issue $1.8 billion in new shares to buy back preferred stock from banks, highlighting a swift recovery under the control of Foxconn. ** Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters, amid an intensifying battle over online content. ** Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. ** Russia’s VTB bank said it had bought a 40 percent stake in Russian system integrator Tekhnoserv from tycoon Alexei Ananyev, a former co-owner of Promsvyazbank. ** Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. [nL5N1T70ZS ** SoftBank Group Corp said its subsidiary ARM Holdings will cede control of its Chinese operations to a new joint venture with Chinese partners, a move aimed at expanding its business in the country. ** Britain has sold some of its holding in Royal Bank of Scotland, which it rescued in the 2008 financial crisis, but has taken a loss of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) on the deal. ** Italy’s Enel SpA acquired 73 percent of the shares of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|1
2018-06-05T18:28:00.000+03:00|Thailand's Minor plans 2.5 billion euro takeover bid for Spain's NH Hotels|MADRID (Reuters) - Thailand-based Minor International ( MINT.BK ) said on Tuesday it plans to launch a takeover bid for NH Hotels ( NHH.MC ) valuing the Spanish hotel group at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) after buying a stake from Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. FILE PHOTO: A HNA Group logo is seen on the building of HNA Plaza in Beijing, China February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo Minor International has agreed to pay HNA, NH’s biggest shareholder, 622 million euros for a 26.5 percent stake in the hotel group, subject to certain conditions. After the conversion of some bonds to shares, it would take Minor’s stake in NH to around 38 percent, exceeding the 30 percent ownership threshold beyond which Spanish law requires a full takeover be launched. Minor will offer 6.4 euros for each remaining share in NH, it said in a filing with the Spanish market regulator. HNA Group’s sale of the NH stake to Minor will take place in two stages. The Chinese firm said it had agreed to sell a 17.64 percent stake in the hotel chain for 6.4 euros per share in a transaction expected to close on June 15. If the first tranche is completed, it would then sell a further 8.83 percent of NH for 6.10 euros per share. This deal is expected to close between Sept. 10 and 16. Minor owns and operates more than 150 hotels and resorts under brands including Four Seasons and Marriott. It started an investment drive in 2016 through which it said it planned to operate 210 hotels by 2020. HNA is restructuring operations and selling assets to raise cash, partly to repay debt. Since the start of 2018, it has agreed to sell over $10 billion of real estate in Australia, New York and Hong Kong, along with shares in Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ), and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc ( HLT.N ). HNA said in January it had hired banks to look for buyers of its stake in NH. HNA had an acrimonious relationship with NH, which ousted the Chinese group’s representatives from its board in 2016 after HNA’s purchase of a rival hotel group led to accusations of a conflict of interest. NH, which has more than 370 hotels in 30 countries, turned down a takeover offer from Spanish peer Barcelo in January. Barcelo had then considered making an offer for HNA’s stake before the deal with Minor was struck, according to media reports. Spain, by far NH’s biggest market with around a third of its hotels there, became the second most visited country in the world after France in 2017, overtaking the United States, and property consultancy Irea estimates investment in the sector reached a record 3.9 billion euros. Reporting by Isla Binnie and Carlos Ruano; Editing by Adrian Croft  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-05T18:30:00.000+03:00|Belarus approves purchase by EBRD of Belinvestbank stake|MINSK, June 5 (Reuters) - * Belarus approves purchase by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development of a stake in state-run Belinvestbank * Belinvestbank is sixth-largest bank in Belarus * Decision means EBRD could buy stake within six to nine months * EBRD declines to name size of stake. Authorities had said it could be 25 percent Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky Editing by Matthias Williams and Edmund Blair  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T18:35:00.000+03:00|South Africa's Harmony Gold says to sell up to $99 mln of new shares|June 5, 2018 / 3:36 PM / a day ago South Africa's Harmony Gold says to sell up to $99 mln of new shares Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Reuters) - South Africa’s Harmony Gold said on Tuesday that it would sell new shares to raise up to 1.26 billion rand ($98.75 million) through an accelerated book-building. The proceeds will be used to used to pay down part of Harmony Gold’s outstanding $150 million bridge loan raised for the acquisition of the Moab Khotsong mine. The size of the new share placement represents around 15 percent of the firm’s ordinary share capital as of the market close on June 5, Harmony Gold added in a statement. ($1 = 12.7600 rand) (Reporting by Alexander Winning Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-05T18:40:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Short selling interest in Italian govt debt rises - IHS Markit|(Adds details, Quote: s, graphic) By Saikat Chatterjee, Maiya Keidan and Ritvik Carvalho LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Demand for borrowing Italian government bonds rose by nearly a billion dollars in April and May, data from IHS Markit showed, a proxy for short-selling interest on heightened concerns over political uncertainty in Italy. That indicated a growing interest in borrowing and selling the bonds in the hope of buying them back at a lower price later, a strategy commonly employed by hedge funds. The amount of Italian government bonds out on loan rose by $959 million since the start of April - at a time of a broad decline in interest in borrowing other European government bonds. That follows a $7 billion increase in the first quarter of 2018, the data released to Reuters late on Monday showed. Roughly 10 percent of the Italian government debt out on loan was on 10-year maturities, particularly the 4.75 percent bond maturing in 2018, reflecting interest from hedge funds in taking tactical bets that the coalition formed by the anti-establishment parties would ramp up fiscal spending to support its economy. Thomson Reuters data shows that open interest on short-dated Italian government bonds surged ahead of last week’s sell off in another sign that investors were taking bets against Italian debt. Filippo Lanza, CIO at Numen Capital, said the firm had been short on peripheral government bonds including Italy ahead of the market rout, partly based on a view of a likely shift in policy from the European Central Bank. “During the month, we have moved opportunistically from being short German Bunds as the most overvalued security in the global fixed in-come universe to short periphery spreads, and we have now largely reduced our overall exposures,” he said. A degree of calm has a returned to Italy’s bond market after last week saw one of the biggest selloffs in Italian government bond markets since the euro zone debt crisis of 2010-2012. Still further bouts of volatility are seen as likely given that the anti-establishment parties making up Italy’s new government are set for a big fiscal expansion that is likely to bring the country into conflict with European Union rules. Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee and Maiya Keidan; Graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Andrew Heavens  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T19:31:00.000+03:00|EU pushes back against weakening of aviation emissions deal|June 5, 2018 / 4:36 PM / a few seconds ago EU pushes back against weakening of aviation emissions deal Julia Fioretti 4 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European countries are pushing back against any weakening of the rules underpinning a landmark global agreement to cap airline emissions at 2020 levels, especially those related to the types of aviation biofuels that can be used. France, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands have written to the U.N. aviation agency, which brokered the 2016 deal, to say they would have to reconsider their support should the compromise be weakened. This related particularly to criteria for the sustainability of alternative fuels and the carbon credits used to offset CO2 emissions, according to documents seen by Reuters. Countries at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are seeking to agree on rules that will govern how the overall deal, known as the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), will be implemented. They meet next week to try to find a compromise. “If some countries were to call into question certain aspects of the compromise, notably with regards to the emissions units and the sustainability of alternative fuels, the support given by France to this version of the text would be compromised,” France wrote in a letter to ICAO. Aviation biofuels, now produced in small volumes from renewable sources, are expected to play an important role in delivering the goal of carbon-neutral growth in airline CO2 emissions from 2020. But objections from several developing countries meant that the criteria for sustainable biofuels were provisionally scaled down to two from 12 originally. The two remaining criteria ensure aviation biofuels are not produced on land from razed forests or wetlands, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent compared with conventional jet fuel. But the Netherlands said in its letter that those criteria were “not sufficient to ensure environmental integrity and sustainability of aviation alternative fuels.” A source familiar with the matter said he does not believe the European countries would abandon CORSIA and relinquish their “voice at the table.” He said some developing countries were concerned that if the standards were too strict it would prevent them from building their own biojet fuel industries on agricultural land. “If you say that biofuel can’t displace crops then you have to go into the forest, but you can’t go into the forest,” said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. “So where do I grow? In the sea?” In addition the six countries are pushing for strict rules on the carbon credits that airlines will have to purchase from environmental projects to offset their emissions. “The programs and projects should represent real, additional, permanent and verified reductions of greenhouse gases that are accounted for only once toward any climate mitigation or voluntary action,” Norway wrote in its letter to ICAO, adding that eligible projects should only be those that start after the end of 2019. The airline industry has supported a single global deal over a patchwork of regional measures, like the EU’s Emissions Trading System, and in February called on governments to approve the rules that will govern how CORSIA is implemented. Reporting by Julia Fioretti, additional reporting by Allison Lampert in MONTREAL; Editing by Richard Balmforth|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-05T19:34:00.000+03:00|EU pushes back against weakening of aviation emissions deal|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European countries are pushing back against any weakening of the rules underpinning a landmark global agreement to cap airline emissions at 2020 levels, especially those related to the types of aviation biofuels that can be used. A plane flies behind cranes standing on construction sites, at dusk in London, December 9, 2013. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo France, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands have written to the U.N. aviation agency, which brokered the 2016 deal, to say they would have to reconsider their support should the compromise be weakened. This related particularly to criteria for the sustainability of alternative fuels and the carbon credits used to offset CO2 emissions, according to documents seen by Reuters. Countries at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are seeking to agree on rules that will govern how the overall deal, known as the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), will be implemented. They meet next week to try to find a compromise. “If some countries were to call into question certain aspects of the compromise, notably with regards to the emissions units and the sustainability of alternative fuels, the support given by France to this version of the text would be compromised,” France wrote in a letter to ICAO. Aviation biofuels, now produced in small volumes from renewable sources, are expected to play an important role in delivering the goal of carbon-neutral growth in airline CO2 emissions from 2020. But objections from several developing countries meant that the criteria for sustainable biofuels were provisionally scaled down to two from 12 originally. The two remaining criteria ensure aviation biofuels are not produced on land from razed forests or wetlands, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent compared with conventional jet fuel. But the Netherlands said in its letter that those criteria were “not sufficient to ensure environmental integrity and sustainability of aviation alternative fuels.” A source familiar with the matter said he does not believe the European countries would abandon CORSIA and relinquish their “voice at the table.” He said some developing countries were concerned that if the standards were too strict it would prevent them from building their own biojet fuel industries on agricultural land. “If you say that biofuel can’t displace crops then you have to go into the forest, but you can’t go into the forest,” said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. “So where do I grow? In the sea?” In addition the six countries are pushing for strict rules on the carbon credits that airlines will have to purchase from environmental projects to offset their emissions. “The programs and projects should represent real, additional, permanent and verified reductions of greenhouse gases that are accounted for only once toward any climate mitigation or voluntary action,” Norway wrote in its letter to ICAO, adding that eligible projects should only be those that start after the end of 2019. The airline industry has supported a single global deal over a patchwork of regional measures, like the EU’s Emissions Trading System, and in February called on governments to approve the rules that will govern how CORSIA is implemented. Reporting by Julia Fioretti, additional reporting by Allison Lampert in MONTREAL; Editing by Richard Balmforth  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/environment/|0
2018-06-05T20:01:00.000+03:00|GitLab gains developers after Microsoft buys rival GitHub|(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp’s ( MSFT.O ) decision to buy GitHub has been a blessing for rival U.S. coding platform GitLab, which has seen thousands of developers jump ship on worries that GitHub may end up favoring Microsoft products over others. “It has been crazy in the last twenty-four hours. We are seeing thousands switching, tweeting about it,” GitLab Chief Executive Officer Sytse Sijbrandij told Reuters on Tuesday. Microsoft said on Monday it is paying $7.5 billion in an all-stock deal for GitHub as it tries to lure developers in a bid to beef up its cloud computing business and challenge market leader Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). GitHub, which calls itself the world’s largest code host with more than 28 million developers using its platform, did not respond to a request for comment. GitLab said it has millions of developers on its platform but declined to share an exact count. GitLab, founded by Ukrainian developers Sijbrandij and Dmitriy Zaporozhets in 2011, counts Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google Ventures, Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures among its investors. Sijbrandij said the platform has imported here over a hundred thousand code projects and has seen a seven-fold rise in orders since the Microsoft-GitHub deal unfolded. “There is at least a 10 times increase than the usual number of people switching to GitLab,” he said, adding that the firm is aiming for an IPO in 2020. GitLab has been trying to take advantage of the deal by offering a 75 percent discount on some subscription plans to new customers for moving to its platform. However, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella had promised here that GitHub will remain an open platform. “I don’t think this is going to cause a noticeable dip in user base for GitHub,” Mark Sami, vice president at consultancy firm SPR said. “There were similar scares when Microsoft purchased Yammer, and Yammer saw a surge in increased usage post acquisition.” Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-05T20:10:00.000+03:00|Newell to sell Rawlings Sporting Goods for $395 mln|June 5 (Reuters) - Consumer products maker Newell Brands Inc said on Tuesday it would sell its Rawlings Sporting Goods brand to Seidler Equity Partners for about $395 million. Newell said it expects the sale to result in after-tax proceeds of about $340 million. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|1
2018-06-05T20:11:00.000+03:00|Britain's Labour tries to force government to win new single market deal with EU|LONDON (Reuters) - The opposition Labour Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit, urging lawmakers to defeat her in parliament by backing a proposal for Britain to stay in the EU’s single market after leaving the bloc. Ten months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, May is struggling to unite her party and government over a Brexit strategy. She also faces a parliament where some lawmakers want to force her to go back on promises to leave the bloc’s single market and customs union. By tabling a new amendment to May’s Brexit blueprint, the EU withdrawal bill, Labour puts the single market back at the center of a debate that could shape Britain’s trading relationships for years to come. It also challenges many of its own lawmakers who want Britain to have an even stronger relationship with the EU and stay in its European Economic Area. The move further muddies the water over a vote next week on the EU withdrawal bill, which May needs to pass to sever ties with the bloc and “copy and paste” its laws into British legislation so the country can function after March next year. It first hangs on whether the amendment will even be accepted and debated in parliament on June 12. Then it comes down to whether it can get the numbers to defeat the government. The amendment calls on the government to negotiate full access to the EU’s single market, to keep common minimum standards, rights and protections, to share joint institutions and regulations, and ensure there are no new impediments to trade, while retaining control over immigration. That combination could potentially break with one of the EU’s “four freedoms” — movement of workers, goods, capital and services — that underpin access to the single market. “Labour will only accept a Brexit deal that delivers the benefits of the single market and protects jobs and living standards,” Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit policy chief, said on Tuesday. The move ignites the latest battle in a long series of conflicts waged in both parties, the two houses of parliament and across a deeply divided country since it voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the bloc. A struggle in May’s team of ministers over future customs arrangements with the EU has all but stalled Brexit negotiations, and there is little time left. The EU is expecting her to have made progress by a summit later this month and both sides want to reach a deal by October. On Wednesday in parliament, she again defended her government’s deliberations, saying her ministers would publish a policy document on Britain’s future relationship with the EU. But she did not say when. “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” The Conservative Party attacked Labour’s amendment, saying it “shattered their promise to respect the referendum result”. It also has caused ripples in Labour, where some lawmakers had lobbied for the party to support an amendment to keep Britain in the EEA, retaining full access to the single market in return for making payments and accepting the four freedoms. Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna accused the leadership of trying to wreck that amendment and preventing what would be a painful government defeat after some Conservative lawmakers had suggested they could vote for the EEA on June 12. But Seema Malhotra, another Labour lawmaker, said the move could unite the party. Britain’s next election is not due until 2022. “We are running out of time on how we move forward as a country after Brexit with a government too divided make a decision,” Malhotra told Reuters. “Parliament is now taking a lead in setting the direction of travel that is right for the economy.” Starmer told the BBC he believed the EU would be open to negotiating a new deal if Britain dropped its red lines. The bloc has said countries must accept its four freedoms that must be maintained for access to the single market. He called on the party to unite around the new amendment, saying the EEA model would not work as it did not include access to the EU’s customs union. FILE PHOTO: A Britain's and some European flags are hung outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Richard Balmforth Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-05T20:13:00.000+03:00|Northrop Grumman wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Orbital ATK|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman ( NOC.N ) won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solid rocket motor supplier Orbital ATK, Inc ( OA.N ), with conditions, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The $7.8 billion deal was approved on condition that Northrop supply the solid rocket motors to competitors for missile contracts and to separate the two companies’ operations with a firewall, the FTC said in a statement. The European Commission approved the deal in February. Northrop announced the all-cash deal in September, saying it would give the company greater access to lucrative government contracts and expand its arsenal of missile defense systems and space rockets. Orbital has contracts with NASA and the U.S. Army. The Dulles, Virginia-based company is one of the two firms hired by NASA to fly cargo to the International Space Station under an initial contract worth up to $3.1 billion. The FTC said in a statement that it typically prefers to have companies sell assets rather than require a “behavioral” remedy, such as this one, but accepted it in this case because the defense industry sells solely to the Defense Department which will ensure compliance with the condition. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T20:19:00.000+03:00|Hudson's Bay first-quarter loss widens, says it will sell Gilt|TORONTO, June 4 (Reuters) - Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Co said on Tuesday its first-quarter loss widened as sales across most of its divisions fell and costs rose, and the department store chain said it would sell its unprofitable online banner Gilt. The owner of the Saks Fifth Avenue luxury retailer reported a net loss of C$400 million ($308.48 million), or C$1.70 a share, in the quarter ended May 5, following a net loss of C$221 million, or C$1.21 per share, a year earlier. Its adjusted net loss excluding one-time items was C$286 million, compared with analyst expectations of C$200.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. $1 = 1.2967 Canadian dollars Reporting By Nichola Saminather; Editing by Bernadette Baum  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T20:20:00.000+03:00|Trump considering separate trade deals with Canada, Mexico: Kudlow|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a shift in the effort to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement to separate talks with Canada and Mexico, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Stored rolls of steel are seen outside the ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant, an integrated steel producer, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Power/File Photo “He is very seriously contemplating kind of a shift in the NAFTA negotiations. His preference now, and he asked me to convey this, is to actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately,” Kudlow said in an interview with Fox News. “He may be moving quickly toward these bilateral discussions instead of as a whole.” Reporting by Eric Walsh and Doina Chiacu  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T20:23:00.000+03:00|Northrop Grumman wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Orbital ATK, with conditions|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defence contractor Northrop Grumman ( NOC.N ) won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solid rocket motor supplier Orbital ATK Inc ( OA.N ) with conditions, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The $7.8 billion deal was approved on condition that Northrop supply the solid rocket motors to competitors for missile contracts and to separate the two companies’ operations with a firewall, the FTC said in a statement. Northrop said in a statement it expects the transaction will be completed after market close on Wednesday. The European Commission approved the deal in February. Northrop announced the all-cash deal in September, saying it would give the company greater access to lucrative government contracts and expand its arsenal of missile defence systems and space rockets. Orbital has contracts with NASA and the U.S. Army. The Dulles, Virginia-based company is one of the two firms hired by NASA to fly cargo to the International Space Station under an initial contract worth up to $3.1 billion. The FTC said in a statement that it typically prefers to have companies sell assets rather than require a “behavioural” remedy, such as this one, but accepted it in this case because the defence industry sells solely to the Defense Department, which will ensure compliance with the condition. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-05T20:36:00.000+03:00|Labour tries to force government to win new single market deal with EU|June 5, 2018 / 5:35 PM / Updated an hour ago Pressuring May, Labour tries to force new single market deal Elizabeth Piper 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The opposition Labour Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit, urging MPs to defeat her in parliament by backing a proposal for Britain to stay in the EU’s single market after leaving the bloc. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Ten months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, May is struggling to unite her party and government over a Brexit strategy. She also faces a parliament where some MPs want to force her to go back on promises to leave the bloc’s single market and customs union. By tabling a new amendment to May’s Brexit blueprint, the EU withdrawal bill, Labour puts the single market back at the centre of a debate that could shape Britain’s trading relationships for years to come. It also challenges many of its own MPs who want Britain to have an even stronger relationship with the EU and stay in its European Economic Area. The move further muddies the water over a vote next week on the EU withdrawal bill, which May needs to pass to sever ties with the bloc and “copy and paste” its laws into British legislation so the country can function after March next year. Related Coverage PM May sidesteps questions on publication of Brexit strategy It first hangs on whether the amendment will even be accepted and debated in parliament on June 12. Then it comes down to whether it can get the numbers to defeat the government. The amendment calls on the government to negotiate full access to the EU’s single market, to keep common minimum standards, rights and protections, to share joint institutions and regulations, and ensure there are no new impediments to trade, while retaining control over immigration. That combination could potentially break with one of the EU’s “four freedoms” — movement of workers, goods, capital and services — that underpin access to the single market. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses a rally in central London, Britain, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo “Labour will only accept a Brexit deal that delivers the benefits of the single market and protects jobs and living standards,” Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit policy chief, said on Tuesday. The move ignites the latest battle in a long series of conflicts waged in both parties, the two houses of parliament and across a deeply divided country since it voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the bloc. A struggle in May’s team of ministers over future customs arrangements with the EU has all but stalled Brexit negotiations, and there is little time left. The EU is expecting her to have made progress by a summit later this month and both sides want to reach a deal by October. On Wednesday in parliament, she again defended her government’s deliberations, saying her ministers would publish a policy document on Britain’s future relationship with the EU. But she did not say when. FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator stands outside the Houses of Parliament during a protest aimed at showing London's solidarity with the European Union following the recent EU referendum, in central London, Britain June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” The Conservative Party attacked Labour’s amendment, saying it “shattered their promise to respect the referendum result”. It also has caused ripples in Labour, where some MPs had lobbied for the party to support an amendment to keep Britain in the EEA, retaining full access to the single market in return for making payments and accepting the four freedoms. Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna accused the leadership of trying to wreck that amendment and preventing what would be a painful government defeat after some Conservative MPs had suggested they could vote for the EEA on June 12. But Seema Malhotra, another Labour lawmaker, said the move could unite the party. Britain’s next election is not due until 2022. “We are running out of time on how we move forward as a country after Brexit with a government too divided make a decision,” Malhotra told Reuters. “Parliament is now taking a lead in setting the direction of travel that is right for the economy.” Starmer told the BBC he believed the EU would be open to negotiating a new deal if Britain dropped its red lines. The bloc has said countries must accept its four freedoms that must be maintained for access to the single market. He called on the party to unite around the new amendment, saying the EEA model would not work as it did not include access to the EU’s customs union. Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Richard Balmforth|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-06-05T20:56:00.000+03:00|"Ethiopia says will ""fully accept, implement"" 2000 deal with Eritrea"|"June 5, 2018 / 5:57 PM / 6 days ago Ethiopia says will ""fully accept, implement"" 2000 deal with Eritrea Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ADDIS ABABA, June 5 (Reuters) - Ethiopia will “fully accept and implement” a peace agreement with Eritrea that was signed in 2000, its ruling coalition announced on Tuesday. The Horn of Africa neighbours have remained at odds since a 1998-2000 war over a disputed town that a boundary commission subsequently handed to Asmara but which Addis Ababa rejected. Asmara has long felt betrayed by world powers, who they say failed to force Ethiopia, now with a population of 97 million, to abide by the boundary arbitration ruling. Ethiopia long said it wanted talks on implementation, which Asmara refused. Reporting by Aaron Maasho Editing by Mark Heinrich 0 : 0"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAeritreaNews|0
2018-06-05T20:58:00.000+03:00|Ethiopia says will 'fully accept, implement' 2000 deal with Eritrea|ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia will “fully accept and implement” a peace agreement with Eritrea that was signed in 2000, its ruling coalition announced on Tuesday. The Horn of Africa neighbors have remained at odds since a 1998-2000 war over a disputed town that a boundary commission subsequently handed to Asmara but which Addis Ababa rejected. Asmara has long felt betrayed by world powers, who they say failed to force Ethiopia, now with a population of 97 million, to abide by the boundary arbitration ruling. Ethiopia long said it wanted talks on implementation, which Asmara refused. Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-05T21:41:00.000+03:00|Russia's Novak says demand should determine oil deal easing|June 5, 2018 / 6:41 PM / a day ago Russia's Novak says demand should determine oil deal easing Reuters Staff 1 Min Read VIENNA, June 5 (Reuters) - Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that the OPEC and non-OPEC countries should take a decision on a possible adjustment of the current deal on oil output cuts by looking into oil demand. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers led by Russia will convene in Vienna on June 22-23 to decide on a possible adjustment of the current oil output cuts deal, which is valid until the end of the year. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Adrian Croft)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T22:03:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Russia's Novak says demand should determine oil deal easing|VIENNA (Reuters) - Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that oil demand should determine how OPEC and non-OPEC countries should adjust a current deal on oil output curbs. FILE PHOTO: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers led by Russia will convene in Vienna on June 22-23 to decide on a possible adjustment of the current oil output cuts deal, which is valid until the end of the year. With oil recently reaching $80 a barrel, the highest since 2014, producers are now discussing easing some of the cuts. “We have to look into the situation which has panned out on the market today, from the point of view of the volume cuts, inventories decline, shortages on the market, and to adjust the figures,” Novak told reporters. “And to look into the possibility of the adjustment of the cuts by taking into account demand,” he added. Novak is a part of the Russian delegation headed by President Vladimir Putin in Austria. Earlier on Tuesday he met OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo in Vienna. After the meeting he said that OPEC and Russia share a common view on the oil market. Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Adrian Croft  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T22:04:00.000+03:00|Abu Dhabi's crown prince approves 50 billion-dirham of economic stimulus|June 5, 2018 / 7:07 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Abu Dhabi's crown prince approves 50 billion-dirham of economic stimulus Reuters Staff 1 Min Read DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s crown prince said on Tuesday he had approved 50 billion dirham ($13.61 billion) worth of measures to stimulate growth in the emirate, which would make it easier to do business, help tourism and create jobs. FILE PHOTO: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 1, 2018. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS Mohamed Bin Zayed tweeted that the new initiative will also speed up contract payments to the private sector and exempt new licenses from the requirement of having a physical presence in the emirate in the first two years. He also ordered the provision of at least 10,000 jobs for emiratis in the private and public sectors over the next five years. Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi, editing by Larry King|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-05T22:24:00.000+03:00|FOREX-Dollar firms as trade war fears stoke selling in emerging currencies|"* Mexican peso, Canadian dollar lead losers on trade war concerns * Mexico says will slap tariffs on U.S. pork imports * U.S. ISM non-manufacturing index rises in May * Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh (Adds new comment, FX table, update prices, changes byline; dateline; previous LONDON) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Tuesday, edging toward a six-month high hit last week, as the latest development in a growing trade conflict between the U.S. and its commercial partners prompted selling in emerging market currencies. The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar posted the biggest losses against the U.S. dollar as trade war concerns rose. Other emerging market currencies also fell in tandem with the peso such as the South African rand. The U.S. dollar, on the other hand, remained supported by a brighter economic outlook that has made an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week a near-certainty. ""The story of U.S. data outperforming data around the world, especially in Europe, the UK, and Japan remains intact for now,"" said Brad Bechtel, managing director, at Jefferies in New York. But he noted that external factors that have influenced the dollar such as the Italian political crisis and trade tariffs have already built into the currency price. ""The U.S. dollar is going to be a bit rangebound for now with a firm undertone,"" said Bechtel. In mid-morning trading, the dollar climbed 0.3 percent to 94.28 against a currency basket. It hit 95.02 last week, its highest since early November and has risen nearly six percent since mid-April. The dollar got a bit of boost after a U.S. service sector index as measured by the Institute for Supply Management rose more than expected in May to 58.6. The Mexican peso, meanwhile, fell to a more than one-year low against the dollar, which was last up 1.6 percent at 20.3968 pesos. Against the Canadian dollar, the U.S. currency rose 1.0 percent to C$1.3060. Mexico said it will impose a 20-percent tariff on U.S. pork imports after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on steel and aluminium. The tariff was in response to the Trump administration's decision last week to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexican exporters on grounds that countries including Mexico engage in competition damaging to U.S. national security. EURO ZONE CONCERNS The dollar's strength was also helped by the euro's lingering weakness with latest headlines offering little evidence Italy would stick to a path of fiscal restraint. Bond yields rose on Tuesday, after new Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte promised to bring radical change as he sought parliamentary backing for an anti-establishment government. The euro fell 0.3 percent against the dollar to $1.1665."|https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-05T22:25:00.000+03:00|No-deal Brexit could cost businesses 20 billion pounds a year, tax official says|LONDON (Reuters) - Companies face an extra 20 billion pounds ($27 billion) a year in costs to comply with the customs arrangement if there is a no-deal Brexit, Britain’s most senior tax official said on Tuesday. An anti-Brexit protester carries flags opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Jon Thompson, permanent secretary at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, told lawmakers that leaving the EU with no deal would cost business a similar amount to a customs arrangement known as “max fac” - or maximum facilitation - because companies would have to fill in customs declarations. “If we move to WTO (World Trade Organization) rules, that would definitely require customs declarations so it would be similar in terms of costs,” Thompson said when asked about the cost of a no-deal Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to take Britain out of the customs union with the EU, a step she argues is necessary so that London can strike its own trade deals around the world. But May’s government has yet to set out to the EU’s satisfaction how it would achieve that without erecting a land border to control goods between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member, the Republic of Ireland, which Britain has promised it will not do. The government is considering two possible options in a debate that has exposed a deep rift within May’s cabinet between those who favour a clean break with Europe and those willing to accept closer cooperation with Brussels. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Stephen Addison  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-05T22:25:00.000+03:00|Britain asks to join WTO procurement deal in latest Brexit step|GENEVA (Reuters) - Britain has officially applied to join the World Trade Organization’s government procurement agreement, a legal step it needs to take to maintain trading relationships after it leaves the European Union on March 29, 2019. FILE PHOTO: Anti-Brexit demonstrators wave EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Staying in the WTO is potentially important so that British companies can still bid for government work in the United States, European Union and Japan. Britain is a member of the agreement now only by virtue of its EU membership. In letters published by the WTO on Tuesday, the EU and British ambassadors said Britain would make an offer on the degree to which it was willing to open its own procurement markets in return for continued membership. The 46 countries in the agreement have liberalised access to each other’s markets, with an estimated $1.7 trillion annual spend. China is hoping to join, which could add a further incentive for membership. British officials have previously said that rolling over membership of the agreement should be relatively easy, since there was an incentive for other members to retain their access to Britain’s procurement market, too. But any negotiation in the WTO can be an opportunity to make new demands. A British trade official told Reuters in March that a draft offer had already been circulated, part of a strategy of trying to minimise the disruption of Brexit at the WTO. The Geneva-based WTO is already in crisis because of a potential global trade war and a U.S. block on new judicial appointments. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said last year that Brexit was going to be “a bumpy road”, but just how bumpy would depend on many things, including negotiations with the EU. British hopes for a smooth transition at the WTO have already been dashed by disagreement in agriculture, where major suppliers are unhappy with losing the flexibility they have enjoyed with the EU as one market of 28 countries. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told Reuters in Geneva on Monday that the agriculture question was still unresolved. “There is no progress on agreeing the terms of Brexit (at the WTO),” she said. Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by Larry King  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-06-05T22:33:00.000+03:00|Wells Fargo pulls back from U.S. Midwest, selling 52 branches to Flagstar|June 5, 2018 / 7:33 PM / Updated a day ago Wells Fargo pulls back from U.S. Midwest, selling 52 branches to Flagstar Imani Moise 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) is pulling back from retail banking in the U.S. Midwest, selling all of its branches in three states, as the bank embarks on a broader review of branch profitability across the country. FILE PHOTO: A Wells Fargo bank sign is pictured in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Flagstar Bancorp Inc ( FBC.N ) said on Tuesday it would acquire 52 Wells Fargo branches in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin for an undisclosed amount. The branches have about $2.3 billion in deposits and $130 million in loans. Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank by assets in the United States, will no longer have a retail presence in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio once the deal closes, spokeswoman Bridget Braxton said. It will continue to operate 48 branches in Wisconsin, as well as its commercial banking, wealth management, and retail brokerage business across the region. The transaction is part of a strategy management laid out at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo’s investor day last month, involving the sale or closure of 800 branches by 2020. The bank is working to make its operation more efficient and profitable in response to investor demands while also tackling legal and regulatory issues stemming from a sales scandal that erupted from its retail banking business in 2016. Wells Fargo is targeting branches with slower-than-expected loan or deposit growth, as well as regions where it does not have enough market share to be competitive. For instance, its portion of deposits in Indiana’s Allen County, which includes Fort Wayne, fell to 29 percent in 2017 from 35 percent in 2016. “We simply don’t have a major retail banking presence in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and parts of Wisconsin,” Braxton said. “The prospect for growth in markets where we don’t have retail banking density drove this decision.” Troy, Michigan-based Flagstar views the branches a little differently. Its news release on the deal highlighted that the branches it is acquiring have No. 1 market share position in Fort Wayne, as well as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and that the deal will double its customer base and provide an important source of liquidity. “This was an opportunity not to be missed, not only to change our balance sheet, but to fundamentally change who we are,” Flagstar Chief Executive Officer Alessandro DiNello said on a call with analysts. As Wells Fargo proceeds with the branch review, it may not be difficult to find other regional or community banks eager to buy branches for growth. The Flagstar deal comes just weeks after Fifth Third Bancorp ( FITB.O ) said it would buy MB Financial Inc ( MBFI.O ) for $4.7 billion to expand its presence in Chicago. Reporting by Imani Moise in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Will Dunham|http://feeds.reuters.com/news/wealth?format=xml|1
2018-06-05T22:37:00.000+03:00|Wells Fargo pulls back from U.S. Midwest, selling 52 branches to Flagstar|(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) is pulling back from retail banking in the U.S. Midwest, selling all of its branches in three states, as the bank embarks on a broader review of branch profitability across the country. FILE PHOTO: A Wells Fargo bank sign is pictured in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Flagstar Bancorp Inc ( FBC.N ) said on Tuesday it would acquire 52 Wells Fargo branches in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin for an undisclosed amount. The branches have about $2.3 billion in deposits and $130 million in loans. Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank by assets in the United States, will no longer have a retail presence in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio once the deal closes, spokeswoman Bridget Braxton said. It will continue to operate 48 branches in Wisconsin, as well as its commercial banking, wealth management, and retail brokerage business across the region. The transaction is part of a strategy management laid out at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo’s investor day last month, involving the sale or closure of 800 branches by 2020. The bank is working to make its operation more efficient and profitable in response to investor demands while also tackling legal and regulatory issues stemming from a sales scandal that erupted from its retail banking business in 2016. Wells Fargo is targeting branches with slower-than-expected loan or deposit growth, as well as regions where it does not have enough market share to be competitive. For instance, its portion of deposits in Indiana’s Allen County, which includes Fort Wayne, fell to 29 percent in 2017 from 35 percent in 2016. “We simply don’t have a major retail banking presence in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and parts of Wisconsin,” Braxton said. “The prospect for growth in markets where we don’t have retail banking density drove this decision.” Troy, Michigan-based Flagstar views the branches a little differently. Its news release on the deal highlighted that the branches it is acquiring have No. 1 market share position in Fort Wayne, as well as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and that the deal will double its customer base and provide an important source of liquidity. “This was an opportunity not to be missed, not only to change our balance sheet, but to fundamentally change who we are,” Flagstar Chief Executive Officer Alessandro DiNello said on a call with analysts. As Wells Fargo proceeds with the branch review, it may not be difficult to find other regional or community banks eager to buy branches for growth. The Flagstar deal comes just weeks after Fifth Third Bancorp ( FITB.O ) said it would buy MB Financial Inc ( MBFI.O ) for $4.7 billion to expand its presence in Chicago. Reporting by Imani Moise in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Will Dunham  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-05T23:15:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Thailand's Minor plans 2.5 billion euro takeover bid for Spain's NH Hotels|MADRID (Reuters) - Thailand-based Minor International ( MINT.BK ) said on Tuesday it plans to launch a takeover bid for NH Hotels ( NHH.MC ) valuing the Spanish hotel group at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) after buying a stake from Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. FILE PHOTO: Shareholders of Spain's NH Hotel Group take their seats prior to the start of the AGM in Madrid, Spain, June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hanna/File Photo Minor International has agreed to pay HNA, NH’s biggest shareholder, 622 million euros for a 26.5 percent stake in the hotel group, subject to certain conditions. After the conversion of some bonds to shares, it would take Minor’s stake in NH to around 38 percent, exceeding the 30 percent ownership threshold beyond which Spanish law requires a full takeover be launched. Minor will offer 6.4 euros for each remaining share in NH, it said in a filing with the Spanish market regulator. HNA Group’s sale of the NH stake to Minor will take place in two stages. The Chinese firm said it had agreed to sell a 17.64 percent stake in the hotel chain for 6.4 euros per share in a transaction expected to close on June 15. If the first tranche is completed, it would then sell a further 8.83 percent of NH for 6.10 euros per share. This deal is expected to close between Sept. 10 and 16. Minor owns and operates more than 150 hotels and resorts under brands including Four Seasons and Marriott. It started an investment drive in 2016 through which it said it planned to operate 210 hotels by 2020. HNA is restructuring operations and selling assets to raise cash, partly to repay debt. Since the start of 2018, it has agreed to sell over $10 billion of real estate in Australia, New York and Hong Kong, along with shares in Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ), and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc ( HLT.N ). HNA said in January it had hired banks to look for buyers of its stake in NH. HNA had an acrimonious relationship with NH, which ousted the Chinese group’s representatives from its board in 2016 after HNA’s purchase of a rival hotel group led to accusations of a conflict of interest. NH, which has more than 370 hotels in 30 countries, turned down a takeover offer from Spanish peer Barcelo in January. Barcelo had then considered making an offer for HNA’s stake before the deal with Minor was struck, according to media reports. Spain, by far NH’s biggest market with around a third of its hotels there, became the second most visited country in the world after France in 2017, overtaking the United States, and property consultancy Irea estimates investment in the sector reached a record 3.9 billion euros. Reporting by Isla Binnie and Carlos Ruano; Editing by Adrian Croft  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-05T23:29:00.000+03:00|Trump administration biofuels deal delayed indefinitely: sources|"(Reuters) - The Trump administration has indefinitely delayed a proposed overhaul of U.S. biofuels policy aimed at reducing costs for the oil industry, under pressure from corn state lawmakers who worry the move would undermine demand for ethanol, according to two sources familiar with the matter. U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a ""celebration of America"" event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria The White House had been poised to announce the reforms to the U.S. Renewable Fuel Program early this week after hosting months of difficult negotiations between representatives of the key constituencies. “The announcement won’t be happening,” one of the sources said. The second source said the deal had apparently collapsed. Both sources asked not to be identified discussing the matter. The RFS requires oil refiners to mix increasing volumes of biofuels like ethanol into the nation’s fuel each year, and prove compliance by earning or acquiring blending credits that must be handed in to the Environmental Protection Agency. The law has helped Midwest corn farmers by creating a 15-billion-gallon-a-year market for ethanol, but refining companies have complained it incurs steep costs for them. The White House deal would have eased pressure on the refining industry by allowing biofuels exports to count toward the annual volumes quotas. It would also have expanded sales of high-ethanol gasoline in a concession to biofuels producers. Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa both praised President Donald Trump on Twitter on Tuesday evening. “@realDonaldTrump has said he loooovves the farmers! #Iowa is feeling that love today, as the President just assured me he ‘won’t sign a deal that’s bad for farmers!’ Thank you Mr. President,” wrote Ernst. “Pres Trump helped farmers by rejecting bad ethanol deal. I appreciate. GREAT NEWS,” wrote Grassley. Bob Dinneen, head of the Renewable Fuels Association, said: “We are happy the President continues to recognize the importance of our industry to America’s farmers and rural economies across the nation.” FILE PHOTO - A biodiesel vehicle is seen at Dogpatch Biofuels filling station in San Francisco, California January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice in New York; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Peter Cooney  "|https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-05T23:36:00.000+03:00|Thailand's Minor plans 2.5 billion euro takeover bid for Spain's NH Hotels|June 5, 2018 / 8:36 PM / Updated an hour ago Thailand's Minor plans 2.5 billion euro takeover bid for Spain's NH Hotels Isla Binnie , Carlos Ruano 3 Min Read MADRID (Reuters) - Thailand-based Minor International ( MINT.BK ) said on Tuesday it plans to launch a takeover bid for NH Hotels ( NHH.MC ) valuing the Spanish hotel group at up to 2.5 billion euros (£2.18 billion) after buying a stake from Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. FILE PHOTO: Shareholders of Spain's NH Hotel Group take their seats prior to the start of the AGM in Madrid, Spain, June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hanna/File Photo Minor International has agreed to pay HNA, NH’s biggest shareholder, 622 million euros for a 26.5 percent stake in the hotel group, subject to certain conditions. After the conversion of some bonds to shares, it would take Minor’s stake in NH to around 38 percent, exceeding the 30 percent ownership threshold beyond which Spanish law requires a full takeover be launched. Minor will offer 6.4 euros for each remaining share in NH, it said in a filing with the Spanish market regulator. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Spanish NH Hoteles chain is seen on the roof of one of its hotel in central Madrid October 28, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo HNA Group’s sale of the NH stake to Minor will take place in two stages. The Chinese firm said it had agreed to sell a 17.64 percent stake in the hotel chain for 6.4 euros per share in a transaction expected to close on June 15. If the first tranche is completed, it would then sell a further 8.83 percent of NH for 6.10 euros per share. This deal is expected to close between Sept. 10 and 16. Minor owns and operates more than 150 hotels and resorts under brands including Four Seasons and Marriott. It started an investment drive in 2016 through which it said it planned to operate 210 hotels by 2020. HNA is restructuring operations and selling assets to raise cash, partly to repay debt. Since the start of 2018, it has agreed to sell over $10 billion of real estate in Australia, New York and Hong Kong, along with shares in Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ), and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc ( HLT.N ). HNA said in January it had hired banks to look for buyers of its stake in NH. HNA had an acrimonious relationship with NH, which ousted the Chinese group’s representatives from its board in 2016 after HNA’s purchase of a rival hotel group led to accusations of a conflict of interest. NH, which has more than 370 hotels in 30 countries, turned down a takeover offer from Spanish peer Barcelo in January. Barcelo had then considered making an offer for HNA’s stake before the deal with Minor was struck, according to media reports. Spain, by far NH’s biggest market with around a third of its hotels there, became the second most visited country in the world after France in 2017, overtaking the United States, and property consultancy Irea estimates investment in the sector reached a record 3.9 billion euros. Reporting by Isla Binnie and Carlos Ruano; Editing by Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-05T23:49:00.000+03:00|U.S. sells 1-month T-bills at highest rate since Aug 2008|NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $35 billion of one-month bills at an interest rate of 1.780 percent, the highest level since August 2008, Treasury data showed. The ratio of bids to the amount of one-month T-bills offered was 3.04, matching the level last seen six weeks ago. This measure of overall auction demand was 3.25 at the previous $35 billion one-month bill sale held last week. (Reporting by Richard Leong)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-06T00:31:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 5)|BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson’s blood glucose monitoring business LifeScan (approved June 4) — U.S. tyre maker Goodyear and Japanese peer Bridgestone to acquire joint control of joint venture Tirehub, which will combine the U.S. tyre wholesale distribution businesses of both companies (approved June 4) NEW LISTINGS — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 18 — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (notified May 8/deadline June 18/simplified) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |https://www.reuters.com/news/media|1
2018-06-06T01:01:00.000+03:00|Northrop Grumman wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Orbital ATK, with conditions|WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solid rocket motor supplier Orbital ATK, Inc, with conditions, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. The $7.8 billion deal was approved on condition that Northrop supply the solid rocket motors to competitors and to separate the two companies’ operations with a firewall, the FTC said in a statement. (Reporting by Diane Bartz Editing by James Dalgleish)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-06T01:17:00.000+03:00|Northrop Grumman wins U.S. antitrust approval to buy Orbital ATK|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman ( NOC.N ) won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solid rocket motor supplier Orbital ATK Inc ( OA.N ) with conditions, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A UAV helicopter build by Northrop Gruman is on deck aboard the soon to be commissioned littoral combat ship USS Coronado during a media tour in Coronado, California April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The $7.8 billion deal was approved on condition that Northrop supply the solid rocket motors to competitors for missile contracts and to separate the two companies’ operations with a firewall, the FTC said in a statement. Northrop said in a statement it expects the transaction will be completed after market close on Wednesday. The European Commission approved the deal in February. Northrop announced the all-cash deal in September, saying it would give the company greater access to lucrative government contracts and expand its arsenal of missile defense systems and space rockets. Orbital has contracts with NASA and the U.S. Army. The Dulles, Virginia-based company is one of the two firms hired by NASA to fly cargo to the International Space Station under an initial contract worth up to $3.1 billion. The FTC said in a statement that it typically prefers to have companies sell assets rather than require a “behavioral” remedy, such as this one, but accepted it in this case because the defense industry sells solely to the Defense Department, which will ensure compliance with the condition. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|1
2018-06-06T01:35:00.000+03:00|Pressuring May, UK's Labour tries to force new single market deal|LONDON (Reuters) - The opposition Labour Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit, urging MPs to defeat her in parliament by backing a proposal for Britain to stay in the EU’s single market after leaving the bloc. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Ten months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, May is struggling to unite her party and government over a Brexit strategy. She also faces a parliament where some MPs want to force her to go back on promises to leave the bloc’s single market and customs union. By tabling a new amendment to May’s Brexit blueprint, the EU withdrawal bill, Labour puts the single market back at the centre of a debate that could shape Britain’s trading relationships for years to come. It also challenges many of its own MPs who want Britain to have an even stronger relationship with the EU and stay in its European Economic Area. The move further muddies the water over a vote next week on the EU withdrawal bill, which May needs to pass to sever ties with the bloc and “copy and paste” its laws into British legislation so the country can function after March next year. Related Coverage PM May sidesteps questions on publication of Brexit strategy It first hangs on whether the amendment will even be accepted and debated in parliament on June 12. Then it comes down to whether it can get the numbers to defeat the government. The amendment calls on the government to negotiate full access to the EU’s single market, to keep common minimum standards, rights and protections, to share joint institutions and regulations, and ensure there are no new impediments to trade, while retaining control over immigration. That combination could potentially break with one of the EU’s “four freedoms” — movement of workers, goods, capital and services — that underpin access to the single market. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses a rally in central London, Britain, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo “Labour will only accept a Brexit deal that delivers the benefits of the single market and protects jobs and living standards,” Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit policy chief, said on Tuesday. The move ignites the latest battle in a long series of conflicts waged in both parties, the two houses of parliament and across a deeply divided country since it voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the bloc. A struggle in May’s team of ministers over future customs arrangements with the EU has all but stalled Brexit negotiations, and there is little time left. The EU is expecting her to have made progress by a summit later this month and both sides want to reach a deal by October. On Wednesday in parliament, she again defended her government’s deliberations, saying her ministers would publish a policy document on Britain’s future relationship with the EU. But she did not say when. FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator stands outside the Houses of Parliament during a protest aimed at showing London's solidarity with the European Union following the recent EU referendum, in central London, Britain June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” The Conservative Party attacked Labour’s amendment, saying it “shattered their promise to respect the referendum result”. It also has caused ripples in Labour, where some MPs had lobbied for the party to support an amendment to keep Britain in the EEA, retaining full access to the single market in return for making payments and accepting the four freedoms. Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna accused the leadership of trying to wreck that amendment and preventing what would be a painful government defeat after some Conservative MPs had suggested they could vote for the EEA on June 12. But Seema Malhotra, another Labour lawmaker, said the move could unite the party. Britain’s next election is not due until 2022. “We are running out of time on how we move forward as a country after Brexit with a government too divided make a decision,” Malhotra told Reuters. “Parliament is now taking a lead in setting the direction of travel that is right for the economy.” Starmer told the BBC he believed the EU would be open to negotiating a new deal if Britain dropped its red lines. The bloc has said countries must accept its four freedoms that must be maintained for access to the single market. He called on the party to unite around the new amendment, saying the EEA model would not work as it did not include access to the EU’s customs union. Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Richard Balmforth  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-06-06T01:58:00.000+03:00|China Hongqiao inks $4.7 billion financing deal with Industrial Bank |BEIJING (Reuters) - China Hongqiao Group, the world’s biggest aluminum producer, said it has signed a financing agreement with Industrial Bank Co Ltd worth 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) as it looks to upgrade its manufacturing facilities. Industrial Bank will provide Hongqiao and its affiliates with services including supply-chain financing, debt instruments, industrial funds and asset-backed securitization to help it raise money, according to a statement on Hongqiao’s official Wechat account late on Tuesday. Hongqiao, based in Binzhou in eastern China’s Shandong province, aimed to create a “world-renowned” production base for lightweight automobile parts and other high-end uses of aluminum, Chairman Zhang Shiping said. The company, which had to shut 2.68 million tonnes of illegal smelting capacity in Binzhou last year, has turned to debt markets in recent months after its 2017 earnings took a big hit from a 3.37 billion yuan impairment charge, despite higher aluminum prices. Hongqiao said in April it was issuing $450 million of bonds to refinance debt and for general corporate purposes. Reporting by Tom Daly; editing by Richard Pullin  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-06T02:14:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's IDFC Bank rises; RBI clears merger with Capital First|"** IDFC Bank Ltd rises as much as 5.1 pct to 40.30 rupees, in its biggest intraday pct gain since Jan 11 ** Capital First Ltd climbs as much as 3.7 pct to 553.35 rupees, in its biggest intraday pct rise since May 31 ** IDFC Bank said on Tuesday here it received ""no objection"" from the central bank for acquisition of non-bank financial firm Capital First in a share swap deal valued at about $1.5 bln ** More than 5.5 mln IDFC Bank shares change hands, compared with 30-day moving avg of 15.5 mln ** As of Tuesday, IDFC Bank stock had fallen 29.3 pct this year, while Capital First had declined 23 pct  "|https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-06-06T02:19:00.000+03:00|China's HNA to sell 26.5 pct stake in Spain's NH Hotels to Thai Minor International|MADRID, June 5 (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Group said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell a stake of 26.5 percent in Spain’s NH Hotels to Thai Minor International. The Chinese firm said in a filing to Spain’s market regulator that it agreed to sell 17.64 percent of the hotel chain for 6.4 euros ($7.50) per share, subject to certain conditions. If the first tranche is completed, it will then sell a further 8.83 percent of NH for 6.10 euros per share, implying Minor will buy the stake for a total of just over 622 million euros ($729 million). ($1 = 0.8531 euros) (Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|1
2018-06-06T02:30:00.000+03:00|Mexico minister sees more than 50 percent chance of initial NAFTA deal this year|MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s economy minister said on Tuesday that he sees a better than 50 percent chance of reaching an agreement in principle on NAFTA this year despite escalating tensions between his country and the United States. FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo speaks to the media during a news conference at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, Mexico, May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo “I would tell you that I see good probabilities that in the months that are left (this year)... we can reach a solution,” Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on local television. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump may seek separate talks with Canada and Mexico in a bid to get individual trade deals with the two countries. The Mexican peso fell to its weakest levels since February 2017 on pessimism about the trade negotiations. The United States, Canada and Mexico have been in months of negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long criticized as having harmed the United States economically. Guajardo said the technical work of the negotiations, which began in August, is nearly done. All of the “sections, composition and architecture is ready,” he said. “What’s missing is the political will and the flexibility necessary to be able to close (the deal)”. Reporting by Sharay Angulo; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Darren Schuettler  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-06T02:31:00.000+03:00|Economic pressure will kill off Iran nuclear deal: Netanyahu|PARIS (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he had not asked France to leave the 2015 Iran nuclear deal because he believed the accord would not survive after the United States pulled out of the deal and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool “I didn’t ask France to withdraw from the JCPOA (Iran deal) because I think it is basically going to be dissolved by the weight of economic forces,” Netanyahu told a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Reporting by John Irish and Marine Pennetier; Editing by Gareth Jones  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-06T02:59:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's Sun Pharma gains; CLSA upgrades to 'buy'|** Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd climbs as much as 2.5 pct to 485.35 rupees; among top percentage gainers on the NSE index ** “We believe earnings have bottomed out for Sun Pharma” - CLSA Research ** CLSA hikes rating to “buy” from “sell” after Q4 results; price target at 600 rupees ** Indian pharma sector reported stable Q4 earnings on the back of stable U.S. sales sequentially despite heightened pricing pressure, competitive intensity - CLSA ** U.S. challenges remain but management commentary on pricing has improved; price-to-earnings valuations have become reasonable compared with their 5-year history - CLSA ** More than 1.3 mln shares traded vs. their 30-day moving avg of 5.7 mln shares ** Fifteen of the 39 analysts covering stock have a “buy” or higher rating, 12 have “hold” while 12 rate it at “sell” or lower; median PT is 513 rupees - Thomson Reuters data ** Up to Tuesday’s close, Sun Pharma has fallen 17.1 pct compared with a 15.6 pct drop in the Nifty pharma index this year Our |https://in.reuters.com/finance|0
2018-06-06T03:04:00.000+03:00|Abu Dhabi's crown prince approves 50 billion-dirham of economic stimulus|DUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s crown prince said on Tuesday he had approved 50 billion dirham ($13.61 billion) worth of measures to stimulate growth in the emirate, which would make it easier to do business, help tourism and create jobs. Mohamed Bin Zayed tweeted that the new initiative will also speed up contract payments to the private sector and exempt new licenses from the requirement of having a physical presence in the emirate in the first two years. He also ordered the provision of at least 10,000 jobs for emiratis in the private and public sectors over the next five years. ($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham) (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi, editing by Larry King)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-06T03:11:00.000+03:00|Abu Dhabi crown prince approves $13.61 billion in economic stimulus|DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s crown prince said on Tuesday he had approved 50 billion dirham ($13.61 billion) worth of measures to stimulate growth in the emirate and make it easier to do business, create jobs and boost tourism. FILE PHOTO: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 1, 2018. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), tweeted that the new initiative would also speed up contract payments to the private sector and exempt new licenses from the requirement of having a physical presence in the emirate in the first two years. “Under the guidance of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, I have approved a 3-year, 50 billion dirham economic stimulus package to support Abu Dhabi’s economic development and have tasked the Executive Council’s Executive Committee to draw up a working plan for allocations within 90 days,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. He also ordered the creation of at least 10,000 jobs for Emiratis in the private and public sectors over the next five years. More money would be spent to establish an “Abu Dhabi Accelerators and Advanced Industries Council” to attract and support value-added investments and new technologies. The UAE economy is expected to recover gradually this year without suffering a significant blow to growth from the introduction of a 5 percent value-added tax in January. Growth rose by 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, accelerating from 0.1 percent in the previous quarter year-on-year, the central bank said last week. Non-oil economic activity in the Gulf Arab country grew by 3.1 percent from a year earlier over the same period, slowing slightly from 3.4 percent in the final quarter of 2017. Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Omar Fahmy, editing by Larry King  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-06T04:16:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Thailand's Minor plans 2.5 billion euro takeover bid for Spain's NH Hotels|* Thailand’s Minor buying stake from HNA for 622 million euros * Will then launch takeover bid for remaining shares (adds detail, background) By Isla Binnie and Carlos Ruano MADRID, June 5 (Reuters) - Thailand-based Minor International said on Tuesday it plans to launch a takeover bid for NH Hotels valuing the Spanish hotel group at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) after buying a stake from Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. Minor International has agreed to pay HNA, NH’s biggest shareholder, 622 million euros for a 26.5 percent stake in the hotel group, subject to certain conditions. After the conversion of some bonds to shares, it would take Minor’s stake in NH to around 38 percent, exceeding the 30 percent ownership threshold beyond which Spanish law requires a full takeover be launched. Minor will offer 6.4 euros for each remaining share in NH, it said in a filing with the Spanish market regulator. HNA Group’s sale of the NH stake to Minor will take place in two stages. The Chinese firm said it had agreed to sell a 17.64 percent stake in the hotel chain for 6.4 euros per share in a transaction expected to close on June 15. If the first tranche is completed, it would then sell a further 8.83 percent of NH for 6.10 euros per share. This deal is expected to close between Sept. 10 and 16. Minor owns and operates more than 150 hotels and resorts under brands including Four Seasons and Marriott. It started an investment drive in 2016 through which it said it planned to operate 210 hotels by 2020. HNA is restructuring operations and selling assets to raise cash, partly to repay debt. Since the start of 2018, it has agreed to sell over $10 billion of real estate in Australia, New York and Hong Kong, along with shares in Deutsche Bank AG, and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. HNA said in January it had hired banks to look for buyers of its stake in NH. HNA had an acrimonious relationship with NH, which ousted the Chinese group’s representatives from its board in 2016 after HNA’s purchase of a rival hotel group led to accusations of a conflict of interest. NH, which has more than 370 hotels in 30 countries, turned down a takeover offer from Spanish peer Barcelo in January. Barcelo had then considered making an offer for HNA’s stake before the deal with Minor was struck, according to media reports. Spain, by far NH’s biggest market with around a third of its hotels there, became the second most visited country in the world after France in 2017, overtaking the United States, and property consultancy Irea estimates investment in the sector reached a record 3.9 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8541 euros) (Reporting by Isla Binnie and Carlos Ruano; Editing by Adrian Croft)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180605.html|0
2018-06-06T04:29:00.000+03:00|Trump administration biofuels deal delayed indefinitely: sources|"(Reuters) - The Trump administration has indefinitely delayed a proposed overhaul of U.S. biofuels policy aimed at reducing costs for the oil industry, under pressure from corn state lawmakers who worry the move would undermine demand for ethanol, according to two sources familiar with the matter. U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a ""celebration of America"" event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria The White House had been poised to announce the reforms to the U.S. Renewable Fuel Program early this week after hosting months of difficult negotiations between representatives of the key constituencies. “The announcement won’t be happening,” one of the sources said. The second source said the deal had apparently collapsed. Both sources asked not to be identified discussing the matter. The RFS requires oil refiners to mix increasing volumes of biofuels like ethanol into the nation’s fuel each year, and prove compliance by earning or acquiring blending credits that must be handed in to the Environmental Protection Agency. The law has helped Midwest corn farmers by creating a 15-billion-gallon-a-year market for ethanol, but refining companies have complained it incurs steep costs for them. FILE PHOTO - A biodiesel vehicle is seen at Dogpatch Biofuels filling station in San Francisco, California January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith The White House deal would have eased pressure on the refining industry by allowing biofuels exports to count toward the annual volumes quotas. It would also have expanded sales of high-ethanol gasoline in a concession to biofuels producers. Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa both praised President Donald Trump on Twitter on Tuesday evening. “@realDonaldTrump has said he loooovves the farmers! #Iowa is feeling that love today, as the President just assured me he ‘won’t sign a deal that’s bad for farmers!’ Thank you Mr. President,” wrote Ernst. “Pres Trump helped farmers by rejecting bad ethanol deal. I appreciate. GREAT NEWS,” wrote Grassley. Bob Dinneen, head of the Renewable Fuels Association, said: “We are happy the President continues to recognize the importance of our industry to America’s farmers and rural economies across the nation.” Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice in New York; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Peter Cooney  "|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/PoliticsNews|0
2018-06-06T04:40:00.000+03:00|Soccer: Everton must sell players before they add to squad, says Brands|(Reuters) - Everton’s squad needs to be trimmed to generate funds for transfers and also help new manager Marco Silva work with a smaller group, the Premier League club’s director of football Marcel Brands has said. Soccer Football - England - Premier League - Everton - Marco Silva Press Conference - Finch Farm, Liverpool, Britain - June 4, 2018 Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands during the press conference REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff Everton splurged over 150 million pounds ($201.12 million) before the start of last season but produced poor results. They struggled in the opening stages of the league campaign before finishing eighth. Brands said Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is unlikely to provide the same financial backing to Silva, who was named as Sam Allardyce’s successor last week. “First of all we need to offload players to raise money (to spend), and also salary-wise. But it’s not only a money thing,” Brands was Quote: d as saying by the British media. “Of course money is important but also, for a coach, it is not workable to start with 38 players in your squad. We have to look for a squad Marco can work with... That has to be, let’s say, 25-30 players. “... Marco must start with a squad that everyone is eager to play for and has prospects to play.” Several of last year’s signings, including Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen, failed to impose themselves at Everton and could be sold but Brands said trying to offload Premier League players was not easy. “In England a lot of clubs, fans and media say you have to make new signings all the time,” Brands added. “... In most countries players cannot make the wages they get in the Premier League, so a lot of players who don’t play here cannot play anywhere, because the salaries are not comparable. “Hopefully I will succeed in offloading the right players. They are good players, so I hope there will be interest for a few of our players.” Brands, a former director of football at PSV Eindhoven, took over the same position at Everton last month. ($1 = 0.7458 pounds) Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto |https://in.reuters.com/news/sports|0
2018-06-06T05:25:00.000+03:00|Australia's Mirvac buys 50 percent stake in Sydney property from Blackstone fund|(Reuters) - Mirvac Group ( MGR.AX ), an Australian diversified landlord and property developer, said on Wednesday it will buy a 50 percent stake in a Sydney property from a Blackstone Group LP-managed fund. The deal comes at a time when the U.S. private equity giant Blackstone ( BX.N ) has been seeking to deepen its exposure to Australian and New Zealand commercial property. Mirvac has used its pre-emptive right for the stake. The impact of the deal, which was for a base consideration of A$721.9 million ($552.47 million), will be assessed as part of the firm’s revaluation process for its June 30, 2018 financial accounts, the Australian company said. Blackstone bid A$3.08 billion for Sydney-focused Investa Office Fund ( IOF.AX ) in the last week of May. The offer came soon after New Zealand’s Goodman Property Trust ( GMT.NZ ) said it would sell an Auckland-based portfolio it held jointly with Singaporean fund GIC [GIC.UL] to a number of Blackstone funds for NZ$635 million ($447.23 million). Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in BENGALURU, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T05:40:00.000+03:00|Air China, Air Canada sign joint venture deal|BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Air Canada and Air China Ltd entered a joint venture on Wednesday, with the Canadian carrier saying the deal would significantly increase its presence in the Chinese market which is set to be the world’s largest by 2022. FILE PHOTO: An Air Canada Airbus A330-300 aircraft takes off from Zurich Airport, January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo The two airlines said the joint venture, which they have been discussing since 2014, would allow them to increase commercial cooperation on flights. It is also Air China’s first such deal with a North American airline. The proposed tie-up, however, came under scrutiny last month after the Montreal-based company decided to list Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, as part of China on its booking website, drawing a sharp reaction from Taiwan’s foreign ministry which asked it to make a “speedy correction”. Air Canada denied that the deal had anything to do with its recent decision to refer to Taiwan as part of China. “One’s got nothing to do with the other,” Air Canada’s Chief Executive Calin Rovinescu told reporters on the sidelines of the signing ceremony in Beijing, when asked if its decision to change its website was prompted by the pending joint venture. “I’m not getting into Taipei. Today is not a day for discussions on Taipei,” he said. China’s civil aviation administration in April sent letters requesting airlines remove references on their websites or in other material that suggests Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are part of countries independent from China. The move was described by the White House as “Orwellian nonsense.” Last month, the aviation body said 18 out of the 44 airlines it contacted had changed the way they referred to the territories. Qantas Airways Ltd on Monday said it had decided to comply, a move that was criticized by the Australia’s foreign minister. John MacLeod, Air Canada’s vice-president of global sales and alliances, said the carrier did not receive any pushback from the Canadian government and that it had not lost any bookings as a result of the website change. “We responded to the Taiwanese government that we are an airline that will always be compliant and we are compliant with the rules of the countries that we fly too,” he said. ALLIANCES Canada’s biggest airline has said the joint venture would help it compete more “aggressively” in the Pacific market, especially at a time when it is facing yield pressures on flights to China and Hong Kong. The joint venture “is an important strategy in our global expansion as it significantly increases Air Canada’s presence in an aviation market set to become the world’s largest by 2022,” Air Canada Chief Executive Officer Calin Rovinescu said. Both carriers had earlier agreed to codeshare services and allow passengers to use each other’s lounges, but a complete joint venture is expected to help expand their collaboration. The companies did not reveal financial terms for the deal, but said the process is expected to be wrapped up in six months. Between them, they operate up to a total of 52 trans-Pacific flights per week between Canada and China. Air China Chairman Cai Jianjiang said that the Sino-Canada market was one of its most significant long-haul markets and that it hoped to roll out more products and services under the partnership. Air China’s domestic rivals have also been forging alliances with North American peers. China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd agreed to sell a 3.55 percent stake to Delta Air Lines Inc in 2015, while China Southern Airlines Co Ltd sold a small stake to American Airlines Group Inc for $200 million last year. FILE PHOTO: An Air China Airbus A330-200 aircraft takes off from Zurich Airport January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Reporting by Philip Wen; Writng by Brenda Goh, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alexandra Hudson  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-06T06:49:00.000+03:00|China Hongqiao inks $4.7 bln financing deal with Industrial Bank|BEIJING (Reuters) - China Hongqiao Group, the world’s biggest aluminum producer, said it has signed a financing agreement with Industrial Bank Co Ltd worth 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) as it looks to upgrade its manufacturing facilities. Industrial Bank will provide Hongqiao and its affiliates with services including supply-chain financing, debt instruments, industrial funds and asset-backed securitization to help it raise money, according to a statement on Hongqiao’s official Wechat account late on Tuesday. Hongqiao, based in Binzhou in eastern China’s Shandong province, aimed to create a “world-renowned” production base for lightweight automobile parts and other high-end uses of aluminum, Chairman Zhang Shiping said. The company, which had to shut 2.68 million tonnes of illegal smelting capacity in Binzhou last year, has turned to debt markets in recent months after its 2017 earnings took a big hit from a 3.37 billion yuan impairment charge, despite higher aluminum prices. Hongqiao said in April it was issuing $450 million of bonds to refinance debt and for general corporate purposes. Reporting by Tom Daly; editing by Richard Pullin  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-06T07:25:00.000+03:00|Takeover deal Dutch retail chain Hema falls through: report|AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Belgian investor Core Equity has dropped its interest in a takeover of Hema, one of the largest retail chains in the Netherlands, the De Telegraaf newspaper reported on Wednesday. Owner Lion Capital and Core Equity had reportedly agreed on a 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) price tag for Hema, including debt. But the deal collapsed over disagreement between the prospective buyer and store franchise operators over how to split revenue from Hema’s online store, sources close to the talks told the newspaper. A spokesman for Hema declined to comment on the report. Core Equity could not be reached for immediate comment. Reporting by Bart Meijer; editing by Jason Neely  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T07:29:00.000+03:00|Mexico minister sees more than 50 percent chance of initial NAFTA deal this year|MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s economy minister said on Tuesday that he sees a better than 50 percent chance of reaching an agreement in principle on NAFTA this year despite escalating tensions between his country and the United States. FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo speaks to the media during a news conference at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, Mexico, May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo “I would tell you that I see good probabilities that in the months that are left (this year)... we can reach a solution,” Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on local television. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump may seek separate talks with Canada and Mexico in a bid to get individual trade deals with the two countries. The Mexican peso fell to its weakest levels since February 2017 on pessimism about the trade negotiations. The United States, Canada and Mexico have been in months of negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long criticized as having harmed the United States economically. Guajardo said the technical work of the negotiations, which began in August, is nearly done. All of the “sections, composition and architecture is ready,” he said. “What’s missing is the political will and the flexibility necessary to be able to close (the deal)”. Reporting by Sharay Angulo; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Darren Schuettler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-06T07:30:00.000+03:00|Cabinet approves building 3 million tonne government stockpile of sugar: Ram Vilas Paswan|June 6, 2018 / 9:30 AM / Updated 15 hours ago India unveils measures to help sugar mills, woo farmers Nigam Prusty , C K Nayak 3 Min Read NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has decided to build a 3 million tonne stockpile of sugar to soak up excess supply from the domestic market, and grant soft loans worth 44.4 billion rupees ($661.40 million) to help millers expand ethanol output capacity, the food minister said. A trader eats a sugarcane as he waits for customers at a sugarcane wholesale market in Kolkata, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri The government has also fixed a floor price at the mill gate of 29 rupees a kilogram for refined sugar, to ensure that retail prices of the sweetener do not fall further, Ram Vilas Paswan told a news conference after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The support measures are aimed at cutting a growing sugar surplus and propping up local prices, in order to help both loss-making mills and millions of cane growers who make up a key voting bloc. Late last month Reuters reported that the government would approve the proposal that would require mills to stock 3 million tonnes of sugar in their warehouses, with the government paying the carrying costs for the commodity. The plan to stock 3 million tonnes of sugar would cost the government 11.75 billion rupees, Paswan said. The government would also spend 13.32 billion rupees in the next five years towards interest payments on soft loans worth 44.4 billion rupees to be sanctioned to sugar mills, Paswan said. India, the world’s biggest sugar producer after Brazil, is awash in sugar. Large surpluses have lead to a sharp fall in prices that in turn have made if difficult for mills to pay the country’s 50 million cane growers on time. “If we take into account 4.9 million tonnes of carryover stocks from the previous season and this year’s production of 36.4 million tonnes, inventories far outstrip our yearly consumption of 25 million tonnes,” Paswan said. “This glut has made if difficult for mills to make their sugar cane payments.” Sugar prices have dropped to their lowest in 28 months. As a result, mills now owe nearly 220 billion rupees to cane growers, which could leap to a record 250 billion rupees in the current 2017/18 season. Mounting cane arrears have angered farmers. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party last week suffered a blow in a by-election in Uttar Pradesh, the top sugar producing state in India’s northern cane belt. Analysts viewed the result as a bellwether for a general election due by May 2019. Modi needs to placate cane growers, whose numbers make them an influential political lobby, to smooth his route back to power next year. New Delhi scrapped a 20 percent tax on sugar exports in March, and in April asked mills to export 2 million tonnes of sugar to cut back inventories. The government also approved a plan to provide financial support to cane farmers for produce sold to sugar mills. ($1 = 67.05 rupees)|https://in.reuters.com/home|0
2018-06-06T08:30:00.000+03:00|Honda to start selling Hondajet in Japan next year|TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ) on Wednesday said it would start selling its six-seater business jet in Japan next year, as it seeks to expand global sales by tapping into demand from a growing class of high net-worth individuals. FILE PHOTO : Honda Motor's HondaJet business airplane is seen at Honda Aircraft Company in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S., November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Maki Shiraki/File Photo The automaker is currently awaiting certification for the plane both at home and in China, after having already received U.S. and European certifications over the past two years. Honda said it had partnered with trading house Marubeni Corp ( 7267.T ) for domestic deliveries of the jet. Marubeni will begin delivering the jets around the first half of 2019, pending certification, Honda said, adding it hoped to double Japan’s total use of business jets over five years. FILE PHOTO: The interior of the HA-420 HondaJet aircraft is pictured during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) at Cointrin airport in Geneva, Switzerland May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo “At the moment Japan lacks a strong culture of using business jets ... but the number of high-net worth individuals is competitive with that in the United States,” Hondajet CEO Michimasa Fujino told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday. “We want to target these customers to grow the market,” said Fujino, who is also the chief engineer of the business jet. The Hondajet will come to Japan after Honda delivered its first aircraft in 2015 in the United States. Fujino said he hoped to tap into the domestic market, where business jets are limited with around 90 in use at the moment, in its early stages and focus both on fleet sales and selling to individual customers. The jet business is expected to become profitable about five years after its first full year of sales in 2016, he added. Honda’s jet has been in the making for over 30 years. It has been a labor of love for Fujino, who confounded industry colleagues with the craft’s engineering masterstroke: engines mounted on the wings, not the fuselage, that cut cabin noise and made space for a full-sized washroom, a first in its segment. Honda hopes the plane will help varnish its brand image as a maker of cutting-edge technology products and that jet-engineering skills will raise the efficiency and performance of future car models. Honda’s $5.25 million jet is the first aircraft developed by an automaker since World War Two. It sells the plane in North America, Europe and the Middle East, among other regions. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Himani Sarkar Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-06T09:15:00.000+03:00|Russia's Magnit in talks to buy drug distributor from shareholder|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s second-biggest food retailer Magnit ( MGNT.MM ) said on Wednesday it had began talks with its new shareholder Marathon Group over the acquisition of pharmaceutical distributor SIA. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Russian retailer Magnit is seen on a grocery store outside Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo Magnit said it was initiating due diligence on SIA and that the possible deal was part of its plans to expand into the retail pharmacy market. The company began to open pharmacies last year and the pilot project has demonstrated good results, it said on Wednesday. “Pharmacies and food stores are mutual drivers of customer traffic, which should provide a multiplier economic effect,” Magnit Chief Executive Khachatur Pombukhchan said. SIA Group is part of Marathon Pharma group, a subsidiary of Marathon Group, which last month bought an 11.82 percent stake in Magnit from VTB ( VTBR.MM ). Elena Naumova, an executive director of Magnit, told reporters the acquisition would be a cash deal and she hoped it would close in 2018. She declined to provide any financial details of the planned transaction. SIA turned over 66 billion roubles ($1.06 billion)in 2017, according to market research firm DSM Group. Shares in Magnit fell 3 percent on the Moscow Exchange and were down 6 percent in London ( MGNTq.L ). Reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Olga Sichkar; Editing by Alexandra Hudson  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T09:36:00.000+03:00|RPC seeks to sell non-core assets, full-year profit up 36 percent|June 6, 2018 / 6:36 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Plastics packager RPC seeks asset sales, sets mid-term goals Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - European plastic packaging leader RPC ( RPC.L ) has identified for sale non-core assets with total revenue of 209 million pounds ($280 million), it said on Wednesday, as it seeks to sharpen its focus on higher-value plastics that can be recycled or reused. The UK-based company also reported a 38 percent jump in full-year adjusted operating profit, in line with analyst expectations, and gave new mid-term targets for organic growth and earnings. Free cash flow fell 4 percent. RPC said the businesses it wanted to sell, representing almost 6 percent of its total revenues, either lacked the scale they needed to be competitive or were outside its core areas of plastic packaging and technical components. “These businesses are smaller strategic business units of larger entities acquired over the last four years,” it said. “At the same time, within the overall capital allocation framework, the group will continue to assess value-adding acquisition opportunities which meet our strict acquisition criteria,” said RPC, which has spent over $1.5 billion on acquisitions in the past two years. RPC said it aimed to improve adjusted operating profit of its core businesses, including its recent Nordfolien acquisition, by at least 50 million pounds by 2021, and for its organic revenue to grow faster than the wider economy. The company said adjusted operating profit rose to 425 million pounds in the year ended March 31, broadly in line with average analyst estimate according to Thomson Reuters data, and revenue rose 36 percent to 3.75 billion pounds, compared with an average estimate of 3.69 billion. It added that the current financial year had started in line with management expectations. Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Georgina Prodhan|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-06T09:45:00.000+03:00|Everton must sell players before they add to squad, says Brands|June 6, 2018 / 6:49 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Everton must sell players before they add to squad, says Brands Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Everton’s squad needs to be trimmed to generate funds for transfers and also help new manager Marco Silva work with a smaller group, the Premier League club’s director of football Marcel Brands has said. Soccer Football - England - Premier League - Everton - Marco Silva Press Conference - Finch Farm, Liverpool, Britain - June 4, 2018 Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands during the press conference REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff Everton splurged over 150 million pounds before the start of last season but produced poor results. They struggled in the opening stages of the league campaign before finishing eighth. Brands said Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is unlikely to provide the same financial backing to Silva, who was named as Sam Allardyce’s successor last week. “First of all we need to offload players to raise money (to spend), and also salary-wise. But it’s not only a money thing,” Brands was quoted as saying by the British media. “Of course money is important but also, for a coach, it is not workable to start with 38 players in your squad. We have to look for a squad Marco can work with... That has to be, let’s say, 25-30 players. “... Marco must start with a squad that everyone is eager to play for and has prospects to play.” Several of last year’s signings, including Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen, failed to impose themselves at Everton and could be sold but Brands said trying to offload Premier League players was not easy. “In England a lot of clubs, fans and media say you have to make new signings all the time,” Brands added. “... In most countries players cannot make the wages they get in the Premier League, so a lot of players who don’t play here cannot play anywhere, because the salaries are not comparable. “Hopefully I will succeed in offloading the right players. They are good players, so I hope there will be interest for a few of our players.” Brands, a former director of football at PSV Eindhoven, took over the same position at Everton last month. ($1 = 0.7458 pounds)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-06T10:09:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-ECB to debate ending bond buys next week: Praet|BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will debate next week whether to end bond purchases later this year, the bank’s chief economist said on Wednesday, a hawkish message seen preparing investors for another cut in stimulus. FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Peter Praet speaks during an interview with Reuters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 14, 2018. Picture taken March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski Having revived growth with an unprecedented 2.55 trillion euro ($3 trillion) bond-buying scheme, ECB policymakers must decide when to end the purchases as the threat of deflation is long gone and the bloc is on its best growth run in a decade. While policymakers are in broad agreement that the purchases should end this year, ECB President Mario Draghi has avoided any formal discussion about winding down the program, looking for more evidence that inflation is on a sustained rebound. But comments from Peter Praet, a close Draghi ally, suggest that the ECB is pleased with the rise in inflation, raising the risk that a decision may come sooner rather than later. “Next week, the Governing Council will have to assess whether progress so far has been sufficient to warrant a gradual unwinding of our net purchases,” he said in his last remarks before the ECB’s next policy meeting, noting that it will be a “judgment” call. Euro zone bond yield rose and the euro hit a 10-day high against the dollar on comments from Praet, seen as one of the most dovish members of the Governing Council. Some analysts took the comment to suggest a decision is coming at the June 14 meeting but others saw it as the starting gun in a debate that will likely culminate in a decision in July. “We still don’t think that the ECB will easily give away flexibility and room for maneuver on QE in a situation in which downside risks to the economic outlook have increased and political risks could easily re-emerge,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. JUNE OR JULY? Major policy changes have been taken in two steps in recent years with Draghi announcing preparations for a change in one meeting, then following through six weeks later. The bank’s meeting next week is in Riga, Latvia, making a major decision more difficult. External meetings away from the ECB’s Frankfurt headquarters, held just once a year, involve protocol functions with local officials, leaving less time for substantial work. But Praet’s comments were a clear signal that when a decision is made, it is likely to be about gradually winding down the program as progress has been made in the ECB’s three inflation criteria. “Signals showing the convergence of inflation toward our aim have been improving, and both the underlying strength in the euro area economy and the fact that such strength is increasingly affecting wage formation supports our confidence that inflation will reach a level of below, but close to, 2 percent over the medium term,” Praet said in Berlin. “Waning market expectations of sizeable further expansions of our program have been accompanied by inflation expectations that are increasingly consistent with our aim,” Praet. Inflation surged to 1.9 percent last month to hit the ECB’s target but most of the rise was due to higher energy prices. While the ECB tends to look past oil price shocks, it targets headline inflation suggesting that rising prices, even if fueled by those higher energy costs, support the case for curbing stimulus. Several Governing Council members including two board members have recently argued for an end to the bond buys this year and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, among the most conservative rate setters, renewed his call on Wednesday to end the purchases. The buys, now reduced to 30 billion euros a month, are due to run until the end of September but policymakers have long argued that they should be wound down gradually, over the course of several months. Reporting by Michelle Martin; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-06T10:18:00.000+03:00|Australia's Mirvac buys 50 pct stake in Sydney property from Blackstone fund|(Reuters) - Mirvac Group ( MGR.AX ), an Australian diversified landlord and property developer, said on Wednesday it will buy a 50 percent stake in a Sydney property from a Blackstone Group LP-managed fund. The deal comes at a time when the U.S. private equity giant Blackstone ( BX.N ) has been seeking to deepen its exposure to Australian and New Zealand commercial property. Mirvac has used its pre-emptive right for the stake. The impact of the deal, which was for a base consideration of A$721.9 million ($552.47 million), will be assessed as part of the firm’s revaluation process for its June 30, 2018 financial accounts, the Australian company said. Blackstone bid A$3.08 billion for Sydney-focused Investa Office Fund ( IOF.AX ) in the last week of May. The offer came soon after New Zealand’s Goodman Property Trust ( GMT.NZ ) said it would sell an Auckland-based portfolio it held jointly with Singaporean fund GIC [GIC.UL] to a number of Blackstone funds for NZ$635 million ($447.23 million). Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in BENGALURU, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-06T10:31:00.000+03:00|Air Baltic's hurry for Bombardier CSeries deal foreshadows jet selling spree|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Latvia-based AirBaltic hastened a deal for Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries planes before Airbus formally takes over the Canadian planemaker because it was worried about securing the right delivery slots, the carrier’s chief executive said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: CEO airBaltic Martin Gauss speaks during a ceremony to announce Bombardier's delivery of the first CS300 aircraft to Air Baltic Corporation AS (airBaltic) in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Airbus ( AIR.PA ) agreed to buy a majority stake in Bombardier’s troubled CSeries jetliner program in October last year after the high-tech plane failed to win enough buyers. While the Airbus backing gives the CSeries financial stability, most industry sources have said potential customers are waiting for the deal to close before placing orders. But Air Baltic’s move to buck the trend suggests some assume Airbus will speed up sales once the deal closes. “We could have waited, but we were of the opinion that we better buy them now to secure these (delivery) positions, not to risk that after the takeover somebody else takes (them),” Martin Gauss told Reuters at a CAPA-Centre for Aviation conference. FILE PHOTO: CEO Bombardier Inc. Alain Bellemare speaks during a ceremony to announce Bombardier's delivery of the first CS300 aircraft to Air Baltic Corporation AS (airBaltic) in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi “That was, for us, the rationale to say, ‘Let’s close it now,’ because we need the first two aircraft at the end of 2019.” Air Baltic’s firm order for 30 CS300 aircraft, announced last week, is part of a strategy to move to a harmonized fleet and boost traffic and revenue by 2025. The order included options for a further 30 aircraft, potentially taking the fleet to 80 jets by 2025. “If Airbus sells more in the future then they would have maybe wanted to sell the slots which we have now secured for ourselves,” Gauss added, referring to the expected pick-up in orders once the takeover is completed. One issue for the CSeries’ second largest customer is that Air Baltic doesn’t know what the plane will be called after the takeover. Industry sources say Airbus is considering renaming it the A200, although a decision has not been reached. “I have no idea what our aircraft will be called next week. They said they will send stickers to Riga,” Gauss told CAPA delegates. The carrier mainly flies Bombardier Q400 turboprop planes and Gauss said that on routes such Riga to Brussels, operating costs are 57 percent lower with the C Series, as it can carry more passengers, fly faster and has more efficient engines. Air Baltic has not yet decided how to finance the planes. “As it is now, it will be a mixture of financed aircraft on the balance sheet and sale-and-leaseback,” he said. “We will decide as we go along.” Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Tim Hepher and Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-06T10:31:00.000+03:00|"Ethiopia says will ""fully accept, implement"" 2000 deal with Eritrea"|"June 6, 2018 / 7:35 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Ethiopia says will ""fully accept, implement"" 2000 deal with Eritrea Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia will “fully accept and implement” a peace agreement with Eritrea that was signed in 2000, its ruling coalition announced on Tuesday. The Horn of Africa neighbours have remained at odds since a 1998-2000 war over a disputed town that a boundary commission subsequently handed to Asmara but which Addis Ababa rejected. Asmara has long felt betrayed by world powers, who they say failed to force Ethiopia, now with a population of 97 million, to abide by the boundary arbitration ruling. Ethiopia long said it wanted talks on implementation, which Asmara refused. Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Mark Heinrich 0 : 0"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICATopNews|0
2018-06-06T10:35:00.000+03:00|Devon Energy to sell EnLink Midstream stakes as it streamlines assets|(Reuters) - Oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp said on Wednesday it plans to sell its stakes in EnLink Midstream for $3.13 billion cash in a bid to streamline assets and pare debt. “The EnLink proceeds, combined with proceeds from the non-core E&P assets already sold and those currently being marketed, will exceed our $5 billion divestiture target,” Chief Executive Officer Dave Hager said in statement. Shares of the company rose more than 6 percent to $41.85 before the bell. Devon is trying to simplify its asset portfolio, cut costs and at the same time return cash to shareholders. The company raised its share repurchase program to $4 billion, up from a previously announced $1 billion. “The midstream monetization may have come sooner than anticipated as some were expecting sale of Canada or the Eagle Ford,” Kathy Yang, analyst at Cowen & Co, said. “Although the EnLink sale following the Johnson County Barnett sale brings the company’s divestitures over its $5 billion target, we would not rule out further portfolio optimization as focus is on Delaware & STACK core assets,” Yang added. Devon plans to sell stakes in EnLink Midstream Partners LP and EnLink Midstream LLC to an affiliate of Global Infrastructure Partners. The new buyback is conditional on closing the EnLink deal, which the company expects by July, it said in a statement. Devon said the sale will reduce debt by 40 percent. The company’s total long-term debt at the end of 2017 was $10.29 billion, according to the company’s latest annual filing. In March, Devon said it was looking at asset sales of up to $5 billion as it streamlines operations to the SCOOP/STACK, Permian and Rocky Mountain areas. A month later, the company cut around 300 workers, roughly 9 percent of its staff to reduce costs and save $150 million to $200 million by 2020. Devon and its shale peers have come under pressure from Wall Street to focus less on production and search for more ways to boost shareholder returns. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-06T11:06:00.000+03:00|Cabinet approves bailout package for sugar sector: government source|NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s cabinet approved a bailout package for the sugar sector, a government source said on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to help struggling mills and cane growers. FILE PHOTO: A trader speaks on his mobile phone as he waits for customers at a sugarcane wholesale market in Kolkata, India May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File photo Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said the government would announce support measures to cut a growing sugar surplus and prop up local prices, a move aimed at helping loss-making mills and millions of cane growers who make up a key voting bloc. Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Malini Menon  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-06T11:20:00.000+03:00|Consortium including Dalmore Capital buys UK's Cory Riverside Energy|LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - A consortium including infrastructure investor Dalmore Capital has agreed to buy UK recycling company Cory Riverside Energy from investors including Strategic Value Partners, for an undisclosed sum. Dalmore teamed up with Fiera Infrastructure, Semperian PPP Investment Partners and Swiss Life Asset Managers to buy the company from SVP and other owners including EQT Credit, Commerzbank and others, a statement on Wednesday said. The deal valued Cory at just over 1.5 billion pounds ($2.01 billion), a source familiar with the matter said, with investors who participated in a 350 million pounds restructuring in 2015 making more than 850 million pounds in profit. ($1 = 0.7453 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Huw Jones)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-06T11:25:00.000+03:00|British PM May to raise Iran nuclear deal with Israel's Netanyahu|LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will discuss how best to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, her spokesman said, reiterating Britain’s support for the Iran nuclear deal. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May welcomes Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street in London, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville “You can expect the PM to raise Iran, and how best we can prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon. The UK, like France and Germany, continues to believe the Iran nuclear deal is the best way to prevent this,” he told reporters. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-06T11:55:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Platform Specialty, Seriti Resources, Nevsun Resources; Updates Athenahealth, Devon Energy) June 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday: ** Nevsun Resources, a Canadian miner which has been approached regarding a takeover, should enter “good-faith negotiations with any suitor,” Adrian Day Asset Management, one of Nevsun’s top 10 shareholders, said in an open letter to the company’s board. ** Platform Specialty Products Corp is in advanced talks to sell its agrochemicals business to London-based Wilmcote Holdings Plc for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. ** Oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp said it plans to sell its stakes in EnLink Midstream for $3.13 billion to pare debt and focus on its core shale business as crude prices hover near four-year highs. ** South African miner Seriti Resources wants to move into exporting coal and would be interested in buying the assets and quotas of the Gupta family’s Optimum Coal, its CEO said. ** Mirvac Group, an Australian diversified landlord and property developer, said it will buy a 50 percent stake in a Sydney property from a Blackstone Group LP-managed fund. ** Siemens has signed more than ten cooperation agreements with Chinese companies as it seeks to benefit from deepening involvement with China’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative, the German engineering group said. ** Uniper boss Klaus Schaefer told shareholders he will try to keep the energy group independent, weeks before rival Fortum is expected to secure regulatory approval to become its largest shareholder. ** Athenahealth Inc’s Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bush stepped down and the healthcare software maker said it was exploring options, including selling itself, following pressure from activist investor Elliott Management. ** Shares in Minor International Pcl surged after the Thai hotel, food and beverage company said it was planning to use debt to finance its 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) takeover bid for Spain’s NH Hotels. ** A consortium including infrastructure investor Dalmore Capital has agreed to buy UK recycling company Cory Riverside Energy from investors including Strategic Value Partners, for an undisclosed sum. ** Belgian investor Core Equity has dropped its interest in a takeover of Hema, one of the largest retail chains in the Netherlands, the De Telegraaf newspaper reported. ** E.ON proposed delaying a vote that could trigger a probe into whether the management of former unit Uniper tried to block the sale of a major stake to Fortum. ** Russia’s second-biggest food retailer Magnit said it had began talks with its new shareholder Marathon Group over the acquisition of pharmaceutical distributor SIA. ** Brazilian food processor BRF SA said it was not aware of any “formalization” regarding a possible merger with competing food processor Minerva SA. ** Smurfit Kappa reaffirmed its guidance that its full year earnings will be materially better than last year after rival International Paper (IP) decided to end its pursuit of the Irish packaging company. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-06T12:22:00.000+03:00|Macron wants 'more ambitious' deal on euro zone: sources|BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - France wants a more ambitious reform of the euro zone than the one sketched out by Angela Merkel and will press the German chancellor for additional concessions on a euro zone budget and banking union in the weeks ahead, French officials say. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel take part in a group photo on the launching of the Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces together, during a EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo After months of silence and mounting criticism, Merkel offered a detailed response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for an overhaul of how the single currency bloc is run in a German newspaper interview on Sunday. Macron has been calling for a far-reaching reform of the euro zone since coming to power a year ago, arguing that Europe’s most successful symbol of integration needs to be overhauled to prevent a repeat of the sovereign debt crisis that nearly tore it apart in 2010-12. But without German backing his plans won’t get off the ground, and even if Paris and Berlin can agree a common position, they face a struggle to persuade other euro zone member states that further reforms are necessary. French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Merkel had embraced a number of Macron’s ideas, including the creation of a European agency to handle the issue of asylum-seekers, transnational lists for candidates in future elections to the European Parliament and a reduction in the number of EU commissioners in Brussels. But they said more work was needed to align the French and German positions on the euro zone, the heart of the reforms Macron is focused on. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is expected to deliver that message when he speaks at a conference of family-owned companies in Berlin on Friday. “There is a rapprochement on euro zone reform, notably on the idea of an investment budget. The chancellor made clear that the current euro zone instruments are insufficient,” one French government official said. But the official added: “France and Germany still have work to do in the coming weeks in order to reach a more ambitious deal on banking union and a fiscal capacity for the euro zone.” The question of whether the euro zone should have a common budget, how it might be funded and how it would be spent has yet to be settled. Neither is there agreement on how to complete the banking union through a pan-European deposit insurance scheme. Several officials said Macron had sent internal signals that he was prepared to walk away from formulating a joint reform proposal if Berlin did not budge, although some viewed this as an unlikely outcome at a time when Europe can ill afford a fight between its two most powerful member states. Still, it has raised pressure on Le Maire to wring more concessions out of his German counterpart Olaf Scholz in the run-up to an EU summit on June 28-29 at which Paris and Berlin have promised to present their proposal. The two ministers and their teams will meet in Paris on Saturday. The French side views the meeting as a critical opportunity to narrow differences before a June 19 meeting between Merkel and Macron at Meseberg palace, north of Berlin. In her interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Merkel tried to strike a balance between moving toward Macron and appeasing hardline conservatives at home who are pressing her not to make any concessions. French officials close to Macron have concerns about a number of Merkel’s euro zone proposals, including her plan to limit the size of any investment budget to the “low double-digit billions of euros”, her idea that the ESM bailout fund should share economic surveillance duties with the European Commission and a suggestion that it could force debt restructurings. While France does not rule out debt restructuring for member states that run into trouble, it opposes the idea of a mechanism that would make them more or less automatic, fearing this could fuel market unrest. Merkel was vague in the interview on the completion of the EU’s banking union project and France is still pushing for Berlin to commit to a clear timeline on the introduction of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). There is more optimism about reaching agreement on another element of banking union: a backstop for the so-called Single Resolution Fund (SRF). FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel after being awarded the Charlemagne Prize during a ceremony in Aachen, Germany May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo Reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin and by Luke Baker, Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas in Paris; editing by David Stamp  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-06T13:05:00.000+03:00|Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts|"MOSCOW (Reuters) - On a shelf in a cramped office on the outskirts of Moscow, businessman Igor Michurin has a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with one of his important customers - a North Korean embassy official whom Michurin calls Lee. A general view shows the embassy of North Korea in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva It’s a relationship which offers unusual insights into the negotiating techniques of Pyongyang officials, and the ways North Korea has gone about commerce in the face of international economic sanctions – from trading in spare parts or wine and cigarettes, to offering labor for hire. The Russian, whose two companies had revenue of nearly 42 million roubles ($671,000) according to 2016 records, was blacklisted a year ago by the U.S. Treasury Department because he often did business with a North Korean company that, according to the United Nations Security Council, helped Pyongyang’s weapons program. Michurin does not deny doing business with North Korea, but says he believes he did not break any laws. The story is rooted in an old alliance. North Korea was founded by the Soviet Union, which supplied much of its original defense equipment. In the years since Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests sparked sanctions, Moscow often resisted the measures. U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions; Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations. Around 2011, when Michurin got involved with Lee, U.N. monitors saw how Pyongyang would adapt bits and pieces of old, off-the-shelf, civilian equipment, and obsolete or unwanted parts to use in missiles. These parts reached North Korea from all over the world, including from past Soviet allies. That’s the kind of item Michurin started out selling to the North Koreans. One of his companies, Ardis-Bearings, specializes in trading ball bearings - the steel balls that fit between the moving parts of a machine to help it run smoothly. Bearings can be used for military and civilian purposes, so are known as a “dual-use” technology. U.N. member states are expressly forbidden from exporting certain types to North Korea. Those were not the types Michurin sold Lee, he said. Instead, he provided “regular mass-produced stuff, surplus stock, old bearings.” Michurin said the Russian foreign ministry had questioned him last year about his sales to North Korea, and at the time ministry officials had told him they were responding to a message from the United States. Neither the foreign ministry nor the U.S. Treasury Department answered questions for this story. “A SPARK” Tall, with grey hair, and casually dressed in jeans, Michurin is a 39-year-old native of Belarus who set up his own business seven years ago after working in small Moscow firms in the industrial bearings trade. He quickly found interest from Asian customers. “As soon as I place an ad on the internet to say I have some bearings for sale, some Asians will always turn up,” he said in the office in Moscow South where he ran the business until earlier this year. “They’re always buying different bearings, they apparently have a demand for them.” At the end of 2011, soon after the funeral of Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, Michurin said Lee invited him to the North Korean embassy. They walked together up a red carpet toward a portrait of the deceased leader, where they offered flowers. “A spark ignited between us,” Michurin said. He returned several times, attending concerts of national songs and dances, eating in a North Korean restaurant in the embassy compound, and negotiating in embassy meeting rooms. “We treated each other as friends,” Michurin said. “He was here in Moscow with his family, his wife and his child, we used to meet up, we spent time socializing as families.” In 2013, Lee persuaded Michurin to make a $1,000 contribution to a North Korean charitable fund: the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Foundation. The foundation’s website is not available in Russia, but a video on YouTube says it was set up after Kim Jong Il’s death, preserves the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and raises money for “education, public health and environmental protection.” A general view shows the cottage estate ""Orlov"" near Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva In return, Michurin got a certificate. “Great president Kim Il Sung and great leader Kim Jong Il will remain forever in the hearts of humankind,” it said, alongside portraits of the leaders. Lee’s business with the Russian was small. He would arrange for someone to collect a few dozen bearings at a time - the most the North Koreans ever paid was 100,000 roubles ($1,500). Michurin said he sold the items as an ‘individual entrepreneur,’ a designation under Russian tax law that does not require a vendor to have a contract with a customer, or to obtain proof of their identity. All the vendor needs do is give the customer a receipt. “When you buy bread from a shop, you don’t get asked for your passport and ID documents, do you,” Michurin shrugged. COMMUNISM His account of how the North Koreans established their relationship was echoed by another Russian entrepreneur. Ruben Kirakossian, who supplies specialist metals to Russian state defense manufacturing firms, said he first met North Korean diplomats at a trade fair in Moscow, then visited the embassy; Pyongyang’s representatives came to his office. He said they were interested in a range of goods from Armenian cigarettes and wine to rolled aluminum and steel. The U.S. Treasury Department also blacklisted Kirakossian last year, alleging he procured metals for the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the U.N. Security Council has said has a role in Pyongyang’s weapons program. Kirakossian says he didn’t supply anything because he didn’t have the metal the North Koreans wanted, and they were proposing unrealistic terms. “The Koreans have a Communist set-up,” Kirakossian said. “And in today’s world that’s not a relevant proposition.” Tangun could not be reached and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. DIVERSIFICATION Michurin’s friend Lee “always looked for an opportunity to make money beyond bearings,” Michurin said. About three years ago, he said, Lee proposed the partners branch out into hiring cheap North Korean labor. Almost 100,000 North Korean expatriates, most of them in China and Russia, funnel some $500 million a year in wages to help finance Pyongyang, the U.S. government says. Michurin set up a construction company and signed a contract with a North Korean firm called Ryungseng Trading Corporation. Ryungseng would recruit workers in North Korea and organize their flights to Moscow, while Michurin would billet them and pay their wages. Slideshow (7 Images) The Russian put the North Koreans to work on construction sites. One contract he landed was a housing development called Orlov in Moscow region, about 20 km (12 miles) south-east of Moscow. Yuri Ilyushkin, a representative of the developer, Pekhra-Pokrovskoe, said Michurin’s North Korean workers were “even better than some Russians. Not excellent, but good.” The U.N. agreed last year to phase in a ban on employing North Koreans. Michurin said he still employs 19 of them, but he expects them to leave when their permits expire. “DESIRE TO ACQUIRE” Back in 2015, Michurin said, Lee kept pushing him for help. Late that year, the North Korean asked him to set up a meeting with executives at a Moscow-based firm called Augur RosAeroSystems. Augur has been active in projects related to Russian state defense procurement since the late 1990s, according to its website: It has carried out testing for the Russian defense ministry, and the Russian military uses some of its products. The North Koreans wanted to discuss the purchase of an airship, also known as an aerostat, for around $1 million, Michurin said. He said he twice took a North Korean delegation to Augur’s plant at Peresvet, north-east of Moscow. The company’s former commercial director, Mikhail Talesnikov, confirmed the North Koreans had been in contact with Augur when he was at the company. “They wanted to buy some kind of small aerostat and asked for broad cooperation,” he said. But he did not know about the visits and said he had not held any talks with the North Koreans. Aerostats in themselves are not military equipment, Talesnikov said. But “you can suspend from them things that are for surveillance, eavesdropping, detecting gases, and the package together with the payload can already have a military or semi-military use.” In the end, there was no deal. For Augur, the prospect was too risky because “it contradicts international sanctions,” Talesnikov said. Augur is now going through bankruptcy proceedings related to other business. Michurin said the North Koreans had “particular requirements.” Asked what those were he said: “A tendency to copy technology, a desire to set up joint ventures on North Korean soil, requests for non-standard equipment and dirigibles of non-standard sizes.” He described them as “very particular customers,” with “an absence of money, but at the same time, a desire to acquire.” BACK TO PYONGYANG Two and a half years ago, Lee and his family went back to North Korea, Michurin said. Before the men parted, they met up with their families in a Moscow café to toast their relationship. And before long, Michurin said he was contacted by another North Korean, who introduced himself as a trade representative at the embassy in Moscow, and said he was interested in acquiring bearings, as well as other items. The new trade representative of the North Korean embassy is Kim Ju Hyok, two of his colleagues said. He did not answer emails. Michurin said he went on to sell more bearings to other Asian customers, who he presumed were also North Korean. Early last year, he said he was visited by Russian foreign ministry officials and gave them a list of equipment he sold to the North Koreans. Then on June 1, 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces America’s sanctions, put Michurin and his company on its sanctioned list. The department had found Ryungseng – the company Michurin contracted to import North Korean laborers - is an alias for the foreign operations of the banned Korea Tangun Trading Corporation. Ryungseng could not be reached. Michurin says he had no idea. “I am practically 100 percent sure that there was no violation here from my behalf,” he said. “Why do I leave a shadow of doubt? Because the laws, you cannot keep up with them all, there are so many of them. I hope I did not violate anything.” Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Additional reporting by Josh Smith in Seoul and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Edited by Sara Ledwith Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-06T13:06:00.000+03:00|Insight: Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts|"MOSCOW (Reuters) - On a shelf in a cramped office on the outskirts of Moscow, businessman Igor Michurin has a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with one of his important customers - a North Korean embassy official whom Michurin calls Lee. A general view shows the cottage estate ""Orlov"" near Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva It’s a relationship which offers unusual insights into the negotiating techniques of Pyongyang officials, and the ways North Korea has gone about commerce in the face of international economic sanctions – from trading in spare parts or wine and cigarettes, to offering labour for hire. The Russian, whose two companies had revenue of nearly 42 million roubles (£499,698) according to 2016 records, was blacklisted a year ago by the U.S. Treasury Department because he often did business with a North Korean company that, according to the United Nations Security Council, helped Pyongyang’s weapons programme. Michurin does not deny doing business with North Korea, but says he believes he did not break any laws. The story is rooted in an old alliance. North Korea was founded by the Soviet Union, which supplied much of its original defence equipment. In the years since Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests sparked sanctions, Moscow often resisted the measures. U.S. said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions; Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations. Around 2011, when Michurin got involved with Lee, U.N. monitors saw how Pyongyang would adapt bits and pieces of old, off-the-shelf, civilian equipment, and obsolete or unwanted parts to use in missiles. These parts reached North Korea from all over the world, including from past Soviet allies. That’s the kind of item Michurin started out selling to the North Koreans. One of his companies, Ardis-Bearings, specialises in trading ball bearings - the steel balls that fit between the moving parts of a machine to help it run smoothly. Bearings can be used for military and civilian purposes, so are known as a “dual-use” technology. U.N. member states are expressly forbidden from exporting certain types to North Korea. Those were not the types Michurin sold Lee, he said. Instead, he provided “regular mass-produced stuff, surplus stock, old bearings.” Michurin said the Russian foreign ministry had questioned him last year about his sales to North Korea, and at the time ministry officials had told him they were responding to a message from the United States. Neither the foreign ministry nor the U.S. Treasury Department answered questions for this story. “A SPARK” Tall, with grey hair, and casually dressed in jeans, Michurin is a 39-year-old native of Belarus who set up his own business seven years ago after working in small Moscow firms in the industrial bearings trade. He quickly found interest from Asian customers. “As soon as I place an ad on the internet to say I have some bearings for sale, some Asians will always turn up,” he said in the office in Moscow South where he ran the business until earlier this year. “They’re always buying different bearings, they apparently have a demand for them.” At the end of 2011, soon after the funeral of Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, Michurin said Lee invited him to the North Korean embassy. They walked together up a red carpet towards a portrait of the deceased leader, where they offered flowers. “A spark ignited between us,” Michurin said. He returned several times, attending concerts of national songs and dances, eating in a North Korean restaurant in the embassy compound, and negotiating in embassy meeting rooms. “We treated each other as friends,” Michurin said. “He was here in Moscow with his family, his wife and his child, we used to meet up, we spent time socialising as families.” In 2013, Lee persuaded Michurin to make a $1,000 contribution to a North Korean charitable fund: the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Foundation. The foundation’s website is not available in Russia, but a video on YouTube says it was set up after Kim Jong Il’s death, preserves the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and raises money for “education, public health and environmental protection.” In return, Michurin got a certificate. “Great president Kim Il Sung and great leader Kim Jong Il will remain forever in the hearts of humankind,” it said, alongside portraits of the leaders. Lee’s business with the Russian was small. He would arrange for someone to collect a few dozen bearings at a time - the most the North Koreans ever paid was 100,000 roubles ($1,500). Michurin said he sold the items as an ‘individual entrepreneur,’ a designation under Russian tax law that does not require a vendor to have a contract with a customer, or to obtain proof of their identity. All the vendor needs do is give the customer a receipt. “When you buy bread from a shop, you don’t get asked for your passport and ID documents, do you,” Michurin shrugged. COMMUNISM His account of how the North Koreans established their relationship was echoed by another Russian entrepreneur. Ruben Kirakossian, who supplies specialist metals to Russian state defence manufacturing firms, said he first met North Korean diplomats at a trade fair in Moscow, then visited the embassy; Pyongyang’s representatives came to his office. He said they were interested in a range of goods from Armenian cigarettes and wine to rolled aluminium and steel. The U.S. Treasury Department also blacklisted Kirakossian last year, alleging he procured metals for the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the U.N. Security Council has said has a role in Pyongyang’s weapons programme. Kirakossian says he didn’t supply anything because he didn’t have the metal the North Koreans wanted, and they were proposing unrealistic terms. “The Koreans have a Communist set-up,” Kirakossian said. “And in today’s world that’s not a relevant proposition.” A general view shows the embassy of North Korea in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva Tangun could not be reached and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. DIVERSIFICATION Michurin’s friend Lee “always looked for an opportunity to make money beyond bearings,” Michurin said. About three years ago, he said, Lee proposed the partners branch out into hiring cheap North Korean labour. Almost 100,000 North Korean expatriates, most of them in China and Russia, funnel some $500 million a year in wages to help finance Pyongyang, the U.S. government says. Michurin set up a construction company and signed a contract with a North Korean firm called Ryungseng Trading Corporation. Ryungseng would recruit workers in North Korea and organise their flights to Moscow, while Michurin would billet them and pay their wages. The Russian put the North Koreans to work on construction sites. One contract he landed was a housing development called Orlov in Moscow region, about 20 km (12 miles) south-east of Moscow. Yuri Ilyushkin, a representative of the developer, Pekhra-Pokrovskoe, said Michurin’s North Korean workers were “even better than some Russians. Not excellent, but good.” The U.N. agreed last year to phase in a ban on employing North Koreans. Michurin said he still employs 19 of them, but he expects them to leave when their permits expire. “DESIRE TO ACQUIRE” Back in 2015, Michurin said, Lee kept pushing him for help. Late that year, the North Korean asked him to set up a meeting with executives at a Moscow-based firm called Augur RosAeroSystems. Augur has been active in projects related to Russian state defence procurement since the late 1990s, according to its website: It has carried out testing for the Russian defence ministry, and the Russian military uses some of its products. The North Koreans wanted to discuss the purchase of an airship, also known as an aerostat, for around $1 million, Michurin said. He said he twice took a North Korean delegation to Augur’s plant at Peresvet, north-east of Moscow. The company’s former commercial director, Mikhail Talesnikov, confirmed the North Koreans had been in contact with Augur when he was at the company. “They wanted to buy some kind of small aerostat and asked for broad cooperation,” he said. But he did not know about the visits and said he had not held any talks with the North Koreans. Aerostats in themselves are not military equipment, Talesnikov said. But “you can suspend from them things that are for surveillance, eavesdropping, detecting gases, and the package together with the payload can already have a military or semi-military use.” In the end, there was no deal. For Augur, the prospect was too risky because “it contradicts international sanctions,” Talesnikov said. Augur is now going through bankruptcy proceedings related to other business. Michurin said the North Koreans had “particular requirements.” Asked what those were he said: “A tendency to copy technology, a desire to set up joint ventures on North Korean soil, requests for non-standard equipment and dirigibles of non-standard sizes.” He described them as “very particular customers,” with “an absence of money, but at the same time, a desire to acquire.” BACK TO PYONGYANG Two and a half years ago, Lee and his family went back to North Korea, Michurin said. Before the men parted, they met up with their families in a Moscow café to toast their relationship. And before long, Michurin said he was contacted by another North Korean, who introduced himself as a trade representative at the embassy in Moscow, and said he was interested in acquiring bearings, as well as other items. The new trade representative of the North Korean embassy is Kim Ju Hyok, two of his colleagues said. He did not answer emails. Michurin said he went on to sell more bearings to other Asian customers, who he presumed were also North Korean. Early last year, he said he was visited by Russian foreign ministry officials and gave them a list of equipment he sold to the North Koreans. Then on June 1, 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces America’s sanctions, put Michurin and his company on its sanctioned list. Slideshow (5 Images) The department had found Ryungseng – the company Michurin contracted to import North Korean labourers - is an alias for the foreign operations of the banned Korea Tangun Trading Corporation. Ryungseng could not be reached. Michurin says he had no idea. “I am practically 100 percent sure that there was no violation here from my behalf,” he said. “Why do I leave a shadow of doubt? Because the laws, you cannot keep up with them all, there are so many of them. I hope I did not violate anything.” Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Josh Smith in Seoul and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Edited by Sara Ledwith  "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-06T13:07:00.000+03:00|Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts|"June 6, 2018 / 10:07 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts Polina Nikolskaya 11 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - On a shelf in a cramped office on the outskirts of Moscow, businessman Igor Michurin has a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with one of his important customers - a North Korean embassy official whom Michurin calls Lee. A general view shows the cottage estate ""Orlov"" near Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva It’s a relationship which offers unusual insights into the negotiating techniques of Pyongyang officials, and the ways North Korea has gone about commerce in the face of international economic sanctions – from trading in spare parts or wine and cigarettes, to offering labour for hire. The Russian, whose two companies had revenue of nearly 42 million roubles (£499,698) according to 2016 records, was blacklisted a year ago by the U.S. Treasury Department because he often did business with a North Korean company that, according to the United Nations Security Council, helped Pyongyang’s weapons programme. Michurin does not deny doing business with North Korea, but says he believes he did not break any laws. The story is rooted in an old alliance. North Korea was founded by the Soviet Union, which supplied much of its original defence equipment. In the years since Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests sparked sanctions, Moscow often resisted the measures. U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions; Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations. Around 2011, when Michurin got involved with Lee, U.N. monitors saw how Pyongyang would adapt bits and pieces of old, off-the-shelf, civilian equipment, and obsolete or unwanted parts to use in missiles. These parts reached North Korea from all over the world, including from past Soviet allies. That’s the kind of item Michurin started out selling to the North Koreans. One of his companies, Ardis-Bearings, specialises in trading ball bearings - the steel balls that fit between the moving parts of a machine to help it run smoothly. Bearings can be used for military and civilian purposes, so are known as a “dual-use” technology. U.N. member states are expressly forbidden from exporting certain types to North Korea. Those were not the types Michurin sold Lee, he said. Instead, he provided “regular mass-produced stuff, surplus stock, old bearings.” Michurin said the Russian foreign ministry had questioned him last year about his sales to North Korea, and at the time ministry officials had told him they were responding to a message from the United States. Neither the foreign ministry nor the U.S. Treasury Department answered questions for this story. “A SPARK” Tall, with grey hair, and casually dressed in jeans, Michurin is a 39-year-old native of Belarus who set up his own business seven years ago after working in small Moscow firms in the industrial bearings trade. He quickly found interest from Asian customers. “As soon as I place an ad on the internet to say I have some bearings for sale, some Asians will always turn up,” he said in the office in Moscow South where he ran the business until earlier this year. “They’re always buying different bearings, they apparently have a demand for them.” At the end of 2011, soon after the funeral of Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, Michurin said Lee invited him to the North Korean embassy. They walked together up a red carpet towards a portrait of the deceased leader, where they offered flowers. “A spark ignited between us,” Michurin said. He returned several times, attending concerts of national songs and dances, eating in a North Korean restaurant in the embassy compound, and negotiating in embassy meeting rooms. “We treated each other as friends,” Michurin said. “He was here in Moscow with his family, his wife and his child, we used to meet up, we spent time socialising as families.” In 2013, Lee persuaded Michurin to make a $1,000 contribution to a North Korean charitable fund: the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Foundation. The foundation’s website is not available in Russia, but a video on YouTube says it was set up after Kim Jong Il’s death, preserves the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and raises money for “education, public health and environmental protection.” A general view shows the embassy of North Korea in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva In return, Michurin got a certificate. “Great president Kim Il Sung and great leader Kim Jong Il will remain forever in the hearts of humankind,” it said, alongside portraits of the leaders. Lee’s business with the Russian was small. He would arrange for someone to collect a few dozen bearings at a time - the most the North Koreans ever paid was 100,000 roubles ($1,500). Michurin said he sold the items as an ‘individual entrepreneur,’ a designation under Russian tax law that does not require a vendor to have a contract with a customer, or to obtain proof of their identity. All the vendor needs do is give the customer a receipt. “When you buy bread from a shop, you don’t get asked for your passport and ID documents, do you,” Michurin shrugged. COMMUNISM His account of how the North Koreans established their relationship was echoed by another Russian entrepreneur. Ruben Kirakossian, who supplies specialist metals to Russian state defence manufacturing firms, said he first met North Korean diplomats at a trade fair in Moscow, then visited the embassy; Pyongyang’s representatives came to his office. He said they were interested in a range of goods from Armenian cigarettes and wine to rolled aluminium and steel. The U.S. Treasury Department also blacklisted Kirakossian last year, alleging he procured metals for the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the U.N. Security Council has said has a role in Pyongyang’s weapons programme. Kirakossian says he didn’t supply anything because he didn’t have the metal the North Koreans wanted, and they were proposing unrealistic terms. “The Koreans have a Communist set-up,” Kirakossian said. “And in today’s world that’s not a relevant proposition.” Tangun could not be reached and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. DIVERSIFICATION Michurin’s friend Lee “always looked for an opportunity to make money beyond bearings,” Michurin said. About three years ago, he said, Lee proposed the partners branch out into hiring cheap North Korean labour. Almost 100,000 North Korean expatriates, most of them in China and Russia, funnel some $500 million a year in wages to help finance Pyongyang, the U.S. government says. Michurin set up a construction company and signed a contract with a North Korean firm called Ryungseng Trading Corporation. Ryungseng would recruit workers in North Korea and organise their flights to Moscow, while Michurin would billet them and pay their wages. Slideshow (5 Images) The Russian put the North Koreans to work on construction sites. One contract he landed was a housing development called Orlov in Moscow region, about 20 km (12 miles) south-east of Moscow. Yuri Ilyushkin, a representative of the developer, Pekhra-Pokrovskoe, said Michurin’s North Korean workers were “even better than some Russians. Not excellent, but good.” The U.N. agreed last year to phase in a ban on employing North Koreans. Michurin said he still employs 19 of them, but he expects them to leave when their permits expire. “DESIRE TO ACQUIRE” Back in 2015, Michurin said, Lee kept pushing him for help. Late that year, the North Korean asked him to set up a meeting with executives at a Moscow-based firm called Augur RosAeroSystems. Augur has been active in projects related to Russian state defence procurement since the late 1990s, according to its website: It has carried out testing for the Russian defence ministry, and the Russian military uses some of its products. The North Koreans wanted to discuss the purchase of an airship, also known as an aerostat, for around $1 million, Michurin said. He said he twice took a North Korean delegation to Augur’s plant at Peresvet, north-east of Moscow. The company’s former commercial director, Mikhail Talesnikov, confirmed the North Koreans had been in contact with Augur when he was at the company. “They wanted to buy some kind of small aerostat and asked for broad cooperation,” he said. But he did not know about the visits and said he had not held any talks with the North Koreans. Aerostats in themselves are not military equipment, Talesnikov said. But “you can suspend from them things that are for surveillance, eavesdropping, detecting gases, and the package together with the payload can already have a military or semi-military use.” In the end, there was no deal. For Augur, the prospect was too risky because “it contradicts international sanctions,” Talesnikov said. Augur is now going through bankruptcy proceedings related to other business. Michurin said the North Koreans had “particular requirements.” Asked what those were he said: “A tendency to copy technology, a desire to set up joint ventures on North Korean soil, requests for non-standard equipment and dirigibles of non-standard sizes.” He described them as “very particular customers,” with “an absence of money, but at the same time, a desire to acquire.” BACK TO PYONGYANG Two and a half years ago, Lee and his family went back to North Korea, Michurin said. Before the men parted, they met up with their families in a Moscow café to toast their relationship. And before long, Michurin said he was contacted by another North Korean, who introduced himself as a trade representative at the embassy in Moscow, and said he was interested in acquiring bearings, as well as other items. The new trade representative of the North Korean embassy is Kim Ju Hyok, two of his colleagues said. He did not answer emails. Michurin said he went on to sell more bearings to other Asian customers, who he presumed were also North Korean. Early last year, he said he was visited by Russian foreign ministry officials and gave them a list of equipment he sold to the North Koreans. Then on June 1, 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces America’s sanctions, put Michurin and his company on its sanctioned list. The department had found Ryungseng – the company Michurin contracted to import North Korean labourers - is an alias for the foreign operations of the banned Korea Tangun Trading Corporation. Ryungseng could not be reached. Michurin says he had no idea. “I am practically 100 percent sure that there was no violation here from my behalf,” he said. “Why do I leave a shadow of doubt? Because the laws, you cannot keep up with them all, there are so many of them. I hope I did not violate anything.” Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Additional reporting by Josh Smith in Seoul and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Edited by Sara Ledwith"|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-06T13:14:00.000+03:00|Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts|"June 6, 2018 / 10:11 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts Polina Nikolskaya 11 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - On a shelf in a cramped office on the outskirts of Moscow, businessman Igor Michurin has a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with one of his important customers - a North Korean embassy official whom Michurin calls Lee. A general view shows the cottage estate ""Orlov"" near Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva It’s a relationship which offers unusual insights into the negotiating techniques of Pyongyang officials, and the ways North Korea has gone about commerce in the face of international economic sanctions – from trading in spare parts or wine and cigarettes, to offering labour for hire. The Russian, whose two companies had revenue of nearly 42 million roubles (£499,698) according to 2016 records, was blacklisted a year ago by the U.S. Treasury Department because he often did business with a North Korean company that, according to the United Nations Security Council, helped Pyongyang’s weapons programme. Michurin does not deny doing business with North Korea, but says he believes he did not break any laws. The story is rooted in an old alliance. North Korea was founded by the Soviet Union, which supplied much of its original defence equipment. In the years since Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests sparked sanctions, Moscow often resisted the measures. U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions; Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations. Around 2011, when Michurin got involved with Lee, U.N. monitors saw how Pyongyang would adapt bits and pieces of old, off-the-shelf, civilian equipment, and obsolete or unwanted parts to use in missiles. These parts reached North Korea from all over the world, including from past Soviet allies. That’s the kind of item Michurin started out selling to the North Koreans. One of his companies, Ardis-Bearings, specialises in trading ball bearings - the steel balls that fit between the moving parts of a machine to help it run smoothly. Bearings can be used for military and civilian purposes, so are known as a “dual-use” technology. U.N. member states are expressly forbidden from exporting certain types to North Korea. Those were not the types Michurin sold Lee, he said. Instead, he provided “regular mass-produced stuff, surplus stock, old bearings.” Michurin said the Russian foreign ministry had questioned him last year about his sales to North Korea, and at the time ministry officials had told him they were responding to a message from the United States. Neither the foreign ministry nor the U.S. Treasury Department answered questions for this story. “A SPARK” Tall, with grey hair, and casually dressed in jeans, Michurin is a 39-year-old native of Belarus who set up his own business seven years ago after working in small Moscow firms in the industrial bearings trade. He quickly found interest from Asian customers. “As soon as I place an ad on the internet to say I have some bearings for sale, some Asians will always turn up,” he said in the office in Moscow South where he ran the business until earlier this year. “They’re always buying different bearings, they apparently have a demand for them.” At the end of 2011, soon after the funeral of Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, Michurin said Lee invited him to the North Korean embassy. They walked together up a red carpet towards a portrait of the deceased leader, where they offered flowers. “A spark ignited between us,” Michurin said. He returned several times, attending concerts of national songs and dances, eating in a North Korean restaurant in the embassy compound, and negotiating in embassy meeting rooms. “We treated each other as friends,” Michurin said. “He was here in Moscow with his family, his wife and his child, we used to meet up, we spent time socialising as families.” In 2013, Lee persuaded Michurin to make a $1,000 contribution to a North Korean charitable fund: the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Foundation. The foundation’s website is not available in Russia, but a video on YouTube says it was set up after Kim Jong Il’s death, preserves the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and raises money for “education, public health and environmental protection.” In return, Michurin got a certificate. “Great president Kim Il Sung and great leader Kim Jong Il will remain forever in the hearts of humankind,” it said, alongside portraits of the leaders. Lee’s business with the Russian was small. He would arrange for someone to collect a few dozen bearings at a time - the most the North Koreans ever paid was 100,000 roubles ($1,500). Michurin said he sold the items as an ‘individual entrepreneur,’ a designation under Russian tax law that does not require a vendor to have a contract with a customer, or to obtain proof of their identity. All the vendor needs do is give the customer a receipt. “When you buy bread from a shop, you don’t get asked for your passport and ID documents, do you,” Michurin shrugged. COMMUNISM His account of how the North Koreans established their relationship was echoed by another Russian entrepreneur. Ruben Kirakossian, who supplies specialist metals to Russian state defence manufacturing firms, said he first met North Korean diplomats at a trade fair in Moscow, then visited the embassy; Pyongyang’s representatives came to his office. He said they were interested in a range of goods from Armenian cigarettes and wine to rolled aluminium and steel. The U.S. Treasury Department also blacklisted Kirakossian last year, alleging he procured metals for the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the U.N. Security Council has said has a role in Pyongyang’s weapons programme. Kirakossian says he didn’t supply anything because he didn’t have the metal the North Koreans wanted, and they were proposing unrealistic terms. “The Koreans have a Communist set-up,” Kirakossian said. “And in today’s world that’s not a relevant proposition.” A general view shows the embassy of North Korea in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. Picture taken February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva Tangun could not be reached and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. DIVERSIFICATION Michurin’s friend Lee “always looked for an opportunity to make money beyond bearings,” Michurin said. About three years ago, he said, Lee proposed the partners branch out into hiring cheap North Korean labour. Almost 100,000 North Korean expatriates, most of them in China and Russia, funnel some $500 million a year in wages to help finance Pyongyang, the U.S. government says. Michurin set up a construction company and signed a contract with a North Korean firm called Ryungseng Trading Corporation. Ryungseng would recruit workers in North Korea and organise their flights to Moscow, while Michurin would billet them and pay their wages. The Russian put the North Koreans to work on construction sites. One contract he landed was a housing development called Orlov in Moscow region, about 20 km (12 miles) south-east of Moscow. Yuri Ilyushkin, a representative of the developer, Pekhra-Pokrovskoe, said Michurin’s North Korean workers were “even better than some Russians. Not excellent, but good.” The U.N. agreed last year to phase in a ban on employing North Koreans. Michurin said he still employs 19 of them, but he expects them to leave when their permits expire. “DESIRE TO ACQUIRE” Back in 2015, Michurin said, Lee kept pushing him for help. Late that year, the North Korean asked him to set up a meeting with executives at a Moscow-based firm called Augur RosAeroSystems. Augur has been active in projects related to Russian state defence procurement since the late 1990s, according to its website: It has carried out testing for the Russian defence ministry, and the Russian military uses some of its products. The North Koreans wanted to discuss the purchase of an airship, also known as an aerostat, for around $1 million, Michurin said. He said he twice took a North Korean delegation to Augur’s plant at Peresvet, north-east of Moscow. The company’s former commercial director, Mikhail Talesnikov, confirmed the North Koreans had been in contact with Augur when he was at the company. “They wanted to buy some kind of small aerostat and asked for broad cooperation,” he said. But he did not know about the visits and said he had not held any talks with the North Koreans. Aerostats in themselves are not military equipment, Talesnikov said. But “you can suspend from them things that are for surveillance, eavesdropping, detecting gases, and the package together with the payload can already have a military or semi-military use.” In the end, there was no deal. For Augur, the prospect was too risky because “it contradicts international sanctions,” Talesnikov said. Augur is now going through bankruptcy proceedings related to other business. Michurin said the North Koreans had “particular requirements.” Asked what those were he said: “A tendency to copy technology, a desire to set up joint ventures on North Korean soil, requests for non-standard equipment and dirigibles of non-standard sizes.” He described them as “very particular customers,” with “an absence of money, but at the same time, a desire to acquire.” BACK TO PYONGYANG Two and a half years ago, Lee and his family went back to North Korea, Michurin said. Before the men parted, they met up with their families in a Moscow café to toast their relationship. And before long, Michurin said he was contacted by another North Korean, who introduced himself as a trade representative at the embassy in Moscow, and said he was interested in acquiring bearings, as well as other items. The new trade representative of the North Korean embassy is Kim Ju Hyok, two of his colleagues said. He did not answer emails. Michurin said he went on to sell more bearings to other Asian customers, who he presumed were also North Korean. Early last year, he said he was visited by Russian foreign ministry officials and gave them a list of equipment he sold to the North Koreans. Then on June 1, 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces America’s sanctions, put Michurin and his company on its sanctioned list. Slideshow (5 Images) The department had found Ryungseng – the company Michurin contracted to import North Korean labourers - is an alias for the foreign operations of the banned Korea Tangun Trading Corporation. Ryungseng could not be reached. Michurin says he had no idea. “I am practically 100 percent sure that there was no violation here from my behalf,” he said. “Why do I leave a shadow of doubt? Because the laws, you cannot keep up with them all, there are so many of them. I hope I did not violate anything.” Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Additional reporting by Josh Smith in Seoul and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Edited by Sara Ledwith 0 : 0"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-06T13:14:00.000+03:00|Devon Energy to sell EnLink Midstream interests for $3.13 bln|(Reuters) - Oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp ( DVN.N ) said on Wednesday it would sell its stakes in pipeline operator EnLink Midstream for $3.13 billion to pare debt and focus on its core shale business as crude prices hover near four-year highs. The company’s shares rose more than 6 percent to $41.85 in early afternoon trade as the company also boosted its share buyback program to $4 billion from $1 billion. Devon leads a pack of oil producers that are looking to drill beyond the Permian basin in Texas and eyeing little known Oklahoma-based shale producing areas of SCOOP and STACK to boost production. Devon said in March it was looking at asset sales of up to $5 billion, as the industry comes under pressure from Wall Street to look for more ways to boost shareholder returns. “The EnLink proceeds, combined with proceeds from the non-core E&P assets already sold and those currently being marketed, will exceed our $5 billion divestiture target,” Chief Executive Officer Dave Hager said in statement. Like other oil and gas producers, Devon is trying to simplify its asset portfolio, cut costs and at the same time return cash to shareholders. “The midstream monetization may have come sooner than anticipated as some were expecting sale of Canada or the Eagle Ford,” said Cowen & Co analyst Kathy Yang. “We would not rule out further portfolio optimization as focus is on Delaware & STACK core assets.” Tudor Pickering & Co analyst Jamaal Dardar said investors are expecting Devon to sell another $3 billion in assets, including in the Eagle Ford basin in Texas. Devon plans to sell its stakes in EnLink Midstream Partners LP ( ENLK.N ) and EnLink Midstream LLC ( ENLC.N ) to an affiliate of Global Infrastructure Partners. The new buyback is conditional on closing the EnLink deal, which the company expects by July, it said in a statement. Devon said the sale will reduce debt by 40 percent. The company’s total long-term debt at the end of 2017 was $10.29 billion, according to the company’s latest annual filing. In April, the company cut around 300 jobs, roughly 9 percent of its staff to reduce costs and save $150 million to $200 million by 2020. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee and Akshara P in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-06T13:14:00.000+03:00|Devon Energy to sell EnLink Midstream interests for $3.13 bln|June 6 (Reuters) - Oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp said on Wednesday it plans to sell its interests in EnLink Midstream to an affiliate of fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners for $3.13 billion. Devon also increased its share repurchase program to $4 billion. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-06T13:23:00.000+03:00|TREASURIES-U.S. yields rise on worries ECB buying fewer bonds|"* ECB Praet's remarks kindle concerns about ECB bond taper * U.S. trade gap shrinks to 7-month low in April * Heavy corporate bond calendar weighs on Treasuries By Richard Leong NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday with the 10-year yield hitting a 1-1/2 week high on worries that the European Central Bank would end the expansion of its massive bond purchase program later this year. Jitters that the ECB would buy fewer bonds triggered a broad sell-off in German Bunds and other European government debt, which spilled over to the Treasuries sector, analysts said. Political turmoil in Italy and Spain in recent days has spurred speculation ECB policy-makers may back away from winding down their 2.55 trillion euro ($3 trillion) program in September. Comments from ECB chief economist Peter Praet on Wednesday undercut that notion by suggesting the central bank is encouraged with the rise in inflation, which would allow a tapering of bond purchases. ECB policy-makers are scheduled to meet on Thursday, June 14. ""Bunds were the leading the sell-off,"" said John Canavan, market strategist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in New York. Praet's comments ""pulled forward the ECB move in some people's mind."" At 10:58 a.m. (1458 GMT), the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was up more than 4 basis points at 2.963 percent after touching a 1-1/2 week high, while two-year yields increased about 3 basis points to 2.520 percent. The 10-year German Bund yield climbed nearly 10 basis points to 0.465 percent, while Italian 10-year yields jumped almost 16 basis points to 2.916 percent, Reuters data showed. News that the U.S. trade deficit fell to a seven-month low in April strengthened views that the Federal Reserve would raise short-term interest rates at least twice more this year, adding upward pressure on yields. Interest rates futures implied traders saw a 94 percent chance the U.S. central bank would raise overnight borrowing costs by a quarter point to 1.75-2.00 percent next Wednesday, CME Group's FedWatch program showed. Moreover, a heavy supply of corporate bonds this week has spurred sales of lower-yielding Treasuries, analysts said. So far this week, companies raised about $26 billion in the investment-grade bond market, according to IFR, a unit of Thomson Reuters. June 6 Wednesday 10:59AM New York / 1459 GMT Price US T BONDS SEP8 142-17/32 -30/32 10YR TNotes SEP8 119-92/256 -11/32 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.915 1.951 0.003 Six-month bills 2.0825 2.1339 0.008 Two-year note 99-246/256 2.5202 0.028 Three-year note 99-238/256 2.6497 0.031 Five-year note 99-192/256 2.8041 0.044 Seven-year note 99-188/256 2.9173 0.047 10-year note 99-56/256 2.9662 0.047 30-year bond 100-12/256 3.1225 0.047 YIELD CURVE Last (bps) Net Change (bps) 10-year vs 2-year yield 44.40 1.20 30-year vs 5-year yield 31.70 0.35 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 26.25 -0.75 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 22.00 -0.50 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 13.25 -0.50 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap 5.50 -0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -8.50 -0.50 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler)  "|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-06T13:33:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Tofas Turk Gets Approval Of Investment Incentive To Make New Investment Of 1.12 Bln Lira|June 6 (Reuters) - TOFAS TURK OTOMOBIL: * GETS APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT INCENTIVE TO MAKE NEW INVESTMENT OF 1.12 BILLION LIRA FROM TURKISH MINISTRY OF ECONOMY * INCENTIVES INCLUDE CUSTOMS TAX EXEMPTION, VAT EXEMPTION, INTEREST RATE SUPPORT AND 80 PERCENT REDUCED TAX RATE - 50 PERCENT CONTRIBUTION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T14:07:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1100 GMT on Wednesday: ** Oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp said it plans to sell its interests in EnLink Midstream to an affiliate of fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners for $3.13 billion in cash. ** Mirvac Group, an Australian diversified landlord and property developer, said it will buy a 50 percent stake in a Sydney property from a Blackstone Group LP-managed fund. ** Siemens has signed more than ten cooperation agreements with Chinese companies as it seeks to benefit from deepening involvement with China’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative, the German engineering group said. ** Uniper boss Klaus Schaefer told shareholders he will try to keep the energy group independent, weeks before rival Fortum is expected to secure regulatory approval to become its largest shareholder. ** Shares in Minor International Pcl surged on Wednesday after it said it would look to debt financing for its takeover bid for NH Hotels - a deal valuing the Spanish chain at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion). ** Belgian investor Core Equity has dropped its interest in a takeover of Hema, one of the largest retail chains in the Netherlands, the De Telegraaf newspaper reported. ** Russia’s second-biggest food retailer Magnit said it had began talks with its new shareholder Marathon Group over the acquisition of pharmaceutical distributor SIA. ** Smurfit Kappa reaffirmed its guidance that its full year earnings will be materially better than last year after rival International Paper (IP) decided to end its pursuit of the Irish packaging company. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-06T14:08:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Russia's Magnit in talks to buy drug distributor from shareholder|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s second-biggest food retailer Magnit ( MGNT.MM ) said on Wednesday it had began talks with its new shareholder Marathon Group over the acquisition of pharmaceutical distributor SIA. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Russian retailer Magnit is seen on a grocery store outside Moscow, Russia February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo Magnit said it was initiating due diligence on SIA and that the possible deal was part of its plans to expand into the retail pharmacy market. The company began to open pharmacies last year and the pilot project has demonstrated good results, it said on Wednesday. “Pharmacies and food stores are mutual drivers of customer traffic, which should provide a multiplier economic effect,” Magnit Chief Executive Khachatur Pombukhchan said. SIA Group is part of Marathon Pharma group, a subsidiary of Marathon Group, which last month bought an 11.82 percent stake in Magnit from VTB ( VTBR.MM ). Elena Naumova, an executive director of Magnit, told reporters the acquisition would be a cash deal and she hoped it would close in 2018. She declined to provide any financial details of the planned transaction. SIA turned over 66 billion roubles ($1.06 billion)in 2017, according to market research firm DSM Group. Shares in Magnit fell 3 percent on the Moscow Exchange and were down 6 percent in London ( MGNTq.L ). Reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Olga Sichkar; Editing by Alexandra Hudson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-06T14:13:00.000+03:00|Pressuring May, UK's Labour tries to force new single market deal|LONDON (Reuters) - The opposition Labour Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit, urging lawmakers to defeat her in parliament by backing a proposal for Britain to stay in the EU’s single market after leaving the bloc. Ten months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, May is struggling to unite her party and government over a Brexit strategy. She also faces a parliament where some lawmakers want to force her to go back on promises to leave the bloc’s single market and customs union. By tabling a new amendment to May’s Brexit blueprint, the EU withdrawal bill, Labour puts the single market back at the centre of a debate that could shape Britain’s trading relationships for years to come. It also challenges many of its own lawmakers who want Britain to have an even stronger relationship with the EU and stay in its European Economic Area. The move further muddies the water over a vote next week on the EU withdrawal bill, which May needs to pass to sever ties with the bloc and “copy and paste” its laws into British legislation so the country can function after March next year. It first hangs on whether the amendment will even be accepted and debated in parliament on June 12. Then it comes down to whether it can get the numbers to defeat the government. The amendment calls on the government to negotiate full access to the EU’s single market, to keep common minimum standards, rights and protections, to share joint institutions and regulations, and ensure there are no new impediments to trade, while retaining control over immigration. That combination could potentially break with one of the EU’s “four freedoms” — movement of workers, goods, capital and services — that underpin access to the single market. “Labour will only accept a Brexit deal that delivers the benefits of the single market and protects jobs and living standards,” Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit policy chief, said on Tuesday. The move ignites the latest battle in a long series of conflicts waged in both parties, the two houses of parliament and across a deeply divided country since it voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the bloc. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville A struggle in May’s team of ministers over future customs arrangements with the EU has all but stalled Brexit negotiations, and there is little time left. The EU is expecting her to have made progress by a summit later this month and both sides want to reach a deal by October. On Wednesday in parliament, she again defended her government’s deliberations, saying her ministers would publish a policy document on Britain’s future relationship with the EU. But she did not say when. “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” The Conservative Party attacked Labour’s amendment, saying it “shattered their promise to respect the referendum result”. It also has caused ripples in Labour, where some lawmakers had lobbied for the party to support an amendment to keep Britain in the EEA, retaining full access to the single market in return for making payments and accepting the four freedoms. Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna accused the leadership of trying to wreck that amendment and preventing what would be a painful government defeat after some Conservative lawmakers had suggested they could vote for the EEA on June 12. But Seema Malhotra, another Labour lawmaker, said the move could unite the party. Britain’s next election is not due until 2022. “We are running out of time on how we move forward as a country after Brexit with a government too divided make a decision,” Malhotra told Reuters. “Parliament is now taking a lead in setting the direction of travel that is right for the economy.” FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator stands outside the Houses of Parliament during a protest aimed at showing London's solidarity with the European Union following the recent EU referendum, in central London, Britain June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo Starmer told the BBC he believed the EU would be open to negotiating a new deal if Britain dropped its red lines. The bloc has said countries must accept its four freedoms that must be maintained for access to the single market. He called on the party to unite around the new amendment, saying the EEA model would not work as it did not include access to the EU’s customs union. Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Richard Balmforth  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-06T14:28:00.000+03:00|UK's RPC seeks to sell non-core assets, FY profit up 36 pct|June 6 (Reuters) - RPC Group Plc is looking to sell non-core assets with total revenue of 209 million pounds ($280 million), as the British packaging company seeks to sharpen its focus on higher-value plastics that can be recycled or reused. The company reported a 36 percent jump in full-year pretax profit on Wednesday, helped by strong growth in both its packaging and non-packaging segments and by acquisitions. RPC said adjusted pretax profit rose to 389 million pounds in the year ended March 31. Revenue also rose 36 percent, to 3.75 billion pounds. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru Editing by Georgina Prodhan) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T15:15:00.000+03:00|British PM May to raise Iran nuclear deal with Israel's Netanyahu|LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will discuss how best to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, her spokesman said, reiterating Britain’s support for the Iran nuclear deal. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May welcomes Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville “You can expect the PM to raise Iran, and how best we can prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon. The UK, like France and Germany, continues to believe the Iran nuclear deal is the best way to prevent this,” he told reporters. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-06T15:23:00.000+03:00|Australia's Mirvac buys 50 pct stake in Sydney property from Blackstone fund|June 6 (Reuters) - Australian diversified landlord and property developer Mirvac Group on Wednesday said it has used its pre-emptive right to buy a 50 percent stake in a Sydney property from a fund managed by Blackstone Group LP . The impact of the deal, which was for a base consideration of A$721.9 million ($552.47 million), will be assessed as part of the firm’s revaluation process for its June 30, 2018 financial accounts, Mirvac said in a statement. $1 = 1.3067 Australian dollars Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in BENGALURU Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/finance/funds|0
2018-06-06T15:38:00.000+03:00|British PM May to raise Iran nuclear deal with Israel's Netanyahu|June 6, 2018 / 12:34 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago British PM May to raise Iran nuclear deal with Israel's Netanyahu Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will discuss how best to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, her spokesman said, reiterating Britain’s support for the Iran nuclear deal. Police officers speak to a demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag outside Downing street ahead of the visit by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in London, Britain, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls “You can expect the PM to raise Iran, and how best we can prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon. The UK, like France and Germany, continues to believe the Iran nuclear deal is the best way to prevent this,” he told reporters. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-06T15:39:00.000+03:00|Plausible that ECB can end bond buys this year: Weidmann|BERLIN, June 6 (Reuters) - Expectations that the European Central Bank will wind down its bond-buying programme by the end of this year are plausible, the head of Germany’s central bank said on Wednesday. “For some time now, financial market participants have been expecting that the asset purchases will end before 2018 is out,” Jens Weidmann told a conference in Berlin via a video message. “As things stand, I find these market expectations plausible,” he said, adding that this would be the first step towards normalising monetary policy. He said the challenge for the ECB was to communicate this process adequately without causing turmoil in markets. (Reporting by Michelle Martin and Reinhard Becker) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T15:42:00.000+03:00|Sales tax-backed Puerto Rican debt up after new deal over tax revenues|NEW YORK/SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Puerto Rico’s sales tax-backed COFINA debt rallied on Wednesday after court filings revealed a new agreement to settle a long-running dispute with general obligation debt creditors over which group has a valid claim on the tax revenues. The deal was reached among two court-appointed agents who have spent a year litigating over future sales tax revenues. Late on Tuesday, the parties filed a motion in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court announcing the deal and asking for any motions for summary judgments before the court to be held “in abeyance for a period of 60 days” or until Aug. 4. Details of the agreement were not revealed. “I am pleased with the settlement agreement... It is an enormous significant development,” Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who is overseeing Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, said during a hearing on Wednesday. However Swain did not issue any orders from the bench before breaking for lunch. GRAPHIC: reut.rs/2LtDNq3 The bondholders, who together own about half of bankrupt Puerto Rico’s $71.5 billion in bonds, have spent years disputing ownership of future sales tax revenues. The U.S. territory declared the largest ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy in May 2017, under the jurisdiction of the special Puerto Rico financial rescue law known as PROMESA. “There is a lot of work that remains to be done. We are not at the finish line yet,” Luc Despins, a lawyer for the unsecured creditors committee told the court, adding details would be taken back to various creditor groups. Representatives of the financial oversight board created by PROMESA told the court they also supported the 60-day extension. Senior COFINA debt carrying a 5.25 percent coupon maturing in 2057 rose 7.25 points in price to bid 75.25 74529JAR6=MSRB, according to Thomson Reuters data. The 6 percent subordinated COFINA bonds maturing 2042 rose 5.75 points in price to bid 36.25 74529JHN8=MSRB. Puerto Rico’s constitutionally backed benchmark 8 percent GO bond maturing in 2035 rose 0.995 points in price to bid 41.50 74514LE86=MSRB. “Because these bonds are in default, the market is assessing the settlement value based upon the agreement revealed in last night’s court filing. The effect has been favorable even for the GO bonds,” said Daniel Berger, senior market strategist Municipal Market Data, a Thomson Reuters company. In May, the oversight board snubbed a proposed settlement by two bondholder groups that would have split the revenues roughly evenly, calling it “completely unaffordable.” Shaun Burgess, a portfolio manager at Sarasota, Florida-based Cumberland Advisors, noted the original deal gave senior COFINA bondholders a 93 to 95 cent on the dollar recovery value versus about 42 cents for the junior COFINA debt. “If some new deal has been reached you may be closer to that mark, which would fuel the move we have seen today. But without details it is very hard to know what the real driver is, so this move feels very speculative,” Burgess said. Puerto Rico owes about $18 billion each in general obligation and COFINA debt. The dispute between the two sets of creditors is the central legal dispute in the island’s bankruptcy. Reporting By Daniel Bases in New York and Luis Valentin Ortiz in San Juan; Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by David Gregorio  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-06T16:00:00.000+03:00|British PM May to raise Iran nuclear deal with Israel's Netanyahu|June 6, 2018 / 12:31 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago British PM May to raise Iran nuclear deal with Israel's Netanyahu Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will discuss how best to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, her spokesman said, reiterating Britain’s support for the Iran nuclear deal. Police officers speak to a demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag outside Downing street ahead of the visit by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in London, Britain, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls “You can expect the PM to raise Iran, and how best we can prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon. The UK, like France and Germany, continues to believe the Iran nuclear deal is the best way to prevent this,” he told reporters. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-06T16:04:00.000+03:00|Zurich Insurance CFO says big mergers disrupt business: CNBC|ZURICH (Reuters) - Zurich Insurance Group ( ZURN.S ) will focus on operational improvements and bolt-on acquisitions, its finance chief said on Wednesday, adding mega-mergers disrupt business and rarely provide value to investors. FILE PHOTO: Chief Finanacial Officer George Quinn of Zurich Insurance attends the annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland February 11, 2016. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann “I think the challenge for insurance companies is that our business is typically quite local, and I think if you do these large, global merger transactions you disrupt at least one, maybe two different businesses and it is hard to get the full value from them,” George Quinn told CNBC in an interview. His remarks come amid persistent speculation that Zurich and German peer Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) could be interested in a tie-up, although Zurich CEO Mario Greco last week said he wanted only targeted acquisitions and saw no need for sweeping insurance sector consolidation in Europe. Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz, Editing by Michael Shields Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T16:09:00.000+03:00|Athenahealth says CEO steps down; considers selling itself|June 6 (Reuters) - Athenahealth Inc said on Wednesday Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bush had stepped down and the company would explore strategic options, including selling itself. The healthcare software maker said it was in talks with third parties regarding a potential business combination and that the board initiated a process to replace Bush. Elliott Management in May proposed an offer of $160 per share in cash for the company, valuing it at about $6.9 billion. (Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-06T16:11:00.000+03:00|Kuwaiti creditor refuses Abraaj deal, may prompt provisional liquidation: sources|DUBAI (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti creditor is refusing to agree to a debt settlement deal with Abraaj, which could push the private equity firm to seek provisional liquidation, three sources close to the matter said. The refusal by Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) to join other creditors in a debt freeze may complicate Abraaj’s efforts to sell its investment management unit to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management, the sources told Reuters. Abraaj, which bankers estimate has debt of about $1 billion, is already grappling with allegations that it misused investor money. The Middle East and Africa’s largest private equity firm has denied any wrongdoing. Two sources said Abraaj had started preparations for applying for provisional liquidation, a process in which a court appoints a liquidator on a provisional basis before hearing or ruling on a petition to wind up a company. A separate source close to Abraaj said that a provisional liquidation was not its focus and it was working on reaching a consensual deal with secured and unsecured creditors. Abraaj said in a statement to Reuters that it was continuing to engage closely with a single creditor, which it did not name, “to reach a consensual outcome for the benefit of all parties.” “The firm is continuing its discussions on the sale of the fund management business and talks are at an advanced stage,” Abraaj said, adding it was working with potential acquirers and other stakeholders “toward achieving a positive outcome.” Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey ( HLI.N ), said it was focused on concluding a standstill agreement with creditors, saying the “vast majority” of them backed the debt deal. Sources said the standstill agreement was needed to help facilitate the sale of its investment management business to Cerberus. But sources said PIFSS, an unsecured lender, held out and was given a 48-hour deadline to agree. The Kuwaiti fund has since notified Abraaj that it intended to continue a winding up petition it filed through the Cayman Islands last month, the sources said. The next hearing in the process is scheduled for June 29, one of the sources said. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that PIFSS filed a case in a Cayman Islands court against Abraaj, claiming it was unable to repay a $100 million loan and $7 million interest. Officials at PIFSS were not immediately available for comment. Its management has previously declined to comment on an ongoing legal action. A sale of the Kuwaiti creditor’s position to debt funds could help overcome the impasse in the process, the sources said. A number of distressed debt buyers had emerged to potentially buy the Kuwaiti creditor’s claim, two sources said, but they said PIFSS was not willing to sell. Cerberus, which manages assets totaling more than $30 billion, specializes in investments in distressed assets. The U.S. company has not responded to Reuters requests for comment. Abraaj is facing an investigation by some investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm over how the firm used some of their money in its $1 billion healthcare fund. Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar and Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-06T16:15:00.000+03:00|Athenahealth says CEO steps down; considers selling itself|"(Reuters) - Athenahealth Inc’s ( ATHN.O ) Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bush stepped down on Wednesday and the healthcare software maker said it was exploring options, including selling itself, following pressure from activist investor Elliott Management. FILE PHOTO - Jonathan Bush, chairman and CEO of athenahealth Inc. speaks at a panel ""RX for healthcare? Tech prescriptions for the 21st century at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Pasadena, California July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Fred Prouser The company is in talks with third parties regarding a potential deal and the board has started looking for a replacement for Bush, it said. Athenahealth’s shares rose as much as 8 percent to $163.94 in early trading. Elliott in May proposed an offer of $160 per share in cash for the company, valuing it at about $6.9 billion. “It is easy for me to see that the very things that made me useful to the company ... are now exactly the things that are in the way,” Bush said in a statement. Bush, a nephew of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, founded Athenahealth in 1997 and has been in the spotlight following media reports here of inappropriate comments. Last week, Bush issued an apology after a report in U.K.’s Daily Mail newspaper said that he had assaulted his former wife 14 years ago. Athenahealth spokeswoman Victoria Gavaza declined to comment on the reason for Bush’s departure. “The resignation of the CEO will likely have a negative impact on the business. However, given the emergence in the press of several personal items, we understand the need to step aside,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Richard Close said. The company, which has been under pressure from Elliott since it took a stake in the company last year, has in the past year cut jobs, hired former General Electric ( GE.N ) CEO Jeff Immelt as chairman and named a new finance head. Immelt will now become executive chairman, the company said on Wednesday. A spokesman for Elliott, which has an 8.9 percent stake in Athenahealth, said the company’s decision to explore strategic alternatives was “the right one”, adding that the hedge fund looked forward to participating as a bidder in the process. “The company’s uneven performance over the past few years likely pushed Athenahealth’s major shareholders to advocate for exploring strategic alternatives,” Evercore ISI analyst Ross Muken said, adding that the company is unlikely to remain an independent entity. Athenahealth, whose cloud-based service is used to track revenue from patients, physicians and hospitals, said CFO Marc Levine will assume greater day-to-day operational responsibilities. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper said a sale could fetch a higher valuation following the company’s announcement. “We assume any sale of the company will be equal or greater than Elliott’s current offer of $160 per share,” Halper wrote in a note. Lazard and Centerview Partners are the company’s financial advisers, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is providing legal counsel. Reporting by Manas Mishra and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-06T16:22:00.000+03:00|Consortium including Dalmore Capital buys UK's Cory Riverside Energy|June 6, 2018 / 1:22 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Consortium including Dalmore Capital buys UK's Cory Riverside Energy Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A consortium including infrastructure investor Dalmore Capital has agreed to buy UK recycling company Cory Riverside Energy from investors including Strategic Value Partners, for an undisclosed sum. Dalmore teamed up with Fiera Infrastructure, Semperian PPP Investment Partners and Swiss Life Asset Managers to buy the company from SVP and other owners including EQT Credit, Commerzbank and others, a statement on Wednesday said. The deal valued Cory at just over 1.5 billion pounds ($2.01 billion), a source familiar with the matter said, with investors who participated in a 350 million pounds restructuring in 2015 making more than 850 million pounds in profit. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Huw Jones|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-06T16:43:00.000+03:00|Shares in Thailand's Minor jump on debt financing plan for NH Hotel deal|BANGKOK, June 6 (Reuters) - Shares in Minor International Pcl surged on Wednesday after it said it would look to debt financing for its takeover bid for NH Hotels - a deal valuing the Spanish chain at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion). The proposed purchase would be Thailand’s largest overseas hospitality deal and would give the acquisitive firm hotels with scale and presence in “hard-to-enter” cities across Spain, Benelux, Central Europe and Italy. NH would be a “launching pad” for an aggressive expansion, Minor International Chief Operating Officer Dillip Rajakarier told Reuters, adding the company was still looking for targets of up to $300 million in locations like London, Prague and Rome. Minor’s shares were up over 7 percent in afternoon trade, valuing the firm at around $5.3 billion, helped by relief that Minor would not be looking to issue equity to finance the deal. Minor said it had agreed to pay HNA, NH’s biggest shareholder, 622 million euros for a 26.5 percent stake. The conversion of some bonds to shares will take Minor’s stake over the 30 percent ownership threshold beyond which Spanish law requires a full takeover be launched. Minor said in presentation material on Wednesday it is targeting 51 percent to 55 percent ownership of NH, but added it is prepared to look at funding options other than bond issuance if it gains more than 68 percent of the company. It said it will use bridging facilities from financial institutions for a period of 18 months for the takeover. We are targeting 51 to 55 percent ownership because we want NH to remain publicly listed and liquid, said Rajakarier, adding that Minor had “absoluately no plans” to issue new capital because it had financial investors ready to come in if necessary. Minor, owned by U.S.-born billionaire William Heinecke, currently operates 158 hotels in 32 countries, across Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. The hotel and restaurant operator started an investment drive in 2016 when it acquired Portugal’s Tivoli for 294 million euros. Heinecke, who became a Thai citizen in 1991, made his fortune bringing Western-style quick-service restaurants like Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen to the Thai market. Minor is the lateast Thai hospitality firm to snap up hotels abroad. In February, U City bought Veinna House for 330 million euros and Singha Estate purchased Hawaii-based Outrigger for $250 million. $1 = 31.8800 baht Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Edwina Gibbs Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T16:51:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Platform Specialty, Seriti Resources, Nevsun Resources; Updates Athenahealth, Devon Energy) June 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday: ** Nevsun Resources, a Canadian miner which has been approached regarding a takeover, should enter “good-faith negotiations with any suitor,” Adrian Day Asset Management, one of Nevsun’s top 10 shareholders, said in an open letter to the company’s board. ** Platform Specialty Products Corp is in advanced talks to sell its agrochemicals business to London-based Wilmcote Holdings Plc for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. ** Oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp said it plans to sell its stakes in EnLink Midstream for $3.13 billion to pare debt and focus on its core shale business as crude prices hover near four-year highs. ** South African miner Seriti Resources wants to move into exporting coal and would be interested in buying the assets and quotas of the Gupta family’s Optimum Coal, its CEO said. ** Mirvac Group, an Australian diversified landlord and property developer, said it will buy a 50 percent stake in a Sydney property from a Blackstone Group LP-managed fund. ** Siemens has signed more than ten cooperation agreements with Chinese companies as it seeks to benefit from deepening involvement with China’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative, the German engineering group said. ** Uniper boss Klaus Schaefer told shareholders he will try to keep the energy group independent, weeks before rival Fortum is expected to secure regulatory approval to become its largest shareholder. ** Athenahealth Inc’s Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bush stepped down and the healthcare software maker said it was exploring options, including selling itself, following pressure from activist investor Elliott Management. ** Shares in Minor International Pcl surged after the Thai hotel, food and beverage company said it was planning to use debt to finance its 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) takeover bid for Spain’s NH Hotels. ** A consortium including infrastructure investor Dalmore Capital has agreed to buy UK recycling company Cory Riverside Energy from investors including Strategic Value Partners, for an undisclosed sum. ** Belgian investor Core Equity has dropped its interest in a takeover of Hema, one of the largest retail chains in the Netherlands, the De Telegraaf newspaper reported. ** E.ON proposed delaying a vote that could trigger a probe into whether the management of former unit Uniper tried to block the sale of a major stake to Fortum. ** Russia’s second-biggest food retailer Magnit said it had began talks with its new shareholder Marathon Group over the acquisition of pharmaceutical distributor SIA. ** Brazilian food processor BRF SA said it was not aware of any “formalization” regarding a possible merger with competing food processor Minerva SA. ** Smurfit Kappa reaffirmed its guidance that its full year earnings will be materially better than last year after rival International Paper (IP) decided to end its pursuit of the Irish packaging company. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-06T16:51:00.000+03:00|Platform Specialty in talks to sell agrochemicals unit to Wilmcote - Wall Street Journal|(Reuters) - Platform Specialty Products Corp ( PAH.N ) is in advanced talks to sell its agrochemicals business to London-based Wilmcote Holdings Plc ( WCH.L ) for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on.wsj.com/2JiL3Ze on Wednesday. If the deal proceeds, the WSJ said, it would offer Platform a way to achieve its goal of splitting its two divisions into separate companies, each with a defined focus and improved balance sheet, as it aims to boost an underperforming stock. Assuming a deal is reached, the transaction could be announced this month, the newspaper said, citing sources. Platform and Wilmcote were not immediately available for comment. A deal with Wilmcote would be worth about $4 billion, including debt, according to the WSJ. Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T17:09:00.000+03:00|"Macron wants ""more ambitious"" deal on euro zone - sources"|BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - France wants a more ambitious reform of the euro zone than the one sketched out by Angela Merkel and will press the German chancellor for additional concessions on a euro zone budget and banking union in the weeks ahead, French officials say. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron is congratulated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after being awarded the Charlemagne Prize during a ceremony in Aachen, Germany May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo After months of silence and mounting criticism, Merkel offered a detailed response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for an overhaul of how the single currency bloc is run in a German newspaper interview on Sunday. Macron has been calling for a far-reaching reform of the euro zone since coming to power a year ago, arguing that Europe’s most successful symbol of integration needs to be overhauled to prevent a repeat of the sovereign debt crisis that nearly tore it apart in 2010-12. But without German backing his plans won’t get off the ground, and even if Paris and Berlin can agree a common position, they face a struggle to persuade other euro zone member states that further reforms are necessary. French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Merkel had embraced a number of Macron’s ideas, including the creation of a European agency to handle the issue of asylum-seekers, transnational lists for candidates in future elections to the European Parliament and a reduction in the number of EU commissioners in Brussels. But they said more work was needed to align the French and German positions on the euro zone, the heart of the reforms Macron is focused on. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is expected to deliver that message when he speaks at a conference of family-owned companies in Berlin on Friday. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel take part in a group photo on the launching of the Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces together, during a EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo “There is a rapprochement on euro zone reform, notably on the idea of an investment budget. The chancellor made clear that the current euro zone instruments are insufficient,” one French government official said. But the official added: “France and Germany still have work to do in the coming weeks in order to reach a more ambitious deal on banking union and a fiscal capacity for the euro zone.” The question of whether the euro zone should have a common budget, how it might be funded and how it would be spent has yet to be settled. Neither is there agreement on how to complete the banking union through a pan-European deposit insurance scheme. Several officials said Macron had sent internal signals that he was prepared to walk away from formulating a joint reform proposal if Berlin did not budge, although some viewed this as an unlikely outcome at a time when Europe can ill afford a fight between its two most powerful member states. Slideshow (2 Images) Still, it has raised pressure on Le Maire to wring more concessions out of his German counterpart Olaf Scholz in the run-up to an EU summit on June 28-29 at which Paris and Berlin have promised to present their proposal. The two ministers and their teams will meet in Paris on Saturday. The French side views the meeting as a critical opportunity to narrow differences before a June 19 meeting between Merkel and Macron at Meseberg palace, north of Berlin. In her interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Merkel tried to strike a balance between moving toward Macron and appeasing hardline conservatives at home who are pressing her not to make any concessions. French officials close to Macron have concerns about a number of Merkel’s euro zone proposals, including her plan to limit the size of any investment budget to the “low double-digit billions of euros”, her idea that the ESM bailout fund should share economic surveillance duties with the European Commission and a suggestion that it could force debt restructurings. While France does not rule out debt restructuring for member states that run into trouble, it opposes the idea of a mechanism that would make them more or less automatic, fearing this could fuel market unrest. Merkel was vague in the interview on the completion of the EU’s banking union project and France is still pushing for Berlin to commit to a clear timeline on the introduction of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). There is more optimism about reaching agreement on another element of banking union: a backstop for the so-called Single Resolution Fund (SRF). Reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin and by Luke Baker, Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas in Paris; editing by David Stamp Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-06T17:23:00.000+03:00|Macron wants 'more ambitious' deal on euro zone - sources|June 6, 2018 / 2:20 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Macron wants 'more ambitious' deal on euro zone: sources Noah Barkin , Luke Baker 5 Min Read BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - France wants a more ambitious reform of the euro zone than the one sketched out by Angela Merkel and will press the German chancellor for additional concessions on a euro zone budget and banking union in the weeks ahead, French officials say. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel take part in a group photo on the launching of the Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces together, during a EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo After months of silence and mounting criticism, Merkel offered a detailed response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for an overhaul of how the single currency bloc is run in a German newspaper interview on Sunday. Macron has been calling for a far-reaching reform of the euro zone since coming to power a year ago, arguing that Europe’s most successful symbol of integration needs to be overhauled to prevent a repeat of the sovereign debt crisis that nearly tore it apart in 2010-12. But without German backing his plans won’t get off the ground, and even if Paris and Berlin can agree a common position, they face a struggle to persuade other euro zone member states that further reforms are necessary. French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Merkel had embraced a number of Macron’s ideas, including the creation of a European agency to handle the issue of asylum-seekers, transnational lists for candidates in future elections to the European Parliament and a reduction in the number of EU commissioners in Brussels. But they said more work was needed to align the French and German positions on the euro zone, the heart of the reforms Macron is focused on. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is expected to deliver that message when he speaks at a conference of family-owned companies in Berlin on Friday. “There is a rapprochement on euro zone reform, notably on the idea of an investment budget. The chancellor made clear that the current euro zone instruments are insufficient,” one French government official said. But the official added: “France and Germany still have work to do in the coming weeks in order to reach a more ambitious deal on banking union and a fiscal capacity for the euro zone.” The question of whether the euro zone should have a common budget, how it might be funded and how it would be spent has yet to be settled. Neither is there agreement on how to complete the banking union through a pan-European deposit insurance scheme. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel after being awarded the Charlemagne Prize during a ceremony in Aachen, Germany May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo Several officials said Macron had sent internal signals that he was prepared to walk away from formulating a joint reform proposal if Berlin did not budge, although some viewed this as an unlikely outcome at a time when Europe can ill afford a fight between its two most powerful member states. Still, it has raised pressure on Le Maire to wring more concessions out of his German counterpart Olaf Scholz in the run-up to an EU summit on June 28-29 at which Paris and Berlin have promised to present their proposal. The two ministers and their teams will meet in Paris on Saturday. The French side views the meeting as a critical opportunity to narrow differences before a June 19 meeting between Merkel and Macron at Meseberg palace, north of Berlin. In her interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Merkel tried to strike a balance between moving toward Macron and appeasing hardline conservatives at home who are pressing her not to make any concessions. French officials close to Macron have concerns about a number of Merkel’s euro zone proposals, including her plan to limit the size of any investment budget to the “low double-digit billions of euros”, her idea that the ESM bailout fund should share economic surveillance duties with the European Commission and a suggestion that it could force debt restructurings. While France does not rule out debt restructuring for member states that run into trouble, it opposes the idea of a mechanism that would make them more or less automatic, fearing this could fuel market unrest. Merkel was vague in the interview on the completion of the EU’s banking union project and France is still pushing for Berlin to commit to a clear timeline on the introduction of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). There is more optimism about reaching agreement on another element of banking union: a backstop for the so-called Single Resolution Fund (SRF). Reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin and by Luke Baker, Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas in Paris; editing by David Stamp|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-06T17:28:00.000+03:00|Takeover deal for Dutch retail chain Hema falls through: report|AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Belgian investor Core Equity has dropped its interest in a takeover of Hema, one of the largest retail chains in the Netherlands, the De Telegraaf newspaper reported on Wednesday. Owner Lion Capital and Core Equity had reportedly agreed on a 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) price tag for Hema, including debt. But the deal collapsed over disagreement between the prospective buyer and store franchise operators over how to split revenue from Hema’s online store, sources close to the talks told the newspaper. A spokesman for Hema declined to comment on the report. Core Equity could not be reached for immediate comment. Reporting by Bart Meijer; editing by Jason Neely Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T17:29:00.000+03:00|India cabinet approves building 3 mln t govt stockpile of sugar- food minister|NEW DELHI, June 6 (Reuters) - India has decided to build a 3 million tonne stockpile of sugar to soak up excess supply from the domestic market, and grant soft loans worth 44.4 billion rupees ($661.40 million) to help millers expand ethanol output capacity, the food minister said. The government has also fixed a floor price of 29 rupees a kilogram to ensure that retail rates of sugar do not fall further, Ram Vilas Paswan told a news conference after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Paswan on Tuesday said the government would announce support measures to cut a growing sugar surplus and prop up local prices, a move aimed at helping loss-making mills and millions of cane growers who make up a key voting bloc. ($1 = 67.13 rupees) (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Alex Richardson) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T17:40:00.000+03:00|Macron wants 'more ambitious' deal on euro zone - sources|June 6, 2018 / 2:27 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Macron wants 'more ambitious' deal on euro zone - sources Noah Barkin, Luke Baker 5 Min Read BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - France wants a more ambitious reform of the euro zone than the one sketched out by Angela Merkel and will press the German chancellor for additional concessions on a euro zone budget and banking union in the weeks ahead, French officials say. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel after being awarded the Charlemagne Prize during a ceremony in Aachen, Germany May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo After months of silence and mounting criticism, Merkel offered a detailed response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for an overhaul of how the single currency bloc is run in a German newspaper interview on Sunday. Macron has been calling for a far-reaching reform of the euro zone since coming to power a year ago, arguing that Europe’s most successful symbol of integration needs to be overhauled to prevent a repeat of the sovereign debt crisis that nearly tore it apart in 2010-12. But without German backing his plans won’t get off the ground, and even if Paris and Berlin can agree a common position, they face a struggle to persuade other euro zone member states that further reforms are necessary. French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Merkel had embraced a number of Macron’s ideas, including the creation of a European agency to handle the issue of asylum-seekers, transnational lists for candidates in future elections to the European Parliament and a reduction in the number of EU commissioners in Brussels. But they said more work was needed to align the French and German positions on the euro zone, the heart of the reforms Macron is focused on. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is expected to deliver that message when he speaks at a conference of family-owned companies in Berlin on Friday. “There is a rapprochement on euro zone reform, notably on the idea of an investment budget. The chancellor made clear that the current euro zone instruments are insufficient,” one French government official said. But the official added: “France and Germany still have work to do in the coming weeks in order to reach a more ambitious deal on banking union and a fiscal capacity for the euro zone.” The question of whether the euro zone should have a common budget, how it might be funded and how it would be spent has yet to be settled. Neither is there agreement on how to complete the banking union through a pan-European deposit insurance scheme. German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a session at the lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt Several officials said Macron had sent internal signals that he was prepared to walk away from formulating a joint reform proposal if Berlin did not budge, although some viewed this as an unlikely outcome at a time when Europe can ill afford a fight between its two most powerful member states. Still, it has raised pressure on Le Maire to wring more concessions out of his German counterpart Olaf Scholz in the run-up to an EU summit on June 28-29 at which Paris and Berlin have promised to present their proposal. The two ministers and their teams will meet in Paris on Saturday. The French side views the meeting as a critical opportunity to narrow differences before a June 19 meeting between Merkel and Macron at Meseberg palace, north of Berlin. In her interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Merkel tried to strike a balance between moving towards Macron and appeasing hardline conservatives at home who are pressing her not to make any concessions. French officials close to Macron have concerns about a number of Merkel’s euro zone proposals, including her plan to limit the size of any investment budget to the “low double-digit billions of euros”, her idea that the ESM bailout fund should share economic surveillance duties with the European Commission and a suggestion that it could force debt restructurings. While France does not rule out debt restructuring for member states that run into trouble, it opposes the idea of a mechanism that would make them more or less automatic, fearing this could fuel market unrest. Merkel was vague in the interview on the completion of the EU’s banking union project and France is still pushing for Berlin to commit to a clear timeline on the introduction of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). Slideshow (3 Images) There is more optimism about reaching agreement on another element of banking union: a backstop for the so-called Single Resolution Fund (SRF). Reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin and by Luke Baker, Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas in Paris; editing by David Stamp 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-06T17:44:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 6)|BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Private equity firms HG Capital and TA Associates to acquire joint control of software company Access Group, which is now solely controlled by TA (approved June 5) NEW LISTINGS — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 13 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline June 13) JUNE 14 — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified) JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-06T18:21:00.000+03:00|Iraq-Iran Kirkuk oil swap deal has not started: Iraqi minister|BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq and Iran have not yet begun exchanging crude oil, for technical reasons, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday, contradicting Iran’s oil ministry news agency. FILE PHOTO: Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi speaks during news conference at the ministry of oil in Baghdad, Iraq November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani /File Photo Iraq agreed last year to ship crude from the northern Kirkuk oil field to Iran for use in its refineries, after which Iran would deliver the same amount of oil to Iraq’s southern ports. Iran’s oil ministry news agency SHANA said on Sunday the exchange had started. “So far due to logistical issues the agreement’s implementation has been delayed. We are now in the final stages of implementation. As soon as the issues are resolved we will implement,” Luaibi told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil agreement signing ceremony in Basra. He also said a production increase was not on the agenda of an OPEC meeting this month. “We have a meeting on June 22 and we will see how things are going but so far things are going well and the market is stable,” he said in response to a question about pressure from the United States to increase production. “The most important thing for us in the OPEC meeting is oil market stability and not just prices. So far we have proposed nothing and nothing is on the table.” Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-06T18:41:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Schlumberger, Halliburton ready bids for Petrobras output sharing deal|June 6, 2018 / 3:41 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago Exclusive - Schlumberger, Halliburton ready bids for Petrobras output sharing deal Alexandra Alper , Liz Hampton 4 Min Read RIO DE JANEIRO/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Schlumberger NV ( SLB.N ) and Halliburton Co ( HAL.N ) are preparing offers for an onshore production sharing deal with Brazil’s state-controlled Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ), two sources said, a first for oil services firms in the Latin American country. The logo of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras is pictured in the company headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker Another source said General Electric Co’s ( GE.N ) unit Baker Hughes ( BHGE.N ) is also studying a potential bid for the tender, launched by Petrobras in May. A deal would represent a novel way for the debt-laden oil company to boost output from mature fields without losing control or risking capital, by partnering with one of the world’s largest oil service providers. Such a deal would also allow oil services companies to put to use expensive equipment idled for years during the downturn in Brazil’s oil industry, hammered by low oil prices and a massive corruption scandal at Petrobras. South America’s largest producer has attracted billions of dollars of investment from the world’s top oil firms to develop prolific deep water oilfields. The tender, or invitation to bid, was addressed to the world’s three top oil services companies, the three people said. The firms would compete by promising to boost production from the Potiguar basin’s waning Canto do Amaro field, where production began in 1986, and offering a bigger share of output to Petrobras, they added. Under the 15-year contract, the winner would provide capital to drill new wells in the area located in the coastal state of Rio Grande do Norte in northern Brazil, two people said. Bids are due this month, but at least one of the companies has asked for an extension, a person said. Talks to reach such a deal were more than a year in the making, 10 people said. Spokespeople for Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Halliburton and Petrobras declined to comment. Production sharing deals are usually made by oil producers rather than oil service firms. Oilfield service companies engaging in production-sharing activities can be seen as competing with customers, and also expose themselves to more risk from swings in oil prices. BOOSTING OUTPUT The May tender was not Petrobras’s only bid to boost output from mature fields. Last year, Norway’s Equinor ( EQNR.OL ), formerly Statoil, paid up to $2.9 billion for a 25 percent stake in Petrobras’s Roncador, one of Brazil’s largest oilfields in the Campos basin. [nL8N1OI13X] But Potiguar basin limited output would be unlikely to draw interest from such oil majors. Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield service firm, has used similar deal structures elsewhere through its production management group, in some cases financing projects in exchange for full service rights and a share of profits. This has taken the firm away from its traditional oil service business model. [nL2N1LO2F9] The firm’s production management unit has had varying degrees of success buying stakes in oil fields and in production sharing models. On at least one deal in the U.S. shale patch, it had to write off millions of dollars in losses, and it has also faced payment issues for a project in Ecuador. Schlumberger executives have said this year that the firm was slowing project approval for the group. Clinching such a deal would, however, represent a bigger milestone for Halliburton and GE’s Baker Hughes, which have not typically taken stakes in customer projects. Still, Baker Hughes last year announced a deal with Twinza Oil Limited to provide a range of services for the development of an offshore gas field in Papua New Guinea, and provide a credit line to fund appraisal of the field. And Halliburton signed a fee-per-barrel deal in Mexico’s Chicontepec basin five years ago. Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Christian Plumb and Susan Thomas|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-06T18:42:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-CP Rail deal will give workers 9 pct raise over 4 years -union|(Adds details about contract) By Allison Lampert MONTREAL, June 6 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd conductors and locomotive engineers will get a 9 percent salary hike over four years as part of a tentative agreement reached last week with the Teamsters, a union spokesman said on Wednesday. The agreement, which must first be ratified by members to go into effect this year, would give the 3,000 workers an increase of 2 percent for the first three years and 3 percent during the last year, Teamsters Canada spokesman Chris Monette told Reuters by phone. The collective agreement replaces the workers’ last contract which expired at the end of 2017. Calgary-based CP could not be immediately reached for comment about the new contract details revealed on Wednesday. Canada’s second-largest railroad operator reached the tentative agreement with the union on May 30, ending a strike that threw industries dependent on its transportation services into disarray. The strike came at a time of tight rail capacity in Canada, with CP and rival Canadian National Railway facing strong demand for shipments of grain, potash and other commodities. The company, which employs 12,500 workers, is a leading shipper of grain, crude oil and frac sand in North America. CP workers had been asking for more predictable schedules to combat crew fatigue in an industry where workers are largely on-call. Monette said workers will now “have improved scheduling” because they will be able to book three 48 hours periods off a month, where they will not be on call, up from two right now. Monette said the union has not yet “finalized the timeline” for when the ratification vote will take place. (Reporting By Allison Lampert Editing by Marguerita Choy)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-06T18:52:00.000+03:00|J&J to sell sterilization unit to Fortive for $2.7 billion|June 6, 2018 / 8:52 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago J&J to sell sterilization unit to Fortive for $2.7 billion Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - U.S. drug maker Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) said on Wednesday it received a binding cash offer of about $2.7 billion for its sterilization products business from Fortive Corp ( FTV.N ). FILE PHOTO: A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo J&J’s advanced sterilization products (ASP) business, part of its Ethicon Inc unit, generated revenue of about $775 million in 2017. Fortive, a maker of industrial products, plans to finance the acquisition through debt or equity and with available cash and said it expected the acquisition to add to adjusted earnings in the first full year after the transaction. Everett, Washington-based Fortive was spun-off in 2016 from Danaher Corp ( DHR.N ), which develops technology for dental, life sciences and diagnostics industries. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva|https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-06T20:23:00.000+03:00|CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Shares in Thailand's Minor jump on debt financing plan for NH Hotel deal|(Corrects first paragraph to show figure refers to value of company) * Minor says no plan to issue new equity, shares jump * NH deal a “launching pad” for Minor group, says COO * Rival bid for NH looks “tougher”, analyst says By Chayut Setboonsarng BANGKOK, June 6 (Reuters) - Shares in Minor International Pcl surged on Wednesday after the Thai hotel and food firm said it was planning to use debt to finance a bid for NH Hotels, a deal valuing the Spanish chain at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion). The proposed purchase would be Thailand’s largest overseas hospitality deal and would give Minor hotels with scale and presence in “hard to get” cities across Spain, Benelux, Central Europe and Italy, the company said. “It’s a launching pad for the rest of the group, in terms of our F&B (food and beverage) and hotel brands and growing our business,” Minor Chief Operating Officer Dillip Rajakarier told Reuters. Owned by U.S.-born billionaire William Heinecke, Minor operates 158 hotels across Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. The NH acquisition would increase its portfolio to 540 hotels, Rajakarier said. He said the company - which operates hotels in 32 countries and food and beverage brands such as the Benihana sushi and steakhouse chain, was still looking for acquisitions worth up to $300 million in locations such as London, Prague and Rome. Minor’s shares closed 5.93 percent higher against a broader market gain of 0.35 percent and valuing the firm at around $5.2 billion. Investors were relieved that Minor was not eyeing an equity issue to finance the deal, traders said. Minor said it had agreed to pay China’s HNA, NH’s biggest shareholder, 622 million euros for a 26.5 percent stake. The conversion of some bonds to shares will take Minor’s stake over the 30 percent ownership threshold beyond which Spanish law requires a full takeover. RIVAL BID NH’s shares were down 3 percent on the news of Minor’s offer of 6.4 euro per share, below an earlier offer from Spanish Grupo Barcelo that valued shares at 7.08 euro. NH rejected Barcelo’s offer in January because it was an asset exchange and not cash. A counter bid from Barcelo looked “tougher” because Minor would control 38 percent of NH, Kepler Cheuvreux said in a research note. Minor is targeting 51 to 55 percent ownership of NH and wants the Spanish firm to remain publicly listed and liquid, Rajakarier said. “Our intention is not to issue new capital,” he said, adding if Minor went beyond 55 percent “we will find new investors and we got a few who are willing to invest with us”. Minor began an investment drive in 2016 when it acquired Portuguese hotel brand Tivoli for 294 million euros. Heinecke, who became a Thai citizen in 1991, made his fortune bringing Western-style quick-service restaurants like Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen to the Thai market. Minor is the latest Thai hospitality firm to snap up hotels abroad. In February, U City bought Vienna House for 330 million euros and Singha Estate purchased Hawaii-based Outrigger for $250 million. ($1 = 31.8800 baht) (Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Additional reporting by Paul Day in Madrid and Katarzyna Zajaczkowska in Gdynia Editing by Darren Schuettler) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T20:24:00.000+03:00|Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Cracks down; Aramco to ink deal with Indonesia|SINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) - Asia's naphtha crack fell for the second straight day to reach a near 1-1/2 month low of $87.60 a tonne on Wednesday as high oil prices and weak gasoline fundamentals weighed. - But naphtha spot premiums stayed strong due to demand. - South Korea's GS Caltex emerged to buy naphtha and paid a premium in the high teens per tonne level to Japan Quote: s on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, traders said. - The premium GS Caltex paid was similar, if not slightly higher, versus a deal SK Energy inked last Friday. - Term premiums done on a C&F basis were also seen strong recently. - Lotte Chemical, for instance, bought up to 900,000 tonnes of naphtha some two weeks ago for July 2018 to June 2019 delivery at premiums of $6 to $7 a tonne to Japan Quote: s on a C&F basis. - This was in sharp contrast to the discounts it paid last year for a 12-month contract expiring in August this year. GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack fell for the tenth straight session to $7.28 a barrel, the lowest since May 15, on ample supplies. - Adding to the supply is extra refinery capacity in Vietnam, where its second refinery is expected to be fully operational by early August. - The 200,000-barrel-a-day (bpd) facility, owned by Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC, is running at 55 percent capacity and is undergoing a long start-up process. - As for inventories, Japan's gasoline inventories rose 550,000 barrels to reach nearly a one-year high of 11.66 million barrels in the week to June 2, official data showed. - The data came shortly after projections from analysts in a Reuters poll showed U.S. gasoline inventories were seen higher last week. * TENDERS: Saudi Aramco will be among the many suppliers selling gasoline to Pertamina through a six-month contract ending December, traders said. This will be the first term agreement between Aramco and Indonesia, they said. OTHER NEWS: Japan's Cosmo Oil restarted a 102,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Chiba refinery on Wednesday after it was shut for planned maintenance on April 19. * CASH DEALS: Three gasoline deals and two on naphtha. LIGHT DISTILLATES CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev Close RIC OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 656.25 -1.75 -0.27 658.00 NAF-1H-TYO OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 645.00 -2.00 -0.31 647.00 NAF-2H-TYO OSN Naphtha Diff 11.25 0.25 2.27 11.00 NAF-TYO-DIF Naphtha Netback FOB Sing 71.29 -0.19 -0.27 71.48 NAF-SIN Naphtha Diff FOB Sing 1.00 0.05 5.26 0.95 NAF-SIN-DIF Naphtha-Brent Crack 87.60 -3.40 -3.74 91.00 NAF-SIN-CRK Gasoline 97 86.75 -0.05 -0.06 86.80 GL97-SIN Gasoline 95 85.45 -0.10 -0.12 85.55 GL95-SIN Gasoline 92 83.10 0.10 0.12 83.00 GL92-SIN Gasoline crack 7.28 -0.12 -1.62 7.40 GL92-SIN-CRK For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. Brent M1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2 Naphtha CFR Japan M2 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M1 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M2 Naphtha FOB Sing M1 Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2 Naphtha FOB Sing M2 Naphtha Cracks M1 East-West Naphtha M1 East-West Naphtha M2 NWE Naphtha M1 NWE Naphtha M1/M2 NWE Naphtha M2 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M1 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M2 *Sing refers to Singapore (Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Mark Potter) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T20:47:00.000+03:00|Icahn buys small stake in drugmaker Allergan: sources|(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has acquired a small stake in Allergan Plc ( AGN.N ) at a time when the drugmaker is under pressure from other activist shareholders, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S. on February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Icahn’s intentions are not clear, though he has been a longtime supporter of Allergan Chief Executive Brent Saunders, pushing for him in 2013 to become CEO of Forest Laboratories, which through mergers and acquisitions became Allergan. Icahn, who had invested in Allergan in the past, believes the company’s stock is undervalued, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Icahn did not respond to a request for comment. “We welcome all investments in the company,” Allergan spokeswoman Amy Rose said. Bloomberg News first reported on Icahn’s new position in Allergan. Earlier this week, investment firms Appaloosa LP and Senator Investment Group LP wrote a letter to Allergan’s board of directors urging it not to pursue transformative acquisitions but instead shake up its board, including separating the roles of CEO and chairman, which are both held by Saunders. The letter came shortly after Allergan said it had concluded a strategic review it launched earlier this year. As a result of the review, Allergan is exploring divesting its women’s health and infectious disease businesses, opting to focus on areas where it has strong leadership positions. It also said it would pursue a more disciplined capital allocation strategy. Icahn last showed his support for Saunders in 2016, when he unveiled a stake in Allergan after its planned $150 billion sale to Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) was shot down by changes the U.S. government implemented to the rules on corporate tax inversions. In 2016, Allergan sold its generic drug business to Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $40 billion. In April, Allergan said it was considering an offer for rare disease drug maker Shire Plc ( SHP.L ), only to reverse course after Allergan shares plummeted on the news. It has spent much of the money on stock buybacks, debt reduction and a series of small-to-midsized acquisitions, including medical technology company ZELTIQ Aesthetics Inc and drugmaker Tobira Therapeutics. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Carl O'Donnell in New York; Editing by Richard Chang  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T21:03:00.000+03:00|Kuwaiti creditor refuses Abraaj deal, may prompt provisional liquidation - sources|DUBAI (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti creditor is refusing to agree to a debt settlement deal with Abraaj, which could push the private equity firm to seek provisional liquidation, three sources close to the matter said. The refusal by Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) to join other creditors in a debt freeze may complicate Abraaj’s efforts to sell its investment management unit to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management, the sources told Reuters. Abraaj, which bankers estimate has debt of about $1 billion, is already grappling with allegations that it misused investor money. The Middle East and Africa’s largest private equity firm has denied any wrongdoing. Two sources said Abraaj had started preparations for applying for provisional liquidation, a process in which a court appoints a liquidator on a provisional basis before hearing or ruling on a petition to wind up a company. A separate source close to Abraaj said that a provisional liquidation was not its focus and it was working on reaching a consensual deal with secured and unsecured creditors. Abraaj said in a statement to Reuters that it was continuing to engage closely with a single creditor, which it did not name, “to reach a consensual outcome for the benefit of all parties.” “The firm is continuing its discussions on the sale of the fund management business and talks are at an advanced stage,” Abraaj said, adding it was working with potential acquirers and other stakeholders “toward achieving a positive outcome.” Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey ( HLI.N ), said it was focused on concluding a standstill agreement with creditors, saying the “vast majority” of them backed the debt deal. Sources said the standstill agreement was needed to help facilitate the sale of its investment management business to Cerberus. But sources said PIFSS, an unsecured lender, held out and was given a 48-hour deadline to agree. The Kuwaiti fund has since notified Abraaj that it intended to continue a winding up petition it filed through the Cayman Islands last month, the sources said. The next hearing in the process is scheduled for June 29, one of the sources said. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that PIFSS filed a case in a Cayman Islands court against Abraaj, claiming it was unable to repay a $100 million loan and $7 million interest. Officials at PIFSS were not immediately available for comment. Its management has previously declined to comment on an ongoing legal action. A sale of the Kuwaiti creditor’s position to debt funds could help overcome the impasse in the process, the sources said. A number of distressed debt buyers had emerged to potentially buy the Kuwaiti creditor’s claim, two sources said, but they said PIFSS was not willing to sell. Cerberus, which manages assets totaling more than $30 billion, specializes in investments in distressed assets. The U.S. company has not responded to Reuters requests for comment. Abraaj is facing an investigation by some investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s lending arm over how the firm used some of their money in its $1 billion healthcare fund. Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar and Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Edmund Blair Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-06T21:23:00.000+03:00|Consortium including Dalmore Capital buys UK's Cory Riverside Energy|LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - A consortium including infrastructure investor Dalmore Capital has agreed to buy UK recycling company Cory Riverside Energy from investors including Strategic Value Partners, for an undisclosed sum. Dalmore teamed up with Fiera Infrastructure, Semperian PPP Investment Partners and Swiss Life Asset Managers to buy the company from SVP and other owners including EQT Credit, Commerzbank and others, a statement on Wednesday said. The deal valued Cory at just over 1.5 billion pounds ($2.01 billion), a source familiar with the matter said, with investors who participated in a 350 million pounds restructuring in 2015 making more than 850 million pounds in profit. ($1 = 0.7453 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Huw Jones) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|1
2018-06-06T21:34:00.000+03:00|Platform Specialty in talks to sell agrochemicals unit to Wilmcote - WSJ|June 6, 2018 / 6:35 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Platform Specialty in talks to sell agrochemicals unit to Wilmcote - WSJ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read June 6 (Reuters) - Platform Specialty Products Corp is in advanced talks to sell its agrochemicals business to London-based Wilmcote Holdings Plc for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on.wsj.com/2JiL3Ze on Wednesday. If the deal proceeds, the WSJ said, it would offer Platform a way to achieve its goal of splitting its two divisions into separate companies, each with a defined focus and improved balance sheet, as it aims to boost an underperforming stock. Assuming a deal is reached, the transaction could be announced this month, the newspaper said, citing sources. Platform and Wilmcote were not immediately available for comment. A deal with Wilmcote would be worth about $4 billion, including debt, according to the WSJ. (Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-06T21:34:00.000+03:00|Platform Specialty in talks to sell agrochemicals unit to Wilmcote - WSJ|(Reuters) - Platform Specialty Products Corp ( PAH.N ) is in advanced talks to sell its agrochemicals business to London-based Wilmcote Holdings Plc ( WCH.L ) for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. If the deal proceeds, the WSJ said, it would offer Platform a way to achieve its goal of splitting its two divisions into separate companies, each with a defined focus and improved balance sheet, as it aims to boost an underperforming stock. Assuming a deal is reached, the transaction could be announced this month, the newspaper said, citing sources. Platform and Wilmcote were not immediately available for comment. A deal with Wilmcote would be worth about $4 billion, including debt, according to the WSJ. Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-06T21:41:00.000+03:00|Platform Specialty in talks to sell agrochemicals unit to Wilmcote - WSJ|June 6, 2018 / 6:46 PM / a few seconds ago Platform Specialty in talks to sell agrochemicals unit to Wilmcote: WSJ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Platform Specialty Products Corp ( PAH.N ) is in advanced talks to sell its agrochemicals business to London-based Wilmcote Holdings Plc ( WCH.L ) for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. If the deal proceeds, the WSJ said, it would offer Platform a way to achieve its goal of splitting its two divisions into separate companies, each with a defined focus and improved balance sheet, as it aims to boost an underperforming stock. Assuming a deal is reached, the transaction could be announced this month, the newspaper said, citing sources. Platform and Wilmcote were not immediately available for comment. A deal with Wilmcote would be worth about $4 billion, including debt, according to the WSJ. Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-06T22:02:00.000+03:00|Australia's Wesfarmers wary on deals after failed British hardware foray|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd ( WES.AX ) is wary of dealmaking and is instead focused on existing businesses, its managing director said on Thursday, after a disastrous foray into British hardware. FILE PHOTO - A closed down Homebase store is seen in Ashford, south east England May 1, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo The retail-focused firm is in the midst of its biggest portfolio reshuffle in years, having also sold a coalmine and announced plans to spin off its Coles supermarket chain. That has spurred speculation of a bold new play from its new managing director, Rob Scott, who took on the role last November. Citi analysts estimate the company war chest could be as large as A$12 billion ($9 billion). But Scott said the company would need to see a “very compelling” opportunity before making a significant investment. “When it comes to allocating big licks of capital, particularly in new businesses, new acquisitions, what I’m reinforcing is that that’s not the main game, it’s the icing on the cake,” he told investors at a strategy day in Sydney. “We will explore it if we feel it delivers superior returns to our shareholders, if not we will return the capital.” Last month Wesfarmers walked away from British home improvement chain Homebase, selling it for a nominal 1 pound just two years after buying it, ending an embarrassing offshore adventure that cost it $1 billion. Shares in Wesfarmers rose 0.9 percent higher to A$46.08, near the top of the A$36.60 to A$46.95 range the stock has traded in for five years. The broader market was up 0.4 percent. “What could lift them out [of that range] would be a significant acquisition that investors are pleased by,” said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist at stockbroker CMC Markets. “Until they have a target, we won’t hear much, but the fact that it is holding up so well, I would suggest, indicates shareholder confidence.” Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-06T22:46:00.000+03:00|CP Rail deal will give workers 9 percent raise over 4 years -union|MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd conductors and locomotive engineers will get a 9 percent salary hike over four years as part of a tentative agreement reached last week with the Teamsters, a union spokesman said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: A CP Rail train rolls across the prairies into the rocky mountains of near Canmore, Alberta, April 28, 2017. Picture taken April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo The agreement, which must first be ratified by members to go into effect this year, would give the 3,000 workers an increase of 2 percent for the first three years and 3 percent during the last year, Teamsters Canada spokesman Chris Monette told Reuters by phone. The agreement replaces the workers’ last contract which expired at the end of 2017. CP could not be immediately reached for comment. Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Marguerita Choy Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-06T23:23:00.000+03:00|TREASURIES-U.S. yields rise on worries ECB buying fewer bonds|"* ECB Praet's remarks kindle concerns about ECB bond taper * U.S. trade gap shrinks to 7-month low in April * Heavy corporate bond calendar weighs on Treasuries By Richard Leong NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday with the 10-year yield hitting a 1-1/2 week high on worries that the European Central Bank would end the expansion of its massive bond purchase program later this year. Jitters that the ECB would buy fewer bonds triggered a broad sell-off in German Bunds and other European government debt, which spilled over to the Treasuries sector, analysts said. Political turmoil in Italy and Spain in recent days has spurred speculation ECB policy-makers may back away from winding down their 2.55 trillion euro ($3 trillion) program in September. Comments from ECB chief economist Peter Praet on Wednesday undercut that notion by suggesting the central bank is encouraged with the rise in inflation, which would allow a tapering of bond purchases. ECB policy-makers are scheduled to meet on Thursday, June 14. ""Bunds were the leading the sell-off,"" said John Canavan, market strategist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in New York. Praet's comments ""pulled forward the ECB move in some people's mind."" At 10:58 a.m. (1458 GMT), the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was up more than 4 basis points at 2.963 percent after touching a 1-1/2 week high, while two-year yields increased about 3 basis points to 2.520 percent. The 10-year German Bund yield climbed nearly 10 basis points to 0.465 percent, while Italian 10-year yields jumped almost 16 basis points to 2.916 percent, Reuters data showed. News that the U.S. trade deficit fell to a seven-month low in April strengthened views that the Federal Reserve would raise short-term interest rates at least twice more this year, adding upward pressure on yields. Interest rates futures implied traders saw a 94 percent chance the U.S. central bank would raise overnight borrowing costs by a quarter point to 1.75-2.00 percent next Wednesday, CME Group's FedWatch program showed. Moreover, a heavy supply of corporate bonds this week has spurred sales of lower-yielding Treasuries, analysts said. So far this week, companies raised about $26 billion in the investment-grade bond market, according to IFR, a unit of Thomson Reuters. June 6 Wednesday 10:59AM New York / 1459 GMT Price US T BONDS SEP8 142-17/32 -30/32 10YR TNotes SEP8 119-92/256 -11/32 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 1.915 1.951 0.003 Six-month bills 2.0825 2.1339 0.008 Two-year note 99-246/256 2.5202 0.028 Three-year note 99-238/256 2.6497 0.031 Five-year note 99-192/256 2.8041 0.044 Seven-year note 99-188/256 2.9173 0.047 10-year note 99-56/256 2.9662 0.047 30-year bond 100-12/256 3.1225 0.047 YIELD CURVE Last (bps) Net Change (bps) 10-year vs 2-year yield 44.40 1.20 30-year vs 5-year yield 31.70 0.35 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 26.25 -0.75 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 22.00 -0.50 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 13.25 -0.50 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap 5.50 -0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -8.50 -0.50 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. "|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-06T23:39:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-CP Rail deal will give workers 9 pct raise over 4 years -union|June 6, 2018 / 8:41 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago UPDATE 1-CP Rail deal will give workers 9 pct raise over 4 years -union Reuters Staff (Adds details about contract) By Allison Lampert MONTREAL, June 6 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd conductors and locomotive engineers will get a 9 percent salary hike over four years as part of a tentative agreement reached last week with the Teamsters, a union spokesman said on Wednesday. The agreement, which must first be ratified by members to go into effect this year, would give the 3,000 workers an increase of 2 percent for the first three years and 3 percent during the last year, Teamsters Canada spokesman Chris Monette told Reuters by phone. The collective agreement replaces the workers’ last contract which expired at the end of 2017. Calgary-based CP could not be immediately reached for comment about the new contract details revealed on Wednesday. Canada’s second-largest railroad operator reached the tentative agreement with the union on May 30, ending a strike that threw industries dependent on its transportation services into disarray. The strike came at a time of tight rail capacity in Canada, with CP and rival Canadian National Railway facing strong demand for shipments of grain, potash and other commodities. The company, which employs 12,500 workers, is a leading shipper of grain, crude oil and frac sand in North America. CP workers had been asking for more predictable schedules to combat crew fatigue in an industry where workers are largely on-call. Monette said workers will now “have improved scheduling” because they will be able to book three 48 hours periods off a month, where they will not be on call, up from two right now. Monette said the union has not yet “finalized the timeline” for when the ratification vote will take place. (Reporting By Allison Lampert Editing by Marguerita Choy)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-06T23:40:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Schlumberger, Halliburton ready bids for Petrobras output sharing deal|RIO DE JANEIRO/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Schlumberger NV and Halliburton Co are preparing offers for an onshore production sharing deal with Brazil’s state-controlled Petrobras, two sources said, a first for oil services firms in the Latin American country. FILE PHOTO: Tanks of Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company are seen in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File photo Another source said General Electric Co’s unit Baker Hughes is also studying a potential bid for the tender, launched by Petrobras in May. A deal would represent a novel way for the debt-laden oil company to boost output from mature fields without losing control or risking capital, by partnering with one of the world’s largest oil service providers. Such a deal would also allow oil services companies to put to use expensive equipment idled for years during the downturn in Brazil’s oil industry, hammered by low oil prices and a massive corruption scandal at Petrobras. South America’s largest producer has attracted billions of dollars of investment from the world’s top oil firms to develop prolific deep water oilfields. The tender, or invitation to bid, was addressed to the world’s three top oil services companies, the three people said. The firms would compete by promising to boost production from the Potiguar basin’s waning Canto do Amaro field, where production began in 1986, and offering a bigger share of output to Petrobras, they added. Under the 15-year contract, the winner would provide capital to drill new wells in the area located in the coastal state of Rio Grande do Norte in northern Brazil, two people said. Bids are due this month, but at least one of the companies has asked for an extension, a person said. Talks to reach such a deal were more than a year in the making, 10 people said. Spokespeople for Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Halliburton and Petrobras declined to comment. Production sharing deals are usually made by oil producers rather than oil service firms. Oilfield service companies engaging in production-sharing activities can be seen as competing with customers, and also expose themselves to more risk from swings in oil prices. BOOSTING OUTPUT The May tender was not Petrobras’s only bid to boost output from mature fields. Last year, Norway’s Equinor, formerly Statoil, paid up to $2.9 billion for a 25 percent stake in Petrobras’s Roncador, one of Brazil’s largest oilfields in the Campos basin. But Potiguar basin limited output would be unlikely to draw interest from such oil majors. Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield service firm, has used similar deal structures elsewhere through its production management group, in some cases financing projects in exchange for full service rights and a share of profits. This has taken the firm away from its traditional oil service business model. The firm’s production management unit has had varying degrees of success buying stakes in oil fields and in production sharing models. On at least one deal in the U.S. shale patch, it had to write off millions of dollars in losses, and it has also faced payment issues for a project in Ecuador. Schlumberger executives have said this year that the firm was slowing project approval for the group. Clinching such a deal would, however, represent a bigger milestone for Halliburton and GE’s Baker Hughes, which have not typically taken stakes in customer projects. Still, Baker Hughes last year announced a deal with Twinza Oil Limited to provide a range of services for the development of an offshore gas field in Papua New Guinea, and provide a credit line to fund appraisal of the field. And Halliburton signed a fee-per-barrel deal in Mexico’s Chicontepec basin five years ago. Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Christian Plumb and Susan Thomas Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/aerospace-and-defense|0
2018-06-07T00:02:00.000+03:00|Australia's Fortescue Metals Group buys 15 percent of Atlas Iron|(Reuters) - Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group ( FMG.AX ) said on Thursday it has built up a 19.9 percent interest in small iron ore miner Atlas Iron Ltd ( AGO.AX ), giving it a large enough stake to block a takeover of Atlas by Mineral Resources Ltd ( MIN.AX ). FILE PHOTO: The logo of Fortescue Metals Group adorns their headquarters in Perth, Australia, November 11, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo Fortescue, the world’s No. 4 iron ore miner, said it would not support Mineral Resources’ A$280 million ($214 million) takeover of Atlas announced in April on the current deal terms, but said it reserved the right to do so. Mineral Resources said at the time that the amalgamation of its existing Pilbara iron ore assets with those of Atlas would lead to greater synergies and economies of scale, helping to drive down costs. “We hold the view this makes it more difficult, but not impossible, for the proposed scheme ... to pass at a shareholder vote,” said Foster Stockbroking said in a report. The vote would need 75 percent approval from Atlas shareholders to pass. Fortescue will be looking for more access to capacity at Port Headland on Australia’s northwest coast, given its proposed Eliwana project is set to ramp up to 30 million tonnes a year as soon as the second half of 2019, Foster Stockbroking said. “We view FMG’s increased stake as a blocking one, and not as a counter bid per se for AGO, at this stage,” it said. Fortescue reserving the right to support the scheme may indicate it wants to negotiate with Mineral Deposits on sharing Port Headland infrastructure, the brokerage said. Fortescue said it had agreed to buy a 15 percent stake in Atlas at A$0.04 per share, or A$55.7 million. Including a cash settled swap, it will hold 19.9 percent in Atlas. Atlas Iron shares closed down 12.5 percent on Thursday, erasing the year’s small 3.5 percent gains. The broader market was up 0.5 percent. Reporting by Melanie Burton in MELBOURNE and Aaron Saldanha in BENGALURU; Editing by Richard Pullin and Tom Hogue  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T00:12:00.000+03:00|J&J to sell sterilization unit to Fortive for $2.7 billion|June 6, 2018 / 8:51 PM / Updated an hour ago J&J gets $2.7 billion offer for sterilization unit from Fortive Tamara Mathias 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) said on Wednesday that Fortive Corp ( FTV.N ) had offered to buy its medical sterilization unit for about $2.7 billion in cash. FILE PHOTO: A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo J&J has been reviewing its portfolio of businesses and had recently said it was nearing a sale of its diabetes device unit for $2.1 billion. At the same time, the company has been building its drug pipeline and last year acquired Swiss biotech company Actelion in a $30 billion deal. “J&J over the last couple of months has focused on managing its portfolio a little bit better to offset some of the slower growing assets,” Raymond James analyst Dennis Ding said. “I would think by offloading this business it should improve overall organic growth.” J&J’s advanced sterilization products (ASP) business, part of its Ethicon Inc unit, generated revenue of about $775 million in 2017. The drugmaker said it had 120 days to accept the offer and, if it does so, the deal would be expected to close no later than early 2019. For Fortive, which makes industrial products, the deal would provide an entry into the “strong growth” medical sterilization and disinfection market. The company said it planned to finance the acquisition through debt or equity and with available cash. It also expects the deal to add to adjusted earnings in the first full year after the transaction. Everett, Washington-based Fortive was spun off in 2016 from Danaher Corp ( DHR.N ), which develops technology for dental, life sciences and diagnostics industries. Goldman Sachs & Co LLC was the financial adviser to Fortive, while Sidley Austin LLP and WilmerHale served as legal advisers. Reporting by Tamara Mathias and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-07T01:18:00.000+03:00|Japan investors sell most foreign bonds in 14 months amid Italy turmoil|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese investors last week sold more foreign bonds than for any week since April 2017, thanks to political turmoil that caused Italian bonds to tumble and triggered volatility in global sovereign debt markets. FILE PHOTO: A Japan Yen note is seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration Data from the Ministry of Finance data on Thursday showed Japanese investors sold a net 1.665 trillion yen ($15.12 billion) of foreign bonds from May 27-June 2, the most for a week since early April 2017. To view a graphic on Weekly capital flow data, click: reut.rs/2JoedSM Fear of Italy potentially heading towards snap elections, seen as a de facto referendum on the country’s position in the euro, shook Italian bonds last week and sent its 10-year government bond yield IT10YT=TWEB spiking to three-year highs. The ministry data does not show the country of origin of the assets bought and sold by investors, but analysts believe that the amount of Italian bonds sold last week by Japanese investors was relatively small. “Italy did end up triggering selling of bonds in the broader markets. But Japanese investors only hold a small amount of Italian bonds and the selling was centered more on other debt like Treasuries which saw their yields decline sharply,” said Shuichi Ohsaki, fixed-income strategist at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities. The 10-year Treasury note yield US10YT=RR, which in mid-May surged above 3 percent for the first time since 2014, had sunk to 2.759 percent at month’s end as the euro zone turmoil fueled demand for safe havens such as U.S. bonds and German bunds. The German 10-year bund yield DE10YT=RR plunged to a 13-month low late in May. “A number of investors were likely staring at losses on their Treasury holdings when the U.S. yield climbed to 3 percent, so the sudden drop in yields provided a chance to reverse some losses or even lock in profits,” Ohsaki said. He added that Japanese investors may not rush back into foreign bonds after their heavy selling amid concerns that European Central Bank could signal its desire to wind down massive stimulus as early as next week. On Wednesday, ECB chief economist Peter Praet said the central bank is increasingly confident that inflation is rising back toward its target and next week will debate whether to gradually unwind bond purchases. Editing by Richard Borsuk  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T01:40:00.000+03:00|Icahn buys small stake in drugmaker Allergan -sources|(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has acquired a small stake in Allergan Plc ( AGN.N ) at a time when the drugmaker is under pressure from other activist shareholders, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S. on February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Icahn’s intentions are not clear, though he has been a longtime supporter of Allergan Chief Executive Brent Saunders, pushing for him in 2013 to become CEO of Forest Laboratories, which through mergers and acquisitions became Allergan. Icahn, who had invested in Allergan in the past, believes the company’s stock is undervalued, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Icahn did not respond to a request for comment. “We welcome all investments in the company,” Allergan spokeswoman Amy Rose said. Bloomberg News first reported on Icahn’s new position in Allergan. Earlier this week, investment firms Appaloosa LP and Senator Investment Group LP wrote a letter to Allergan’s board of directors urging it not to pursue transformative acquisitions but instead shake up its board, including separating the roles of CEO and chairman, which are both held by Saunders. The letter came shortly after Allergan said it had concluded a strategic review it launched earlier this year. As a result of the review, Allergan is exploring divesting its women’s health and infectious disease businesses, opting to focus on areas where it has strong leadership positions. It also said it would pursue a more disciplined capital allocation strategy. Icahn last showed his support for Saunders in 2016, when he unveiled a stake in Allergan after its planned $150 billion sale to Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) was shot down by changes the U.S. government implemented to the rules on corporate tax inversions. In 2016, Allergan sold its generic drug business to Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $40 billion. In April, Allergan said it was considering an offer for rare disease drug maker Shire Plc ( SHP.L ), only to reverse course after Allergan shares plummeted on the news. It has spent much of the money on stock buybacks, debt reduction and a series of small-to-midsized acquisitions, including medical technology company ZELTIQ Aesthetics Inc and drugmaker Tobira Therapeutics. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Carl O'Donnell in New York; Editing by Richard Chang Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T01:40:00.000+03:00|Sales tax-backed Puerto Rican debt up after new deal over tax revenues|NEW YORK/SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Puerto Rico’s sales tax-backed COFINA debt rallied on Wednesday after court filings revealed a new agreement to settle a long-running dispute with general obligation debt creditors over which group has a valid claim on the tax revenues. The deal was reached among two court-appointed agents who have spent a year litigating over future sales tax revenues. Late on Tuesday, the parties filed a motion in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court announcing the deal and asking for any motions for summary judgments before the court to be held “in abeyance for a period of 60 days” or until Aug. 4. Details of the agreement were not revealed. “I am pleased with the settlement agreement... It is an enormous significant development,” Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who is overseeing Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, said during a hearing on Wednesday. The bondholders, who together own about half of bankrupt Puerto Rico’s $71.5 billion in bonds, have spent years disputing ownership of future sales tax revenues. The U.S. territory declared the largest ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy in May 2017, under the jurisdiction of the special Puerto Rico financial rescue law known as PROMESA. “There is a lot of work that remains to be done. We are not at the finish line yet,” Luc Despins, a lawyer for the unsecured creditors committee told the court, adding details would be taken back to various creditor groups. Representatives of the financial oversight board created by PROMESA told the court they also supported the 60-day extension. Senior COFINA debt carrying a 5.25 percent coupon maturing in 2057 rose 7 points in price to bid 75 74529JAR6=MSRB, according to Thomson Reuters data. The 6 percent subordinated COFINA bonds maturing 2042 rose 5 points in price to bid 35.50 74529JHN8=MSRB. Puerto Rico’s constitutionally backed benchmark 8 percent GO bond maturing in 2035 rose 0.995 points in price to bid 41.875 74514LE86=MSRB. (For graphic on Puerto Rico debt - GO and COFINA, click reut.rs/2LtDNq3 ) “Because these bonds are in default, the market is assessing the settlement value based upon the agreement revealed in last night’s court filing. The effect has been favorable even for the GO bonds,” said Daniel Berger, senior market strategist Municipal Market Data, a Thomson Reuters company. In May, the oversight board snubbed a proposed settlement by two bondholder groups that would have split the revenues roughly evenly, calling it “completely unaffordable.” Shaun Burgess, a portfolio manager at Sarasota, Florida-based Cumberland Advisors, noted the original deal gave senior COFINA bondholders a 93 to 95 cent on the dollar recovery value versus about 42 cents for the junior COFINA debt. “If some new deal has been reached you may be closer to that mark, which would fuel the move we have seen today. But without details it is very hard to know what the real driver is, so this move feels very speculative,” Burgess said. Puerto Rico owes about $18 billion each in general obligation and COFINA debt. The dispute between the two sets of creditors is the central legal dispute in the island’s bankruptcy. Reporting By Daniel Bases in New York and Luis Valentin Ortiz in San Juan; Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-07T01:57:00.000+03:00|House Republicans work to craft Dreamer immigration deal|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Wednesday worked to come up with legislation protecting “Dreamer” immigrants from deportation while meeting President Donald Trump’s demands for tougher border security and possibly new limits on legal migration. FILE PHOTO: Protesters calling for an immigration bill addressing the so-called Dreamers, young adults who were brought to the United States as children, walk through the Hart Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts With a group of centrist Republicans threatening to force debate this month on a series of immigration bills that could result in one that most in the party do not like, the pressure was on House Speaker Paul Ryan to craft a measure that would avoid brewing revolts from opposing wings. “We’re still not in a situation where there is an agreement,” said Representative Mark Meadows after a nearly two-hour meeting of Republican lawmakers in Ryan’s office. Meadows heads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which demands construction of a wall along the southwest border with Mexico and has sought new limits on legal migration. Republican Representative Jim Jordan, another Freedom Caucus leader, said “Heck yes” when asked whether the wall was an important part of the closed-door negotiations. Some Republicans who attended the meeting also said any bill presented to the full House could not provide a “special pathway” to citizenship for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamer immigrants, who are living in the United States after being brought here illegally as children. These immigrants are at the heart of the push in Congress for legislation after Trump last September announced he was ending an Obama-era program - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA - providing them with temporary protection from deportation. FILE PHOTO: Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), House Freedom Caucus Chairman, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Some Republicans attending the meeting with Ryan did not shoot down the possibility that legislation could put others already in the United States illegally onto a citizenship track. There are an estimated 11 million to 12 million of these people. Meanwhile, the group of centrist Republicans attempting to force a House floor debate on immigration edged closer to their goal. Two more lawmakers on Wednesday signed a petition backing the move, against Ryan’s wishes, leaving supporters only three short of the 218 signatures needed. “We are as close as we’ve ever been” to a deal on an immigration bill, Representative Carlos Curbelo, a leader of that effort, told reporters after the meeting. But he noted that a “loose consensus” will have to be presented to all 235 House Republicans for their input on Thursday. Curbelo would not predict whether any bill produced by Republicans would win Democratic support, which would be needed to win passage in the Senate. Reporting By Richard Cowan and Amanda Becker; Editing by Bill Berkrot Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/domesticNews/|0
2018-06-07T01:57:00.000+03:00|Corrected: Stung by compliance costs, Asia banks urge watchdogs to approve more fintech|HONG KONG (Reuters) - Regulators need to do more to allow new technologies that could help in the fight against money laundering, as financial institutions are struggling with ever-growing compliance costs, an Asia finance industry group said on Thursday. Banks have been slapped with vast sums for not preventing money being laundered through their accounts, and the call for action comes after Commonwealth Bank of Australia last week was fined a record US$530 million for breaching money laundering and terror financing laws. The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said it would like to see greater use of new technologies in “know your client” or KYC anti-money laundering checks, as they promise to drastically cut costs. “Fintech solutions, facial recognition for example, hold out great hope for the industry, but haven’t been embraced as quickly as some might like by regulators around the world,” said Mark Austen, chief executive of the association. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said last year they were exploring whether KYC utilities, central repositories of data that banks can tap to save duplication when adding new clients, should be set up. But the process is taking time amid concerns about who would have liability when data was wrong. Grappling with compliance and the costs involved has become a onerous task for most banks and brokerages. In 2017, the number of employees working on KYC compliance in financial institutions reached an average of 307, jumping from just 68 a year earlier, the association said in its report. HSBC alone spent $3 billion last year on compliance. It tripled its compliance headcount between 2013 and 2017 and now employs 8,600 compliance staff. “Whether KYC and AML (anti-money laundering) headcount will fall comes down to whether the institutions can automate - there are a lot trying to as it means they can cut costs and probably actually improve compliance,” Austen added. The association called on its members to help regulators understand developments and harmonise standards as different KYC rules across the region raised costs for cross-border financial groups, who were also interpreting those rules in different ways. “It would be good if financial institutions in Asia at least all thought about the issues around KYC in a similar way,” said William Hallatt, partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which contributed to the report. “When we talk about the longer term solution of technology, consistency is necessary.” Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Jennifer Hughes and Edwina Gibbs  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T01:58:00.000+03:00|Stung by compliance costs, Asia banks urge watchdogs to approve more fintech|June 7, 2018 / 3:58 AM / Updated an hour ago Stung by compliance costs, Asia banks urge watchdogs to approve more fintech Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (This version of June 7’s story has been refiled to correct the name to William Hallatt, from Will Haslet, in the penultimate paragraph.) People cross Des Voeux Road Central at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Alun John HONG KONG (Reuters) - Regulators need to do more to allow new technologies that could help in the fight against money laundering, as financial institutions are struggling with ever-growing compliance costs, an Asia finance industry group said on Thursday. Banks have been slapped with vast sums for not preventing money being laundered through their accounts, and the call for action comes after Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ) last week was fined a record US$530 million for breaching money laundering and terror financing laws. The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said it would like to see greater use of new technologies in “know your client” or KYC anti-money laundering checks, as they promise to drastically cut costs. “Fintech solutions, facial recognition for example, hold out great hope for the industry, but haven’t been embraced as quickly as some might like by regulators around the world,” said Mark Austen, chief executive of the association. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said last year they were exploring whether KYC utilities, central repositories of data that banks can tap to save duplication when adding new clients, should be set up. But the process is taking time amid concerns about who would have liability when data was wrong. Grappling with compliance and the costs involved has become a onerous task for most banks and brokerages. In 2017, the number of employees working on KYC compliance in financial institutions reached an average of 307, jumping from just 68 a year earlier, the association said in its report. HSBC ( HSBA.L ) alone spent $3 billion last year on compliance. It tripled its compliance headcount between 2013 and 2017 and now employs 8,600 compliance staff. “Whether KYC and AML (anti-money laundering) headcount will fall comes down to whether the institutions can automate - there are a lot trying to as it means they can cut costs and probably actually improve compliance,” Austen added. The association called on its members to help regulators understand developments and harmonize standards as different KYC rules across the region raised costs for cross-border financial groups, who were also interpreting those rules in different ways. “It would be good if financial institutions in Asia at least all thought about the issues around KYC in a similar way,” said William Hallatt, partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which contributed to the report. “When we talk about the longer term solution of technology, consistency is necessary.” Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Jennifer Hughes and Edwina Gibbs|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T03:44:00.000+03:00|Iraq-Iran Kirkuk oil swap deal has not started - Iraqi minister|BASRA, Iraq, June 6 (Reuters) - Iraq and Iran have not begun exchanging crude oil due to technical reasons, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday, contradicting Iran’s oil ministry news agency. Iraq agreed last year to ship crude from the northern Kirkuk oil field to Iran for use in its refineries after which Iran would deliver the same amount of oil to Iraq’s southern ports. Iran’s oil ministry news agency SHANA said on Sunday the exchange had started. Luaibi, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an oil agreement signing ceremony in Basra, also said OPEC would meet on June 23 but a production increase was not on the table as the market is stable and prices are good. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Mark Potter) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-07T03:48:00.000+03:00|CP Rail deal will give workers 9 percent raise over 4 years -union|MONTREAL, June 6 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd conductors and locomotive engineers will get a 9 percent salary hike over four years as part of a tentative agreement reached last week with the Teamsters, a union spokesman said on Wednesday. The agreement, which must first be ratified by members to go into effect this year, would give the 3,000 workers an increase of 2 percent for the first three years and 3 percent during the last year, Teamsters Canada spokesman Chris Monette told Reuters by phone. The agreement replaces the workers’ last contract which expired at the end of 2017. CP could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting By Allison Lampert Editing by Marguerita Choy) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-07T04:01:00.000+03:00|Iraq-Iran Kirkuk oil swap deal has not started - Iraqi minister|BAGHDAD, June 6 (Reuters) - Iraq and Iran have not begun exchanging crude oil due to technical reasons, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday, contradicting Iran’s oil ministry news agency. Iraq agreed last year to ship crude from the northern Kirkuk oil field to Iran for use in its refineries after which Iran would deliver the same amount of oil to Iraq’s southern ports. Iran’s oil ministry news agency SHANA said on Sunday the exchange had started. Luaibi, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an oil agreement signing ceremony in Basra, also said OPEC would meet on June 22 but a production increase was not on the table as the market is stable and prices are good. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Mark Potter) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-07T04:21:00.000+03:00|Iraq-Iran Kirkuk oil swap deal has not started: Iraqi minister|BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq and Iran have not yet begun exchanging crude oil, for technical reasons, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday, contradicting Iran’s oil ministry news agency. FILE PHOTO: Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi speaks during news conference at the ministry of oil in Baghdad, Iraq November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani /File Photo Iraq agreed last year to ship crude from the northern Kirkuk oil field to Iran for use in its refineries, after which Iran would deliver the same amount of oil to Iraq’s southern ports. Iran’s oil ministry news agency SHANA said on Sunday the exchange had started. “So far due to logistical issues the agreement’s implementation has been delayed. We are now in the final stages of implementation. As soon as the issues are resolved we will implement,” Luaibi told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil agreement signing ceremony in Basra. He also said a production increase was not on the agenda of an OPEC meeting this month. “We have a meeting on June 22 and we will see how things are going but so far things are going well and the market is stable,” he said in response to a question about pressure from the United States to increase production. “The most important thing for us in the OPEC meeting is oil market stability and not just prices. So far we have proposed nothing and nothing is on the table.” Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-07T06:01:00.000+03:00|New Hampshire, hospitals strike $1.7 billion reimbursement deal|The state of New Hampshire has agreed to pay an estimated $1.7 billion in reimbursements to settle a dispute with 26 hospitals over how they were compensated for treating high numbers of indigent patients, the hospitals’ lawyers said. The deal was announced on Tuesday by the New Hampshire Hospital Association and lawyers for the hospitals, who will receive a seven-year commitment from the state to reimburse them for treating patients who cannot pay for the care they receive. To read the full story on WestlawNext Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2Jky0m7 Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180606.html|0
2018-06-07T06:39:00.000+03:00|Greece optimistic for June debt relief deal: official|PARIS (Reuters) - Greece is optimistic about prospects for a debt relief deal in June that will help make its post-bailout return to bond markets credible, along with EU monitoring and a cash buffer, a Greek government official said. FILE PHOTO: A Greek national flag flutters on the roof of a building in Athens, Greece February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Greece was in talks in Paris on Thursday with its euro zone and IMF lenders about hammering out later this month a debt relief deal. “We are weeks away from the completion of the bailout programme. There is no doubt that the programme will be completed successfully, that is, Greece will be able to regain sustainable and lasting market access beyond 2018 and 2019,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said Athens was aware of the risk of contagion from jitters in the Italian bond market, where difficulties in forming a coalition government have driven yields higher. “It’s important to design a strategy that will enable us to decouple Greek bonds from what is going on in the Italian bond market,” the official said. Greece is therefore counting on a three-pronged strategy of a cash buffer, post-bailout surveillance by the European Commission and debt relief to plot a credible return to markets. Athens aims to bring the cash buffer to up to 20 billion euros ($23.7 billion), which would permit it to abstain from tapping markets for more than two years if issuing conditions are not favourable, the official said. Greece will commit to sticking to existing fiscal and reform targets, though no new conditions would be imposed, the official said. The return of profits that euro zone central banks made on Greek government bonds to Athens would hinge on meeting those targets. The official said he was optimistic loans will be extended under the debt relief deal euro zone finance ministers aim to agree at a June 21 meeting. One of the objectives of that meeting is to secure IMF backing for the euro zone debt relief offer for Greece to boost its credibility with markets and bring investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout on Aug. 20. Though the IMF would prefer debt relief measures going beyond the euro zone’s offer, the official said that in the government “in our own analysis we don’t need it”. The official also said that a French proposal to link repayments to economic growth was “on the table” but depended on how long existing loans are extended in the debt relief package. With growth strong and revenues coming in better than expected, the government now sees room to ease taxes and increase spending on things like child poverty, the official said. The government sees room to cut taxes by about 700 million euros next year. In 2019, 1.2 billion euros is expected to be available with 75 percent going to tax cuts and 25 percent to higher spending. By 2022, the extra money is seen reaching 3.5 billion euros with half going to taxes and half to spending. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Toby Chopra  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T06:41:00.000+03:00|Greece optimistic for June debt relief deal: official|PARIS (Reuters) - Greece is optimistic about prospects for a debt relief deal this month that will make its post-bailout return to bond markets credible along with EU monitoring and a cash buffer, a Greek government official said. FILE PHOTO: A Greek national flag flutters on the roof of a building in Athens, Greece February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Greece is in talks with its euro zone and IMF lenders on Thursday in Paris about hammering out later this month a debt relief deal. Athens aims to bring a cash buffer to up to 20 billion euros ($23.65 billion), which would permit Greece to abstain from tapping markets for more than two years if issuing conditions are not favorable, the official said. Greece will commit to sticking to existing fiscal and reform targets though no new conditions would be imposed, the official said. Return of profits euro zone central banks made on Greek government bonds to Greece would hinge on meeting those targets. The official said he was optimistic loans will be extended under the debt relief deal euro zone finance ministers aim to agree on June 21. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Michel Rose Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T06:54:00.000+03:00|Stung by compliance costs, Asia banks urge watchdogs to approve more fintech|(This version of June 7’s story has been refiled to correct the name to William Hallatt, from Will Haslet, in the penultimate paragraph.) People cross Des Voeux Road Central at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Alun John HONG KONG (Reuters) - Regulators need to do more to allow new technologies that could help in the fight against money laundering, as financial institutions are struggling with ever-growing compliance costs, an Asia finance industry group said on Thursday. Banks have been slapped with vast sums for not preventing money being laundered through their accounts, and the call for action comes after Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ) last week was fined a record US$530 million for breaching money laundering and terror financing laws. The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said it would like to see greater use of new technologies in “know your client” or KYC anti-money laundering checks, as they promise to drastically cut costs. “Fintech solutions, facial recognition for example, hold out great hope for the industry, but haven’t been embraced as quickly as some might like by regulators around the world,” said Mark Austen, chief executive of the association. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said last year they were exploring whether KYC utilities, central repositories of data that banks can tap to save duplication when adding new clients, should be set up. But the process is taking time amid concerns about who would have liability when data was wrong. Grappling with compliance and the costs involved has become a onerous task for most banks and brokerages. In 2017, the number of employees working on KYC compliance in financial institutions reached an average of 307, jumping from just 68 a year earlier, the association said in its report. HSBC ( HSBA.L ) alone spent $3 billion last year on compliance. It tripled its compliance headcount between 2013 and 2017 and now employs 8,600 compliance staff. “Whether KYC and AML (anti-money laundering) headcount will fall comes down to whether the institutions can automate - there are a lot trying to as it means they can cut costs and probably actually improve compliance,” Austen added. The association called on its members to help regulators understand developments and harmonize standards as different KYC rules across the region raised costs for cross-border financial groups, who were also interpreting those rules in different ways. “It would be good if financial institutions in Asia at least all thought about the issues around KYC in a similar way,” said William Hallatt, partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which contributed to the report. “When we talk about the longer term solution of technology, consistency is necessary.” Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Jennifer Hughes and Edwina Gibbs  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-07T06:59:00.000+03:00|Stung by compliance costs, Asia banks urge watchdogs to approve more fintech|June 7, 2018 / 4:00 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Stung by compliance costs, Asia banks urge watchdogs to approve more fintech Alun John 3 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - Regulators need to do more to allow new technologies that could help in the fight against money laundering, as financial institutions are struggling with ever-growing compliance costs, an Asia finance industry group said on Thursday. Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) Chief Executive Mark Austen speaks following a Reuters China Summit interview in Hong Kong October 28, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip (CHINA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) Banks have been slapped with vast sums for not preventing money being laundered through their accounts, and the call for action comes after Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ) last week was fined a record US$530 million (394.79 million pounds) for breaching money laundering and terror financing laws. The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said it would like to see greater use of new technologies in “know your client” or KYC anti-money laundering checks, as they promise to drastically cut costs. “Fintech solutions, facial recognition for example, hold out great hope for the industry, but haven’t been embraced as quickly as some might like by regulators around the world,” said Mark Austen, chief executive of the association. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said last year they were exploring whether KYC utilities, central repositories of data that banks can tap to save duplication when adding new clients, should be set up. But the process is taking time amid concerns about who would have liability when data was wrong. Grappling with compliance and the costs involved has become a onerous task for most banks and brokerages. In 2017, the number of employees working on KYC compliance in financial institutions reached an average of 307, jumping from just 68 a year earlier, the association said in its report. HSBC ( HSBA.L ) alone spent $3 billion last year on compliance. It tripled its compliance headcount between 2013 and 2017 and now employs 8,600 compliance staff. “Whether KYC and AML (anti-money laundering) headcount will fall comes down to whether the institutions can automate - there are a lot trying to as it means they can cut costs and probably actually improve compliance,” Austen added. The association called on its members to help regulators understand developments and harmonise standards as different KYC rules across the region raised costs for cross-border financial groups, who were also interpreting those rules in different ways. “It would be good if financial institutions in Asia at least all thought about the issues around KYC in a similar way,” said Will Haslet, partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which contributed to the report. “When we talk about the longer term solution of technology, consistency is necessary.” Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Jennifer Hughes and Edwina Gibbs|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-07T07:03:00.000+03:00|Fujifilm could abandon Xerox merger if no progress for six months|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp ( 4901.T ) said on Thursday it may have no choice but to abandon a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp ( XRX.N ) if there is no progress in talks with the U.S. firm’s new board for about half a year. FILE PHOTO: Fujifilm Holdings' logos are pictured ahead of its news conference in Tokyo, Japan January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon “I don’t have a specific deadline in mind, but it should normally be from several months to six months. If we have nothing by then, it can’t be helped,” Chief Executive Shigetaka Komori said in his first media session since the U.S. photocopier company scrapped their merger deal. A spokeswoman later clarified this meant Fujifilm could end merger talks. Xerox could not be reached for comment. The two companies in January agreed to a complex deal that would merge Xerox into their 56-year-old Asia joint venture Fuji Xerox, which Fujifilm would control with a 50.1 percent stake. But Xerox scrapped the deal last month in a settlement with activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who opposed the takeover by Fujifilm saying it undervalued the U.S. company. Fuji Xerox - 75 percent owned by Fujifilm - can grow on its own, but Xerox depends on Fuji Xerox to produce almost all of the U.S. firm’s copier machines, Komori said. Under the current joint venture agreement, Fuji Xerox is focused on Asia Pacific - the region with the highest growth potential - while Xerox covers the rest. The terms on regional coverage expire in March 2021. Icahn and Deason, who together own about 15 percent of Xerox, had said they would consider an all-cash bid of at least $40 per share. Fujifilm said the previously agreed deal valued Xerox at $8.6 billion, or an 8 percent premium over the average Xerox stock price of $29.7 per share over a month before the deal was announced. But the value would be higher if benefits from an estimated $1.7 billion worth of synergies is included. Komori said Fujifilm is “not opposed to considering any new proposal from the new Xerox board if it’s beneficial for both firms,” but the $40 per share sought by Icahn and Deason is “too high”. The typical premium offered in buyout deals is 30 percent but that would not be possible in this case, Komori said. “We could procure funds, but many shareholders are demanding that money should be used on healthcare businesses,” he said. The photocopier business accounts for nearly half of Fujifilm’s revenue and operating profit. The firm is seeking growth, however, through buying businesses involved in regenerative medicine and pharmaceuticals. Reporting by Makiko YamazakiEditing by Christopher Cushing  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-07T07:17:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Kuwaiti creditor refuses Abraaj deal, could prompt provisional liquidation -sources|* Abraaj says engaging with one creditor over debt deal * Failure on debt deal could undermine asset sale -sources * Cerberus in talks on investment management unit -sources (Adds statement from Kuwaiti fund, Quote: s, updates dateline) By Tom Arnold and Davide Barbuscia DUBAI, June 7 (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti creditor’s refusal to agree to a debt settlement with Abraaj could push the private equity firm to seek provisional liquidation, three sources close to the matter told Reuters. Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) has refused to join other creditors in a debt freeze, complicating Abraaj’s efforts to sell its investment management business to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management, the sources said. PIFSS said on Thursday that it filed a petition in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for the liquidation and winding up of Abraaj Holdings, which is registered there. A legal notice published in UAE daily The National, said the fund is seeking to appoint FTI consulting as liquidators. In an email to Reuters on Wednesday Abraaj said it is aware of the Cayman Islands filing and that was engaging closely with the creditor to reach a deal “for the benefit of all parties”. The Middle East and Africa’s largest private equity firm, which bankers estimate has debt of about $1 billion, is grappling with allegations that it misused investor money. It has denied any wrongdoing. Two sources said Abraaj had begun preparing for provisional liquidation, a process in which a court appoints a liquidator on a provisional basis before a hearing or ruling on a petition to wind up a company. Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey, said it was focused on concluding a standstill agreement with creditors, which it said the “vast majority” backed. Sources said this was needed to enable the sale of its investment management business to Cerberus. Sources said earlier this week that PIFSS, an unsecured lender, was given a 48-hour deadline to agree. HARD WORKING PEOPLE “The firm is continuing its discussions on the sale of the fund management business and talks are at an advanced stage,” Abraaj said on Wednesday, adding that it was working with potential acquirers and other stakeholders. PIFSS said on Thursday that the decision to file the Cayman Islands petition follows a default on a $100 million loan it had made to Abraaj Holdings, which was due on June 3. “The funds invested in Abraaj Holdings belong to the hard working people of Kuwait who have entrusted us to invest their monthly savings so that they can retire comfortably when they decide to,” Hamad Mishari Al Humaidhi, PIFSS director general, said in a statement. “We have a legal, fiduciary, and an ethical responsibility to see this case through till the end and return these funds.” The next hearing in the process is scheduled for June 29. The Kuwaiti institution said it bought a stake in Abraaj in 2006 and by 2013 its investments in and loans to the firm totalled around $732 million. The fund has since got $346 million back. Two sources told Reuters that a sale of the Kuwaiti creditor’s position to debt funds could help to overcome the impasse, adding that several distressed debt buyers have shown interest, but PIFSS is not willing to sell. Another source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Kuwaiti petition complicates Abraaj’s efforts to implement an organised restructuring, which would be more beneficial to PIFSS than a legal winding down process. Cerberus, a U.S. fund managing assets totalling more than $30 billion and specialising in investments in distressed assets, has not responded to requests for comment. (Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous/David Goodman/Alexander Smith)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T07:18:00.000+03:00|CEE MARKETS-Dollar selling boosts CEE fx, Serbian cbank seen holding fire|"* Dollar retreat helps CEE currencies regain ground * Serbian central bank not seen cutting rates further * Bond yield rise on ECB comments may dent demand at Budapest sale * Czech central banker comments support crown By Sandor Peto and Aleksandar Vasovic BUDAPEST/BELGRADE, June 7 (Reuters) - The dollar's retreat on global markets helped Central European currencies firm on Thursday, including the dinar as Serbia's central bank was expected not to cut interest rates further at its meeting. Regional government bonds weakened, tracking euro zone peers hit by comments from European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet, who said on Wednesday that inflation was on its way back to target and that the ECB might reveal more about the end of its asset buying programme next week. Less stimulus from the ECB could be negative for assets in Central European markets which are tightly integrated with the euro zone. But regional currencies still firmed. ""This is because their strengthening is about the dollar rather than the euro, as the dollar has retreated in all crosses quite significantly in the past day,"" one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. ""That is not a surprise after its recent surge ... investors adjust positions waiting for new information from the Fed's (Federal Reserve) and the ECB's meetings next week."" Reuters surveys showed on Thursday that the dollar's dominance could soon fade, while Central Europe's most liquid units could strengthen over the next year. The region's main currencies hit multi-month lows against the euro last month as investors rearranged positions amid a global dollar rally. They have recouped only part of the ground since then, and further gains are possible if the dollar does not resume its rally, market participants said. The forint and the crown firmed 0.2 percent by 0822 GMT, with the Czech unit also helped by comments from central bankers suggesting an earlier-than-expected interest rate hike to fight inflation. The zloty gained 0.1 percent even though the Polish central bank reaffirmed its loose policy stance on Wednesday. Hungary's central bank has also pledged to keep rates at record lows for years. Hungary's 10-year bond yield tracked Bunds, rising 8 basis points from Wednesday's fixing to 3.1 percent, while Poland's corresponding yield rose 3 basis points to 3.26 percent. The yield rise may cut demand at the Hungarian government's bi-weekly bond auction on Thursday, one Budapest-based trader said. The dinar firmed 0.1 percent to 117.94 against the euro. Serbian inflation is running well below target, but the central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates further at Thursday's meeting, to spare its ammunition for the future, analysts said. The dinar has shrugged off the dollar rally which hit the region's more liquid units, and the Serbian central bank has had to prevent a further rise using rate cuts and repeated market interventions in the past months. The dinar has been strengthened by sound exports, remittances from over a million Serbs working in the European Union and optimism over the economy which has fuelled demand for dinar-denominated government papers. CEE SNAPSHOT AT MARKETS 1022 CET CURRENCI ES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2018 Czech <EURCZK= 25.6370 25.6790 +0.16% -0.37% crown > Hungary <EURHUF= 317.5000 318.1300 +0.20% -2.07% forint > Polish <EURPLN= 4.2600 4.2630 +0.07% -1.96% zloty > Romanian <EURRON= 4.6565 4.6560 -0.01% +0.50% leu > Croatian <EURHRK= 7.3860 7.3870 +0.01% +0.60% kuna > Serbian <EURRSD= 117.9400 118.0500 +0.09% +0.47% dinar > Note: calculated from 1800 CET daily change Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2018 Prague 1079.20 1073.270 +0.55% +0.10% 0 Budapest 37474.68 37157.46 +0.85% -4.83% Warsaw 2281.68 2256.67 +1.11% -7.29% Bucharest 8257.39 8289.31 -0.39% +6.50% Ljubljana <.SBITOP 906.27 907.58 -0.14% +12.39% > Zagreb 1823.89 1829.77 -0.32% -1.03% Belgrade <.BELEX1 743.15 743.97 -0.11% -2.19% 5> Sofia 632.25 634.18 -0.30% -6.67% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year <CZ2YT=R 1.0050 -0.0220 +163bps -2bps R> 5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.4730 -0.0080 +161bps -2bps R> 10-year <CZ10YT= 2.0530 0.0240 +156bps -1bps RR> Poland 2-year <PL2YT=R 1.5940 0.0130 +222bps +2bps R> 5-year <PL5YT=R 2.4660 0.0260 +261bps +1bps R> 10-year <PL10YT= 3.2670 0.0280 +277bps +0bps RR> FORWARD RATE AGREEMEN T 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech Rep 1.15 1.32 1.43 0.91 <PRIBOR= > Hungary 0.21 0.28 0.37 0.12 Poland 1.76 1.77 1.81 1.70 Note: FRA are for ask prices Quote: s"|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T07:19:00.000+03:00|CEE MARKETS-Dollar selling boosts CEE fx, Serbian cbank seen holding fire|"* Dollar retreat helps CEE currencies regain ground * Serbian central bank not seen cutting rates further * Bond yield rise on ECB comments may dent demand at Budapest sale * Czech central banker comments support crown By Sandor Peto and Aleksandar Vasovic BUDAPEST/BELGRADE, June 7 (Reuters) - The dollar's retreat on global markets helped Central European currencies firm on Thursday, including the dinar as Serbia's central bank was expected not to cut interest rates further at its meeting. Regional government bonds weakened, tracking euro zone peers hit by comments from European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet, who said on Wednesday that inflation was on its way back to target and that the ECB might reveal more about the end of its asset buying programme next week. Less stimulus from the ECB could be negative for assets in Central European markets which are tightly integrated with the euro zone. But regional currencies still firmed. ""This is because their strengthening is about the dollar rather than the euro, as the dollar has retreated in all crosses quite significantly in the past day,"" one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. ""That is not a surprise after its recent surge ... investors adjust positions waiting for new information from the Fed's (Federal Reserve) and the ECB's meetings next week."" Reuters surveys showed on Thursday that the dollar's dominance could soon fade, while Central Europe's most liquid units could strengthen over the next year. The region's main currencies hit multi-month lows against the euro last month as investors rearranged positions amid a global dollar rally. They have recouped only part of the ground since then, and further gains are possible if the dollar does not resume its rally, market participants said. The forint and the crown firmed 0.2 percent by 0822 GMT, with the Czech unit also helped by comments from central bankers suggesting an earlier-than-expected interest rate hike to fight inflation. The zloty gained 0.1 percent even though the Polish central bank reaffirmed its loose policy stance on Wednesday. Hungary's central bank has also pledged to keep rates at record lows for years. Hungary's 10-year bond yield tracked Bunds, rising 8 basis points from Wednesday's fixing to 3.1 percent, while Poland's corresponding yield rose 3 basis points to 3.26 percent. The yield rise may cut demand at the Hungarian government's bi-weekly bond auction on Thursday, one Budapest-based trader said. The dinar firmed 0.1 percent to 117.94 against the euro. Serbian inflation is running well below target, but the central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates further at Thursday's meeting, to spare its ammunition for the future, analysts said. The dinar has shrugged off the dollar rally which hit the region's more liquid units, and the Serbian central bank has had to prevent a further rise using rate cuts and repeated market interventions in the past months. The dinar has been strengthened by sound exports, remittances from over a million Serbs working in the European Union and optimism over the economy which has fuelled demand for dinar-denominated government papers. CEE SNAPSHOT AT MARKETS 1022 CET CURRENCI ES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2018 Czech <EURCZK= 25.6370 25.6790 +0.16% -0.37% crown > Hungary <EURHUF= 317.5000 318.1300 +0.20% -2.07% forint > Polish <EURPLN= 4.2600 4.2630 +0.07% -1.96% zloty > Romanian <EURRON= 4.6565 4.6560 -0.01% +0.50% leu > Croatian <EURHRK= 7.3860 7.3870 +0.01% +0.60% kuna > Serbian <EURRSD= 117.9400 118.0500 +0.09% +0.47% dinar > Note: calculated from 1800 CET daily change Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2018 Prague 1079.20 1073.270 +0.55% +0.10% 0 Budapest 37474.68 37157.46 +0.85% -4.83% Warsaw 2281.68 2256.67 +1.11% -7.29% Bucharest 8257.39 8289.31 -0.39% +6.50% Ljubljana <.SBITOP 906.27 907.58 -0.14% +12.39% > Zagreb 1823.89 1829.77 -0.32% -1.03% Belgrade <.BELEX1 743.15 743.97 -0.11% -2.19% 5> Sofia 632.25 634.18 -0.30% -6.67% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year <CZ2YT=R 1.0050 -0.0220 +163bps -2bps R> 5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.4730 -0.0080 +161bps -2bps R> 10-year <CZ10YT= 2.0530 0.0240 +156bps -1bps RR> Poland 2-year <PL2YT=R 1.5940 0.0130 +222bps +2bps R> 5-year <PL5YT=R 2.4660 0.0260 +261bps +1bps R> 10-year <PL10YT= 3.2670 0.0280 +277bps +0bps RR> FORWARD RATE AGREEMEN T 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech Rep 1.15 1.32 1.43 0.91 <PRIBOR= > Hungary 0.21 0.28 0.37 0.12 Poland 1.76 1.77 1.81 1.70 Note: FRA are for ask prices Quote: s"|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T08:00:00.000+03:00|Australia's Wesfarmers wary on deals after failed British hardware foray|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd ( WES.AX ) is wary of dealmaking and is instead focused on existing businesses, its managing director said on Thursday, after a disastrous foray into British hardware. FILE PHOTO - A closed down Homebase store is seen in Ashford, south east England May 1, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo The retail-focused firm is in the midst of its biggest portfolio reshuffle in years, having also sold a coalmine and announced plans to spin off its Coles supermarket chain. That has spurred speculation of a bold new play from its new managing director, Rob Scott, who took on the role last November. Citi analysts estimate the company war chest could be as large as A$12 billion ($9 billion). But Scott said the company would need to see a “very compelling” opportunity before making a significant investment. “When it comes to allocating big licks of capital, particularly in new businesses, new acquisitions, what I’m reinforcing is that that’s not the main game, it’s the icing on the cake,” he told investors at a strategy day in Sydney. “We will explore it if we feel it delivers superior returns to our shareholders, if not we will return the capital.” Last month Wesfarmers walked away from British home improvement chain Homebase, selling it for a nominal 1 pound just two years after buying it, ending an embarrassing offshore adventure that cost it $1 billion. Shares in Wesfarmers rose 0.9 percent higher to A$46.08, near the top of the A$36.60 to A$46.95 range the stock has traded in for five years. The broader market was up 0.4 percent. “What could lift them out [of that range] would be a significant acquisition that investors are pleased by,” said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist at stockbroker CMC Markets. “Until they have a target, we won’t hear much, but the fact that it is holding up so well, I would suggest, indicates shareholder confidence.” Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T08:34:00.000+03:00|Ukraine's parliament approves law to create anti-corruption court|KIEV, June 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine’s parliament passed a law on Thursday to create a special court to try corruption cases, a key step for the government to secure more Western aid needed to tame a rising sovereign debt burden. The law is meant to ringfence court decisions from political pressure or bribery in Ukraine, where entrenched corruption remains a deterrent to foreign investors. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Gareth Jones)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T08:38:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Piraeus Bank nears deal to sell 400 million euros of sour consumer loans|ATHENS (Reuters) - Piraeus Bank, Greece’s largest lender by assets, is close to clinching a deal to sell 400 million euros ($473 million) of soured, unsecured consumer loans as part of efforts to shrink its bad-debt load, bankers close to the deal told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Piraeus Bank is seen outside a branch in Athens March 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis/File Photo The project, dubbed Arctos, involves a pool of about 220,000 non-performing credit card and consumer loans with a gross book value of 400 million euros on the bank’s books. Nearly half of the loans are in the 1,000-5,000 euro range. “Negotiations are in the final phase with three shortlisted buyers - APS Holdings, Intrum and EOS,” one of the bankers said, declining to be named. Piraeus Bank declined to comment. APS, EOS and Intrum were not immediately available to comment. Greek banks have been under pressure from regulators to tackle their soured loans which are clogging up their balance sheets and holding back lending. The total of non-performing exposures (NPEs), which include credit past due for more than 90 days (NPLs) plus restructured loans likely to turn sour, amounted to 92.4 billion euros at end-March or 48.5 percent of their total loans. Banks have agreed with regulators to reduce their mountain of non-performing credit to 64.6 billion euros by the end of 2019. Piraeus, saddled with 30.8 billion euros of these bad loans, is working on shrinking its stock of soured debt by 34 percent to 20.3 billion euros by the end of next year. One of the potential buyers, Swedish credit management company Intrum ( INTRUM.ST ), was involved in a similar deal last year, acquiring a pool of unsecured, non-performing consumer loans from Greek lender Eurobank ( EURBr.AT ). The price tag on that deal was about 3 percent of the face value of the loans. “The range of offers to buy the Arctos portfolio is expected around 4.5 to 5.5 percent of the principal of the loans,” the other banker said. “The deal will be capital accretive for Piraeus.” That would mean the bank will likely chalk up some profit on the deal as it has already fully provisioned for losses on these loans. Ernst and Young is advising Piraeus on the sale. Active in distressed debt markets, APS Holdings has been buying, servicing and advising on NPL portfolios since 2004. EOS Group specializes in receivables management and debt collection. Last month, Piraeus, which is 26.2 percent owned by Greece’s bank rescue fund HFSF, clinched a similar deal, agreeing to unload a 1.45 billion euro portfolio of secured, non-performing business loans to Bain Capital. That sale, dubbed the Amoebaproject, fetched 432 million euros. Piraeus, which was advised by UBS on the transaction, said the deal boosted its equity capital by 20 basis points. Bain Capital Credit is a credit specialist with about $37 billion in assets under management, investing across credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and non-performing loans. ($1 = 0.8460 euros) Reporting by George Georgiopoulos. Editing by Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T08:38:00.000+03:00|SocGen CEO dismisses talk of pending cross-border mergers in Europe|PARIS (Reuters) - Cross-border bank mergers in Europe at the moment offer insufficient synergies between retail markets, Societe Generale Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO - Frederic Oudea, Chief Executive Officer of French bank Societe Generale, arrives to attend a state dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer France’s third-biggest bank recently denied rumors about a potential tie-up with Italy’s Unicredit ( CRDI.MI ). “I don’t believe at all that we are currently in a situation to see cross-border mergers because the environment still is not that clear,” Oudea told a Goldman Sachs investor conference on Thursday, according to a transcript of his speech by Thomson Reuters StreetEvents. “I don’t believe today you have very significant synergies between retail activities in different markets,” Oudea said. “And really, I think, it’s not the priority. For us, the priority is to deliver our business plan”. Oudea reiterated, however, that there were too many banks in Europe and that over the long term a reshuffle was needed. In the current environment, he said, domestic retail consolidation was the most obvious option. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; editing by Leigh Thomas and Jason Neely  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T08:48:00.000+03:00|GCL-Poly to sell 51 percent stake in unit to Shanghai Electric|HONG KONG (Reuters) - GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd ( 3800.HK ) said it would sell a 51 percent stake in a photovoltaic developing unit to industrial equipment maker Shanghai Electric Group Co Ltd ( 601727.SS ) at a price yet to be determined. GCL-Poly said late on Wednesday its 100 percent equity interest in the unit, Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development Co Ltd, was expected to be valued at up to 25 billion yuan ($3.9 billion). Shanghai Electric would settle the deal 50 percent in cash and 50 percent by the issue of A shares, the company added. Trading in shares of GCL-Poly, which was suspended on Wednesday, will resume on Thursday. Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Stephen Coates Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T09:03:00.000+03:00|Evergreen Parent raises AmTrust buy-out deal value to $2.95 billion|(Reuters) - U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc ( AFSI.O ) agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for a sweetened deal value of $2.95 billion, that helped secure the support of dissenting shareholder Carl Icahn. FILE PHOTO: Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S., February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Evergreen Parent, an entity formed to acquire AmTrust, will pay $14.75 per share in cash, up from its earlier offer of $13.50 per share, the insurer said. The entity includes AmTrust’s founding family, CEO and private equity funds. Billionaire investor Icahn, who owns a 9.4 percent stake in the company, had earlier opposed the deal to take AmTrust private citing valuation concerns. “By raising the merger price to $14.75, over $100 million of incremental value has been created for public stockholders,” Icahn said. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T09:53:00.000+03:00|Premier League clubs agree new deal on sharing international TV revenue|MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Premier League clubs have struck a new deal over sharing revenue from international broadcast deals which will see any future increases divided according to league position. FILE PHOTO: The Premier League trophy is displayed before Manchester City's match against Huddersfield Town at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain May 6, 2018. REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo Currently all the revenue from international deals is shared equally among the 20 clubs but the bigger clubs had been pushing for a greater share of the money, arguing they are the main attraction for foreign viewers. Under the new agreement, which comes in place from the 2019/20 season, the clubs will continue to share current levels of revenue equally but any increase will be distributed based on final league position. Under the new formula, the maximum a club can receive is 1.8 times the amount received by the lowest earning club, the Premier League said in a statement. Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said the league’s revenue sharing remained the most equitable in Europe but it was time to amend an agreement dating back to 1992.”Back then the clubs put in place a revenue sharing system that was right for the time and has served the league well, enabling them to invest and improve in all areas,” he said. “This new agreement will continue that trend with a subtle change that further incentivises on-pitch achievement and maintains the Premier League’s position as the most equitable in Europe in terms of sharing central revenues. The revenue from British rights is not distributed entirely on an equal basis with clubs given more according to league position and also the amount of times they feature on live broadcasts. The Premier League said on Thursday that Amazon.com had won a share of UK rights for the first time, meaning it will show 20 games per season from 2019-20. Sky and BT have retained most of the domestic rights. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Keith Weir  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T10:13:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 7 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1200 GMT on Thursday: ** Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp said it may have no choice but to abandon a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp if there is no progress in talks with the U.S. firm’s new board for about half a year. ** U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for a sweetened deal value of $2.95 billion, that helped secure the support of dissenting shareholder Carl Icahn. ** Botswana Diamonds wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said. ** Ford plans to close its Blanquefort gearbox plant in southwestern France if no buyer can be found for the site, which employs 900 workers, the U.S. carmaker said. ** Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd have won a bid to acquire a 49-percent stake in a subsidiary of state-owned China Railway Corp, Geely said. ** Vienna Insurance Group said it bought German peer Gothaer Finanzholding AG’s Polish unit. ** Russia’s second-largest lender VTB is interested in buying smaller rival Vozrozhdenie bank and could complete a deal in the third quarter, VTB Chief Executive Officer Andrei Kostin said. ** Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday that Fortive Corp had offered to buy its medical sterilization unit for about $2.7 billion in cash. ** Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has acquired a small stake in Allergan Plc at a time when the drugmaker is under pressure from other activist shareholders, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. ** Delivery Hero, a German online food delivery platform, is open for possible takeovers, Chief Executive Officer Niklas Ostberg said. ** Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group said it has built up a 19.9 percent interest in small iron ore miner Atlas Iron Ltd, giving it a large enough stake to block a takeover of Atlas by Mineral Resources Ltd. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-07T10:23:00.000+03:00|U.S. reaches deal with China's ZTE: Commerce Secretary|(Reuters) - China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker ZTE secured a lifeline from the Trump administration on Thursday after agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine and overhaul leadership in a deal that will lift a ban on its doing business with U.S. suppliers. The agreement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks trade concessions from China and negotiations continue to avoid a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Shares of U.S. companies that do business with ZTE rose on Thursday. U.S. lawmakers immediately attacked the agreement, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE poses a national security threat. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban on buying U.S. parts was imposed in April after the company lied about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the deal, ZTE will change its board and management within 30 days, pay a $1 billion fine and put an additional $400 million in escrow. The deal also includes a new 10-year ban that is suspended unless there are future violations. “We will closely monitor ZTE’s behavior,” Ross said in a statement. “If they commit any further violations, we would again be able to deny them access to U.S. technology as well as collect the additional $400 million in escrow.” Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department, along with the fine and other terms. Ross said the penalty is the largest the Commerce Department has ever levied. The agreement does not take effect until ZTE pays the $1 billion fine and puts the $400 million in escrow, which is likely to take at least a few days, according to a person familiar with the matter. ZTE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Under the new agreement, ZTE must also retain a compliance team selected by the Commerce Department for 10 years. The company already has a U.S. court-appointed monitor. #VeryBadDeal U.S. senators said they plan legislation to roll back the agreement. Related Coverage U.S. lawmakers scramble for way to block Trump deal with China's ZTE “I assure you with 100 percent confidence that #ZTE is a much greater national security threat than steel from Argentina or Europe,” Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted with the hashtag #VeryBadDeal. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that ZTE poses a “significant” national security threat. “ZTE is a state-controlled telecommunications company that poses significant espionage risks, which this agreement appears to do little to address,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the agreement “a 180-degree turn away from the president’s promise to be tough on China.” Eric Hirschhorn, a former U.S. undersecretary of commerce who had been involved in the ZTE case, said “the government is merely setting a price for doing business instead of giving them the punishment they deserve.” A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) The probe found that ZTE bought U.S. components and incorporated them into its equipment, illegally shipped them to Iran, and devised elaborate schemes to hide the illegal activity. The company pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Texas last year. Shenzhen-based ZTE has a subsidiary in Richardson, Texas. ZTE’s survival has been a topic of discussion in high-level U.S.-China trade talks. Trump tweeted on May 14 that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working together to help ZTE “get back into business, fast.” Trump met with his trade advisers on Tuesday to discuss China’s offer to import an extra $70 billion of American goods over a year in hopes of defusing a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies. One of the U.S. companies caught in the international crossfire is Qualcomm Inc, whose products account for the lion’s share of chips inside ZTE smartphones. Separately, Qualcomm is trying to get Chinese approval for its pending $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV. A sign of ZTE Corp is pictured at its service centre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steven Mollenkopf said on Thursday he hoped the ZTE agreement would pave the way for the NXP approval. Shares of Qualcomm Inc rose as much as 4.7 percent while NXP jumped as much as 6.7 percent. ZTE supplier Oclaro Inc was up 1.3 percent while Acacia Communications Inc was down 0.6 percent. Oclaro got 18 percent of its business from ZTE last year, while 30 percent of Acacia’s total revenue was from ZTE. Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Eric Walsh, Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T10:23:00.000+03:00|U.S. reaches deal with China's ZTE - Commerce Secretary|(Reuters) - China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker ZTE secured a lifeline from the Trump administration on Thursday after agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine and overhaul leadership in a deal that will lift a ban on its doing business with U.S. suppliers. The agreement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks trade concessions from China and negotiations continue to avoid a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Shares of U.S. companies that do business with ZTE rose on Thursday. U.S. lawmakers immediately attacked the agreement, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE poses a national security threat. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban on buying U.S. parts was imposed in April after the company lied about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the deal, ZTE will change its board and management within 30 days, pay a $1 billion fine and put an additional $400 million in escrow. The deal also includes a new 10-year ban that is suspended unless there are future violations. “We will closely monitor ZTE’s behavior,” Ross said in a statement. “If they commit any further violations, we would again be able to deny them access to U.S. technology as well as collect the additional $400 million in escrow.” Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department, along with the fine and other terms. Ross said the penalty is the largest the Commerce Department has ever levied. The agreement does not take effect until ZTE pays the $1 billion fine and puts the $400 million in escrow, which is likely to take at least a few days, according to a person familiar with the matter. ZTE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Under the new agreement, ZTE must also retain a compliance team selected by the Commerce Department for 10 years. The company already has a U.S. court-appointed monitor. #VeryBadDeal U.S. senators said they plan legislation to roll back the agreement. “I assure you with 100 percent confidence that #ZTE is a much greater national security threat than steel from Argentina or Europe,” Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted with the hashtag #VeryBadDeal. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that ZTE poses a “significant” national security threat. “ZTE is a state-controlled telecommunications company that poses significant espionage risks, which this agreement appears to do little to address,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the agreement “a 180-degree turn away from the president’s promise to be tough on China.” Eric Hirschhorn, a former U.S. undersecretary of commerce who had been involved in the ZTE case, said “the government is merely setting a price for doing business instead of giving them the punishment they deserve.” A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. The probe found that ZTE bought U.S. components and incorporated them into its equipment, illegally shipped them to Iran, and devised elaborate schemes to hide the illegal activity. The company pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Texas last year. Shenzhen-based ZTE has a subsidiary in Richardson, Texas. ZTE’s survival has been a topic of discussion in high-level U.S.-China trade talks. Trump tweeted on May 14 that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working together to help ZTE “get back into business, fast.” Trump met with his trade advisers on Tuesday to discuss China’s offer to import an extra $70 billion of American goods over a year in hopes of defusing a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies. One of the U.S. companies caught in the international crossfire is Qualcomm Inc, whose products account for the lion’s share of chips inside ZTE smartphones. Separately, Qualcomm is trying to get Chinese approval for its pending $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV. Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steven Mollenkopf said on Thursday he hoped the ZTE agreement would pave the way for the NXP approval. Shares of Qualcomm Inc rose as much as 4.7 percent while NXP jumped as much as 6.7 percent. ZTE supplier Oclaro Inc was up 1.3 percent while Acacia Communications Inc was down 0.6 percent. Oclaro got 18 percent of its business from ZTE last year, while 30 percent of Acacia’s total revenue was from ZTE. FILE PHOTO - Visitors pass in front of the Chinese telecoms equipment group ZTE Corp booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Picture Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Eric Walsh, Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe  |https://in.reuters.com/news/technology|0
2018-06-07T10:40:00.000+03:00|UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021|LONDON (Reuters) - The British government stuck to its proposal to offer the European Union a “backstop” plan that is time-limited but said it expected a future deal to be in place by the end of December 2021, a document said on Thursday. Britain said the so-called backstop plan, to be put in place if there is any delay in implementing a Brexit deal, should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom rather than just Northern Ireland as suggested by the EU. Reporting by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T11:08:00.000+03:00|Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Whitbread ( WTB.L ) is open to selling its Costa coffee chain or Premier Inn hotels and abandoning its original plan to spin-off the coffee business, according to a new executive pay scheme circulated to shareholders. FILE PHOTO: A Cappuccino stands on a table at a branch of Costa coffee in Manchester northern England, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo The FTSE 100 company said in April it planned to demerge Costa into a separately listed company within two years to “provide shareholders with an investment in two distinct, focused and market-leading businesses”. But a new remuneration policy sent to shareholders this month, and published on Whitbread’s website, shows the firm is willing to consider a sale of either Costa or the hotel chain to another company instead. Whitbread, led by CEO Alison Brittain, is overhauling its executive pay scheme to account for its new objective of separating its two main divisions. The scheme now includes a so-called performance share plan linked to delivering that goal. Executives will be rewarding for separating the divisions “whether that is implemented by way of demerger or by way of the sale to a third party of all or substantially all of one or other of those businesses”, the circular to shareholders says. That differs from Whitbread’s April announcement, when the company referred only to a Costa demerger. A Whitbread spokeswoman declined to comment. The company, which has a market value of about 7.7 billion pounds ($10.3 billion), pledged to separate its main businesses after coming under pressure to do so from U.S. activist investors Elliott and Sachem Head. Selling Premier Inn or Costa rather than a demerger could put Whitbread’s bosses at loggerheads with Elliott, which believes splitting them into two listed entities will allow the stock market to properly value the businesses, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in April. Elliott is Whitbread’s single biggest shareholder with a stake of more 6 percent. The activist hedge fund has already said a Costa demerger should be completed within six months, rather than the two-year timeframe eyed by Whitbread. The spin-off plan has spurred speculation Whitbread could attract a bidder for either the coffee chain or hotel division. JAB Holdings, the investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has been buying up coffee businesses in recent years and bankers had considered it a possible suitor for Costa. But JAB snapped up British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger for about 1.5 billion pounds last month in a move some bankers now think makes it less likely to consider an offer for Costa. Whitbread’s new pay policy will be put to an investor vote at a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 27. It will require the support of investors owning more than 50 percent of the company’s shares. Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T11:13:00.000+03:00|UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021|June 7, 2018 / 1:13 PM / a few seconds ago UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021 LONDON (Reuters) - The British government stuck to its proposal to offer the European Union a “backstop” plan that is time-limited but said it expected a future deal to be in place by the end of December 2021, a document said on Thursday. EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Britain said the so-called backstop plan, to be put in place if there is any delay in implementing a Brexit deal, should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom rather than just Northern Ireland as suggested by the EU. Reporting by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison|https://in.reuters.com/finance|0
2018-06-07T11:16:00.000+03:00|Japan investors sell most foreign bonds in 14 months amid Italy turmoil|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese investors last week sold more foreign bonds than for any week since April 2017, thanks to political turmoil that caused Italian bonds to tumble and triggered volatility in global sovereign debt markets. FILE PHOTO: A Japan Yen note is seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration Data from the Ministry of Finance data on Thursday showed Japanese investors sold a net 1.665 trillion yen ($15.12 billion) of foreign bonds from May 27-June 2, the most for a week since early April 2017. To view a graphic on Weekly capital flow data, click: reut.rs/2JoedSM Fear of Italy potentially heading towards snap elections, seen as a de facto referendum on the country’s position in the euro, shook Italian bonds last week and sent its 10-year government bond yield IT10YT=TWEB spiking to three-year highs. The ministry data does not show the country of origin of the assets bought and sold by investors, but analysts believe that the amount of Italian bonds sold last week by Japanese investors was relatively small. “Italy did end up triggering selling of bonds in the broader markets. But Japanese investors only hold a small amount of Italian bonds and the selling was centered more on other debt like Treasuries which saw their yields decline sharply,” said Shuichi Ohsaki, fixed-income strategist at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities. The 10-year Treasury note yield US10YT=RR, which in mid-May surged above 3 percent for the first time since 2014, had sunk to 2.759 percent at month’s end as the euro zone turmoil fueled demand for safe havens such as U.S. bonds and German bunds. The German 10-year bund yield DE10YT=RR plunged to a 13-month low late in May. “A number of investors were likely staring at losses on their Treasury holdings when the U.S. yield climbed to 3 percent, so the sudden drop in yields provided a chance to reverse some losses or even lock in profits,” Ohsaki said. He added that Japanese investors may not rush back into foreign bonds after their heavy selling amid concerns that European Central Bank could signal its desire to wind down massive stimulus as early as next week. On Wednesday, ECB chief economist Peter Praet said the central bank is increasingly confident that inflation is rising back toward its target and next week will debate whether to gradually unwind bond purchases. Editing by Richard Borsuk Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T12:00:00.000+03:00|Fujifilm says may walk away from Xerox merger deal if no progress for six months|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp ( 4901.T ) said on Thursday it may have no choice but to abandon a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp ( XRX.N ) if there is no progress in talks with the U.S. firm’s new board for about half a year. FILE PHOTO: Fujifilm Holdings' logos are pictured ahead of its news conference in Tokyo, Japan January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon “I don’t have a specific deadline in mind, but it should normally be from several months to six months. If we have nothing by then, it can’t be helped,” Chief Executive Shigetaka Komori said in his first media session since the U.S. photocopier company scrapped their merger deal. A spokeswoman later clarified this meant Fujifilm could end merger talks. Xerox could not be reached for comment. The two companies in January agreed to a complex deal that would merge Xerox into their 56-year-old Asia joint venture Fuji Xerox, which Fujifilm would control with a 50.1 percent stake. But Xerox scrapped the deal last month in a settlement with activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who opposed the takeover by Fujifilm saying it undervalued the U.S. company. Fuji Xerox - 75 percent owned by Fujifilm - can grow on its own, but Xerox depends on Fuji Xerox to produce almost all of the U.S. firm’s copier machines, Komori said. Under the current joint venture agreement, Fuji Xerox is focused on Asia Pacific - the region with the highest growth potential - while Xerox covers the rest. The terms on regional coverage expire in March 2021. Icahn and Deason, who together own about 15 percent of Xerox, had said they would consider an all-cash bid of at least $40 per share. Fujifilm said the previously agreed deal valued Xerox at $8.6 billion, or an 8 percent premium over the average Xerox stock price of $29.7 per share over a month before the deal was announced. But the value would be higher if benefits from an estimated $1.7 billion worth of synergies is included. Komori said Fujifilm is “not opposed to considering any new proposal from the new Xerox board if it’s beneficial for both firms,” but the $40 per share sought by Icahn and Deason is “too high”. The typical premium offered in buyout deals is 30 percent but that would not be possible in this case, Komori said. “We could procure funds, but many shareholders are demanding that money should be used on healthcare businesses,” he said. The photocopier business accounts for nearly half of Fujifilm’s revenue and operating profit. The firm is seeking growth, however, through buying businesses involved in regenerative medicine and pharmaceuticals. Reporting by Makiko YamazakiEditing by Christopher Cushing  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-07T12:02:00.000+03:00|Fujifilm says may walk away from Xerox merger deal if no progress for six months|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Thursday it may have no choice but to abandon a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp if there is no progress in talks with the U.S. firm’s new board for about half a year. FILE PHOTO: Fujifilm Holdings' logos are pictured ahead of its news conference in Tokyo, Japan January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo “I don’t have a specific deadline in mind, but it should normally be from several months to six months. If we have nothing by then, it can’t be helped,” Chief Executive Shigetaka Komori said in his first media session since the U.S. photocopier company scrapped their merger deal. A spokeswoman later clarified this meant Fujifilm could end merger talks. Xerox could not be reached for comment. The two companies in January agreed to a complex deal that would merge Xerox into their 56-year-old Asia joint venture Fuji Xerox, which Fujifilm would control with a 50.1 percent stake. But Xerox scrapped the deal last month in a settlement with activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who opposed the takeover by Fujifilm saying it undervalued the U.S. company. Fuji Xerox - 75 percent owned by Fujifilm - can grow on its own, but Xerox depends on Fuji Xerox to produce almost all of the U.S. firm’s copier machines, Komori said. Under the current joint venture agreement, Fuji Xerox is focused on Asia Pacific - the region with the highest growth potential - while Xerox covers the rest. The terms on regional coverage expire in March 2021. Icahn and Deason, who together own about 15 percent of Xerox, had said they would consider an all-cash bid of at least $40 per share. Fujifilm said the previously agreed deal valued Xerox at $8.6 billion, or an 8 percent premium over the average Xerox stock price of $29.7 per share over a month before the deal was announced. But the value would be higher if benefits from an estimated $1.7 billion worth of synergies is included. Komori said Fujifilm is “not opposed to considering any new proposal from the new Xerox board if it’s beneficial for both firms,” but the $40 per share sought by Icahn and Deason is “too high”. The typical premium offered in buyout deals is 30 percent but that would not be possible in this case, Komori said. “We could procure funds, but many shareholders are demanding that money should be used on healthcare businesses,” he said. The photocopier business accounts for nearly half of Fujifilm’s revenue and operating profit. The firm is seeking growth, however, through buying businesses involved in regenerative medicine and pharmaceuticals. Reporting by Makiko YamazakiEditing by Christopher Cushing  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-07T12:16:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Kuwaiti creditor refuses Abraaj deal, could prompt provisional liquidation -sources|* Abraaj says engaging with one creditor over debt deal * Failure on debt deal could undermine asset sale -sources * Cerberus in talks on investment management unit -sources (Adds statement from Kuwaiti fund, Quote: s, updates dateline) By Tom Arnold and Davide Barbuscia DUBAI, June 7 (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti creditor’s refusal to agree to a debt settlement with Abraaj could push the private equity firm to seek provisional liquidation, three sources close to the matter told Reuters. Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) has refused to join other creditors in a debt freeze, complicating Abraaj’s efforts to sell its investment management business to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management, the sources said. PIFSS said on Thursday that it filed a petition in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for the liquidation and winding up of Abraaj Holdings, which is registered there. A legal notice published in UAE daily The National, said the fund is seeking to appoint FTI consulting as liquidators. In an email to Reuters on Wednesday Abraaj said it is aware of the Cayman Islands filing and that was engaging closely with the creditor to reach a deal “for the benefit of all parties”. The Middle East and Africa’s largest private equity firm, which bankers estimate has debt of about $1 billion, is grappling with allegations that it misused investor money. It has denied any wrongdoing. Two sources said Abraaj had begun preparing for provisional liquidation, a process in which a court appoints a liquidator on a provisional basis before a hearing or ruling on a petition to wind up a company. Abraaj, which is being advised by Houlihan Lokey, said it was focused on concluding a standstill agreement with creditors, which it said the “vast majority” backed. Sources said this was needed to enable the sale of its investment management business to Cerberus. Sources said earlier this week that PIFSS, an unsecured lender, was given a 48-hour deadline to agree. HARD WORKING PEOPLE “The firm is continuing its discussions on the sale of the fund management business and talks are at an advanced stage,” Abraaj said on Wednesday, adding that it was working with potential acquirers and other stakeholders. PIFSS said on Thursday that the decision to file the Cayman Islands petition follows a default on a $100 million loan it had made to Abraaj Holdings, which was due on June 3. “The funds invested in Abraaj Holdings belong to the hard working people of Kuwait who have entrusted us to invest their monthly savings so that they can retire comfortably when they decide to,” Hamad Mishari Al Humaidhi, PIFSS director general, said in a statement. “We have a legal, fiduciary, and an ethical responsibility to see this case through till the end and return these funds.” The next hearing in the process is scheduled for June 29. The Kuwaiti institution said it bought a stake in Abraaj in 2006 and by 2013 its investments in and loans to the firm totalled around $732 million. The fund has since got $346 million back. Two sources told Reuters that a sale of the Kuwaiti creditor’s position to debt funds could help to overcome the impasse, adding that several distressed debt buyers have shown interest, but PIFSS is not willing to sell. Another source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Kuwaiti petition complicates Abraaj’s efforts to implement an organised restructuring, which would be more beneficial to PIFSS than a legal winding down process. Cerberus, a U.S. fund managing assets totalling more than $30 billion and specialising in investments in distressed assets, has not responded to requests for comment. (Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous/David Goodman/Alexander Smith)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T13:25:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $68 bln in notes, bonds|WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of 3-year and 10-year notes, and 30-year bonds next week, see: 3-year notes: here 10-year notes: here 30-year bonds: here Special announcement for closing times: here Washington economics newsroom  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T13:29:00.000+03:00|UBS declares 'buying time' for emerging market stocks|June 7, 2018 / 10:29 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago UBS declares 'buying time' for emerging market stocks Marc Jones 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss Bank UBS urged clients to pile into emerging market stocks on Thursday, declaring it “buying time” for the asset class despite growing concerns about Latin America’s biggest economy Brazil. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen at the company's headquarters in Zurich, February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann UBS analysts showed a renewed bullishness for Europe, Middle East and Africa by swinging to an ‘overweight’ recommendation on the region all the way from ‘underweight’. Individual upgrades included an ‘overweight’ for central Europe’s biggest economy Poland, and for Mexico where the bank said next month’s election risks were now priced in and the peso looked cheap. Colombia was lifted to ‘neutral’ too. “We remain positive on EM equities based on the UBS macro/market backdrop,” UBS’ equity strategy team said. “We see this as ‘Buying Time’.” However, it did cut Brazil to ‘neutral’ citing a significant deterioration in the local market’s fundamentals, large growth downgrades and widespread political uncertainty ahead of elections there later in the year. Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Helen Reid|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T13:31:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Russia's VTB says could buy Vozrozhdenie bank in Q3|(Adds details, Quote: s, background) ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 7 (Reuters) - Russia’s second-largest lender VTB is interested in buying smaller rival Vozrozhdenie bank and could complete a deal in the third quarter, VTB chief executive Andrei Kostin said on Thursday. Kostin said he had told Russia’s central bank of VTB’s interest in a deal. Vozrozhdenie, which is one of Russia’s top 40 largest banks by assets, was put up for sale by brothers Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev at the central bank’s request, after their main asset, Promsvyazbank, was bailed out last year. VTB has around half the assets of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, and has been trying for years to narrow the gap. Kostin declined to disclose the price VTB is prepared to pay for Vozrozhdenie. “We notified the central bank on June 1st that we are interested in buying the bank ... We are in talks with Bonum Capital as they represent the seller’s interests in the deal,” he told reporters. Sources previously told Reuters that Bonum Capital had struck a deal to buy Vozrozhdenie from the Ananyevs, and that Bonum was representing the interests of Russian businessman and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov. However, the Vedomosti daily newspaper this week Quote: d central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina as saying the central bank had not received documents from Bonum about buying Vozrozhdenie. VTB could also consider buying one or two regional banks to expand the group’s business, Kostin said. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Tatiana Voronova; Writing by Tom Balmforth and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-07T13:37:00.000+03:00|Ukraine's parliament approves law to create anti-corruption court|KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine’s parliament passed a law on Thursday to create a special court to try corruption cases, a key step for the government to secure more Western aid needed to tame a rising sovereign debt burden. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addresses lawmakers after voting on a law to establish an anti-corruption court during a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko But an hour later, lawmakers voted to sack Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk — praised by investors for pushing reforms — after he publicly fell out with the prime minister, potentially casting a cloud over Kiev’s aid negotiations. In its first comments after the vote, the International Monetary Fund said it would assess whether the law guaranteed an independent and trustworthy court, and also expressed concern after Danylyuk’s departure. The new law is meant to ring-fence court decisions from political pressure or bribery in Ukraine, where entrenched corruption remains a deterrent to foreign investors. Trusted international experts will help screen the chosen judges. President Petro Poroshenko called the vote a litmus test for the country’s ability to tackle corruption and, after the law passed, said it was a victory for Ukraine, while Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said it would spur economic growth. “We gave a clear signal to the whole country and international partners that the fight against corruption is intensifying,” Groysman said. But it was not clear whether the law, which has undergone around 2,000 amendments, passed muster with the IMF, which supports Ukraine with a $17.5 billion cash-for-reforms package. “What we’ll be looking to see is that it ensures the establishment of an independent and trustworthy anti-corruption court that meets the expectation of the Ukrainian people,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a briefing. Ukrainian lawmakers said Kiev had brokered a late compromise formula with its foreign backers on how big a veto international experts would have on unsuitable candidates. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attends a parliament session before voting on a law to establish an anti-corruption court, in Kiev, Ukraine June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Not everyone was convinced, and even before the vote a lawmaker even suggested contacting the IMF and the Venice Commission, a watchdog whose advice had been sought, to get live confirmation that the law complied with the IMF. Danylyuk’s ouster comes at a delicate point in the aid negotiations. Even if the IMF ends up being happy with the law, the government has yet to fulfill other conditions such as raising gas prices and it may struggle to stick to the IMF’s budget deficit target of 2.5 percent as elections loom next year. Parliament sacked the finance minister after he made a short speech defending his record and rejecting the characterization of him as a stooge for Ukraine’s creditors. “I am not a defender of interests of international organizations, I defend the interests of Ukraine,” he said. Other MPs and Groysman attacked Danylyuk’s track record in office and his behavior. After being voted out, the minister shook hands or hugged lawmakers as he left. Slideshow (3 Images) ‘RISKS STILL HIGH’ Speaking to reporters later, Danylyuk hoped his successor would not be a political figure who would use the ministry as a piggy bank for the elections. “In reality, the situation in the country is deteriorating and it needs to be recognized,” he said. “The risks are still very high.” The IMF also expressed worries. “We don’t comment on personalities or internal personnel issues. But our staff had expressed concerns about possible changes in the institutional role of the finance ministry,” Rice said. “The finance ministry should retain, in our view, its central and crucial role in fiscal policy.” Francis Malige, the senior representative for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Kiev, called Danylyuk a great supporter of reforms. “It is equally important to find a quick replacement for Minister Danylyuk and that whoever succeeds him continues to play a key role in supporting reform, maintaining macroeconomic stability and working with the central bank in steering the country in times that are still volatile,” he told Reuters. Groysman said Danylyuk had shown poor judgment by airing his grievances in a letter to the G7 group of nations, which the prime minister said may have harmed Ukraine’s negotiations with the European Union for more aid. Danylyuk will be replaced by his first deputy until a permanent replacement is found. Time is ticking for Ukraine as it counts down to presidential and parliamentary elections next year while having to pay back debt worth $15 billion by the end of 2020. The economy is still recovering from a steep recession following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and separatist fighting in the industrial Donbass region. The IMF says corruption knocks two percentage points off Ukraine’s growth every year. Dragging its feet on reforms, Ukraine has not received aid from the IMF since April 2017. Not securing more aid tranches would blow a $4 billion hole in the budget, according to Danylyuk. Ukraine has tussled over the corruption court law with its international creditors. Lawmakers previously said the IMF’s insistence on giving international experts a veto on candidates violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and constitution. Additional reporting by Matthias Williams and Olena Vasina in Kiev and David Lawder in Washington; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Gareth Jones and Hugh Lawson, Larry King  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-07T13:39:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Benfica Signs 4-Year Deal With Argentinian Striker Facundo Ferreyra|June 7 (Reuters) - SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA FUTEBOL SAD : * SAID ON WEDNESDAY SIGNS FOUR YEAR CONTRACT WITH ARGENTINIAN STRIKER FACUNDO FERREYRA FROM SHAKHTAR DONESTSK Source text: bit.ly/2JrqbuQ Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T13:45:00.000+03:00|Piraeus Bank nears deal to sell 400 million euros of sour consumer loans|June 7, 2018 / 10:46 AM / Updated 24 minutes ago Piraeus Bank nears deal to sell 400 million euros of sour consumer loans George Georgiopoulos 4 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - Piraeus Bank, Greece’s largest lender by assets, is close to clinching a deal to sell 400 million euros (351.4 million pounds) of soured, unsecured consumer loans as part of efforts to shrink its bad-debt load, bankers close to the deal told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Piraeus Bank is seen outside a branch in Athens March 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis The project, dubbed Arctos, involves a pool of about 220,000 non-performing credit card and consumer loans with a gross book value of 400 million euros on the bank’s books. Nearly half of the loans are in the 1,000-5,000 euro range. “Negotiations are in the final phase with three shortlisted buyers - APS Holdings, Intrum and EOS,” one of the bankers said, declining to be named. Piraeus Bank declined to comment. APS, EOS and Intrum were not immediately available to comment. Greek banks have been under pressure from regulators to tackle their soured loans which are clogging up their balance sheets and holding back lending. The total of non-performing exposures (NPEs), which include credit past due for more than 90 days (NPLs) plus restructured loans likely to turn sour, amounted to 92.4 billion euros at end-March or 48.5 percent of their total loans. Banks have agreed with regulators to reduce their mountain of non-performing credit to 64.6 billion euros by the end of 2019. Piraeus, saddled with 30.8 billion euros of these bad loans, is working on shrinking its stock of soured debt by 34 percent to 20.3 billion euros by the end of next year. One of the potential buyers, Swedish credit management company Intrum ( INTRUM.ST ), was involved in a similar deal last year, acquiring a pool of unsecured, non-performing consumer loans from Greek lender Eurobank ( EURBr.AT ). The price tag on that deal was about 3 percent of the face value of the loans. [nL8N1MG1JR] “The range of offers to buy the Arctos portfolio is expected around 4.5 to 5.5 percent of the principal of the loans,” the other banker said. “The deal will be capital accretive for Piraeus.” That would mean the bank will likely chalk up some profit on the deal as it has already fully provisioned for losses on these loans. Ernst and Young is advising Piraeus on the sale. Active in distressed debt markets, APS Holdings has been buying, servicing and advising on NPL portfolios since 2004. EOS Group specialises in receivables management and debt collection. Last month, Piraeus, which is 26.2 percent owned by Greece’s bank rescue fund HFSF, clinched a similar deal, agreeing to unload a 1.45 billion euro portfolio of secured, non-performing business loans to Bain Capital. [nL5N1T01ZO] That sale, dubbed the Amoebaproject, fetched 432 million euros. Piraeus, which was advised by UBS on the transaction, said the deal boosted its equity capital by 20 basis points. Bain Capital Credit is a credit specialist with about $37 billion in assets under management, investing across credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and non-performing loans. Reporting by George Georgiopoulos. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T13:49:00.000+03:00|Evergreen Parent raises AmTrust buy-out deal value to $2.95 bln|(Reuters) - U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc ( AFSI.O ) on Thursday agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for a sweetened $2.95 billion deal that also helped secure the support of dissenting shareholder Carl Icahn. FILE PHOTO: Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S., February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Evergreen Parent, an entity formed by AmTrust’s founding family, its chief executive officer and some private equity funds, will pay $14.75 per share in cash, up from its earlier offer of $13.50 per share, the insurer said. Billionaire investor Icahn, who owns a 9.4 percent stake in the company, had strongly opposed the go-private deal and sued AmTrust and the controlling family, accusing them of trying to take the insurer private at the wrong time and the wrong price. “By raising the merger price to $14.75, over $100 million of incremental value has been created for public stockholders,” Icahn said on Thursday. AmTrust’s shares were up 2.7 percent at $14.48 in early trading, still trading below the latest offer. The revised offer, however, failed to appease another shareholder opposed to the deal - Arca Capital. The firm reiterated that it sees $22 per share as the ‘fair value’ for AmTrust. “We are still opposed to the $14.75/shr deal value - we think this still undervalues the company and it’s still not enough,” said Pavol Krúpa, chairman of the Czech-based investment firm told Reuters. “The increased offer is just a cosmetic change to sway some shareholder’s view.” Arca holds a 2.4 percent stake in the company. It said in a press release that AmTrust’s long-term price target lies between $25 and $31, but it was ready to negotiate with the founding family. “If no deal can be reached, we are very happy for AmTrust to remain public,” Krúpa said. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|1
2018-06-07T13:49:00.000+03:00|Evergreen Parent raises AmTrust buy-out deal value to $2.95 bln|June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc agreed to be bought by a group of investors for $2.95 billion, up from an earlier offer of $2.7 billion. Evergreen Parent, an entity formed to acquire AmTrust, will pay $14.75 per share in cash, up $1.25 from its earlier offer of $13.50 per share, AmTrust said here The revised deal value represents a 4.6 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on Wednesday. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who owns 9.4 percent in the company and was opposed to the deal, has also agreed to support the revised offer price and the company’s decision to go private. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-07T13:49:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Greece optimistic for June debt relief deal - official|PARIS (Reuters) - Greece is optimistic about prospects for a debt relief deal in June that will help make its post-bailout return to bond markets credible, along with EU monitoring and a cash buffer, a Greek government official said. FILE PHOTO: A Greek national flag flutters on the roof of a building in Athens, Greece February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Greece was in talks in Paris on Thursday with its euro zone and IMF lenders about hammering out later this month a debt relief deal. “We are weeks away from the completion of the bailout programme. There is no doubt that the programme will be completed successfully, that is, Greece will be able to regain sustainable and lasting market access beyond 2018 and 2019,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said Athens was aware of the risk of contagion from jitters in the Italian bond market, where difficulties in forming a coalition government have driven yields higher. “It’s important to design a strategy that will enable us to decouple Greek bonds from what is going on in the Italian bond market,” the official said. Greece is therefore counting on a three-pronged strategy of a cash buffer, post-bailout surveillance by the European Commission and debt relief to plot a credible return to markets. Athens aims to bring the cash buffer to up to 20 billion euros ($23.7 billion), which would permit it to abstain from tapping markets for more than two years if issuing conditions are not favourable, the official said. Greece will commit to sticking to existing fiscal and reform targets, though no new conditions would be imposed, the official said. The return of profits that euro zone central banks made on Greek government bonds to Athens would hinge on meeting those targets. The official said he was optimistic loans will be extended under the debt relief deal euro zone finance ministers aim to agree at a June 21 meeting. One of the objectives of that meeting is to secure IMF backing for the euro zone debt relief offer for Greece to boost its credibility with markets and bring investors back to Greece after it exits its bailout on Aug. 20. Though the IMF would prefer debt relief measures going beyond the euro zone’s offer, the official said that in the government “in our own analysis we don’t need it”. The official also said that a French proposal to link repayments to economic growth was “on the table” but depended on how long existing loans are extended in the debt relief package. With growth strong and revenues coming in better than expected, the government now sees room to ease taxes and increase spending on things like child poverty, the official said. The government sees room to cut taxes by about 700 million euros next year. In 2019, 1.2 billion euros is expected to be available with 75 percent going to tax cuts and 25 percent to higher spending. By 2022, the extra money is seen reaching 3.5 billion euros with half going to taxes and half to spending. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Toby Chopra  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-07T14:23:00.000+03:00|Premier League clubs agree new deal on sharing international TV revenue|June 7, 2018 / 11:27 Premier League clubs agree new deal on sharing international TV revenue Simon Evans 2 Min Read MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Premier League clubs have struck a new deal over sharing revenue from international broadcast deals which will see any future increases divided according to league position. FILE PHOTO: Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League, listens during a news conference after attending the World Leagues Forum in Mexico City, Mexico May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero Currently all the revenue from international deals is shared equally among the 20 clubs but the bigger clubs had been pushing for a greater share of the money, arguing they are the main attraction for foreign viewers. Under the new agreement, which comes in place from the 2019/20 season, the clubs will continue to share current levels of revenue equally but any increase will be distributed based on final league position. Under the new formula, the maximum a club can receive is 1.8 times the amount received by the lowest earning club, the Premier League said in a statement. Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said the league’s revenue sharing remained the most equitable in Europe but it was time to amend an agreement dating back to 1992.”Back then the clubs put in place a revenue sharing system that was right for the time and has served the league well, enabling them to invest and improve in all areas,” he said. “This new agreement will continue that trend with a subtle change that further incentivises on-pitch achievement and maintains the Premier League’s position as the most equitable in Europe in terms of sharing central revenues. The revenue from British rights is not distributed entirely on an equal basis with clubs given more according to league position and also the amount of times they feature on live broadcasts. The Premier League said on Thursday that Amazon.com had won a share of UK rights for the first time, meaning it will show 20 games per season from 2019-20. Sky and BT have retained most of the domestic rights. Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Keith Weir|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-07T14:37:00.000+03:00|Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project|June 7, 2018 / 11:39 AM / 4 days ago Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project Reuters Staff 2 Min Read GABORONE, June 7 (Reuters) - Botswana Diamonds (BoD) wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said on Thursday. BCL mine group, which has been under liquidation since 2016, is selling its 51 percent stake in Maibwe Diamonds for an undisclosed amount. “We have put in an offer to the liquidator of BCL and we hope to get a response in the next few months,” BoD managing director James Campbell told a mining conference. The Maibwe JV consists of a block of ten licences, which are located in the central Kalahari region of the country. The other partners in Maibwe are local consortium Future Minerals that holds a 20 percent stake and private South African venture Siseko, which has a 29 percent stake. Campbell said Botswana Diamonds was looking at expanding its footprint in Southern Africa. The firm has made significant progress in its JV projects in South Africa, where the use of new technology in exploration has increased the potential of profitably exploiting reserves previously discovered by global diamond giant De Beers. Campbell also said BoD has teamed up with mining and resource development firm Vast Resources to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, saying both firms have extensive experience in Zimbabwe, which “is opening for business and both companies are keen to make the most of this opportunity.” (Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo Editing by James Macharia) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAzimbabweNews|0
2018-06-07T14:37:00.000+03:00|Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project|June 7, 2018 / 11:39 AM / Updated an hour ago Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project Reuters Staff 2 Min Read GABORONE, June 7 (Reuters) - Botswana Diamonds (BoD) wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said on Thursday. BCL mine group, which has been under liquidation since 2016, is selling its 51 percent stake in Maibwe Diamonds for an undisclosed amount. “We have put in an offer to the liquidator of BCL and we hope to get a response in the next few months,” BoD managing director James Campbell told a mining conference. The Maibwe JV consists of a block of ten licences, which are located in the central Kalahari region of the country. The other partners in Maibwe are local consortium Future Minerals that holds a 20 percent stake and private South African venture Siseko, which has a 29 percent stake. Campbell said Botswana Diamonds was looking at expanding its footprint in Southern Africa. The firm has made significant progress in its JV projects in South Africa, where the use of new technology in exploration has increased the potential of profitably exploiting reserves previously discovered by global diamond giant De Beers. Campbell also said BoD has teamed up with mining and resource development firm Vast Resources to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, saying both firms have extensive experience in Zimbabwe, which “is opening for business and both companies are keen to make the most of this opportunity.” (Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo Editing by James Macharia) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-07T14:37:00.000+03:00|Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project|June 7, 2018 / 11:39 AM / 2 days ago Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project Reuters 7 (Reuters) - Botswana Diamonds (BoD) wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said on Thursday. BCL mine group, which has been under liquidation since 2016, is selling its 51 percent stake in Maibwe Diamonds for an undisclosed amount. “We have put in an offer to the liquidator of BCL and we hope to get a response in the next few months,” BoD managing director James Campbell told a mining conference. The Maibwe JV consists of a block of ten licences, which are located in the central Kalahari region of the country. The other partners in Maibwe are local consortium Future Minerals that holds a 20 percent stake and private South African venture Siseko, which has a 29 percent stake. Campbell said Botswana Diamonds was looking at expanding its footprint in Southern Africa. The firm has made significant progress in its JV projects in South Africa, where the use of new technology in exploration has increased the potential of profitably exploiting reserves previously discovered by global diamond giant De Beers. Campbell also said BoD has teamed up with mining and resource development firm Vast Resources to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, saying both firms have extensive experience in Zimbabwe, which “is opening for business and both companies are keen to make the most of this opportunity.” (Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo Editing by James Macharia) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbotswanaNews|0
2018-06-07T14:50:00.000+03:00|Ghana sells 477.6 mln cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of 10-year bond|ACCRA, June 7 (Reuters) - Ghana sold 477.6 million cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of a fresh 10-year domestic currency bond on Thursday and will pay a yield of 17.5 percent, transaction arrangers said. The issuance, open to foreign investors, attracted offers worth 523.2 million cedis, Barclays Bank Ghana said in an email to Reuters. Initial pricing guidance for the paper, which matures in May 2028, was set at 17.0 pecent to 17.75 percent. Settlement is slated for June 11. $1 = 4.7000 Ghanaian cedis Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Aaron Ross and Peter Graff  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T14:52:00.000+03:00|Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project|June 7, 2018 / 11:54 AM / Updated 20 hours ago Botswana Diamonds to buy BCL's stake in exploration project Reuters Staff 2 Min Read GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana Diamonds (BoD) wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said on Thursday. BCL mine group, which has been under liquidation since 2016, is selling its 51 percent stake in Maibwe Diamonds for an undisclosed amount. “We have put in an offer to the liquidator of BCL and we hope to get a response in the next few months,” BoD managing director James Campbell told a mining conference. The Maibwe JV consists of a block of ten licences, which are located in the central Kalahari region of the country. The other partners in Maibwe are local consortium Future Minerals that holds a 20 percent stake and private South African venture Siseko, which has a 29 percent stake. Campbell said Botswana Diamonds was looking at expanding its footprint in Southern Africa. The firm has made significant progress in its JV projects in South Africa, where the use of new technology in exploration has increased the potential of profitably exploiting reserves previously discovered by global diamond giant De Beers. Campbell also said BoD has teamed up with mining and resource development firm Vast Resources to explore for diamonds in Zimbabwe, saying both firms have extensive experience in Zimbabwe, which “is opening for business and both companies are keen to make the most of this opportunity.” Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by James Macharia 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-07T15:04:00.000+03:00|U.S. high-grade merger lending hits half-year record|NEW YORK (LPC) - Lending to blue chip US companies for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has hit a record half year total of US$129bn, as banks continue to extend financing while pulling in record fee income for arranging the loans. US corporations are buying growth, and remain confident that the debt markets are receptive to large short-term loans backing huge acquisitions that will ultimately be refinanced with longer-term bonds. “Conditions remain very conducive for financing investment grade M&A transactions – sufficient liquidity in capital markets, strong interest from banks to support their customers, banks having capital to support bridges and term loan funding needs of the acquirers,” said Art de Pena, managing director and head of distribution, trading & agency for MUFG’s syndications group. With several weeks remaining in the first half, the US$129bn of loans backing investment grade M&A which have been completed or are in process already beats the previous high of around US$122bn in the second half of last year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Bolstered by a recent wave of mega-mergers, the pace is crushing the roughly US$89bn of loans lined up in the first half of 2017, which was the prior record for any first six months of a year. A US$32bn equivalent (£23bn) loan package backing US cable operator Comcast Corp’s offer for the stake in European pay-TV group Sky Plc that it doesn’t already own, and a US$26.7bn bridge loan supporting US health insurer Cigna Corp’s purchase of pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts lead the pack of this year’s high-grade M&A loan financings. GOVERNMENT WATCH The US tax overhaul that sliced corporate tax rates this year has helped to open the door for dealmaking, bankers said, as bank competition for commercial and industrial loans intensifies. “This time last year there was a lot of uncertainty around tax reform,” said a senior banker. “Now there’s more confidence in the ability to identify a target and accurately analyze the upside for that acquisition, what it means for cash flow and future business strategy.” The door is likely to stay wide open if the Justice Department finds in favor of the long-awaited US$85bn mash-up between AT&T and Time Warner in an expected ruling by June 12. The US stance on AT&T&rsquo;s purchase of Time Warner is a big piece of the M&A puzzle when it comes to competition. In the regulatory queue is the US$26bn planned T-Mobile acquisition of rival Sprint Corp, which could be impacted by the AT&T/Time Warner decision. Earlier in the year, a US$100bn bridge loan for Broadcom – the biggest loan ever assembled – was canceled after President Trump blocked the chipmaker’s takeover of Qualcomm over national security concerns. Banks were eager to put the money back to work, and are reaping the benefits of other mergers as the year progresses. The US$476m in fees earned on underwriting investment grade M&A loans is on the brink of beating last year’s second half tally of US$494m, and breaking the record for any half, according to Freeman Consulting Services. Freeman counts fees only when loans close, so the US$38bn T-Mobile/Sprint financing has not yet been included. “After a pause in large-scale dealmaking around the 2016 election, corporate tax cuts and strong profitability are driving now another wave of mega-M&A,” said Jeff Nassof, a director at Freeman Consulting. “Acquirers currently have the inclination and ability to pull off transformational deals that need to be supported with debt financing.” Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing by Tessa Walsh and Michelle Sierra  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T15:10:00.000+03:00|Bank of Ghana sells dollars, expects local currency to recover|June 7, 2018 / 12:14 PM / a day ago Bank of Ghana sells dollars, expects local currency to recover Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ACCRA, June 7 (Reuters) - Ghana’s central bank expects the local cedi currency to recover as it sells more dollars to local banks, it said on Thursday. The cedi has declined steadily against the dollar since the end of April, partly due to broader weakness in emerging markets and to a rise in the American currency. Steve Opata, head of financial markets at the central bank, told Reuters the bank was acting to stem the depreciation, which traders estimate at nearly 3 percent since January. “We have increased our presence in the interbank market and we’ve done some significant interventions in the past two weeks. That’s beginning to lead to some stability,” said Opata. A market note published by Barclays Bank Ghana on Thursday said the central bank sold around $30 million on Wednesday. Opata said the cedi’s recent slide was also caused by concerns over the potential repatriation of funds by the Ghanaian arm of South African mobile firm MTN, which launched an initial public offering of nearly $750 million late last month. “The Bank of Ghana is also engaging the management of MTN Ghana to ensure that any FX outflows arising from the transaction are done in a phased and orderly manner,” said Opata. Ghana, which exports cocoa, gold and oil, is in the final year of a $918 million credit deal signed in 2015 with the International Monetary Fund to reduce its budget deficit, inflation, debt and to stabilise the local currency. Opata said the cedi, which declined by around 5 percent last year, was expected to strengthen in 2018 as Ghana had built-up its reserves to $8.1 billion by the end of May. “We are in good shape with our economic fundamentals ... we have adequate reserves and these global and domestic developments do not yet pose a threat to inflation in Ghana in the near term,” he said. (Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Mark Potter) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAghanaNews|0
2018-06-07T15:10:00.000+03:00|Argentina 'very close' to deal with IMF on financing -minister|BUENOS AIRES, June 7 (Reuters) - Argentina’s government is very close to an agreement on financing with the International Monetary Fund and news is expected in the coming hours, Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Thursday. “I can’t say for sure it will be today, but I can say we are very close,” Dujovne told Reporters. “We are working on the final details and hope to have them in coming hours.” (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski and Maximiliano Rizzi Writing by Caroline Stauffer Editing by Paul Simao)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T15:12:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 7 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1200 GMT on Thursday: ** Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp said it may have no choice but to abandon a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp if there is no progress in talks with the U.S. firm’s new board for about half a year. ** U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for a sweetened deal value of $2.95 billion, that helped secure the support of dissenting shareholder Carl Icahn. ** Botswana Diamonds wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said. ** Ford plans to close its Blanquefort gearbox plant in southwestern France if no buyer can be found for the site, which employs 900 workers, the U.S. carmaker said. ** Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd have won a bid to acquire a 49-percent stake in a subsidiary of state-owned China Railway Corp, Geely said. ** Vienna Insurance Group said it bought German peer Gothaer Finanzholding AG’s Polish unit. ** Russia’s second-largest lender VTB is interested in buying smaller rival Vozrozhdenie bank and could complete a deal in the third quarter, VTB Chief Executive Officer Andrei Kostin said. ** Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday that Fortive Corp had offered to buy its medical sterilization unit for about $2.7 billion in cash. ** Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has acquired a small stake in Allergan Plc at a time when the drugmaker is under pressure from other activist shareholders, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. ** Delivery Hero, a German online food delivery platform, is open for possible takeovers, Chief Executive Officer Niklas Ostberg said. ** Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group said it has built up a 19.9 percent interest in small iron ore miner Atlas Iron Ltd, giving it a large enough stake to block a takeover of Atlas by Mineral Resources Ltd. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-07T15:23:00.000+03:00|U.S. reaches deal with China's ZTE: Commerce Secretary|June 7, 2018 / 12:24 PM / Updated 9 hours ago Chinese phone maker ZTE saved from brink after deal with U.S. Karen Freifeld 5 Min Read (Reuters) - China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker ZTE secured a lifeline from the Trump administration on Thursday after agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine and overhaul leadership in a deal that will lift a ban on its doing business with U.S. suppliers. The agreement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks trade concessions from China and negotiations continue to avoid a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Shares of U.S. companies that do business with ZTE rose on Thursday. U.S. lawmakers immediately attacked the agreement, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE poses a national security threat. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban on buying U.S. parts was imposed in April after the company lied about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the deal, ZTE will change its board and management within 30 days, pay a $1 billion fine and put an additional $400 million in escrow. The deal also includes a new 10-year ban that is suspended unless there are future violations. “We will closely monitor ZTE’s behavior,” Ross said in a statement. “If they commit any further violations, we would again be able to deny them access to U.S. technology as well as collect the additional $400 million in escrow.” Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department, along with the fine and other terms. Ross said the penalty is the largest the Commerce Department has ever levied. The agreement does not take effect until ZTE pays the $1 billion fine and puts the $400 million in escrow, which is likely to take at least a few days, according to a person familiar with the matter. ZTE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Under the new agreement, ZTE must also retain a compliance team selected by the Commerce Department for 10 years. The company already has a U.S. court-appointed monitor. #VeryBadDeal U.S. senators said they plan legislation to roll back the agreement. Related Coverage “I assure you with 100 percent confidence that #ZTE is a much greater national security threat than steel from Argentina or Europe,” Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted with the hashtag #VeryBadDeal. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that ZTE poses a “significant” national security threat. “ZTE is a state-controlled telecommunications company that poses significant espionage risks, which this agreement appears to do little to address,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the agreement “a 180-degree turn away from the president’s promise to be tough on China.” Eric Hirschhorn, a former U.S. undersecretary of commerce who had been involved in the ZTE case, said “the government is merely setting a price for doing business instead of giving them the punishment they deserve.” A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) The probe found that ZTE bought U.S. components and incorporated them into its equipment, illegally shipped them to Iran, and devised elaborate schemes to hide the illegal activity. The company pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Texas last year. Shenzhen-based ZTE has a subsidiary in Richardson, Texas. ZTE’s survival has been a topic of discussion in high-level U.S.-China trade talks. Trump tweeted on May 14 that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working together to help ZTE “get back into business, fast.” Trump met with his trade advisers on Tuesday to discuss China’s offer to import an extra $70 billion of American goods over a year in hopes of defusing a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies. One of the U.S. companies caught in the international crossfire is Qualcomm Inc, whose products account for the lion’s share of chips inside ZTE smartphones. Separately, Qualcomm is trying to get Chinese approval for its pending $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV. A sign of ZTE Corp is pictured at its service centre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steven Mollenkopf said on Thursday he hoped the ZTE agreement would pave the way for the NXP approval. Shares of Qualcomm Inc rose as much as 4.7 percent while NXP jumped as much as 6.7 percent. ZTE supplier Oclaro Inc was up 1.3 percent while Acacia Communications Inc was down 0.6 percent. Oclaro got 18 percent of its business from ZTE last year, while 30 percent of Acacia’s total revenue was from ZTE. Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Eric Walsh, Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-07T15:36:00.000+03:00|UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021|June 7, 2018 / 12:40 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The British government stuck to its proposal to offer the European Union a “backstop” plan that is time-limited but said it expected a future deal to be in place by the end of December 2021, a document said on Thursday. EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Britain said the so-called backstop plan, to be put in place if there is any delay in implementing a Brexit deal, should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom rather than just Northern Ireland as suggested by the EU. Reporting by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T15:57:00.000+03:00|UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021|June 7, 2018 / 12:57 PM / Updated an hour ago UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The British government stuck to its proposal to offer the European Union a “backstop” plan that is time-limited but said it expected a future deal to be in place by the end of December 2021, a document said on Thursday. EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Britain said the so-called backstop plan, to be put in place if there is any delay in implementing a Brexit deal, should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom rather than just Northern Ireland as suggested by the EU. Reporting by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKdomesticNews|0
2018-06-07T16:00:00.000+03:00|Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn|June 7, 2018 / 1:04 PM / in 4 days Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn Ben Martin 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Whitbread ( WTB.L ) is open to selling its Costa coffee chain or Premier Inn hotels and abandoning its original plan to spin-off the coffee business, according to a new executive pay scheme circulated to shareholders. FILE PHOTO: A Cappuccino stands on a table at a branch of Costa coffee in Manchester northern England, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo The FTSE 100 company said in April it planned to demerge Costa into a separately listed company within two years to “provide shareholders with an investment in two distinct, focused and market-leading businesses”. But a new remuneration policy sent to shareholders this month, and published on Whitbread’s website, shows the firm is willing to consider a sale of either Costa or the hotel chain to another company instead. Whitbread, led by CEO Alison Brittain, is overhauling its executive pay scheme to account for its new objective of separating its two main divisions. The scheme now includes a so-called performance share plan linked to delivering that goal. Executives will be rewarded for separating the divisions “whether that is implemented by way of demerger or by way of the sale to a third party of all or substantially all of one or other of those businesses”, the circular to shareholders says. That differs from Whitbread’s April announcement, when the company referred only to a Costa demerger. The company, which has a market value of about 7.7 billion pounds ($10.3 billion), pledged to separate its main businesses after coming under pressure to do so from U.S. activist investors Elliott and Sachem Head. Selling Premier Inn or Costa rather than a demerger could put Whitbread’s bosses at loggerheads with Elliott, which believes splitting them into two listed entities will allow the stock market to properly value the businesses, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in April. Elliott is Whitbread’s single biggest shareholder with a stake of more 6 percent. The activist hedge fund has already argued that a Costa demerger should be completed within six months, rather than the two-year timeframe eyed by Whitbread. A Whitbread spokeswoman said the purpose of the pay policy was to focus the management team on a spin-off. “There is no sale process for either Costa or Premier Inn – demerging into two independent companies remains the strategic objective,” she added. Since the announcement of the demerger there has been speculation Whitbread could attract a bidder for either the coffee chain or hotel division. JAB Holdings, the investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has been buying up coffee businesses in recent years and bankers had considered it a possible suitor for Costa. But JAB snapped up British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger for about 1.5 billion pounds last month in a move some bankers now think makes it less likely to consider an offer for Costa. Whitbread’s new pay policy will be put to an investor vote at a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 27. It will require the support of investors owning more than 50 percent of the company’s shares. Shares in the company were down 0.6 percent at 41.62 pounds on Thursday afternoon. (This version of the story fixes typo in paragraph 5) Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-07T16:00:00.000+03:00|Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn|June 7, 2018 / 1:01 PM / 4 days ago Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn Ben Martin 3 Min Read LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Britain’s Whitbread is open to selling its Costa coffee chain or Premier Inn hotels and abandoning its original plan to spin-off the coffee business, according to a new executive pay scheme circulated to shareholders. The FTSE 100 company said in April it planned to demerge Costa into a separately listed company within two years to “provide shareholders with an investment in two distinct, focused and market-leading businesses”. But a new remuneration policy sent to shareholders this month, and published on Whitbread’s website, shows the firm is willing to consider a sale of either Costa or the hotel chain to another company instead. Whitbread, led by CEO Alison Brittain, is overhauling its executive pay scheme to account for its new objective of separating its two main divisions. The scheme now includes a so-called performance share plan linked to delivering that goal. Executives will be rewarding for separating the divisions “whether that is implemented by way of demerger or by way of the sale to a third party of all or substantially all of one or other of those businesses”, the circular to shareholders says. That differs from Whitbread’s April announcement, when the company referred only to a Costa demerger. A Whitbread spokeswoman declined to comment. The company, which has a market value of about 7.7 billion pounds ($10.3 billion), pledged to separate its main businesses after coming under pressure to do so from U.S. activist investors Elliott and Sachem Head. Selling Premier Inn or Costa rather than a demerger could put Whitbread’s bosses at loggerheads with Elliott, which believes splitting them into two listed entities will allow the stock market to properly value the businesses, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in April. Elliott is Whitbread’s single biggest shareholder with a stake of more 6 percent. The activist hedge fund has already said a Costa demerger should be completed within six months, rather than the two-year timeframe eyed by Whitbread. The spin-off plan has spurred speculation Whitbread could attract a bidder for either the coffee chain or hotel division. JAB Holdings, the investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has been buying up coffee businesses in recent years and bankers had considered it a possible suitor for Costa. But JAB snapped up British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger for about 1.5 billion pounds last month in a move some bankers now think makes it less likely to consider an offer for Costa. Whitbread’s new pay policy will be put to an investor vote at a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 27. It will require the support of investors owning more than 50 percent of the company’s shares. $1 = 0.7450 pounds Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by Mark Potter|http://www.reuters.com/rssFeed/newIssuesNews|0
2018-06-07T16:06:00.000+03:00|Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn|June 7, 2018 / 1:07 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Britain's Whitbread open to selling either Costa or Premier Inn Ben Martin 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Whitbread is open to selling its Costa coffee chain or Premier Inn hotels and abandoning its original plan to spin-off the coffee business, according to a new executive pay scheme circulated to shareholders. FILE PHOTO: A Cappuccino stands on a table at a branch of Costa coffee in Manchester northern England, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble The FTSE 100 company said in April it planned to demerge Costa into a separately listed company within two years to “provide shareholders with an investment in two distinct, focused and market-leading businesses”. But a new remuneration policy sent to shareholders this month, and published on Whitbread’s website, shows the firm is willing to consider a sale of either Costa or the hotel chain to another company instead. Whitbread, led by CEO Alison Brittain, is overhauling its executive pay scheme to account for its new objective of separating its two main divisions. The scheme now includes a so-called performance share plan linked to delivering that goal. Executives will be rewarding for separating the divisions “whether that is implemented by way of demerger or by way of the sale to a third party of all or substantially all of one or other of those businesses”, the circular to shareholders says. That differs from Whitbread’s April announcement, when the company referred only to a Costa demerger. A Whitbread spokeswoman declined to comment. The company, which has a market value of about 7.7 billion pounds ($10.3 billion), pledged to separate its main businesses after coming under pressure to do so from U.S. activist investors Elliott and Sachem Head. Selling Premier Inn or Costa rather than a demerger could put Whitbread’s bosses at loggerheads with Elliott, which believes splitting them into two listed entities will allow the stock market to properly value the businesses, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in April. Elliott is Whitbread’s single biggest shareholder with a stake of more 6 percent. The activist hedge fund has already said a Costa demerger should be completed within six months, rather than the two-year timeframe eyed by Whitbread. The spin-off plan has spurred speculation Whitbread could attract a bidder for either the coffee chain or hotel division. JAB Holdings, the investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has been buying up coffee businesses in recent years and bankers had considered it a possible suitor for Costa. But JAB snapped up British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger for about 1.5 billion pounds last month in a move some bankers now think makes it less likely to consider an offer for Costa. Whitbread’s new pay policy will be put to an investor vote at a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 27. It will require the support of investors owning more than 50 percent of the company’s shares. Reporting by Ben Martin; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-07T16:19:00.000+03:00|Turkey suspends migrant readmission deal with Greece: Hurriyet|ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has suspended its migrant readmission deal with Greece, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was Quote: d as saying by state-run Anadolu agency, days after Greece released from prison four Turkish soldiers who fled there after a 2016 attempted coup. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey April 16, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas The four soldiers were released on Monday after an order extending their custody expired. A decision on their asylum applications is still pending. “We have a bilateral readmission agreement. We have suspended that readmission agreement,” Cavusoglu was Quote: d as saying, adding that a separate migrant deal between the EU and Turkey would continue. Under the bilateral deal signed in 2001, 1,209 foreign nationals have been deported to Turkey from Greece in the last two years, data from the Greek citizens’ protection ministry showed. Cavusoglu was Quote: d as saying he believed the Greek government wanted to resolve the issue about the soldiers but that Greek judges were under pressure from the West. “The Greek government wants to resolve this issue. But we also see there is serious pressure on Greece from the West. Especially on Greek judges,” Cavusoglu was Quote: d as saying. The eight soldiers fled to Greece following the July 2016 failed coup in Turkey. Ankara has demanded they be handed over, accusing them of involvement in the abortive coup. Greek courts have rejected the extradition request and the soldiers have denied wrongdoing and say they fear for their lives. In May, Greece’s top administrative court rejected an appeal by the Greek government against an administrative decision by an asylum board to grant asylum to one of the Turkish soldiers. Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Karolina Tagaris in Athens; Editing by Daren Butler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-07T16:31:00.000+03:00|Greece optimistic for June debt relief deal - official|PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) - Greece is optimistic about prospects for a debt relief deal this month that will make its post-bailout return to bond markets credible along with EU monitoring and a cash buffer, a Greek government official said. Greece is in talks with its euro zone and IMF lenders on Thursday in Paris about hammering out later this month a debt relief deal. Athens aims to bring a cash buffer to up to 20 billion euros ($23.65 billion), which would permit Greece to abstain from tapping markets for more than two years if issuing conditions are not favourable, the official said. Greece will commit to sticking to existing fiscal and reform targets though no new conditions would be imposed, the official said. Return of profits euro zone central banks made on Greek government bonds to Greece would hinge on meeting those targets. The official said he was optimistic loans will be extended under the debt relief deal euro zone finance ministers aim to agree on June 21. ($1 = 0.8455 euros) (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Michel Rose)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T16:31:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Exxon seeks to sell out of Tanzanian gas field - sources|June 7, 2018 / 1:32 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Exclusive - Exxon seeks to sell out of Tanzanian gas field - sources Ron Bousso , Oleg Vukmanovic 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) is seeking buyers for its stake in a large undeveloped gas field off Tanzania, according to three banking and industry sources, as the company focuses on the development of an even bigger project in neighbouring Mozambique. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Exxon Mobil is displayed on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The planned sale is an example of Chief Executive Darren Woods’ strategy of freeing up cash and narrowing the American firm’s focus on a number of giant projects around the world deemed to have the best prospects, including in Mozambique, Guyana and U.S. shale. Woods, who became CEO in January 2017 after predecessor Rex Tillerson retired and became U.S. secretary of state, has come under heavy pressure from investors over the past year to turn around the world’s largest publicly-traded oil and gas company as its output and earnings sagged. Exxon holds a 35 percent stake in Tanzania’s deepwater Block 2 field that was discovered earlier this decade. It holds an estimated 23 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the website of Norway’s Equinor ( EQNR.OL ), which operates the block and holds a 65 percent stake. The prospect has faced repeated delays in recent years due mainly to a lack of infrastructure and regulation for the country’s nascent oil and gas sector, complicating any sale. The sources said the value of the asset was unclear due to early stage of development and uncertain future. Exxon declined to comment. A spokesman for Equinor declined to comment on the sale process. He said the company had not changed its plans in Tanzania. Tanzania has moved down the priority list for Exxon after it acquired a 25 percent stake in the gas-rich Area 4 development offshore Mozambique $2.8 billion from Eni ( ENI.MI ) last year. Area 4, holding an estimated 85 trillion cubic feet of gas, is one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in recent years, and far bigger than the Tanzanian field. The project is also far more advanced - it is already under development and expected to start production in 2022. Houston-based Exxon has also taken charge of the development of the liquefied natural gas plant at the site. Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston, Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Stephen Jewkes in Milan; Editing by Pravin Char|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T16:35:00.000+03:00|CP plans to spend more than C$500 mln to buy grain transport cars|June 7 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd said on Thursday it plans to invest more than C$500 million in its high-capacity grain transport cars. The company said it placed an initial order to receive 1,000 of these cars from National Steel Car of Hamilton and expects more than 500 of them in service by the end of this year. Canada’s second-largest railroad operator said it also plans to order about 5,900 grain transport cars over the next four years. Earlier this year, transport problems, affecting both CP and rival Canadian National Railway Co, left rural grain storage sites brimming with grain in the country. (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T16:37:00.000+03:00|U.S. reaches deal with China's phone maker ZTE - Commerce Secretary|June 7, 2018 / 1:37 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Chinese phone maker ZTE saved from brink after deal with U.S. Karen Freifeld 6 Min Read (Reuters) - China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker ZTE secured a lifeline from the Trump administration on Thursday after agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine and overhaul leadership in a deal that will lift a ban on its doing business with U.S. suppliers. The agreement comes as U.S. seeks trade concessions from China and negotiations continue to avoid a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Shares of U.S. companies that do business with ZTE rose on Thursday. U.S. lawmakers immediately attacked the agreement, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE ( 000063.SZ ) ( 0763.HK ) poses a national security threat. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban on buying U.S. parts was imposed in April after the company lied about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the deal, ZTE will change its board and management within 30 days, pay a $1 billion (£744.7 million) fine and put an additional $400 million in escrow. The deal also includes a new 10-year ban that is suspended unless there are future violations. “We will closely monitor ZTE’s behaviour,” Ross said in a statement. “If they commit any further violations, we would again be able to deny them access to U.S. technology as well as collect the additional $400 million in escrow.” Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department, along with the fine and other terms. Ross said the penalty is the largest the Commerce Department has ever levied. Related Coverage The agreement does not take effect until ZTE pays the $1 billion fine and puts the $400 million in escrow, which is likely to take at least a few days, according to a person familiar with the matter. ZTE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Under the new agreement, ZTE must also retain a compliance team selected by the Commerce Department for 10 years. The company already has a U.S. court-appointed monitor. #VeryBadDeal U.S. senators said they plan legislation to roll back the agreement. [L2N1T91GJ] “I assure you with 100 percent confidence that #ZTE is a much greater national security threat than steel from Argentina or Europe,” Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted with the hashtag #VeryBadDeal. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that ZTE poses a “significant” national security threat. FILE PHOTO - Visitors pass in front of the Chinese telecoms equipment group ZTE Corp booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Perez “ZTE is a state-controlled telecommunications company that poses significant espionage risks, which this agreement appears to do little to address,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the agreement “a 180-degree turn away from the president’s promise to be tough on China.” Eric Hirschhorn, a former U.S. undersecretary of commerce who had been involved in the ZTE case, said “the government is merely setting a price for doing business instead of giving them the punishment they deserve.” A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) The probe found that ZTE bought U.S. components and incorporated them into its equipment, illegally shipped them to Iran, and devised elaborate schemes to hide the illegal activity. The company pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Texas last year. Shenzhen-based ZTE has a subsidiary in Richardson, Texas. ZTE’s survival has been a topic of discussion in high-level U.S.-China trade talks. Trump tweeted on May 14 that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working together to help ZTE “get back into business, fast.” Trump met with his trade advisers on Tuesday to discuss China’s offer to import an extra $70 billion of American goods over a year in hopes of defusing a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies. One of the U.S. companies caught in the international crossfire is Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ), whose products account for the lion’s share of chips inside ZTE smartphones. Separately, Qualcomm is trying to get Chinese approval for its pending $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ). Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steven Mollenkopf said on Thursday he hoped the ZTE agreement would pave the way for the NXP approval. Shares of Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) rose as much as 4.7 percent while NXP jumped as much as 6.7 percent. ZTE supplier Oclaro Inc ( OCLR.O ) was up 1.3 percent while Acacia Communications Inc ( ACIA.O ) was down 0.6 percent. Oclaro got 18 percent of its business from ZTE last year, while 30 percent of Acacia’s total revenue was from ZTE. Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Susan Heavey, Eric Walsh, Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T16:39:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal: Bloomberg|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) on Thursday downplayed the idea that a deal with cross-town rival Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) could materialize soon, after Bloomberg reported that top shareholders had been consulted about a potential tie-up. FILE PHOTO: A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board chairman, Paul Achleitner, had consulted top shareholders and German government officials about merging with Commerzbank, Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. “The Chairman of Deutsche Bank is asked constantly about this matter. His answer is always the same: ‘All the pro and contra arguments can be read in analyst reports and the media’,” a spokesman for the bank said in written comments. “He sees no reason to actively raise this issue.” Deutsche Bank, Germany’s flagship lender, is searching for new avenues of growth after it was forced to retreat from a strategy of trying to build a global investment bank. There are currently no formal discussions between Deutsche Bank and its cross-town rival, and any such move is not imminent, Bloomberg said, adding that stakeholders are being consulted about a possible deal down the road. A key obstacle is Deutsche Bank’s depressed share price, with investors telling Achleitner that they don’t want a merger with Commerzbank at the moment because it would be highly dilutive and potentially trigger a capital increase and hefty write-downs, Bloomberg said. FILE PHOTO: 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/File Photo Spokespeople for Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and the German Finance Ministry all declined to comment. The German state, which now owns a stake of 15.6 percent in Commerzbank, will play a key role in deliberations about a deal between Germany’s biggest lender and its cross-town rival. A decade ago, Germany took a 25 percent stake in Commerzbank as part of an 18.2 billion-euro ($21.5 billion) bailout during the financial crisis, with Germany seeking to whittle down its stake over time. Now Berlin politicians worry about incurring taxpayer losses on the stake, for which the German government paid an average of around 26 euros a share. Deutsche Bank shares closed at 9.61 euros on Thursday, while those of Commerzbank closed at 9.47 euros. Deutsche Bank’s investment banking arm will bear more than half of the group’s planned cost cuts, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday, as he admitted that the lender would continue to lag peers in the second quarter. Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt and Tom Koerkemeier in Berlin; editing by Alexandra Hudson, Larry King  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T16:43:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm CEO hopes ZTE deal will clear acquisition of NXP in China: sources|(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc CEO Steven Mollenkopf said on Thursday he hoped an announced agreement between the United States and China on the future of ZTE Corp will pave the way for China clearing Qualcomm’s acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV. FILE PHOTO - Steven Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, speaks at the Wall Street Journal Digital conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S. October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake “I hope it means something good to us, but we are really focused more on our individual application,” Mollenkopf told The Deal’s annual corporate governance conference in New York. Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters that approval of the Qualcomm/NXP deal would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the unwinding of a U.S. government ban on sales by U.S. companies to ZTE. Qualcomm and NXP shares began trading in New York on Thursday up 4.5 percent and 6 percent, respectively. (This version of the story has been refiled to drop reference to sources from the headline) Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-07T16:52:00.000+03:00|GM to sell Honda advanced electric car batteries in North America|June 7, 2018 / 1:53 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago GM to sell Honda advanced electric car batteries in North America Paul Lienert 2 Min Read (Reuters) - General Motors Co will supply advanced batteries to Japan’s Honda Motor Co, the companies said Thursday, a move that could significantly reduce the cost of future electric vehicles at both automakers after 2020. FILE PHOTO - The GM logo is seen at the General Motors headquarters in Sao Caetano do Sul, Brazil March 13, 2018. Picture taken March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto GM said the new batteries, which it has branded EME 1.0 and first described last fall, will be smaller than current EV batteries, can be charged more quickly and will provide more energy. Battery packs, typically the most expensive component of electric vehicles, can cost $10,000-$12,000 — nearly a third the price of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV. GM aims to cut that price nearly in half by 2021, sources told Reuters earlier this year. GM and Honda on Thursday said they would “collaborate” on the batteries, with GM supplying cells and modules, mainly for electric vehicles to be sold by both companies in North America. A source familiar with GM’s plans said its current battery cell supplier, Korea’s LG Chem, is expected to provide cells for the new battery, which is mainly a GM design. The new batteries are expected to begin production around 2021, the source said. GM declined to provide further details, and said it had not finalized supplier agreements for the new batteries. LG Chem did not respond immediately to a request for comment. GM and Honda have a partnership to jointly develop electric vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells that are expected to go on sale in 2020. Earlier this year, sources told Reuters that a key element of GM’s new battery design is slashing the amount of cobalt, the most costly ingredient in current lithium-ion battery cells. Cobalt prices have soared in the past two years in expectation of a surge in demand from automakers. GM’s new battery design increases the amount of nickel, which enables batteries to store and produce more energy, the sources told Reuters. Other battery makers are exploring similar changes in battery chemistry and design. Editing by David Gregorio|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-07T16:52:00.000+03:00|GM to sell Honda advanced electric car batteries in North America|(Reuters) - General Motors Co will supply advanced batteries to Japan’s Honda Motor Co, the companies said Thursday, a move that could significantly reduce the cost of future electric vehicles at both automakers after 2020. FILE PHOTO - The GM logo is seen at the General Motors headquarters in Sao Caetano do Sul, Brazil March 13, 2018. Picture taken March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto GM said the new batteries, which it has branded EME 1.0 and first described last fall, will be smaller than current EV batteries, can be charged more quickly and will provide more energy. Battery packs, typically the most expensive component of electric vehicles, can cost $10,000 to $12,000 - nearly a third the price of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV. GM aims to cut that price nearly in half by 2021, sources told Reuters earlier this year. GM and Honda on Thursday said they would “collaborate” on the batteries, with GM supplying cells and modules, mainly for electric vehicles to be sold by both companies in North America. A source familiar with GM’s plans said its current battery cell supplier, Korea’s LG Chem, is expected to provide cells for the new battery, which is mainly a GM design. The new batteries are expected to begin production around 2021, the source said. GM declined to provide further details, and said it had not finalized supplier agreements for the new batteries. LG Chem did not respond immediately to a request for comment. GM and Honda have a partnership to jointly develop electric vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells that are expected to go on sale in 2020. Earlier this year, sources told Reuters that a key element of GM’s new battery design is slashing the amount of cobalt, the most costly ingredient in current lithium-ion battery cells. Cobalt prices have soared in the past two years in expectation of a surge in demand from automakers. GM’s new battery design increases the amount of nickel, which enables batteries to store and produce more energy, the sources told Reuters. Other battery makers are exploring similar changes in battery chemistry and design. The GM batteries are an important element in the automaker’s plan to dramatically ramp up electric vehicle production after 2020, especially in China. In addition to the EME 1.0 battery system, GM also is developing a dedicated architecture for future electric vehicles that is modular and flexible enough to accommodate a variety of different vehicle types and sizes. Editing by David Gregorio and Nick Zieminski  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-07T17:01:00.000+03:00|Fujifilm says may walk away from Xerox merger deal if no progress for six months|TOKYO, June 7 (Reuters) - Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Thursday it may have no choice but to give up on a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp if there is no progress in talks with the new board for about half a year. “I don’t have a specific deadline in mind, but it should normally be around six months. If we have nothing by then, it can’t be helped,” Chief Executive Shigetaka Komori said in his first media session since the U.S. photocopier company scrapped their $6.1 billion merger deal. A spokeswoman later clarified this meant Fujifilm could end the merger deal. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki Editing by Christopher Cushing)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|1
2018-06-07T17:01:00.000+03:00|Zhejiang Geely, Tencent to buy 49 percent stake in China Railway unit|BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ) have won a bid to acquire a 49-percent stake in a subsidiary of state-owned China Railway Corp, Geely said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: A Tencent sign is seen during the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo The aim of the deal is to create a three-way joint venture that hopes to provide a one-stop platform for WiFi access to train users, the company added in a statement. Geely [GEELY.UL] officials would not describe the value of the joint bid with Tencent for the stake in High Speed Network Technology Co, but according to a filing on the China Beijing Equity Exchange the winning bid submitted for the stake was 4.3 billion yuan ($672.52 million). “Geely sees itself transforming away from pure manufacturing and into intelligent manufacturing and smart services with the development of a fully developed ecosystem,” said a Geely spokesman, when asked about the investment. Reporting By Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Himani Sarkar  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T17:03:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 7)|BRUSSELS, June 7 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — U.S. real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and French insurer Axa to set up a joint venture (approved June 6) — Canadian private equity firm Onex and U.S. investment fund Vista to acquire joint control of software company Severin Topco (approved June 6) NEW LISTINGS — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 10 — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-07T17:09:00.000+03:00|Turkey suspends migrant readmission deal with Greece - Hurriyet|June 7, 2018 / 2:12 PM / Updated 37 minutes ago Turkey suspends migrant readmission deal with Greece - Anadolu Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has suspended its migrant readmission deal with Greece, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu agency, days after Greece released from prison four Turkish soldiers who fled there after a 2016 attempted coup. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey April 16, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas The four soldiers were released on Monday after an order extending their custody expired. A decision on their asylum applications is still pending. “We have a bilateral readmission agreement. We have suspended that readmission agreement,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying, adding that a separate migrant deal between the EU and Turkey would continue. Under the bilateral deal signed in 2001, 1,209 foreign nationals have been deported to Turkey from Greece in the last two years, data from the Greek citizens’ protection ministry showed. Cavusoglu was quoted as saying he believed the Greek government wanted to resolve the issue about the soldiers but that Greek judges were under pressure from the West. “The Greek government wants to resolve this issue. But we also see there is serious pressure on Greece from the West. Especially on Greek judges,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying. The eight soldiers fled to Greece following the July 2016 failed coup in Turkey. Ankara has demanded they be handed over, accusing them of involvement in the abortive coup. Greek courts have rejected the extradition request and the soldiers have denied wrongdoing and say they fear for their lives. In May, Greece’s top administrative court rejected an appeal by the Greek government against an administrative decision by an asylum board to grant asylum to one of the Turkish soldiers. Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Karolina Tagaris in Athens; Editing by Daren Butler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-07T17:09:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Colian Holding Shareholder Wants Price Of Shares In Buy-Back Raised|June 7 (Reuters) - COLIAN HOLDING SA: * SAID ON WEDNESDAY THAT ITS SHAREHOLDER, ALLUMAINVEST SP. Z O.O., WANTS GENERAL MEETING TO VOTE ON RISING THE MAXIMUM PRICE OF 1 SHARE IN SHARE BUY-BACK TO 4.00 ZLOTYS * ON MAY 14 COMPANY INFORMED ABOUT BUY-BACK PLANS AND PROPOSED MAXIMUM PRICE AT 3.76 ZLOTY PER EACH OWN SHARE TO BE ACQUIRED UNDER BUY-BACK PROGRAMME Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T17:09:00.000+03:00|Turkey suspends migrant readmission deal with Greece - Hurriyet|June 7, 2018 / 2:14 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Turkey suspends migrant readmission deal with Greece - Hurriyet Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has suspended its migrant readmission deal with Greece, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet daily, days after Greece released from prison four Turkish soldiers who fled there after the 2016 attempted coup. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey April 16, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Cavusoglu was cited as saying the move was “unacceptable”. On Monday, the four soldiers were released after an order extending their custody expired. A decision on their asylum applications is still pending. Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Daren Butler 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-07T17:15:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Thyssenkrupp, Deutsche Bank, Bosch, BPER Banca) June 7 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday: ** Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner has consulted top shareholders and German government officials about merging with peer Commerzbank, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ** German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp is examining a full or partial exit from its naval vessels business, which is part of the group’s Marine Systems unit, a person familiar with the matter said. ** German automotive supplier Bosch might sell its struggling packaging technology unit, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing financial and industry sources. ** The head of BPER Banca said Italy’s sixth-largest bank was being courted by investors eyeing its debt collection business but wanted to hold onto the unit despite “enormous pressure” to quickly shed soured loans. ** Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp said it may have no choice but to abandon a $6.1 billion merger with Xerox Corp if there is no progress in talks with the U.S. firm’s new board for about half a year. ** U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for a sweetened $2.95 billion deal that also helped secure the support of dissenting shareholder Carl Icahn. ** Qualcomm Inc CEO Steven Mollenkopf said he hoped an announced agreement between the United States and China on the future of ZTE Corp will pave the way for China clearing Qualcomm’s acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV. ** Britain’s Whitbread is open to selling its Costa coffee chain or Premier Inn hotels and abandoning its original plan to spin-off the coffee business, according to a new executive pay scheme circulated to shareholders. ** Exxon Mobil is seeking buyers for its stake in a large undeveloped gas field off Tanzania, according to three banking and industry sources, as the company focuses on the development of an even bigger project in neighbouring Mozambique. ** Botswana Diamonds wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine’s shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said. ** Ford plans to close its Blanquefort gearbox plant in southwestern France if no buyer can be found for the site, which employs 900 workers, the U.S. carmaker said. ** Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd have won a bid to acquire a 49-percent stake in a subsidiary of state-owned China Railway Corp, Geely said. ** Vienna Insurance Group said it bought German peer Gothaer Finanzholding AG’s Polish unit. ** Russia’s second-largest lender VTB is interested in buying smaller rival Vozrozhdenie bank and could complete a deal in the third quarter, VTB Chief Executive Officer Andrei Kostin said. ** Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday that Fortive Corp had offered to buy its medical sterilization unit for about $2.7 billion in cash. ** Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has acquired a small stake in Allergan Plc at a time when the drugmaker is under pressure from other activist shareholders, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. ** Delivery Hero, a German online food delivery platform, is open for possible takeovers, Chief Executive Officer Niklas Ostberg said. ** Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group said it has built up a 19.9 percent interest in small iron ore miner Atlas Iron Ltd, giving it a large enough stake to block a takeover of Atlas by Mineral Resources Ltd. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-07T17:19:00.000+03:00|CEE MARKETS-Dollar selling boosts CEE fx, Serbian cbank seen holding fire|"* Dollar retreat helps CEE currencies regain ground * Serbian central bank not seen cutting rates further * Bond yield rise on ECB comments may dent demand at Budapest sale * Czech central banker comments support crown By Sandor Peto and Aleksandar Vasovic BUDAPEST/BELGRADE, June 7 (Reuters) - The dollar's retreat on global markets helped Central European currencies firm on Thursday, including the dinar as Serbia's central bank was expected not to cut interest rates further at its meeting. Regional government bonds weakened, tracking euro zone peers hit by comments from European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet, who said on Wednesday that inflation was on its way back to target and that the ECB might reveal more about the end of its asset buying programme next week. Less stimulus from the ECB could be negative for assets in Central European markets which are tightly integrated with the euro zone. But regional currencies still firmed. ""This is because their strengthening is about the dollar rather than the euro, as the dollar has retreated in all crosses quite significantly in the past day,"" one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. ""That is not a surprise after its recent surge ... investors adjust positions waiting for new information from the Fed's (Federal Reserve) and the ECB's meetings next week."" Reuters surveys showed on Thursday that the dollar's dominance could soon fade, while Central Europe's most liquid units could strengthen over the next year. The region's main currencies hit multi-month lows against the euro last month as investors rearranged positions amid a global dollar rally. They have recouped only part of the ground since then, and further gains are possible if the dollar does not resume its rally, market participants said. The forint and the crown firmed 0.2 percent by 0822 GMT, with the Czech unit also helped by comments from central bankers suggesting an earlier-than-expected interest rate hike to fight inflation. The zloty gained 0.1 percent even though the Polish central bank reaffirmed its loose policy stance on Wednesday. Hungary's central bank has also pledged to keep rates at record lows for years. Hungary's 10-year bond yield tracked Bunds, rising 8 basis points from Wednesday's fixing to 3.1 percent, while Poland's corresponding yield rose 3 basis points to 3.26 percent. The yield rise may cut demand at the Hungarian government's bi-weekly bond auction on Thursday, one Budapest-based trader said. The dinar firmed 0.1 percent to 117.94 against the euro. Serbian inflation is running well below target, but the central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates further at Thursday's meeting, to spare its ammunition for the future, analysts said. The dinar has shrugged off the dollar rally which hit the region's more liquid units, and the Serbian central bank has had to prevent a further rise using rate cuts and repeated market interventions in the past months. The dinar has been strengthened by sound exports, remittances from over a million Serbs working in the European Union and optimism over the economy which has fuelled demand for dinar-denominated government papers. CEE SNAPSHOT AT MARKETS 1022 CET CURRENCI ES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2018 Czech <EURCZK= 25.6370 25.6790 +0.16% -0.37% crown > Hungary <EURHUF= 317.5000 318.1300 +0.20% -2.07% forint > Polish <EURPLN= 4.2600 4.2630 +0.07% -1.96% zloty > Romanian <EURRON= 4.6565 4.6560 -0.01% +0.50% leu > Croatian <EURHRK= 7.3860 7.3870 +0.01% +0.60% kuna > Serbian <EURRSD= 117.9400 118.0500 +0.09% +0.47% dinar > Note: calculated from 1800 CET daily change Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2018 Prague 1079.20 1073.270 +0.55% +0.10% 0 Budapest 37474.68 37157.46 +0.85% -4.83% Warsaw 2281.68 2256.67 +1.11% -7.29% Bucharest 8257.39 8289.31 -0.39% +6.50% Ljubljana <.SBITOP 906.27 907.58 -0.14% +12.39% > Zagreb 1823.89 1829.77 -0.32% -1.03% Belgrade <.BELEX1 743.15 743.97 -0.11% -2.19% 5> Sofia 632.25 634.18 -0.30% -6.67% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year <CZ2YT=R 1.0050 -0.0220 +163bps -2bps R> 5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.4730 -0.0080 +161bps -2bps R> 10-year <CZ10YT= 2.0530 0.0240 +156bps -1bps RR> Poland 2-year <PL2YT=R 1.5940 0.0130 +222bps +2bps R> 5-year <PL5YT=R 2.4660 0.0260 +261bps +1bps R> 10-year <PL10YT= 3.2670 0.0280 +277bps +0bps RR> FORWARD RATE AGREEMEN T 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech Rep 1.15 1.32 1.43 0.91 <PRIBOR= > Hungary 0.21 0.28 0.37 0.12 Poland 1.76 1.77 1.81 1.70 Note: FRA are for ask prices Quote: s"|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T17:21:00.000+03:00|Exxon seeks to sell out of Tanzanian gas field - sources|June 7, 2018 / 2:24 PM / Updated 17 hours ago Exxon seeks to sell out of Tanzanian gas field - sources Ron Bousso, Oleg Vukmanovic 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil is seeking buyers for its stake in a large undeveloped gas field off Tanzania, according to three banking and industry sources, as the company focuses on the development of an even bigger project in neighbouring Mozambique. An airplane comes in for a landing above an Exxon sign at a gas station in the Chicago suburb of Norridge, Illinois, U.S., October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young The planned sale is an example of Chief Executive Darren Woods’ strategy of freeing up cash and narrowing the American firm’s focus on a number of giant projects around the world deemed to have the best prospects, including in Mozambique, Guyana and U.S. shale. Woods, who became CEO in January 2017 after predecessor Rex Tillerson retired and became U.S. secretary of state, has come under heavy pressure from investors over the past year to turn around the world’s largest publicly-traded oil and gas company as its output and earnings sagged. Exxon holds a 35 percent stake in Tanzania’s deepwater Block 2 field that was discovered earlier this decade. It holds an estimated 23 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the website of Norway’s Equinor, which operates the block and holds a 65 percent stake. The prospect has faced repeated delays in recent years due mainly to a lack of infrastructure and regulation for the country’s nascent oil and gas sector, complicating any sale. The sources said the value of the asset was unclear due to early stage of development and uncertain future. Exxon declined to comment. A spokesman for Equinor declined to comment on the sale process. He said the company had not changed its plans in Tanzania. Tanzania has moved down the priority list for Exxon after it acquired a 25 percent stake in the gas-rich Area 4 development offshore Mozambique $2.8 billion from Eni last year. Area 4, holding an estimated 85 trillion cubic feet of gas, is one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in recent years, and far bigger than the Tanzanian field. The project is also far more advanced - it is already under development and expected to start production in 2022. Houston-based Exxon has also taken charge of the development of the liquefied natural gas plant at the site. Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston, Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Stephen Jewkes in Milan; Editing by Pravin Char 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-07T17:24:00.000+03:00|U.S. antitrust official says worries over limiting vertical deals 'misplaced'|NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department attempted to reassure investors on Thursday that worries that regulators would crack down on proposed combinations of two companies on a supply chain — known as vertical mergers — were overblown. Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney general for antitrust, said that most proposed transactions were either good for consumers or neutral. But the department’s decision in November to sue to stop AT&T Inc ( T.N ), which owns DirecTV, from buying Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) made investors question whether other vertical deals might also meet with scepticism from antitrust enforcers. Delrahim said that was overblown. “I understand that some journalists and observers have recently expressed concern that the antitrust division no longer believes that vertical mergers can be efficient and beneficial to competition and consumers,” he said. Delrahim said that some of these point at the decision to sue to try to stop AT&T from buying Time Warner “as a supposed bellwether,” he said. “Rest assured these concerns are misplaced.” Two other vertical deals under review are Cigna Corp’s ( CI.N ) plan to buy Express Scripts Holding Co ( ESRX.O ) for $52 billion and CVS Health Corp’s ( CVS.N ) planned merger with Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) for $69 billion. Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T17:25:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-South African rand, bonds tumble to 5-month low in panic sell|June 7, 2018 / 2:29 PM / a day ago UPDATE 2-South African rand, bonds at 5-month low in panic sell; shares up Reuters Staff * Rand hit by investors fleeing EMs * Steinhoff tops gainers * Metal prices support gold stocks (Adds latest numbers, analyst comments, details) JOHANNESBURG, June 7 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand sunk to its weakest level in more than five months on Thursday as sentiment toward the currency was soured by a combination of poor economic growth and investors fleeing emerging markets. Struggling retailer Steinhoff was a top performer on the bourse, rising more than ten percent after announcing it had obtained creditor support. At 1530 GMT the rand was 1.53 percent weaker at 12.9100 per dollar, losing most of that ground as New York traders came online and offloaded their risk holdings as turbulence in other emerging markets and weak growth locally led to some feverish selling. “We’ve seen some panic selling as the rand went past 12.85. A couple of stops were triggered and now its momentum trading. It’s nothing to do with South Africa’s fundamentals, it’s a global EM sentiment thing,” said fixed-income specialist at Rand Merchant Bank Michelle Wohlberg. The yield on the benchmark 2026 bond was down 3 basis points to 8.82 percent. Traders noted that Brazil’s real was pounded in early trade, dragging other emerging currencies down with it. The real was down was down 1.2 percent to a new 2-year low. “In this last move we’ve seen a lot of aggressive offshore buyers. We are not sure if there’s a large flow behind it. We’ve also seen the Brazilian currency weakening significantly, and other EM’s seem to be following suit,” said senior trader at Standard Bank Oliver Alwar. A fall in U.S. weekly jobless claims also put pressure on the rand, which is still reeling from Tuesday surprise 2.2 percent contraction in first quart GDP. April manufacturing data on the day was mixed, shrinking on monthly basis but up slightly annually. “The rand’s still suffering from spillover effects from Tuesday’s GDP numbers. People are worried and aren’t convinced about the direction of the rand and the economy long-term,” said currency trader at TreasuryOne Wichard Cilliers. The break of the 12.85 support line saw momentum indicators tilt to overbought levels, likely to spur a push to the psychologically crucial 13.00 mark. On the bourse, stocks ended firmer with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index closing 0.58 percent higher to 52,037 points, while the broader All-share index climbed 0.53 percent to 28,391 points. Steinhoff’s shares rose after the company said it had obtained creditor support letters for two companies it used to finance its overseas business. It’s stock closed 11.40 percent stronger to 1.27 rand. Commodity stocks were also among the top gainers on higher metal prices. Mining company Sibanye-Stillwater gained 4.81 percent to 9.16 rand and while Gold Fields rose 2.22 percent to 47.03 rand. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana and Nomvelo Chalumbira Editing by James Macharia) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-07T17:36:00.000+03:00|South African rand, bonds tumble to 5-month low in panic sell|June 7, 2018 / 2:39 PM / Updated 16 hours ago South African rand, bonds tumble to 5-month low in panic sell Reuters Staff 3 Min Read JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand sunk to its weakest level in more than five months on Thursday as sentiment toward the currency was soured by a combination of poor economic growth and investors fleeing emerging markets. Illustration photo shows a two-rand coin above a South African flag April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration At 1400 GMT the rand was 2.04 percent weaker at 12.9750 per dollar, losing most of that ground as New York traders came online and offloaded their risk holdings as turbulence in other emerging markets and weak growth locally led to some feverish selling. “We’ve seen some panic selling as the rand went past 12.85. A couple of stops were triggered and now its momentum trading. It’s nothing to do with South Africa’s fundamentals, it’s a global EM sentiment thing,” said fixed-income specialist at Rand Merchant Bank Michelle Wohlberg. The yield on the benchmark 2026 bond was up 12 basis points to 8.795 percent, also its weakest since mid-December. Traders noted that Brazil’s real was pounded in early trade, dragging other emerging currencies down with it. The real was down was down 1.2 percent to a new 2-year low. “In this last move we’ve seen a lot of aggressive offshore buyers. We are not sure if there’s a large flow behind it. We’ve also seen the Brazilian currency weakening significantly, and other EM’s seem to be following suit,” said senior trader at Standard Bank Oliver Alwar. A fall in U.S. weekly jobless claims also put pressure on the rand, which is still reeling from Tuesday surprise 2.2 percent contraction in first quart GDP. April manufacturing data on the day was mixed, shrinking on monthly basis but up slightly annually. “The rand’s still suffering from spillover effects from Tuesday’s GDP numbers. People are worried and aren’t convinced about the direction of the rand and the economy long-term,” said currency trader at TreasuryOne Wichard Cilliers. The break of the 12.85 support line saw momentum indicators tilt to overbought levels, likely to spur a push to the psychologically crucial 13.00 mark. Stocks were slightly firmer, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index up 0.7 percent to 52,087 points, while the wider All-Share index was up 0.67 percent at 58,486 points. Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-07T17:42:00.000+03:00|CEO of Russia's VTB says could buy Vozrozhdenie bank in Q3|ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 7 (Reuters) - Andrei Kostin, the CEO of Russia’s second largest bank VTB, said on Thursday he told the central bank that VTB is interested in buying smaller lender Vozrozhdenie bank. Kostin told journalists in St Petersburg the deal could be completed in the third quarter, but declined to reveal the price VTB is ready to pay for Vozrozhdenie. VTB could also consider buying one or two regional banks to expand the group’s business, Kostin said. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Maria Kiselyova)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T17:47:00.000+03:00|Russia's VTB has no plans to buy pension funds - CEO|ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 7 (Reuters) - Russia’s second largest bank VTB has no plans to buy pension funds, CEO Andrei Kostin told reporters in St Petersburg on Thursday. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh Writing by Tom Balmforth Editing by Maria Kiselyova)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T18:03:00.000+03:00|W. Africa Crude-Nigerian overhang persists; Songangol sells all July cargoes|June 7, 2018 / 3:04 PM / a day ago W. Africa Crude-Nigerian overhang persists; Songangol sells all July cargoes Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - The last remaining Nigerian cargoes from the June programme have cleared, removing some of the surplus of crude from the market, but traders said on Thursday demand was not strong enough and differentials too high to spark much buying of July barrels. Brent-linked crudes are trading at their largest premium to rival U.S. grades in over three years, at close to $11 a barrel, which has encouraged traditional buyers of Nigerian and Angolan crudes, such as Indian and Chinese refineries, to take a growing number of U.S. cargoes. Nigerian crude has even shown up in floating storage in northwest Europe in the last three weeks, according to Reuters tracking data, in a sign of what traders said was a clearly oversupplied market. ANGOLA * Songangol sold its two remaining July-loading cargoes of Dalia close to a recent offer of $1.50 below the dated Brent price, trading sources said. * Around 20 cargoes were still available for sale from the July loading programme that originally contained 43 cargoes. * Unipec was offering Girassol and Plutonio, both privately and in the daily trading window, but found no buyers, meaning it may simply absorb any excess cargoes into its own refining system, as a number of other refiners are believed to have done this month to avoid excessive pressure on differentials, several trading sources said. NIGERIA * The Nigerian June loading programme was said to have been sold out, with the last remaining cargoes of Bonny Light and Yoho selling on Wednesday, traders said. * The bulk of the 48-strong Nigerian programme had still not cleared, something traders said was unusual this close to the release of the August schedule. * Shipments of Bonny Light remained subject to force majeure, according to a spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell. Exports stopped almost a month ago after a leak further up the pipeline. * Qua Iboe, the largest Nigerian stream, was heard offered around at around $1.80 above dated Brent, compared with existing levels of around $0.80. STORIES * The value of OPEC members’ petroleum exports rose 28 percent in 2017, according to its annual statistical report, illustrating that its return to managing the oil market by cutting supplies boosted producers’ income. * Nigeria’s government has recovered around 30 billion naira ($98 million) from individuals and companies through a tax amnesty scheme, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. TENDERS * India’s MRPL has issued a tender to buy 600,000 barrels of light sweet crude for delivery in the first half of August. The tender closed on June 6. * India’s IOC awarded a tender to Vitol to supply Nigerian Nemba for loading in late July, traders said. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by David Evans) )) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAnigeriaNews|0
2018-06-07T18:03:00.000+03:00|W. Africa Crude-Nigerian overhang persists; Songangol sells all July cargoes|June 7, 2018 / 3:04 PM / Updated 21 hours ago W. Africa Crude-Nigerian overhang persists; Songangol sells all July cargoes Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - The last remaining Nigerian cargoes from the June programme have cleared, removing some of the surplus of crude from the market, but traders said on Thursday demand was not strong enough and differentials too high to spark much buying of July barrels. Brent-linked crudes are trading at their largest premium to rival U.S. grades in over three years, at close to $11 a barrel, which has encouraged traditional buyers of Nigerian and Angolan crudes, such as Indian and Chinese refineries, to take a growing number of U.S. cargoes. Nigerian crude has even shown up in floating storage in northwest Europe in the last three weeks, according to Reuters tracking data, in a sign of what traders said was a clearly oversupplied market. ANGOLA * Songangol sold its two remaining July-loading cargoes of Dalia close to a recent offer of $1.50 below the dated Brent price, trading sources said. * Around 20 cargoes were still available for sale from the July loading programme that originally contained 43 cargoes. * Unipec was offering Girassol and Plutonio, both privately and in the daily trading window, but found no buyers, meaning it may simply absorb any excess cargoes into its own refining system, as a number of other refiners are believed to have done this month to avoid excessive pressure on differentials, several trading sources said. NIGERIA * The Nigerian June loading programme was said to have been sold out, with the last remaining cargoes of Bonny Light and Yoho selling on Wednesday, traders said. * The bulk of the 48-strong Nigerian programme had still not cleared, something traders said was unusual this close to the release of the August schedule. * Shipments of Bonny Light remained subject to force majeure, according to a spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell. Exports stopped almost a month ago after a leak further up the pipeline. * Qua Iboe, the largest Nigerian stream, was heard offered around at around $1.80 above dated Brent, compared with existing levels of around $0.80. STORIES * The value of OPEC members’ petroleum exports rose 28 percent in 2017, according to its annual statistical report, illustrating that its return to managing the oil market by cutting supplies boosted producers’ income. * Nigeria’s government has recovered around 30 billion naira ($98 million) from individuals and companies through a tax amnesty scheme, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. TENDERS * India’s MRPL has issued a tender to buy 600,000 barrels of light sweet crude for delivery in the first half of August. The tender closed on June 6. * India’s IOC awarded a tender to Vitol to supply Nigerian Nemba for loading in late July, traders said. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by David Evans) )) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAangolaNews|0
2018-06-07T18:27:00.000+03:00|UBS declares buying time for emerging market stocks|LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Swiss Bank UBS urged clients to pile into emerging market stocks on Thursday, declaring it “buying time” for the asset class despite growing concerns about Latin America’s biggest economy Brazil. UBS analysts showed a renewed bullishness for Europe, Middle East and Africa by swinging to an ‘overweight’ recommendation on the region all the way from ‘underweight’. Individual upgrades included an ‘overweight’ for central Europe’s biggest economy Poland, and for Mexico where the bank said next month’s election risks were now priced in and the peso looked cheap. Colombia was lifted to ‘neutral’ too. “We remain positive on EM equities based on the UBS macro/market backdrop,” UBS’ equity strategy team said. “We see this as ‘Buying Time’.” However, it did cut Brazil to ‘neutral’ citing a significant deterioration in the local market’s fundamentals, large growth downgrades and widespread political uncertainty ahead of elections there later in the year. (Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Helen Reid)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T18:29:00.000+03:00|UK government drops plan for 'meaningful vote' on Brexit deal - Labour|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government has removed a legislative proposal for a “meaningful vote” in parliament on whatever deal it negotiates to leave the European Union, opposition lawmakers said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: A Britain's and some European flags are hung outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo The government has proposed amendments to its Brexit legislation after the unelected upper house of parliament made 15 changes to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s original plans, despite ministers’ attempts to block them. The government decided not to change an amendment that would force it to try to negotiate a customs union with the EU that is shaping up to be the most contentious vote in parliament next week, an official with the opposition Labour Party said. Labour said that among the amendments was one that removed the requirement for the government to hold a “meaningful vote” in parliament on the deal it will try to negotiate with the EU for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. “It is vital parliament has a meaningful vote including in the event of no deal with the EU,” a group of Labour lawmakers in parliament said on Twitter. “Wasn’t Brexit about parliament getting back control?” No one was immediately available to comment in May’s office. The government plans to ask lawmakers in the directly-elected lower house of parliament to overturn some of the changes next week. The debate will test May’s ability to broker a compromise with those in her Conservative Party who, like many members of the upper house, want to keep a relatively close relationship with the EU after Brexit. Failure to placate those rebels could force a tight vote with serious consequences for both May’s authority as leader of a minority government and the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU. Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Larry King Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T18:34:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Piraeus Bank nears deal to sell 400 million euros of sour consumer loans|ATHENS (Reuters) - Piraeus Bank, Greece’s largest lender by assets, is close to clinching a deal to sell 400 million euros ($473 million) of soured, unsecured consumer loans as part of efforts to shrink its bad-debt load, bankers close to the deal told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Piraeus Bank is seen outside a branch in Athens March 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis/File Photo The project, dubbed Arctos, involves a pool of about 220,000 non-performing credit card and consumer loans with a gross book value of 400 million euros on the bank’s books. Nearly half of the loans are in the 1,000-5,000 euro range. “Negotiations are in the final phase with three shortlisted buyers - APS Holdings, Intrum and EOS,” one of the bankers said, declining to be named. Piraeus Bank declined to comment. APS, EOS and Intrum were not immediately available to comment. Greek banks have been under pressure from regulators to tackle their soured loans which are clogging up their balance sheets and holding back lending. The total of non-performing exposures (NPEs), which include credit past due for more than 90 days (NPLs) plus restructured loans likely to turn sour, amounted to 92.4 billion euros at end-March or 48.5 percent of their total loans. Banks have agreed with regulators to reduce their mountain of non-performing credit to 64.6 billion euros by the end of 2019. Piraeus, saddled with 30.8 billion euros of these bad loans, is working on shrinking its stock of soured debt by 34 percent to 20.3 billion euros by the end of next year. One of the potential buyers, Swedish credit management company Intrum ( INTRUM.ST ), was involved in a similar deal last year, acquiring a pool of unsecured, non-performing consumer loans from Greek lender Eurobank ( EURBr.AT ). The price tag on that deal was about 3 percent of the face value of the loans. “The range of offers to buy the Arctos portfolio is expected around 4.5 to 5.5 percent of the principal of the loans,” the other banker said. “The deal will be capital accretive for Piraeus.” That would mean the bank will likely chalk up some profit on the deal as it has already fully provisioned for losses on these loans. Ernst and Young is advising Piraeus on the sale. Active in distressed debt markets, APS Holdings has been buying, servicing and advising on NPL portfolios since 2004. EOS Group specializes in receivables management and debt collection. Last month, Piraeus, which is 26.2 percent owned by Greece’s bank rescue fund HFSF, clinched a similar deal, agreeing to unload a 1.45 billion euro portfolio of secured, non-performing business loans to Bain Capital. That sale, dubbed the Amoebaproject, fetched 432 million euros. Piraeus, which was advised by UBS on the transaction, said the deal boosted its equity capital by 20 basis points. Bain Capital Credit is a credit specialist with about $37 billion in assets under management, investing across credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and non-performing loans. ($1 = 0.8460 euros) Reporting by George Georgiopoulos. Editing by Jane Merriman  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T18:34:00.000+03:00|Ukraine's parliament approves law to create anti-corruption court|KIEV, June 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine’s parliament passed a law on Thursday to create a special court to try corruption cases, a key step for the government to secure more Western aid needed to tame a rising sovereign debt burden. The law is meant to ringfence court decisions from political pressure or bribery in Ukraine, where entrenched corruption remains a deterrent to foreign investors. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Gareth Jones)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T18:39:00.000+03:00|SocGen CEO dismisses talk of pending cross-border mergers in Europe|PARIS (Reuters) - Cross-border bank mergers in Europe at the moment offer insufficient synergies between retail markets, Societe Generale Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO - Frederic Oudea, Chief Executive Officer of French bank Societe Generale, arrives to attend a state dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer France’s third-biggest bank recently denied rumors about a potential tie-up with Italy’s Unicredit ( CRDI.MI ). “I don’t believe at all that we are currently in a situation to see cross-border mergers because the environment still is not that clear,” Oudea told a Goldman Sachs investor conference on Thursday, according to a transcript of his speech by Thomson Reuters StreetEvents. “I don’t believe today you have very significant synergies between retail activities in different markets,” Oudea said. “And really, I think, it’s not the priority. For us, the priority is to deliver our business plan”. Oudea reiterated, however, that there were too many banks in Europe and that over the long term a reshuffle was needed. In the current environment, he said, domestic retail consolidation was the most obvious option. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; editing by Leigh Thomas and Jason Neely  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-07T18:49:00.000+03:00|UK government drops plan for 'meaningful vote' on Brexit deal - Labour|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government has removed a legislative proposal for a “meaningful vote” in parliament on whatever deal it negotiates to leave the European Union, opposition lawmakers said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: A Britain's and some European flags are hung outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo The government has proposed amendments to its Brexit legislation after the unelected upper house of parliament made 15 changes to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s original plans, despite ministers’ attempts to block them. The government decided not to change an amendment that would force it to try to negotiate a customs union with the EU that is shaping up to be the most contentious vote in parliament next week, an official with the opposition Labour Party said. Labour said that among the amendments was one that removed the requirement for the government to hold a “meaningful vote” in parliament on the deal it will try to negotiate with the EU for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. “It is vital parliament has a meaningful vote including in the event of no deal with the EU,” a group of Labour lawmakers in parliament said on Twitter. “Wasn’t Brexit about parliament getting back control?” No one was immediately available to comment in May’s office. The government plans to ask lawmakers in the directly-elected lower house of parliament to overturn some of the changes next week. The debate will test May’s ability to broker a compromise with those in her Conservative Party who, like many members of the upper house, want to keep a relatively close relationship with the EU after Brexit. Failure to placate those rebels could force a tight vote with serious consequences for both May’s authority as leader of a minority government and the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU. Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Larry King  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T18:59:00.000+03:00|Lloyds to sell its remaining Standard Life Aberdeen stake|June 7, 2018 / 3:57 PM / 4 days ago Lloyds sells Standard Life Aberdeen stake Reuters Staff 2 Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) will sell its remaining 97.7 million shares in Standard Life Aberdeen ( SLA.L ), representing a 3.3 percent stake in the asset manager, Bank of America Merrill Lynch which is running the deal said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of Lloyds Bank on Oxford Street in London, Britain July 28, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls The sale comes after Lloyds cancelled its 109 billion pound mandate with Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) in February, citing competition concerns following the 11 billion pound merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life. “The holding supported the partnership agreements that were previously in place with Standard Life Aberdeen, but given notice has been served for these agreements, and we are not a natural long-term holder of equities, we have now made the decision to sell the stake,” a Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said by email. Plans for an insurance partnership between Lloyds and SLA also fell through earlier this year, market and industry sources told Reuters. SLA has since sold its insurance business to Phoenix ( PHNX.L ). SLA is disputing the cancellation of the mandate, saying last month it did not agree it posed a competition threat. Reporting by Lawrence White and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Susan Fenton|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T19:06:00.000+03:00|RBS CEO says wants to buy bank's shares back from UK government|June 7, 2018 / 4:07 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago RBS CEO says wants to buy bank's shares back from UK government Reuters Staff 1 Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) Chief Executive Ross McEwan said on Thursday the bank wants to buy back some of its own shares from the government, if approved by the regulator and if it did not jeopardise the bank’s return to dividend payments. FILE PHOTO: Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan speaks during an interview with Reuters at Canary Wharf in London, Britain July 7, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall Britain’s government, which acquired a stake in RBS when it bailed the bank out for 45.5 billion pounds ($61.10 billion)in the financial crisis, restarted the privatisation of the bank earlier this week, selling 7.7 percent of its holdings. “Yes we do want to participate, I think we’ve got plenty of capital,” McEwan said, speaking at a conference in Frankfurt, adding that his first priority would be restoring the bank’s dividends. Reporting by Emma Rumney, Editing by Lawrence White|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T19:23:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Lloyds sells Standard Life Aberdeen stake|(Adds Lloyds comment, background) LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group will sell its remaining 97.7 million shares in Standard Life Aberdeen, representing a 3.3 percent stake in the asset manager, Bank of America Merrill Lynch which is running the deal said on Thursday. The sale comes after Lloyds cancelled its 109 billion pound ($146 billion) mandate with Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) in February, citing competition concerns following the 11 billion pound merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life. “The holding supported the partnership agreements that were previously in place with Standard Life Aberdeen, but given notice has been served for these agreements, and we are not a natural long-term holder of equities, we have now made the decision to sell the stake,” a Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said by email. Plans for an insurance partnership between Lloyds and SLA also fell through earlier this year, market and industry sources told Reuters. SLA has since sold its insurance business to Phoenix. SLA is disputing the cancellation of the mandate, saying last month it did not agree it posed a competition threat. $1 = 0.7447 pounds Reporting by Lawrence White and Carolyn Cohn Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-07T19:25:00.000+03:00|Soccer-Premier League clubs agree new deal on sharing international TV revenue|MANCHESTER, June 7 (Reuters) - Premier League clubs have struck a new deal over sharing revenue from international broadcast deals which will see any future increases divided according to league position. Currently all the revenue from international deals is shared equally among the 20 clubs but the bigger clubs had been pushing for a greater share of the money, arguing they are the main attraction for foreign viewers. Under the new agreement, which comes in place from the 2019/20 season, the clubs will continue to share current levels of revenue equally but any increase will be distributed based on final league position. Under the new formula, the maximum a club can receive is 1.8 times the amount received by the lowest earning club, the Premier League said in a statement. Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said the league’s revenue sharing remained the most equitable in Europe but it was time to amend an agreement dating back to 1992. “Back then the clubs put in place a revenue sharing system that was right for the time and has served the league well, enabling them to invest and improve in all areas,” he said. “This new agreement will continue that trend with a subtle change that further incentivises on-pitch achievement and maintains the Premier League’s position as the most equitable in Europe in terms of sharing central revenues. The revenue from British rights is not distributed entirely on an equal basis with clubs given more according to league position and also the amount of times they feature on live broadcasts. The Premier League said on Thursday that Amazon.com had won a share of UK rights for the first time, meaning it will show 20 games per season from 2019-20. Sky and BT have retained most of the domestic rights. (Reporting by Simon Evans Editing by Keith Weir)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T19:30:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - U.S. Justice Department probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless companies - sources|June 7, 2018 / 4:32 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Exclusive: U.S. Justice Department probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless companies - sources Sheila Dang 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is examining how the proposed merger between T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp could affect prices for smaller wireless operators, according to two people familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO - A sign for a T-Mobile store is seen in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton A T-Mobile and Sprint merger would eliminate competition between the two carriers that have been the dominant players in selling network access to wireless companies that often serve pre-paid or price-conscious consumers, and could lead to higher prices for those users. The Justice Department, which is evaluating T-Mobile’s $26 billion deal to buy Sprint, has been speaking with small wireless operators that buy access to the major wireless networks at wholesale rates, and is seeking their opinions about the merger, the people said, who declined to be named because the talks are confidential. Antitrust investigations are a normal part of the merger approval process, especially for large deals like T-Mobile’s. A Justice Department spokesman and a T-Mobile spokeswoman declined to comment. Sprint did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Including AT&T and Verizon, there are four major U.S. wireless providers. Since the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division recently refused to commit to keep four carriers after the T-Mobile deal is completed - an issue that contributed to AT&T dropping its pursuit to buy T-Mobile in 2011 - the department’s examination of the wholesale market suggests the government is giving the deal a thorough review. David Glickman, chief executive of Ultra Mobile and Mint Mobile, two pre-paid wireless brands, also said Justice asked to speak with him about the merger, but said he was not given additional details about what the department wanted to discuss. “A merger between T-Mobile and Sprint without any concessions would be bad for consumers, businesses and the country,” said Peter Adderton, founder and former chief executive of Boost Mobile USA, which was acquired by Sprint. Adderton is no longer affiliated with Boost Mobile’s business in the United States. Adderton, who called for formal regulation of wireless wholesale prices after the T-Mobile-Sprint deal was announced, said it was “encouraging” to see the Justice Department reach out to learn about how the merger could affect businesses and consumers. While AT&T and Verizon dominate the U.S. wireless market overall, T-Mobile is the most popular among customers who make less than $75,000 per year, and Sprint’s pre-paid brand Boost counts 83 percent of its users in that income range, according to data from Kagan, S&P Global Market Intelligence data. T-Mobile has 38 percent of the U.S. pre-paid market, while Sprint has 16 percent, which would give the combined company 54 percent, according to S&P. Reporting by Sheila Dang in New York; Additional reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T19:32:00.000+03:00|U.S. Justice Dept probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless cos: sources|June 7, 2018 / 4:33 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago U.S. Justice Dept probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless cos: sources Sheila Dang U.S. Department of Justice is examining how the proposed merger between T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp could affect prices for smaller wireless operators, according to two people familiar with the matter. A sign for a T-Mobile store is seen in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton A T-Mobile and Sprint merger would eliminate competition between the two carriers that have been the dominant players in selling network access to wireless companies that often serve pre-paid or price-conscious consumers, and could lead to higher prices for those users. The Justice Department, which is evaluating T-Mobile’s $26 billion deal to buy Sprint, has been speaking with small wireless operators that buy access to the major wireless networks at wholesale rates, and is seeking their opinions about the merger, the people said, who declined to be named because the talks are confidential. Antitrust investigations are a normal part of the merger approval process, especially for large deals like T-Mobile’s. A Justice Department spokesman and a T-Mobile spokeswoman declined to comment. Sprint did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Including AT&T and Verizon, there are four major U.S. wireless providers. Since the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division recently refused to commit to keep four carriers after the T-Mobile deal is completed - an issue that contributed to AT&T dropping its pursuit to buy T-Mobile in 2011 - the department’s examination of the wholesale market suggests the government is giving the deal a thorough review. David Glickman, chief executive of Ultra Mobile and Mint Mobile, two pre-paid wireless brands, also said Justice asked to speak with him about the merger, but said he was not given additional details about what the department wanted to discuss. “A merger between T-Mobile and Sprint without any concessions would be bad for consumers, businesses and the country,” said Peter Adderton, founder and former chief executive of Boost Mobile USA, which was acquired by Sprint. Adderton is no longer affiliated with Boost Mobile’s business in the United States. Adderton, who called for formal regulation of wireless wholesale prices after the T-Mobile-Sprint deal was announced, said it was “encouraging” to see the Justice Department reach out to learn about how the merger could affect businesses and consumers. While AT&T and Verizon dominate the U.S. wireless market overall, T-Mobile is the most popular among customers who make less than $75,000 per year, and Sprint’s pre-paid brand Boost counts 83 percent of its users in that income range, according to data from Kagan, S&P Global Market Intelligence data. T-Mobile has 38 percent of the U.S. pre-paid market, while Sprint has 16 percent, which would give the combined company 54 percent, according to S&P. Reporting by Sheila Dang in New York; Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-07T19:35:00.000+03:00|GM to sell new electric car batteries to Honda in North America|(Reuters) - General Motors Co will supply advanced batteries to Japan’s Honda Motor Co, the companies said Thursday, a move that could significantly reduce the cost of future electric vehicles at both automakers after 2020. FILE PHOTO: The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Warren Transmission Operations Plant in Warren, Michigan, U.S., October 26, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo GM said the new batteries, which it has branded EME 1.0 and first described last fall, will be smaller than current EV batteries, can be charged more quickly and will provide more energy. Battery packs, typically the most expensive component of electric vehicles, can cost $10,000 to $12,000 - nearly a third the price of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV. GM aims to cut that price nearly in half by 2021, sources told Reuters earlier this year. GM and Honda on Thursday said they would “collaborate” on the batteries, with GM supplying cells and modules, mainly for electric vehicles to be sold by both companies in North America. A source familiar with GM’s plans said its current battery cell supplier, Korea’s LG Chem, is expected to provide cells for the new battery, which is mainly a GM design. The new batteries are expected to begin production around 2021, the source said. GM declined to provide further details, and said it had not finalized supplier agreements for the new batteries. LG Chem did not respond immediately to a request for comment. GM and Honda have a partnership to jointly develop electric vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells that are expected to go on sale in 2020. Earlier this year, sources told Reuters that a key element of GM’s new battery design is slashing the amount of cobalt, the most costly ingredient in current lithium-ion battery cells. Cobalt prices have soared in the past two years in expectation of a surge in demand from automakers. GM’s new battery design increases the amount of nickel, which enables batteries to store and produce more energy, the sources told Reuters. Other battery makers are exploring similar changes in battery chemistry and design. The GM batteries are an important element in the automaker’s plan to dramatically ramp up electric vehicle production after 2020, especially in China. In addition to the EME 1.0 battery system, GM also is developing a dedicated architecture for future electric vehicles that is modular and flexible enough to accommodate a variety of different vehicle types and sizes. Editing by David Gregorio and Nick Zieminski  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-07T19:48:00.000+03:00|Ghana sells 477.6 mln cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of 10-year bond|June 7, 2018 / 4:49 PM / Updated a day ago Ghana sells 477.6 mln cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of 10-year bond Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ACCRA, June 7 (Reuters) - Ghana sold 477.6 million cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of a fresh 10-year domestic currency bond on Thursday and will pay a yield of 17.5 percent, transaction arrangers said. The issuance, open to foreign investors, attracted offers worth 523.2 million cedis, Barclays Bank Ghana said in an email to Reuters. Initial pricing guidance for the paper, which matures in May 2028, was set at 17.0 pecent to 17.75 percent. Settlement is slated for June 11. $1 = 4.7000 Ghanaian cedis Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Aaron Ross and Peter Graff 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAghanaNews|0
2018-06-07T19:57:00.000+03:00|US high-grade merger lending hits half-year record|NEW YORK (LPC) - Lending to blue chip US companies for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has hit a record half year total of US$129bn, as banks continue to extend financing while pulling in record fee income for arranging the loans. US corporations are buying growth, and remain confident that the debt markets are receptive to large short-term loans backing huge acquisitions that will ultimately be refinanced with longer-term bonds. “Conditions remain very conducive for financing investment grade M&A transactions – sufficient liquidity in capital markets, strong interest from banks to support their customers, banks having capital to support bridges and term loan funding needs of the acquirers,” said Art de Pena, managing director and head of distribution, trading & agency for MUFG’s syndications group. With several weeks remaining in the first half, the US$129bn of loans backing investment grade M&A which have been completed or are in process already beats the previous high of around US$122bn in the second half of last year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Bolstered by a recent wave of mega-mergers, the pace is crushing the roughly US$89bn of loans lined up in the first half of 2017, which was the prior record for any first six months of a year. A US$32bn equivalent (£23bn) loan package backing US cable operator Comcast Corp’s offer for the stake in European pay-TV group Sky Plc that it doesn’t already own, and a US$26.7bn bridge loan supporting US health insurer Cigna Corp’s purchase of pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts lead the pack of this year’s high-grade M&A loan financings. GOVERNMENT WATCH The US tax overhaul that sliced corporate tax rates this year has helped to open the door for dealmaking, bankers said, as bank competition for commercial and industrial loans intensifies. “This time last year there was a lot of uncertainty around tax reform,” said a senior banker. “Now there’s more confidence in the ability to identify a target and accurately analyze the upside for that acquisition, what it means for cash flow and future business strategy.” The door is likely to stay wide open if the Justice Department finds in favor of the long-awaited US$85bn mash-up between AT&T and Time Warner in an expected ruling by June 12. The US stance on AT&T&rsquo;s purchase of Time Warner is a big piece of the M&A puzzle when it comes to competition. In the regulatory queue is the US$26bn planned T-Mobile acquisition of rival Sprint Corp, which could be impacted by the AT&T/Time Warner decision. Earlier in the year, a US$100bn bridge loan for Broadcom – the biggest loan ever assembled – was canceled after President Trump blocked the chipmaker’s takeover of Qualcomm over national security concerns. Banks were eager to put the money back to work, and are reaping the benefits of other mergers as the year progresses. The US$476m in fees earned on underwriting investment grade M&A loans is on the brink of beating last year’s second half tally of US$494m, and breaking the record for any half, according to Freeman Consulting Services. Freeman counts fees only when loans close, so the US$38bn T-Mobile/Sprint financing has not yet been included. “After a pause in large-scale dealmaking around the 2016 election, corporate tax cuts and strong profitability are driving now another wave of mega-M&A,” said Jeff Nassof, a director at Freeman Consulting. “Acquirers currently have the inclination and ability to pull off transformational deals that need to be supported with debt financing.” Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing by Tessa Walsh and Michelle Sierra  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T20:21:00.000+03:00|U.S. reaches deal with China's ZTE - Commerce Secretary|June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday Washington had reached a deal with ZTE Corp that would lift a ban on buying from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The deal involves ZTE changing its board and management within 30 days and paying a $1 billion fine and putting $400 million in escrow, among other conditions, Ross told CNBC, adding that he did not think the arrangement would have any effect on tariff talks with China. Reporting by Susan Heavey Writing by Eric Walsh  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T20:41:00.000+03:00|Argentina says deal with IMF signed -ministry spokesman|BUENOS AIRES, June 7 (Reuters) - Argentina and the International Monetary Fund have signed a financing agreement and details will be revealed by both in around 20 minutes, a treasury ministry spokesman said on Thursday. (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski and Marcos Brindicci; Writing by Caroline Stauffer, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T20:51:00.000+03:00|U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE|June 7, 2018 / 5:52 PM / in 9 minutes U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. senators planned legislation on Thursday that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp . Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The measure planned in the Senate would retroactively impose sanctions originally levied against ZTE, reversing the consent agreement signed on Thursday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. The legislation has bipartisan support. It was introduced by Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Democrat Chris Van Hollen as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. However, its prospects were not immediately clear. The NDAA typically passes Congress - and becomes law - later in the year, but there was no indication that any such amendment would even be allowed to come up for a vote. Congressional Republicans have generally been strong supporters of Trump’s legislative agenda, with only a handful of members voting only very rarely against the White House. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle Editing by Susan Thomas|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T20:57:00.000+03:00|U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE|June 7, 2018 / 5:59 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators planned legislation on Thursday that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. The logo of China's ZTE Corp is seen on a building in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China April 19, 2018. Picture taken April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The measure planned in the Senate would retroactively impose sanctions originally levied against ZTE, reversing the consent agreement signed on Thursday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. The legislation has bipartisan support. It was introduced by Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Democrat Chris Van Hollen as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. However, its prospects were not immediately clear. The NDAA typically passes Congress - and becomes law - later in the year, but there was no indication that any such amendment would even be allowed to come up for a vote. Congressional Republicans have generally been strong supporters of Trump’s legislative agenda, with only a handful of members voting only very rarely against the White House. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Susan Thomas|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-07T20:57:00.000+03:00|U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE|June 7, 2018 / 6:19 PM / Updated 11 hours ago U.S. lawmakers scramble for way to block Trump deal with China's ZTE Patricia Zengerle 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ). FILE PHOTO: A ZTE smart phone is pictured in this illustration taken April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/Illustration/File Photo Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The Senate measure would restore penalties on ZTE for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from ZTE or Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], another major Chinese firm. It would also ban the U.S. government from using grants or loans to subsidise Huawei, ZTE or any subsidiaries or affiliates. The legislation has bipartisan support. It was introduced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, as well as Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a close Trump ally who has emerged as one of his party’s most influential foreign policy voices. Co-sponsors include Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Susan Collins, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Bill Nelson. They offered the legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defence policy bill Congress passes every year. The Senate is expected to debate the NDAA next week, and it should become clear then whether the amendment would be allowed to come up for a vote. Backing for the amendment would be a departure for Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress. Republican lawmakers have generally been strong supporters of Trump’s legislative agenda, with only a handful of members voting only very rarely against the White House since he took office in January 2017. A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-07T20:57:00.000+03:00|U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. FILE PHOTO - Visitors pass in front of the Chinese telecoms equipment group ZTE Corp booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Picture Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The Senate measure would restore penalties on ZTE for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from ZTE or Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], another major Chinese firm. It would also ban the U.S. government from using grants or loans to subsidize Huawei, ZTE or any subsidiaries or affiliates. The legislation has bipartisan support. It was introduced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, as well as Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a close Trump ally who has emerged as one of his party’s most influential foreign policy voices. Co-sponsors include Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Susan Collins, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Bill Nelson. They offered the legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. The Senate is expected to debate the NDAA next week, and it should become clear then whether the amendment would be allowed to come up for a vote. Backing for the amendment would be a departure for Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress. Republican lawmakers have generally been strong supporters of Trump’s legislative agenda, with only a handful of members voting only very rarely against the White House since he took office in January 2017. A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-07T21:11:00.000+03:00|UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021|LONDON (Reuters) - The British government stuck to its proposal to offer the European Union a “backstop” plan that is time-limited but said it expected a future deal to be in place by the end of December 2021, a document said on Thursday. EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville Britain said the so-called backstop plan, to be put in place if there is any delay in implementing a Brexit deal, should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom rather than just Northern Ireland as suggested by the EU. Reporting by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-06-07T21:14:00.000+03:00|US STOCKS-Futures mixed as food worries counter ZTE deal|* J.M. Smucker drops as FY profit forecast disappoints * Optical stocks jump on U.S.-ZTE deal * Futures: Dow up 0.23 pct, S&P up 0.06 pct, Nasdaq off 0.12 pct (Adds comment, details, updates prices) By Sruthi Shankar June 7 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 looked to be running out of steam after four days of gains on Thursday, a poor financial report from J.M. Smucker pulling down packaged food makers and countering a boost for technology firms from the lifting of a ban on China’s ZTE Corp. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that Washington had reached a deal with China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker that would allow it to do business again with U.S. suppliers. Shares of optical component makers Acacia Communications , Oclaro Inc and Lumentum Holdings jumped on the news in trading before the bell. Qualcomm and NXP Semiconductors also rose 2.7 percent and 3.4 percent respectively. A $44 billion acquisition of NXP by Qualcomm is still under review by China’s market regulator, although there have been some signs of progress as China and Washington negotiated on trade in the past month. “That will be bullish for any of the suppliers to ZTE, but more importantly bullish for any deal stocks waiting for regulatory approval,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, B. Riley FBR in New York. At 8:54 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 57 points, or 0.23 percent, but S&P 500 e-minis were up just 1.75 points, or 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8.75 points, or 0.12 percent. “We had a significant run up of late and it takes pretty significant catalysts to move us higher,” said Hogan. Shares in J.M. Smucker tumbled 8.3 percent after the Folgers coffee maker reported quarterly results and full-year forecast that missed Wall Street estimates. Shares of other food companies Kellogg dropped 2.3 percent and General Mills fell 1.8 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high for a third-straight day on Wednesday as investors focused on strength in the U.S. economy and solid earnings reports, putting aside trade concerns. The CBOE Volatility index, a gauge of stock market volatility, eased to levels last seen before the early February sell-off, trading at 11.74 points. Investors will look to a G7 summit starting in Canada on Friday for more signs on the trade tensions and tit-for-tat tariffs which weakened the stock market through February and March. The two-day meeting will be the first chance for world leaders to confront Trump in person, since U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union were imposed last week. All six of the other G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — are now paying the tariffs. Canada and Mexico have retaliated against a range of U.S. exports and the EU has promised to do so as well. Among stocks, Allergan jumped 2.7 percent following reports that billionaire investor Carl Icahn had acquired a small stake in the company. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Patrick Graham)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T21:25:00.000+03:00|CEE MARKETS-Dollar selling boosts CEE fx, Serbian cbank holds fire|"* Dollar retreat helps CEE currencies regain ground * Serbian central keeps rates on hold rather than cutting them * Bond yields rise on ECB, but Hungarian sale draws good demand (Adds Serbian central bank decision, Hungary's auction) By Sandor Peto and Aleksandar Vasovic BUDAPEST/BELGRADE, June 7 (Reuters) - The dollar's retreat on global markets helped Central European currencies firm on Thursday, while government bond yields tracked a rise of those in the euro zone. Bonds were hit by comments from European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet, who said on Wednesday that inflation was on its way back to target and that the ECB might reveal more about the end of its asset buying programme next week. Less stimulus from the ECB could be negative for assets in Central European markets which are tightly integrated with the euro zone. But regional currencies still firmed. ""This is because their strengthening is about the dollar rather than the euro, as the dollar has retreated in all crosses quite significantly in the past day,"" one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. ""That is not a surprise after its recent surge ... investors are adjusting positions, waiting for new information from the Fed's (Federal Reserve) and the ECB's meetings next week."" Reuters surveys showed on Thursday that the dollar's dominance could soon fade, while Central Europe's most liquid units could strengthen over the next year. The region's main currencies hit multi-month lows against the euro last month as investors rearranged positions amid a global dollar rally. They have recouped only part of the ground since then, and further gains are possible if the dollar does not resume its rally, market participants said. The forint led Thursday's gains, firming 0.2 percent against the euro, while the Hungarian government's bi-weekly debt auction attracted healthy demand. It sold bonds worth 82 billion forints, a relative relief compared with its previous auctions which added more than 100 billion forints each to the debt supply. The average yields of the bonds sold were higher by a few basis points from Wednesday's secondary market levels, and remained steady after the auction, with slight buying pressure, one Budapest-based trader said. Views on risks from next week's ECB guidance were mixed. Hawkish comments could further dent regional government bonds. But ING economists in Warsaw said the ECB may even extend its asset buying programme. ""We also think that the ECB will communicate the possibility of increasing the scale of asset buys if the risk of economic slowdown appears,"" they said in a note. Elsewhere, Serbia's central bank kept its main interest rate on hold at 3 percent, as expected, not cutting it further even though inflation runs well below its 3 percent target. The dinar eased slightly. CEE SNAPSHOT AT MARKETS 1424 CET CURRENCI ES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2018 Czech <EURCZK= 25.6450 25.6790 +0.13% -0.40% crown > Hungary <EURHUF= 317.5000 318.1300 +0.20% -2.07% forint > Polish <EURPLN= 4.2610 4.2630 +0.05% -1.99% zloty > Romanian <EURRON= 4.6560 4.6560 +0.00% +0.51% leu > Croatian <EURHRK= 7.3860 7.3870 +0.01% +0.60% kuna > Serbian <EURRSD= 118.1000 118.0500 -0.04% +0.34% dinar > Note: calculated from 1800 CET daily change Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2018 Prague 1077.58 1073.270 +0.40% -0.05% 0 Budapest 37582.21 37157.46 +1.14% -4.56% Warsaw 2283.83 2256.67 +1.20% -7.21% Bucharest 8278.12 8289.31 -0.13% +6.76% Ljubljana <.SBITOP 899.45 907.58 -0.90% +11.54% > Zagreb 1824.83 1829.77 -0.27% -0.98% Belgrade <.BELEX1 740.81 743.97 -0.42% -2.50% 5> Sofia 632.32 634.18 -0.29% -6.66% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year <CZ2YT=R 1.0570 0.0290 +169bps +4bps R> 5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.4730 -0.0080 +161bps -3bps R> 10-year <CZ10YT= 2.0430 0.0140 +154bps -3bps RR> Poland 2-year <PL2YT=R 1.5960 0.0150 +223bps +3bps R> 5-year <PL5YT=R 2.4710 0.0310 +260bps +1bps R> 10-year <PL10YT= 3.2730 0.0340 +277bps -1bps RR> FORWARD RATE AGREEMEN T 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech Rep 1.15 1.32 1.44 0.92 <PRIBOR= > Hungary 0.07 0.31 0.41 0.12 Poland 1.76 1.76 1.81 1.70 Note: FRA are for ask prices Quote: s"|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T21:28:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal - Bloomberg|June 7, 2018 / 6:37 PM / a few seconds ago Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal: Bloomberg Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) Supervisory Board Chairman has talked to top shareholders, investors and German government officials about merging with peer Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: 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/File Photo A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Commerzbank said the bank does not comment on market speculation. Reporting by Christoph Steitz|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T21:28:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal - Bloomberg|June 7, 2018 / 6:29 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal - Bloomberg Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) Supervisory Board Chairman has talked to top shareholders, investors and German government officials about merging with peer Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the Deutsche Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Commerzbank said the bank does not comment on market speculation. Reporting by Christoph Steitz|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-07T21:31:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Exxon seeks to sell out of Tanzanian gas field - sources|LONDON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) is seeking buyers for its stake in a large undeveloped gas field off Tanzania, according to three banking and industry sources, as the company focuses on the development of an even bigger project in neighboring Mozambique. A logo of Exxon Mobil is displayed on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The planned sale is an example of Chief Executive Darren Woods’ strategy of freeing up cash and narrowing the American firm’s focus on a number of giant projects around the world deemed to have the best prospects, including in Mozambique, Guyana and U.S. shale. Woods, who became CEO in January 2017 after predecessor Rex Tillerson retired and became U.S. secretary of state, has come under heavy pressure from investors over the past year to turn around the world’s largest publicly-traded oil and gas company as its output and earnings sagged. Exxon holds a 35 percent stake in Tanzania’s deepwater Block 2 field that was discovered earlier this decade. It holds an estimated 23 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the website of Norway’s Equinor ( EQNR.OL ), which operates the block and holds a 65 percent stake. The prospect has faced repeated delays in recent years due mainly to a lack of infrastructure and regulation for the country’s nascent oil and gas sector, complicating any sale. The sources said the value of the asset was unclear due to early stage of development and uncertain future. Exxon declined to comment. A spokesman for Equinor declined to comment on the sale process. He said the company had not changed its plans in Tanzania. Tanzania has moved down the priority list for Exxon after it acquired a 25 percent stake in the gas-rich Area 4 development offshore Mozambique $2.8 billion from Eni ( ENI.MI ) last year. Area 4, holding an estimated 85 trillion cubic feet of gas, is one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in recent years, and far bigger than the Tanzanian field. The project is also far more advanced - it is already under development and expected to start production in 2022. Houston-based Exxon has also taken charge of the development of the liquefied natural gas plant at the site. Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston, Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Stephen Jewkes in Milan; Editing by Pravin Char  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T21:42:00.000+03:00|RPT-SocGen CEO dismisses talk of pending cross-border mergers in Europe|(Repeats with no changes to the text) PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) - Cross-border bank mergers in Europe at the moment offer insufficient synergies between retail markets, Societe Generale Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said on Thursday. France’s third-biggest bank recently denied rumours about a potential tie-up with Italy’s Unicredit. “I don’t believe at all that we are currently in a situation to see cross-border mergers because the environment still is not that clear,” Oudea told a Goldman Sachs investor conference on Thursday, according to a transcript of his speech by Thomson Reuters StreetEvents. “I don’t believe today you have very significant synergies between retail activities in different markets,” Oudea said. “And really, I think, it’s not the priority. For us, the priority is to deliver our business plan”. Oudea reiterated, however, that there were too many banks in Europe and that over the long term a reshuffle was needed. In the current environment, he said, domestic retail consolidation was the most obvious option. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; editing by Leigh Thomas and Jason Neely)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T21:49:00.000+03:00|GM to sell Honda advanced electric car batteries in North America|June 7 (Reuters) - General Motors Co will supply advanced batteries to Japan’s Honda Motor Co, the companies said Thursday, a move that could significantly reduce the cost of future electric vehicles at both automakers after 2020. GM said the new batteries, which it has branded EME 1.0 and first described last fall, will be smaller than current EV batteries, can be charged more quickly and will provide more energy. Battery packs, typically the most expensive component of electric vehicles, can cost $10,000-$12,000 — nearly a third the price of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV. GM aims to cut that price nearly in half by 2021, sources told Reuters earlier this year. GM and Honda on Thursday said they would “collaborate” on the batteries, with GM supplying cells and modules, mainly for electric vehicles to be sold by both companies in North America. A source familiar with GM’s plans said its current battery cell supplier, Korea’s LG Chem, is expected to provide cells for the new battery, which is mainly a GM design. The new batteries are expected to begin production around 2021, the source said. GM declined to provide further details, and said it had not finalized supplier agreements for the new batteries. LG Chem did not respond immediately to a request for comment. GM and Honda have a partnership to jointly develop electric vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells that are expected to go on sale in 2020. Earlier this year, sources told Reuters that a key element of GM’s new battery design is slashing the amount of cobalt, the most costly ingredient in current lithium-ion battery cells. Cobalt prices have soared in the past two years in expectation of a surge in demand from automakers. GM’s new battery design increases the amount of nickel, which enables batteries to store and produce more energy, the sources told Reuters. Other battery makers are exploring similar changes in battery chemistry and design. (Editing by David Gregorio)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-07T21:53:00.000+03:00|Argentina's treasury minister says IMF deal expected soon|June 7, 2018 / 6:55 PM / Updated an hour ago Argentina clinches $50 billion IMF financing deal, to speed up cuts Eliana Raszewski , Luc Cohen 5 Min Read BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina and the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday they reached an agreement for a three-year, $50 billion (£37.2 billion) standby lending arrangement, which the government said it sought to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of the country’s past. Argentina's Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne (R) and Argentina's Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger talk as they attend a news conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Argentina requested IMF assistance on May 8 after its peso currency weakened sharply in an investor exodus from emerging markets. As part of the deal, which is subject to IMF board approval, the government pledged to speed up plans to reduce the fiscal deficit even as authorities now foresee lower growth and higher inflation in the coming years. The deal marks a turning point for Argentina, which for years shunned the IMF after a devastating 2001-2002 economic crisis that many Argentines blamed on IMF-imposed austerity measures. President Mauricio Macri’s turn to the lender has led to protests in the country. “There is no magic, the IMF can help but Argentines need to resolve our own problems,” Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said at a news conference. Dujovne said he expected the IMF’s board to approve the deal during a June 20 meeting. After that, he said he expects an immediate disbursement of 30 percent of the funding, or about $15 billion. Argentina will seek to reduce its fiscal deficit to 1.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2019, down from 2.2 percent previously, Dujovne said. The deal calls for fiscal balance in 2020 and a fiscal surplus of 0.5 percent of GDP in 2020. Argentina's Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne (R) speaks next to Argentina's Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger during a news conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci “This measure will ultimately lessen the government financing needs, put public debt on a downward trajectory, and as President Macri has stated, relieve a burden from Argentina’s back,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. HIGHER INFLATION, FOR NOW Speaking alongside central bank governor Federico Sturzenegger, Dujovne noted that the agreement was well above Argentina’s IMF quota. A minimum $20 billion had been expected based on Argentina’s quota. The interest rate will be from 1.96-4.96 percent, depending on how much Argentina uses. The South American country must pay back each disbursement in eight quarterly instalments, with a three-year grace period. Slideshow (4 Images) As widely expected, the government will also send a proposal to Congress to reform the central bank’s charter and strengthen its autonomy. The central bank will also stop transferring money to the treasury, a practice known locally as the “little machine” that is seen as a major driver of incessant inflation. “The little machine has been turned off, it has been unplugged,” Sturzenegger said. The IMF’s backing was expected to boost Argentine assets, which have sagged in recent months amid a global selloff in emerging markets. Neighbouring Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, has also seen its currency weaken in recent days to its lowest level in more than two years on fears over the county’s fiscal outlook and political future. “It is convincing and greatly exceeds expectations. Markets should react very positively tomorrow,” Miguel Kiguel, a former Argentine finance secretary who runs local consultancy Econviews, said in a Twitter post. “It is clear the country has capacity to pay.” But the short-term economic picture for Argentina remains more complicated than it appeared several months ago. Dujovne said economic growth was expected at 1.4 percent for 2018 and between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent for 2019, down from prior expectations above 3 percent in both years. The central bank will also abandon its 2018 inflation target of 15 percent and will not target any particular level this year, Sturzenegger said. Argentina agreed to new, looser inflation targets of 17 percent for 2019, 13 percent for 2020 and 9 percent for 2021, down from 25 percent currently. “They are mortgaging the future for our children and grandchildren,” Martin Sabbatella, a politician aligned with former populist President Cristina Fernandez, wrote on Twitter. Both Argentina and the IMF said the deal would protect the most vulnerable. In a separate statement, the president’s office said it had clinched agreements for an additional $5.65 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the CAF development bank over the next 12 months. Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, Jorge Otaola, Luc Cohen and Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Leslie Adler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-07T21:53:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal-Bloomberg|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) on Thursday downplayed the idea that a deal with cross-town rival Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) could materialize soon, after Bloomberg reported that top shareholders had been consulted about a potential tie-up. FILE PHOTO: A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board chairman, Paul Achleitner, had consulted top shareholders and German government officials about merging with Commerzbank, Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. “The Chairman of Deutsche Bank is asked constantly about this matter. His answer is always the same: ‘All the pro and contra arguments can be read in analyst reports and the media’,” a spokesman for the bank said in written comments. “He sees no reason to actively raise this issue.” Deutsche Bank, Germany’s flagship lender, is searching for new avenues of growth after it was forced to retreat from a strategy of trying to build a global investment bank. FILE PHOTO: 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/File Photo There are currently no formal discussions between Deutsche Bank and its cross-town rival, and any such move is not imminent, Bloomberg said, adding that stakeholders are being consulted about a possible deal down the road. A key obstacle is Deutsche Bank’s depressed share price, with investors telling Achleitner that they don’t want a merger with Commerzbank at the moment because it would be highly dilutive and potentially trigger a capital increase and hefty write-downs, Bloomberg said. Spokespeople for Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and the German Finance Ministry all declined to comment. The German state, which now owns a stake of 15.6 percent in Commerzbank, will play a key role in deliberations about a deal between Germany’s biggest lender and its cross-town rival. A decade ago, Germany took a 25 percent stake in Commerzbank as part of an 18.2 billion-euro ($21.5 billion) bailout during the financial crisis, with Germany seeking to whittle down its stake over time. Now Berlin politicians worry about incurring taxpayer losses on the stake, for which the German government paid an average of around 26 euros a share. Deutsche Bank shares closed at 9.61 euros on Thursday, while those of Commerzbank closed at 9.47 euros. Deutsche Bank’s investment banking arm will bear more than half of the group’s planned cost cuts, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday, as he admitted that the lender would continue to lag peers in the second quarter. Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt and Tom Koerkemeier in Berlin; editing by Alexandra Hudson, Larry King  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-07T21:59:00.000+03:00|Argentina clinches $50 billion IMF financing deal, to speed up cuts|BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina and the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday they reached an agreement for a three-year, $50 billion standby lending arrangement, which the government said it sought to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of the country’s past. Argentina's Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne (R) and Argentina's Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger talk as they attend a news conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Argentina requested IMF assistance on May 8 after its peso currency weakened sharply in an investor exodus from emerging markets. As part of the deal, which is subject to IMF board approval, the government pledged to speed up plans to reduce the fiscal deficit even as authorities now foresee lower growth and higher inflation in the coming years. The deal marks a turning point for Argentina, which for years shunned the IMF after a devastating 2001-2002 economic crisis that many Argentines blamed on IMF-imposed austerity measures. President Mauricio Macri’s turn to the lender has led to protests in the country. “There is no magic, the IMF can help but Argentines need to resolve our own problems,” Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said at a news conference. Dujovne said he expected the IMF’s board to approve the deal during a June 20 meeting. After that, he said he expects an immediate disbursement of 30 percent of the funding, or about $15 billion. Argentina will seek to reduce its fiscal deficit to 1.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2019, down from 2.2 percent previously, Dujovne said. The deal calls for fiscal balance in 2020 and a fiscal surplus of 0.5 percent of GDP in 2020. “This measure will ultimately lessen the government financing needs, put public debt on a downward trajectory, and as President Macri has stated, relieve a burden from Argentina’s back,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. HIGHER INFLATION, FOR NOW Speaking alongside central bank governor Federico Sturzenegger, Dujovne noted that the agreement was well above Argentina’s IMF quota. A minimum $20 billion had been expected based on Argentina’s quota. The interest rate will be from 1.96-4.96 percent, depending on how much Argentina uses. The South American country must pay back each disbursement in eight quarterly instalments, with a three-year grace period. Argentina's Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne (R) speaks next to Argentina's Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger during a news conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci As widely expected, the government will also send a proposal to Congress to reform the central bank’s charter and strengthen its autonomy. The central bank will also stop transferring money to the treasury, a practice known locally as the “little machine” that is seen as a major driver of incessant inflation. “The little machine has been turned off, it has been unplugged,” Sturzenegger said. The IMF’s backing was expected to boost Argentine assets, which have sagged in recent months amid a global selloff in emerging markets. Neighbouring Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, has also seen its currency weaken in recent days to its lowest level in more than two years on fears over the county’s fiscal outlook and political future. “It is convincing and greatly exceeds expectations. Markets should react very positively tomorrow,” Miguel Kiguel, a former Argentine finance secretary who runs local consultancy Econviews, said in a Twitter post. “It is clear the country has capacity to pay.” But the short-term economic picture for Argentina remains more complicated than it appeared several months ago. Dujovne said economic growth was expected at 1.4 percent for 2018 and between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent for 2019, down from prior expectations above 3 percent in both years. The central bank will also abandon its 2018 inflation target of 15 percent and will not target any particular level this year, Sturzenegger said. Argentina agreed to new, looser inflation targets of 17 percent for 2019, 13 percent for 2020 and 9 percent for 2021, down from 25 percent currently. “They are mortgaging the future for our children and grandchildren,” Martin Sabbatella, a politician aligned with former populist President Cristina Fernandez, wrote on Twitter. Both Argentina and the IMF said the deal would protect the most vulnerable. Slideshow (3 Images) In a separate statement, the president’s office said it had clinched agreements for an additional $5.65 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the CAF development bank over the next 12 months. Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, Jorge Otaola, Luc Cohen and Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Leslie Adler Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-07T22:03:00.000+03:00|Juventus sign Brazilian winger Costa on permanent deal|June 7, 2018 / 7:08 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Juventus sign Brazilian winger Costa on permanent deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Juventus have signed Brazilian winger Douglas Costa from Bayern Munich on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell, the Italian champions said on Thursday. Soccer Football - Coppa Italia Final - Juventus vs AC Milan - Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy - May 9, 2018 Juventus' Douglas Costa celebrates scoring their second goal with team mates REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini Costa has agreed a four-year contract with Juventus after they triggered the option to buy the player from Bayern for a fee of 40 million euros (£35.1 million) to be paid over two years. The 27-year-old scored six goals in 47 competitive appearances during his season-long loan with Juventus, helping them to win the Serie A title and Coppa Italia. Costa proved to be one of the most creative players in the Italian league, also providing 14 assists. Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, Editing by Ed Osmond|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-07T22:20:00.000+03:00|U.S. antitrust official says worries over limiting vertical deals 'misplaced'|NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department attempted to reassure investors on Thursday that worries that regulators would crack down on proposed combinations of two companies on a supply chain — known as vertical mergers — were overblown. FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Department of Justice building is seen in Washington, U.S., February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney general for antitrust, said that most proposed transactions were either good for consumers or neutral. But the department’s decision in November to sue to stop AT&T Inc ( T.N ), which owns DirecTV, from buying Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) made investors question whether other vertical deals might also meet with skepticism from antitrust enforcers. Delrahim said that was overblown. “I understand that some journalists and observers have recently expressed concern that the antitrust division no longer believes that vertical mergers can be efficient and beneficial to competition and consumers,” he said. Delrahim said that some of these point at the decision to sue to try to stop AT&T from buying Time Warner “as a supposed bellwether,” he said. “Rest assured these concerns are misplaced.” Two other vertical deals under review are Cigna Corp’s ( CI.N ) plan to buy Express Scripts Holding Co ( ESRX.O ) for $52 billion and CVS Health Corp’s ( CVS.N ) planned merger with Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) for $69 billion. Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-07T22:32:00.000+03:00|U.S. antitrust official says worries over limiting vertical deals 'misplaced'|June 7, 2018 / 7:33 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago U.S. antitrust official says worries over limiting vertical deals 'misplaced' Liana B. Baker 2 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department attempted to reassure investors on Thursday that worries that regulators would crack down on proposed combinations of two companies on a supply chain — known as vertical mergers — were overblown. FILE PHOTO: A combination photo shows the Time Warner shares price at the New York Stock Exchange and AT&T logo in New York, NY, U.S., on November 15, 2017 and on October 23, 2016 respectively. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (L) and REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photos Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney general for antitrust, said that most proposed transactions were either good for consumers or neutral. But the department’s decision in November to sue to stop AT&T Inc ( T.N ), which owns DirecTV, from buying Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) made investors question whether other vertical deals might also meet with scepticism from antitrust enforcers. Delrahim said that was overblown. “I understand that some journalists and observers have recently expressed concern that the antitrust division no longer believes that vertical mergers can be efficient and beneficial to competition and consumers,” he said. Delrahim said that some of these point at the decision to sue to try to stop AT&T from buying Time Warner “as a supposed bellwether,” he said. “Rest assured these concerns are misplaced.” Two other vertical deals under review are Cigna Corp’s ( CI.N ) plan to buy Express Scripts Holding Co ( ESRX.O ) for $52 billion (£38.7 billion) and CVS Health Corp’s ( CVS.N ) planned merger with Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) for $69 billion. Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-07T22:48:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-U.S. lawmakers scramble for way to block Trump deal with China's ZTE|(Adds details on legislation, supporters and timing) By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The Senate measure would restore penalties on ZTE for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from ZTE or Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, another major Chinese firm. It would also ban the U.S. government from using grants or loans to subsidize Huawei, ZTE or any subsidiaries or affiliates. The legislation has bipartisan support. It was introduced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, as well as Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a close Trump ally who has emerged as one of his party’s most influential foreign policy voices. Co-sponsors include Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Susan Collins, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Bill Nelson. They offered the legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. The Senate is expected to debate the NDAA next week, and it should become clear then whether the amendment would be allowed to come up for a vote. Backing for the amendment would be a departure for Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress. Republican lawmakers have generally been strong supporters of Trump’s legislative agenda, with only a handful of members voting only very rarely against the White House since he took office in January 2017. A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) Reporting by Patricia Zengerle Editing by Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-07T23:00:00.000+03:00|Aberdeen Standard Investments buys Turkey local debt after rate hike|LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Asset manager Aberdeen Standard Investments said on Thursday it had upped its exposure to domestic Turkish debt following the central bank’s bigger-than-expected interest rate hike. The central bank decision to hike the key interest rate by 125 basis points to 17.75 basis points had been “positive”, said Kevin Daly, a senior investment manager for emerging market debt, adding the firm was moving towards a “neutral” position from its previous “underweight”. “We are definitely more upbeat on the story in light of that move, (it) gives us confidence that policy makers have the upper hand now,” said Daly. “How long that lasts remains to be seen, but for the time being these are positive steps and it has given us more confidence in the lira.” Aberdeen Standard Investments has $14 billion invested in emerging market debt according to Daly. (Reporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Marc Jones)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T23:15:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $90 bln in bills|WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auctions of 13-week and 26-week bills next week, see: 13-week bills here 26-week bills here Special announcement for the bills: here Washington economics newsroom  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T23:22:00.000+03:00|UK government drops plan for 'meaningful vote' on Brexit deal: Labour|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government has removed a legislative proposal for a “meaningful vote” in parliament on whatever deal it negotiates to leave the European Union, opposition lawmakers said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: A Britain's and some European flags are hung outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo The government has proposed amendments to its Brexit legislation after the unelected upper house of parliament made 15 changes to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s original plans, despite ministers’ attempts to block them. The government decided not to change an amendment that would force it to try to negotiate a customs union with the EU that is shaping up to be the most contentious vote in parliament next week, an official with the opposition Labour Party said. Labour said that among the amendments was one that removed the requirement for the government to hold a “meaningful vote” in parliament on the deal it will try to negotiate with the EU for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. “It is vital parliament has a meaningful vote including in the event of no deal with the EU,” a group of Labour lawmakers in parliament said on Twitter. “Wasn’t Brexit about parliament getting back control?” No one was immediately available to comment in May’s office. The government plans to ask lawmakers in the directly-elected lower house of parliament to overturn some of the changes next week. The debate will test May’s ability to broker a compromise with those in her Conservative Party who, like many members of the upper house, want to keep a relatively close relationship with the EU after Brexit. Failure to placate those rebels could force a tight vote with serious consequences for both May’s authority as leader of a minority government and the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU. Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Larry King  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-07T23:25:00.000+03:00|U.S. Treasury to sell $68 bln in notes, bonds|WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of 3-year and 10-year notes, and 30-year bonds next week, see: 3-year notes: here 10-year notes: here 30-year bonds: here Special announcement for closing times: here Washington economics newsroom  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-07T23:27:00.000+03:00|UK government drops plan for 'meaningful vote' on Brexit deal - Labour|June 7, 2018 / 8:27 PM / Updated 18 hours ago UK government drops plan for 'meaningful vote' on Brexit deal - Labour Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government has removed a legislative proposal for a “meaningful vote” in parliament on whatever deal it negotiates to leave the European Union, opposition lawmakers said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: A Britain's and some European flags are hung outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo The government has proposed amendments to its Brexit legislation after the unelected upper house of parliament made 15 changes to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s original plans, despite ministers’ attempts to block them. The government decided not to change an amendment that would force it to try to negotiate a customs union with the EU that is shaping up to be the most contentious vote in parliament next week, an official with the opposition Labour Party said. Labour said that among the amendments was one that removed the requirement for the government to hold a “meaningful vote” in parliament on the deal it will try to negotiate with the EU for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. “It is vital parliament has a meaningful vote including in the event of no deal with the EU,” a group of Labour lawmakers in parliament said on Twitter. “Wasn’t Brexit about parliament getting back control?” No one was immediately available to comment in May’s office. The government plans to ask lawmakers in the directly-elected lower house of parliament to overturn some of the changes next week. The debate will test May’s ability to broker a compromise with those in her Conservative Party who, like many members of the upper house, want to keep a relatively close relationship with the EU after Brexit. Failure to placate those rebels could force a tight vote with serious consequences for both May’s authority as leader of a minority government and the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU. Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Larry King|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKDomesticNews/|0
2018-06-07T23:52:00.000+03:00|Lloyds to sell its remaining Standard Life Aberdeen stake|LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group will sell its remaining 97.7 million shares in Standard Life Aberdeen, representing 3.3 percent of the shares of the asset manager, Bank of America Merrill Lynch which is running the deal said on Thursday. The deal follows Lloyds cancelling its 109 billion pound mandate with Standard Life earlier this year, citing competition concerns following the 11 billion pounds merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life. (Reporting by Lawrence White Editing by Alexandra Hudson)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T00:04:00.000+03:00|RBS CEO says wants to buy bank's shares back from UK government|LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) Chief Executive Ross McEwan said on Thursday the bank wants to buy back some of its own shares from the government, if approved by the regulator and if it did not jeopardize the bank’s return to dividend payments. FILE PHOTO: Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan speaks during an interview with Reuters at Canary Wharf in London, Britain July 7, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Britain’s government, which acquired a stake in RBS when it bailed the bank out for 45.5 billion pounds ($61.10 billion)in the financial crisis, restarted the privatization of the bank earlier this week, selling 7.7 percent of its holdings. “Yes we do want to participate, I think we’ve got plenty of capital,” McEwan said, speaking at a conference in Frankfurt, adding that his first priority would be restoring the bank’s dividends. Reporting by Emma Rumney, Editing by Lawrence White  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-08T00:29:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: U.S. Justice Department probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless companies - sources|June 7, 2018 / 4:29 PM / in 15 hours Exclusive: U.S. Justice Department probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless companies - sources Sheila Dang 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is examining how the proposed merger between T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp could affect prices for smaller wireless operators, according to two people familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO - A sign for a T-Mobile store is seen in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton A T-Mobile and Sprint merger would eliminate competition between the two carriers that have been the dominant players in selling network access to wireless companies that often serve pre-paid or price-conscious consumers, and could lead to higher prices for those users. The Justice Department, which is evaluating T-Mobile’s $26 billion deal to buy Sprint, has been speaking with small wireless operators that buy access to the major wireless networks at wholesale rates, and is seeking their opinions about the merger, the people said, who declined to be named because the talks are confidential. Antitrust investigations are a normal part of the merger approval process, especially for large deals like T-Mobile’s. A Justice Department spokesman and a T-Mobile spokeswoman declined to comment. Sprint did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Including AT&T and Verizon, there are four major U.S. wireless providers. Since the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division recently refused to commit to keep four carriers after the T-Mobile deal is completed - an issue that contributed to AT&T dropping its pursuit to buy T-Mobile in 2011 - the department’s examination of the wholesale market suggests the government is giving the deal a thorough review. David Glickman, chief executive of Ultra Mobile and Mint Mobile, two pre-paid wireless brands, also said Justice asked to speak with him about the merger, but said he was not given additional details about what the department wanted to discuss. “A merger between T-Mobile and Sprint without any concessions would be bad for consumers, businesses and the country,” said Peter Adderton, founder and former chief executive of Boost Mobile USA, which was acquired by Sprint. Adderton is no longer affiliated with Boost Mobile’s business in the United States. Adderton, who called for formal regulation of wireless wholesale prices after the T-Mobile-Sprint deal was announced, said it was “encouraging” to see the Justice Department reach out to learn about how the merger could affect businesses and consumers. While AT&T and Verizon dominate the U.S. wireless market overall, T-Mobile is the most popular among customers who make less than $75,000 per year, and Sprint’s pre-paid brand Boost counts 83 percent of its users in that income range, according to data from Kagan, S&P Global Market Intelligence data. T-Mobile has 38 percent of the U.S. pre-paid market, while Sprint has 16 percent, which would give the combined company 54 percent, according to S&P. Reporting by Sheila Dang in New York; Additional reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish|https://www.reuters.com/subjects/aerospace-and-defense|0
2018-06-08T00:37:00.000+03:00|Bosch might sell packaging technology unit: FAZ|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German automotive supplier Bosch might sell its struggling packaging technology unit, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing financial and industry sources. FILE PHOTO: The Bosch logo is reflected in a semiconductor wafer in the company manufacturing base in Reutlingen, Germany, June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo Management is currently exploring options for the unit, which made 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in sales in 2016 and is facing stiff competition from Asia, the paper said, adding that included a potential disposal. No advisers have been mandated at this stage, the paper said. A spokeswoman for Bosch said the company would not comment on market speculation. Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle  |https://www.reuters.com/home|0
2018-06-08T00:39:00.000+03:00|Bombardier Toronto union could strike June 23 if no deal|MONTREAL, June 7 (Reuters) - Canadian workers who assemble Bombardier Inc’s turboprops and the company’s new top-of-the-line business jet have threatened to go on strike as early as June 23, unless a negotiated wage deal is reached, the union chairman of their Toronto plant said on Thursday. Merv Gray, plant chairman for Unifor local 112, told Reuters by telephone that the 1,600 workers are looking for greater job security on the company’s strong-selling Global 7500 business jet, among other demands. The long-range jet, which is to enter service this year, is a critical part of the Canadian plane-and-train-maker’s strategy to grow business aircraft revenues to $8.5 billion in 2020, up from $5 billion in 2017. While Gray stressed the union is pushing for a three-year contract to replace the agreement that expires on June 23, failure to reach a deal could lead to a strike that day depending “on how close we are.” Mark Masluch, a spokesman for Bombardier business aircraft said by email that “discussions are progressing well and we plan to work within the deadline.” While Masluch said Bombardier wouldn’t “comment on the specifics of our ongoing, active discussions with Unifor, I want to emphasize we see a bright future for our products in Toronto.” Union workers at Bombardier’s Downsview plant in Toronto assemble the Global 7500, the Global 5000 and the Q400 turboprops. The union talks follow Bombardier’s May announcement that it had agreed to sell the sprawling Downsview site, the company’s largest land asset, to a Canadian pension fund for approximately $635 million. While Bombardier will continue to operate from Downsview for a period of up to three years, with two optional one-year extension periods, the sale has made job security a priority for workers at the factory, Unifor said in a May 31 statement. (Reporting by Allison Lampert; Editing by Sandra Maler)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T00:50:00.000+03:00|Ghana sells 477.6 mln cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of 10-year bond|ACCRA, June 7 (Reuters) - Ghana sold 477.6 million cedis ($101.6 mln) worth of a fresh 10-year domestic currency bond on Thursday and will pay a yield of 17.5 percent, transaction arrangers said. The issuance, open to foreign investors, attracted offers worth 523.2 million cedis, Barclays Bank Ghana said in an email to Reuters. Initial pricing guidance for the paper, which matures in May 2028, was set at 17.0 pecent to 17.75 percent. Settlement is slated for June 11. $1 = 4.7000 Ghanaian cedis Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Aaron Ross and Peter Graff  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T01:10:00.000+03:00|Argentina 'very close' to deal with IMF on financing -minister|BUENOS AIRES, June 7 (Reuters) - Argentina’s government is very close to an agreement on financing with the International Monetary Fund and news is expected in the coming hours, Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Thursday. “I can’t say for sure it will be today, but I can say we are very close,” Dujovne told Reporters. “We are working on the final details and hope to have them in coming hours.” (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski and Maximiliano Rizzi Writing by Caroline Stauffer Editing by Paul Simao)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T02:01:00.000+03:00|Japan investors buy record amount of Spanish bonds, return to U.S. in April|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese investors bought a record amount of Spanish bonds in April, at the start of Japan’s financial year, and they returned to U.S. bonds after heavy selling the preceding six months, Ministry of Finance data showed on Friday. They bought 350 billion yen (2.70 billion euros) ($3.19 billion) of Spanish bonds in April, a record for the second straight month after March’s 282 billion yen. They were attracted by the higher yields Spanish bonds offer, compared to core countries in the euro zone. Their buying surpassed that in longtime favorite French bonds, of 298 billion yen. To view a graphic on Japanese investments in euro zone bonds, click: reut.rs/2LyKOGp Since October, Japanese investors have flocked to euro zone bonds, shifting from the U.S. markets, because of the former’s attraction for currency hedging. Investors can earn an extra return of about 0.3 percentage point through hedges on the euro. For hedging against the dollar, they need to pay about 2.6 percentage points. That gap more than offset euro zone bonds’ lower nominal yields compared to U.S. Treasuries, and sparked an 8.1 trillion yen outflow from dollar bonds and 4.9 trillion yen flows into euro denominated bonds during October-March. In April, Japanese bought 169 billion yen of Italian bonds, the most in two years. They sold 672 billion yen of German bonds, the first net selling in seven months. However, their foray into Southern Europe may halt after Italian bond prices sank last month on worries about an early election. Some long-term investors saw that as a bargain-hunting opportunity. Japan Post Insurance Co ( 7181.T ), one of Japan’s largest investors, said it was looking to buy short-term Italian government bonds after the sell-off made them inexpensive. But analysts think the latest Italian sell-off is likely to scare off many other risk-averse Japanese investors. “It will be impossible for many investors to increase Italian bonds after seeing such high volatilities,” said Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, adding they are likely to shift to other assets such as U.S agency bonds. The data showed Japanese investors returned to U.S. bonds in April after six months of heavy selling. They bought 703 billion yen of U.S. bonds, though that’s a fraction of their October-March selling of 8.86 trillion yen. Their buying in U.S sovereign bonds were totaled 172 billion yen, suggesting a bulk of their buying was in corporate, mortgage and agency bonds. Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Richard Borsuk  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-08T02:02:00.000+03:00|Saudi Finance Ministry appoints five local banks to deal in securities|RIYADH, June 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry signed an agreement on Thursday to appoint five local banks as primary dealers in local government securities, a statement by the ministry said. The five institutions are Alinma Bank, Bank al-Jazira, National Commercial Bank, Samba Financial Group and Saudi British Bank, the statement said. (Reporting By Marwa Rashad Writing By Maha El Dahan Editing by Peter Graff)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T02:17:00.000+03:00|U.S. can sell pork to Mexico through import quota, despite tariffs: Mexico|MEXICO CITY/DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. producers can sell pork legs and shoulders to Mexico via an import quota despite retaliatory measures taken this week after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Mexican government said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Piglets are pictured in a production module at the pig farm Granjas Carrol de Mexico (GCM), in Cuyoaco, Puebla state, Mexico August 4, 2017. Picture taken August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo Mexico published a long list on Tuesday of U.S. products it would subject to tariffs, including the pork cuts. The measures were a response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada and the European Union. But due to the country’s high consumption of pork legs and shoulders, Mexico created a quota for 350,000 tons that could be imported without tariffs. It was not previously clear that the quota would apply to imports from the United States. The United States “will be able to take advantage of the quota because the quotas are not discriminatory,” the Mexican economy ministry wrote in response to a Reuters inquiry. The temporary pass to the United States shows Mexico’s dependence on its neighbor to the north, said Adam Speck, commodity market analyst for U.S.-based Informa Economics. That 350,000-ton volume represents about four months of shipments, he said, giving officials from both countries more time to hammer out a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. Over the past 10 years, U.S. pork made up 89 percent of Mexico’s imports of the meat, accounting for about a third of local consumption, according to the Mexican economy ministry. One big category of pork: ham. The United States exported more than 466,000 metric tonnes of ham to Mexico in 2017 – worth $857.8 million and accounting for more than 80 percent of all U.S. hams exported that year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Many of those hams are “bone-in” hams, where the labor to remove the bones costs less, according to industry analysts. After the meat is de-boned, the product is either consumed domestically in Mexico or re-exported to other markets, including the United States. Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said this week that Mexico expects to import pork cuts from Europe to compensate for the decline from the United States. The import quota will be in force until Dec. 31. The economy ministry also clarified that there will be a transition period for the U.S. pork tariffs for any shipments outside of the quota. Starting on June 5, the tariff on U.S. pork was set at 10 percent, and it will be raised to 20 percent on July 5. Reporting by Adriana Barrera and Ana Isabel Martinez in Mexico City, and Tom Polansek in Des Moines, Iowa; Additional reporting by P.J. Huffstutter and Theopolis Waters in Chicago; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Matthew Lewis  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-08T02:22:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Saudi Finance Ministry appoints five local banks to deal in securities|(Adds details) RIYADH, June 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry signed an agreement on Thursday to appoint five local banks as primary dealers in local government securities, the ministry said. The five institutions are Alinma Bank, Bank al-Jazira, National Commercial Bank, Samba Financial Group and Saudi British Bank, a ministry statement said. In April, Saudi authorities listed riyal government bonds on the Saudi Stock Exchange for the first time, part of efforts to spur secondary market debt trading. A total of 204.4 billion riyals ($54.5 billion) of bonds were listed. Future issues of local currency government bonds will also be listed, encouraging investment by non-bank investors such as mutual funds and insurers. (Reporting By Marwa Rashad Writing By Maha El Dahan, Editing by Peter Graff, William Maclean)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T02:22:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sounds out investors about Commerzbank deal-Bloomberg|FRANKFURT, June 7 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board Chairman has talked to top shareholders, investors and German government officials about merging with peer Commerzbank, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Commerzbank said the bank does not comment on market speculation. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T02:57:00.000+03:00|China May coal imports flat as government controls stifle buying|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s coal imports in May were almost unchanged from the same month a year earlier as tight government curbs on shipments, designed to cool an overheating market, kept a lid on foreign coal buying. FILE PHOTO: Excavators transport coal at a railway station in Yuncheng, Shanxi province, China January 25, 2017. Picture taken January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer Coal arrivals in May inched up to 22.33 million tonnes from 22.28 million tonnes in April, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday - less than 1 percent up from May 2017. For the first five months of 2018, coal imports were up 8.2 percent at 120.73 million tonnes, customs data showed. The slowdown came as Beijing intervened to calm the red-hot coal market as prices surged, adopting tight controls on imports, two traders said. “May imports would be much higher...if the government had not imposed tight scrutiny on imports,” a Guangzhou-based coal trader said. “Demand is good in May.” Spot prices for Australian coal delivery from the Newcastle terminal GCLNWCPFBMc1 rose more than 12 percent in May, and climbed to a six-year high of $115.25 per ton on Friday. Weaker-than-expected imports also raised concerns on coal supplies as power producers aimed to shore up inventory ahead of the peak demand season which runs from June to August. Shandong province and Guangdong province, two of China’s main industrial provinces, have said they face potential power shortages in coming months, due partly to weak hydro power output. Two major Chinese coal-fired power generator have asked the state planner to help relax coal import controls in May anticipating rising demand. Reporting by Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-08T02:59:00.000+03:00|Trump says could sign deal to end Korean war at meeting with Kim|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday it was possible he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could sign an agreement to end the Korean War at their June 12 meeting in Singapore and that he would someday like to normalize relations with Pyongyang. U.S. President Donald Trump listens during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque “Well it could be, we could sign an agreement, as you know that would be a first step ... but yes ... we’re looking at it, we’re talking about it with a lot of other people ... that’s probably the easy part, the hard part remains after that,” Trump said in answer to a question at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Reporting by James Oliphant; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Bill Trott  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-08T03:08:00.000+03:00|U.S. lawmakers plan legislation to block Trump deal with ZTE|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. FILE PHOTO - Visitors pass in front of the Chinese telecoms equipment group ZTE Corp booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Picture Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. The Senate measure would restore penalties on ZTE for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from ZTE or Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], another major Chinese firm. It would also ban the U.S. government from using grants or loans to subsidize Huawei, ZTE or any subsidiaries or affiliates. The legislation has bipartisan support. It was introduced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, as well as Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a close Trump ally who has emerged as one of his party’s most influential foreign policy voices. Co-sponsors include Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Susan Collins, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Bill Nelson. They offered the legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. The Senate is expected to debate the NDAA next week, and it should become clear then whether the amendment would be allowed to come up for a vote. Backing for the amendment would be a departure for Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress. Republican lawmakers have generally been strong supporters of Trump’s legislative agenda, with only a handful of members voting only very rarely against the White House since he took office in January 2017. A U.S. investigation into ZTE was launched after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship hardware and software worth millions of dollars to Iran from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies. ( reut.rs/2GbpCmO ) Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker  |http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/nav/rss/876f91efcbd818cb|0
2018-06-08T03:41:00.000+03:00|Australia asks China to approve foreign minister's visit amid tension|SYDNEY, June 8 (Reuters) - Australia has asked China to approve a visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, a spokeswoman said on Friday, amid heightened diplomatic tension between the two trading partners. Since 2014, the foreign ministers of Australia and China have held annual meetings. As part of that arrangement, Bishop is set to travel to China this year. “We are discussing dates with China for our next foreign security dialogue,” Lauren Gianoli, a spokeswoman for Bishop, told Reuters. Analysts have said China’s response will indicate whether it intends to maintain its frosty approach to Australia, triggered by Canberra’s accusations that Beijing was meddling in its domestic affairs. (Reporting by Colin Packham Editing by Clarence Fernandez)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-08T03:55:00.000+03:00|In test of sour ties, Australia asks China to approve foreign minister visit|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has asked China to approve a visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, an Australian spokeswoman said on Friday, a request that should provide an indication of just how strained ties between the two trading partners have become. Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop attends a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Kham/Files Bishop hopes to travel to China this year for the latest in a series of annual meetings the two countries’ foreign ministers have held since 2014. “We are discussing dates with China for our next foreign security dialogue,” a spokeswoman for Bishop told Reuters. A second source familiar with Australia’s foreign relations said Australia made the suggestion late last month, and China would normally respond to such a proposal “within weeks”. Analysts said China was unlikely to formally reject the proposal, but could sit on it indefinitely, making a meeting unfeasible. China’s response will indicate whether it intends to improve relations with Australia, which have been strained over its accusations China was meddling in its domestic affairs. “It would be huge if Bishop does not travel to China this year, it would mark an escalation in the current diplomatic tensions,” said James Laurenceson, an expert on the two nations’ economic ties, at the University of Technology in Sydney. Chinese foreign ministry Hua Chunying said she did not have any information on a visit by Bishop, but welcomed better ties. “China has always welcomed and is willing to develop friendly exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” Hua said on Thursday. Less than a year ago, Australia-Chinese relations were riding high, with two-way trade last year worth a record A$170 billion ($130 billion). Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s accusation of Chinese meddling, however, threatens those unchecked economic ties. China, which denies the accusations, originally kept it response towards Australia constrained to diplomatic protests. But the row escalated last month. Six Australian wine companies, including Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, the world’s biggest-listed winemaker, have faced delays getting products through Chinese customs. MIXED MESSAGES As fears grow that Australian wine sales to China will fail to hit the forecast A$1 billion this year, the industry has called on Turnbull to travel to China to smooth ties. Turnbull has said he intends to go this year but has yet to propose dates to China, a source familiar with the prime minister’s plans told Reuters. Trade Minister Steven Ciobo last month attempted to smooth ties on a trip to China lat month, the first by an elected Australian official in seven months. But he was largely shunned during his three-day visit. Australia says it wants to smooth what it calls “irritants” in the bilateral relationship, though analysts said it is pushing ahead with policies that are unlikely to be well received in China. The government on Friday secured bipartisan support for foreign interference laws, all but securing passage of the legislation that soured Australian-China relations so badly. Senior Australian government officials have also continued to publicly criticise China. This week, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Bishop both accused China of applying undue pressure on national flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd to change its website to refer to the self-governed island of Taiwan as a Chinese territory. Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-08T04:22:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank says chairman sees no need to bring up Commerzbank deal|FRANKFURT, June 7 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank on Thursday said its chairman is constantly asked about the potential for a tie-up with peer Commerzbank but downplayed the idea that a deal could materialise in the short-term. The remarks came in response to a report by Bloomberg, saying Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner had consulted top shareholders and German government officials about a Commerzbank deal. “The Chairman of Deutsche Bank is asked constantly about this matter. His answer is always the same: ‘All the pro and contra arguments can be read in analyst reports and the media’,” a spokesman for the bank said in written comments. “He sees no reason to actively raise this issue.” (Reporting by Andreas Framke; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Christoph Steitz)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T04:30:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-FDA Approves Genentech’S Rituxan For Pemphigus Vulgaris|June 7 (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG: * FDA APPROVES GENENTECH’S RITUXAN (RITUXIMAB) FOR PEMPHIGUS VULGARIS * GENENTECH- RITUXAN IS NOW FDA-APPROVED TO TREAT FOUR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-08T04:32:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank says chairman sees no need to bring up Commerzbank deal|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) on Thursday said its chairman is constantly asked about the potential for a tie-up with peer Commerzbank CBKGn.DE but downplayed the idea that a deal could materialize in the short-term. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the Deutsche Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo The remarks came in response to a report by Bloomberg, saying Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner had consulted top shareholders and German government officials about a Commerzbank deal. “The Chairman of Deutsche Bank is asked constantly about this matter. His answer is always the same: ‘All the pro and contra arguments can be read in analyst reports and the media’,” a spokesman for the bank said in written comments. “He sees no reason to actively raise this issue.” Reporting by Andreas Framke; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Christoph Steitz  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-08T05:00:00.000+03:00|Airbus set to close deal for majority stake in Bombardier CSeries|(Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus has finalised a rescue deal for Bombardier’s CSeries jet and is expected to flex its marketing and cost-cutting muscle to revive the loss-making Canadian venture. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Airbus is pictured at the Airbus A380 final assembly line at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in its flagship commercial jet for a symbolic Canadian dollar, after sluggish sales and low production rates prevented it from keeping a lid on costs. Airbus, by contrast, will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets in a challenge to Boeing and is expected to use its industrial power to slash the price of parts, along with improving efficiencies internally. After winning regulatory approvals and agreeing the deal’s fine-print in Montreal late on Thursday, the two companies said they were ready to start the new tie-up formally from July 1. They confirmed outlines of a historic shift in the aircraft industry agreed in October, with Bombardier abandoning its standalone bid to enter the main jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, in exchange for a stake in a stronger project. Bombardier will retain 31 percent and Investissement Quebec, run by the province of Quebec, will hold 19 percent. Announcing federal government approval, Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Airbus had committed to maintaining Mirabel outside Montreal as the primary CSeries industrial site, where more than 2,000 Quebec aerospace workers rely on the jet. Airbus also plans to expand its Mobile, Alabama, assembly plant to include a new line capable of handling four CSeries a month for the U.S. market. It said work would begin next year. The first priority will be to secure plans for production increases that include a doubling of deliveries this year. Aerospace supply chains are tight because of high jet demand. “We will be very focused on having a robust ramp-up and a steep ramp-up in the future years,” Philippe Balducchi, head of the new CSeries partnership, told reporters. Bombardier will continue for the time being to fund the investments needed to support the production increase up to certain agreed financial levels, beyond which any cash shortfalls will be shared by the main partners. “Looking forward, I’m very confident that CSeries is going to contribute positively to the cash generation of Airbus in the future,” said Airbus Finance Director Harald Wilhelm. BOMBARDIER UPDATES GUIDANCE Closing the deal allows Bombardier to shed CSeries losses, while Airbus is betting that its ability to negotiate cuts in the cost of parts will help to put the program in the black. Bombardier raised its guidance for 2018 consolidated earnings before interest and tax by $100 million to a range of between $900 million and $1 billion, to reflect the separation of the loss-making CSeries. Bombardier also said it was cutting its revenue target by $500 million to $16.5-17 billion. The CSeries will no longer be consolidated in its results from July 1. The deal was first announced at a time when Bombardier was locked in a trade dispute with U.S. planemaker Boeing. That dispute ended in March when Boeing said it would not appeal a ruling that overturned plans to impose hefty duties on the CSeries in the United States. Boeing is now holding its own tie-up talks with Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer SA. The closing coincided with the opening of a G7 summit at which Europe and Canada are expected to take a common stand against the United States on trade, but company officials denied any link between current those tensions and the plane tie-up. Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru and Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer in Paris; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Patrick Graham  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-08T05:05:00.000+03:00|Airbus set to close deal for majority stake in Bombardier Cseries|(Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) has finalized a rescue deal for Bombardier Inc’s ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries jet and is expected to flex its cost-cutting and marketing muscle to revive the money-losing Canadian venture. FILE PHOTO: A Bombardier CSeries aircraft is pictured during a news conference to announce a partnership between Airbus and Bombardier on the C Series aircraft programme, in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in its flagship commercial jet for a token fee of one Canadian dollar, after sluggish sales and low production rates pushed the program well over budget. Airbus will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets in a challenge to rival Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and is expected to use its industrial power to slash the price of parts and improve efficiencies internally. After winning regulatory approvals and agreeing on the fine print of the deal late on Thursday, the two companies said they were ready to start the new tie-up formally on July 1. The deal’s completion finalizes a historic shift in the aircraft industry, with 75-year-old Bombardier abandoning its standalone bid to enter the main jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, in exchange for a stake in a stronger project. Boeing is now holding its own tie-up talks with Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ). Bombardier will retain 31 percent in the CSeries while Investissement Quebec, run by the province of Quebec, will hold 19 percent. Related Coverage Airbus to seek CSeries efficiencies across the board: executive The deal is also expected to mark the end of the CSeries branding chosen when Bombardier launched the jet a decade ago, though Airbus said it had not yet decided what to call it. Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said in a statement on Friday that Airbus had committed to maintaining Montreal as the main CSeries industrial site, where more than 2,000 Quebec workers rely on the jet. David Chartrand, Quebec coordinator of a union representing around 1,200 CSeries workers, expressed concerns about possible job losses among office support staff as Airbus cuts costs, as opposed to workers on the shop floor. “The synergies are not going to bring workers from France to work on the plane,” Chartrand said in a phone interview. Airbus also plans to expand its Mobile, Alabama, assembly plant to handle four CSeries aircraft per month for the U.S. market as well as Airbus jets. It said work would begin next year. Slideshow (2 Images) The priority this year is to boost production, with 2018 CSeries deliveries expected be around double the 17 aircraft delivered last year, the companies said in a release. Bombardier has previously forecast 40 CSeries deliveries in 2018, but faced delays earlier in the year. Philippe Balducchi, head of the new CSeries partnership, told reporters on a conference call that “we will be very focused on having a robust ramp-up,” in reference to increasing aircraft production. Bombardier will continue for the time being to fund the investments needed to support the production increase up to certain agreed financial levels, beyond which any cash shortfalls will be shared by the main partners. “Looking forward, I’m very confident that CSeries is going to contribute positively to the cash generation of Airbus in the future,” Airbus Finance Director Harald Wilhelm said on the same conference call. BOMBARDIER UPDATES GUIDANCE Closing the deal allows Bombardier to shed CSeries losses, while Airbus is betting that its ability to negotiate cuts in the cost of parts will help put the program in the black. Bombardier had previously said it expected to break even on the CSeries in 2020. The company’s aerospace division has long trailed its higher-performing rail and business jet units. Bombardier raised its guidance for 2018 consolidated earnings before interest and tax by $100 million to a range of between $900 million and $1 billion, to reflect the separation of the loss-making CSeries. [nGNE1pBbkl Bombardier also said it was cutting its revenue target by $500 million to $16.5 billion-$17 billion. The CSeries will no longer be consolidated in its results from July 1. Bombardier shares were down 1 percent at C$4.87 on Friday afternoon in Toronto, while Airbus shares gained 1.25 percent to close at 100.90 euros in Paris. Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru and Cyril Altmeyer and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Patrick Graham and Matthew Lewis  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-08T05:05:00.000+03:00|Russia's Otkritie bank plans to sell 20 percent stake in 2021|ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Russia’s Otkritie bank, bailed out by the central bank last year, aims to sell a stake of up to 20 percent in 2021, the bank’s management said on Friday. The central bank took over Otkritie, once Russia’s largest private lender, and two other major banks in 2017 in an attempt to prevent a deeper crisis in the banking sector that lost dozens of players in the past few years. “It is important for us to be attractive for an external investor, a buyer, by 2021 so we can sell 15-20 percent of shares,” Otkritie’s CEO Mikhail Zadornov said. Zadornov, presenting the bank’s strategy at a banking forum in St Petersburg, said Otkritie would like to sell its shares at a price of at least 1.3 times the capital the bank has at the end of 2020. The central bank had said before it wanted to sell the banks it rescues, considering an increased state presence in the banking sector as undesirable. Ksenia Yudayeva, first deputy governor central bank and the head of the supervisory board at Otkritie, said shares in Otkritie will be offered in several blocks. She said Otkritie was not looking for a strategic investor to buy those shares. Yudayeva said Otkritie’s plan for the next few years would be to focus on lending to small and medium businesses. A successful implementation of the strategy should help Otkritie’s banking business post a net profit of 68 billion rubles ($1.08 billion) in 2020, Zadornov said. The bank’s return on equity, an indicator that shows how much profit the company generated from the money invested by its shareholders, is set to increase to 18 percent in 2020 from zero in 2018, the bank’s presentation showed. In the first five months of 2018, the bank made 5.4 billion rubles in net profit, Yudayeva said. Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-08T05:47:00.000+03:00|Bombardier Toronto union could strike June 23 if no deal|MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canadian workers who assemble Bombardier Inc’s ( BBDb.TO ) turboprops and the company’s new top-of-the-line business jet have threatened to go on strike as early as June 23, unless a negotiated wage deal is reached, the union chairman of their Toronto plant said on Thursday. A Bombardier logo is pictured during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) at Geneva Airport, Switzerland May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Merv Gray, plant chairman for Unifor local 112, told Reuters by telephone that the 1,600 workers are looking for greater job security on the company’s strong-selling Global 7500 business jet, among other demands. The long-range jet, which is to enter service this year, is a critical part of the Canadian plane-and-train-maker’s strategy to grow business aircraft revenues to $8.5 billion in 2020, up from $5 billion in 2017. While Gray stressed the union is pushing for a three-year contract to replace the agreement that expires on June 23, failure to reach a deal could lead to a strike that day depending “on how close we are.” Mark Masluch, a spokesman for Bombardier business aircraft said by email that “discussions are progressing well and we plan to work within the deadline.” While Masluch said Bombardier wouldn’t “comment on the specifics of our ongoing, active discussions with Unifor, I want to emphasize we see a bright future for our products in Toronto.” Union workers at Bombardier’s Downsview plant in Toronto assemble the Global 7500, the Global 5000 and the Q400 turboprops. The union talks follow Bombardier’s May announcement that it had agreed to sell the sprawling Downsview site, the company’s largest land asset, to a Canadian pension fund for approximately $635 million. While Bombardier will continue to operate from Downsview for a period of up to three years, with two optional one-year extension periods, the sale has made job security a priority for workers at the factory, Unifor said in a May 31 statement. Reporting by Allison Lampert; Editing by Sandra Maler  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180607.html|0
2018-06-08T06:41:00.000+03:00|Argentina says deal with IMF signed -ministry spokesman|BUENOS AIRES, June 7 (Reuters) - Argentina and the International Monetary Fund have signed a financing agreement and details will be revealed by both in around 20 minutes, a treasury ministry spokesman said on Thursday. (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski and Marcos Brindicci; Writing by Caroline Stauffer, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-08T06:51:00.000+03:00|Japan investors buy record amount of Spanish bonds, return to U.S. in April|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese investors bought a record amount of Spanish bonds in April, at the start of Japan’s financial year, and they returned to U.S. bonds after heavy selling the preceding six months, Ministry of Finance data showed on Friday. They bought 350 billion yen (2.70 billion euros) ($3.19 billion) of Spanish bonds in April, a record for the second straight month after March’s 282 billion yen. They were attracted by the higher yields Spanish bonds offer, compared to core countries in the euro zone. Their buying surpassed that in longtime favorite French bonds, of 298 billion yen. To view a graphic on Japanese investments in euro zone bonds, click: reut.rs/2LyKOGp Since October, Japanese investors have flocked to euro zone bonds, shifting from the U.S. markets, because of the former’s attraction for currency hedging. Investors can earn an extra return of about 0.3 percentage point through hedges on the euro. For hedging against the dollar, they need to pay about 2.6 percentage points. That gap more than offset euro zone bonds’ lower nominal yields compared to U.S. Treasuries, and sparked an 8.1 trillion yen outflow from dollar bonds and 4.9 trillion yen flows into euro denominated bonds during October-March. In April, Japanese bought 169 billion yen of Italian bonds, the most in two years. They sold 672 billion yen of German bonds, the first net selling in seven months. However, their foray into Southern Europe may halt after Italian bond prices sank last month on worries about an early election. Some long-term investors saw that as a bargain-hunting opportunity. Japan Post Insurance Co ( 7181.T ), one of Japan’s largest investors, said it was looking to buy short-term Italian government bonds after the sell-off made them inexpensive. But analysts think the latest Italian sell-off is likely to scare off many other risk-averse Japanese investors. “It will be impossible for many investors to increase Italian bonds after seeing such high volatilities,” said Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, adding they are likely to shift to other assets such as U.S agency bonds. The data showed Japanese investors returned to U.S. bonds in April after six months of heavy selling. They bought 703 billion yen of U.S. bonds, though that’s a fraction of their October-March selling of 8.86 trillion yen. Their buying in U.S sovereign bonds were totaled 172 billion yen, suggesting a bulk of their buying was in corporate, mortgage and agency bonds. Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Richard Borsuk  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-08T07:00:00.000+03:00|Japan investors buy record amount of Spanish bonds, return to U.S. in April|June 8, 2018 / 3:53 Japan investors buy record amount of Spanish bonds, return to U.S. in April Reuters Staff * Japanese buying of Spanish bonds at record high for a 2nd month * They bought French and Italian bonds while selling German ones * Italian bond sell-off could scare off many investors - analysts * Signs emerge of Japanese returning to U.S. bond markets By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, June 8 (Reuters) - Japanese investors bought a record amount of Spanish bonds in April, at the start of Japan’s financial year, and they returned to U.S. bonds after heavy selling the preceding six months, Ministry of Finance data showed on Friday. They bought 350 billion yen (2.70 billion euros) ($3.19 billion) of Spanish bonds in April, a record for the second straight month after March’s 282 billion yen. They were attracted by the higher yields Spanish bonds offer, compared to core countries in the euro zone. Their buying surpassed that in longtime favourite French bonds, of 298 billion yen. Since October, Japanese investors have flocked to euro zone bonds, shifting from the U.S. markets, because of the former’s attraction for currency hedging. Investors can earn an extra return of about 0.3 percentage point through hedges on the euro. For hedging against the dollar, they need to pay about 2.6 percentage points. That gap more than offset euro zone bonds’ lower nominal yields compared to U.S. Treasuries, and sparked an 8.1 trillion yen outflow from dollar bonds and 4.9 trillion yen flows into euro denominated bonds during October-March. In April, Japanese bought 169 billion yen of Italian bonds, the most in two years. They sold 672 billion yen of German bonds, the first net selling in seven months. However, their foray into Southern Europe may halt after Italian bond prices sank last month on worries about an early election. Some long-term investors saw that as a bargain-hunting opportunity. Japan Post Insurance Co, one of Japan’s largest investors, said it was looking to buy short-term Italian government bonds after the sell-off made them inexpensive. But analysts think the latest Italian sell-off is likely to scare off many other risk-averse Japanese investors. “It will be impossible for many investors to increase Italian bonds after seeing such high volatilities,” said Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, adding they are likely to shift to other assets such as U.S agency bonds. The data showed Japanese investors returned to U.S. bonds in April after six months of heavy selling. They bought 703 billion yen of U.S. bonds, though that’s a fraction of their October-March selling of 8.86 trillion yen. Their buying in U.S sovereign bonds were totalled 172 billion yen, suggesting a bulk of their buying was in corporate, mortgage and agency bonds. ($1 = 109.80 yen) (1 euro = 129.5091 yen) Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Richard Borsuk|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T07:13:00.000+03:00|U.S. can sell pork to Mexico through import quota, despite tariffs: Mexico|MEXICO CITY/DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. producers can sell pork legs and shoulders to Mexico via an import quota despite retaliatory measures taken this week after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Mexican government said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Piglets are pictured in a production module at the pig farm Granjas Carrol de Mexico (GCM), in Cuyoaco, Puebla state, Mexico August 4, 2017. Picture taken August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo Mexico published a long list on Tuesday of U.S. products it would subject to tariffs, including the pork cuts. The measures were a response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada and the European Union. But due to the country’s high consumption of pork legs and shoulders, Mexico created a quota for 350,000 tons that could be imported without tariffs. It was not previously clear that the quota would apply to imports from the United States. The United States “will be able to take advantage of the quota because the quotas are not discriminatory,” the Mexican economy ministry wrote in response to a Reuters inquiry. The temporary pass to the United States shows Mexico’s dependence on its neighbor to the north, said Adam Speck, commodity market analyst for U.S.-based Informa Economics. That 350,000-ton volume represents about four months of shipments, he said, giving officials from both countries more time to hammer out a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. Over the past 10 years, U.S. pork made up 89 percent of Mexico’s imports of the meat, accounting for about a third of local consumption, according to the Mexican economy ministry. One big category of pork: ham. The United States exported more than 466,000 metric tonnes of ham to Mexico in 2017 – worth $857.8 million and accounting for more than 80 percent of all U.S. hams exported that year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Many of those hams are “bone-in” hams, where the labor to remove the bones costs less, according to industry analysts. After the meat is de-boned, the product is either consumed domestically in Mexico or re-exported to other markets, including the United States. Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said this week that Mexico expects to import pork cuts from Europe to compensate for the decline from the United States. The import quota will be in force until Dec. 31. The economy ministry also clarified that there will be a transition period for the U.S. pork tariffs for any shipments outside of the quota. Starting on June 5, the tariff on U.S. pork was set at 10 percent, and it will be raised to 20 percent on July 5. Reporting by Adriana Barrera and Ana Isabel Martinez in Mexico City, and Tom Polansek in Des Moines, Iowa; Additional reporting by P.J. Huffstutter and Theopolis Waters in Chicago; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Matthew Lewis  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-08T08:42:00.000+03:00|Australia asks China to approve foreign minister's visit amid tension|June 8, 2018 / 5:43 AM / Updated 3 hours ago In test of sour ties, Australia asks China to approve foreign minister visit Colin Packham 4 Min Read SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has asked China to approve a visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, an Australian spokeswoman said on Friday, a request that should provide an indication of just how strained ties between the two trading partners have become. FILE PHOTO: Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop attends a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Kham Bishop hopes to travel to China this year for the latest in a series of annual meetings the two countries’ foreign ministers have held since 2014. “We are discussing dates with China for our next foreign security dialogue,” a spokeswoman for Bishop told Reuters. A second source familiar with Australia’s foreign relations said Australia made the suggestion late last month, and China would normally respond to such a proposal “within weeks”. Analysts said China was unlikely to formally reject the proposal, but could sit on it indefinitely, making a meeting unfeasible. China’s response will indicate whether it intends to improve relations with Australia, which have been strained over its accusations China was meddling in its domestic affairs. “It would be huge if Bishop does not travel to China this year, it would mark an escalation in the current diplomatic tensions,” said James Laurenceson, an expert on the two nations’ economic ties, at the University of Technology in Sydney. Chinese foreign ministry Hua Chunying said she did not have any information on a visit by Bishop, but welcomed better ties. “China has always welcomed and is willing to develop friendly exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” Hua said on Thursday. Less than a year ago, Australia-Chinese relations were riding high, with two-way trade last year worth a record A$170 billion ($130 billion). Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s accusation of Chinese meddling, however, threatens those unchecked economic ties. China, which denies the accusations, originally kept it response towards Australia constrained to diplomatic protests. But the row escalated last month. Six Australian wine companies, including Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, the world’s biggest-listed winemaker, have faced delays getting products through Chinese customs. MIXED MESSAGES As fears grow that Australian wine sales to China will fail to hit the forecast A$1 billion this year, the industry has called on Turnbull to travel to China to smooth ties. Turnbull has said he intends to go this year but has yet to propose dates to China, a source familiar with the prime minister’s plans told Reuters. Trade Minister Steven Ciobo last month attempted to smooth ties on a trip to China lat month, the first by an elected Australian official in seven months. But he was largely shunned during his three-day visit. Australia says it wants to smooth what it calls “irritants” in the bilateral relationship, though analysts said it is pushing ahead with policies that are unlikely to be well received in China. The government on Friday secured bipartisan support for foreign interference laws, all but securing passage of the legislation that soured Australian-China relations so badly. Senior Australian government officials have also continued to publicly criticise China. This week, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Bishop both accused China of applying undue pressure on national flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd to change its website to refer to the self-governed island of Taiwan as a Chinese territory. Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-08T08:45:00.000+03:00|Australia asks China to approve foreign minister's visit amid tension|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has asked China to approve a visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, an Australian spokeswoman said on Friday, a request that should provide an indication of just how strained ties between the two trading partners have become. FILE PHOTO: Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop talks during a news conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto (not pictured) in Budapest, Hungary, February 22, 2018. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo Bishop hopes to travel to China this year for the latest in a series of annual meetings the two countries’ foreign ministers have held since 2014. “We are discussing dates with China for our next foreign security dialogue,” a spokeswoman for Bishop told Reuters. A second source familiar with Australia’s foreign relations said Australia made the suggestion late last month, and China would normally respond to such a proposal “within weeks”. Analysts said China was unlikely to formally reject the proposal, but could sit on it indefinitely, making a meeting unfeasible. China’s response will indicate whether it intends to improve relations with Australia, which have been strained over its accusations China was meddling in its domestic affairs. “It would be huge if Bishop does not travel to China this year, it would mark an escalation in the current diplomatic tensions,” said James Laurenceson, an expert on the two nations’ economic ties, at the University of Technology in Sydney. Chinese foreign ministry Hua Chunying said she did not have any information on a visit by Bishop, but welcomed better ties. “China has always welcomed and is willing to develop friendly exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” Hua said on Thursday. Less than a year ago, Australia-Chinese relations were riding high, with two-way trade last year worth a record A$170 billion ($130 billion). Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s accusation of Chinese meddling, however, threatens those unchecked economic ties. China, which denies the accusations, originally kept it response towards Australia constrained to diplomatic protests. But the row escalated last month. Six Australian wine companies, including Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, the world’s biggest-listed winemaker, have faced delays getting products through Chinese customs. MIXED MESSAGES As fears grow that Australian wine sales to China will fail to hit the forecast A$1 billion this year, the industry has called on Turnbull to travel to China to smooth ties. Turnbull has said he intends to go this year but has yet to propose dates to China, a source familiar with the prime minister’s plans told Reuters. Trade Minister Steven Ciobo last month attempted to smooth ties on a trip to China lat month, the first by an elected Australian official in seven months. But he was largely shunned during his three-day visit. Australia says it wants to smooth what it calls “irritants” in the bilateral relationship, though analysts said it is pushing ahead with policies that are unlikely to be well received in China. The government on Friday secured bipartisan support for foreign interference laws, all but securing passage of the legislation that soured Australian-China relations so badly. Senior Australian government officials have also continued to publicly criticize China. This week, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Bishop both accused China of applying undue pressure on national flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd to change its website to refer to the self-governed island of Taiwan as a Chinese territory. Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-08T08:55:00.000+03:00|Turkey's suspension of migrant deal with Greece doesn't affect EU-Turkey deal: Germany|BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government does not expect Turkey’s decision to suspend a migrant agreement with Greece to affect a similar agreement between Ankara and the European Union, a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry said on Friday. “To our knowledge the events of yesterday do not affect the deal with the EU,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. “We hope that a dialogue between Greece and Turkey will take place to clarify unresolved issues.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was Quote: d on Thursday as saying Turkey has suspended its migrant readmission deal with Greece, days after Athens released from prison four Turkish soldiers who fled there after a 2016 attempted coup. Reporting by Michelle Martin  |https://in.reuters.com/news/world|0
2018-06-08T09:00:00.000+03:00|Graphic: Foreign investors sell Asian equities for fourth straight month|(Reuters) - Asian equities saw sustained foreign selling in May for the fourth straight month as a firmer dollar and political tensions in Italy kept overseas investors away from regional assets. Foreigners sold about $4 billion worth of Asian stocks last month to take this year’s tally to over $15 billion, data from seven stock exchanges showed. That compares with about $20 billion of inflows in the entire year of 2017. “The outflows are happening because opportunities are opening up elsewhere, especially in the U.S.,” said Greg McKenna, Chief Market Strategist at AxiTrader. Federal Reserve tightening, rising bond yields, and a strengthening dollar have “all combined to put pressure on EM nations,” McKenna said. Political uncertainty in Italy added to the woes of regional markets, already hit by a surge in the dollar and concerns about U.S. protectionist trade policies. At the end of last week, Italy’s anti-establishment parties formed a coalition government, helping to avert potentially destabilising snap elections that could have turned into a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union. Thailand saw $1.6 billion of foreign outflows in the last month - the biggest in the region - followed by India and Taiwan. CGS-CIMB analysts believe there would be limited further foreign selling pressure as their aggregate holding in Thai equities is now only 30.1 percent, one of the lowest rates in a decade. Investors turned cautious on Indian markets after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of the required number of seats to form a government in the southern state of Karnataka. India faces national elections in 2019 and the Karnataka election was seen as a litmus test for Modi’s party. Overall, analysts said monetary tightening by major central banks will continue to weigh on Asian markets in coming months. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise its policy rate for the second time this year next week, while expectations have increased that Europe’s massive monetary stimulus was nearing an end. On Wednesday, the European Central Bank’s chief economist said the central bank will debate whether to end bond purchases later this year, a hawkish message which hit emerging markets. The Fed looks set to continue to tighten its balance sheet by cutting back on bond purchases in the year ahead, said AxiTrader’s McKenna. “The pressure looks set to remain on EM currencies while the confluence of a strong U.S. economy drives the Fed Funds rate and the U.S. dollar higher.” Editing by Jacqueline Wong  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/economy|0
2018-06-08T09:05:00.000+03:00|Australia asks China to approve visit by foreign minister amid tension|June 8, 2018 / 5:47 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Australia asks China to approve visit by foreign minister amid tension Colin Packham 2 Min Read SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has asked China to approve a visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, a spokeswoman said on Friday, amid heightened diplomatic tension between the two trading partners. FILE PHOTO: Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop attends a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Kham Bishop is set to travel to China this year for the latest in a series of annual meetings held between the foreign ministers of the two countries since 2014. “We are discussing dates with China for our next foreign security dialogue,” Lauren Gianoli, a spokeswoman for Bishop, told Reuters. A source familiar with Australia’s diplomatic approach said China would normally respond to the approach “within weeks”. Analysts said China was unlikely to formally reject the proposal, but could sit on it indefinitely, making a meeting unfeasible. They say China’s response will show if it intends to keep up its frosty approach to Australia, triggered by Canberra’s accusations that Beijing was meddling in its domestic affairs. “It would be huge if Bishop does not travel to China this year, it would mark an escalation in the current diplomatic tensions,” said James Laurenceson, an expert on the two nations’ economic ties, at the University of Technology in Sydney. Less than a year ago, Australia-Chinese relations were riding high, with two-way trade last year worth a record A$170 billion ($130 billion). Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s accusation of Chinese meddling, however, threatens those unchecked economic ties. Six Australian wine companies, including Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, the world’s biggest-listed winemaker, have faced delays getting products through Chinese customs this year. Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-08T09:10:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|June 8 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1030 GMT on Friday: ** Airbus SE is set to close a deal to take a controlling stake in Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jetliner program, effective July 1, the companies said, in a move expected to kickstart the European planemaker’s ability to put its marketing and cost-cutting muscle into the Canadian plane program. ** Russia-China Investment Fund, established by Russian sovereign fund RDIF and China Investment Corp, said it planned to invest in Russian lender Sovcombank jointly with a consortium of leading Middle Eastern funds. ** EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 12 whether to wave through Irish budget airline Ryanair’s bid for a 75 percent stake in the rebranded former Niki airline Laudamotion, a filing on the European Commission site showed. ** Murray & Roberts has asked South Africa’s competition authorities to block its biggest shareholder from fully exercising its voting rights in its proposed tie-up with rival construction firm Aveng, its spokesman said. ** Russia’s Otkritie bank, bailed out by the central bank last year, aims to sell a stake of up to 20 percent in 2021, the bank’s management said. ** UK Climate Investments, a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, will acquire a 40 percent interest in a 185 megawatt portfolio of solar assets in India, it said. ** Australia’s Atlas Iron Ltd said Mineral Resources Ltd, which is trying to take over the iron ore producer, would allow Atlas to hold talks with other potential buyers. ** The German finance ministry declined to comment on a report that Deutsche Bank was considering a merger with Commerzbank. (Compiled by Akshara P and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-08T09:55:00.000+03:00|Prada CEO says no plans to sell, son may head group one day|VALVIGNA, Italy (Reuters) - Prada ( 1913.HK ) Chief Executive Patrizio Bertelli said on Friday his family would not sell its 80 percent stake in Italy’s biggest luxury goods group and said his son Lorenzo may one day head the company. FILE PHOTO: A Prada clothing store is pictured at the Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland, November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo The Milan-based firm is run by the husband-and-wife team of Patrizio Bertelli and designer Miuccia Prada, whose grandfather founded the label in 1913. The couple’s eldest child Lorenzo, 30, joined Prada to run its digital communications last year, the company confirmed this week following a Bloomberg report. Bertelli said his son was being prepared to take over. “Lorenzo is getting ready to become one day - if he wants to - the head of Prada,” Bertelli said, at the inauguration of a production site in Italy, although 72-year-old also said it was “too early to retire.” The succession question comes as Prada looks to cement early signs of a turnaround following several years of falling sales. Chinese consumer demand rebounded in the past 18 months, fuelling rapid growth for some rivals like Kering’s Gucci ( PRTP.PA ) or LVMH’s ( LVMH.PA ) Louis Vuitton, but Prada was slow to catch on to trends such as the rise of high-end streetwear like sneakers. It is also playing catch up with online sales, and trying to build a bigger digital presence by forging ties with influential fashion bloggers, especially in China. FILE PHOTO - Patrizio Bertelli, Prada's chief executive and husband of Italian fashion designer Miuccia Prada, listens to a reporter's question during the debut of Prada SpA at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Bobby Yip Sales trends improved in the second half of 2017. Other famed Italian fashion houses such as Salvatore Ferragamo ( SFER.MI ) are also in the midst of a turnaround, as some brands struggle more than others to grab younger shoppers’ attention with new products and eye-catching looks. That has sparked speculation that names like Prada or Ferragamo could become takeover targets, though both are tightly controlled by families seen as unlikely to let go easily. “We’re not selling, we’ll never sell,” Prada’s Bertelli said, adding that there were no acquisitions in sight either because of “really crazy” prices. The luxury industry’s biggest, cash-rich players - French conglomerates Kering and LVMH - have succeeded in picking up some Italian family brands in recent years, however. LVMH grabbed jeweler Bulgari in 2011, while Kering bought into smaller Italian jewelry brand Pomellato in 2013. Reporting by Sarah White and Silvia Ognibene; Editing by Francesca Landini and Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-08T10:03:00.000+03:00|Airbus set to close deal for majority stake in Bombardier Cseries|June 8, 2018 / 7:03 AM / in a day Airbus nails down Bombardier CSeries deal in boost to jet Allison Lampert , Rama Venkat Raman 5 Min Read (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) has finalized a rescue deal for Bombardier Inc’s ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries jet and is expected to flex its cost-cutting and marketing muscle to revive the money-losing Canadian venture. FILE PHOTO: A Bombardier CSeries aircraft is pictured during a news conference to announce a partnership between Airbus and Bombardier on the C Series aircraft programme, in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in its flagship commercial jet for a token fee of one Canadian dollar, after sluggish sales and low production rates pushed the program well over budget. Airbus will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets in a challenge to rival Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and is expected to use its industrial power to slash the price of parts and improve efficiencies internally. After winning regulatory approvals and agreeing on the fine print of the deal late on Thursday, the two companies said they were ready to start the new tie-up formally on July 1. The deal’s completion finalizes a historic shift in the aircraft industry, with 75-year-old Bombardier abandoning its standalone bid to enter the main jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, in exchange for a stake in a stronger project. Related Coverage Airbus to seek CSeries efficiencies across the board: exec Boeing is now holding its own tie-up talks with Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ). Bombardier will retain 31 percent in the CSeries while Investissement Quebec, run by the province of Quebec, will hold 19 percent. The deal is also expected to mark the end of the CSeries branding chosen when Bombardier launched the jet a decade ago, though Airbus said it had not yet decided what to call it. Slideshow (2 Images) Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said in a statement on Friday that Airbus had committed to maintaining Montreal as the main CSeries industrial site, where more than 2,000 Quebec workers rely on the jet. David Chartrand, Quebec coordinator of a union representing around 1,200 CSeries workers, expressed concerns about possible job losses among office support staff as Airbus cuts costs, as opposed to workers on the shop floor. “The synergies are not going to bring workers from France to work on the plane,” Chartrand said in a phone interview. Airbus also plans to expand its Mobile, Alabama, assembly plant to handle four CSeries aircraft per month for the U.S. market as well as Airbus jets. It said work would begin next year. The priority this year is to boost production, with 2018 CSeries deliveries expected be around double the 17 aircraft delivered last year, the companies said in a release. Bombardier has previously forecast 40 CSeries deliveries in 2018, but faced delays earlier in the year. Philippe Balducchi, head of the new CSeries partnership, told reporters on a conference call that “we will be very focused on having a robust ramp-up,” in reference to increasing aircraft production. Bombardier will continue for the time being to fund the investments needed to support the production increase up to certain agreed financial levels, beyond which any cash shortfalls will be shared by the main partners. “Looking forward, I’m very confident that CSeries is going to contribute positively to the cash generation of Airbus in the future,” Airbus Finance Director Harald Wilhelm said on the same conference call. BOMBARDIER UPDATES GUIDANCE Closing the deal allows Bombardier to shed CSeries losses, while Airbus is betting that its ability to negotiate cuts in the cost of parts will help put the program in the black. Bombardier had previously said it expected to break even on the CSeries in 2020. The company’s aerospace division has long trailed its higher-performing rail and business jet units. Bombardier raised its guidance for 2018 consolidated earnings before interest and tax by $100 million to a range of between $900 million and $1 billion, to reflect the separation of the loss-making CSeries. [nGNE1pBbkl Bombardier also said it was cutting its revenue target by $500 million to $16.5 billion-$17 billion. The CSeries will no longer be consolidated in its results from July 1. Bombardier shares were down 1 percent at C$4.87 on Friday afternoon in Toronto, while Airbus shares gained 1.25 percent to close at 100.90 euros in Paris. Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru and Cyril Altmeyer and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Patrick Graham and Matthew Lewis|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|1
2018-06-08T10:03:00.000+03:00|Airbus set to close deal for majority stake in Bombardier Cseries|June 8, 2018 / 7:05 AM / Updated 14 hours ago Airbus nails down Bombardier CSeries deal in boost to jet Allison Lampert , Rama Venkat Raman 5 Min Read (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus SE has finalised a rescue deal for Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jet and is expected to flex its cost-cutting and marketing muscle to revive the money-losing Canadian venture. FILE PHOTO: A Bombardier CSeries aircraft is pictured during a news conference to announce a partnership between Airbus and Bombardier on the C Series aircraft programme, in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in its flagship commercial jet for a token fee of one Canadian dollar, after sluggish sales and low production rates pushed the programme well over budget. Airbus will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets in a challenge to rival Boeing Co and is expected to use its industrial power to slash the price of parts and improve efficiencies internally. After winning regulatory approvals and agreeing on the fine print of the deal late on Thursday, the two companies said they were ready to start the new tie-up formally on July 1. The deal’s completion finalises a historic shift in the aircraft industry, with 75-year-old Bombardier abandoning its standalone bid to enter the main jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, in exchange for a stake in a stronger project. Related Coverage Airbus to seek CSeries efficiencies across the board - exec Boeing is now holding its own tie-up talks with Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer SA. Bombardier will retain 31 percent in the CSeries while Investissement Quebec, run by the province of Quebec, will hold 19 percent. The deal is also expected to mark the end of the CSeries branding chosen when Bombardier launched the jet a decade ago, though Airbus said it had not yet decided what to call it. FILE PHOTO: The cockpit of a Bombardier CSeries aircraft is seen during a news conference in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said in a statement on Friday that Airbus had committed to maintaining Montreal as the main CSeries industrial site, where more than 2,000 Quebec workers rely on the jet. David Chartrand, Quebec coordinator of a union representing around 1,200 CSeries workers, expressed concerns about possible job losses among office support staff as Airbus cuts costs, as opposed to workers on the shop floor. “The synergies are not going to bring workers from France to work on the plane,” Chartrand said in a phone interview. Airbus also plans to expand its Mobile, Alabama, assembly plant to handle four CSeries aircraft per month for the U.S. market as well as Airbus jets. It said work would begin next year. The priority this year is to boost production, with 2018 CSeries deliveries expected be around double the 17 aircraft delivered last year, the companies said in a release. Bombardier has previously forecast 40 CSeries deliveries in 2018, but faced delays earlier in the year. FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A320neo aircraft and a Bombardier CSeries aircraft are pictured during a news conference to announce a partnership between Airbus and Bombardier on the C Series aircraft programme, in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Philippe Balducchi, head of the new CSeries partnership, told reporters on a conference call that “we will be very focussed on having a robust ramp-up,” in reference to increasing aircraft production. Bombardier will continue for the time being to fund the investments needed to support the production increase up to certain agreed financial levels, beyond which any cash shortfalls will be shared by the main partners. “Looking forward, I’m very confident that CSeries is going to contribute positively to the cash generation of Airbus in the future,” Airbus Finance Director Harald Wilhelm said on the same conference call. BOMBARDIER UPDATES GUIDANCE Closing the deal allows Bombardier to shed CSeries losses, while Airbus is betting that its ability to negotiate cuts in the cost of parts will help put the programme in the black. Bombardier had previously said it expected to break even on the CSeries in 2020. The company’s aerospace division has long trailed its higher-performing rail and business jet units. Bombardier raised its guidance for 2018 consolidated earnings before interest and tax by $100 million to a range of between $900 million and $1 billion (£670.9 million and £745.4 million), to reflect the separation of the loss-making CSeries. Bombardier also said it was cutting its revenue target by $500 million to $16.5 billion-$17 billion. The CSeries will no longer be consolidated in its results from July 1. Bombardier shares were down 1 percent at C$4.87 on Friday afternoon in Toronto, while Airbus shares gained 1.25 percent to close at 100.90 euros in Paris. Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru and Cyril Altmeyer and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Patrick Graham and Matthew Lewis|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-06-08T10:20:00.000+03:00|UK Climate Investments buys interest in Indian solar portfolio|LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - * UK Climate Investments, a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, will acquire a 40 percent interest in a 185 megawatt portfolio of solar assets in India, it said on Friday. * Finnish energy company Fortum will retain a 46 percent interest in the solar farms and continue to operate and maintain them. * Asset management firm Elite Alfred Berg has entered into an agreement to buy the remaining 14 percent. * It is expected that the transaction will reach financial close in the third quarter of 2018. (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-08T10:21:00.000+03:00|UK Climate Investments buys interest in Indian solar portfolio|June 8, 2018 / 7:22 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago UK Climate Investments buys interest in Indian solar portfolio Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - UK Climate Investments, a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, will acquire a 40 percent interest in a 185 megawatt portfolio of solar assets in India, it said on Friday. Finnish energy company Fortum will retain a 46 percent interest in the solar farms and continue to operate and maintain them. Asset management firm Elite Alfred Berg has entered into an agreement to buy the remaining 14 percent. It is expected that the transaction will reach financial close in the third quarter of 2018. Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T10:36:00.000+03:00|VW's labour boss aims to foster, not sell, non-core assets|WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s powerful works council will continue to block potential sales of the carmaker’s non-core industrial assets and instead seek steps with the new chief executive to advance the units, its top labour leader said in an interview. FILE PHOTO: A VW sign is seen outside a Volkswagen dealership in London, Britain November 5, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo Under former chief executive Matthias Mueller, attempts to slim down Europe’s largest automotive group - which also includes the MAN Diesel & Turbo engineering business and transmissions maker Renk - foundered amid resistance from labour leaders and the controlling Porsche and Piech families. But Volkswagen’s (VW) new CEO Herbert Diess last month said that spinning off Diesel & Turbo, Renk or motorcycle brand Ducati is a possibility as the group’s top management reviews options for non-core holdings. “When taking over MAN, (former chairman) Ferdinand Piech and I promised the workforce of Renk and Diesel & Turbo that we will not sell these divisions. The executive board (of VW) also gave its word,” VW works council chief Bernd Osterloh told Reuters. Diess has pledged to speed up VW’s post-Dieselgate strategic shift, including preparing the trucks division for a separate listing, as the group aims to become more efficient to better shoulder the costly transformation to electric and self-driving cars. “We will discuss how we can further develop the engineering operations by means of intelligent solutions,” Osterloh said. “The business must not stand still. We also agree with Dr. Diess on this.” Editing by Ludwig Burger  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-08T10:39:00.000+03:00|Volkswagen's labor boss aims to foster, not sell, non-core assets|WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) powerful works council will continue to block the potential sale of specialist industrial assets and instead seek to work with the carmaker’s new chief executive to develop them, its labour leader told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Bernd Osterloh, head of Volkwagen's works council, addresses a news conference at the company's headquarters in Wolfburg, Germany October 6, 2015. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke Under former CEO Matthias Mueller, attempts to slim down Europe’s largest automotive group - which also includes the MAN ( MANG.DE ) Diesel & Turbo engineering business and transmissions maker Renk - foundered amid opposition from labour leaders and the controlling Porsche and Piech families. But Volkswagen’s new boss Herbert Diess said last month that spinning off Diesel & Turbo, Renk or motorcycle brand Ducati was a possibility as the group’s top management reviews options for “non-core” assets. “When taking over MAN, (former chairman) Ferdinand Piech and I promised the workforce of Renk and Diesel & Turbo that we will not sell these divisions. The executive board also gave its word,” works council chief Bernd Osterloh said in an interview. Diess has pledged to speed up Volkswagen’s drive to become more efficient in the wake of its 2015 diesel emissions scandal, as it seeks to fund a costly shift to electric and self-driving cars. Plans include preparing the group’s trucks division for a separate listing. “We will discuss how we can further develop the engineering operations,” Osterloh said. “The business must not stand still. We also agree with Dr. Diess on this.” The works council controls half of the 20-seats on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, which decides on investment, plant closures and executive appointments, and can usually also count on the support of representatives from the group’s home region of Lower Saxony. Separately, Osterloh said the group’s core VW brand was making good progress with cost cuts agreed in its “future pact” between management and labour, with 93 percent of planned full-year savings already identified. “The numbers show that we will achieve the planned efficiency gains from the future pact of slightly more than 2 billion euros for this year,” said Osterloh, who sits on Volkswagen’s supervisory board. Designed mainly to make cuts to high-cost operations in Germany, the future pact aims to make 3.7 billion euros in annual savings by 2020 and up to 23,000 job cuts without forced layoffs by 2025. The plan helped boost profitability at the VW brand last year, though margins continue to lag rivals including Renault ( RENA.PA ), PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) and Toyota Motor Corp 7203. Osterloh expects Diess, a proven cost-cutter, to increase synergies between the group’s main car brands VW, Seat and Skoda. At VW, synergies should get a particular boost in 2019/2020 when the first electric models roll off a new MEB modular platform and the redesigned top-selling Golf hits dealerships, he said. Osterloh also said further steps would be needed to boost output at Skoda to help it keep up with booming demand, even though some production is being shifted to Germany to relieve its stretched Czech factories. Asked whether a decision in April to move some production of sport-utility vehicles to a VW plant in Osnabrueck had solved the bottlenecks at Skoda, Osterloh said: “For the moment, yes, but certainly not in a lasting way.” “We will check overall utilisation across the group. Then we will look at the regions where demand is coming from and will take a decision,” he said, pointing to the group’s budget round in November. Editing by Ludwig Burger and Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-08T10:47:00.000+03:00|Argentine bonds rally after IMF deal; peso expected to float|BUENOS AIRES, June 8 (Reuters) - Argentina’s bonds rallied early on Friday after the country signed a $50 billion standby arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, while analysts zoned in on comments indicating the central bank would stop protecting the peso currency. Argentina announced on May 8 it was turning to the IMF after a selloff in emerging markets prompted a run on the peso. For the past few weeks, the central bank has offered to sell $5 billion in reserves at 25 pesos per dollar, effectively preventing the currency from falling below that level. At a news conference on Thursday night, central bank Governor Federico Sturzenegger suggested the bank would change tack as a result of the deal, which included pledges from Argentina to speed up fiscal deficit reduction and end central bank financing of the Treasury. “The way the central bank has been operating in the past few weeks had a lot to do with how to confront the turbulence in the foreign exchange market, which in our understanding has been surpassed with the disbursement and approval of this package,” Sturzenegger said. “Tomorrow we will return to a normal situation in the functioning of the exchange rate regime.” Argentina’s country risk - a J.P. Morgan measure of the difference between the country’s bond yields and less risky alternatives - fell 14 points early on Friday morning to 467 . Its 100-year bond maturing in 2117 was up 1.6 percent at 88.18 cents on the dollar as of 9:22 a.m. Trading in the peso currency was expected to begin at 10 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) while the stock market opens at 11 a.m. “In the short-term we expect a rally in Argentinean assets,” Ezequiel Zambaglione, head of research at Buenos Aires brokerage Max Valores, wrote in a Friday note to clients. “The announcement was above market expectations in the amount and fiscal targets.” (Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jorge Otaola Editing by Bill Trott) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-08T10:50:00.000+03:00|European shares fall in broad sell-off as ECB meeting looms|June 8, 2018 / 7:54 AM / Updated an hour ago European shares fall in broad sell-off as ECB meeting looms Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - European shares fell on Friday in a broad-based sell-off ahead of a European Central Bank meeting next week that could signal plans to wind down a massive monetary stimulus that has been supporting equities in the region. FILE PHOTO: The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Staff/Remote Losses among most sectors pushed the STOXX 600 index down 0.5 percent by 0724 GMT, as investors stayed cautious ahead of a series of big global events including a G7 summit they fear could unsettle markets. The pan-European benchmark was on track for its third weekly loss in a row as expectations of tighter monetary conditions, renewed strength in the euro and growing political worries took their toll. Standard Life Aberdeen ( SLA.L ) was the leading faller on the STOXX, down 4 percent after Loyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) sold its stake in the company, while Ingenico ( INGC.PA ) rose 6.8 percent after a Barclays upgrade to overweight. Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) fell 1.6 percent. The bank downplayed the idea that a deal with rival Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) could materialize soon, after Bloomberg reported that top shareholders had been consulted about a potential tie-up. Commerzbank fell 2.1 percent. Shares in BT Group ( BT.L ) fell 0.2 percent, outperforming the broader market, after news its chief executive Gavin Patterson would step down later this year. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Helen Reid|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-06-08T11:10:00.000+03:00|Pamplona in lead to buy German home shopping TV network HSE24 -sources|FRANKFURT, June 8 (Reuters) - Buyout group Pamplona is viewed as the front runner to buy German home shopping TV network HSE24 from investor Providence, after other suitors dropped out, two people close to matter said. Pamplona remains in the race, while Apax and BC Partners have dropped out of the auction for HSE24, which is expected to be valued at more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) including debt, the people said. An Asian suitor has also shown interest in the company, but has not bid aggressively, the sources added. A flotation of HSE24 on the Frankfurt stock exchange is seen as a fallback option if the talks with Pamplona fall apart, they said. Providence, Pamplona, Apax and BC Partners declined to comment. Bankers have been working on debt financing of almost 1 billion euros to back the potential sale - or around 6.25 times HSE24’s expected 2018 core earnings (EBITDA) of 140 million euros, including undrawn facilities. Founded in 1995, HSE24 competes with companies such as QVC, part of John Malone’s Liberty Interactive, which has been a consolidator in the sector. An 85 percent stake in HSE24 - which markets more than 20,000 different products to customers each year in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Russia and in 2016 posted sales of 754 million euros - was sold to Providence for 650 million euros in 2012. $1 = 0.8509 euros Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Edward Taylor and Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-08T11:32:00.000+03:00|Argentine bonds rally after IMF deal; peso opens lower|BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina could revise the fiscal targets set as part of a $50 billion financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund to increase spending on social programs, an IMF director said on Friday. A man works on the floor of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Argentina May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Argentina requested IMF assistance on May 8 after a run on its peso currency in an investor exodus from emerging markets. The country’s stocks rallied on the deal to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of the country’s past. Many Argentines blame the austerity measures the IMF imposed under a previous bailout during its 2001-2002 economic crisis for plunging millions into poverty, but the organization said spending on programs to protect the poor could actually increase under the financing arrangement. “The fiscal targets can be revised in case there is a need to increase social spending,” said IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner, adding that Argentina’s economy today is “very different than 2001.” “That way, society does not have to choose between building a bridge or protecting the poorest.” As part of the deal announced Thursday night, the government agreed to speed up reductions in the primary fiscal deficit to balance the budget by 2020. The government also pledged to propose legislation for a more independent central bank to fight double-digit inflation, which Werner praised on Friday. Opposition politicians aligned with former populist President Cristina Fernandez have said market-friendly President Mauricio Macri was repeating earlier mistakes. “Argentines do not want to go back to the past. It cost us a lot to get away from the Fund, and we do not want to go back there,” said Carlos Castagneto, a lawmaker aligned with Fernandez. The benchmark Merval stock index .MERV rose 3.8 percent on the deal. Bonds rose modestly, with Argentina's country risk 11EMJ - a J.P. Morgan measure of the difference between the country's bond yields and less risky alternatives - down five points at 476 as of 3:56 p.m. local time (1746 GMT). Argentina’s 100-year bond maturing in 2117 AR163761602= was up 0.2 percent at 87 cents on the dollar. “The deal between Argentina and the IMF reduces immediate external financing risks and will help speed up fiscal consolidation,” said Gabriel Torres, a vice president at credit rating agency Moody’s. PESO WEAKENS The deal still needs approval from the IMF board, which is expected to discuss it at a June 20 meeting. Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Thursday he expected Argentina to receive a disbursement of 30 percent of the total, or roughly $15 billion, in the days following approval. Finance Minister Luis Caputo said the government would not necessarily use the rest of the money and may return to bond markets to finance the estimated $22 billion in financing Argentina needs in 2019 to cover its fiscal deficit. “If you need it you can use it, but if we regain access to the market at good rates, it is better to save it,” Caputo told investors on a conference call, according to a Finance Ministry statement. The peso ARS=RASL touched a record-low 25.66 per U.S. dollar after the central bank stopped a weeks-long defense of the currency. It later rebounded to close down 1.5 percent at 25.37 per dollar. For the past few weeks, the central bank has offered to sell $5 billion in reserves at 25 pesos per dollar every day, effectively preventing the currency from falling below that level. That offer did not appear on Friday, traders said. Additional reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi in Buenos Aires, Rodrigo Campos in New York and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Nick Zieminski  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-08T11:57:00.000+03:00|EU regulators to rule on Ryanair, Laudamotion deal by July 12|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 12 whether to wave through Irish budget airline Ryanair’s ( RYA.I ) bid for a 75 percent stake in the rebranded former Niki airline Laudamotion, a filing on the European Commission site showed on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair logo is seen on a wing of a passenger aircraft travelling from Madrid International Airport to Bergamo Airport, Italy, January 14, 2018. Picture taken January 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini Europe’s largest budget airline formally sought approval for the deal on Thursday as it moves to consolidate its foothold in Austria, a fast-growing hub for eastern European destinations. The EU competition enforcer can clear the deal with or without conditions or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns the deal may hurt competition. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-08T12:03:00.000+03:00|EU regulators to rule on Ryanair, Laudamotion deal by July 12|June 8, 2018 / 9:09 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago EU regulators to rule on Ryanair, Laudamotion deal by July 12 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 12 whether to wave through Irish budget airline Ryanair’s ( RYA.I ) bid for a 75 percent stake in the rebranded former Niki airline Laudamotion, a filing on the European Commission site showed on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair logo is seen on a wing of a passenger aircraft travelling from Madrid International Airport to Bergamo Airport, Italy, January 14, 2018. Picture taken January 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini Europe’s largest budget airline formally sought approval for the deal on Thursday as it moves to consolidate its foothold in Austria, a fast-growing hub for eastern European destinations. The EU competition enforcer can clear the deal with or without conditions or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns the deal may hurt competition. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T12:38:00.000+03:00|Bulgarian parliament approves plan to buy fighter jets and armoured vehicles|SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria’s parliament gave the green light on Friday to a plan to buy 16 new or used fighter jets to replace its aging Soviet-designed MiG-29s as well as the purchase of 150 combat vehicles. Bulgaria, which joined NATO in 2004, will call for bids to supply the aircraft from the United States, Portugal, Italy, France, Sweden and Israel. Under the plan backed by 151 lawmakers in the 240-seat parliament, it would acquire the jets in two equal stages to improve its compliance with NATO standards. Some 1.8 billion levs ($1.08 billion) will cover the first eight aircraft, as well as ground handling, team training and three-year initial integrated logistics support. The Balkan country would also spend 1.46 billion levs on armored vehicles for three infantry battalion groups, as well as systems, additional equipment and training. Several companies, including French state-owned group Nexter Systems, Finland’s Patria, Germany’s Rheinmetall Defence AG, U.S.-based Textron Inc and Swiss firm Mowag, which is part of General Dynamics’ European Land Systems Group, have expressed interest in supplying armored vehicles, sources familiar with the matter said. NATO has encouraged its eastern members to develop, buy and operate new alliance equipment compatible with older Soviet-era systems. Some eastern European NATO allies that were once Soviet satellites still rely on Russian-made military jets - two-thirds of Poland’s military equipment dates from the pre-1991 Soviet era, for example. The question of which warplanes to buy has vexed successive governments in Bulgaria for more than a decade. Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T12:53:00.000+03:00|GRAPHIC-Foreign investors sell Asian equities for fourth straight month|(Reuters) - Asian equities saw sustained foreign selling in May for the fourth straight month as a firmer dollar and political tensions in Italy kept overseas investors away from regional assets. FILE PHOTO: A man is seen against an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China March 23, 2018. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo Foreigners sold about $4 billion worth of Asian stocks last month to take this year’s tally to over $15 billion, data from seven stock exchanges showed. That compares with about $20 billion of inflows in the entire year of 2017. “The outflows are happening because opportunities are opening up elsewhere, especially in the U.S.,” said Greg McKenna, Chief Market Strategist at AxiTrader. Federal Reserve tightening, rising bond yields, and a strengthening dollar have “all combined to put pressure on EM nations,” McKenna said. For graphic on foreign investments in Asian equities click reut.rs/2M4KDUj Political uncertainty in Italy added to the woes of regional markets, already hit by a surge in the dollar and concerns about U.S. protectionist trade policies. At the end of last week, Italy’s anti-establishment parties formed a coalition government, helping to avert potentially destabilizing snap elections that could have turned into a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union. Thailand saw $1.6 billion of foreign outflows in the last month - the biggest in the region - followed by India and Taiwan. CGS-CIMB analysts believe there would be limited further foreign selling pressure as their aggregate holding in Thai equities is now only 30.1 percent, one of the lowest rates in a decade. Investors turned cautious on Indian markets after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of the required number of seats to form a government in the southern state of Karnataka. India faces national elections in 2019 and the Karnataka election was seen as a litmus test for Modi’s party. Overall, analysts said monetary tightening by major central banks will continue to weigh on Asian markets in coming months. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise its policy rate for the second time this year next week, while expectations have increased that Europe’s massive monetary stimulus was nearing an end. On Wednesday, the European Central Bank’s chief economist said the central bank will debate whether to end bond purchases later this year, a hawkish message which hit emerging markets. The Fed looks set to continue to tighten its balance sheet by cutting back on bond purchases in the year ahead, said AxiTrader’s McKenna. “The pressure looks set to remain on EM currencies while the confluence of a strong U.S. economy drives the Fed Funds rate and the U.S. dollar higher.” Editing by Jacqueline Wong  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-08T12:57:00.000+03:00|China May coal imports flat as government controls stifle buying|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s coal imports in May were almost unchanged from the same month a year earlier as tight government curbs on shipments, designed to cool an overheating market, kept a lid on foreign coal buying. FILE PHOTO: Excavators transport coal at a railway station in Yuncheng, Shanxi province, China January 25, 2017. Picture taken January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer Coal arrivals in May inched up to 22.33 million tonnes from 22.28 million tonnes in April, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday - less than 1 percent up from May 2017. For the first five months of 2018, coal imports were up 8.2 percent at 120.73 million tonnes, customs data showed. The slowdown came as Beijing intervened to calm the red-hot coal market as prices surged, adopting tight controls on imports, two traders said. “May imports would be much higher...if the government had not imposed tight scrutiny on imports,” a Guangzhou-based coal trader said. “Demand is good in May.” Spot prices for Australian coal delivery from the Newcastle terminal GCLNWCPFBMc1 rose more than 12 percent in May, and climbed to a six-year high of $115.25 per ton on Friday. Weaker-than-expected imports also raised concerns on coal supplies as power producers aimed to shore up inventory ahead of the peak demand season which runs from June to August. Shandong province and Guangdong province, two of China’s main industrial provinces, have said they face potential power shortages in coming months, due partly to weak hydro power output. Two major Chinese coal-fired power generator have asked the state planner to help relax coal import controls in May anticipating rising demand. Reporting by Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-08T13:19:00.000+03:00|German govt declines to comment on Commerzbank-Deutsche Bank merger report|BERLIN (Reuters) - The German finance ministry on Friday declined to comment on a report that Deutsche Bank was considering a merger with Commerzbank. FILE PHOTO: A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo “The German government and the finance ministry don’t comment on speculation about the business decisions of individual financial institutions,” a finance ministry spokeswoman said during a regular government news conference. Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Michelle Martin  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T13:21:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Aevis Victoria Sells Its Stake In BioTelemetry|June 8 (Reuters) - Aevis Victoria SA: * EQS-ADHOC: AEVIS VICTORIA SA SOLD ITS STAKE IN BIOTELEMETRY, THUS REALISING A TOTAL CAPITAL GAIN OF CHF 14.3 MILLION ON ITS INVESTMENT IN LIFEWATCH * THIS TRANSACTION WILL ALLOW AEVIS VICTORIA TO GENERATE A FINANCIAL GAIN OF CHF 6.6 MILLION * GAIN OF CHF 6.6 MILLION, WHICH WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON 2018 FIRST HALF-YEAR RESULTS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T13:29:00.000+03:00|German government declines to comment on Commerzbank-Deutsche Bank merger report|June 8, 2018 / 10:30 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago German government declines to comment on Commerzbank-Deutsche Bank merger report Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - The German finance ministry on Friday declined to comment on a report that Deutsche Bank was considering a merger with Commerzbank. FILE PHOTO: A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski “The German government and the finance ministry don’t comment on speculation about the business decisions of individual financial institutions,” a finance ministry spokeswoman said during a regular government news conference. Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Michelle Martin|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-08T13:31:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-FC Porto Signs 5-Year Deal With Brazilian Defender Joao Pedro|June 8 (Reuters) - Futebol Clube do Porto Futebol SAD : * SAID ON THURSDAY SIGNS 5-YEAR DEAL WITH JOAO PEDRO FROM PALMEIRAS Source text: bit.ly/2M728TZ Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T13:41:00.000+03:00|Australia asks China to approve foreign minister's visit amid tension|SYDNEY, June 8 (Reuters) - Australia has asked China to approve a visit by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, a spokeswoman said on Friday, amid heightened diplomatic tension between the two trading partners. Since 2014, the foreign ministers of Australia and China have held annual meetings. As part of that arrangement, Bishop is set to travel to China this year. “We are discussing dates with China for our next foreign security dialogue,” Lauren Gianoli, a spokeswoman for Bishop, told Reuters. Analysts have said China’s response will indicate whether it intends to maintain its frosty approach to Australia, triggered by Canberra’s accusations that Beijing was meddling in its domestic affairs. (Reporting by Colin Packham Editing by Clarence Fernandez)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T13:51:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Uganda central bank sells dollars to support shilling - traders|"June 8, 2018 / 10:56 AM / 3 days ago UPDATE 1-Uganda central bank sells dollars to support shilling - traders Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Adds details, shilling trading level) KAMPALA, June 8 (Reuters) - Uganda's central bank sold dollars on Friday in the foreign exchange market to support the shilling which has been posting losses and falling through a series of all-time record lows in recent days, traders said. At 1027 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,810/3,820, slightly firmer than 3,825/3,835, the level at which central bank intervened, and from Thursday's close of 3,815/3,825. The local currency has been weakening rapidly in recent days, with traders citing strong demand from manufacturers, fuel importers and banks. The shilling is 4.9 percent weaker against the dollar so far this year. ""It's a good signal that they can come in and stabilise the market ... it will curb the speculation that was in the market,"" a trader at a leading bank said. Bank of Uganda's director of communications, Charity Mugumya said the shilling has been weakening due to ""economic fundamentals not by short term speculative pressures."" The central bank's stay on the sidelines as the shilling fell through all-time record lows had sowed some unease among traders, some telling Reuters off-record the bank's refusal to intervene was exacerbating the depreciation. Mugumya said interventions to support the shilling were ""unsustainable"" and that the shilling's rapid depreciation also mirrored the global strength of the dollar against other currencies. UGX Spot Rate Ugandan Shilling Money Guide.... Calculated Cross Rates Deposits Deposits & Forwards Uganda Equities Guide Uganda All Share Index Shilling background Ugandan Debt Guide All Uganda Bonds Uganda T-Bills Uganda Benchmark Central Bank Ugandan Contributor Index.... Uganda Coffee Prices (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by George Obulutsa) 0 : 0"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAugandaNews|0
2018-06-08T14:05:00.000+03:00|EU to rule on Siemens-Alstom rail deal by July 13|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) and French rival Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) will know by July 13 whether they can secure EU antitrust approval for the planned merger of their rail businesses to compete better with China’s CRRC Corp.( 601766.SS ) FILE PHOTO - Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, and Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser attend a news conference to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe The European Commission set the deadline after the companies sought approval on Friday. The EU competition watchdog can approve the deal with or without concessions, or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns. Siemens and Alstom announced the deal last September, potentially bringing the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology under one roof, and the companies have since been engaged in informal talks with the Commission. While the deal is seen as a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for French President Emmanuel Macron, it has angered opposition politicians and trade unions worried about job losses. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-08T14:08:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Pamplona, IWG, Prada, Thyssenkrupp, Sika, Hainan, Inmarsat, TrainOSE, Dialog Semiconductor, Comcast, National Bank of Greece, Linde) June 8 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday: ** Industrial gas companies Linde AG and Praxair Inc have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion worth of assets they are jointly selling in a move that will favor Japan’s Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp, people familiar with the matter said. ** National Bank of Greece (NBG) has received one binding offer from Chinese group Gongbao for a majority stake in its insurance subsidiary, the lender said. ** U.S. cable company Comcast is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its bid to buy European pay-TV company Sky, two people familiar with the matter said. ** Dialog Semiconductor is in early talks to merge with U.S. touch-pad technology company Synaptics Inc, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ** Greece received an improved offer from Italian railway operator TrainOSE for railway maintenance company ROSCO, a source close to the procedure told Reuters. ** British satellite firm Inmarsat rejected a takeover approach from U.S. firm EchoStar, saying it significantly undervalued the company. ** Hainan Airlines,, China’s fourth-biggest carrier, plans to acquire aviation assets valued at 10.48 billion yuan ($1.64 billion) in five firms to boost its route network and competitive edge, it said. ** Swiss chemicals group Sika could spend up to $1 billion on acquisitions in a year to speed up its growth over the next five years, Chairman Paul Haelg told Reuters. ** Thyssenkrupp has considered a sale of its shipbuilding unit Marine Systems in the past, the subsidiary’s management said in a internal note to staff obtained by Reuters. ** Buyout group Pamplona is viewed as the front runner to buy German home shopping TV network HSE24 from investor Providence, after other suitors dropped out, two people close to matter said. ** Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli ruled out that the family who controls Italy’s biggest luxury goods group could sell down its stake and said his son Lorenzo may one day head the company. ** IWG Plc said that U.S. property investment firm Starwood Capital and British private equity fund TDR Capital will now have until June 29 to make firm offers for the company or walk away. ** Airbus SE is set to close a deal to take a controlling stake in Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jetliner program, effective July 1, the companies said, in a move expected to kickstart the European planemaker’s ability to put its marketing and cost-cutting muscle into the Canadian plane program. ** Russia-China Investment Fund, established by Russian sovereign fund RDIF and China Investment Corp, said it planned to invest in Russian lender Sovcombank jointly with a consortium of leading Middle Eastern funds. ** EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 12 whether to wave through Irish budget airline Ryanair’s bid for a 75 percent stake in the rebranded former Niki airline Laudamotion, a filing on the European Commission site showed. ** Murray & Roberts has asked South Africa’s competition authorities to block its biggest shareholder from fully exercising its voting rights in its proposed tie-up with rival construction firm Aveng, its spokesman said. ** Russia’s Otkritie bank, bailed out by the central bank last year, aims to sell a stake of up to 20 percent in 2021, the bank’s management said. ** UK Climate Investments, a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, will acquire a 40 percent interest in a 185 megawatt portfolio of solar assets in India, it said. ** Australia’s Atlas Iron Ltd said Mineral Resources Ltd, which is trying to take over the iron ore producer, would allow Atlas to hold talks with other potential buyers. ** The German finance ministry declined to comment on a report that Deutsche Bank was considering a merger with Commerzbank. (Compiled by Akshara P and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-08T14:20:00.000+03:00|Kenya to sell 25-year Treasury bond this month - central bank|June 8, 2018 / 6:41 AM / 3 days ago Kenya to sell 25-year Treasury bond this month - central bank Reuters Staff 1 Min Read NAIROBI, June 8 (Reuters) - Kenya will sell a 25-year Treasury bond worth 40 billion shillings ($396 million)this month, the central bank said on Friday. The bank would receive bids for the bond until June 19, and auction it a day later, it said. The bond has a 13.400 percent coupon. ($1 = 101.0500 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by George Obulutsa Editing by Duncan Miriri) 0 : 0|http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/nav/rss/a262965e0c331d64|0
2018-06-08T14:26:00.000+03:00|Synthomer says probed by EU in styrene monomer buying investigation|June 8 (Reuters) - Chemicals maker Synthomer plc said it was included in an European Commission investigation into practices related to buying styrene monomer, a chemical used in making plastics, by companies operating in the European Economic Area. Synthomer said on Friday the Commission visited Synthomer’s London office this week as part of the investigation, adding that it would cooperate with the Commission. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Georgina Prodhan)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T14:42:00.000+03:00|IWG says Starwood Capital, TDR have until June 29 to make firm takeover offers|(Reuters) - IWG Plc ( IWG.L ) said on Friday that U.S. property investment firm Starwood Capital and British private equity fund TDR Capital will now have until June 29 to make firm offers for the company or walk away. The British serviced office provider, which is in talks with Starwood and TDR, said UK’s Takeover Panel granted an extension to the two firms from an earlier deadline of June 8. IWG has been separately approached by Starwood, TDR, U.S. real estate investment firm Prime Opportunities Investment Group and American buyout house Lone Star for a deal. IWG rejected an offer from Prime Opportunities, which has until June 26 to make a firm offer. Prime Opportunities said it was confident of submitting another proposal. Lone Star said on Monday it did not intend to make a firm offer for IWG. IWG, which has offices in about 3,125 locations in more than 110 countries, faces growing competition from rivals including WeWork, the co-working space startup backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ). Canadian firms Onex ( ONEX.TO ) and Brookfield Asset Management ( BAMa.TO ) made a joint approach for IWG in December, but talks fell apart at the start of February. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T14:45:00.000+03:00|Hainan Airlines plans to buy aviation assets worth $1.6 bln via share issue|HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hainan Airlines ( 600221.SS ) ( 900945.SS ), China’s fourth-biggest carrier, plans to acquire aviation assets valued at 10.48 billion yuan ($1.64 billion) in five firms to boost its route network and competitive edge, it said on Friday. FILE PHOTO - A Hainan Airlines aircraft sits on the tarmac at the airport in Beijing, China May 13, 2018. Picture taken May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer The carrier, affiliated with embattled HNA Group, said it would issue shares to up to 10 investors, including Singapore’s Temasek Fullerton Alpha Pte Ltd, to raise up to 7 billion yuan to fund aircraft purchases and six other projects, such as engine maintenance and pilot training. Hainan Airlines hopes to upgrade its flight network and develop its aviation expertise with the acquisitions. “With the acquisitions, the airline will be able to expand the routes, strengthen development in aviation maintenance, flight training and other services,” the airline said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. Hainan Airlines said the acquisition would result in an ownership change in the company, which is now controlled by a Chinese provincial regulator. Hainan’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) controls the carrier through SASAC’s stake in Grand China Air Co Ltd. It said after the transaction, its owner will become Hainan Province Cihang Foundation, which is connected to HNA Group. HNA, the aviation-to-financial services conglomerate, has been selling overseas real estate and some of its biggest financial and strategic investments following a $50 billion acquisition spree over the past two years. In a separate announcement, Hainan Airlines said it would scrap an A-share convertible bond issue announced in May due to changes in capital market conditions. Reporting by Meg Shen in Hong Kong, Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; Editing by Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-08T14:46:00.000+03:00|Production ramp-up first priority in CSeries takeover - Airbus|PARIS, June 8 (Reuters) - Airbus pledged on Friday to focus on a smooth and sustainable increase in production of the Bombardier CSeries jet as it finalised a deal to take control of the loss-making Canadian aircraft programme. Finance Director Harald Wilhelm also said in a conference call he saw margin for further efficiencies in the plane’s supply chain and was confident it would contribute positively to Airbus cash generation in future, without elaborating on timing. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cyril Altmeyer, Editing by Dominique Vidalon)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T14:52:00.000+03:00|Prada CEO says no plans to sell, son may head group one day|June 8, 2018 / 11:53 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Prada CEO says no plans to sell, son may head group one day Reuters Staff 1 Min Read VALVIGNA, Italy (Reuters) - Prada ( 1913.HK ) CEO Patrizio Bertelli ruled out that the family who controls Italy’s biggest luxury goods group could sell down its stake and said his son Lorenzo may one day head the company. FILE PHOTO: Chairman of Prada group Patrizio Bertelli attends a business conference in Milan, northern Italy November 30, 2005. “Lorenzo is getting ready to become one day - if he wants to - the head of Prada,” Bertelli said. “We’re not selling, we’ll never sell,” he said in answer to a question, adding “really crazy” prices meant there were no acquisitions in sight either. Reporting by Sarah White and Silvia Ognibene, editing by Francesca Landini|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T14:52:00.000+03:00|Airbus set to close deal for majority stake in Bombardier Cseries|June 8 (Reuters) - Airbus SE is set to close a deal to take a controlling stake in Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jetliner program, effective July 1, the companies said on Friday, in a move expected to kickstart the European planemaker’s ability to put its marketing and cost-cutting muscle into the Canadian plane program. Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in its flagship commercial jet for a symbolic Canadian dollar, as the plane program battled sluggish sales and low production, which made it harder to keep a lid on costs. Airbus, by contrast, will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets and is expected to use its purchasing prowess to drastically cut the price of parts, along with improving efficiencies internally. Bombardier will now own about 31 percent, while Investissement Quebec, the investment arm of the province of Quebec, will hold a 19 percent stake. The Quebec government, through its financing arm, took a 49 percent stake in the CSeries program in 2015 for $1 billion. Quebec’s share, most recently worth 38 percent, slipped to 19 percent following the deal with Airbus. (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Sydney; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)  |http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/nav/rss/876f91efcbd818cb|0
2018-06-08T15:03:00.000+03:00|Russia's Otkritie bank plans to sell 20 pct stake in 2021|ST PETERSBURG, June 8 (Reuters) - Russia’s Otkritie plans to sell 20 percent of its shares in 2021, the bank said in a presentation on Friday. Otkritie is currently controlled by the Russian central bank following a bailout in 2017. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; writing by Polina Nikolskaya; editing by Jason Neely)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T15:05:00.000+03:00|Inmarsat rejects EchoStar takeover bid, says it undervalues firm|June 8, 2018 / 5:05 PM / in 19 minutes Inmarsat rejects EchoStar takeover bid, says it undervalues firm Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British satellite firm Inmarsat on Friday rejected a takeover approach from U.S. firm EchoStar, saying it significantly undervalued the company. Inmarsat issued the statement after bid speculation spurred its shares to a three month high. The stock closed up 13.5 percent, giving it a market capitalisation of 2.2 billion pounds ($2.95 billion). “After carefully considering the proposal with its advisers the board rejected the proposal on the basis that it very significantly undervalued Inmarsat and its standalone prospects,” it said in a statement issued after the market closed. “The board remains highly confident in the independent strategy and prospects of Inmarsat.” The group, which provides communications for shipping, aircraft and for governments, said the approach was highly preliminary and non-binding, and there could be no certainty that a firm offer would be made. The approach by Colorado-based EchoStar was for the entire share capital of Inmarsat. Satellite stocks across Europe had been gaining throughout the day after SES won authorisation from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to expand its O3b satellite fleet and got an upgrade to “buy” from UBS analysts. SES shares gained 4.4 percent and Eutelsat, which UBS also upgraded to “buy”, rose 3.6 percent. ($1 = 0.7462 pounds) Reporting by Alistair Smout, Helen Reid and Siju Varghese, additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Editing by Alasdair Pal and James Davey|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-08T15:06:00.000+03:00|Russia's Otkritie bank plans to sell 20 percent stake in 2021|ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Russia’s Otkritie bank, bailed out by the central bank last year, aims to sell a stake of up to 20 percent in 2021, the bank’s management said on Friday. The central bank took over Otkritie, once Russia’s largest private lender, and two other major banks in 2017 in an attempt to prevent a deeper crisis in the banking sector that lost dozens of players in the past few years. “It is important for us to be attractive for an external investor, a buyer, by 2021 so we can sell 15-20 percent of shares,” Otkritie’s CEO Mikhail Zadornov said. Zadornov, presenting the bank’s strategy at a banking forum in St Petersburg, said Otkritie would like to sell its shares at a price of at least 1.3 times the capital the bank has at the end of 2020. The central bank had said before it wanted to sell the banks it rescues, considering an increased state presence in the banking sector as undesirable. Ksenia Yudayeva, first deputy governor central bank and the head of the supervisory board at Otkritie, said shares in Otkritie will be offered in several blocks. She said Otkritie was not looking for a strategic investor to buy those shares. Yudayeva said Otkritie’s plan for the next few years would be to focus on lending to small and medium businesses. A successful implementation of the strategy should help Otkritie’s banking business post a net profit of 68 billion rubles ($1.08 billion) in 2020, Zadornov said. The bank’s return on equity, an indicator that shows how much profit the company generated from the money invested by its shareholders, is set to increase to 18 percent in 2020 from zero in 2018, the bank’s presentation showed. In the first five months of 2018, the bank made 5.4 billion rubles in net profit, Yudayeva said. Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T15:44:00.000+03:00|Argentine bonds rally after IMF deal; peso expected to float|BUENOS AIRES, June 8 (Reuters) - Argentina’s bonds rallied early on Friday after the country signed a $50 billion standby arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, while analysts zoned in on comments indicating the central bank would stop protecting the peso currency. Argentina announced on May 8 it was turning to the IMF after a selloff in emerging markets prompted a run on the peso. For the past few weeks, the central bank has offered to sell $5 billion in reserves at 25 pesos per dollar, effectively preventing the currency from falling below that level. At a news conference on Thursday night, central bank Governor Federico Sturzenegger suggested the bank would change tack as a result of the deal, which included pledges from Argentina to speed up fiscal deficit reduction and end central bank financing of the Treasury. “The way the central bank has been operating in the past few weeks had a lot to do with how to confront the turbulence in the foreign exchange market, which in our understanding has been surpassed with the disbursement and approval of this package,” Sturzenegger said. “Tomorrow we will return to a normal situation in the functioning of the exchange rate regime.” Argentina’s country risk - a J.P. Morgan measure of the difference between the country’s bond yields and less risky alternatives - fell 14 points early on Friday morning to 467 . Its 100-year bond maturing in 2117 was up 1.6 percent at 88.18 cents on the dollar as of 9:22 a.m. Trading in the peso currency was expected to begin at 10 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) while the stock market opens at 11 a.m. “In the short-term we expect a rally in Argentinean assets,” Ezequiel Zambaglione, head of research at Buenos Aires brokerage Max Valores, wrote in a Friday note to clients. “The announcement was above market expectations in the amount and fiscal targets.” (Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jorge Otaola Editing by Bill Trott)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T16:06:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Cipla, Unitaid Announce Deal To Lower Price Of Combination Therapy To Treat Opportunistic Infections In HIV Patients|June 8 (Reuters) - Cipla Ltd: * CIPLA LTD - UNITAID, CO STRUCK DEAL TO LOWER PRICE OF FIRST COMBINATION THERAPY THAT PREVENTS OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS IN PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV * CIPLA - PRICE OF PRODUCT EXPECTED TO COME DOWN MORE AS GOVTS, INTERNATIONAL FUNDING BODIES PROCURE LARGER QUANTITIES FOR HIV TREATMENT PROGRAMMES * CIPLA - COMBINATION THERAPY CONTAINS CO-TRIMOXAZOLE, ISONIAZID AND VITAMIN B6 * CIPLA - CO TO REDUCE CEILING PRICE OF MEDICINE BY MORE THAN 30 PERCENT TO $ 1.99/PERSON/MONTH, FOR PUBLIC-SECTOR PROCURERS IN LOW,MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES Source text - bit.ly/2xSA17V Further company coverage:  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T16:08:00.000+03:00|Pamplona in lead to buy German home shopping TV network HSE24 -sources|FRANKFURT, June 8 (Reuters) - Buyout group Pamplona is viewed as the front runner to buy German home shopping TV network HSE24 from investor Providence, after other suitors dropped out, two people close to matter said. Pamplona remains in the race, while Apax and BC Partners have dropped out of the auction for HSE24, which is expected to be valued at more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) including debt, the people said. An Asian suitor has also shown interest in the company, but has not bid aggressively, the sources added. A flotation of HSE24 on the Frankfurt stock exchange is seen as a fallback option if the talks with Pamplona fall apart, they said. Providence, Pamplona, Apax and BC Partners declined to comment. Bankers have been working on debt financing of almost 1 billion euros to back the potential sale - or around 6.25 times HSE24’s expected 2018 core earnings (EBITDA) of 140 million euros, including undrawn facilities. Founded in 1995, HSE24 competes with companies such as QVC, part of John Malone’s Liberty Interactive, which has been a consolidator in the sector. An 85 percent stake in HSE24 - which markets more than 20,000 different products to customers each year in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Russia and in 2016 posted sales of 754 million euros - was sold to Providence for 650 million euros in 2012. $1 = 0.8509 euros Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Edward Taylor and Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-08T16:31:00.000+03:00|Argentine bonds rally after IMF deal; peso opens lower|BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina could revise the fiscal targets set as part of a $50 billion financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund to increase spending on social programs, an IMF director said on Friday. A man works on the floor of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Argentina May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Argentina requested IMF assistance on May 8 after a run on its peso currency in an investor exodus from emerging markets. The country’s stocks rallied on the deal to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of the country’s past. Many Argentines blame the austerity measures the IMF imposed under a previous bailout during its 2001-2002 economic crisis for plunging millions into poverty, but the organization said spending on programs to protect the poor could actually increase under the financing arrangement. “The fiscal targets can be revised in case there is a need to increase social spending,” said IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner, adding that Argentina’s economy today is “very different than 2001.” “That way, society does not have to choose between building a bridge or protecting the poorest.” As part of the deal announced Thursday night, the government agreed to speed up reductions in the primary fiscal deficit to balance the budget by 2020. The government also pledged to propose legislation for a more independent central bank to fight double-digit inflation, which Werner praised on Friday. Opposition politicians aligned with former populist President Cristina Fernandez have said market-friendly President Mauricio Macri was repeating earlier mistakes. “Argentines do not want to go back to the past. It cost us a lot to get away from the Fund, and we do not want to go back there,” said Carlos Castagneto, a lawmaker aligned with Fernandez. The benchmark Merval stock index .MERV rose 3.8 percent on the deal. Bonds rose modestly, with Argentina's country risk 11EMJ - a J.P. Morgan measure of the difference between the country's bond yields and less risky alternatives - down five points at 476 as of 3:56 p.m. local time (1746 GMT). Argentina’s 100-year bond maturing in 2117 AR163761602= was up 0.2 percent at 87 cents on the dollar. “The deal between Argentina and the IMF reduces immediate external financing risks and will help speed up fiscal consolidation,” said Gabriel Torres, a vice president at credit rating agency Moody’s. PESO WEAKENS The deal still needs approval from the IMF board, which is expected to discuss it at a June 20 meeting. Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Thursday he expected Argentina to receive a disbursement of 30 percent of the total, or roughly $15 billion, in the days following approval. Finance Minister Luis Caputo said the government would not necessarily use the rest of the money and may return to bond markets to finance the estimated $22 billion in financing Argentina needs in 2019 to cover its fiscal deficit. “If you need it you can use it, but if we regain access to the market at good rates, it is better to save it,” Caputo told investors on a conference call, according to a Finance Ministry statement. The peso ARS=RASL touched a record-low 25.66 per U.S. dollar after the central bank stopped a weeks-long defense of the currency. It later rebounded to close down 1.5 percent at 25.37 per dollar. For the past few weeks, the central bank has offered to sell $5 billion in reserves at 25 pesos per dollar every day, effectively preventing the currency from falling below that level. That offer did not appear on Friday, traders said. Additional reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi in Buenos Aires, Rodrigo Campos in New York and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Nick Zieminski  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews|0
2018-06-08T17:03:00.000+03:00|Inmarsat shares jump on takeover speculation, satellite strength|June 8, 2018 / 2:04 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago Inmarsat shares jump on takeover speculation, satellite strength Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in British satellite firm Inmarsat ( ISA.L ) surged on Friday to a three-month high, with traders pointing to takeover speculation on the Financial Times' Alphaville blog. here Inmarsat was trading up 9 percent by 1355 GMT, top of Europe's STOXX 600 and Britain's FTSE 250 .FTMC , having risen as much as 11 percent in volatile mid-afternoon trading. “It is a target,” said one trader. “I think it’s general satellite strength, but it’s certainly got people speaking,” said another trader. An Inmarsat spokesman declined to comment on speculation. Satellite stocks across Europe had been gaining throughout the day after SES ( SESFd.PA ) won authorisation from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to expand its O3b satellite fleet and got an upgrade to “buy” from UBS analysts. SES shares gained 4.9 percent and Eutelsat ( ETL.PA ), which UBS also upgraded to “buy”, rose 3.7 percent. Reporting by Helen Reid, additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Editing by Alasdair Pal|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T17:32:00.000+03:00|Russia's Rosatom signs deals to build 4 nuclear power units in China|BEIJING, June 8 (Reuters) - Russian state nuclear company Rosatom has signed deals to build four nuclear power units in China, it said at a signing ceremony said on Friday. Rosatom will construct two units each at the Xudabao and Tianwan nuclear plants, it said. All four units will feature Russia’s latest Gen3+ VVER-1200 reactors. The reactors and all other necessary equipment will be developed and supplied by Russia. Rosatom did not provide an estimate of the cost. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T18:00:00.000+03:00|Linde-Praxair merger narrows in favour of strategic bidders - sources|FRANKFURT/LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Industrial gas companies Linde AG ( LING.DE ) and Praxair Inc ( PX.N ) have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion (£3 billion) worth of assets they are jointly selling in a move that will favour Japan’s Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp ( 4091.T ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: Linde Group headquarters is pictured in Munich, Germany August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo The sellers want strategic buyers for European operations, to help win antitrust approval for their planned $80 billion merger, said the people, who were not authorized to comment publicly on negotiations. A joint bid by private equity fund CVC Capital Partners Ltd [CVC.UL] and gases company Messer Group GmbH may still be on the table, while private equity investors Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ), Onex Corp ( ONEX.TO ) and Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) may only bid for the U.S. operations, two of the sources said. Munich-based Linde and Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair recently added Iberian and Italian operations to the European package in response to regulators’ demands. Final offers are due on Monday. The European operations could be valued at about 11 times their slightly over $400 million in annual earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), the sources said. There is no certainty that Taiyo and CVC or Messer will bid and talks could still fall apart, the sources cautioned. FILE PHOTO: The Praxair logo is seen during a news conference with Linde in Munich, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle Praxair, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Carlyle, Onex and Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Linde and CVC declined to comment. The European Commission, which decides on antitrust approval, typically prefers peer-to-peer mergers that create more globally competitive businesses. Private equity buyers are more likely to win approval if they provide financing but stay removed from day-to-day management, either by teaming with industry buyers or by sticking with existing management to run businesses. Linde and Praxair, which supply a wide range of gases from oxygen to helium, agreed an all-share merger of equals a year ago to create a global leader to overtake France’s Air Liquide SA ( AIRP.PA ), with revenue of almost $29 billion and 88,000 staff. The two companies are preparing to sell assets with earnings before EBITDA of around $800 million and hope to complete the deal before an Oct. 24 deadline dictated by German financial market rules. Their merger still requires regulatory approval in the European Union and the United States. The Financial Times reported this month that the EU commission outlined a formal “statement of objections” to the companies asking about competition issues related to production and distribution of gases. The two companies announced plans to buy out minority shareholders to speed up approvals. Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Yun Chee Foo in Brussels; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and David Gregorio  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-08T18:03:00.000+03:00|Norway insurers, pension firms should be allowed to buy infrastructure -government|OSLO, June 8 (Reuters) - Norwegian insurers and pension providers should be allowed to invest in infrastructure projects such as roads and electricity generation to boost their ability to secure cash flow and return on investment for clients, the government said on Friday. The proposed legal amendment, which must be voted on by parliament, had originally been proposed for insurance firms only, but has been extended to also comprise companies that solely provide pensions, the finance ministry said. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Nerijus Adomaitis)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T18:22:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-India mulls company to deal with banks stressed assets|* Panel to consider setting up asset reconstruction company * Finance minister says for banks to make call on merger plans * “No cause for concern” for ICICI bank stakeholders (Recasts, adds details) By Abhirup Roy MUMBAI, June 8 (Reuters) - India has set up a panel of experts to explore mechanisms for resolving the burgeoning bad debts plaguing its financial sector, the country’s interim finance minister said on Friday. Indian banks, already burdened by a near-record 9.5 trillion rupees ($141 billion) of soured loans as of last year, reported a further rise in bad loans in the March quarter after the central bank withdrew half a dozen loan-restructuring schemes and tightened some rules. The panel, which has been tasked to submit its recommendations in two weeks, will examine whether banks needed to set up an asset reconstruction company (ARC) or asset management company (AMC) to take up the stressed assets from banks’ balance sheets. The committee is headed by Sunil Mehta non-executive chairman of Punjab National Bank, interim finance minister Piyush Goyal told a news conference. “This group will consider whether such an arrangement will be good for the banking system and if such a suggestion is considered advisable it will also consider the modalities by which such an ARC and/or an AMC should be set up,” he said. The 21 banks majority-owned by the Indian government, which account for two-thirds of banking assets in the country, hold close to 90 percent of soured loans. Goyal said the government was committed to support all state-run banks and to strengthen their operations, after several lenders reported a jump in net losses last month. “The government stands committed to support all 21 Public sector banks,” he said. After the meeting with bankers, Goyal said some lenders might consider creating oversight committees comprising external experts such as retired judges and regulators to help with faster decision making. Goyal said the government and the central bank would make all efforts to bring state banks into a “good shape” so that they could once again become “an engine of economic growth”. “The government of India believes that the autonomy of the banks be recognised,” Goyal said, adding the government has not “micromanaged banks”. On potential mergers, he said the banks would have to take a final call on consolidation based on their experiences and needs. ICICI BANK Addressing allegations of mismanagement at the private lender ICICI Bank Ltd, Goyal said there was no cause for concern for stakeholders. “ICICI Bank is a good bank. It has very robust processes and there is no cause for concern for any of the stakeholders of ICICI Bank,” he said. ICICI, India’s third-biggest lender by assets, is battling allegations that its Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar had broken the bank’s code of conduct. The bank has set up an inquiry into allegations raised by an anonymous whistleblower that Kochhar favoured Videocon Group in its lending practices. Videocon’s founders had an investment in a renewable energy company founded by Kochhar’s husband. The bank rejected the accusations of nepotism in March and said the board had “full confidence and reposes full faith” in Kochhar. Goyal said the bank’s internal and external inquiry committees would look into the allegations. ($1 = 67.5000 Indian rupees) (Additional reporting by Malini Menon, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Writing by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Alex Richardson)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-08T18:41:00.000+03:00|Turkey's suspension of migrant deal with Greece doesn't affect EU-Turkey deal-Germany|BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government does not expect Turkey’s decision to suspend a migrant agreement with Greece to affect a similar agreement between Ankara and the European Union, a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry said on Friday. “To our knowledge the events of yesterday do not affect the deal with the EU,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. “We hope that a dialogue between Greece and Turkey will take place to clarify unresolved issues.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was Quote: d on Thursday as saying Turkey has suspended its migrant readmission deal with Greece, days after Athens released from prison four Turkish soldiers who fled there after a 2016 attempted coup. Reporting by Michelle Martin  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T19:10:00.000+03:00|Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows -Salvini|June 8, 2018 / 4:12 PM / in 2 days Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows -Salvini Reuters Staff * New interior minister says Italy “under attack” * Tells Malta it must take in more migrants * Warns of crackdown on humanitarian boats By Crispian Balmer ROME, June 8 (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signalling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighbouring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favour of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped dramatically in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often put to sea in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous centre-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer Editing by Catherine Evans) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAlibyaNews|0
2018-06-08T19:13:00.000+03:00|Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows: Salvini|ROME (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signaling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini gestures as he arrives at the Italian Business Association Confcommercio meeting in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighboring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favor of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south, not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped sharply in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often travel in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous center-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. Malta said it adhered to all its obligations regarding immigration and rejected the Sea Watch criticism. “Malta will continue to respect these conventions with respect to the safety of life at sea, as happened in this latest case and indeed in each case,” the government said in a statement. Earlier this week Salvini angered Tunisia by accusing the North African nation of sending its “convicts” to Italy under the guise of migrants. Additionl reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Catherine Evans and Gareth Jones  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-08T19:22:00.000+03:00|EU to rule on Siemens-Alstom rail deal by July 13|June 8, 2018 / 4:04 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago EU to rule on Siemens-Alstom rail deal by July 13 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) and French rival Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) will know by July 13 whether they can secure EU antitrust approval for the planned merger of their rail businesses to compete better with China’s CRRC Corp.( 601766.SS ) FILE PHOTO - Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, and Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser attend a news conference to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe The European Commission set the deadline after the companies sought approval on Friday. The EU competition watchdog can approve the deal with or without concessions, or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns. Siemens and Alstom announced the deal last September, potentially bringing the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology under one roof, and the companies have since been engaged in informal talks with the Commission. While the deal is seen as a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for French President Emmanuel Macron, it has angered opposition politicians and trade unions worried about job losses. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-08T19:22:00.000+03:00|EU to rule on Siemens-Alstom rail deal by July 13|June 8, 2018 / 4:22 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago EU to rule on Siemens-Alstom rail deal by July 13 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) and French rival Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) will know by July 13 whether they can secure EU antitrust approval for the planned merger of their rail businesses to compete better with China’s CRRC Corp.( 601766.SS ) A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido The European Commission set the deadline after the companies sought approval on Friday. The EU competition watchdog can approve the deal with or without concessions, or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns. Siemens and Alstom announced the deal last September, potentially bringing the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signalling and rail technology under one roof, and the companies have since been engaged in informal talks with the Commission. While the deal is seen as a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for French President Emmanuel Macron, it has angered opposition politicians and trade unions worried about job losses. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T19:43:00.000+03:00|IWG says Starwood Capital, TDR have until June 29 to make firm takeover offers|June 8 (Reuters) - IWG Plc said on Friday that U.S. property investment firm Starwood Capital and British private equity fund TDR Capital will now have until June 29 to make firm offers for the company or walk away. The British serviced office provider, which is in talks with Starwood and TDR, said UK’s Takeover Panel granted an extension to the two firms from an earlier deadline of June 8. IWG has been separately approached by Starwood, TDR, U.S. real estate investment firm Prime Opportunities Investment Group and American buyout house Lone Star for a deal. IWG rejected an offer from Prime Opportunities, which has until June 26 to make a firm offer. Prime Opportunities said it was confident of submitting another proposal. Lone Star said on Monday it did not intend to make a firm offer for IWG. IWG, which has offices in about 3,125 locations in more than 110 countries, faces growing competition from rivals including WeWork, the co-working space startup backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. Canadian firms Onex and Brookfield Asset Management made a joint approach for IWG in December, but talks fell apart at the start of February. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/us-lipper-awards|0
2018-06-08T19:49:00.000+03:00|Production ramp-up first priority in CSeries takeover: Airbus|PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus ( AIR.PA ) pledged on Friday to focus on a smooth and sustainable increase in production of the Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries jet as it finalised a deal to take control of the loss-making Canadian aircraft program. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Airbus is pictured at the Airbus A380 final assembly line at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Finance Director Harald Wilhelm also said in a conference call he saw margin for further efficiencies in the plane’s supply chain and was confident it would contribute positively to Airbus cash generation in future, without elaborating on timing. Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cyril Altmeyer, Editing by Dominique Vidalon  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/aerospace-and-defense|0
2018-06-08T19:52:00.000+03:00|Prada CEO says no plans to sell, son may head group one day|VALVIGNA, Italy, June 8 (Reuters) - Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli ruled out that the family who controls Italy’s biggest luxury goods group could sell down its stake and said his son Lorenzo may one day head the company. “Lorenzo is getting ready to become one day - if he wants to - the head of Prada,” Bertelli said. “We’re not selling, we’ll never sell,” he said in answer to a question, adding “really crazy” prices meant there were no acquisitions in sight either. Reporting by Sarah White and Silvia Ognibene, editing by Francesca Landini  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T19:53:00.000+03:00|Hainan Airlines plans to buy aviation assets worth $1.6 billion via share issue|June 8, 2018 / 4:53 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Hainan Airlines plans to buy aviation assets worth $1.6 billion via share issue Reuters Staff 2 Min Read HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hainan Airlines ( 600221.SS ) ( 900945.SS ), China’s fourth-biggest carrier, plans to acquire aviation assets valued at 10.48 billion yuan (1.2 billion pounds) in five firms to boost its route network and competitive edge, it said on Friday. A Hainan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft sits on the tarmac at the airport in Beijing, China May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer The carrier, affiliated with embattled HNA Group [HNAIRC.UL], said it would issue shares to up to 10 investors, including Singapore’s Temasek Fullerton Alpha Pte Ltd, to raise up to 7 billion yuan to fund aircraft purchases and six other projects, such as engine maintenance and pilot training. Hainan Airlines hopes to upgrade its flight network and develop its aviation expertise with the acquisitions. “With the acquisitions, the airline will be able to expand the routes, strengthen development in aviation maintenance, flight training and other services,” the airline said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. Hainan Airlines said the acquisition would result in an ownership change in the company, which is now controlled by a Chinese provincial regulator. Hainan’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) controls the carrier through SASAC’s stake in Grand China Air Co Ltd. It said after the transaction, its owner will become Hainan Province Cihang Foundation, which is connected to HNA Group. HNA, the aviation-to-financial services conglomerate, has been selling overseas real estate and some of its biggest financial and strategic investments following a $50 billion acquisition spree over the past two years. In a separate announcement, Hainan Airlines said it would scrap an A-share convertible bond issue announced in May due to changes in capital market conditions. Reporting by Meg Shen in Hong Kong, Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; Editing by Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-08T19:53:00.000+03:00|Prada CEO says no plans to sell, son may head group one day|VALVIGNA, Italy (Reuters) - Prada ( 1913.HK ) Chief Executive Patrizio Bertelli said on Friday his family would not sell its 80 percent stake in Italy’s biggest luxury goods group and said his son Lorenzo may one day head the company. Prada's employee works inside the factory designed by architect Guido Canali in Valvigna, Italy, June 8, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini The Milan-based firm is run by the husband-and-wife team of Patrizio Bertelli and designer Miuccia Prada, whose grandfather founded the label in 1913. The couple’s eldest child Lorenzo, 30, joined Prada to run its digital communications last year, the company confirmed this week following a Bloomberg report. Bertelli said his son was being prepared to take over. “Lorenzo is getting ready to become one day - if he wants to - the head of Prada,” Bertelli said, at the inauguration of a production site in Italy, although 72-year-old also said it was “too early to retire.” Slideshow (10 Images) The succession question comes as Prada looks to cement early signs of a turnaround following several years of falling sales. Chinese consumer demand rebounded in the past 18 months, fuelling rapid growth for some rivals like Kering’s Gucci ( PRTP.PA ) or LVMH’s ( LVMH.PA ) Louis Vuitton, but Prada was slow to catch on to trends such as the rise of high-end streetwear like sneakers. It is also playing catch up with online sales, and trying to build a bigger digital presence by forging ties with influential fashion bloggers, especially in China. Sales trends improved in the second half of 2017. Other famed Italian fashion houses such as Salvatore Ferragamo ( SFER.MI ) are also in the midst of a turnaround, as some brands struggle more than others to grab younger shoppers’ attention with new products and eye-catching looks. That has sparked speculation that names like Prada or Ferragamo could become takeover targets, though both are tightly controlled by families seen as unlikely to let go easily. “We’re not selling, we’ll never sell,” Prada’s Bertelli said, adding that there were no acquisitions in sight either because of “really crazy” prices. The luxury industry’s biggest, cash-rich players - French conglomerates Kering and LVMH - have succeeded in picking up some Italian family brands in recent years, however. LVMH grabbed jeweler Bulgari in 2011, while Kering bought into smaller Italian jewelry brand Pomellato in 2013. Reporting by Sarah White and Silvia Ognibene; Editing by Francesca Landini and Edmund Blair  |https://www.reuters.com/home|0
2018-06-08T19:55:00.000+03:00|Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows - Salvini|June 8, 2018 / 4:59 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows - Salvini Crispian Balmer 4 Min Read ROME (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signalling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini gestures as he arrives at the Italian Business Association Confcommercio meeting in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighbouring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favour of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped dramatically in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often put to sea in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous centre-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Catherine Evans|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-08T19:55:00.000+03:00|Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows - Salvini|June 8, 2018 / 4:58 PM / in 27 minutes Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows - Salvini Crispian Balmer 4 Min Read ROME (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signalling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini gestures as he arrives at the Italian Business Association Confcommercio meeting in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighbouring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favour of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped dramatically in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often put to sea in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous centre-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Catherine Evans 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-08T20:19:00.000+03:00|EU regulators set to approve Comcast's bid for Sky - sources|June 8, 2018 / 5:22 PM / 3 days ago Comcast to win unconditional EU okay for Sky bid: sources Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. cable company Comcast is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its bid to buy European pay-TV company Sky , two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) logo is seen at the company's UK headquarters in west London July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo The world’s biggest entertainment company is battling Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for Sky. The media mogul bid’s to buy all of Sky has been delayed by politicians and regulators worried about the power of the enlarged media group. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on Comcast’s offer by June 15, did not respond to a request for comment by email. It cleared without conditions Fox’s bid for Sky in April last year. Comcast declined to comment. Earlier this week, Britain gave the green light to Fox’s bid to acquire all of Sky on condition it sold off its TV news business. Fox now owns 39 percent of Sky, which has operations in Germany, Austria, Italy and Britain. Sky’s 23 million customers makes it an invaluable asset to any media group seeking to better compete against online groups Netflix and Amazon. Murdoch has already agreed to sell many of his TV and film assets, including Sky, to Walt Disney Co in a separate $52 billion deal. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Kate Holton in London; Editing by Louise Heavens and Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-08T20:26:00.000+03:00|EU regulators set to approve Comcast's bid for Sky - sources|June 8, 2018 / 5:26 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Comcast to win unconditional EU okay for Sky bid - sources Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. cable company Comcast is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its bid to buy European pay-TV company Sky , two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: The Sky logo is seen on outside of an entrance to offices and studios in west London, Britain June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville The world’s biggest entertainment company is battling Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for Sky. The media mogul bid’s to buy all of Sky has been delayed by politicians and regulators worried about the power of the enlarged media group. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on Comcast’s offer by June 15, did not respond to a request for comment by email. It cleared without conditions Fox’s bid for Sky in April last year. Comcast declined to comment. Earlier this week, Britain gave the green light to Fox’s bid to acquire all of Sky on condition it sold off its TV news business. Fox now owns 39 percent of Sky, which has operations in Germany, Austria, Italy and Britain. Sky’s 23 million customers makes it an invaluable asset to any media group seeking to better compete against online groups Netflix and Amazon. Murdoch has already agreed to sell many of his TV and film assets, including Sky, to Walt Disney Co in a separate $52 billion (£38.7 billion) deal. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Kate Holton in London; Editing by Louise Heavens and Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|1
2018-06-08T20:26:00.000+03:00|EU regulators set to approve Comcast's bid for Sky - sources|June 8, 2018 / 5:24 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago EU regulators set to approve Comcast's bid for Sky: sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are set to approve U.S. cable company Comcast’s ( CMCSA.O ) bid for European pay-TV company Sky ( SKYB.L ) without demanding concessions, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) logo is seen at the company's UK headquarters in west London July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Comcast is battling Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) for Sky. The media mogul bid’s to buy all of Sky has been delayed by politicians and regulators worried about the power of the enlarged media group. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on Comcast’s offer by June 15, did not respond to a request for email. It cleared without conditions Fox’s bid for Sky in April last year. Comcast declined to comment. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Kate Holton in London; editing by Louise Heavens|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-08T20:37:00.000+03:00|Dialog Semiconductor in Synaptics deal talks -Bloomberg|June 8, 2018 / 5:47 PM / a day ago Dialog Semiconductor in Synaptics deal talks: Bloomberg Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ) is in early talks to merge with U.S. touch-pad technology company Synaptics Inc ( SYNA.O ), Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: The Dialog Semiconductor logo on a flag in Germering near Munich, Germany, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo Dialog has a market value of about 1.15 billion euros ($1.4 billion) while Synaptics, the shares of which jumped as much as 15 percent after the report, is valued at $1.6 billion. Dialog and Synaptics declined to comment on the report. Any deal could make Dialog less dependent on orders from Apple ( AAPL.O ). Analysts estimate that Dialog derives more than half its revenue from supplying Apple with power management chips. The company’s stock has lost nearly 20 percent of its value so far this month after is said that Apple had cut orders for chips for its new iPhone models. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Sonam Rai; Editing by David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T20:37:00.000+03:00|EU regulators set to approve Comcast's bid for Sky: sources|June 8, 2018 / 5:40 PM / in 7 hours Comcast to win unconditional EU okay for Sky bid: sources Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. cable company Comcast is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its bid to buy European pay-TV company Sky , two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. A British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) logo is seen at the company's UK headquarters in west London July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/file Photo The world’s biggest entertainment company is battling Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for Sky. The media mogul bid’s to buy all of Sky has been delayed by politicians and regulators worried about the power of the enlarged media group. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on Comcast’s offer by June 15, did not respond to a request for comment by email. It cleared without conditions Fox’s bid for Sky in April last year. Comcast declined to comment. Earlier this week, Britain gave the green light to Fox’s bid to acquire all of Sky on condition it sold off its TV news business. Fox now owns 39 percent of Sky, which has operations in Germany, Austria, Italy and Britain. Sky’s 23 million customers makes it an invaluable asset to any media group seeking to better compete against online groups Netflix and Amazon. Murdoch has already agreed to sell many of his TV and film assets, including Sky, to Walt Disney Co in a separate $52 billion deal. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Kate Holton in London; Editing by Louise Heavens and Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-08T20:49:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 8)|BRUSSELS, June 8 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners to jointly acquire British fibre network operator Cityfibre Infrastructure Holdings (approved June 7) NEW LISTINGS — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 12 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline June 12) JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 20 — UK infrastructure management company AMP Capital and Spanish airport infrastructure management company Aena Internacional to jointly acquire Luton Airport (notified May 15/deadline June 20/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 12 — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-08T21:04:00.000+03:00|Dialog Semiconductor in Synaptics deal talks: Bloomberg|FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Dialog Semiconductor is in early talks to merge with U.S. touch-pad technology company Synaptics Inc, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: The Dialog Semiconductor logo on a flag in Germering near Munich, Germany, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo Dialog has a market value of about 1.15 billion euros ($1.4 billion) while Synaptics, the shares of which jumped as much as 15 percent after the report, is valued at $1.6 billion. Dialog and Synaptics declined to comment on the report. Any deal could make Dialog less dependent on orders from Apple. Analysts estimate that Dialog derives more than half its revenue from supplying Apple with power management chips. The company’s stock has lost nearly 20 percent of its value so far this month after is said that Apple had cut orders for chips for its new iPhone models. ($1 = 0.8494 euros) Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Sonam Rai; Editing by David Goodman  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-08T21:26:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows -Salvini|June 8, 2018 / 6:27 PM / Updated a day ago UPDATE 1-Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows -Salvini Reuters Staff * New interior minister says Italy “under attack” * Tells Malta it must take in more migrants * Warns of crackdown on humanitarian boats * Malta rejects criticism (Adds comment by Maltese government) By Crispian Balmer ROME, June 8 (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signalling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighbouring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favour of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south, not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped sharply in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often travel in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous centre-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. Malta said it adhered to all its obligations regarding immigration and rejected the Sea Watch criticism. “Malta will continue to respect these conventions with respect to the safety of life at sea, as happened in this latest case and indeed in each case,” the government said in a statement. Earlier this week Salvini angered Tunisia by accusing the North African nation of sending its “convicts” to Italy under the guise of migrants. (Additionl reporting by Gavin Jones Editing by Catherine Evans and Gareth Jones) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAtunisiaNews|0
2018-06-08T21:26:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows -Salvini|June 8, 2018 / 6:27 PM / in 2 days UPDATE 1-Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows -Salvini Reuters Staff * New interior minister says Italy “under attack” * Tells Malta it must take in more migrants * Warns of crackdown on humanitarian boats * Malta rejects criticism (Adds comment by Maltese government) By Crispian Balmer ROME, June 8 (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signalling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighbouring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favour of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south, not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped sharply in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often travel in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous centre-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. Malta said it adhered to all its obligations regarding immigration and rejected the Sea Watch criticism. “Malta will continue to respect these conventions with respect to the safety of life at sea, as happened in this latest case and indeed in each case,” the government said in a statement. Earlier this week Salvini angered Tunisia by accusing the North African nation of sending its “convicts” to Italy under the guise of migrants. (Additionl reporting by Gavin Jones Editing by Catherine Evans and Gareth Jones) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAlibyaNews|0
2018-06-08T21:36:00.000+03:00|Italy to ask NATO to help deal with migrant flows - Salvini|ROME (Reuters) - Italy wants NATO to help defend its southern shores from an influx of migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, signalling the new government would take a much tougher line on immigration controls. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini gestures as he arrives at the Italian Business Association Confcommercio meeting in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Salvini, who heads the far-right League, said neighbouring Malta had to do more to help deal with would-be asylum seekers from Africa and warned that human rights groups looking to save migrants at sea would come under much greater scrutiny. Salvini’s anti-immigrant stance has resonated with Italians and the League emerged as the second largest force in parliament at elections in March. The party has since hooked up with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to form a government. “I am in favour of NATO, but we are under attack. We will ask NATO to defend us. There are many concerns about terrorist infiltrations,” Salvini told reporters after meeting two bus drivers in the northern town of Como who say they were beaten by four asylum-seekers this week after asking to see their tickets. “Italy is under attack from the south, not from the east,” Salvini added, referring to NATO’s traditional focus on Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit Rome next week and it was not immediately clear if the government planned to present a formal request for help. More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, but numbers have dropped sharply in recent months. New arrivals are down 85 percent so far this year thanks to deals struck by the previous government to keep foreigners from leaving the shores of Libya — a main departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. CHARITIES Italy coordinates rescue missions in the Mediterranean, while the European Union border agency Frontex runs an anti-smuggling operation at some distance from the Libyan coast. Charities operating boats in the area have played an increasingly important role in rescuing migrants who often travel in flimsy inflatable boats not designed for the open sea. The United Nations estimates that at least 500 people have died in 2018 trying to cross the central Mediterranean, following some 2,853 fatalities last year. Salvini said the charity boats were “acting like taxis”, adding: “We are working on this NGO front. Some are doing volunteer work, others are doing business.” A number of humanitarian groups suspended operations in the Mediterranean last year, accusing the previous centre-left government of hampering their operations. On Friday, Sea Watch, one of the few groups still sailing off Libya, said there was an “acute shortage” of rescue boats in the area. It said this meant it had to stay at sea for three days with 232 refugees aboard because there was no-one else on hand to prevent further migrant tragedies. In a statement, the group also said Malta had refused to take in the migrants and that as a result, the boat had to make the much longer journey to Italy to bring the people to land. Even though the tiny island state of Malta is closer to Africa than Italy, it has largely left to Rome the job of coordinating sea rescues. Salvini said this had to end. “It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to every request for help. The Good Lord put Malta closer than Sicily to Africa,” Salvini said. Malta said it adhered to all its obligations regarding immigration and rejected the Sea Watch criticism. “Malta will continue to respect these conventions with respect to the safety of life at sea, as happened in this latest case and indeed in each case,” the government said in a statement. Earlier this week Salvini angered Tunisia by accusing the North African nation of sending its “convicts” to Italy under the guise of migrants. Additionl reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Catherine Evans and Gareth Jones  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-08T21:39:00.000+03:00|Escondida union in Chile optimistic will reach deal with BHP |SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The union at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile said on Friday that it saw a “favorable scenario” for reaching a deal on a new labor contract with the company, citing higher copper prices. FILE PHOTO: Workers of BHP Billiton's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, are seen in front of the open pit, in Antofagasta, northern Chile March 31, 2008. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo In a letter to its members published on its website, the union at the world’s largest copper mine said BHP has promised to respond to its recent proposal for a new contract by 3pm local time (1900 GMT) on Monday. “A favorable scenario has emerged for developing negotiations to reach a satisfactory agreement,” the union said in a statement, noting that the price of copper had climbed to its strongest in 4-1/2 years this week. “We’re convinced that objective conditions justify, to investors and to the country, reaching a reasonable agreement,” it added. “With that in mind we’ll start talks.” The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 has risen more than 50 percent since hitting a nine-year low in 2016, boosting profits globally and potentially providing unions more leverage in negotiations. Copper prices rose this week in part because of worries that Escondida workers might go on strike. Last year, workers at Escondida downed tools for more than month and a half before opting to extend the current contract and renegotiate a new one this year. The 2017 strike jolted the global copper market and deprived BHP of $1 billion in production. Formal negotiations between the union and BHP are scheduled to begin in July. Earlier this week, the union said it was asking for a 5 percent increase in salaries and a one-time bonus equivalent to 4 percent of dividends distributed to shareholders in 2017, or about $34,000 per worker. Reporting By Felipe Iturrieta, Writing By Mitra Taj Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-08T22:00:00.000+03:00|Linde-Praxair merger narrows in favor of strategic bidders -sources|June 8, 2018 / 7:13 PM / in a day Linde-Praxair asset sale narrows to strategic bidders: sources Arno Schuetze , Clara Denina , Harry Brumpton 4 Min Read FRANKFURT/LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Industrial gas companies Linde AG ( LING.DE ) and Praxair Inc ( PX.N ) have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion worth of assets they are jointly selling in a move that will favor Japan’s Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp ( 4091.T ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The Praxair logo is seen during a news conference with Linde in Munich, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo The sellers want strategic buyers for European operations, to help win antitrust approval for their planned $80 billion merger, said the people, who were not authorized to comment publicly on negotiations. A joint bid by private equity fund CVC Capital Partners Ltd [CVC.UL] and gases company Messer Group GmbH may still be on the table, while private equity investors Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ), Onex Corp ( ONEX.TO ) and Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) may only bid for the U.S. operations, two of the sources said. Munich-based Linde and Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair recently added Iberian and Italian operations to the European package in response to regulators’ demands. Final offers are due on Monday. The European operations could be valued at about 11 times their slightly over $400 million in annual earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), the sources said. There is no certainty that Taiyo and CVC or Messer will bid and talks could still fall apart, the sources cautioned. Praxair, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Carlyle, Onex and Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Linde and CVC declined to comment. The European Commission, which decides on antitrust approval, typically prefers peer-to-peer mergers that create more globally competitive businesses. Private equity buyers are more likely to win approval if they provide financing but stay removed from day-to-day management, either by teaming with industry buyers or by sticking with existing management to run businesses. Linde and Praxair, which supply a wide range of gases from oxygen to helium, agreed an all-share merger of equals a year ago to create a global leader to overtake France’s Air Liquide SA ( AIRP.PA ), with revenue of almost $29 billion and 88,000 staff. The two companies are preparing to sell assets with earnings before EBITDA of around $800 million and hope to complete the deal before an Oct. 24 deadline dictated by German financial market rules. Their merger still requires regulatory approval in the European Union and the United States. The Financial Times reported this month that the EU commission outlined a formal “statement of objections” to the companies asking about competition issues related to production and distribution of gases. The two companies announced plans to buy out minority shareholders to speed up approvals. (The story corrects headline to “asset sale narrows” instead of “merger narrows”.) Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Yun Chee Foo in Brussels; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and David Gregorio|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-08T22:08:00.000+03:00|Linde-Praxair merger narrows in favour of strategic bidders -sources|June 8, 2018 / 7:14 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Linde-Praxair merger narrows in favor of strategic bidders: sources Arno Schuetze , Clara Denina , Harry Brumpton 3 Min Read FRANKFURT/LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Industrial gas companies Linde AG ( LING.DE ) and Praxair Inc ( PX.N ) have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion worth of assets they are jointly selling in a move that will favor Japan’s Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp ( 4091.T ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The Praxair logo is seen during a news conference with Linde in Munich, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo The sellers want strategic buyers for European operations, to help win antitrust approval for their planned $80 billion merger, said the people, who were not authorized to comment publicly on negotiations. A joint bid by private equity fund CVC Capital Partners Ltd [CVC.UL] and gases company Messer Group GmbH may still be on the table, while private equity investors Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ), Onex Corp ( ONEX.TO ) and Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) may only bid for the U.S. operations, two of the sources said. Munich-based Linde and Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair recently added Iberian and Italian operations to the European package in response to regulators’ demands. Final offers are due on Monday. The European operations could be valued at about 11 times their slightly over $400 million in annual earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), the sources said. There is no certainty that Taiyo and CVC or Messer will bid and talks could still fall apart, the sources cautioned. Praxair, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Carlyle, Onex and Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Linde and CVC declined to comment. The European Commission, which decides on antitrust approval, typically prefers peer-to-peer mergers that create more globally competitive businesses. Private equity buyers are more likely to win approval if they provide financing but stay removed from day-to-day management, either by teaming with industry buyers or by sticking with existing management to run businesses. Linde and Praxair, which supply a wide range of gases from oxygen to helium, agreed an all-share merger of equals a year ago to create a global leader to overtake France’s Air Liquide SA ( AIRP.PA ), with revenue of almost $29 billion and 88,000 staff. The two companies are preparing to sell assets with earnings before EBITDA of around $800 million and hope to complete the deal before an Oct. 24 deadline dictated by German financial market rules. Their merger still requires regulatory approval in the European Union and the United States. The Financial Times reported this month that the EU commission outlined a formal “statement of objections” to the companies asking about competition issues related to production and distribution of gases. The two companies announced plans to buy out minority shareholders to speed up approvals. Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Yun Chee Foo in Brussels; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and David Gregorio|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T22:11:00.000+03:00|IMF says Argentina fiscal goals are flexible, stocks cheer deal|June 8, 2018 / 1:34 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago IMF says Argentina fiscal goals are flexible, stocks cheer deal Luc Cohen , Jorge Otaola 4 Min Read BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina could revise the fiscal targets set as part of a $50 billion financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund to increase spending on social programs, an IMF director said on Friday. A man works on the floor of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Argentina May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Argentina requested IMF assistance on May 8 after a run on its peso currency in an investor exodus from emerging markets. The country’s stocks rallied on the deal to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of the country’s past. Many Argentines blame the austerity measures the IMF imposed under a previous bailout during its 2001-2002 economic crisis for plunging millions into poverty, but the organization said spending on programs to protect the poor could actually increase under the financing arrangement. “The fiscal targets can be revised in case there is a need to increase social spending,” said IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner, adding that Argentina’s economy today is “very different than 2001.” “That way, society does not have to choose between building a bridge or protecting the poorest.” As part of the deal announced Thursday night, the government agreed to speed up reductions in the primary fiscal deficit to balance the budget by 2020. The government also pledged to propose legislation for a more independent central bank to fight double-digit inflation, which Werner praised on Friday. Opposition politicians aligned with former populist President Cristina Fernandez have said market-friendly President Mauricio Macri was repeating earlier mistakes. “Argentines do not want to go back to the past. It cost us a lot to get away from the Fund, and we do not want to go back there,” said Carlos Castagneto, a lawmaker aligned with Fernandez. The benchmark Merval stock index .MERV rose 3.8 percent on the deal. Bonds rose modestly, with Argentina's country risk 11EMJ - a J.P. Morgan measure of the difference between the country's bond yields and less risky alternatives - down five points at 476 as of 3:56 p.m. local time (1746 GMT). Argentina’s 100-year bond maturing in 2117 AR163761602= was up 0.2 percent at 87 cents on the dollar. “The deal between Argentina and the IMF reduces immediate external financing risks and will help speed up fiscal consolidation,” said Gabriel Torres, a vice president at credit rating agency Moody’s. PESO WEAKENS The deal still needs approval from the IMF board, which is expected to discuss it at a June 20 meeting. Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Thursday he expected Argentina to receive a disbursement of 30 percent of the total, or roughly $15 billion, in the days following approval. Finance Minister Luis Caputo said the government would not necessarily use the rest of the money and may return to bond markets to finance the estimated $22 billion in financing Argentina needs in 2019 to cover its fiscal deficit. “If you need it you can use it, but if we regain access to the market at good rates, it is better to save it,” Caputo told investors on a conference call, according to a Finance Ministry statement. The peso ARS=RASL touched a record-low 25.66 per U.S. dollar after the central bank stopped a weeks-long defense of the currency. It later rebounded to close down 1.5 percent at 25.37 per dollar. For the past few weeks, the central bank has offered to sell $5 billion in reserves at 25 pesos per dollar every day, effectively preventing the currency from falling below that level. That offer did not appear on Friday, traders said. Additional reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi in Buenos Aires, Rodrigo Campos in New York and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Nick Zieminski|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-08T22:48:00.000+03:00|Swiss finance minister upbeat for EU deal on bourse rules|ZURICH, June 8 (Reuters) - Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer expressed optimism on Friday that Switzerland and the European Commission would avert a tit-for-tat conflict over mutual recognition of stock exchange rules that could disrupt international trading. “Plan A is clearly still to make progress in negotiations with the EU so that we can get unlimited recognition of bourse equivalency or at least a one-year extension, and we are confident we can achieve this,” he told reporters after the Swiss government announced contingency measures to deal with potential fallout from the row. (Reporting by Michael Shields, editing by John Revill)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-08T22:53:00.000+03:00|Swiss finance minister upbeat for EU deal on bourse rules|ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer expressed optimism on Friday that Switzerland and the European Commission would avert a tit-for-tat conflict over mutual recognition of stock exchange rules that could disrupt international trading. “Plan A is clearly still to make progress in negotiations with the EU so that we can get unlimited recognition of bourse equivalency or at least a one-year extension, and we are confident we can achieve this,” he told reporters after the Swiss government announced contingency measures to deal with potential fallout from the row. Reporting by Michael Shields, editing by John Revill  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-06-08T23:47:00.000+03:00|Sika targets up to $1 billion in takeovers a year to quicken growth|BAAR, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swiss chemicals group Sika ( SIK.S ) could spend up to $1 billion on acquisitions in a year to speed up its growth over the next five years, its chairman Paul Haelg told Reuters on Friday. Paul Haelg, chairman of the board of the Swiss chemical group Sika, gestures during an interview with Reuters in Baar, Switzerland, June 8, 2018. REUTERS/Moritz Hager The construction chemicals maker was held back from big purchases in the past, Haelg said, a restriction which no longer applied after the Burkard family sold their controlling stake to Saint-Gobain ( SGOB.PA ) last month. The final chapter of the bitter divorce from the family will come on Monday, when shareholders vote on changing Sika’s share structure, which is expected to be a formality. The new arrangement will give Saint-Gobain a 10.75 percent stake in Sika rather than overall control which it had sought. Sika, which makes chemicals used projects like the Gotthard rail tunnel under the Alps, had missed out on some takeover targets during its battle for independence, Haelg said. “We will be more dynamic and set a higher priority on acquisitions. We want to be a consolidator in our industry.” Slideshow (3 Images) Sika could now spend 300 to 500 million Swiss francs a year on acquisitions, up from 200 million francs previously which was concentrated mainly on smaller, bolt-on deals. In exceptional cases, it could also spend up to 1 billion francs, with bigger deals likely to come in North America or Asia, Haelg said in an interview at Sika’s offices in Baar. “Our targets are typically family-owned businesses and owners weren’t willing to sell when there was uncertainty about what will happen to Sika,” he said. The company will mainly look at targets in Europe, North and South America and Asia in the future, Haelg said, while also continuing to make smaller deals globally. It will also to aim to accelerate its organic growth in China, India and Brazil, he added. The 64-year-old Swiss national said the way was now open for faster growth at Sika, which has been fighting Saint-Gobain and the Burkards for the last three-and-a-half years. Sika will unveil higher sales targets next year to replace the current 2020 goals, which will run for five years. At present it targets annual sales increases of 6 to 8 percent in local currencies and a 14 to 16 percent operating profit margin. “I am optimistic we will see more dynamic growth than in the past,” Haelg said. “I don’t want to give an exact number, that is something for management, but sales growth higher than 10 percent should be possible. “I am optimistic we can improve on the margin side as well.” Analysts have said Sika’s simplified share structure and the absence of an anchor shareholder could make the company a takeover target. Haelg said Sika’s best defense was its results and its rising share price which would make any attempt expensive. Sika’s stock has gained 32 percent in the last 12 months, outstripping the Stoxx 600 construction index which has lost 1.2 percent .SXOP When asked if Sika would still be independent in five years, Haelg said: “Yes, that’s that my goal and that’s why I’m remaining as chairman. We want to remain independent.” Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Alexander Smith  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-09T00:07:00.000+03:00|EU to rule on Siemens-Alstom rail deal by July 13|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens AG ( SIEGn.DE ) and French rival Alstom SA ( ALSO.PA ) will know by July 13 whether they can secure EU antitrust approval for the planned merger of their rail businesses to compete better with China’s CRRC Corp.( 601766.SS ) FILE PHOTO - Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, and Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser attend a news conference to announce their deal to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion, in Paris, France, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe The European Commission set the deadline after the companies sought approval on Friday. The EU competition watchdog can approve the deal with or without concessions, or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns. Siemens and Alstom announced the deal last September, potentially bringing the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology under one roof, and the companies have since been engaged in informal talks with the Commission. While the deal is seen as a Franco-German industrial breakthrough for French President Emmanuel Macron, it has angered opposition politicians and trade unions worried about job losses. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-09T00:47:00.000+03:00|Hainan Airlines plans to buy aviation assets worth $1.6 bln via share issue|HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hainan Airlines ( 600221.SS ) ( 900945.SS ), China’s fourth-biggest carrier, plans to acquire aviation assets valued at 10.48 billion yuan ($1.64 billion) in five firms to boost its route network and competitive edge, it said on Friday. FILE PHOTO - A Hainan Airlines aircraft sits on the tarmac at the airport in Beijing, China May 13, 2018. Picture taken May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer The carrier, affiliated with embattled HNA Group, said it would issue shares to up to 10 investors, including Singapore’s Temasek Fullerton Alpha Pte Ltd, to raise up to 7 billion yuan to fund aircraft purchases and six other projects, such as engine maintenance and pilot training. Hainan Airlines hopes to upgrade its flight network and develop its aviation expertise with the acquisitions. “With the acquisitions, the airline will be able to expand the routes, strengthen development in aviation maintenance, flight training and other services,” the airline said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. Hainan Airlines said the acquisition would result in an ownership change in the company, which is now controlled by a Chinese provincial regulator. Hainan’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) controls the carrier through SASAC’s stake in Grand China Air Co Ltd. It said after the transaction, its owner will become Hainan Province Cihang Foundation, which is connected to HNA Group. HNA, the aviation-to-financial services conglomerate, has been selling overseas real estate and some of its biggest financial and strategic investments following a $50 billion acquisition spree over the past two years. In a separate announcement, Hainan Airlines said it would scrap an A-share convertible bond issue announced in May due to changes in capital market conditions. Reporting by Meg Shen in Hong Kong, Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; Editing by Edmund Blair  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-09T00:47:00.000+03:00|U.S. approves extradition of ex-Panama president: Panama|PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said on Friday that the U.S. State Department had approved his request to extradite his predecessor, former president Ricardo Martinelli, who is jailed in Miami on spying charges. FILE PHOTO: President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli smiles during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo “The foreign ministry ... has received a diplomatic letter on behalf of the State Department informing of approval of extradition,” Varela told journalists at an event. Martinelli was jailed in the United States last year after Panama requested his extradition on charges that he used public money to spy on more than 150 political rivals during his 2009-2014 term. Martinelli has maintained his innocence and claims to be a victim of a political attack by Varela. “The former president Martinelli was mentally prepared for whichever of the two decisions the State Department could take,” Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for Martinelli, wrote in a post on Twitter. “The fight will now be in Panama.” Camacho did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Roniel Ortiz, a lawyer for Martinelli in Panama, did not immediately respond to a request for comment either. A U.S. court authorized the extradition last year, and Martinelli in May said he would stop fighting the proceedings for judgment in Panama. [nL2N1SV0OS] In a letter released in May, Martinelli said he had expected the United States to protect him in exchange for his assistance with U.S. issues, such as curbing cross-border crime. [nL2N1SX03C] Reporting by Elida Moreno; Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Sandra Maler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-09T00:49:00.000+03:00|U.S. approves extradition of ex-Panama president - Panama|June 8, 2018 / 9:49 PM / Updated 5 hours ago U.S. approves extradition of ex-Panama president - Panama Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said on Friday that the U.S. State Department had approved his request to extradite his predecessor, former president Ricardo Martinelli, who is jailed in Miami on spying charges. FILE PHOTO: Ricardo Martinelli smiles during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo “The foreign ministry ... has received a diplomatic letter on behalf of the State Department informing of approval of extradition,” Varela told journalists at an event. Martinelli was jailed in the United States last year after Panama requested his extradition on charges that he used public money to spy on more than 150 political rivals during his 2009-2014 term. Martinelli has maintained his innocence and claims to be a victim of a political attack by Varela. “The former president Martinelli was mentally prepared for whichever of the two decisions the State Department could take,” Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for Martinelli, wrote in a post on Twitter. “The fight will now be in Panama.” Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela gestures during a Reuters interview at the Americas Business Summit in Lima, Peru April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff Camacho did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Roniel Ortiz, a lawyer for Martinelli in Panama, did not immediately respond to a request for comment either. A U.S. court authorized the extradition last year, and Martinelli in May said he would stop fighting the proceedings for judgement in Panama. In a letter released in May, Martinelli said he had expected the United States to protect him in exchange for his assistance with U.S. issues, such as curbing cross-border crime. Reporting by Elida Moreno; Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Sandra Maler|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-09T00:49:00.000+03:00|U.S. approves extradition of ex-Panama president - Panama|June 8, 2018 / 9:49 PM / Updated 30 minutes ago U.S. approves extradition of ex-Panama president - Panama Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said on Friday that the U.S. State Department had approved his request to extradite his predecessor, former president Ricardo Martinelli, who is jailed in Miami on spying charges. FILE PHOTO: Ricardo Martinelli smiles during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo “The foreign ministry ... has received a diplomatic letter on behalf of the State Department informing of approval of extradition,” Varela told journalists at an event. Martinelli was jailed in the United States last year after Panama requested his extradition on charges that he used public money to spy on more than 150 political rivals during his 2009-2014 term. Martinelli has maintained his innocence and claims to be a victim of a political attack by Varela. “The former president Martinelli was mentally prepared for whichever of the two decisions the State Department could take,” Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for Martinelli, wrote in a post on Twitter. “The fight will now be in Panama.” Camacho did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Roniel Ortiz, a lawyer for Martinelli in Panama, did not immediately respond to a request for comment either. A U.S. court authorized the extradition last year, and Martinelli in May said he would stop fighting the proceedings for judgement in Panama. In a letter released in May, Martinelli said he had expected the United States to protect him in exchange for his assistance with U.S. issues, such as curbing cross-border crime. Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela gestures during a Reuters interview at the Americas Business Summit in Lima, Peru April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff Reporting by Elida Moreno; Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Sandra Maler 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-09T00:57:00.000+03:00|Inmarsat rejects EchoStar takeover bid, says it undervalues firm|LONDON (Reuters) - British satellite firm Inmarsat ( ISA.L ) on Friday rejected a takeover approach from U.S. firm EchoStar ( SATS.O ), saying it significantly undervalued the company. FILE PHOTO: Staff at satellite communications company Inmarsat work in front of a screen showing subscribers using their service throughout the world, at their headquarters in London, Britain March 25, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo Inmarsat issued the statement after bid speculation spurred its shares to a three month high. The stock closed up 13.5 percent, giving it a market capitalization of 2.2 billion pounds ($2.95 billion). “After carefully considering the proposal with its advisers the board rejected the proposal on the basis that it very significantly undervalued Inmarsat and its standalone prospects,” it said in a statement issued after the market closed. “The board remains highly confident in the independent strategy and prospects of Inmarsat.” The group, which provides communications for shipping, aircraft and for governments, said the approach was highly preliminary and non-binding, and there could be no certainty that a firm offer would be made. The approach by Colorado-based EchoStar was for the entire share capital of Inmarsat. Satellite stocks across Europe had been gaining throughout the day after SES ( SESFd.PA ) won authorization from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to expand its O3b satellite fleet and got an upgrade to “buy” from UBS analysts. SES shares gained 4.4 percent and Eutelsat ( ETL.PA ), which UBS also upgraded to “buy”, rose 3.6 percent. Reporting by Alistair Smout, Helen Reid and Siju Varghese, additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Editing by Alasdair Pal and James Davey  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-09T01:22:00.000+03:00|EU regulators set to approve Comcast's bid for Sky - sources|BRUSSELS, June 8 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are set to approve U.S. cable company Comcast’s bid for European pay-TV company Sky without demanding concessions, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Comcast is battling Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for Sky. The media mogul bid’s to buy all of Sky has been delayed by politicians and regulators worried about the power of the enlarged media group. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on Comcast’s offer by June 15, did not respond to a request for email. It cleared without conditions Fox’s bid for Sky in April last year. Comcast declined to comment. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Kate Holton in London; editing by Louise Heavens  |https://www.reuters.com/news/media|0
2018-06-09T02:13:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-FDA Approves Abbvie & Genentech USA's VENCLEXTA For Treating Two Types Of Blood Cancers|June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration: * U.S. FDA SAYS APPROVED ABBVIE & GENENTECH USA'S VENCLEXTA FOR TREATING PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA OR SMALL LYMPHOCYTIC LYMPHOMA Source text: ( bit.ly/2M9YCbp ) Further company coverage:  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180608.html|0
2018-06-09T02:28:00.000+03:00|Uganda central bank sells dollars to support weakening shilling - traders|June 8, 2018 / 10:31 AM / 3 days ago Uganda central bank sells dollars to support weakening shilling - traders Reuters Staff 1 Min Read KAMPALA, June 8 (Reuters) - Uganda’s central bank sold dollars on Friday in the foreign exchange market to support the shilling which has been posting losses and falling through a series of all-time record lows in recent days, traders said. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by George Obulutsa 0 : 0|http://www.ugandanews.net/index.php/rss/faaba65027d16d8c|0
2018-06-09T02:37:00.000+03:00|Escondida union in Chile optimistic will reach deal with BHP|June 8, 2018 / 11:38 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Escondida union in Chile optimistic will reach deal with BHP Felipe Iturrieta 2 Min Read SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The union at BHP’s ( BLT.L ) ( BHP.AX ) Escondida copper mine in Chile said on Friday that it saw a “favourable scenario” for reaching a deal on a new labour contract with the company, citing higher copper prices. FILE PHOTO: Workers of BHP Billiton's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, are seen in front of the open pit, in Antofagasta, northern Chile March 31, 2008. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo In a letter to its members published on its website, the union at the world’s largest copper mine said BHP has promised to respond to its recent proposal for a new contract by 3pm local time (1900 GMT) on Monday. “A favourable scenario has emerged for developing negotiations to reach a satisfactory agreement,” the union said in a statement, noting that the price of copper had climbed to its strongest in 4-1/2 years this week. “We’re convinced that objective conditions justify, to investors and to the country, reaching a reasonable agreement,” it added. “With that in mind we’ll start talks.” The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 has risen more than 50 percent since hitting a nine-year low in 2016, boosting profits globally and potentially providing unions more leverage in negotiations. Copper prices rose this week in part because of worries that Escondida workers might go on strike. Last year, workers at Escondida downed tools for more than month and a half before opting to extend the current contract and renegotiate a new one this year. The 2017 strike jolted the global copper market and deprived BHP of $1 billion in production. Formal negotiations between the union and BHP are scheduled to begin in July. Earlier this week, the union said it was asking for a 5 percent increase in salaries and a one-time bonus equivalent to 4 percent of dividends distributed to shareholders in 2017, or about $34,000 (£25,393) per worker. Reporting By Felipe Iturrieta, Writing By Mitra Taj|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-09T03:55:00.000+03:00|U.S. approves extradition of ex-Panama president - Panama|PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said on Friday that the U.S. State Department had approved his request to extradite his predecessor, former president Ricardo Martinelli, who is jailed in Miami on spying charges. FILE PHOTO: Ricardo Martinelli smiles during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo “The foreign ministry ... has received a diplomatic letter on behalf of the State Department informing of approval of extradition,” Varela told journalists at an event. Martinelli was jailed in the United States last year after Panama requested his extradition on charges that he used public money to spy on more than 150 political rivals during his 2009-2014 term. Martinelli has maintained his innocence and claims to be a victim of a political attack by Varela. “The former president Martinelli was mentally prepared for whichever of the two decisions the State Department could take,” Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for Martinelli, wrote in a post on Twitter. “The fight will now be in Panama.” Camacho did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Roniel Ortiz, a lawyer for Martinelli in Panama, did not immediately respond to a request for comment either. A U.S. court authorized the extradition last year, and Martinelli in May said he would stop fighting the proceedings for judgement in Panama. In a letter released in May, Martinelli said he had expected the United States to protect him in exchange for his assistance with U.S. issues, such as curbing cross-border crime. Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela gestures during a Reuters interview at the Americas Business Summit in Lima, Peru April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff Reporting by Elida Moreno; Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Sandra Maler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-09T04:03:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Roche Says FDA approved Venclexta Plus Rituxan As Blood Cancer Treatment|June 8 (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG: * GENENTECH ANNOUNCES FDA APPROVAL FOR VENCLEXTA PLUS RITUXAN FOR PEOPLE WITH PREVIOUSLY TREATED CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA * GENENTECH SAYS FDA ALSO UPDATED INDICATION FOR VENCLEXTA AS SINGLE AGENT, WHICH IS NOW APPROVED FOR TREATMENT OF PEOPLE WITH CLL OR SLL Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-09T07:39:00.000+03:00|Escondida union in Chile optimistic will reach deal with BHP|SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The union at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile said on Friday that it saw a “favorable scenario” for reaching a deal on a new labor contract with the company, citing higher copper prices. FILE PHOTO: Workers of BHP Billiton's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, are seen in front of the open pit, in Antofagasta, northern Chile March 31, 2008. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo In a letter to its members published on its website, the union at the world’s largest copper mine said BHP has promised to respond to its recent proposal for a new contract by 3pm local time (1900 GMT) on Monday. “A favorable scenario has emerged for developing negotiations to reach a satisfactory agreement,” the union said in a statement, noting that the price of copper had climbed to its strongest in 4-1/2 years this week. “We’re convinced that objective conditions justify, to investors and to the country, reaching a reasonable agreement,” it added. “With that in mind we’ll start talks.” The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 has risen more than 50 percent since hitting a nine-year low in 2016, boosting profits globally and potentially providing unions more leverage in negotiations. Copper prices rose this week in part because of worries that Escondida workers might go on strike. Last year, workers at Escondida downed tools for more than month and a half before opting to extend the current contract and renegotiate a new one this year. The 2017 strike jolted the global copper market and deprived BHP of $1 billion in production. Formal negotiations between the union and BHP are scheduled to begin in July. Earlier this week, the union said it was asking for a 5 percent increase in salaries and a one-time bonus equivalent to 4 percent of dividends distributed to shareholders in 2017, or about $34,000 per worker. Reporting By Felipe Iturrieta, Writing By Mitra Taj  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-09T08:26:00.000+03:00|Russia's Gazprom Neft could up output by 5,000 tonnes/day if oil deal scrapped|ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Gazprom Neft, the fastest-growing Russian oil major in terms of output, is ready to hike crude production if the global deal on output cuts is eased, company head Alexander Dyukov told reporters on Saturday. A board with the logo of Gazprom Neft oil company is on display at a fuel station in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other leading oil producers including Russia have agreed to cut their combined output by 1.8 million barrels per day in order to smooth out global oil stockpiles and support oil prices. The OPEC and non-OPEC ministers will meet in Vienna on June 22-23 to discuss the future of the deal, which is valid until the end of the year. Russia and OPEC leader Saudi Arabia have signaled there could be a need to gradually boost production to prevent any supply shortages. “It is obvious now that the (production) quotas should be revised, the quotas should be increased, this will be beneficial both for producers and consumers,” Dyukov said after an annual general meeting. He added that the company would be able to hike its oil production by 5,000 tonnes per day (36,650 barrels per day) if the restrictions are scrapped. “We believe that the time has come that it makes sense to keep the deal in place but be more flexible on quotas,” Dyukov said. He also said that if the deal is kept in place, Gazprom Neft’s oil production will be stable, at 62.3 million tonnes (1.25 million bpd) this year. According to analysts, Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft will be able to restore 70,000 bpd of output in just two days if global production limits are lifted. Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-09T11:09:00.000+03:00|Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit|June 9, 2018 / 8:10 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he wanted more talks with Russia about what he called the “illegal” U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. FILE PHOTO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters Trump said last month Washington was withdrawing from what he called “a horrible one-sided deal” and would reimpose U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. Rouhani, speaking at a summit of the Chinese and Russian-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the port city of Qingdao, said that Russia’s role in implementing the nuclear deal had been “important and constructive.” Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Andrew Osborn 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-09T11:09:00.000+03:00|Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit|June 9, 2018 / 8:10 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he wanted more talks with Russia about what he called the “illegal” U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. FILE PHOTO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters Trump said last month Washington was withdrawing from what he called “a horrible one-sided deal” and would reimpose U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. Rouhani, speaking at a summit of the Chinese and Russian-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the port city of Qingdao, said that Russia’s role in implementing the nuclear deal had been “important and constructive.” Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Andrew Osborn|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-09T11:20:00.000+03:00|Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit|June 9, 2018 / 8:21 AM / Updated 10 hours ago Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he wanted more talks with Russia about what he called the “illegal” U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit (SCO) in Qingdao, China June 9, 2018. Sputnik/Sergei Guneev/Kremlin via REUTERS Trump said last month Washington was withdrawing from what he called “a horrible one-sided deal” and would reimpose U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. Rouhani, speaking at a summit of the Chinese and Russian-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the port city of Qingdao, said that Russia’s role in implementing the nuclear deal had been “important and constructive.” Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Andrew Osborn|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-09T11:22:00.000+03:00|Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit|June 9, 2018 / 8:27 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Iran's Rouhani wants more talks with Russia about U.S. nuclear deal exit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he wanted more talks with Russia about what he called the “illegal” U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Muslim leaders and scholars in Hyderabad, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files Trump said last month Washington was withdrawing from what he called “a horrible one-sided deal” and would reimpose U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. Rouhani, speaking at a summit of the Chinese and Russian-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the port city of Qingdao, said that Russia’s role in implementing the nuclear deal had been “important and constructive.” Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Andrew Osborn|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-09T11:48:00.000+03:00|Botswana cancels plans to sell troubled power plant to Chinese firm|GABORONE, June 9 (Reuters) - Botswana has scrapped talks to sell a power station plagued by technical problems to a state-owned Chinese company linked to the plant’s builder, an official document seen by Reuters showed. The 600-megawatt coal-fired Morupule B plant, which was commissioned in 2012 and built by China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) at a cost of $970 million, has often broken down, leading to a reliance on diesel generators and imports from South Africa. Botswana has been in exclusive negotiations since November 2016 to sell the plant to state-owned China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which is related to CNEEC. In a notice seen by Reuters on Friday, the African country’s Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) said it had approved a request from the Ministry of Energy to cancel the sale tender. “The board has approved the request for authority to cancel the tender for divestment of government of Botswana and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) financial interest in Morupule B,” read the notice. Government officials were not immediately available to comment. Power generation at Morupule B has improved in the last year due to remedial works and it currently operates at about 81 percent capacity, helping the power utility reduce imports. Botswana has a maximum electricity demand of 520 MW, which is seen rising by 65 percent in the next seven years to 856 MW in 2025. Cancellation of the Morupule B tender comes after a planned $800 million expansion of the coal-fired power plant by Japan’s Marubeni Corp and South Korea’s Posco Energy stalled due to a disagreement over terms. (Writing by James Macharia Editing by Helen Popper)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-09T11:58:00.000+03:00|Soccer: Abramovich knocks back approach to buy Chelsea - reports|(Reuters) - Britain’s richest man has had a bid to buy Chelsea football club turned down by Roman Abramovich, according to British media reports. FILE PHOTO: Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich arrives at Commercial Court in London January 19, 2012. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo The Daily Mail reported that Jim Ratcliffe, the chairman and chief executive of multinational petrochemicals group Ineos, expressed an interest in the Premier League club which the Russian has owned for 15 years. Chelsea’s future has become uncertain since Abramovich ran into UK visa problems, which caused him to miss Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United last month. The delay in renewing his UK tier one investment visa, which has been reported to be linked with worsening UK-Russian relations, led to him applying for Israeli citizenship, which was granted last month. Israeli passport holders can enter Britain without a visa for short stays, although they require visas to work there. Speculation over his commitment to Chelsea intensified when the club announced it would not go ahead with a one billion pound ($1.34 billion) redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, a project intended to place it on a firmer financial footing. Despite the uncertainty, the Daily Mail report said Abramovich remains committed to Chelsea, who are valued at around one billion pounds, and had knocked back Ratcliffe’s approach, which it said was one of several. Ratcliffe, 65, is reported to be a Chelsea season ticket holder and last month topped the Sunday Times rich list which valued his personal fortune at 21.05 billion pounds, compared with Abramovich’s 9.3 billion pounds. Last year Ineos purchased Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport, which is based near to its offices in Rolle in the Canton of Vaud. Ratcliffe, who grew up in Manchester, has not previously linked with buying into English football. A spokesman for Ineos said they did not respond to market rumour or speculation and Chelsea, who refused to comment publicly on the story to the Mail, did not respond to phone calls from Reuters. ($1 = 0.7455 pounds) Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Pritha Sarkar  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-09T14:52:00.000+03:00|Russia's Gazprom Neft readies for oil output hike as global deal seen easing|June 9, 2018 / 11:52 AM / Updated 13 hours ago Russia's Gazprom Neft readies for oil output hike as global deal seen easing Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Gazprom Neft ( SIBN.MM ), the fastest-growing Russian oil major in terms of output, is ready to hike crude production if the global deal on output cuts is eased, company head Alexander Dyukov told reporters on Saturday. The logo of Russia's oil producer Gazprom Neft is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other leading oil producers including Russia have agreed to cut their combined output by 1.8 million barrels per day in order to smooth out global oil stockpiles and support oil prices. The OPEC and non-OPEC ministers will meet in Vienna on June 22-23 to discuss the future of the deal, which is valid until the end of the year. Russia and OPEC leader Saudi Arabia have signalled there could be a need to gradually boost production to prevent any supply shortages. “It is obvious now that the (production) quotas should be revised, the quotas should be increased, this will be beneficial both for producers and consumers,” Dyukov said after an annual general meeting. He added that the company would be able to hike its oil production by 5,000 tonnes per day (36,650 barrels per day) if the restrictions are scrapped. “We believe that the time has come that it makes sense to keep the deal in place but be more flexible on quotas,” Dyukov said. He also said that if the deal is kept in place, Gazprom Neft’s oil production will be stable, at 62.3 million tonnes (1.25 million bpd) this year. According to analysts, Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) will be able to restore 70,000 bpd of output in just two days if global production limits are lifted. Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-09T16:46:00.000+03:00|Botswana cancels plans to sell troubled power plant to Chinese firm|June 9, 2018 / 1:49 PM / 4 days ago Botswana cancels plans to sell troubled power plant to Chinese firm Reuters Staff 2 Min Read GABORONE, June 9 (Reuters) - Botswana has scrapped talks to sell a power station plagued by technical problems to a state-owned Chinese company linked to the plant’s builder, an official document seen by Reuters showed. The 600-megawatt coal-fired Morupule B plant, which was commissioned in 2012 and built by China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) at a cost of $970 million, has often broken down, leading to a reliance on diesel generators and imports from South Africa. Botswana has been in exclusive negotiations since November 2016 to sell the plant to state-owned China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which is related to CNEEC. In a notice seen by Reuters on Friday, the African country’s Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) said it had approved a request from the Ministry of Energy to cancel the sale tender. “The board has approved the request for authority to cancel the tender for divestment of government of Botswana and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) financial interest in Morupule B,” read the notice. Government officials were not immediately available to comment. Power generation at Morupule B has improved in the last year due to remedial works and it currently operates at about 81 percent capacity, helping the power utility reduce imports. Botswana has a maximum electricity demand of 520 MW, which is seen rising by 65 percent in the next seven years to 856 MW in 2025. Cancellation of the Morupule B tender comes after a planned $800 million expansion of the coal-fired power plant by Japan’s Marubeni Corp and South Korea’s Posco Energy stalled due to a disagreement over terms. (Writing by James Macharia Editing by Helen Popper) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbotswanaNews|0
2018-06-09T16:46:00.000+03:00|Abramovich knocks back approach to buy Chelsea - reports|June 9, 2018 / 1:47 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Abramovich knocks back approach to buy Chelsea - reports Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s richest man has had a bid to buy Chelsea football club turned down by Roman Abramovich, according to British media reports. FILE PHOTO: Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich arrives at Commercial Court in London January 19, 2012. REUTERS/Olivia Harris//File Photo The Daily Mail reported that Jim Ratcliffe, the chairman and chief executive of multinational petrochemicals group Ineos, expressed an interest in the Premier League club which the Russian has owned for 15 years. Chelsea’s future has become uncertain since Abramovich ran into UK visa problems, which caused him to miss Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United last month. The delay in renewing his UK tier one investment visa, which has been reported to be linked with worsening UK-Russian relations, led to him applying for Israeli citizenship, which was granted last month. Israeli passport holders can enter Britain without a visa for short stays, although they require visas to work there. Speculation over his commitment to Chelsea intensified when the club announced it would not go ahead with a one billion pound ($1.34 billion) redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, a project intended to place it on a firmer financial footing. Despite the uncertainty, the Daily Mail report said Abramovich remains committed to Chelsea, who are valued at around one billion pounds, and had knocked back Ratcliffe’s approach, which it said was one of several. Ratcliffe, 65, is reported to be a Chelsea season ticket holder and last month topped the Sunday Times rich list which valued his personal fortune at 21.05 billion pounds, compared with Abramovich’s 9.3 billion pounds. Last year Ineos purchased Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport, which is based near to its offices in Rolle in the Canton of Vaud. Ratcliffe, who grew up in Manchester, has not previously linked with buying into English football. A spokesman for Ineos said they did not respond to market rumour or speculation and Chelsea, who refused to comment publicly on the story to the Mail, did not respond to phone calls from Reuters. Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Pritha Sarkar|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-09T16:50:00.000+03:00|Botswana cancels plans to sell troubled power plant to Chinese firm|June 9, 2018 / 1:54 PM / a day ago Botswana cancels plans to sell troubled power plant to Chinese firm Reuters Staff 2 Min Read GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana has scrapped talks to sell a power station plagued by technical problems to a state-owned Chinese company linked to the plant’s builder, an official document seen by Reuters showed. FILE PHOTO: Security guards arrive with dogs for their shift at a power station in Gaborone, Botswana, November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko The 600-megawatt coal-fired Morupule B plant, which was commissioned in 2012 and built by China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) at a cost of $970 million, has often broken down, leading to a reliance on diesel generators and imports from South Africa. Botswana has been in exclusive negotiations since November 2016 to sell the plant to state-owned China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which is related to CNEEC. In a notice seen by Reuters on Friday, the African country’s Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) said it had approved a request from the Ministry of Energy to cancel the sale tender. “The board has approved the request for authority to cancel the tender for divestment of government of Botswana and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) financial interest in Morupule B,” read the notice. Government officials were not immediately available to comment. Power generation at Morupule B has improved in the last year due to remedial works and it currently operates at about 81 percent capacity, helping the power utility reduce imports. Botswana has a maximum electricity demand of 520 MW, which is seen rising by 65 percent in the next seven years to 856 MW in 2025. Cancellation of the Morupule B tender comes after a planned $800 million expansion of the coal-fired power plant by Japan’s Marubeni Corp and South Korea’s Posco Energy stalled due to a disagreement over terms. Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Helen Popper 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-09T17:23:00.000+03:00|U.S. security panel approves Oceanwide purchase of Genworth|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. panel that reviews foreign investments for potential national security threats has approved China Oceanwide Holdings Group’s [OWREAC.UL] purchase of insurer Genworth Financial ( GNW.N ), the two companies said on Saturday. The United States in recent years has blocked many proposed Chinese investments in American companies in an effort to stop China from acquiring important technologies, making this approval a rare win. The deal had been stalled over concerns by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) about Chinese access to sensitive U.S. personal data. CFIUS has become increasingly skeptical of high-tech deals involving China in particular and has blocked transactions that would have given it access to sophisticated semiconductors or data of American citizens. CFIUS has gone from virtually unknown several years ago to front-page news in March as one of its probes resulted in Trump forbidding chipmaker Broadcom Inc ( AVGO.O ), which was in the process of moving back to the United States, from buying rival Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ). Oceanwide agreed in October 2016 to pay $2.7 billion in cash, or $5.43 per share, to acquire Genworth. Genworth currently trades at $3.81 per share. In order to gain CFIUS approval, Genworth said it will use a U.S.-based, third-party service provider to manage the data of its U.S. policyholders. Earlier this year CFIUS rejected Ant Financial’s plan to acquire U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc( MGI.O ) because the companies could not mitigate concerns over the safety of data that can be used to identify U.S. citizens, according to sources familiar with the confidential discussions. Ant is owned by executives of Chinese internet conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd( BABA.N ). Reporting by Chris Sanders; Editing by Susan Thomas and Nick Zieminski  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-09T18:26:00.000+03:00|Russia's Gazprom Neft readies for oil output hike as global deal seen easing|ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Gazprom Neft, the fastest-growing Russian oil major in terms of output, is ready to hike crude production if the global deal on output cuts is eased, company head Alexander Dyukov told reporters on Saturday. A board with the logo of Gazprom Neft oil company is on display at a fuel station in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other leading oil producers including Russia have agreed to cut their combined output by 1.8 million barrels per day in order to smooth out global oil stockpiles and support oil prices. The OPEC and non-OPEC ministers will meet in Vienna on June 22-23 to discuss the future of the deal, which is valid until the end of the year. Russia and OPEC leader Saudi Arabia have signaled there could be a need to gradually boost production to prevent any supply shortages. “It is obvious now that the (production) quotas should be revised, the quotas should be increased, this will be beneficial both for producers and consumers,” Dyukov said after an annual general meeting. He added that the company would be able to hike its oil production by 5,000 tonnes per day (36,650 barrels per day) if the restrictions are scrapped. “We believe that the time has come that it makes sense to keep the deal in place but be more flexible on quotas,” Dyukov said. He also said that if the deal is kept in place, Gazprom Neft’s oil production will be stable, at 62.3 million tonnes (1.25 million bpd) this year. According to analysts, Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft will be able to restore 70,000 bpd of output in just two days if global production limits are lifted. Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180609.html|0
2018-06-09T18:29:00.000+03:00|India strikes river, rice deals with China as relations thaw|June 9, 2018 / 3:31 PM / in a day India strikes river, rice deals with China as relations thaw Reuters Staff 3 Min Read NEW DELHI (Reuters) - China and India on Saturday settled a dispute over the flood-prone Brahmaputra river that flows from Tibet to Bangladesh in a sign of growing cooperation between them. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, China, June 9, 2018. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the agreement as they began the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. “Our talks will add further vigour to the India-China friendship,” Modi said on Twitter, as the two countries try to reset troubled ties months after a border standoff. The SCO, launched in 2001 mainly to combat radical Islam and other security concerns across Central Asia, added traditional rivals India and Pakistan as members last year. Under two deals signed on the sidelines of the SCO summit on Saturday, China will share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra river and amend certain requirements on Indian exports of rice other than the premium Basmati variety to China, India’s foreign ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said on Twitter. India said last year that China had not stuck to an agreement to share hydrological data, or scientific information on the movement, distribution and quality of water for the Brahmaputra river. China had cited “technological” reasons. Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) honor guard march past an airplane of Air India, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Qingdao Liuting International Airport for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao city, Shandong province, China June 9, 2018. Wu Hong/Pool via REUTERS New Delhi has also been concerned about the rising trade deficit with China, and has sought greater access to the world’s second-largest economy for products such as rice, rapeseed, soybeans and sugar. India’s trade gap with China has widened to $51 billion, a nine-fold increase over the past decade. The rice deal should help India finally crack the market in China, the world’s biggest buyer of the commodity, traders said. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that China will buy 6.4 million tonnes of rice in 2018, while India will export a total of 11.9 million tonnes. Slideshow (2 Images) “Despite competitive prices, India was unable to export rice to China due to their phytosanitary norms,” said a New Delhi based dealer with a global trading firm, referring to food standards as well as animal and plant hygiene. “As the norms are going to change, India can easily export more than 1 million tonnes rice every year to China.” Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Alexander Smith|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtopNews|0
2018-06-09T18:31:00.000+03:00|India strikes river, rice deals with China as relations thaw|NEW DELHI (Reuters) - China and India on Saturday settled a dispute over the flood-prone Brahmaputra river that flows from Tibet to Bangladesh in a sign of growing cooperation between them. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, China, June 9, 2018. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the agreement as they began the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. “Our talks will add further vigour to the India-China friendship,” Modi said on Twitter, as the two countries try to reset troubled ties months after a border standoff. The SCO, launched in 2001 mainly to combat radical Islam and other security concerns across Central Asia, added traditional rivals India and Pakistan as members last year. Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) honor guard march past an airplane of Air India, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Qingdao Liuting International Airport for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao city, Shandong province, China June 9, 2018. Wu Hong/Pool via REUTERS Under two deals signed on the sidelines of the SCO summit on Saturday, China will share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra river and amend certain requirements on Indian exports of rice other than the premium Basmati variety to China, India’s foreign ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said on Twitter. India said last year that China had not stuck to an agreement to share hydrological data, or scientific information on the movement, distribution and quality of water for the Brahmaputra river. China had cited “technological” reasons. Slideshow (2 Images) New Delhi has also been concerned about the rising trade deficit with China, and has sought greater access to the world’s second-largest economy for products such as rice, rapeseed, soybeans and sugar. India’s trade gap with China has widened to $51 billion, a nine-fold increase over the past decade. The rice deal should help India finally crack the market in China, the world’s biggest buyer of the commodity, traders said. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that China will buy 6.4 million tonnes of rice in 2018, while India will export a total of 11.9 million tonnes. “Despite competitive prices, India was unable to export rice to China due to their phytosanitary norms,” said a New Delhi based dealer with a global trading firm, referring to food standards as well as animal and plant hygiene. “As the norms are going to change, India can easily export more than 1 million tonnes rice every year to China.” Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Alexander Smith  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-09T18:52:00.000+03:00|India strikes river, rice deals with China as relations thaw|June 9, 2018 / 3:57 PM / Updated an hour ago India strikes river, rice deals with China as relations thaw Reuters Staff 3 Min Read NEW DELHI (Reuters) - China and India on Saturday settled a dispute over the flood-prone Brahmaputra river that flows from Tibet to Bangladesh in a sign of growing cooperation between them. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, China, June 9, 2018. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the agreement as they began the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. “Our talks will add further vigour to the India-China friendship,” Modi said on Twitter, as the two countries try to reset troubled ties months after a border standoff. The SCO, launched in 2001 mainly to combat radical Islam and other security concerns across Central Asia, added traditional rivals India and Pakistan as members last year. Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) honor guard march past an airplane of Air India, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Qingdao Liuting International Airport for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao city, Shandong province, China June 9, 2018. Wu Hong/Pool via REUTERS Under two deals signed on the sidelines of the SCO summit on Saturday, China will share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra river and amend certain requirements on Indian exports of rice other than the premium Basmati variety to China, India’s foreign ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said on Twitter. India said last year that China had not stuck to an agreement to share hydrological data, or scientific information on the movement, distribution and quality of water for the Brahmaputra river. China had cited “technological” reasons. The plane of Air India carrying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Qingdao Liuting International Airport for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao city, Shandong province, China June 9, 2018. Wu Hong/Pool via REUTERS New Delhi has also been concerned about the rising trade deficit with China, and has sought greater access to the world’s second-largest economy for products such as rice, rapeseed, soybeans and sugar. India’s trade gap with China has widened to $51 billion, a nine-fold increase over the past decade. The rice deal should help India finally crack the market in China, the world’s biggest buyer of the commodity, traders said. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that China will buy 6.4 million tonnes of rice in 2018, while India will export a total of 11.9 million tonnes. “Despite competitive prices, India was unable to export rice to China due to their phytosanitary norms,” said a New Delhi based dealer with a global trading firm, referring to food standards as well as animal and plant hygiene. “As the norms are going to change, India can easily export more than 1 million tonnes rice every year to China.” Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Alexander Smith|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-09T21:50:00.000+03:00|Botswana cancels plans to sell troubled power plant to Chinese firm|GABORONE, June 9 (Reuters) - Botswana has scrapped talks to sell a power station plagued by technical problems to a state-owned Chinese company linked to the plant’s builder, an official document seen by Reuters showed. The 600-megawatt coal-fired Morupule B plant, which was commissioned in 2012 and built by China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) at a cost of $970 million, has often broken down, leading to a reliance on diesel generators and imports from South Africa. Botswana has been in exclusive negotiations since November 2016 to sell the plant to state-owned China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which is related to CNEEC. In a notice seen by Reuters on Friday, the African country’s Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) said it had approved a request from the Ministry of Energy to cancel the sale tender. “The board has approved the request for authority to cancel the tender for divestment of government of Botswana and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) financial interest in Morupule B,” read the notice. Government officials were not immediately available to comment. Power generation at Morupule B has improved in the last year due to remedial works and it currently operates at about 81 percent capacity, helping the power utility reduce imports. Botswana has a maximum electricity demand of 520 MW, which is seen rising by 65 percent in the next seven years to 856 MW in 2025. Cancellation of the Morupule B tender comes after a planned $800 million expansion of the coal-fired power plant by Japan’s Marubeni Corp and South Korea’s Posco Energy stalled due to a disagreement over terms. (Writing by James Macharia Editing by Helen Popper)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180609.html|0
2018-06-09T22:28:00.000+03:00|CORRECTED-U.S. security panel approves Oceanwide purchase of Genworth|June 9, 2018 / 7:16 PM / in a day CORRECTED-U.S. security panel approves Oceanwide purchase of Genworth Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Corrects timing of Broadcom ruling in paragraph 4 to March) WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. panel that reviews foreign investments for potential national security threats has approved China Oceanwide Holdings Group purchase of insurer Genworth Financial, the two companies said on Saturday. The United States in recent years has blocked many proposed Chinese investments in American companies in an effort to block China from acquiring important technologies, making the approval a rare win. The deal had been stalled over concerns by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) about Chinese access to sensitive U.S. personal data. CFIUS has become increasingly skeptical of high-tech deals involving China in particular and has blocked transactions that would have given it access to sophisticated semiconductors or data of American citizens. CFIUS has gone from virtually unknown several years ago to front-page news in March as one of its probes resulted in Trump forbidding chipmaker Broadcom Inc, which was in the process of moving back to the United States, from buying rival Qualcomm Inc. Oceanwide agreed in October 2016 to pay $2.7 billion in cash, or $5.43 per share, to acquire Genworth. Genworth currently trades at $3.81 per share. In order to gain CFIUS approval, Genworth said it will use a U.S.-based, third-party service provider to manage the data of its U.S. policyholders. Reporting by Chris Sanders Editing by Susan Thomas|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-10T07:18:00.000+03:00|Rosatom deal to build China power units worth $3.6 billion: China National Nuclear |BEIJING (Reuters) - China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd said on Sunday that two deals signed with Russian state nuclear company Rosatom for the construction of four nuclear power units in China were worth a combined $3.62 billion. Rosatom said on Friday it would construct two units each at the Xudabao and Tianwan nuclear plants. All four units will feature Russia’s latest Gen3+ VVER-1200 reactors. The reactors and all other necessary equipment will be developed and supplied by Russia. Rosatom did not provide an estimate of the cost. China National Nuclear Power said in a filing to Shanghai Stock Exchange that the framework contracts will go into effect after approval from both Chinese and Russian authorities. The four units were expected to be equipped with China-made nuclear steam turbine generators, it said. Reporting by Hallie Gu and Tony Munroe; editing by Richard Pullin  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-10T11:55:00.000+03:00|Iran's Rouhani criticises U.S. 'unilateralism' over nuclear deal|QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticised U.S. “unliteralism” in withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and said on Sunday he appreciated efforts by China and Russia to maintain the agreement. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters/Files “The U.S. efforts to impose its policies on others are expanding as a threat to all,” Rouhani told the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security grouping led by China and Russia where Iran has observer status. “The recent example of such unilateralism and the defiance of the decisions of the international community by the U.S. government is its withdrawal from the JCPOA,” he said, referring to the nuclear agreement by its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement last month, calling it deeply flawed, and European states have since been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking after Rouhani, expressed “regret” that Washington had withdrawn from the nuclear deal. “China is willing to work with Russia and other countries to preserve the JCPOA,” Xi said. Meeting Rouhani on the sidelines of the Qingdao conference, Xi said separately the nuclear agreement helped promote peace and stability in the Middle East and nuclear non-proliferation. “It should continue to be implemented effectively,” Xi said, according to a read-out of the meeting on the Chinese foreign ministry website. Reporting by Christian Shepherd and Shu Zhang; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Michael Perry and Richard Pullin  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-10T13:03:00.000+03:00|Iraq names judges who will take over elections commission - statement|June 10, 2018 / 10:08 AM / Updated 22 minutes ago Iraqi ballot box storage site catches fire in Baghdad Ahmed Aboulenein 4 Min Read BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A storage site housing half of Baghdad’s ballot boxes from Iraq’s parliamentary election in May has caught fire, just days after parliament demanded a nationwide recount of votes, drawing calls for the election to be re-run. Smoke rises from a storage site in Baghdad, housing ballot boxes from Iraq's May parliamentary election, Iraq June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily An Interior Ministry spokesman said later the fire was confined to one of four warehouses at the site. State television said the ballot boxes were being moved to another location under heavy security. Authorities did not say whether they believed the fire was deliberately set, but its timing undermined the results of an election whose validity was already in doubt. Fewer than 45 percent of voters cast a ballot, a record low, and allegations of fraud began almost immediately after the vote. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose electoral alliance came third in the election, said on Tuesday that a government investigation had found serious violations and blamed Iraq’s independent elections commission for most of them. Parliament mandated a full manual recount the next day. The Independent High Elections Commission had used electronic vote- counting devices to tally the results. Related Coverage Iraq's parliament speaker calls for election rerun A recount could undermine nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States whose bloc won the largest number of seats in the election. One of Sadr’s top aides expressed concern that some parties were trying to sabotage the cleric’s victory. Salim al-Jabouri, the outgoing speaker of parliament, said the fire showed the election should be repeated. “The crime of burning ballot-box storage warehouses in the Rusafa area is a deliberate act, a planned crime, aimed at hiding instances of fraud and manipulation of votes, lying to the Iraqi people and changing their will and choices,” he said in a statement. Security forces carry ballot boxes as smoke rises from a storage site in Baghdad, housing the boxes from Iraq's May parliamentary election, Iraq June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES Jabouri narrowly lost his seat in May and had been one of the strongest proponents of a recount before the fire. His call was seconded by Vice President Iyad Allawi, the leader of the electoral alliance Jabouri ran as part of. Top Sadr aide Dhiaa al-Asadi said the fire was a plot aimed at forcing a repeat of the election and hiding fraud. “Whoever burned the election equipment and document storage site had two goals: either cancelling the election or destroying the stuffed ballots counted amongst the results,” he tweeted. JUDICIAL TAKEOVER The fire took place at a Trade Ministry site in Baghdad where the election commission stored the ballot boxes from al-Rusafa, the half of Baghdad on the eastern side of the Tigris river. Baghdad is Iraq’s most populous province, accounting for 71 seats out of the Iraqi parliament’s 329. Slideshow (13 Images) The site was divided into four warehouses, said Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Saad Maan. Only one - housing electronic equipment and documents - had burned down, he said. Firefighters were trying to stop the fire from spreading to the remaining three warehouses, where the ballot boxes are stored, he said. “It is possible there were also some ballot boxes in the warehouse that caught fire, but most of the important boxes are in the three warehouses, where the fire has been controlled,” he said in a video message from the site of the fire. The law mandating a manual recount also mandated the board of the election commission be replaced by judges. Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Judicial Council, Iraq’s highest judicial authority, named the judges who will take over replace the commissioners. The council also named judges to replace the commission’s local chiefs in each of Iraq’s 18 provinces, another measure mandated by parliament. The board of commissioners has said it would appeal against the law forcing the recount. Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; additional reporting by Huda Majeed; editing by Larry King|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-10T13:07:00.000+03:00|Iraq names judges who will take over elections commission: statement|BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A storage site housing half of Baghdad’s ballot boxes from Iraq’s parliamentary election in May caught fire on Sunday, just days after parliament demanded a nationwide recount of votes, drawing calls for the election to be re-run. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the fire as a “plot” aimed at Iraq’s democracy. The timing of the fire undermined the results of an election whose validity was already in doubt. Fewer than 45 percent of voters cast a ballot, a record low, and allegations of fraud began almost immediately after the vote. “Burning election warehouses ... is a plot to harm the nation and its democracy. We will take all necessary measures and strike with an iron fist all who undermine the security of the nation and its citizens,” Abadi said in a statement. Experts would conduct an investigation and prepare a detailed report on how the fire started, he said. An Interior Ministry spokesman said the fire was confined to one of four warehouses at the site. State television said ballot boxes were moved to another location under heavy security. Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji later told a local television channel that “not a single box was burned.” Abadi, whose electoral alliance came third in the election, had said on Tuesday that a government investigation had found serious violations and blamed Iraq’s independent elections commission for most of them. Parliament mandated a full manual recount the next day. The Independent High Elections Commission had used electronic vote- counting devices to tally the results. Related Coverage Iraqi PM says burning of ballot-box storage site is a plot A recount could undermine nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States whose bloc won the largest number of seats in the election. One of Sadr’s top aides expressed concern that some parties were trying to sabotage the cleric’s victory. CALLS FOR RE-RUN Salim al-Jabouri, the outgoing speaker of parliament, said the fire showed the election should be repeated. “The crime of burning ballot-box storage warehouses in the Rusafa area is a deliberate act, a planned crime, aimed at hiding instances of fraud and manipulation of votes, lying to the Iraqi people and changing their will and choices,” he said in a statement. Jabouri narrowly lost his seat in May and had been one of the strongest proponents of a recount before the fire. Opponents of the recount, mostly those whose blocs did well in the election, point out that many who voted for it were lawmakers who lost their seat. Sadr’s bloc boycotted the parliamentary session in which the vote took place. Jabouri’s call was seconded by Vice President Iyad Allawi, the leader of the electoral alliance Jabouri ran as part of. Smoke rises from a storage site in Baghdad, housing ballot boxes from Iraq's May parliamentary election, Iraq June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily Top Sadr aide Dhiaa al-Asadi said the fire was a plot aimed at forcing a repeat of the election and hiding fraud. “Whoever burned the election equipment and document storage site had two goals: either cancelling the election or destroying the stuffed ballots counted amongst the results,” he tweeted. The fire took place at a Trade Ministry site in Baghdad where the election commission stored the ballot boxes from al-Rusafa, the half of Baghdad on the eastern side of the Tigris river. Baghdad is Iraq’s most populous province, accounting for 71 seats out of the Iraqi parliament’s 329. JUDICIAL TAKEOVER The site was divided into four warehouses, said Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Saad Maan. Only one - housing electronic equipment and documents - had burned down, he said. Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading to the remaining three warehouses, where the ballot boxes are stored, he said. The law mandating a manual recount also mandated the board of the election commission be replaced by judges. Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Judicial Council, Iraq’s highest judicial authority, named the judges who will take over replace the commissioners. The council also named judges to replace the commission’s local chiefs in each of Iraq’s 18 provinces, another measure mandated by parliament. The board of commissioners has said it would appeal against the law forcing the recount. Slideshow (13 Images) Its chairman a statement late on Sunday said all of the electronic vote counting and voter identification equipment had been lost in the fire but that ballot boxes were safe. “The fire does not affect the election results,” Maan al-Hetawi said, because it had kept copies of the paper tallies produced by the vote counting devices in a separate location. “The commission today is targeted from all sides ... we call on all constitutional institutions in the country and the leaders of all political blocs to do their historic duty and preserve the results of the electoral process,” he said. Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; additional reporting by Huda Majeed; editing by Larry King and Sandra Maler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-10T17:18:00.000+03:00|Rosatom deal to build China power units worth $3.6 billion: China National Nuclear|BEIJING (Reuters) - China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd said on Sunday that two deals signed with Russian state nuclear company Rosatom for the construction of four nuclear power units in China were worth a combined $3.62 billion. Rosatom said on Friday it would construct two units each at the Xudabao and Tianwan nuclear plants. All four units will feature Russia’s latest Gen3+ VVER-1200 reactors. The reactors and all other necessary equipment will be developed and supplied by Russia. Rosatom did not provide an estimate of the cost. China National Nuclear Power said in a filing to Shanghai Stock Exchange that the framework contracts will go into effect after approval from both Chinese and Russian authorities. The four units were expected to be equipped with China-made nuclear steam turbine generators, it said. Reporting by Hallie Gu and Tony Munroe; editing by Richard Pullin  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-10T17:53:00.000+03:00|Iraq names judges who will take over elections commission -statement|BAGHDAD, June 10 (Reuters) - Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, the highest judicial authority, met on Sunday and named judges tasked with taking over the country’s elections commission following allegations of widespread violations in a May parliamentary election, its spokesman said. Parliament on Wednesday passed a law that mandated a nationwide manual recount of votes from the election. The law called for the Independent High Elections Commission’s leadership to be replaced by nine judges. The commission’s board of commissioners have said they would appeal against the law. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Michael Georgy)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-10T19:28:00.000+03:00|Peru president's approval tumbles 15 points in third month in office|June 10, 2018 / 4:28 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Peru president's approval tumbles 15 points in third month in office Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Peru President Martin Vizcarra’s approval tumbled 15 percentage points in his third month in office after his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned in a graft scandal in late March, according to a poll published in newspaper El Comercio on Sunday. Peru's President Martin Vizcarra attends a swearing-in ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo Just 37 percent of Peruvians said they approved of Vizcarra in the monthly poll, down from 52 percent the prior month. The decline came after a fuel price hike due to rising global oil prices sparked protests and the resignation of the finance minister, the greatest setback yet for Vizcarra. Nearly half of the 1,290 respondents said they disapproved of Vizcarra, up from 24 percent last month. The poll was conducted between June 6-8 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points. Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Chris Reese|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-11T01:17:00.000+03:00|Peru president's approval tumbles 15 points in third month in office|(Reuters) - Peru President Martin Vizcarra’s approval tumbled 15 percentage points in his third month in office after his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned in a graft scandal in late March, according to a poll published in newspaper El Comercio on Sunday. Peru's President Martin Vizcarra attends a swearing-in ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo Just 37 percent of Peruvians said they approved of Vizcarra in the monthly poll, down from 52 percent the prior month. The decline came after a fuel price hike due to rising global oil prices sparked protests and the resignation of the finance minister, the greatest setback yet for Vizcarra. Nearly half of the 1,290 respondents said they disapproved of Vizcarra, up from 24 percent last month. The poll was conducted between June 6-8 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points. Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Chris Reese  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-11T04:11:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's PSU banks gain as govt sets up panel to deal with stressed assets|** Shares of Indian state-run banks rise after the govt on Friday set up a panel of experts to explore mechanisms for resolving burgeoning bad debts plaguing the financial sector ** Nifty PSU bank index gains as much as 1.9 pct to its highest since April 10 ** Fraud-hit Punjab National Bank top pct gainer on Nifty PSU bank index, rises as much as 4.7 pct to 94.70 rupees, highest in over a month ** Canara Bank up 1.5 pct while Bank of India gains 1.4 pct ** “We believe the slow IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process, poor power sector metrics with high levels of stress and interrupted credit flow is forcing the hand of the Govt,” Jefferies analysts write in a note, adding that banks with poor asset quality rally sharply even if for a day Our |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-06-11T06:06:00.000+03:00|Mars Petcare to buy European vet business AniCura|LONDON (Reuters) - Mars Petcare is to buy European animal hospital operator AniCura, its second such deal this month, as the world’s largest pet food maker expands its veterinary business amid a boom in pet-related spending. Mars said on Monday it was buying the Swedish company from private investment firms Nordic Capital, Fidelio and other minority shareholders. The deal is worth 1 billion to 2 billion euros ($1.18 billion to $2.36 billion), according to a source familiar with the matter. Mars did not disclose the price. The acquisition comes the week after Mars agreed to buy British veterinary services provider Linnaeus Group. It is the latest in a string of petcare deals by Mars and others looking to capitalize on consumers’ increased spending on pets. Globally, there have been 17 pet-related deals so far this year, according to Poul Weihrauch, president of Mars Petcare, as the trend takes hold around the world, in places including China. “It’s very hot, if you will, at the moment,” Weihrauch told Reuters. However he described a slow trend over the past several decades that has seen people gradually treat their pets more and more like members of the family, driving higher spending on their nutrition and welfare. What’s more, petfood and related products sell particularly well online and in cities, he said, meaning that the pet business is benefiting from big trends toward online shopping and urbanization. AniCura has 200 animal hospitals in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands and annual sales of about 4 billion Swedish krona ($459.5 million), according to Peter Dahlberg, its chief executive officer. Together with Britain’s Linnaeus, Mars is working to build out its veterinary business, which is currently concentrated in North America with brands including VCA, Banfield and BluePearl. Other recent petcare acquisitions include General Mills’ February deal for pet food maker Blue Buffalo and Nestle ( NESN.S ) last month taking a stake in Tails.com. Mars Inc, a privately held American food manufacturer with brands including M&M&rsquo;s and Twix chocolate, gets about half its annual sales from pet-related goods including Pedigree and Whiskas brands pet food. Mars was advised on the deal by JP Morgan, while its legal advisors were Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Cederquist. Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Adrian Croft  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-11T09:08:00.000+03:00|KKR to buy Envision for $5.57 bln|June 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co will buy U.S. physician services provider Envision Healthcare Corp for $5.57 billion, the firm said on Monday. KKR’s offer of $46 per share represents a premium of 5.4 percent to Envision’s last close on Friday. Including debt, the deal is valued at $9.9 billion. Reuters reported the deal on Sunday, citing a source. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-11T09:24:00.000+03:00|Venezuelans sell sex and hair to survive in Colombian border city|CUCUTA, Colombia (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hymns sung at evening mass float from an open church door across a busy square in Colombia’s border city of Cucuta, as about 20 Venezuelan sex workers wait for clients. Crouched on the steps of a statue and surrounded by grubby motels, fast-food restaurants and bars, Andrea and Carolina say they fled Venezuela to escape hunger. They now sell their bodies to support themselves and their families. “If I don’t do this, I and my children don’t eat. It’s that simple,” said 26-year-old Andrea, who arrived four months ago, leaving her three young children with their grandmother. “The money I send back home is what they survive on.” Her homeland is in the throes of economic turmoil with severe shortages of food and medicine, which the Organization of American States has described as a “humanitarian crisis.” About 672,000 Venezuelans have crossed into neighboring Colombia alone, both legally and illegally, since 2015, according to Colombian authorities. The exodus from the oil-rich country is the largest migration of people in South America’s recent history, and it shows little signs of abating. For some, sex work is their final, desperate option. In Cucuta’s Mercedes square, young Venezuelan women wearing tight jeans and skimpy tops - some barely looking 18-years-old - sit on park benches as police officers patrol. For Carolina, 30, a good day’s work means getting three clients, which brings in about $30. A third of that is spent on a motel room to take clients to, as well as condoms, food and daily rent for a room shared with four other women. “What I earn in a day here lasts more than a month for my family in Venezuela,” said the mother of four. The devaluation and hyperinflation of Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar, means it has become virtually worthless. Carolina said the monthly minimum salary in Venezuela only covers the cost of one kg of rice or a carton of eggs. The situation was so bad that she finally paid a gang $9 to cross into Colombia using illegal footpaths. Until recently, she never imagined that she could end up selling sex in Colombia. “I wasn’t a prostitute in Venezuela. I had a proper job,” said Carolina, who once worked as a company receptionist. SCRAPING BY No one knows how many Venezuelan sex workers are now in Cucuta, a city of 800,000 people. On any given night, up to 20 can be seen in each of the three main central squares. They share the squares and streets with other Venezuelans who peddle sweets, coffee and cigarettes for small change. Some migrants beg with babies in their arms, while others sift through rubbish bags and rely on the kindness of local residents and church-run soup kitchens for a hot meal. Venezuelan women also sell their hair. In Cucuta’s main leafy square, where dozens of Venezuelan hawkers work, a few men wear signs reading: “We buy hair.” Women receive $10 to $40 depending on the length and quality of their mane. Scores more prostitutes work on street corners around the city’s bus terminal and in the red light district, alongside Venezuelans sleeping on cardboard in the streets. “We get the feeling that in certain areas and cities, there is a lot of survival sex,” said Jozef Merkx, head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in Colombia. “It’s not only with women, but with men, boys and children,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. In response to the rising number of Venezuelan sex workers, Colombia’s constitutional court ruled last year that they should be given work visas and have their rights protected. Cucuta’s mayor, Cesar Rojas, said he has restricted bar opening hours in parts of the city to address the growing number of sex workers, but he added that adult prostitution in designated red light districts is legal. Venezuelans tend to charge less than their Colombian counterparts who are more likely to be found working in bars than on sidewalks, while teenagers can earn more than adults, Carolina said. SEXUAL EXPLOITATION? Andrea and Carolina say they are voluntarily working on their own, without a pimp. But local gangs charge them each about $2 a week to stand in the square. “Depending on the areas and cities, there might be mafias behind the sexual exploitation,” said UNHCR’s Merkx. “We are seeing more people coming into Colombia without a passport and who have no migratory status, which makes them vulnerable to labor and sexual exploitation,” he said. “They do whatever they can to get money.” Other migrants try to find work as cleaners and street vendors, rather than turning to the sex trade. “I’d rather go without eating than stand on the street doing that,” said Sofia Salas, standing in line at a soup kitchen with her sons and hundreds of other Venezuelans. “It’s very sad to see, especially the younger ones, the 13 and 14-year-olds.” About 40,000 Venezuelans were crossing the border each month by late 2017, according to Colombian authorities. Many walk over a crowded bridge that connects Cucuta with Venezuela, lugging suitcases and plastic bags, and pushing elderly relatives in rented wheelchairs under a blazing sun. Those who settle in Cucuta are often Venezuela’s poorest. With no passport or money to pay for bus tickets, they cannot move on to other cities in Colombia, or follow hundreds of thousands of others to Brazil, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. Back at Mercedes square, it has been a slow night. “We’ll be sending less money home this week,” Andrea said. Reporting by Anastasia Moloney @anastasiabogota, Editing by Jared Ferrie. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T09:32:00.000+03:00|Seaboard Corp confident of sealing deal for Kenya's Unga|NAIROBI (Reuters) - Seaboard Corporation ( SEB.A ) is confident of buying out three quarters of minority shareholders in Kenyan agro-processor Unga Group ( UNGA.NR ) to allow it to eventually take the company private, Seaboard said on Monday. The U.S. firm offered in February to buy the 46.15 percent of Unga’s shares that are held by minority shareholders and listed on the Nairobi bourse. It needs to purchase three quarters of that total to be able to take Unga private. The rest of the shares are owned by a local group of investors via a vehicle called Victus Ltd, which supports Seaboard’s goal of buying out the minority shareholders and eventually delisting the firm. Market participants said Unga, whose businesses range from wheat and maize milling to baking and animal nutrition products, faced growing competition from unlisted companies, hence the desire to also take it private and operate on a similar footing. Seaboard has offered to pay 40 shillings ($0.3970) per share, representing a 31.75 percent premium on the shares’ 250-day weighted average price. Unga’s current market capitalization is around 3 billion shillings ($30 million), according to Reuters data. The offer closes on June 13. “Our interest in Unga Plc is an effort to deepen our presence across targeted markets in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Hennie Combrink, Seaboard’s vice president of international business development and finance. “Africa is part of Seaboard’s core business model. We have been here since the 60’s and the continent remains an important part of our business portfolio.” Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T11:49:00.000+03:00|South African public sector strike off as wage deal signed|June 11, 2018 / 8:50 AM / Updated 4 hours ago South African public sector strike off as wage deal signed Reuters Staff 2 Min Read CAPE TOWN, June 11 (Reuters) - A strike by South African public sector workers planned to start on Monday was called off after most trade unions accepted a government pay offer that exceeds Treasury provisions for salary increases. The stoppage was cancelled when more than 50 percent of unions in a bargaining council agreed to the wage settlements. Affiliates of COSATU trade union, which is closely aligned with the ruling African National Congress and represents the bulk of 1.3 million teachers, police officers and nurses, signed the three-year wage deal. This awards increases of up to 7 percent in the first year, and of up to projected inflation rate plus 1 percent in the second and third years. The National Treasury has previously warned about high wage settlements and their potential impact on South Africa’s struggling economy. “The agreement has now been signed by a 65.74 percent majority of all parties, therefore as government we understand that all forms of industrial action now fall away,” Ayanda Dlodlo, the minister of public service and administration, said in a statement on Friday. She said the deal, which includes a better housing allowance, exceeds by 30 billion rand ($2.30 billion) provisions made by the Treasury for salary increases over the next three years of 110 billion rand. Dlodlo added that the government would look to streamline the public sector with early retirement and severance packages. South Africa’s volatile rand was buffeted earlier in June when data showed gross domestic product shrank by 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, with significant falls in agriculture, manufacturing and mining. Hundreds of members of the Public Servants Association did stop work on Monday at the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), but the strike was largely symbolic as they were only a small proportion of the PSA 230,000 members. ($1 = 13.0275 rand) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf Editing by Alexander Winning and David Stamp) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-11T12:00:00.000+03:00|South African public sector strike off as wage deal signed|June 11, 2018 / 9:03 AM / in 2 days South African public sector strike off as wage deal signed Reuters Staff 2 Min Read CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A strike by South African public sector workers planned to start on Monday was called off after most trade unions accepted a government pay offer that exceeds Treasury provisions for salary increases. The stoppage was cancelled when more than 50 percent of unions in a bargaining council agreed to the wage settlements. Affiliates of COSATU trade union, which is closely aligned with the ruling African National Congress and represents the bulk of 1.3 million teachers, police officers and nurses, signed the three-year wage deal. This awards increases of up to 7 percent in the first year, and of up to projected inflation rate plus 1 percent in the second and third years. The National Treasury has previously warned about high wage settlements and their potential impact on South Africa’s struggling economy. “The agreement has now been signed by a 65.74 percent majority of all parties, therefore as government we understand that all forms of industrial action now fall away,” Ayanda Dlodlo, the minister of public service and administration, said in a statement on Friday. She said the deal, which includes a better housing allowance, exceeds by 30 billion rand ($2.30 billion) provisions made by the Treasury for salary increases over the next three years of 110 billion rand. Dlodlo added that the government would look to streamline the public sector with early retirement and severance packages. South Africa’s volatile rand was buffeted earlier in June when data showed gross domestic product shrank by 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, with significant falls in agriculture, manufacturing and mining. Hundreds of members of the Public Servants Association did stop work on Monday at the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), but the strike was largely symbolic as they were only a small proportion of the PSA 230,000 members. ($1 = 13.0275 rand) Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Alexander Winning and David Stamp 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICATopNews|0
2018-06-11T12:01:00.000+03:00|Soccer: DDMC and Fortis land Asian football commercial deal|HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian football’s governing body announced on Monday it will sign an eight-year commercial rights deal with DDMC Sports International and Fortis AG as the Chinese company extends its influence into the regional sports marketing arena. The announcement comes after the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) executive committee met in Moscow to consider bids for commercial and broadcast rights from 2021 to 2028, concluding a tender process that opened in November. “The new rights agreement will now secure the financial future of our member associations as well as help the AFC further enhance our competitions and development programmes,” said AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in a statement. “The successful conclusion to a process, which has lasted for more than 15 months, will mean that the AFC and the Asian football family can now contemplate a bright and prosperous future. “But at the same time, we must be aware of the need to continue to evolve and develop both on and off the field to make sure that we use the new financial power wisely and effectively.” The deal covers the broadcast and commercial rights for all of the AFC’s competitions, including the Asian Champions League and the quadrennial Asian Cup as well as Asia’s final round of qualifying for the World Cup. The decision means the AFC will end its relationship with existing partner Lagardere Sports and Entertainment at the start of 2021, concluding an association that began in 1993. DDMC have partnered with Swiss company Fortis AG for the AFC tender and have been assertive in the domestic market in China. Earlier this year, DDMC bought the domestic broadcast rights for Spanish football from the start of the 2017 season until 2022 while they also paid $500 million to purchase Super Sports Media, who hold the Chinese rights for the English Premier League. DDMC subsidiary Desports is the parent company of Spanish football club Granada and Italy’s Parma, as well as Chinese Super League side Chongqing Lifan. They are the latest Chinese company to make waves internationally after the Wanda Group bought a controlling stake in Switzerland-based Infront in 2015. Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Christian Radnedge  |https://in.reuters.com/news/sports|0
2018-06-11T12:09:00.000+03:00|Motorcycling-Suzuki sign Spaniard Mir on a two-year MotoGP deal|June 11, 2018 / 9:25 AM / 3 days ago Motorcycling - Suzuki sign Spaniard Mir on a two-year MotoGP deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Suzuki have signed Joan Mir on a two-year contract in an all-Spanish line-up from next season, the factory MotoGP team announced on Monday. The 20-year-old from Palma de Mallorca will move up from Moto2 to partner Alex Rins, replacing Italian Andrea Iannone who has moved to Aprilia. Mir won the Moto3 title last year with 10 wins, two second places and a third. “Of course, we know very well that he will need time to gain experience and grow with us, but we have full confidence in his potential,” team manager Davide Brivio said. “Suzuki management encouraged us to pursue the ‘young rider philosophy’ and with Joan I think we found the perfect protagonist for this role.” Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by John O'Brien|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKMotorSportsNews|0
2018-06-11T12:47:00.000+03:00|Medical device maker Stryker makes takeover approach to Boston Sci: WSJ|June 11, 2018 / 2:47 PM / Updated 14 hours ago Medical device maker Stryker makes takeover approach to Boston Scientific: WSJ Bill Berkrot 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp has made a takeover approach to rival Boston Scientific Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, a combination that would give Stryker a strong position in stroke-preventing heart products. It is not clear whether Boston Scientific is open to a potential acquisition by Stryker, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal would create a combined company with a market value of more than $110 billion and a wide breadth of product offerings from cardiology and orthopedics to surgical supplies and neuroscience at a time when leaders in the sector feel the need to be able to offer hospitals and other customers a one-stop shopping experience. Representatives of both Stryker and Boston Scientific declined to comment on the report. But the two have done business before. Stryker bought Boston Scientific’s neurovascular unit in 2010 for $1.5 billion. Shares of Boston Scientific, which has a market value of about $44 billion, closed up 7.4 percent at $34.32, while Stryker shares fell 5.1 percent to close at $169.78. Trading in both stocks was temporarily halted during Monday’s session on the New York Stock Exchange. “If this news is accurate, it would create a roughly $24 billion medtech company, which would place it behind only Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson in total device revenue,” Wells Fargo Securities analyst Lawrence Biegelsen said in a research note. He added that the combination would be one of broader scale with limited product overlap. If the deal were to happen, Stryker would gain Boston Scientific’s line of heart devices, such as stents to prop open clogged arteries, defibrillators to correct dangerous heart rhythms, and its Watchman device to prevent blood clots from traveling around the heart. All of those devices reduce the risk of stroke. The company has numerous other product lines that could enhance Stryker’s offerings, including in orthopedic surgery and neurological surgery products. Boston Scientific lags behind Edwards Lifesciences Corp and Medtronic Plc in the fast-growing heart valve replacement market. It has pinned its hopes on an improved version of its Lotus replacement valve, set for launch in 2019 after withdrawal of an earlier version from Europe last year. Stryker already has a leading position in orthopedics, such as spinal surgery devices and hip and knee replacements, as well as medical and surgical equipment. There has been a slow stream of large consolidation deals in the medical device sector in recent years. “For all the medtech companies, in order to remain and to become a more valuable supplier to their hospital customers, it is really more and more important to be able to offer ... a much more comprehensive product portfolio that sells into all different parts of the hospital under different specialties,” Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang said. Early last year, Abbott Laboratories completed a $25 billion purchase of St Jude Medical, acquiring its chronic pain management business and significantly enhancing its cardiovascular device offerings, such as to treat atrial fibrillation that can significantly raise stroke risk. In one of the largest deals in the sector, Medtronic in early 2015 completed an acquisition of Covidien for about $43 billion. The tax inversion deal enabled formerly Minneapolis-based Medtronic to take advantage of much lower corporate tax rates by moving its headquarters to Ireland and also gain a large portfolio of surgical and hospital products. In 2014, Zimmer merged with Biomet in a $13.3 billion combination of two big providers of orthopedic, surgical and dental products, creating Zimmer Biomet Holdings. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and Bill Berkrot in New York; additional reporting also by Tamara Mathias in Benaluru; editing by Shailesh Kuber, Marguerita Choy and G Crosse|https://in.reuters.com/news/health|0
2018-06-11T13:03:00.000+03:00|RPT-Sika targets up to $1 bln in takeovers a year to quicken growth|(Repeats from JUNE 8, no changes to text) By John Revill BAAR, Switzerland, June 8 (Reuters) - Swiss chemicals group Sika could spend up to $1 billion on acquisitions in a year to speed up its growth over the next five years, its chairman Paul Haelg told Reuters on Friday. The construction chemicals maker was held back from big purchases in the past, Haelg said, a restriction which no longer applied after the Burkard family sold their controlling stake to Saint-Gobain last month. The final chapter of the bitter divorce from the family will come on Monday, when shareholders vote on changing Sika’s share structure, which is expected to be a formality. The new arrangement will give Saint-Gobain a 10.75 percent stake in Sika rather than overall control which it had sought. Sika, which makes chemicals used projects like the Gotthard rail tunnel under the Alps, had missed out on some takeover targets during its battle for independence, Haelg said. “We will be more dynamic and set a higher priority on acquisitions. We want to be a consolidator in our industry.” Sika could now spend 300 to 500 million Swiss francs a year on acquisitions, up from 200 million francs previously which was concentrated mainly on smaller, bolt-on deals. In exceptional cases, it could also spend up to 1 billion francs, with bigger deals likely to come in North America or Asia, Haelg said in an interview at Sika’s offices in Baar. “Our targets are typically family-owned businesses and owners weren’t willing to sell when there was uncertainty about what will happen to Sika,” he said. The company will mainly look at targets in Europe, North and South America and Asia in the future, Haelg said, while also continuing to make smaller deals globally. It will also to aim to accelerate its organic growth in China, India and Brazil, he added. The 64-year-old Swiss national said the way was now open for faster growth at Sika, which has been fighting Saint-Gobain and the Burkards for the last three-and-a-half years. Sika will unveil higher sales targets next year to replace the current 2020 goals, which will run for five years. At present it targets annual sales increases of 6 to 8 percent in local currencies and a 14 to 16 percent operating profit margin. “I am optimistic we will see more dynamic growth than in the past,” Haelg said. “I don’t want to give an exact number, that is something for management, but sales growth higher than 10 percent should be possible. “I am optimistic we can improve on the margin side as well.” Analysts have said Sika’s simplified share structure and the absence of an anchor shareholder could make the company a takeover target. Haelg said Sika’s best defence was its results and its rising share price which would make any attempt expensive. Sika’s stock has gained 32 percent in the last 12 months, outstripping the Stoxx 600 construction index which has lost 1.2 percent When asked if Sika would still be independent in five years, Haelg said: “Yes, that’s that my goal and that’s why I’m remaining as chairman. We want to remain independent.” (Reporting by John Revill Editing by Alexander Smith)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T13:13:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Fortum, Neuberger Berman, Stryker, Carrefour, Ivanhoe; Updates Pebblebrook, Rockwell Automation, Envision Healthcare) June 11 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday: ** KKR & Co said it will buy Envision Healthcare Corp, one of biggest U.S. providers of physicians to hospitals, in a deal valued at $5.57 billion as it builds up its healthcare portfolio. ** Factory automation equipment maker Rockwell Automation said it would buy an 8.4 percent stake in PTC for $1 billion as it looks to build on its software capabilities to make smarter manufacturing processes for customers. ** A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd shareholders is trying to build support to block the $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc at an extraordinary general meeting, a leading member of the group told Reuters. ** Medical device maker Stryker Corp has made a takeover approach to rival Boston Scientific Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported, a combination that would give Stryker a strong position in stroke-preventing heart products. ** Workday Inc said it would buy Adaptive Insights Inc in a deal valued at $1.55 billion, paying a hefty premium for the cloud-based company that was expected to go public this week. ** Pebblebrook Hotel Trust raised its offer to buy fellow U.S. hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties, seeking to scuttle Blackstone Group LP’s $3.7 billion deal with the company. ** WeBuyAnyCar owner BCA Marketplace said it had rejected a preliminary 1.6 billion pound ($2.15 billion) cash takeover offer from London-based private equity firm Apax Partners. ** Rent-A-Center Inc said it received an increased offer to acquire the company from one of the suitors that was involved in its sale process, hours after the rent-to-own furniture retailer said it ended its strategic review. ** A unit of Chinese state-run conglomerate CITIC Ltd will buy a near 20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for about C$723 million ($555 million), the companies said. ** Mars Petcare is to buy European animal hospital operator AniCura, its second such deal this month, as the world’s largest pet food maker expands its veterinary business amid a boom in pet-related spending. ** Qatar’s Commercial Bank (CBQ) said on Sunday it has ended talks with United Arab Emirates-based Tabarak Investment to buy its 40 percent stake in United Arab Bank , after the pair failed to agree terms. ** U.S.-based investment firm Neuberger Berman LLC is close to acquiring a 25 percent stake in Brazilian college Uniasselvi for $100 million, one source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. ** A U.S. panel that reviews foreign investments for potential national security threats has approved China Oceanwide Holdings Group’s purchase of insurer Genworth Financial, the two companies said on Saturday. ** Internet Gold - Golden Lines said on Sunday it was considering offers to sell part or all of its shares in B Communications, through which it controls Israel’s largest telecoms group, Bezeq. ** Germany’s Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) has agreed to take a $150 million stake in U.S. tissue engineering firm Humacyte Inc and will become the exclusive distributor of the company’s bioengineered blood vessels once they win approval. ** Finnish utility Fortum is set to gain unconditional EU approval to acquire a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper from E.ON, three people familiar with the matter said. ** France’s largest food retailer Carrefour is teaming up with Google to boost its online shopping business on its home turf, where rivals are also launching e-commerce offensives. (Compiled by Nivedita Balu and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-11T13:26:00.000+03:00|Takeda shareholders group say working to block $62 billion Shire deal|TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ( 4502.T ) shareholders is building support to block the $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc ( SHP.L ) at an extraordinary general meeting, a leading member of the group told Reuters on Monday. FILE PHOTO: Logos of of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. are displayed at the company's news conference venue in Tokyo, Japan May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The 130 member group formed by ex-Takeda employees hold one percent of the drugmaker’s shares, and needs the support of a third of shareholders. It is targeting domestic retail investors and overseas institutional investors who own 25 percent and 35 percent of Takeda shares respectively, the person said on condition of anonymity. The group includes members of the founding Takeda family, Nikkan Yakugyo reported last month. The family owns about 10 percent of Takeda shares, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The group’s attempt to block the appointment of then-Chairman Yasuchika Hasegawa to an advisory position was defeated at last year’s annual general meeting after gaining 30.5 percent of votes. Reporting by Sam NusseyEditing by Christopher Cushing  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-11T13:28:00.000+03:00|Takeda shareholders group say working to block $62 billion Shire deal|TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ( 4502.T ) shareholders is trying to build support to block the $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc ( SHP.L ) at an extraordinary general meeting, a leading member of the group told Reuters on Monday. FILE PHOTO: Logos of of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. are displayed at the company's news conference venue in Tokyo, Japan May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Takeda will hold the shareholder meeting later this year or early next year to approve an issue of new stock to help fund the Shire deal, making it a de facto vote on the deal itself. The 130 member group formed by ex-Takeda employees holds one percent of the drugmaker’s shares, and needs to secure a third of shareholder votes. It is “working steadily to increase support” for blocking the deal among domestic retail investors and overseas institutional investors who own 25 percent and 35 percent of Takeda shares respectively, the person said on condition of anonymity. The group includes members of the founding Takeda family, Nikkan Yakugyo reported last month. The family owns about 10 percent of Takeda shares, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Last year, the same group attempted to prevent the appointment of outgoing Chairman Yasuchika Hasegawa to an advisory position at the company. Although the proposal was defeated at the company’s annual general meeting, it gained 30.5 percent of votes. The group has a proposal at this month’s annual general meeting too, arguing that deals worth more than 1 trillion yen ($9.1 billion) should be put to a shareholder vote. It does not expect that proposal to pass either, but hopes it will help draw attention to “what an irrational deal” the Shire transaction is, the group member said. The group argues Takeda is taking on too much financial risk with the acquisition and says Shire’s haemophilia franchise is threatened by Roche Holding AG’s ( ROG.S ) new haemophilia drug Hemlibra. Takeda Chief Executive Christophe Weber has expressed confidence shareholders will vote in favor of the deal. Shares at the drugmaker have fallen more than 20 percent since it first said it was considering bidding for Shire. Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu;Editing by Christopher Cushing and Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|1
2018-06-11T13:29:00.000+03:00|Takeda shareholders group say working to block $62 billion Shire deal|June 11, 2018 / 10:27 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Takeda shareholder group aims to block $62 billion Shire deal Sam Nussey 3 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ( 4502.T ) shareholders is trying to build support to block the $62 billion (46.4 billion pounds) acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc ( SHP.L ) at an extraordinary general meeting, a leading member of the group told Reuters on Monday. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. is displayed at the company's news conference venue in Tokyo, Japan May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Takeda will hold the shareholder meeting later this year or early next year to approve an issue of new stock to help fund the Shire deal, making it a de facto vote on the deal itself. The 130 member group formed by ex-Takeda employees holds one percent of the drugmaker’s shares, and needs to secure a third of shareholder votes. It is “working steadily to increase support” for blocking the deal among domestic retail investors and overseas institutional investors who own 25 percent and 35 percent of Takeda shares respectively, the person said on condition of anonymity. FILE PHOTO: Shire branding is seen outside their offices in Dublin, Ireland, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne The group includes members of the founding Takeda family, Nikkan Yakugyo reported last month. The family owns about 10 percent of Takeda shares, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Last year, the same group attempted to prevent the appointment of outgoing Chairman Yasuchika Hasegawa to an advisory position at the company. Although the proposal was defeated at the company’s annual general meeting, it gained 30.5 percent of votes. The group has a proposal at this month’s annual general meeting too, arguing that deals worth more than 1 trillion yen ($9.1 billion) should be put to a shareholder vote. It does not expect that proposal to pass either, but hopes it will help draw attention to “what an irrational deal” the Shire transaction is, the group member said. The group argues Takeda is taking on too much financial risk with the acquisition and says Shire’s haemophilia franchise is threatened by Roche Holding AG’s ( ROG.S ) new haemophilia drug Hemlibra. Takeda Chief Executive Christophe Weber has expressed confidence shareholders will vote in favour of the deal. Shares at the drugmaker have fallen more than 20 percent since it first said it was considering bidding for Shire. Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu;Editing by Christopher Cushing and Mark Potter|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-11T13:44:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Lisgrafica: Agreement With Creditors Not Approved By Court|June 11 (Reuters) - Lisgrafica Impressao E Artes Graficas SA: * SAID ON FRIDAY COURT REFUSED TO GRANT APPROVAL TO AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND ITS CREDITORS Source text: bit.ly/2MhzCPA Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T13:47:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Fortum set to gain EU antitrust approval for Uniper deal - sources|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Finnish utility Fortum is set to gain unconditional EU approval to acquire a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) from E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), three people familiar with the matter said on Monday. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German energy utility company Uniper SE is pictured in the company's headquarter in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo State-controlled Fortum’s bid has run into opposition from Uniper, which said that the combination would make little sense given its heavy exposure to gas and coal-fired power plants while Fortum’s focus is on clean technologies. The European Commission is scheduled to rule on the 3.8 billion euros ($4.5 billion) deal by June 15. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, editing by Julia Fioretti  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T14:07:00.000+03:00|Neuberger Berman to buy 25 percent stake in Brazil college Uniasselvi|SAO PAULO (Reuters) - U.S.-based investment firm Neuberger Berman LLC is close to acquiring a 25 percent stake in Brazilian college Uniasselvi for $100 million, one source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Part of the proceeds will be used by Uniasselvi, which offers distance learning courses, to expand its business through acquisitions and to open new distance learning centers. Uniasselvi has 185,000 students. Uniasselvi’s shareholders, buyout companies Carlyle Group LP and Brazil’s Vinci Partners Investimentos Ltda, will sell part of their stakes to Neuberger, the source added, asking for anonymity because the source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Carlyle, Vinci, Neuberger Berman and Uniasselvi did not immediately comment on the matter. Newspaper Valor Econômico reported earlier on Monday that Neuberger Berman had acquired a stake in Uniasselvi. Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Steve Orlofsky  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T14:25:00.000+03:00|Sonatrach signs gas exploration deal with Total, Repsol|June 11, 2018 / 11:30 AM / 2 days ago Sonatrach signs gas exploration deal with Total, Repsol Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ALGIERS, June 11 (Reuters) - Algeria’s Sonatrach on Monday signed an exploration and development contract with France’s Total and Spain’s Repsol for the Tin Foye Tabankort gas field in block 238, the state energy firm said. The three firms will invest $324 million to keep output at 3 billion cubic metres of gas per year for the next six years, Sonatrach executives told reporters. They will also develop additional reserves at the field estimated at more than 250 million barrels of oil equivalent. Sonatrach owns 51 percent of the field, Total 26.4 percent and Repsol 22.6 percent, they said. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; editing by Ulf Laessing and Jason Neely) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAtunisiaNews|0
2018-06-11T14:26:00.000+03:00|Seaboard Corp confident of sealing deal for Kenya's Unga|June 11, 2018 / 11:29 AM / 2 days ago Seaboard Corp confident of sealing deal for Kenya's Unga Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI, June 11 (Reuters) - Seaboard Corporation is confident of buying out three quarters of minority shareholders in Kenyan agro-processor Unga Group to allow it to eventually take the company private, Seaboard said on Monday. The U.S. firm offered in February to buy the 46.15 percent of Unga’s shares that are held by minority shareholders and listed on the Nairobi bourse. It needs to purchase three quarters of that total to be able to take Unga private. The rest of the shares are owned by a local group of investors via a vehicle called Victus Ltd, which supports Seaboard’s goal of buying out the minority shareholders and eventually delisting the firm. Market participants said Unga, whose businesses range from wheat and maize milling to baking and animal nutrition products, faced growing competition from unlisted companies, hence the desire to also take it private and operate on a similar footing. Seaboard has offered to pay 40 shillings ($0.3970) per share, representing a 31.75 percent premium on the shares’ 250-day weighted average price. Unga’s current market capitalisation is around 3 billion shillings ($30 million), according to Reuters data. The offer closes on June 13. “Our interest in Unga Plc is an effort to deepen our presence across targeted markets in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Hennie Combrink, Seaboard’s vice president of international business development and finance. “Africa is part of Seaboard’s core business model. We have been here since the 60’s and the continent remains an important part of our business portfolio.” $1 = 100.7500 Kenyan shillings Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAkenyaNews|0
2018-06-11T14:30:00.000+03:00|Total signs deal to extend TFT gas field license in Algeria|June 11, 2018 / 11:33 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Total signs deal to extend TFT gas field license in Algeria Reuters Staff 1 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - French oil and gas major Total said on Monday that it had signed a new concession agreement with Algeria’s Sonatrach, Repsol and Alnaft for a 25-year extension of their Tin Fouyé Tabankort (TFT) gas and condensate field license. The logo of French oil giant Total on a flag at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France. May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo It said the agreement would give Total a 26.4 percent stake in the project. Sonatrach will hold 51 percent and Repsol 22.6 percent. The partners will carry out the drilling and development investments required to develop additional reserves estimated at more than 250 million barrels of oil equivalent, Total said in a statement. “These investments will allow them to maintain production of the field, which is currently over 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for 6 years,” it said. Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Brian Love 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-11T15:05:00.000+03:00|Takeda shareholder group aims to block $62 billion Shire deal|TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd shareholders is trying to build support to block the $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc at an extraordinary general meeting, a leading member of the group told Reuters on Monday. The logo of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. is displayed at the company's news conference venue in Tokyo, Japan May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files Takeda will hold the shareholder meeting later this year or early next year to approve an issue of new stock to help fund the Shire deal, making it a de facto vote on the deal itself. The 130 member group formed by ex-Takeda employees holds one percent of the drugmaker’s shares, and needs to secure a third of shareholder votes. It is “working steadily to increase support” for blocking the deal among domestic retail investors and overseas institutional investors who own 25 percent and 35 percent of Takeda shares respectively, the person said on condition of anonymity. The group includes members of the founding Takeda family, Nikkan Yakugyo reported last month. The family owns about 10 percent of Takeda shares, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Last year, the same group attempted to prevent the appointment of outgoing Chairman Yasuchika Hasegawa to an advisory position at the company. Although the proposal was defeated at the company’s annual general meeting, it gained 30.5 percent of votes. The group has a proposal at this month’s annual general meeting too, arguing that deals worth more than 1 trillion yen ($9.1 billion) should be put to a shareholder vote. It does not expect that proposal to pass either, but hopes it will help draw attention to “what an irrational deal” the Shire transaction is, the group member said. The group argues Takeda is taking on too much financial risk with the acquisition and says Shire’s haemophilia franchise is threatened by Roche Holding AG’s new haemophilia drug Hemlibra. Takeda Chief Executive Christophe Weber has expressed confidence shareholders will vote in favour of the deal. Shares at the drugmaker have fallen more than 20 percent since it first said it was considering bidding for Shire. ($1 = 109.9900 yen) Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu;Editing by Christopher Cushing and Mark Potter  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-11T15:13:00.000+03:00|Israel's Delek Drilling seeks shareholder approval for Egypt pipeline investment|June 11, 2018 / 12:15 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Israel's Delek Drilling seeks shareholder approval for Egypt pipeline investment Reuters Staff 2 Min Read JERUSALEM, June 11 (Reuters) - Shareholders in Israel’s Delek Drilling will vote next month on whether to approve a $200 million investment that will allow the company to export gas to Egypt via a subsea pipeline. Delek announced on Monday that it would hold a special shareholders’ meeting on July 1 to decide whether to go ahead with the investment in East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), which operates a pipeline to carry gas between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Delek and Texas-based Noble Energy are partners in the large Tamar and Leviathan natural gas fields off Israel’s coast and signed deals in February with Egyptian firm Dolphinus Holdings to sell $15 billion of gas. Delek and Noble have been negotiating to buy the rights to use EMG’s pipeline, which was built years ago as part of a now-defunct Egyptian-Israeli natural gas deal but has been out of use. Egypt used to sell gas to Israel under a 20-year agreement, which collapsed in 2012 after months of attacks on the pipeline by militants in Egypt’s remote Sinai peninsula. It has since been out of commission and EMG is suing the Egyptian government for damages. Noble and Delek now want to send gas in the other direction. Delek said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that its shareholders would meet on July 1 to vote on whether the company could hold off on distributing profits in order to invest in EMG. It estimated its investment would be about $200 million, but did not provide other financial details. It said 75 percent of shareholders would need to support the deal for it to move forward. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Susan Fenton) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAegyptNews|0
2018-06-11T15:16:00.000+03:00|Seaboard Corp confident of sealing deal for Kenya's Unga|June 11, 2018 / 12:18 PM / Updated an hour ago Seaboard Corp confident of sealing deal for Kenya's Unga Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI (Reuters) - Seaboard Corporation is confident of buying out three quarters of minority shareholders in Kenyan agro-processor Unga Group to allow it to eventually take the company private, Seaboard said on Monday. The U.S. firm offered in February to buy the 46.15 percent of Unga’s shares that are held by minority shareholders and listed on the Nairobi bourse. It needs to purchase three quarters of that total to be able to take Unga private. The rest of the shares are owned by a local group of investors via a vehicle called Victus Ltd, which supports Seaboard’s goal of buying out the minority shareholders and eventually delisting the firm. Market participants said Unga, whose businesses range from wheat and maize milling to baking and animal nutrition products, faced growing competition from unlisted companies, hence the desire to also take it private and operate on a similar footing. Seaboard has offered to pay 40 shillings ($0.3970) per share, representing a 31.75 percent premium on the shares’ 250-day weighted average price. Unga’s current market capitalisation is around 3 billion shillings ($30 million), according to Reuters data. The offer closes on June 13. “Our interest in Unga Plc is an effort to deepen our presence across targeted markets in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Hennie Combrink, Seaboard’s vice president of international business development and finance. “Africa is part of Seaboard’s core business model. We have been here since the 60’s and the continent remains an important part of our business portfolio.” ($1 = 100.7500 Kenyan shillings) Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-11T15:35:00.000+03:00|Egypt sells $715 mln in one-year dollar-denominated T-bills - c.bank|June 11, 2018 / 12:38 PM / Updated 11 hours ago Egypt sells $715 mln in one-year dollar-denominated T-bills - c.bank Reuters Staff 1 Min Read CAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - Egypt auctioned $715 million in one-year dollar-denominated treasury bills to local and foreign institutions, the central bank said on Monday. The average yield for the bills was 3.297 percent, down marginally from a 3.298 pct at the last equivalent auction on May 7. Appetite for Egypt’s domestic debt has grown since the central bank floated its pound currency in November 2016 as part of a deal for a $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan. (Reporting by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Eric Knecht and John Stonestreet) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAegyptNews|0
2018-06-11T15:36:00.000+03:00|Workday to buy Adaptive Insights for $1.55 billion|(Reuters) - Workday Inc said on Monday it would buy Adaptive Insights Inc in a deal valued at $1.55 billion, paying a hefty premium for the cloud-based company that was expected to go public this week. Adaptive Insights, a provider of cloud platform for business planning, was expected to raise up to $123 million in its initial public offering, valuing the company at more than $600 million. Workday expects to fund the deal with cash from its balance sheet and assume about $150 million in unvested equity issued to Adaptive Insights employees. The deal is expected to close in Workday’s third quarter, ending Oct. 31. Allen & Company LLC is serving as financial adviser to Workday, and Fenwick & West LLP is its legal adviser. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial adviser to Adaptive Insights, and Cooley LLP is its legal adviser. Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|1
2018-06-11T15:41:00.000+03:00|China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln|June 11, 2018 / 12:43 PM / Updated 39 minutes ago China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read June 11 (Reuters) - A unit of Chinese state-run conglomerate CITIC Ltd will buy a near 20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for about C$723 million ($555 million), the companies said on Monday. Under the deal, the Canadian miner will issue 196.6 million shares through a private placement at a price of C$3.68 per share. Ivanhoe said it will use the proceeds to advance its projects in southern Africa and for working capital. ($1 = 1.3013 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-11T15:41:00.000+03:00|China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln|June 11 (Reuters) - A unit of Chinese state-run conglomerate CITIC Ltd will buy a near 20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for about C$723 million ($555 million), the companies said on Monday. Under the deal, the Canadian miner will issue 196.6 million shares through a private placement at a price of C$3.68 per share. Ivanhoe said it will use the proceeds to advance its projects in southern Africa and for working capital. ($1 = 1.3013 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-11T15:51:00.000+03:00|Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom - sources|June 11, 2018 / 12:54 PM / 2 days ago Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom - sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI, June 11 (Reuters) - The Kenyan unit of Bharti Airtel has abandoned plans to merge with Telkom Kenya to take on the market leading operator Safaricom, industry and government sources said on Monday. Sources said in April that Airtel and Telkom Kenya were planning to merge to create a stronger challenger to Safaricom, which has 72 percent of subscribers, or around 30 million subscriptions. “Airtel developed cold feet,” said an industry source who declined to be named. Airtel, owned by India’s Bharti Airtel, did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Mucheru, the minister for information and communication, said he was aware of the walkout by Airtel. The proposed merger broke down over a number of issues, particularly Airtel resisting making a commitment to significant future investments in the company, the industry source said. The sector regulator, Communications Authority of Kenya, said neither Telkom nor Airtel had formally communicated with it about the deal. Telkom Kenya, which is controlled by Africa-focused, London-based Helios Investment declined to comment. Telkom and Airtel have a combined 23 percent of Kenya’s 41 million mobile subscribers. Data from the regulator showed Airtel had increased its users by more than a million in the last quarter of last year, benefiting from a call by the opposition for its supporters to boycott Safaricom. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri Editing by Maggie Fick and Adrian Croft) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAkenyaNews|0
2018-06-11T15:51:00.000+03:00|Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom - sources|NAIROBI, June 11 (Reuters) - The Kenyan unit of Bharti Airtel has abandoned plans to merge with Telkom Kenya to take on the market leading operator Safaricom, industry and government sources said on Monday. Sources said in April that Airtel and Telkom Kenya were planning to merge to create a stronger challenger to Safaricom, which has 72 percent of subscribers, or around 30 million subscriptions. “Airtel developed cold feet,” said an industry source who declined to be named. Airtel, owned by India’s Bharti Airtel, did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Mucheru, the minister for information and communication, said he was aware of the walkout by Airtel. The proposed merger broke down over a number of issues, particularly Airtel resisting making a commitment to significant future investments in the company, the industry source said. The sector regulator, Communications Authority of Kenya, said neither Telkom nor Airtel had formally communicated with it about the deal. Telkom Kenya, which is controlled by Africa-focused, London-based Helios Investment declined to comment. Telkom and Airtel have a combined 23 percent of Kenya’s 41 million mobile subscribers. Data from the regulator showed Airtel had increased its users by more than a million in the last quarter of last year, benefiting from a call by the opposition for its supporters to boycott Safaricom. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri Editing by Maggie Fick and Adrian Croft)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-11T15:58:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln|June 11, 2018 / 1:01 PM / Updated 19 hours ago UPDATE 1-China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Adds details on deal, background) June 11 (Reuters) - A unit of Chinese state-run conglomerate CITIC Ltd will buy a near 20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for about C$723 million ($555 million), the companies said on Monday. Ivanhoe said it will use the proceeds to advance projects in southern Africa, including in the Congo. Copper miners including Invahoe have threatened legal action if their concerns over a new mining code in Africa’s top copper producer Congo is not met. The code was set to be signed into law by Congo’s prime minister last week. Under the deal, the Canadian miner will issue 196.6 million shares to CITIC Metal through a private placement at a price of C$3.68 per share. CITIC Metal will own 19.9 percent of Ivanhoe Mines’ outstanding common shares when the placement is completed, establishing CITIC Metal as Ivanhoe’s largest single shareholder. $1 = 1.3013 Canadian dollars Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Bernard Orr 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAdrcNews|0
2018-06-11T15:58:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln|June 11, 2018 / 1:01 PM / Updated 40 minutes ago UPDATE 1-China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Adds details on deal, background) June 11 (Reuters) - A unit of Chinese state-run conglomerate CITIC Ltd will buy a near 20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for about C$723 million ($555 million), the companies said on Monday. Ivanhoe said it will use the proceeds to advance projects in southern Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Copper miners including Invahoe have threatened legal action if their concerns over a new mining code in Africa’s top copper producer Democratic Republic of Congo is not met. The code was set to be signed into law by Democratic Republic of Congo’s prime minister last week. Under the deal, the Canadian miner will issue 196.6 million shares to CITIC Metal through a private placement at a price of C$3.68 per share. CITIC Metal will own 19.9 percent of Ivanhoe Mines’ outstanding common shares when the placement is completed, establishing CITIC Metal as Ivanhoe’s largest single shareholder. $1 = 1.3013 Canadian dollars Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Bernard Orr 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-11T15:58:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-China's CITIC to buy 20 pct stake in Ivanhoe for C$723 mln|(Adds details on deal, background) June 11 (Reuters) - A unit of Chinese state-run conglomerate CITIC Ltd will buy a near 20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for about C$723 million ($555 million), the companies said on Monday. Ivanhoe said it will use the proceeds to advance projects in southern Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Copper miners including Invahoe have threatened legal action if their concerns over a new mining code in Africa’s top copper producer Democratic Republic of Congo is not met. The code was set to be signed into law by Democratic Republic of Congo’s prime minister last week. Under the deal, the Canadian miner will issue 196.6 million shares to CITIC Metal through a private placement at a price of C$3.68 per share. CITIC Metal will own 19.9 percent of Ivanhoe Mines’ outstanding common shares when the placement is completed, establishing CITIC Metal as Ivanhoe’s largest single shareholder. $1 = 1.3013 Canadian dollars Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Bernard Orr  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-11T16:00:00.000+03:00|Workers at BHP's Spence copper mine in Chile approve labour contract|June 11, 2018 / 12:59 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Workers at BHP's Spence copper mine in Chile approve labour contract Dave Sherwood 2 Min Read SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Unionised workers at BHP Billiton’s ( BLT.L ) ( BHP.AX ) Spence copper mine in northern Chile have approved a new labour contract, union president Ronald Salcedo said on Monday. FILE PHOTO: BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie is silhouetted against a screen projecting the company's logo at a round table meeting with journalists in Tokyo, Japan June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Spence is one of the Anglo-Australian miner two mines in Chile. The other, Escondida, the world’ largest copper mine, earlier this month entered into labour negotiations following a historic strike that shut down the mine for 44 days last year, depriving BHP of $1 billion (748.6 million pounds) in production. Salcedo said the 36-month contract at Spence, which includes a one-time bonus of nearly $21,500 per worker, was approved by 87 percent of the union’s approximately 900 members. The deal also includes a 2 percent increase over current base salaries, Salcedo said. BHP is spending $2.46 billion (1.8 billion pounds) to extend the life of Spence by more than 50 years, creating up to 5,000 jobs and bringing new output online from 2021. Spence produced 198,600 tonnes of copper in 2017. Reporting By Dave Sherwood and Antonio de la Jara; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-11T16:03:00.000+03:00|Mars Petcare to buy European vet business AniCura|LONDON (Reuters) - Mars Petcare is to buy European animal hospital operator AniCura, its second such deal this month, as the world’s largest pet food maker expands its veterinary business amid a boom in pet-related spending. Mars said on Monday it was buying the Swedish company from private investment firms Nordic Capital, Fidelio and other minority shareholders. The deal is worth 1 billion to 2 billion euros ($1.18 billion to $2.36 billion), according to a source familiar with the matter. Mars did not disclose the price. The acquisition comes the week after Mars agreed to buy British veterinary services provider Linnaeus Group. It is the latest in a string of petcare deals by Mars and others looking to capitalize on consumers’ increased spending on pets. Globally, there have been 17 pet-related deals so far this year, according to Poul Weihrauch, president of Mars Petcare, as the trend takes hold around the world, in places including China. “It’s very hot, if you will, at the moment,” Weihrauch told Reuters. However he described a slow trend over the past several decades that has seen people gradually treat their pets more and more like members of the family, driving higher spending on their nutrition and welfare. What’s more, petfood and related products sell particularly well online and in cities, he said, meaning that the pet business is benefiting from big trends toward online shopping and urbanization. AniCura has 200 animal hospitals in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands and annual sales of about 4 billion Swedish krona ($459.5 million), according to Peter Dahlberg, its chief executive officer. Together with Britain’s Linnaeus, Mars is working to build out its veterinary business, which is currently concentrated in North America with brands including VCA, Banfield and BluePearl. Other recent petcare acquisitions include General Mills’ February deal for pet food maker Blue Buffalo and Nestle ( NESN.S ) last month taking a stake in Tails.com. Mars Inc, a privately held American food manufacturer with brands including M&M&rsquo;s and Twix chocolate, gets about half its annual sales from pet-related goods including Pedigree and Whiskas brands pet food. Mars was advised on the deal by JP Morgan, while its legal advisors were Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Cederquist. Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Adrian Croft  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-11T16:03:00.000+03:00|Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom: sources|June 11, 2018 / 1:08 PM / Updated 18 hours ago Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom: sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan unit of Bharti Airtel has abandoned plans to merge with Telkom Kenya to take on the market leading operator Safaricom, industry and government sources said on Monday. A Bharti Airtel office building is pictured in Gurugram, previously known as Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi Sources said in April that Airtel and Telkom Kenya were planning to merge to create a stronger challenger to Safaricom, which has 72 percent of subscribers, or around 30 million subscriptions. “Airtel developed cold feet,” said an industry source who declined to be named. Airtel, owned by India’s Bharti Airtel, did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Mucheru, the minister for information and communication, said he was aware of the walkout by Airtel. The proposed merger broke down over a number of issues, particularly Airtel resisting making a commitment to significant future investments in the company, the industry source said. The sector regulator, Communications Authority of Kenya, said neither Telkom nor Airtel had formally communicated with it about the deal. Telkom Kenya, which is controlled by Africa-focused, London-based Helios Investment declined to comment. Telkom and Airtel have a combined 23 percent of Kenya’s 41 million mobile subscribers. Data from the regulator showed Airtel had increased its users by more than a million in the last quarter of last year, benefiting from a call by the opposition for its supporters to boycott Safaricom. Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Maggie Fick and Adrian Croft 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-11T16:03:00.000+03:00|Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom: sources|June 11, 2018 / 1:06 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago Airtel's Kenyan unit abandons plan to merge with Telkom: sources Reuters Staff 2 Min Read NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan unit of Bharti Airtel has abandoned plans to merge with Telkom Kenya to take on the market leading operator Safaricom, industry and government sources said on Monday. Sources said in April that Airtel and Telkom Kenya were planning to merge to create a stronger challenger to Safaricom, which has 72 percent of subscribers, or around 30 million subscriptions. “Airtel developed cold feet,” said an industry source who declined to be named. Airtel, owned by India’s Bharti Airtel, did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Mucheru, the minister for information and communication, said he was aware of the walkout by Airtel. The proposed merger broke down over a number of issues, particularly Airtel resisting making a commitment to significant future investments in the company, the industry source said. The sector regulator, Communications Authority of Kenya, said neither Telkom nor Airtel had formally communicated with it about the deal. Telkom Kenya, which is controlled by Africa-focused, London-based Helios Investment declined to comment. Telkom and Airtel have a combined 23 percent of Kenya’s 41 million mobile subscribers. Data from the regulator showed Airtel had increased its users by more than a million in the last quarter of last year, benefiting from a call by the opposition for its supporters to boycott Safaricom. Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Maggie Fick and Adrian Croft|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-11T16:38:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Juventus Buys Player Mattia Perin From Genoa|June 11 (Reuters) - Juventus: * SAID ON FRIDAY IT HAD SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH GENOA CFC FOR DEFINITIVE ACQUISITION OF MATTIA PERIN FOR EUR 12 MILLION * PURCHASE VALUE MAY INCREASE BY UP TO EUR 3 MILLION IF CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MET * ACQUISITION WILL GENERATE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS STARTING FROM 2018/2019 SEASON Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T16:42:00.000+03:00|Thailand's Minor International says it would not delist NH Hotels after takeover|MADRID (Reuters) - Thai hotel and food group Minor International ( MINT.BK ) does not intend to delist NH Hotels ( NHH.MC ) from the stock market if it succeeds with its takeover bid for the Spanish company. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Spanish NH Hoteles chain is seen on the roof of one of its hotel in central Madrid October 28, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo Minor International stated its intention to keep the hotel chain listed in a document filed with Spain’s stock market regulator. Its bid values NH at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.95 billion). Reporting by Isla Binnie and Andrés González; Editing by David Goodman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T17:16:00.000+03:00|Sika shareholders approve simplified share structure|June 11, 2018 / 2:17 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Sika shareholders approve simplified share structure John Revill 3 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Sika ( SIK.S ) shareholders on Monday voted for a simplified share structure and abolished the dual-share scheme which had made the construction chemicals maker vulnerable to a hostile takeover battle with France’s Saint-Gobain ( SGOB.PA ). Paul Haelg, chairman of the board of the Swiss chemicals group Sika addresses the company's extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in Baar, Switzerland, June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Moritz Hager Shareholders gave almost unanimous approval to a new unitary share structure of one share, one vote at an extraordinary general meeting in the company’s Swiss hometown of Baar. Some 99.9 percent supported the measure. Previously Sika, which makes chemicals used in the construction and automotive industry, had two classes of shares. Its founding Burkard family owned registered shares which had six times the voting power of ordinary shares owned by normal investors. The extra voting power opened the way to a bitter takeover battle after the family, whose 16 percent of the share capital carried nearly 53 percent of voting rights, tried to sell its stake to Saint-Gobain. Sika also had an opting-out procedure, which meant that a purchaser who acquired more than 33.3 percent of the voting rights was not required to make an offer for rest of the shares. This right was also abolished at the EGM, which was called by Sika after it settled the dispute with Saint-Gobain last month with a $3.2 billion deal. Both issues were held up as test cases for the rights of shareholders, especially minority investors like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which holds a stake in Sika. The settlement made Saint-Gobain the biggest shareholder in Sika with a 10.75 percent stake, but did not give it the overall control it had sought. Shares bought back by Sika as part of the deal were cancelled after a vote at the EGM. Sika can now press ahead with larger-scale acquisitions to accelerate its growth, Chairman Paul Haelg told Reuters last week, adding he was “very much relieved” by the end of the battle with Saint-Gobain. “We have achieved all the goals we set to go and fight for an independent Sika, with modern governance structure, one share one vote and are now able to continue on our successful growth path,” he told Reuters in an interview. “It’s mission accomplished.”|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-11T17:44:00.000+03:00|Device maker Stryker has made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific - WSJ|June 11, 2018 / 2:48 PM / in 20 hours Medical device maker Stryker makes takeover approach to Boston Scientific: WSJ Bill Berkrot 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp has made a takeover approach to rival Boston Scientific Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, a combination that would give Stryker a strong position in stroke-preventing heart products. It is not clear whether Boston Scientific is open to a potential acquisition by Stryker, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal would create a combined company with a market value of more than $110 billion and a wide breadth of product offerings from cardiology and orthopedics to surgical supplies and neuroscience at a time when leaders in the sector feel the need to be able to offer hospitals and other customers a one-stop shopping experience. Representatives of both Stryker and Boston Scientific declined to comment on the report. But the two have done business before. Stryker bought Boston Scientific’s neurovascular unit in 2010 for $1.5 billion. Shares of Boston Scientific, which has a market value of about $44 billion, closed up 7.4 percent at $34.32, while Stryker shares fell 5.1 percent to close at $169.78. Trading in both stocks was temporarily halted during Monday’s session on the New York Stock Exchange. “If this news is accurate, it would create a roughly $24 billion medtech company, which would place it behind only Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson in total device revenue,” Wells Fargo Securities analyst Lawrence Biegelsen said in a research note. He added that the combination would be one of broader scale with limited product overlap. If the deal were to happen, Stryker would gain Boston Scientific’s line of heart devices, such as stents to prop open clogged arteries, defibrillators to correct dangerous heart rhythms, and its Watchman device to prevent blood clots from traveling around the heart. All of those devices reduce the risk of stroke. The company has numerous other product lines that could enhance Stryker’s offerings, including in orthopedic surgery and neurological surgery products. Boston Scientific lags behind Edwards Lifesciences Corp and Medtronic Plc in the fast-growing heart valve replacement market. It has pinned its hopes on an improved version of its Lotus replacement valve, set for launch in 2019 after withdrawal of an earlier version from Europe last year. Stryker already has a leading position in orthopedics, such as spinal surgery devices and hip and knee replacements, as well as medical and surgical equipment. There has been a slow stream of large consolidation deals in the medical device sector in recent years. “For all the medtech companies, in order to remain and to become a more valuable supplier to their hospital customers, it is really more and more important to be able to offer ... a much more comprehensive product portfolio that sells into all different parts of the hospital under different specialties,” Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang said. Early last year, Abbott Laboratories completed a $25 billion purchase of St Jude Medical, acquiring its chronic pain management business and significantly enhancing its cardiovascular device offerings, such as to treat atrial fibrillation that can significantly raise stroke risk. In one of the largest deals in the sector, Medtronic in early 2015 completed an acquisition of Covidien for about $43 billion. The tax inversion deal enabled formerly Minneapolis-based Medtronic to take advantage of much lower corporate tax rates by moving its headquarters to Ireland and also gain a large portfolio of surgical and hospital products. In 2014, Zimmer merged with Biomet in a $13.3 billion combination of two big providers of orthopedic, surgical and dental products, creating Zimmer Biomet Holdings. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and Bill Berkrot in New York; additional reporting also by Tamara Mathias in Benaluru; editing by Shailesh Kuber, Marguerita Choy and G Crosse|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-11T17:46:00.000+03:00|Device maker Stryker has made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific: WSJ|June 11, 2018 / 2:50 PM / Updated 15 hours ago Medical device maker Stryker makes takeover approach to Boston Scientific: WSJ Bill Berkrot 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp has made a takeover approach to rival Boston Scientific Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, a combination that would give Stryker a strong position in stroke-preventing heart products. It is not clear whether Boston Scientific is open to a potential acquisition by Stryker, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal would create a combined company with a market value of more than $110 billion and a wide breadth of product offerings from cardiology and orthopedics to surgical supplies and neuroscience at a time when leaders in the sector feel the need to be able to offer hospitals and other customers a one-stop shopping experience. Representatives of both Stryker and Boston Scientific declined to comment on the report. But the two have done business before. Stryker bought Boston Scientific’s neurovascular unit in 2010 for $1.5 billion. Shares of Boston Scientific, which has a market value of about $44 billion, closed up 7.4 percent at $34.32, while Stryker shares fell 5.1 percent to close at $169.78. Trading in both stocks was temporarily halted during Monday’s session on the New York Stock Exchange. “If this news is accurate, it would create a roughly $24 billion medtech company, which would place it behind only Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson in total device revenue,” Wells Fargo Securities analyst Lawrence Biegelsen said in a research note. He added that the combination would be one of broader scale with limited product overlap. If the deal were to happen, Stryker would gain Boston Scientific’s line of heart devices, such as stents to prop open clogged arteries, defibrillators to correct dangerous heart rhythms, and its Watchman device to prevent blood clots from traveling around the heart. All of those devices reduce the risk of stroke. The company has numerous other product lines that could enhance Stryker’s offerings, including in orthopedic surgery and neurological surgery products. Boston Scientific lags behind Edwards Lifesciences Corp and Medtronic Plc in the fast-growing heart valve replacement market. It has pinned its hopes on an improved version of its Lotus replacement valve, set for launch in 2019 after withdrawal of an earlier version from Europe last year. Stryker already has a leading position in orthopedics, such as spinal surgery devices and hip and knee replacements, as well as medical and surgical equipment. There has been a slow stream of large consolidation deals in the medical device sector in recent years. “For all the medtech companies, in order to remain and to become a more valuable supplier to their hospital customers, it is really more and more important to be able to offer ... a much more comprehensive product portfolio that sells into all different parts of the hospital under different specialties,” Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang said. Early last year, Abbott Laboratories completed a $25 billion purchase of St Jude Medical, acquiring its chronic pain management business and significantly enhancing its cardiovascular device offerings, such as to treat atrial fibrillation that can significantly raise stroke risk. In one of the largest deals in the sector, Medtronic in early 2015 completed an acquisition of Covidien for about $43 billion. The tax inversion deal enabled formerly Minneapolis-based Medtronic to take advantage of much lower corporate tax rates by moving its headquarters to Ireland and also gain a large portfolio of surgical and hospital products. In 2014, Zimmer merged with Biomet in a $13.3 billion combination of two big providers of orthopedic, surgical and dental products, creating Zimmer Biomet Holdings. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and Bill Berkrot in New York; additional reporting also by Tamara Mathias in Benaluru; editing by Shailesh Kuber, Marguerita Choy and G Crosse|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKHealthNews|0
2018-06-11T17:46:00.000+03:00|Device maker Stryker has made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific: WSJ|(Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp has made a takeover approach to rival Boston Scientific Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported here on Monday, a combination that would give Stryker a strong position in stroke-preventing heart products. Shares of both companies were halted in early afternoon trading. A deal would create a combined company with a market value of more than $110 billion and a wide breadth of product offerings from cardiology and orthopedics to surgical supplies and neuroscience at a time when leaders in the sector feel the need to get bigger to be able to offer hospitals and other customers a one-stop shopping experience. It is not clear whether Boston Scientific is open to a potential acquisition by Stryker, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Representatives of both Stryker and Boston Scientific declined to comment on the report. But the two have done business before. Stryker bought Boston Scientific’s neurovascular unit in 2010 for $1.5 billion. Shares of Boston Scientific, which has a market value of about $44 billion, jumped 10 percent, while Stryker shares were off more than 3 percent. Boston Scientific shares were up $3.04 at $34.99 while Stryker shares were down $6.23 at $172.72 when trading was halted. “If this news is accurate, it would create a roughly $24 billion medtech company, which would place it behind only Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson in total device revenue,” Wells Fargo Securities analyst Lawrence Biegelsen said in a research note. He added that the combination would be one of broader scale with limited product overlap. If the deal were to happen, Stryker would gain Boston Scientific’s line of heart devices, such as stents to prop open clogged arteries, defibrillators to correct dangerously out of whack heart rhythms, and its Watchman device to prevent blood clots from traveling around the heart. All of those devices reduce the risk of stroke. The company has numerous other product lines that could enhance Stryker’s offerings, including in orthopedic surgery and neurological surgery products. Boston Scientific lags behind Edwards Lifesciences Corp and Medtronic Plc in the fast-growing heart valve replacement market. It has pinned its hopes on an improved version of its Lotus replacement valve, set for launch in 2019 after withdrawal of an earlier version from Europe last year. Stryker already has a leading position in orthopedics, such as spinal surgery devices and hip and knee replacements, as well as medical and surgical equipment. There has been a slow stream of large consolidation deals in the medical device sector in recent years. “For all the medtech companies, in order to remain and to become a more valuable supplier to their hospital customers, it is really more and more important to be able to offer ... a much more comprehensive product portfolio that sells into all different parts of the hospital under different specialties,” Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang said. Early last year, Abbott Laboratories completed a $25 billion purchase of St Jude Medical, acquiring its chronic pain management business and significantly enhancing its cardiovascular device offerings, such as to treat atrial fibrillation that can significantly raise the stroke risk. In one of the largest deals in the sector, Medtronic in early 2015 completed an acquisition of Covidien for about $43 billion. The tax inversion deal enabled formerly Minneapolis-based Medtronic to take advantage of much lower corporate tax rates by moving its headquarters to Ireland and also gain a large portfolio of surgical and hospital products. In 2014, Zimmer merged with Biomet in a $13.3 billion combination of two big providers of orthopedic, surgical and dental products, creating Zimmer Biomet Holdings. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and Bill Berkrot in New York; additional reporting also by Tamara Mathias in Benaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Marguerita Choy  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INhealth|0
2018-06-11T18:12:00.000+03:00|U.S. publishes details of ZTE deal, ban not yet lifted|June 11, 2018 / 8:12 PM / in 16 hours U.S. reveals ZTE settlement details, ban still in place Karen Freifeld 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - ZTE Corp’s ( 000063.SZ ) settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department that would allow China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to resume business with U.S. suppliers was made public on Monday, days after the company agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions. FILE PHOTO: A ZTE smart phone is pictured in this illustration taken April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/Illustration/File Photo But the ban on buying U.S. parts, imposed by the department in April, will not be lifted until the company pays the fine and places $400 million more in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank, the agency said. ZTE ( 0763.HK ) did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. ZTE, whose survival has been threatened by the ban, secured the lifeline settlement from the Trump administration on Thursday. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Sunday that President Donald Trump agreed to lift the ban as a personal favour to the president of China. ZTE must replace the boards of directors of two corporate entities within 30 days, according to a 21-page order signed June 8 and published on Monday on the Commerce Department website along with the settlement agreement. All members of ZTE’s leadership at or above the senior vice president level also must be terminated, along with any executive or officer tied to the wrongdoing. On June 1, Reuters exclusively reported on the monetary penalty and other terms demanded to reverse the ban. Reuters on Tuesday revealed that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban was imposed after the company made false statements about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the settlement, ZTE will pay a total civil penalty of $1.7 billion, including $361 million already paid as part of a March 2017 agreement, the $1 billion fine and the $400 million that will go into escrow. The $400 million will be held in a U.S. bank account for 10 years and can be disbursed to the Commerce Department if ZTE fails to abide by the agreement. After 10 years, if there are no violations, the $400 million will be returned to ZTE. U.S. lawmakers have attacked the agreement and planned legislation to roll it back, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE poses a national security threat. The Senate is due to vote as soon as this week on legislation that would block the settlement agreement, included as an amendment to a must-pass defence policy bill. As part of the order, ZTE must identify in detail to the Commerce Department all Chinese government ownership and control of ZTE, including public and private shares. The department also will select a monitor, known as a special compliance coordinator, within 30 days to report on compliance by ZTE and its affiliates worldwide for 10 years. The coordinator will have a staff of at least six employees funded by ZTE. A separate monitor was appointed to a three-year term by a U.S. federal court in Texas last year. Under the deal, ZTE also agreed to allow the U.S. government easier access to verify the company’s shipments for items subject to the regulations. In addition, within 180 days, ZTE must post calculations of the U.S. components in its products on its website in Chinese and English. ZTE is not allowed to take any action or make any public statement, even indirectly, denying any of the allegations. Reporting by Karen Freifeld, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler, Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-11T18:18:00.000+03:00|Eurogroup chief sees draft deal on bank fund backstop by end-June|LISBON, June 11 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers should agree in principle on a backstop for the Single Resolution Fund for banks in time for an EU summit at the end of June, their chairman Mario Centeno said on Monday. Speaking at a conference in Lisbon, Centeno said “only some details need to be fine-tuned in the negotiations such as the decision process in using the backstop and its introduction date, which could be before 2024”. “But I expect that at the end of the month we could have an agreement in principle.” (Reporting By Andrei Khalip and Sergio Goncalves; editing by John Stonestreet)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T18:23:00.000+03:00|Takeda shareholders group say working to block $62 bln Shire deal|TOKYO, June 11 (Reuters) - A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd shareholders is building support to block the $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc at an extraordinary general meeting, a leading member of the group told Reuters on Monday. The 130 member group formed by ex-Takeda employees hold one percent of the drugmaker’s shares, and needs the support of a third of shareholders. It is targeting domestic retail investors and overseas institutional investors who own 25 percent and 35 percent of Takeda shares respectively, the person said on condition of anonymity. The group includes members of the founding Takeda family, Nikkan Yakugyo reported last month. The family owns about 10 percent of Takeda shares, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The group’s attempt to block the appointment of then-Chairman Yasuchika Hasegawa to an advisory position was defeated at last year’s annual general meeting after gaining 30.5 percent of votes. (Reporting by Sam Nussey Editing by Christopher Cushing)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T18:29:00.000+03:00|Eurogroup chief sees draft deal on bank fund backstop by end-June|LISBON (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers should agree in principle on a backstop for the EU’s bank rescue fund in time for a summit at the end of June, their chairman Mario Centeno said on Monday. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Portugal's Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Mario Centeno attend a EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman He said the idea to expand the role of the euro zone’s bailout fund known as the European Stability Mechanism, making it also a common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund for banks, had now wide-ranging support within his Eurogroup. The EU’s bank-financed rescue fund for failing lenders was set up as part of a banking union plan during the financial crisis, but it still does not have enough cash to cope with a large banking crisis, meaning it would require a safety net. The backstop issue, along with a common insurance scheme for European depositors, had long blocked the completion of the banking union, but a recent about-turn in Europe’s powerhouse Germany in support of a backstop has opened the way for a deal. Speaking at a conference in Lisbon, Centeno said “only some details need to be fine-tuned in the negotiations such as the decision process in using the backstop and its introduction date, which could be before 2024”. “But I expect that at the end of the month we could have an agreement in principle. It will be just a step, but it will change the way investors evaluate the risk of a banking crisis,” said Centeno, who is also Portugal’s finance minister. He also expected the June 28-29 European Council meeting to advance reforms of the bailout fund, which should provide it with more powers and instruments, such as a euro zone budget for investment and stabilization, as well as crisis-management and crisis-prevention roles. Reporting By Andrei Khalip and Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Toby Chopra  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-06-11T18:30:00.000+03:00|Vale in deal with two Canadian companies to sell cobalt|(Reuters) - Brazil’s Vale on Monday unveiled a $690 million financing to expand a Canadian nickel mine, agreeing to sell unmined cobalt from Voisey’s Bay as a booming electric vehicle market propels demand for the critical battery ingredient. The logo of Vale SA is pictured in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes Vale said it would sell cobalt mined after 2021 as a by-product from the mine in Canada’s northern Labrador region to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp and Cobalt 27 Capital Corp in a so-called stream financing deal. The transaction is the world’s biggest cobalt stream to date, a form of alternative financing that allows an investor to make an upfront payment in exchange for future production at a discounted price. From an obscure minor metal and salt probably best known for dyeing porcelain blue, cobalt has stormed to the forefront of the mining industry due to its importance in prolonging battery life and providing stability to rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electronics. Cobalt prices have soared fourfold over the past two years to close to $100,000 a ton on expectations of demand spiking for limited supply that is mostly mined as a by-product of copper mines in Democratic Republic of Congo, a perpetually politically unstable country. Reuters reported in January that Vale was seeking to sell un-mined cobalt worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Voisey’s Bay as expectations mount that the metal is headed for a shortage. “By unlocking the value of the cobalt by-product at Voisey’s Bay through this streaming deal, Vale has found a way to resume substantive work on the underground project,” Eduardo Bartolomeo, Vale’s base metals executive officer, said in a statement. The financing will help Vale fund the $1.7 billion underground expansion of Voisey’s Bay and its associated infrastructure. The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador said on Monday that construction of the underground mine will start this summer after Vale last year slowed development due to weak nickel prices and a company-wide assets review. Vancouver-based Wheaton will pay $390 million and Toronto-based Cobalt 27 $300 million upfront in cash for a combined 75 percent of future cobalt from Voisey’s Bay. They will also pay on average 20 percent of cobalt prices on delivery of the metal. “While our focus has been, and always will be on precious metal streaming, we welcomed the opportunity to invest in another low-cost, long-life asset with a partner of Vale’s caliber,” Wheaton Chief Executive Randy Smallwood said in a statement. Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-11T18:42:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Vale in deal with two Canadian companies to sell cobalt|(Recasts with context, executive comments) By Nicole Mordant June 11 (Reuters) - Brazil’s Vale on Monday unveiled a $690 million financing to expand a Canadian nickel mine, agreeing to sell unmined cobalt from Voisey’s Bay as a booming electric vehicle market propels demand for the critical battery ingredient. Vale said it would sell cobalt mined after 2021 as a by-product from the mine in Canada’s northern Labrador region to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp and Cobalt 27 Capital Corp in a so-called stream financing deal. The transaction is the world’s biggest cobalt stream to date, a form of alternative financing that allows an investor to make an upfront payment in exchange for future production at a discounted price. From an obscure minor metal and salt probably best known for dyeing porcelain blue, cobalt has stormed to the forefront of the mining industry due to its importance in prolonging battery life and providing stability to rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electronics. Cobalt prices have soared fourfold over the past two years to close to $100,000 a tonne on expectations of demand spiking for limited supply that is mostly mined as a by-product of copper mines in Democratic Republic of Congo, a perpetually politically unstable country. Reuters reported in January that Vale was seeking to sell un-mined cobalt worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Voisey’s Bay as expectations mount that the metal is headed for a shortage. “By unlocking the value of the cobalt by-product at Voisey’s Bay through this streaming deal, Vale has found a way to resume substantive work on the underground project,” Eduardo Bartolomeo, Vale’s base metals executive officer, said in a statement. The financing will help Vale fund the $1.7 billion underground expansion of Voisey’s Bay and its associated infrastructure. The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador said on Monday that construction of the underground mine will start this summer after Vale last year slowed development due to weak nickel prices and a company-wide assets review. Vancouver-based Wheaton will pay $390 million and Toronto-based Cobalt 27 $300 million upfront in cash for a combined 75 percent of future cobalt from Voisey’s Bay. They will also pay on average 20 percent of cobalt prices on delivery of the metal. “While our focus has been, and always will be on precious metal streaming, we welcomed the opportunity to invest in another low-cost, long-life asset with a partner of Vale’s caliber,” Wheaton Chief Executive Randy Smallwood said in a statement. $1 = 1.2975 Canadian dollars Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T18:46:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Fortum set to gain EU antitrust approval for Uniper deal - sources|June 11, 2018 / 3:47 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Exclusive - Fortum set to gain EU antitrust approval for Uniper deal - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Finnish utility Fortum is set to gain unconditional EU approval to acquire a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) from E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), three people familiar with the matter said on Monday. State-controlled Fortum’s bid has run into opposition from Uniper, which said that the combination would make little sense given its heavy exposure to gas and coal-fired power plants while Fortum’s focus is on clean technologies. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German energy utility company Uniper SE is pictured in the company's headquarter in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen The European Commission is scheduled to rule on the 3.8 billion euros (3.4 billion pounds) deal by June 15. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, editing by Julia Fioretti|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-11T18:50:00.000+03:00|Norway's parliament approves plan for Arctic oilfield|OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s parliament gave a green light on Monday for Equinor’s 47.2 billion Norwegian crown ($5.85 billion) plan to develop the Johan Castberg oilfield in the Arctic Barents Sea. Parties from the center-right government and the main opposition Labour Party joined forces to ensure a 91-10 majority vote for the field development. The opposition Socialist Left Party, which says the field would contribute too much to global warming and threaten the environment, was the main opponent. Johan Castberg, which is expected to start in 2022, would become the second producing oilfield in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea after Eni’s Goliat field, which started in 2016. Equinor, which changed its name from Statoil last month to become a broader-based energy firm spanning everything from oil to wind, has dropped plans to build an onshore oil terminal to handle exports from the 558 million barrel field, to cut costs. Parliament nevertheless asked the government to look into the option and report back by the end of 2018. Norway’s largest union of oil workers, Idustri Energi, has welcomed parliament’s push for the terminal, saying it could create more jobs in the country’s Arctic region. Apart from Equinor, Eni and Norway’s state-owned Petoro have stakes in Johan Castberg. The costs of developing Johan Castberg have been reduced from about 100 billion crowns in an original 2013 plan, meaning that production could be profitable at an oil price of $31 a barrel rather than over $80 a barrel. Sweden’s Lundin and Austria’s OMV are looking at the possibility of developing the Alta/Gohta and Wisting discoveries in the Barents Sea. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) estimates the Barents Sea holds more than half of yet-to-be discovered oil and gas resources on the Norwegian continental shelf. Six oil companies plan to drill about 10 exploration wells in the Barents Sea off Norway this year. Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Alister Doyle, Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-11T19:08:00.000+03:00|KKR to buy Envision for $5.57 bln|June 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co will buy U.S. physician services provider Envision Healthcare Corp for $5.57 billion, the firm said on Monday. KKR’s offer of $46 per share represents a premium of 5.4 percent to Envision’s last close on Friday. Including debt, the deal is valued at $9.9 billion. Reuters reported the deal on Sunday, citing a source. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-11T19:14:00.000+03:00|KKR to take Envision private in $5.57 billion deal|(Reuters) - KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) said on Monday it will buy Envision Healthcare Corp ( EVHC.N ), one of biggest U.S. providers of physicians to hospitals, in a deal valued at $5.57 billion as it builds up its healthcare portfolio. The private equity firm beat peers Carlyle Group ( CG.O ), TPG Global and others as it sealed the deal for $46 per share - a premium of 5.4 percent to Envision’s last close on Friday. Envision’s shares rose 2.5 percent to $44.76, their highest in nearly eight months. Including debt, the deal is valued at $9.9 billion. KKR already owns Envision’s ambulance unit AMR, which it bought for $2.4 billion last year and merged with its helicopter ambulance service. The firm also took WebMD Health Corp WBMD.O private for about $2.8 billion. Private equity firms, armed with a record $1 trillion in cash, are investing more in public companies than at any time since the financial crisis. Take-private deals worldwide reached a decade-high of $109 billion last year, according to data provided to Reuters from industry tracker Preqin. KKR itself said last month it would buy business software company BMC Software, in a deal that could be worth about $8.5 billion with debt, according to Reuters’ sources. As of March 31, KKR had $176 billion in assets under management. It held $1.88 billion in cash and cash equivalents, according to its latest earnings report. The Envision deal is the latest in a spate of mergers and acquisitions among physician networks, a business that has struggled in recent years to adapt to changes in how U.S. health insurers reimburse providers. FILE PHOTO: CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) Henry Kravis (C) departs after meeting India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a breakfast in the Manhattan borough of New York September 29, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo The deal marks an end to Envision’s plan to find strategic options, which the company launched after posting disappointing third-quarter results last year. The company has been hit by lower patient admissions at hospitals - a trend that has plagued healthcare services providers in the United States. As part of its strategic review, Envision had reached out to around 25 potential buyers over the last seven months. UnitedHealth Group Inc’s ( UNH.N ) OptumCare had also expressed interest in the company, Leerink analyst Ana Gupte wrote in a note. “We see the arms race for ambulatory care delivery continuing and likely to remain a strategic focus for OptumCare, HCA ... as well as not-for-profit hospital and health systems, and private equity,” Gupte said. Ryan Daniels, an analyst with William Blair, said the purchase price was a fair multiple for Envision given a number of headwinds facing the industry. Daniels also said there was little to no possibility of other bidders emerging. Reuters reported the deal on Sunday, citing a source. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. It was advised by J.P. Morgan, Evercore and Guggenheim Securities. Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|1
2018-06-11T19:33:00.000+03:00|Seaboard Corp confident of sealing deal for Kenya's Unga|NAIROBI (Reuters) - Seaboard Corporation ( SEB.A ) is confident of buying out three quarters of minority shareholders in Kenyan agro-processor Unga Group ( UNGA.NR ) to allow it to eventually take the company private, Seaboard said on Monday. The U.S. firm offered in February to buy the 46.15 percent of Unga’s shares that are held by minority shareholders and listed on the Nairobi bourse. It needs to purchase three quarters of that total to be able to take Unga private. The rest of the shares are owned by a local group of investors via a vehicle called Victus Ltd, which supports Seaboard’s goal of buying out the minority shareholders and eventually delisting the firm. Market participants said Unga, whose businesses range from wheat and maize milling to baking and animal nutrition products, faced growing competition from unlisted companies, hence the desire to also take it private and operate on a similar footing. Seaboard has offered to pay 40 shillings ($0.3970) per share, representing a 31.75 percent premium on the shares’ 250-day weighted average price. Unga’s current market capitalization is around 3 billion shillings ($30 million), according to Reuters data. The offer closes on June 13. “Our interest in Unga Plc is an effort to deepen our presence across targeted markets in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Hennie Combrink, Seaboard’s vice president of international business development and finance. “Africa is part of Seaboard’s core business model. We have been here since the 60’s and the continent remains an important part of our business portfolio.” Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Mark Potter  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T20:10:00.000+03:00|Workday to buy Adaptive Insights for $1.55 bln|June 11 (Reuters) - Human resources software maker Workday Inc said on Monday that it would buy Adaptive Insights Inc in a deal valued at $1.55 billion. Adaptive Insights, a cloud platform for business planning, was expected to price its up to $123 million IPO this week. (Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-11T20:13:00.000+03:00|Pebblebrook raises offer to buy LaSalle Hotel|June 11 (Reuters) - Pebblebrook Hotel Trust said on Monday it raised its offer to acquire fellow U.S. hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties to $37.80 per share, trumping a $33.50 per share offer from Blackstone Group LP. In May, Lasalle decided to sell itself to private equity firm Blackstone for $3.7 billion in cash, rejecting a cash-and-stock offer from Pebblebrook. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-11T20:18:00.000+03:00|Workday to buy Adaptive Insights for $1.55 billion|(Reuters) - Workday Inc ( WDAY.O ) said on Monday it would buy Adaptive Insights Inc in a deal valued at $1.55 billion, paying a hefty premium for the cloud-based company that was expected to go public this week. Adaptive Insights, a provider of cloud platform for business planning, was expected to raise up to $123 million in its initial public offering, valuing the company at more than $600 million. Workday expects to fund the deal with cash from its balance sheet and assume about $150 million in unvested equity issued to Adaptive Insights employees. The deal is expected to close in Workday’s third quarter, ending Oct. 31. Allen & Company LLC is serving as financial adviser to Workday, and Fenwick & West LLP is its legal adviser. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial adviser to Adaptive Insights, and Cooley LLP is its legal adviser. Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-11T20:20:00.000+03:00|Israel's Delek Drilling seeks shareholder approval for Egypt pipeline investment|JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Shareholders in Israel’s Delek Drilling will vote next month on whether to approve a $200 million investment that will allow the company to export gas to Egypt via a subsea pipeline. Delek announced on Monday that it would hold a special shareholders’ meeting on July 1 to decide whether to go ahead with the investment in East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), which operates a pipeline to carry gas between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Delek and Texas-based Noble Energy are partners in the large Tamar and Leviathan natural gas fields off Israel’s coast and signed deals in February with Egyptian firm Dolphinus Holdings to sell $15 billion of gas. Delek and Noble have been negotiating to buy the rights to use EMG’s pipeline, which was built years ago as part of a now-defunct Egyptian-Israeli natural gas deal but has been out of use. Egypt used to sell gas to Israel under a 20-year agreement, which collapsed in 2012 after months of attacks on the pipeline by militants in Egypt’s remote Sinai peninsula. It has since been out of commission and EMG is suing the Egyptian government for damages. Noble and Delek now want to send gas in the other direction. Delek said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that its shareholders would meet on July 1 to vote on whether the company could hold off on distributing profits in order to invest in EMG. It estimated its investment would be about $200 million, but did not provide other financial details. It said 75 percent of shareholders would need to support the deal for it to move forward. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-11T20:40:00.000+03:00|Egypt sells $715 mln in one-year dollar-denominated T-bills - c.bank|CAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - Egypt auctioned $715 million in one-year dollar-denominated treasury bills to local and foreign institutions, the central bank said on Monday. The average yield for the bills was 3.297 percent, down marginally from a 3.298 pct at the last equivalent auction on May 7. Appetite for Egypt’s domestic debt has grown since the central bank floated its pound currency in November 2016 as part of a deal for a $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan. (Reporting by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Eric Knecht and John Stonestreet)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T20:48:00.000+03:00|Workers at BHP's Spence copper mine in Chile approve labor contract|SANTIAGO, June 11 (Reuters) - Unionized workers at BHP Billiton’s Spence copper mine in northern Chile have approved a new labor contract, union president Ronald Salcedo said on Monday. Spence is one of the Anglo-Australian miner two mines in Chile. The other, Escondida, the world’ largest copper mine, earlier this month entered into labor negotiations following a historic strike that shut down the mine for 44 days last year, depriving BHP of $1 billion in production. Salcedo said the 36-month contract at Spence, which includes a one-time bonus of nearly $21,500 per worker, was approved by 87 percent of the union’s approximately 900 members. The deal also includes a 2 percent increase over current base salaries, Salcedo said. BHP is spending $2.46 billion to extend the life of Spence by more than 50 years, creating up to 5,000 jobs and bringing new output online from 2021. Spence produced 198,600 tonnes of copper in 2017. (Reporting By Dave Sherwood and Antonio de la Jara Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T21:35:00.000+03:00|Soccer-DDMC and Fortis land Asian football commercial deal|HONG KONG, June 11 (Reuters) - Asian football’s governing body announced on Monday it will sign an eight-year commercial rights deal with DDMC Sports International and Fortis AG as the Chinese company extends its influence into the regional sports marketing arena. The announcement comes after the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) executive committee met in Moscow to consider bids for commercial and broadcast rights from 2021 to 2028, concluding a tender process that opened in November. “The new rights agreement will now secure the financial future of our member associations as well as help the AFC further enhance our competitions and development programmes,” said AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in a statement. “The successful conclusion to a process, which has lasted for more than 15 months, will mean that the AFC and the Asian football family can now contemplate a bright and prosperous future. “But at the same time, we must be aware of the need to continue to evolve and develop both on and off the field to make sure that we use the new financial power wisely and effectively.” The deal covers the broadcast and commercial rights for all of the AFC’s competitions, including the Asian Champions League and the quadrennial Asian Cup as well as Asia’s final round of qualifying for the World Cup. The decision means the AFC will end its relationship with existing partner Lagardere Sports and Entertainment at the start of 2021, concluding an association that began in 1993. DDMC have partnered with Swiss company Fortis AG for the AFC tender and have been assertive in the domestic market in China. Earlier this year, DDMC bought the domestic broadcast rights for Spanish football from the start of the 2017 season until 2022 while they also paid $500 million to purchase Super Sports Media, who hold the Chinese rights for the English Premier League. DDMC subsidiary Desports is the parent company of Spanish football club Granada and Italy’s Parma, as well as Chinese Super League side Chongqing Lifan. They are the latest Chinese company to make waves internationally after the Wanda Group bought a controlling stake in Switzerland-based Infront in 2015. (Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Christian Radnedge)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T22:13:00.000+03:00|Sika shareholders approve simplified share structure|ZURICH, June 11 (Reuters) - Sika shareholders on Monday voted for a simplified share structure and abolished the dual-share scheme which had made the construction chemicals maker vulnerable to a hostile takeover battle with France’s Saint-Gobain. Shareholders gave almost unanimous approval to a new unitary share structure of one share, one vote at an extraordinary general meeting in the company’s Swiss hometown of Baar. Some 99.9 percent supported the measure. Previously Sika, which makes chemicals used in the construction and automotive industry, had two classes of shares. Its founding Burkard family owned registered shares which had six times the voting power of ordinary shares owned by normal investors. The extra voting power opened the way to a bitter takeover battle after the family, whose 16 percent of the share capital carried nearly 53 percent of voting rights, tried to sell its stake to Saint-Gobain. Sika also had an opting-out procedure, which meant that a purchaser who acquired more than 33.3 percent of the voting rights was not required to make an offer for rest of the shares. This right was also abolished at the EGM, which was called by Sika after it settled the dispute with Saint-Gobain last month with a $3.2 billion deal. Both issues were held up as test cases for the rights of shareholders, especially minority investors like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which holds a stake in Sika. The settlement made Saint-Gobain the biggest shareholder in Sika with a 10.75 percent stake, but did not give it the overall control it had sought. Shares bought back by Sika as part of the deal were cancelled after a vote at the EGM. Sika can now press ahead with larger-scale acquisitions to accelerate its growth, Chairman Paul Haelg told Reuters last week, adding he was “very much relieved” by the end of the battle with Saint-Gobain. “We have achieved all the goals we set to go and fight for an independent Sika, with modern governance structure, one share one vote and are now able to continue on our successful growth path,” he told Reuters in an interview. “It’s mission accomplished.” (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T22:18:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Klingelnberg AG IPO: Bookrunner Says Books Covered On Full Deal Size Incl. Greenshoe|June 11 (Reuters) - Bookrunner: * KLINGELNBERG AG IPO: BOOKRUNNER SAYS BOOKS ARE COVERED ON THE FULL DEAL SIZE INCL. GREENSHOE  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-11T22:22:00.000+03:00|California utilities regulator tells SJW to seek merger approval|NEW YORK (Reuters) - California’s utilities regulator has told SJW Group ( SJW.N ) it must seek approval for its proposed merger with Connecticut Water Service Inc ( CTWS.O ), according to a document provided by the regulator to Reuters, a move that creates a potentially significant impediment to the deal. In March, the two companies announced a tie-up that would create the third-largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in the United States, with an equity value of around $1.9 billion, serving 1.5 million customers. The deal is part of a contentious four-way water utility merger battle, also involving California Water Services Group ( CWT.N ) and Eversource Energy ( ES.N ). A regulatory review in California would likely extend the time needed to approve the merger by many months, given the state’s active approach to oversight, analysts have said. San Jose-based SJW and Connecticut Water said in March that regulatory approval would only be required in Connecticut and Maine. But in a June 8 letter to John Tang, SJW’s vice president of regulatory affairs, the General Counsel for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Arocles Aguilar, said it was directing SJW to seek CPUC’s approval for the tie-up by June 29, under an article concerning changes of ownership. The letter, provided to Reuters by CPUC, noted mergers were evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the regulator and the proposed transaction would result in ownership by members of the Moss family falling to around 12 percent after the deal, from around 20 percent currently. The family has been the largest SJW Group shareholder for decades, the letter notes, adding that dilution to their stake could affect the operation of San Jose Water Company. SJW Group is the holding company for San Jose Water Company, which provides water services to 1 million people in the greater San Jose metropolitan area. Representatives for SJW Group and Connecticut Water declined comment. However, a source close to SJW said the company disagreed with CPUC’s assessment and would respond formerly to the regulator in due course. U.S. utilities are seeking consolidation to cut costs and bolster investment in ageing infrastructure. Despite agreeing the SJW Group tie-up, Connecticut Water said on May 31 it would solicit other potential bidders over a 45-day period. Eversource Energy, which had an offer for Connecticut Water rejected in April, is considered a possible bidder. In turn, SJW rejected a merger offer from California Water in April. In June, California launched a tender offer to acquire SJW shares. Reporting by David French, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-11T22:45:00.000+03:00|Device maker Stryker has made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific - WSJ|June 11 (Reuters) - Device maker Stryker Corp has made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported here , citing sources. It is unclear whether Boston Scientific is receptive to the approach from Stryker, the paper reported. Shares of Boston Scientific, which had market value of $44 billion as of Friday’s close, surged 9 percent at $34.85. Both companies could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-11T22:51:00.000+03:00|U.S. publishes details of ZTE deal, ban not yet lifted|June 11, 2018 / 7:55 PM / Updated 6 hours ago U.S. reveals ZTE settlement details, ban still in place Karen Freifeld 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - ZTE Corp’s ( 000063.SZ ) settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department that would allow China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to resume business with U.S. suppliers was made public on Monday, days after the company agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions. FILE PHOTO: A ZTE smart phone is pictured in this illustration taken April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/Illustration/File Photo But the ban on buying U.S. parts, imposed by the department in April, will not be lifted until the company pays the fine and places $400 million more in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank, the agency said. ZTE ( 0763.HK ) did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. ZTE, whose survival has been threatened by the ban, secured the lifeline settlement from the Trump administration on Thursday. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Sunday that President Donald Trump agreed to lift the ban as a personal favor to the president of China. ZTE must replace the boards of directors of two corporate entities within 30 days, according to a 21-page order signed June 8 and published on Monday on the Commerce Department website along with the settlement agreement. All members of ZTE’s leadership at or above the senior vice president level also must be terminated, along with any executive or officer tied to the wrongdoing. On June 1, Reuters exclusively reported on the monetary penalty and other terms demanded to reverse the ban. Reuters on Tuesday revealed that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban was imposed after the company made false statements about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the settlement, ZTE will pay a total civil penalty of $1.7 billion, including $361 million already paid as part of a March 2017 agreement, the $1 billion fine and the $400 million that will go into escrow. The $400 million will be held in a U.S. bank account for 10 years and can be disbursed to the Commerce Department if ZTE fails to abide by the agreement. After 10 years, if there are no violations, the $400 million will be returned to ZTE. U.S. lawmakers have attacked the agreement and planned legislation to roll it back, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE poses a national security threat. The Senate is due to vote as soon as this week on legislation that would block the settlement agreement, included as an amendment to a must-pass defense policy bill. As part of the order, ZTE must identify in detail to the Commerce Department all Chinese government ownership and control of ZTE, including public and private shares. The department also will select a monitor, known as a special compliance coordinator, within 30 days to report on compliance by ZTE and its affiliates worldwide for 10 years. The coordinator will have a staff of at least six employees funded by ZTE. A separate monitor was appointed to a three-year term by a U.S. federal court in Texas last year. Under the deal, ZTE also agreed to allow the U.S. government easier access to verify the company’s shipments for items subject to the regulations. In addition, within 180 days, ZTE must post calculations of the U.S. components in its products on its website in Chinese and English. ZTE is not allowed to take any action or make any public statement, even indirectly, denying any of the allegations. Reporting by Karen Freifeld, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler, Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-11T23:43:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Fortum set to gain EU antitrust approval for Uniper deal - sources|BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Finnish utility Fortum ( FORTUM.HE ) is set to gain unconditional EU approval to acquire a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) from E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), three people familiar with the matter said on Monday. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German energy utility company Uniper SE is pictured in the company's headquarter in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo State-controlled Fortum’s bid has run into opposition from Uniper, which said that the combination would make little sense given its heavy exposure to gas and coal-fired power plants while Fortum’s focus is on clean technologies. Approval by the EU would mark a major step toward the deal’s completion, which also still requires regulatory clearance from Russia, where Uniper operates several assets through its subsidiary Unipro ( UPRO.MM ), to go through. The European Commission is scheduled to rule on the 3.8 billion euro ($4.5 billion) deal, first agreed by Fortum and Germany’s E.ON in September, by June 15. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Fortum headquarters in Espoo, Finland August 18, 2017. Picture taken August 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lefteris Karagiannopoulos The Commission, Fortum, E.ON and Uniper all declined to comment. Last week, Uniper Chief Executive Klaus Schaefer said he would defend the energy group’s independence, suggesting a full takeover of the company would not be possible with him in the driving seat. The remarks came after months of resistance during which Schaefer repeatedly questioned the proposed transaction, calling it hostile and doubting the offer’s strategic merit on fears that Fortum might aims for a break up of the company. Fortum has denied it plans to do so. In a preliminary assessment, Russian authorities in late April allowed Fortum to buy up to, but not more than, 50 percent of Uniper, dealing a blow to hedge funds that bought stakes hoping the Finnish group might launch a higher follow-up bid. Activist investors Knight Vinke and Elliott Management have both disclosed holdings in Uniper — 5.02 percent and 8.03 percent, respectively. Fortum’s Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark has claimed that Uniper’s management has actively worked against the planned transaction in Russia, which Uniper has denied. Cornwall Luxembourg S.a.r.l., a fund controlled by Elliott, has raised similar concerns and had aimed to appoint a special auditor to look into the matter to establish whether Uniper’s management has breached its duties. At Uniper’s annual shareholder meeting last week, E.ON proposed to delay the vote, which was accepted by Elliott-controlled funds, effectively pushing back the vote to the group’s next general meeting. Additional reporting by Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki; Editing by Julia Fioretti/David Evans  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-11T23:58:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Vale in deal with two Canadian companies to sell cobalt|June 11, 2018 / 8:39 PM / Updated 11 hours ago UPDATE 2-Vale in deal with two Canadian companies to sell cobalt Reuters Staff (Recasts with context, executive comments) By Nicole Mordant June 11 (Reuters) - Brazil’s Vale on Monday unveiled a $690 million financing to expand a Canadian nickel mine, agreeing to sell unmined cobalt from Voisey’s Bay as a booming electric vehicle market propels demand for the critical battery ingredient. Vale said it would sell cobalt mined after 2021 as a by-product from the mine in Canada’s northern Labrador region to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp and Cobalt 27 Capital Corp in a so-called stream financing deal. The transaction is the world’s biggest cobalt stream to date, a form of alternative financing that allows an investor to make an upfront payment in exchange for future production at a discounted price. From an obscure minor metal and salt probably best known for dyeing porcelain blue, cobalt has stormed to the forefront of the mining industry due to its importance in prolonging battery life and providing stability to rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electronics. Cobalt prices have soared fourfold over the past two years to close to $100,000 a tonne on expectations of demand spiking for limited supply that is mostly mined as a by-product of copper mines in Congo, a perpetually politically unstable country. Reuters reported in January that Vale was seeking to sell un-mined cobalt worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Voisey’s Bay as expectations mount that the metal is headed for a shortage. “By unlocking the value of the cobalt by-product at Voisey’s Bay through this streaming deal, Vale has found a way to resume substantive work on the underground project,” Eduardo Bartolomeo, Vale’s base metals executive officer, said in a statement. The financing will help Vale fund the $1.7 billion underground expansion of Voisey’s Bay and its associated infrastructure. The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador said on Monday that construction of the underground mine will start this summer after Vale last year slowed development due to weak nickel prices and a company-wide assets review. Vancouver-based Wheaton will pay $390 million and Toronto-based Cobalt 27 $300 million upfront in cash for a combined 75 percent of future cobalt from Voisey’s Bay. They will also pay on average 20 percent of cobalt prices on delivery of the metal. “While our focus has been, and always will be on precious metal streaming, we welcomed the opportunity to invest in another low-cost, long-life asset with a partner of Vale’s caliber,” Wheaton Chief Executive Randy Smallwood said in a statement. $1 = 1.2975 Canadian dollars Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAdrcNews|0
2018-06-11T23:58:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Vale in deal with two Canadian companies to sell cobalt|(Reuters) - Brazil’s Vale on Monday unveiled a $690 million financing to expand a Canadian nickel mine, agreeing to sell unmined cobalt from Voisey’s Bay as a booming electric vehicle market propels demand for the critical battery ingredient. The logo of Vale SA is pictured in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes Vale said it would sell cobalt mined after 2021 as a by-product from the mine in Canada’s northern Labrador region to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp and Cobalt 27 Capital Corp in a so-called stream financing deal. The transaction is the world’s biggest cobalt stream to date, a form of alternative financing that allows an investor to make an upfront payment in exchange for future production at a discounted price. From an obscure minor metal and salt probably best known for dyeing porcelain blue, cobalt has stormed to the forefront of the mining industry due to its importance in prolonging battery life and providing stability to rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electronics. Cobalt prices have soared fourfold over the past two years to close to $100,000 a ton on expectations of demand spiking for limited supply that is mostly mined as a by-product of copper mines in Democratic Republic of Congo, a perpetually politically unstable country. Reuters reported in January that Vale was seeking to sell un-mined cobalt worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Voisey’s Bay as expectations mount that the metal is headed for a shortage. “By unlocking the value of the cobalt by-product at Voisey’s Bay through this streaming deal, Vale has found a way to resume substantive work on the underground project,” Eduardo Bartolomeo, Vale’s base metals executive officer, said in a statement. The financing will help Vale fund the $1.7 billion underground expansion of Voisey’s Bay and its associated infrastructure. The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador said on Monday that construction of the underground mine will start this summer after Vale last year slowed development due to weak nickel prices and a company-wide assets review. Vancouver-based Wheaton will pay $390 million and Toronto-based Cobalt 27 $300 million upfront in cash for a combined 75 percent of future cobalt from Voisey’s Bay. They will also pay on average 20 percent of cobalt prices on delivery of the metal. “While our focus has been, and always will be on precious metal streaming, we welcomed the opportunity to invest in another low-cost, long-life asset with a partner of Vale’s caliber,” Wheaton Chief Executive Randy Smallwood said in a statement. Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-12T00:08:00.000+03:00|Neuberger Berman to buy 25 percent stake in Brazil college Uniasselvi|SAO PAULO (Reuters) - U.S.-based investment firm Neuberger Berman LLC is close to acquiring a 25 percent stake in Brazilian college Uniasselvi for $100 million, one source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Part of the proceeds will be used by Uniasselvi, which offers distance learning courses, to expand its business through acquisitions and to open new distance learning centers. Uniasselvi has 185,000 students. Uniasselvi’s shareholders, buyout companies Carlyle Group LP and Brazil’s Vinci Partners Investimentos Ltda, will sell part of their stakes to Neuberger, the source added, asking for anonymity because the source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Carlyle, Vinci, Neuberger Berman and Uniasselvi did not immediately comment on the matter. Newspaper Valor Econômico reported earlier on Monday that Neuberger Berman had acquired a stake in Uniasselvi. Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Steve Orlofsky  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T00:18:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Sika Shareholders Approve All Proposals Of Board Of Directors At Extraordinary General Meeting|June 11 (Reuters) - Sika AG: * EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SIKA AG - SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE ALL PROPOSALS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-12T02:20:00.000+03:00|California utilities regulator tells SJW to seek merger approval|NEW YORK (Reuters) - California’s utilities regulator has told SJW Group ( SJW.N ) it must seek approval for its proposed merger with Connecticut Water Service Inc ( CTWS.O ), according to a document provided by the regulator to Reuters, a move that creates a potentially significant impediment to the deal. In March, the two companies announced a tie-up that would create the third-largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in the United States, with an equity value of around $1.9 billion, serving 1.5 million customers. The deal is part of a contentious four-way water utility merger battle, also involving California Water Services Group ( CWT.N ) and Eversource Energy ( ES.N ). A regulatory review in California would likely extend the time needed to approve the merger by many months, given the state’s active approach to oversight, analysts have said. San Jose-based SJW and Connecticut Water said in March that regulatory approval would only be required in Connecticut and Maine. But in a June 8 letter to John Tang, SJW’s vice president of regulatory affairs, the General Counsel for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Arocles Aguilar, said it was directing SJW to seek CPUC’s approval for the tie-up by June 29, under an article concerning changes of ownership. The letter, provided to Reuters by CPUC, noted mergers were evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the regulator and the proposed transaction would result in ownership by members of the Moss family falling to around 12 percent after the deal, from around 20 percent currently. The family has been the largest SJW Group shareholder for decades, the letter notes, adding that dilution to their stake could affect the operation of San Jose Water Company. SJW Group is the holding company for San Jose Water Company, which provides water services to 1 million people in the greater San Jose metropolitan area. Representatives for SJW Group and Connecticut Water declined comment. However, a source close to SJW said the company disagreed with CPUC’s assessment and would respond formerly to the regulator in due course. U.S. utilities are seeking consolidation to cut costs and bolster investment in aging infrastructure. Despite agreeing the SJW Group tie-up, Connecticut Water said on May 31 it would solicit other potential bidders over a 45-day period. Eversource Energy, which had an offer for Connecticut Water rejected in April, is considered a possible bidder. In turn, SJW rejected a merger offer from California Water in April. In June, California launched a tender offer to acquire SJW shares. Reporting by David French, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-12T02:43:00.000+03:00|Thailand's Minor International says it would not delist NH Hotels after takeover|MADRID (Reuters) - Thai hotel and food group Minor International ( MINT.BK ) does not intend to delist NH Hotels ( NHH.MC ) from the stock market if it succeeds with its takeover bid for the Spanish company. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Spanish NH Hoteles chain is seen on the roof of one of its hotel in central Madrid October 28, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo Minor International stated its intention to keep the hotel chain listed in a document filed with Spain’s stock market regulator. Its bid values NH at up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.95 billion). Reporting by Isla Binnie and Andrés González; Editing by David Goodman  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T03:00:00.000+03:00|Trump, Kim agree on denuclearization, but deal seen symbolic|Trump, Kim agree on denuclearization, but deal seen symbolic reuters.com • Trump, Kim agree on denuclearization, but deal seen symbolic More SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged on Tuesday to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula while Washington committed to provide security guarantees for its old enemy. The joint statement signed at the end of their historic summit in Singapore gave few details on how either goal would be achieved but Trump fleshed out some details at a news conference. “President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said the statement. DPRK is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, ||0
2018-06-12T03:48:00.000+03:00|U.S. publishes details of ZTE deal, ban not yet lifted|WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - ZTE Corp’s settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department was made public on Monday, but the ban on U.S. suppliers doing business with China’s phone maker will not be lifted until the company pays $1 billion and places $400 million more in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Sandra Maler)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-12T03:56:00.000+03:00|U.S. publishes details of ZTE deal, ban not yet lifted|June 11, 2018 / 7:56 PM / in 2 days U.S. reveals ZTE settlement details, ban still in place Karen Freifeld 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - ZTE Corp’s ( 000063.SZ ) settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department that would allow China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to resume business with U.S. suppliers was made public on Monday, days after the company agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions. FILE PHOTO: A ZTE smart phone is pictured in this illustration taken April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/Illustration/File Photo But the ban on buying U.S. parts, imposed by the department in April, will not be lifted until the company pays the fine and places $400 million more in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank, the agency said. ZTE ( 0763.HK ) did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. ZTE, whose survival has been threatened by the ban, secured the lifeline settlement from the Trump administration on Thursday. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Sunday that President Donald Trump agreed to lift the ban as a personal favor to the president of China. ZTE must replace the boards of directors of two corporate entities within 30 days, according to a 21-page order signed June 8 and published on Monday on the Commerce Department website along with the settlement agreement. All members of ZTE’s leadership at or above the senior vice president level also must be terminated, along with any executive or officer tied to the wrongdoing. On June 1, Reuters exclusively reported on the monetary penalty and other terms demanded to reverse the ban. Reuters on Tuesday revealed that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department. ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to evade U.S. embargoes by selling U.S. equipment to Iran. The ban was imposed after the company made false statements about disciplining some executives responsible for the violations. ZTE then ceased major operations. Under the settlement, ZTE will pay a total civil penalty of $1.7 billion, including $361 million already paid as part of a March 2017 agreement, the $1 billion fine and the $400 million that will go into escrow. The $400 million will be held in a U.S. bank account for 10 years and can be disbursed to the Commerce Department if ZTE fails to abide by the agreement. After 10 years, if there are no violations, the $400 million will be returned to ZTE. U.S. lawmakers have attacked the agreement and planned legislation to roll it back, citing intelligence warnings that ZTE poses a national security threat. The Senate is due to vote as soon as this week on legislation that would block the settlement agreement, included as an amendment to a must-pass defense policy bill. As part of the order, ZTE must identify in detail to the Commerce Department all Chinese government ownership and control of ZTE, including public and private shares. The department also will select a monitor, known as a special compliance coordinator, within 30 days to report on compliance by ZTE and its affiliates worldwide for 10 years. The coordinator will have a staff of at least six employees funded by ZTE. A separate monitor was appointed to a three-year term by a U.S. federal court in Texas last year. Under the deal, ZTE also agreed to allow the U.S. government easier access to verify the company’s shipments for items subject to the regulations. In addition, within 180 days, ZTE must post calculations of the U.S. components in its products on its website in Chinese and English. ZTE is not allowed to take any action or make any public statement, even indirectly, denying any of the allegations. Reporting by Karen Freifeld, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler, Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-12T04:03:00.000+03:00|China's Tsinghua University to buy aluminum smelter for $3.7 billion|BEIJING (Reuters) - A unit of Beijing’s Tsinghua University on Tuesday said it would buy aluminum smelter Tianshan Aluminum for an estimated 23.6 billion yuan ($3.7 billion), in what analysts say is a way for the smelter to become a publicly traded entity. Xiamen Unigroup Xue Co Ltd ( 000526.SZ ), a Shenzhen-listed education services provider controlled by Tsinghua, said in a statement that it would pay in cash and shares to acquire 100 percent of Xinjiang-based Tianshan over an unspecified time frame, with the final price undetermined. It did not detail reasons behind the acquisition. “Right now the overall plan is still being discussed,” a Unigroup official told Reuters by phone on condition of anonymity as details were still private. “After the plan is finalised, it will be handed over to the board of directors.” State-run Tsinghua, which counts President Xi Jinping among its alumni, has interests in a number of companies, including a 1.5 percent stake in Chinese aluminum products distributor Ningbo Fubang Jingye ( 600768.SS ), held via Tsinghua Unigroup. Xiamen Unigroup’s acquisition comes in an industry that in May saw state-owned Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) [ALUMI.UL] enter a cooperation deal with Yunnan Metallurgical Group Co Ltd. Xiamen Unigroup, whose shares are currently suspended from trade pending asset restructuring, said in May it planned to buy an aluminum firm in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, without disclosing the target or deal value. Tianshan has annual aluminum smelting capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, according to Zhang Rufeng, a manager at commodities consultancy Baiinfo. In agreeing to the transaction, it is likely aiming for a “backdoor listing” to make the company publicly tradable via Xiamen Unigroup’s listing, Zhang said. An official at Tianshan declined to comment, while Unigroup did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Tom Hogue  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T04:50:00.000+03:00|Norway's parliament approves plan for Arctic oilfield|OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s parliament gave a green light on Monday for Equinor’s 47.2 billion Norwegian crown ($5.85 billion) plan to develop the Johan Castberg oilfield in the Arctic Barents Sea. Parties from the center-right government and the main opposition Labour Party joined forces to ensure a 91-10 majority vote for the field development. The opposition Socialist Left Party, which says the field would contribute too much to global warming and threaten the environment, was the main opponent. Johan Castberg, which is expected to start in 2022, would become the second producing oilfield in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea after Eni’s Goliat field, which started in 2016. Equinor, which changed its name from Statoil last month to become a broader-based energy firm spanning everything from oil to wind, has dropped plans to build an onshore oil terminal to handle exports from the 558 million barrel field, to cut costs. Parliament nevertheless asked the government to look into the option and report back by the end of 2018. Norway’s largest union of oil workers, Idustri Energi, has welcomed parliament’s push for the terminal, saying it could create more jobs in the country’s Arctic region. Apart from Equinor, Eni and Norway’s state-owned Petoro have stakes in Johan Castberg. The costs of developing Johan Castberg have been reduced from about 100 billion crowns in an original 2013 plan, meaning that production could be profitable at an oil price of $31 a barrel rather than over $80 a barrel. Sweden’s Lundin and Austria’s OMV are looking at the possibility of developing the Alta/Gohta and Wisting discoveries in the Barents Sea. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) estimates the Barents Sea holds more than half of yet-to-be discovered oil and gas resources on the Norwegian continental shelf. Six oil companies plan to drill about 10 exploration wells in the Barents Sea off Norway this year. Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Alister Doyle, Editing by Catherine Evans  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-12T05:17:00.000+03:00|Shanghai stocks end higher as Trump, Kim sign 'comprehensive' deal at summit|* Shanghai stocks close higher, blue-chip CSI300 index up * Gains in Shanghai stocks led by Xiamen XGMA Machinery Co Ltd and losses by Henan Rebecca Hair Products Co Ltd * China’s A-shares are at a 17.32 percent premium over H-shares SHANGHAI, June 12 (Reuters) - Shanghai stocks recovered from early losses to end higher on Tuesday, as sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a ‘comprehensive’ deal aimed at the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 1.2 percent higher at 3,825.95 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.9 percent at 3,079.80 points, snapping a three-session losing streak. ** There were no immediate details on the contents of the document, but Donald Trump said he expected the denuclearisation process to start “very, very quickly”. ** Sectors rallied across the board, led by consumer and healthcare firms. Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery rose 6.4 percent to a record high, while the world’s most valuable liquor maker Kweichow Moutai also closed at a fresh peak. ** However, caution still prevailed, with more than a dozen of stocks plunging to their lower limit of 10 percent, as investors worried about liquidity conditions amid credit risks and more listings by technology giants that could sap the already-tight funding. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.16 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.33 percent. ** At 0701 GMT, the yuan was Quote: d at 6.4023 per U.S. dollar, 0.04 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.4047. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Xiamen XGMA Machinery Co Ltd, which ended up 10.12 percent, followed by Shanghai Laiyifen Co Ltd , which closed 10.02 percent higher and Chongqing Wanli New Energy Co Ltd, which ended 10.02 percent firmer. ** The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Henan Rebecca Hair Products Co Ltd, which closed down 10 percent, followed by Changyuan Group Ltd, which ended 9.99 percent lower and Guizhou Salvage Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, which closed down 9.9 percent. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 6.9 percent, the CSI300 dropped 5.1 percent, while China’s H-share index listed in Hong Kong rose 4.6 percent. Shanghai stocks have declined 0.48 percent this month. ** About 11.33 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 85.7 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 13.22 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 10.86 billion shares. ** As of 0702 GMT, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 17.32 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-12T05:40:00.000+03:00|Trump says will know soon whether 'real' deal with North Korea can happen|(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, in a tweet hours before his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, said staff-level meetings between the United States and North Korea were “going well and quickly.” But he said: “in the end, that doesn’t matter. We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!” Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham  |https://www.reuters.com/news/world|0
2018-06-12T06:57:00.000+03:00|Vietnam lawmakers approve cyber law, tighten rules on Google, Facebook|* Facebook, Google among companies affected by new law * Law essential to fight cyber crime, authorities say * Critics warn of potential harm to investment, free speech By Mai Nguyen HANOI, June 12 (Reuters) - Vietnamese lawmakers approved a controversial cybersecurity law on Tuesday, voting amid tight security following weekend protests over other legislation that turned violent in some parts of the communist country. The law, approved by 91 percent of attending lawmakers, would require Facebook, Google and other global technology firms to store locally “important” personal data on users in Vietnam and open offices in the country. The companies have pushed back against the provisions. The vote took place two days after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in several cities and provinces to denounce a plan to create new economic zones for foreign investment that has fuelled anti-Chinese sentiment in the country. Security was tight ahead of Tuesday’s vote, with police manning barricades outside the National Assembly in the capital Hanoi. Some protesters on Sunday had derided the cybersecurity bill, which experts and activists say could cause economic harm and stifle online dissent. The United States and Canada had urged Vietnam to delay the vote and review the cyber law to ensure it aligned with international standards amid worries it may present serious obstacles to Vietnam’s cybersecurity and digital innovation future. Canada said some of the localisation requirements might increase costs, uncertainty and risks for Canadian businesses and inhibit their global operations. The Vietnam Digital Communication Association (VCDA) said the requirements could reduce Vietnam’s gross domestic product by 1.7 percent and wipe off 3.1 percent of foreign investment. Trade and foreign investment are key to Vietnam’s economy. It also raised fears about tougher restrictions on online dissent by requiring social media companies in Vietnam to remove offending content from their platforms within one day of receiving a request from the authorities. Human Rights Watch said last week the bill targets free expression and access to information, while Amnesty International said the law would allow Vietnamese authorities to force tech firms to hand over data to censor users’ posts. Vo Trong Viet, head of the defence and security committee which drafted the law, said the requirement to store data inside Vietnam was feasible, crucial to fighting cyber crime and in line with international rules. “Placing data centre in Vietnam increases costs for businesses but is a necessary requirement to meet the cybersecurity need of the country,” he told lawmakers. (Reporting by Mai Nguyen Editing by Martin Petty and Darren Schuettler)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-12T06:59:00.000+03:00|Vietnam lawmakers approve cyber law, tighten rules on Google, Facebook|June 12, 2018 / 4:08 AM / Updated 15 hours ago Vietnam lawmakers approve cyber law clamping down on tech firms, dissent Mai Nguyen 4 Min Read HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese legislators approved a cybersecurity law on Tuesday that tightens control of the internet and global tech companies operating in the Communist-led country, raising fears of economic harm and a further crackdown on dissent. FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook like button is seen in front of the Facebook logo, in this illustration taken October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo The cyber law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2019, requires Facebook ( FB.O ), Google ( GOOGL.O ) and other global technology firms to store locally “important” personal data on users in Vietnam and open offices there. The vote in the National Assembly came a day after lawmakers delayed a decision on another controversial bill that had sparked violent protests in parts of the country on the weekend. Thousands of demonstrators in cities and provinces had denounced a plan to create new economic zones for foreign investment that has fueled anti-Chinese sentiment. Some protesters had also derided the cybersecurity bill, which experts and activists say could cause economic harm and stifle online dissent. Tuesday’s vote was held as police manned barricades outside the legislature in the capital Hanoi. The cyber law was approved by 91 percent of attending legislators. Human rights group Amnesty International said the law was a “devastating blow” for freedom of expression, allowing the state to force tech companies to hand over potentially vast amounts of data, including personal information, and censor users’ posts. “With the sweeping powers it grants the government to monitor online activity, this vote means there is now no safe place left in Vietnam for people to speak freely,” Clare Algar, Amnesty’s director of global operations, said in a statement. Under the law, social media companies in Vietnam are required to remove offending content from their platforms within one day of receiving a request from the authorities. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry group that was leading efforts to soften the proposed legislation, said the law would hinder Vietnam’s ambitions for GDP and job growth in developing a digital economy. “These provisions will result in severe limitations on Vietnam’s digital economy, dampening the foreign investment climate and hurting opportunities for local businesses and SMEs to flourish inside and beyond Vietnam,” said AIC Managing Director Jeff Paine. Vo Trong Viet, head of the defense and security committee that drafted the law, said the requirement to store data inside Vietnam was feasible, crucial to fighting cyber crime and in line with international rules. “Placing a data center in Vietnam increases costs for businesses but is a necessary requirement to meet the cybersecurity need of the country,” he told legislators. The United States and Canada had urged Vietnam to delay the vote and review the law to ensure it met global standards and addressed concerns that it may hurt digital innovation in Vietnam, where its 94 million people are a target for local small businesses as well as global consumer brands. About 55 million Vietnamese are regular social media users, according to a 2018 global digital report by the media consulting firm We Are Social, and Hootsuite, a social media management firm. Vietnam ranked seventh among active Facebook-using countries, the report said, while its economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, was number 10 among cities with active Facebook users. Canada said some of the localization requirements might increase costs, uncertainty and risks for Canadian businesses and inhibit their global operations. The Vietnam Digital Communication Association said the requirements could reduce Vietnam’s gross domestic product by 1.7 percent and wipe off 3.1 percent of foreign investment. Trade and foreign investment are crucial to Vietnam’s economy. Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Additional reporting by Jonathan Weber in Singapore; Editing by Martin Petty and Darren Schuettler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-12T07:03:00.000+03:00|Vietnam lawmakers approve cyber law, tighten rules on Google, Facebook|June 12, 2018 / 4:04 AM / 2 days ago Vietnam lawmakers approve cyber law clamping down on tech firms, dissent Mai Nguyen 4 Min Read HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese legislators approved a cybersecurity law on Tuesday that tightens control of the internet and global tech companies operating in the Communist-led country, raising fears of economic harm and a further crackdown on dissent. FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook like button is seen in front of the Facebook logo, in this illustration taken October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo The cyber law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2019, requires Facebook ( FB.O ), Google ( GOOGL.O ) and other global technology firms to store locally “important” personal data on users in Vietnam and open offices there. The vote in the National Assembly came a day after lawmakers delayed a decision on another controversial bill that had sparked violent protests in parts of the country on the weekend. Thousands of demonstrators in cities and provinces had denounced a plan to create new economic zones for foreign investment that has fueled anti-Chinese sentiment. Some protesters had also derided the cybersecurity bill, which experts and activists say could cause economic harm and stifle online dissent. Tuesday’s vote was held as police manned barricades outside the legislature in the capital Hanoi. The cyber law was approved by 91 percent of attending legislators. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Human rights group Amnesty International said the law was a “devastating blow” for freedom of expression, allowing the state to force tech companies to hand over potentially vast amounts of data, including personal information, and censor users’ posts. “With the sweeping powers it grants the government to monitor online activity, this vote means there is now no safe place left in Vietnam for people to speak freely,” Clare Algar, Amnesty’s director of global operations, said in a statement. Under the law, social media companies in Vietnam are required to remove offending content from their platforms within one day of receiving a request from the authorities. The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry group that was leading efforts to soften the proposed legislation, said the law would hinder Vietnam’s ambitions for GDP and job growth in developing a digital economy. “These provisions will result in severe limitations on Vietnam’s digital economy, dampening the foreign investment climate and hurting opportunities for local businesses and SMEs to flourish inside and beyond Vietnam,” said AIC Managing Director Jeff Paine. Vo Trong Viet, head of the defense and security committee that drafted the law, said the requirement to store data inside Vietnam was feasible, crucial to fighting cyber crime and in line with international rules. “Placing a data center in Vietnam increases costs for businesses but is a necessary requirement to meet the cybersecurity need of the country,” he told legislators. The United States and Canada had urged Vietnam to delay the vote and review the law to ensure it met global standards and addressed concerns that it may hurt digital innovation in Vietnam, where its 94 million people are a target for local small businesses as well as global consumer brands. About 55 million Vietnamese are regular social media users, according to a 2018 global digital report by the media consulting firm We Are Social, and Hootsuite, a social media management firm. Vietnam ranked seventh among active Facebook-using countries, the report said, while its economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, was number 10 among cities with active Facebook users. Canada said some of the localization requirements might increase costs, uncertainty and risks for Canadian businesses and inhibit their global operations. The Vietnam Digital Communication Association said the requirements could reduce Vietnam’s gross domestic product by 1.7 percent and wipe off 3.1 percent of foreign investment. Trade and foreign investment are crucial to Vietnam’s economy. Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Additional reporting by Jonathan Weber in Singapore; Editing by Martin Petty and Darren Schuettler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-12T07:56:00.000+03:00|Indonesia's Pertamina buys U.S. condensate in rare move: traders|SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina bought a condensate cargo from the United States in a rare move, trade sources said on Tuesday. A Pertamina fuel station in Labuan Bajo on Flores Island, Indonesia April 7, 2018. REUTERS/Henning Gloystein Pertamina bought an Eagle Ford condensate cargo for delivery in July on behalf of the Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) condensate splitter, the traders said, though price details and the seller could not immediately be confirmed. This could be the first time Pertamina has bought a condensate cargo from the United States, two of them said, though this could not be verified. Phone calls to Pertamina officials went unanswered. The state company also bought two cargoes of Equatorial Guinea’s Alba condensate for delivery in July and early August through two separate tenders, traders said. Pertamina typically purchases Australian North West Shelf condensate cargoes for the TPPI splitter. The 100,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) TPPI splitter in Tuban, East Java, typically processes condensate, a light oil that is typically produced in association with natural gas and is sought for its large yield of fuels such as naphtha and gasoline. Record crude oil volumes exported from the United States will be heading to Asia as U.S. production hit all-time highs, depressing U.S. prices to a wide discount against Brent crude futures. The majority of crude oil contracts for cargoes originating from Southeast Asia are priced off of benchmark Brent crude. Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Tom Hogue  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-12T08:18:00.000+03:00|Iran warns N.Korea: Trump could cancel deal before getting home|LONDON (Reuters) - Iran warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday against trusting U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he could cancel their denuclearisation agreement within hours. People watch a TV news report about the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Kwak Sung-Kyung/Files Tehran cited its own experience in offering the advice to Kim a month after Washington withdrew from a similar deal with Iran. Trump and Kim pledged at a meeting in Singapore on Tuesday to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula while Washington committed to provide security guarantees for its old enemy. “We don’t know what type of person the North Korean leader is negotiating with. It is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning home,” Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht was Quote: d as saying by IRNA new agency. Nobakht questioned Trump’s credibility. “This man does not represent the American people, and they will surely distance themselves from him at the next elections,” he said. As well as pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Trump disowned on Saturday a joint communique issued by Group of Seven leaders, just hours after he had left their summit for the meeting with Kim. Israel, which has hailed Trump’s tough line on Iran, praised his summit with Kim. “This is an important step in the effort to strip the Korean peninsula of nuclear weaponry,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “President Trump is also taking a firm stance against Iran’s attempt to obtain nuclear weaponry, as well as its belligerence in the Middle East.” Israel is believed to have the region’s sole atomic arsenal. Trump has said would be open to striking a new nuclear accord with Tehran. However, he says the existing deal negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama had failed to address Iran’s ballistic missile programme. On top of this, he also cited the terms under which international inspectors can visit suspect Iranian nuclear sites and “sunset” clauses, under which limits on the nuclear programme start to expire after 10 years. Trump has insisted any deal with North Korea should include irreversible and verifiable denuclearisation. Washington will reimpose a wide array of Iran-related sanctions after the expiry of 90- and 180-day wind-down periods, including measures aimed at the oil sector and transactions with its central bank. Other remaining signatories of the deal - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia- have criticised the U.S. exit and are still trying to salvage the accord. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and David Stamp  |https://in.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-12T09:33:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: EU set to investigate Deutsche Telekom, Tele2's Dutch deal - sources|BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom is set to face a four-month investigation by EU antitrust regulators into its bid to buy the Dutch business of Swedish peer Tele2, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A Deutsche Telekom logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo The move by the European Commission underscores its hard line against telecoms deals in markets where the number of players would be reduced from four to three and there are fears of consumers being hit with higher bills. Stiff opposition from the EU competition enforcer scuppered a plan by TeliaSonera and Telenor to merge their businesses in Denmark in 2015. A year later, it blocked CK Hutchison Holdings’ bid to merge its Three UK subsidiary with Telefonica’s O2 UK, but then allowed Hutchison to combine its Italian mobile network unit with that of Vimpelcom after securing hefty concessions. Telecoms operators have urged the Commission to take a broader view of the industry and not focus only on the number of telecoms operators in a market, while regulators say a softer line may be justified by cross-border mergers. Deutsche Telekom wants to buy Tele2’s Dutch assets and combine them with its T-Mobile Nederland, enabling it to better compete with local rivals KPN and Ziggo. T-Mobile Nederland and Tele2 are the third and fourth biggest players in the Netherlands, a market dominated by KPN and Ziggo. KPN had a 43 percent share of the Dutch market at the end of 2017, Ziggo 30.5 percent and T-Mobile Nederland 21 percent, while Tele2’s share was negligible. The Commission, whose preliminary review of the deal is scheduled to finish on June 12, declined to comment. Tele2 said it was waiting for the EU announcement, while T-Mobile Nederland did not respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm, additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Nadine Schimroszik in Berlin; Editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T09:45:00.000+03:00|Qatar's Nakilat, Excelerate sign deal on JV, FSRU stake|DUBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - Qatar Gas Transport Company (NAKILAT) said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with U.S. firm Excelerate Energy to form a joint-venture company and acquire a 55 percent interest in a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU). “This acquisition is pivotal to the state of Qatar, as this is the first FSRU co-owned by a Qatari company, which paves the way for Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) to expand its outreach to developing and emerging markets,” Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed al-Sada said in a statement. “This will enable Nakilat to widen its international outreach and thus, secure its industry-leading position in the dynamic and competitive LNG market.” (Reporting by Maha El Dahan; writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by Jason Neely)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-12T10:13:00.000+03:00|Shanghai stocks end higher as Trump, Kim sign 'comprehensive' deal at summit|* Shanghai stocks close higher, blue-chip CSI300 index up * Gains in Shanghai stocks led by Xiamen XGMA Machinery Co Ltd and losses by Henan Rebecca Hair Products Co Ltd * China’s A-shares are at a 17.32 percent premium over H-shares SHANGHAI, June 12 (Reuters) - Shanghai stocks recovered from early losses to end higher on Tuesday, as sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a ‘comprehensive’ deal aimed at the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 1.2 percent higher at 3,825.95 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.9 percent at 3,079.80 points, snapping a three-session losing streak. ** There were no immediate details on the contents of the document, but Donald Trump said he expected the denuclearisation process to start “very, very quickly”. ** Sectors rallied across the board, led by consumer and healthcare firms. Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery rose 6.4 percent to a record high, while the world’s most valuable liquor maker Kweichow Moutai also closed at a fresh peak. ** However, caution still prevailed, with more than a dozen of stocks plunging to their lower limit of 10 percent, as investors worried about liquidity conditions amid credit risks and more listings by technology giants that could sap the already-tight funding. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.16 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.33 percent. ** At 0701 GMT, the yuan was Quote: d at 6.4023 per U.S. dollar, 0.04 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.4047. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Xiamen XGMA Machinery Co Ltd, which ended up 10.12 percent, followed by Shanghai Laiyifen Co Ltd , which closed 10.02 percent higher and Chongqing Wanli New Energy Co Ltd, which ended 10.02 percent firmer. ** The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Henan Rebecca Hair Products Co Ltd, which closed down 10 percent, followed by Changyuan Group Ltd, which ended 9.99 percent lower and Guizhou Salvage Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, which closed down 9.9 percent. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 6.9 percent, the CSI300 dropped 5.1 percent, while China’s H-share index listed in Hong Kong rose 4.6 percent. Shanghai stocks have declined 0.48 percent this month. ** About 11.33 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 85.7 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 13.22 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 10.86 billion shares. ** As of 0702 GMT, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 17.32 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-12T10:31:00.000+03:00|Greece, Macedonia close to deal on name dispute: Greek government sources|ATHENS/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have reached an historic accord to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name that has troubled relations between the two neighbors for decades. Under the deal, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said his country would officially be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. It is currently known formally at the United Nations under the interim name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Zaev said the deal would open the way for the tiny Balkan nation’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, currently blocked by Greece’s objections to its use of the name Macedonia. Athens say that name implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name. “There is no way back,” Zaev told a news conference after speaking with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras by telephone. A meeting of the two soon may seal the deal, he said. “Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honorable and geographically precise - Republic of Northern Macedonia.” “By solving the name question, we are becoming a member of NATO,” Zaev added. The accord still requires ratification by the two national parliaments and a referendum in Macedonia, a tough test for the leaders in both countries. Related Coverage Greek PM says Macedonia's name change will be universal Macedonian PM Zaev confirms 'historic' name deal reached with Greece “Today is a hard day for the Republic of Macedonia. We just saw a press conference where the defeat is shown as a fake victory,” Hristijan Mickoski, president of opposition party VMRO-DPMNE said. Skopje also needs to revise its constitution, Tsipras said, before Greece ratifies the deal. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbors at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. “HISTORIC GRAVITY” Many Greeks felt their northern neighbor was trying to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Macedonia is the birthplace of Alexander the Great. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses the nation from his office in Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS “Maybe what has the most historic gravity and value for Greece (is that) according to this accord... our northern neighbors don’t have, and cannot assert, any link to the ancient Greek culture of Macedonia,” Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday evening. But Greeks seem cool to any deal involving the continued use of the name “Macedonia” by their northern neighbor. Most opposition parties have criticized Tsipras’s tactics, and even his coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks, have said they will not back an accord that allows the continued use of “Macedonia”. However, Greece’s leftist leader is still likely to win support from centre-left parties. “We want to be part of a solution,” said an official at the opposition Socialist Party. Athens and Skopje have been racing to agree the outline of a settlement before an EU summit in late June. A NATO summit is scheduled for mid-July. “This historic agreement is testament to many years of patient diplomacy and to the willingness of these two leaders to solve a dispute which has affected the region for too long,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO. Bulgaria, holder of the EU’s rotating six-month presidency said the deal paved the way for accession talks. Bulgaria, which also shares a border with Greece and Macedonia, said the new name should not be used for territorial or claims concerning language, culture, history or identity. Slideshow (10 Images) Veteran United Nations diplomat Matthew Nimetz, who has been a mediator in the name dispute since 1994, hailed the “leadership, vision and determination” of the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, who have negotiated for months. “I am encouraged by the dedication of both governments to deliver mutual benefits for all their citizens through the establishment of a strategic partnership as a basis for intensified cooperation across all sectors,” he said in a statement. Additional reporting by Michelle Nicols in New York, Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg  |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-12T10:56:00.000+03:00|Chinese regulator approves launch of corn, cotton options: exchanges|BEIJING (Reuters) - China has approved the launch of corn and cotton options, two of the country’s commodity exchanges said, as it expands the range of tools available to hedge against price-swings in agricultural markets. China launched soymeal and sugar options earlier this year, the first agricultural derivatives products in the world’s biggest commodity market. It is not clear when the new products will be launched, but approval by the China Securities Regulatory Commission is a first step to making them available for trading. “This will ... provide more abundant and flexible risk management tools and trading strategies for upstream and downstream entities in corn and related industries,” the Dalian Commodity Exchange said in an emailed statement. Options give the holder the right to buy or sell a commodity at a particular strike price and are widely used in Europe and the United States by investors across commodities. China is the world’s second-largest consumer of corn, and corn futures on Dalian are the country’s second-largest agricultural product derivative market by volume. The bourse added that hedging needs have increased following recent policy reforms that have seen Beijing abandon state stockpiling of the grain and allow the market to play a bigger role. The news comes amid heightened volatility in cotton futures, which have rallied 18 percent from early April to the end of May, fueled in part by worries over crop damage from strong rains, as well as by heavy speculation. Options will help medium- and smaller-sized traders and processors of cotton, which face high costs and have low capabilities for handling risk, the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange said in a statement. Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Joseph Radford  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180611.html|0
2018-06-12T12:00:00.000+03:00|Greece, Macedonia close to deal on name dispute - Greek government sources|ATHENS/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have reached an historic accord to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name that has troubled relations between the two neighbours for decades. Tourists take pictures in front of a statue of Alexander the Great in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis Under the deal, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said his country would officially be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. It is currently known formally at the United Nations under the interim name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Zaev said the deal would open the way for the tiny Balkan nation’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, currently blocked by Greece’s objections to its use of the name Macedonia. Athens say that name implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name. “There is no way back,” Zaev told a news conference after speaking with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras by telephone. A meeting of the two soon may seal the deal, he said. “Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honourable and geographically precise - Republic of Northern Macedonia.” “By solving the name question, we are becoming a member of NATO,” Zaev added. The accord still requires ratification by the two national parliaments and a referendum in Macedonia. Skopje also needs to revise its constitution, Tsipras said, before Greece ratifies the deal. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbours at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras leaves the Presidential Palace following his meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis “HISTORIC GRAVITY” Many Greeks felt their northern neighbour was trying to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Macedonia is the birthplace of Alexander the Great. “Maybe what has the most historic gravity and value for Greece (is that) according to this accord... our northern neighbours don’t have, and cannot assert, any link to the ancient Greek culture of Macedonia,” Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday evening. But Greeks seem cool to any deal involving the continued use of the name “Macedonia” by their northern neighbour. Most opposition parties have criticised Tsipras’s tactics, and even his coalition partner, the right-leaning Independent Greeks, have said they will not back an accord that allows the continued use of “Macedonia”. But the leftist leader is still likely to win support from centre-left parties. “We want to be part of a solution,” said an official at the opposition Socialist Party. Athens and Skopje have been racing to agree the outline of a settlement before an EU summit in late June. A NATO summit is scheduled for mid-July. Slideshow (2 Images) Veteran United Nations diplomat Matthew Nimetz, who has been a mediator in the name dispute since 1994, hailed the “leadership, vision and determination” of the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, who have negotiated for months. “I am encouraged by the dedication of both governments to deliver mutual benefits for all their citizens through the establishment of a strategic partnership as a basis for intensified cooperation across all sectors,” he said in a statement. Additional reporting by Michelle Nicols in New York; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-12T12:47:00.000+03:00|OMV seeks talks with Norway to secure Gazprom deal approval|VIENNA (Reuters) - OMV will seek talks with Norway about the Austrian energy group’s planned asset swap deal with Gazprom in order to address Oslo’s concerns, the chief executive said. Chief executive of Austrian energy group OMV Rainer Seele poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kirsti Knolle In 2016, OMV agreed to swap 38.5 percent of its Norway assets for 24.98 percent of the Russian company’s Urengoy gas field. But Norway’s energy minister, Terje Soeviknes, said in May this year he was concerned the deal would give Gazprom access to the Norwegian continental shelf. “We now have to hold tri-partite discussions and talk to the minister,” Chief Executive Rainer Seele told Reuters on Tuesday. Talks would take place in mid-July at the earliest, he said in an interview. “I do not even want to think about setting up a date during the World Cup,” the 57-year-old German added. OMV and Gazprom remained committed to the deal, he said when asked whether an outright purchase of Gazprom’s assets, as suggested by sources, was also an option. “Should any obstacles arise in the talks with the ministry, then we must discuss with Gazprom how to deal with it,” he said. Russia is a core region for OMV as production is cheap and transport pipelines to Austria are in place. OMV bought about a quarter of the Yuzhno Russkoye field, one of Russia’s largest gas fields, last year and is one of Gazprom’s construction partners in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Nord Stream 2, which will double Russia’s capacity to pipe gas to Europe, has been criticized by some in the European Union who say it will make the bloc too reliant on Russian gas and strengthen Gazprom’s already dominant position. Seele said the pipeline would protect European energy security against possible transatlantic interventions. He also said Russia could be relied on to keep gas flowing as it needed the revenue from European importers. “As long as Russia needs this market, we can manage that wonderfully,” he said. With more than 80 percent of necessary approvals on the route already granted, Seele said he hoped Denmark would give approval for the pipeline to be built near its coast in the summer. Regarding OMV’s work in Iran, Seele said the Austrian group planned to conclude seismic studies but would not pursue projects further, after the United States withdrew from a nuclear pact with Tehran and said it would reimpose sanctions. “Let’s face it, you cannot simply carry on in Iran,” he said. “U.S. sanctions are a much bigger risk for OMV’s business than any possible compensation that Europe ... could offer.” The European Union signatories to the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran have said they want to keep the deal in place. OMV started operations in Iran in 2001 as operator of the Mehr exploration block in the west of the country. It halted work in 2006 due to sanctions, but signed several agreements for new projects when the 2015 deal was reached. The OMV logo is seen at a gas station in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-12T12:49:00.000+03:00|Shanghai Futures Exchange gets approval to launch TSR 20 rubber futures|BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) said on Tuesday that China’s securities regulator had approved the launch of technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures on the exchange. The contract will have the same trading policies as Shanghai’s crude oil futures, meaning foreign investors will be allowed to trade, ShFE said in a statement, although no launch date for the rubber futures was given. (Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Stephen Coates)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T13:01:00.000+03:00|Small fry: Faroe Islands seek fish export pledge with Russia trade deal|COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Faroe Islands are targeting a free trade deal with Moscow next year to cement their place as Russia’ biggest foreign supplier of fish, a minister said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A salmon fish farm operates in a bay near the town of Vagur on Sururoy island October 17, 2007. REUTERS/Bob Strong With a population of only 50,000, the tiny group of windswept rocky islands in the North Atlantic became the No.1 exporter of fish to Russia last year, according to data from the country’s customs agency. They supplanted Norway following the tit-for-tat sanctions with the West that followed Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The boom in exports to Russia began in 2013, when the European Union in turn imposed sanctions on the Faroe Islands in a dispute over fishing quotas. “(That) created major difficulties for our economy. This was when Russia came to the rescue and greatly increased purchases with us,” Foreign and Trade Minister Poul Michelsen told Reuters in an interview. Driven by exports of farmed salmon, the Faroese economy has flourished in recent years, growing nearly 7 percent in 2016. Michelsen said he aimed to sign a final free trade agreement in 2019 with Russia and the remaining countries in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). “Thereby our exports of fish to Russia which now amount to roughly 2.4 billion Danish crowns ($380 million) a year would be formalized, allowing us to maintain this level for a longer period.” For graphic on Russian fish imports by country click reut.rs/2JGj3uO He aims to kick off free trade talks with EEU members Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan after signing a declaration of intent in August. Faroe Islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but have opted out of joining the EU. Before the quota dispute, as much as 80 percent of their fish exports went to the bloc. Now just 43 percent go there, while 29 percent go to Russia, “We were wrong to trust the EU. So now we’re pursuing a strategy not to put all our eggs in one basket and become less vulnerable by distributing exports to several countries,” Michelsen said. There was no immediate comment from the trade ministry in Russia, where government institutions were closed on Tuesday for a public holiday. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by John Stonestreet  |https://in.reuters.com/home|0
2018-06-12T13:04:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Societe Generale, Rent-A-Center, Sportradar, Forno d’Asolo, Petros, Neste) June 12 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday: ** AT&T Inc, which owns DirecTV, awaits a court ruling on Tuesday that will determine if it can buy Time Warner Inc , a decision that could prompt a cascade of pay TV companies buying television and movie makers and the first big test of the Trump administration’s antitrust teams. ** Deutsche Telekom is set to face a four-month investigation by EU antitrust regulators into its bid to buy the Dutch business of Swedish peer Tele2, two people familiar with the matter said. ** French bank Societe Generale is exploring a sale of its Polish unit Eurobank, which is facing rising pressure from competitors, two investment bankers in Warsaw said. ** Switzerland’s Swiss Re is set to acquire a 13.81 percent stake in Kenyan insurer Britam Holdings from an individual shareholder, both firms said. ** LaSalle Hotel Properties’ third-biggest shareholder, HG Vora Capital Management, said that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust’s revised offer for the U.S. hotel owner was superior to Blackstone’s $3.7 billion bid. ** Buyout firm Vintage Capital Management sweetened its offer for Rent-A-Center Inc to $14 per share in cash, a day after the retailer ended its sale process saying it had not received a satisfactory takeover offer. ** California’s utilities regulator has told SJW Group it must seek approval for its proposed merger with Connecticut Water Service Inc, according to a document provided by the regulator to Reuters, a move that creates a potentially significant impediment to the deal. ** Qatar Gas Transport Company said it had signed an agreement with U.S. firm Excelerate Energy to form a joint-venture company and acquire a 55 percent interest in a floating storage regasification unit. ** KKR and Blackstone have been picked for a second round of bidding for Sportradar, as investor EQT looks to sell a minority stake that could value the Swiss sports data group at more than 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion), sources said. ** The Finnish government’s investment arm, Solidium, said it had sold a small stake in pulp and paper maker Stora Enso to raise funds for new investments. ** A unit of Beijing’s Tsinghua University said it would buy aluminum smelter Tianshan Aluminium for an estimated 23.6 billion yuan ($3.7 billion), in what analysts say is a way for the smelter to become a publicly traded entity. ** Private equity firm BC Partners has bought Italy’s Forno d’Asolo in a deal that implies an enterprise value for the pastry company of around 300 million euros ($353 million), one source close to the transaction said. ** Brazilian pension fund Petros expects to sell part of its stake in mining company Vale SA this year, Chief Executive Officer Walter Mendes said, an indication that Vale’s main shareholders may sell their stakes separately. ** Finland on Tuesday said it would sell 12.8 million shares in oil refiner Neste, representing about 5 percent of the company. Compiled by Nivedita Balu and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-12T13:04:00.000+03:00|Russia ready to help implement North Korea deal - agencies|June 12, 2018 / 10:08 AM / Updated 13 minutes ago Russia ready to help implement North Korea deal - agencies Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has a positive assessment of the deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but “the devil is in the detail”, TASS news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walk during their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore June 12, 2018. Anthony Wallace/Pool via Reuters “Now we can only welcome the fact that an important step forward has been made. Of course the devil is in the detail, and we have yet to delve into specifics. But the impulse, as far as we understand, has been given,” Ryabkov said. Russia is ready to assist in implementing the deal - to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula - and hopes settling the nuclear crisis will unblock normal economic cooperation, RIA news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. He also said Moscow hoped that six-party talks - a negotiation format involving the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China - will at some point become relevant again, according to TASS. Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Alison Williams|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-12T13:45:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - EU set to probe deeper into D. Telekom, Tele2's Dutch deal - sources|June 12, 2018 / 10:47 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago Exclusive: EU set to probe deeper into Deutsche Telekom, Tele2's Dutch deal - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will likely open an in-depth investigation into Deutsche Telekom’s bid to buy the Dutch business of Swedish peer Tele2, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Telekom logo is seen during preparations at the CeBit computer fair in Hanover, Germany, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo The move by the European Commission underscores once again its concerns on telecoms deals where the number of players are reduced from four to three. Deutsche Telekom wants to buy Tele2’s Dutch assets and combine them with its T-Mobile Nederland, enabling it to better compete with rivals KPN and Ziggo. T-Mobile Nederland and Tele2 are placed third and fourth in the Netherlands, a market dominated by KPN and Ziggo. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-12T13:58:00.000+03:00|China's Tsinghua University to buy aluminium smelter for $3.7 bln|BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - A unit of Beijing’s Tsinghua University on Tuesday said it would buy aluminium smelter Xinjiang Tianshan for an estimated 23.6 billion yuan ($3.69 billion), in the second major deal in China’s aluminium industry in just over two weeks. Xiamen Unigroup Xue Co Ltd, a Shenzhen-listed education services provider controlled by Tsinghua, said in a statement it would pay in cash and shares to acquire 100 percent of Tianshan over an unspecified time frame, with the final price undetermined. It did not detail reasons behind the acquisition. “Right now the overall plan is still being discussed,” a Unigroup official told Reuters by phone on condition of anonymity as details were still private. “After the plan is finalised, it will be handed over to the board of directors.” State-run Tsinghua, which counts President Xi Jinping among its alumni, has interests in a number of companies, notably in the science and technology sector, via Tsinghua Holding Co Ltd . Its latest acquisition comes in an industry which, in May, saw state-owned Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) enter a cooperation deal with Yunnan Metallurgical Group Co Ltd . Xiamen Unigroup, whose shares are currently suspended from trade pending asset restructuring, said in May it planned to buy an aluminium firm in Xinjiang, without disclosing the target or deal value. Tianshan has annual aluminium smelting capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, according to Zhang Rufeng, a manager at consultancy Baiinfo. In agreeing to the transaction, it is likely aiming for a “backdoor listing” - making the company publicly tradable via Xiamen Unigroup - Zhang said. Neither Unigroup nor Tianshan responded to emailed requests for comment. ($1 = 6.4037 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Tom Daly  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T14:04:00.000+03:00|China's Tsinghua University unit to buy aluminum firm for $3.7 billion|BEIJING (Reuters) - A unit of Beijing’s Tsinghua University on Tuesday said it would buy aluminum smelter Tianshan Aluminum for an estimated 23.6 billion yuan ($3.7 billion), in what analysts say is a way for the smelter to become a publicly traded entity. Xiamen Unigroup Xue Co Ltd ( 000526.SZ ), a Shenzhen-listed education services provider controlled by Tsinghua, said in a statement that it would pay in cash and shares to acquire 100 percent of Xinjiang-based Tianshan over an unspecified time frame, with the final price undetermined. It did not detail reasons behind the acquisition. “Right now the overall plan is still being discussed,” a Unigroup official told Reuters by phone on condition of anonymity as details were still private. “After the plan is finalised, it will be handed over to the board of directors.” State-run Tsinghua, which counts President Xi Jinping among its alumni, has interests in a number of companies, including a 1.5 percent stake in Chinese aluminum products distributor Ningbo Fubang Jingye ( 600768.SS ), held via Tsinghua Unigroup. Xiamen Unigroup’s acquisition comes in an industry that in May saw state-owned Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) [ALUMI.UL] enter a cooperation deal with Yunnan Metallurgical Group Co Ltd. Xiamen Unigroup, whose shares are currently suspended from trade pending asset restructuring, said in May it planned to buy an aluminum firm in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, without disclosing the target or deal value. Tianshan has annual aluminum smelting capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, according to Zhang Rufeng, a manager at commodities consultancy Baiinfo. In agreeing to the transaction, it is likely aiming for a “backdoor listing” to make the company publicly tradable via Xiamen Unigroup’s listing, Zhang said. An official at Tianshan declined to comment, while Unigroup did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Tom Hogue  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-12T14:18:00.000+03:00|Vietnam says will deal with 'extremists' behind protest clashes|"HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s government vowed on Tuesday to punish “extremists” it said had instigated rare clashes with police at the weekend when a nationwide protest over new economic zones for foreigners spiralled into chaos in one central province. Protesters hold a banner which reads ""No Leasing Land to China even for Anytime"" during a demonstration against a draft law on the Special Economic Zone in Hanoi, Vietnam June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Staff The Ministry of Public Security is investigating what led to protesters hurling bricks and Molotov cocktails at police and damaging some government buildings in Binh Thuan province, where anti-Chinese sentiment boiled over. The protests, by thousands of people in several cities, were fuelled by concerns that a draft law to develop economic zones offering land leases of up to 99 years would be dominated by investors from China, a neighbour with which Vietnam has a rocky history. Police arrested 100 people on Monday night after detaining 102 people a day earlier, although it was unclear how many had since been released. In its evening news bulletin on Tuesday, broadcaster VTV said 80 people were being held. Vietnamese officials have blamed “reactionary groups” for orchestrating the violence. The police-run Ministry of Public Security said “extremists” had injured dozens of policemen, damaged government offices and torched police vehicles. Those who had incited people to vandalize and cause disorder would be dealt with strictly, the government said in a statement. State media reported on Tuesday that tensions in Binh Thuan province had subsided. “We should not let bad people take advantage of us,” Ho Trung Phuoc, head of the provincial propaganda department, was Quote: d as saying. “And if we truly love our country, we should love it by protecting social order in our hometown, protecting our peaceful life, our friendly environment and somehow maintain a beautiful image of Vietnam,” he added. Though the authorities often tolerate protests, rallies against China’s perceived aggression and infringements upon Vietnamese sovereignty are a challenge for the government, which is keen to avoid angering a neighbour with growing military, political and economic clout. In the capital Hanoi on Sunday, police detained more than a dozen protesters during a march where some held anti-Chinese banners, including one that said: “No leasing land to China even for one day”. The economic zone plan did not single out China, but the prospect of Chinese firms boosting their presence has created unease in Vietnam, which in recent years has received tens of billions of dollars of investment from South Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Singaporean firms, among others. The National Assembly was due to pass the legislation for the economic zones later this week but decided to delay the vote until its next meeting in October. Police disperse a demonstration against a draft law on the Special Economic Zone in Hanoi, Vietnam June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Staff Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty and Darren Schuettler  "|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-12T14:29:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: EU set to investigate Deutsche Telekom, Tele2's Dutch deal - sources|BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom faces a four-month investigation into its bid to buy the Dutch business of Swedish peer Tele2 after EU antitrust regulators voiced concerns about the deal. FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Telekom logo is seen during preparations at the CeBit computer fair in Hanover, Germany, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo The European Commission’s investigation, which began on Tuesday, underscores its hard line against telecoms deals which reduce the number of players in a market from four to three and could hit consumers with higher bills. “We are opening this in-depth investigation to ensure, that the proposed transaction between T-Mobile NL and Tele2 NL will not lead to higher prices or less choice in mobile services for Dutch consumers,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. Her decision to delve deeper into the deal confirmed a Reuters story earlier on Tuesday. The EU competition authority will decide by Oct. 17 whether to clear or block the deal, depending on whether Deutsche Telekom and Tele2 offer concessions. Tele2 said the lengthy investigation was expected and reiterated its goal of closing the deal in the second half of the year. Vestager scuppered a plan by Telia Company and Telenor to merge their businesses in Denmark in 2015, saying they had failed to allay her concerns about the reduced number of players in her home country after the deal. A year later, she blocked CK Hutchison Holdings’ bid to merge its Three UK subsidiary with Telefonica’s O2 UK, but then allowed Hutchison to combine its Italian mobile network unit with that of Vimpelcom after securing hefty concessions. Telecoms operators have long urged the Commission to take a broader view of the industry and not focus only on the number of telecoms operators in a market, while regulators say a softer line may be justified in the case of cross-border mergers. Deutsche Telekom wants to buy Tele2’s Dutch assets and combine them with its T-Mobile Nederland so it can offer so-called fixed-to-mobile convergence packages, allowing for transmission of data, voice and video to devices at home or on the go and better compete with KPN and Ziggo. T-Mobile Nederland and Tele2 are the third and fourth biggest players in the Netherlands, a market dominated by KPN which had a 43 percent share of the market at the end of 2017, followed by Ziggo with 30.5 percent. T-Mobile Nederland was a distant third at 21 percent while Tele2’s share was negligible. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm; additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Nadine Schimroszik in Berlin and Daniel Dickson in Stockholm; Editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek/Mark Potter/Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-12T14:41:00.000+03:00|Qatar's Nakilat, Excelerate sign deal on JV, FSRU stake|DUBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - Qatar Gas Transport Company (NAKILAT) said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with U.S. firm Excelerate Energy to form a joint-venture company and acquire a 55 percent interest in a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU). “This acquisition is pivotal to the state of Qatar, as this is the first FSRU co-owned by a Qatari company, which paves the way for Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) to expand its outreach to developing and emerging markets,” Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed al-Sada said in a statement. “This will enable Nakilat to widen its international outreach and thus, secure its industry-leading position in the dynamic and competitive LNG market.” (Reporting by Maha El Dahan; writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by Jason Neely)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-12T14:43:00.000+03:00|BC Partners buys Italy's Forno d'Asolo in deal valuing group at 300 mln euros-source|MILAN, June 12 (Reuters) - Private equity firm BC Partners has bought Italy’s Forno d’Asolo in a deal that implies an enterprise value for the pastry company of around 300 million euros ($353 million), one source close to the transaction said on Tuesday. BC Partners said in a statement earlier on Tuesday it had acquired the food group from 21 Partners, the investment fund of Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Benetton. Forno d’Asolo, which makes frozen pastry and bakery products, is expected to report core profits of 25 million euros for this year. Rothschild and Mediobanca acted as financial advisers for 21 Partners, while Intesa Sanpaolo assisted BC Partners in the acquisition. ($1 = 0.8488 euros) (Reporting by Francesca Landini; editing by Agnieszka Flak)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-12T14:48:00.000+03:00|Greece and Macedonia say close to deal to resolve dispute over country name|June 12, 2018 / 11:51 AM / Updated 4 hours ago 'We have a deal,' say Greece and Macedonia over name dispute Renee Maltezou , Kole Casule 4 Min Read ATHENS/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have reached an historic accord to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name that has troubled relations between the two neighbours for decades. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras leaves the Presidential Palace following his meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Under the deal, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said his country would officially be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. It is currently known formally at the United Nations under the interim name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Zaev said the deal would open the way for the tiny Balkan nation’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, currently blocked by Greece’s objections to its use of the name Macedonia. Athens say that name implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name. “There is no way back,” Zaev told a news conference after speaking with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras by telephone. A meeting of the two soon may seal the deal, he said. “Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honourable and geographically precise - Republic of Northern Macedonia.” Related Coverage Greece says agreed to recognise Macedonia as 'Republic of North Macedonia' “By solving the name question, we are becoming a member of NATO,” Zaev added. The accord still requires ratification by the two national parliaments and a referendum in Macedonia, a tough test for the leaders in both countries. “Today is a hard day for the Republic of Macedonia. We just saw a press conference where the defeat is shown as a fake victory,” Hristijan Mickoski, president of opposition party VMRO-DPMNE said. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras leaves the Presidential Palace following his meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Skopje also needs to revise its constitution, Tsipras said, before Greece ratifies the deal. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbours at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. “HISTORIC GRAVITY” Many Greeks felt their northern neighbour was trying to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Macedonia is the birthplace of Alexander the Great. “Maybe what has the most historic gravity and value for Greece (is that) according to this accord... our northern neighbours don’t have, and cannot assert, any link to the ancient Greek culture of Macedonia,” Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday evening. Slideshow (3 Images) But Greeks seem cool to any deal involving the continued use of the name “Macedonia” by their northern neighbour. Most opposition parties have criticised Tsipras’s tactics, and even his coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks, have said they will not back an accord that allows the continued use of “Macedonia”. However, Greece’s leftist leader is still likely to win support from centre-left parties. “We want to be part of a solution,” said an official at the opposition Socialist Party. Athens and Skopje have been racing to agree the outline of a settlement before an EU summit in late June. A NATO summit is scheduled for mid-July. “This historic agreement is testament to many years of patient diplomacy and to the willingness of these two leaders to solve a dispute which has affected the region for too long,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO. Bulgaria, holder of the EU’s rotating six-month presidency said the deal paved the way for accession talks. Bulgaria, which also shares a border with Greece and Macedonia, said the new name should not be used for territorial or claims concerning language, culture, history or identity. Veteran United Nations diplomat Matthew Nimetz, who has been a mediator in the name dispute since 1994, hailed the “leadership, vision and determination” of the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, who have negotiated for months. “I am encouraged by the dedication of both governments to deliver mutual benefits for all their citizens through the establishment of a strategic partnership as a basis for intensified cooperation across all sectors,” he said in a statement. Additional reporting by Michelle Nicols in New York, Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-12T14:48:00.000+03:00|Greece and Macedonia say close to deal to resolve dispute over country name|June 12, 2018 / 11:52 AM / Updated 2 hours ago 'We have a deal,' say Greece and Macedonia over name dispute Renee Maltezou, Kole Casule 4 Min Read ATHENS/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have reached an historic accord to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name that has troubled relations between the two neighbours for decades. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras leaves the Presidential Palace following his meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Under the deal, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said his country would officially be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. It is currently known formally at the United Nations under the interim name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Zaev said the deal would open the way for the tiny Balkan nation’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, currently blocked by Greece’s objections to its use of the name Macedonia. Athens say that name implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name. “There is no way back,” Zaev told a news conference after speaking with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras by telephone. A meeting of the two soon may seal the deal, he said. “Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honourable and geographically precise - Republic of Northern Macedonia.” “By solving the name question, we are becoming a member of NATO,” Zaev added. The accord still requires ratification by the two national parliaments and a referendum in Macedonia, a tough test for the leaders in both countries. Related Coverage “Today is a hard day for the Republic of Macedonia. We just saw a press conference where the defeat is shown as a fake victory,” Hristijan Mickoski, president of opposition party VMRO-DPMNE said. Skopje also needs to revise its constitution, Tsipras said, before Greece ratifies the deal. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbours at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. “HISTORIC GRAVITY” Many Greeks felt their northern neighbour was trying to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Macedonia is the birthplace of Alexander the Great. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras leaves the Presidential Palace following his meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis “Maybe what has the most historic gravity and value for Greece (is that) according to this accord... our northern neighbours don’t have, and cannot assert, any link to the ancient Greek culture of Macedonia,” Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday evening. But Greeks seem cool to any deal involving the continued use of the name “Macedonia” by their northern neighbour. Most opposition parties have criticised Tsipras’s tactics, and even his coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks, have said they will not back an accord that allows the continued use of “Macedonia”. However, Greece’s leftist leader is still likely to win support from centre-left parties. “We want to be part of a solution,” said an official at the opposition Socialist Party. Athens and Skopje have been racing to agree the outline of a settlement before an EU summit in late June. A NATO summit is scheduled for mid-July. “This historic agreement is testament to many years of patient diplomacy and to the willingness of these two leaders to solve a dispute which has affected the region for too long,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO. Bulgaria, holder of the EU’s rotating six-month presidency said the deal paved the way for accession talks. Bulgaria, which also shares a border with Greece and Macedonia, said the new name should not be used for territorial or claims concerning language, culture, history or identity. Slideshow (3 Images) Veteran United Nations diplomat Matthew Nimetz, who has been a mediator in the name dispute since 1994, hailed the “leadership, vision and determination” of the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, who have negotiated for months. “I am encouraged by the dedication of both governments to deliver mutual benefits for all their citizens through the establishment of a strategic partnership as a basis for intensified cooperation across all sectors,” he said in a statement. Additional reporting by Michelle Nicols in New York, Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-12T14:51:00.000+03:00|Finland's Solidium sells shares in Stora Enso|HELSINKI, June 12 (Reuters) - The Finnish government’s investment arm, Solidium, said on Tuesday it had sold a small stake in pulp and paper maker Stora Enso to raise funds for new investments. Solidium sold 14 million Stora’s more heavily traded ‘R’ shares, a stake of 1.8 percent, for 246 million euros ($289.47 million), trimming its stake to 10.7 percent. But it also bought 1.4 million ‘A’ shares in the company to keep its voting rights unchanged at 27.3 percent. ‘A’ shares have ten times the voting rights of ‘R’ shares. The price per ‘R’ share was 17.60 euros, compared to the stock’s closing price of 18.10 euros on Monday. “The stock has performed pretty well lately... But by buying the ‘A’ share we show our commitment to the company,” Solidium CEO Antti Makinen told Reuters. The price of the ‘R’ share has increased about 50 percent in the past 12 months. ($1 = 0.8498 euros) (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Simon Johnson)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T14:55:00.000+03:00|Chinese vase found in shoebox sells for $19 million|June 12, 2018 / 11:58 AM / 2 days ago Chinese vase found in shoebox sells for $19 million Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - An 18th century Chinese vase found in a shoebox in an attic in France sold for 16.2 million euros ($19 million) at auction in Paris on Tuesday. The price was more than 20 times the estimate of 500,000 euros to 700,000 euros auctioneers Sotheby’s had put on the item. It was the highest price reached for a single item sold by Sotheby’s in France. The vase spent some of its life stashed in an attic with other items that formed part of an inheritance. A French family retrieved the vase and brought it to the auctioneer. “This person (the seller) took the train, then the metro and walked on foot through the doors of Sotheby’s and into my office with the vase in a shoebox protected by newspaper,” Sotheby’s Asian arts expert Olivier Valmier told Reuters. “When she put the box on my desk and we opened it we were all stunned by the beauty of the piece.” The 30 cm, bulb-shaped vase, painted in delicate shades of green, blue, yellow and purple, was described as an exceptionally well-preserved porcelain vessel made for an emperor of the Qing dynasty. It depicts deer, birds and other animals in a wood, and includes gold embroidery around the neck. The vase bears a mark of the Qianlong Emperor who ruled China from 1736 to 1796.A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said: “They knew it had some value but nothing like that, nor that it was from the Qian dynasty.” The auction lasted some 20 minutes, a long time by usual standards for such sales, with multiple bidders battling for the prize. The buyer was Asian but the firm did not wish to reveal the name or nationality. The 16.2 million euros ($19.11 million) sale price included 2 million euros in auction costs and commissions. Reporting by Manuel Auslass, Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Luke Baker and Alison Williams|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/oddlyEnoughNews|0
2018-06-12T14:55:00.000+03:00|Chinese vase found in shoebox sells for $19 million|PARIS (Reuters) - An 18th century Chinese vase found in a shoebox in an attic in France sold for 16.2 million euros ($19 million) at auction in Paris on Tuesday. The price was more than 20 times the estimate of 500,000 euros to 700,000 euros auctioneers Sotheby’s had put on the item. It was the highest price reached for a single item sold by Sotheby’s in France. The vase spent some of its life stashed in an attic with other items that formed part of an inheritance. A French family retrieved the vase and brought it to the auctioneer. “This person (the seller) took the train, then the metro and walked on foot through the doors of Sotheby’s and into my office with the vase in a shoebox protected by newspaper,” Sotheby’s Asian arts expert Olivier Valmier told Reuters. “When she put the box on my desk and we opened it we were all stunned by the beauty of the piece.” The 30 cm, bulb-shaped vase, painted in delicate shades of green, blue, yellow and purple, was described as an exceptionally well-preserved porcelain vessel made for an emperor of the Qing dynasty. It depicts deer, birds and other animals in a wood, and includes gold embroidery around the neck. The vase bears a mark of the Qianlong Emperor who ruled China from 1736 to 1796.A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said: “They knew it had some value but nothing like that, nor that it was from the Qian dynasty.” The auction lasted some 20 minutes, a long time by usual standards for such sales, with multiple bidders battling for the prize. The buyer was Asian but the firm did not wish to reveal the name or nationality. The 16.2 million euros ($19.11 million) sale price included 2 million euros in auction costs and commissions. Reporting by Manuel Auslass, Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Luke Baker and Alison Williams Our |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INoddlyEnoughNews|0
2018-06-12T15:00:00.000+03:00|Chinese vase found in shoebox sells for $19 million|June 12, 2018 / 12:01 PM / 2 days ago Chinese vase found in shoebox sells for $19 million Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - An 18th century Chinese vase found in a shoebox in an attic in France sold for 16.2 million euros (£14.3 million) at auction in Paris on Tuesday. The price was more than 20 times the estimate of 500,000 euros to 700,000 euros auctioneers Sotheby’s had put on the item. It was the highest price reached for a single item sold by Sotheby’s in France. The vase spent some of its life stashed in an attic with other items that formed part of an inheritance. A French family retrieved the vase and brought it to the auctioneer. “This person (the seller) took the train, then the metro and walked on foot through the doors of Sotheby’s and into my office with the vase in a shoebox protected by newspaper,” Sotheby’s Asian arts expert Olivier Valmier told Reuters. “When she put the box on my desk and we opened it we were all stunned by the beauty of the piece.” The 30 cm, bulb-shaped vase, painted in delicate shades of green, blue, yellow and purple, was described as an exceptionally well-preserved porcelain vessel made for an emperor of the Qing dynasty. It depicts deer, birds and other animals in a wood, and includes gold embroidery around the neck. The vase bears a mark of the Qianlong Emperor who ruled China from 1736 to 1796.A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said: “They knew it had some value but nothing like that, nor that it was from the Qian dynasty.” The auction lasted some 20 minutes, a long time by usual standards for such sales, with multiple bidders battling for the prize. The buyer was Asian but the firm did not wish to reveal the name or nationality. The 16.2 million euros ($19.11 million) sale price included 2 million euros in auction costs and commissions. Reporting by Manuel Auslass, Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Luke Baker and Alison Williams|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-12T15:10:00.000+03:00|Vietnam says will deal with 'extremists' behind protest clashes|June 12, 2018 / 12:12 PM Vietnam says will deal with 'extremists' behind protest clashes HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s government vowed on Tuesday to punish “extremists” it said had instigated rare clashes with police at the weekend when a nationwide protest over new economic zones for foreigners spiralled into chaos in one central province. The Ministry of Public Security is investigating what led to protesters hurling bricks and Molotov cocktails at police and damaging some government buildings in Binh Thuan province, where anti-Chinese sentiment boiled over. The protests, by thousands of people in several cities, were fuelled by concerns that a draft law to develop economic zones offering land leases of up to 99 years would be dominated by investors from China, a neighbour with which Vietnam has a rocky history. Police arrested 100 people on Monday night after detaining 102 people a day earlier, although it was unclear how many had since been released. In its evening news bulletin on Tuesday, broadcaster VTV said 80 people were being held. Vietnamese officials have blamed “reactionary groups” for orchestrating the violence. The police-run Ministry of Public Security said “extremists” had injured dozens of policemen, damaged government offices and torched police vehicles. Those who had incited people to vandalize and cause disorder would be dealt with strictly, the government said in a statement. State media reported on Tuesday that tensions in Binh Thuan province had subsided. “We should not let bad people take advantage of us,” Ho Trung Phuoc, head of the provincial propaganda department, was quoted as saying. “And if we truly love our country, we should love it by protecting social order in our hometown, protecting our peaceful life, our friendly environment and somehow maintain a beautiful image of Vietnam,” he added. Though the authorities often tolerate protests, rallies against China’s perceived aggression and infringements upon Vietnamese sovereignty are a challenge for the government, which is keen to avoid angering a neighbour with growing military, political and economic clout. In the capital Hanoi on Sunday, police detained more than a dozen protesters during a march where some held anti-Chinese banners, including one that said: “No leasing land to China even for one day”. The economic zone plan did not single out China, but the prospect of Chinese firms boosting their presence has created unease in Vietnam, which in recent years has received tens of billions of dollars of investment from South Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Singaporean firms, among others. The National Assembly was due to pass the legislation for the economic zones later this week but decided to delay the vote until its next meeting in October. Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty and Darren Schuettler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-12T15:14:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Bookrunner Says Books Covered Throughout Entire Price Range On Full Deal Size Incl. Greenshoe On Klingelnberg AG IPO|June 12 (Reuters) - Bookrunner: * KLINGELNBERG AG IPO: BOOKRUNNER SAYS BOOKS ARE COVERED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PRICE RANGE ON THE FULL DEAL SIZE INCL. GREENSHOE  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T16:08:00.000+03:00|Israel's Internet Gold sells 8.8 mln shares in private placement|TEL AVIV, June 12 (Reuters) - Israel’s Internet Gold-Golden Lines said it sold 8.8 million shares via a tender offer to certain institutional and private investors and expects gross proceeds of 100 million shekels ($28 million). On Sunday the company said it was considering offers to sell part or all of its shares in B Communications, through which it controls Israel’s largest telecoms group, Bezeq . “We will continue to assess all available alternatives to increase value for our shareholders and act in the interest of our debenture holders,” Chairman Ami Barlev said. Each share was priced at 11.25 shekels. The company also issued warrants to buy 4.4 million shares at 11 shekels each. As directed by court-appointed special liquidators, Eurocom Communications, Internet Gold’s indebted controlling shareholder, also participated in the private placement and is maintaining its same holding in the company. Eurocom bought 4.8 million shares and 2.4 million warrants. Internet Gold plans to use proceeds of the private placement to support its ongoing operations and service its debt. ($1 = 3.5713 shekels) (Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T16:14:00.000+03:00|Iran’s Rouhani asks Macron for action to save nuclear deal: IRNA|PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned world powers on Tuesday that it was impossible for Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal if it cannot benefit from the accord after the U.S. withdrawal. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rouhani said he was satisfied with Europe’s stance, especially French efforts to salvage the 2015 deal, but that “such statements should be combined with actions and tangible measures”. “If Iran cannot benefit from the (nuclear) deal, then it’s practically impossible to stay in the accord,” Rouhani was Quote: d by state news agency IRNA as saying in a phone call with the French president. The pact between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran scaled back its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so, a goal it denies having. Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in May, calling the accord flawed, European signatories - France, Britain and Germany - have been scrambling to ensure Iran retains enough economic benefits to persuade it not to pull out. Macron’s office said he had told Rouhani in the same telephone call that France remained committed to the nuclear deal but Tehran needed to fully comply with its commitments. “The President of the Republic recalled the will of France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, to continue to implement the Vienna agreement in all its dimensions,” Macron’s office said. “The president informed President Rouhani of the progress in the work being done on our side. He hoped that Iran, for its part, will fulfil its obligations without any ambiguity.” Macron’s office confirmed a previously agreed ministerial meeting between all the remaining signatories of the deal, the European powers, China and Russia, would be held in the coming weeks in Vienna. French diplomatic sources said the meeting was likely to take place during the week of June 25. Reporting by John Irish and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |https://in.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-12T16:16:00.000+03:00|Brexit secretary confident government can secure deal parliament will support|June 12, 2018 / 1:16 PM / Updated an hour ago Brexit secretary confident government can secure deal parliament will support Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British Brexit minister David Davis said on Tuesday he is confident the government will secure a deal with European Union that MPs will support, speaking during a debate on laws that could give parliament more powers over the divorce process. Britain's Secretary of State for Departing the EU David Davis arrives in Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson “I am confident as ever that we will secure an agreement to which this house will want to support,” Davis said. Davis also told parliament the government cannot get a good deal with the EU if its hands are tied in negotiations by a vote that would give MPs the power to force her government to go back to the negotiating table if they reject a Brexit deal. Reporting By Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill; editing by William James|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKDomesticNews/|0
2018-06-12T17:17:00.000+03:00|Russia ready to help implement North Korea deal: agencies|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has a positive assessment of the deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but “the devil is in the detail”, TASS news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shake hands after signing documents during a summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst “Now we can only welcome the fact that an important step forward has been made. Of course the devil is in the detail, and we have yet to delve into specifics. But the impulse, as far as we understand, has been given,” Ryabkov said. Russia is ready to assist in implementing the deal - to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula - and hopes settling the nuclear crisis will unblock normal economic cooperation, RIA news agency Quote: d Ryabkov as saying. He also said Moscow hoped that six-party talks - a negotiation format involving the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China - will at some point become relevant again, according to TASS. Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Alison Williams  |https://www.reuters.com/politics|0
2018-06-12T17:36:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Shanghai Futures Exchange gets approval for new rubber futures|* Securities regulator approves TSR 20 rubber futures * Contract can help companies manage price risk - exchange * Foreign investors will be allowed to trade - ShFE (Adds details) BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) said on Tuesday the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had approved the launch of technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures on the exchange. China is the world’s top importer and consumer of TSR 20 rubber, which is mainly used to make tyres, and is already traded on the Singapore Exchange. China mostly buys the grade from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and other Southeastern Asian countries. The contract will have the same trading policies as Shanghai’s crude oil futures, which means foreign investors will be allowed to trade, ShFE said in a statement, although no launch date for the rubber futures was given. The amount of rubber Chinese companies control overseas is 2.5 times their domestic resources, according to the ShFE statement. Launching TSR 20 futures can provide price risk management for companies along the rubber industry chain, by helping them to lock in costs and stay profitable, it added. The exchange already has a rubber futures contract, on which Sinochem’s domestic SCR WF rubber brand and imported ribbed smoked sheet No. 3 (RSS3) are traded. RSS3 futures are also traded on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. The exchange is also planning to launch a new fuel oil contract as “as soon as possible”, its chairman said last month. Reporting by Tom Daly and Hallie Gu; Editing by Stephen Coates and Sherry Jacob-Phillips  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T17:37:00.000+03:00|McConnell: U.S. must restore 'maximum pressure' if North Korea does not stick to Trump deal|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he supported the goals set out in President Donald Trump’s joint statement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but said Washington must be prepared to respond if Pyongyang does not follow through. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell listens to reporters as they ask questions during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis “If North Korea does not prove willing to follow through, we and our allies must be prepared to restore the policy of maximum pressure,” McConnell said in remarks opening the Senate session. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama  |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/PoliticsNews|0
2018-06-12T17:40:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Britam Holdings Says Swiss Re To Buy 348.5 Mln Shares Of Co From Plum LLP|June 12 (Reuters) - Britam Holdings Ltd: * PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT FOR BRITAM HOLDINGS PLC ON PROPOSED SALE OF 348.5 MILLION SHARES BY PLUM LLP TO SWISS RE * UPON COMPLETION OF PROPOSED SHARE SALE, SWISS RE WILL HOLD ABOUT 13.81 PERCENT OF BRITAM’S ISSUED SHARES Further company coverage:  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-12T17:44:00.000+03:00|OMV seeks talks with Norway to secure Gazprom deal approval|June 12, 2018 / 2:46 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago OMV seeks talks with Norway to secure Gazprom deal approval Kirsti Knolle , Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich 2 Min Read VIENNA (Reuters) - OMV ( OMVV.VI ) will seek talks with Norway about the Austrian energy group’s planned asset swap deal with Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ) in order to address Oslo’s concerns, the chief executive said. Chief executive of Austrian energy group OMV Rainer Seele poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kirsti Knolle In 2016, OMV agreed to swap 38.5 percent of its Norway assets for 24.98 percent of the Russian company’s Urengoy gas field. But Norway’s energy minister said he was concerned that the deal would give Gazprom access to the Norwegian continental shelf. “We now have to hold tri-partite discussions and talk to the minister,” Chief Executive Rainer Seele told Reuters on Tuesday. Talks would take place in mid-July at the earliest, he said in an interview. “I do not even want to think about setting up a date during the World Cup,” he said. OMV and Gazprom were both still committed to the deal, he said when asked whether an outright purchase of Gazprom’s assets, as suggested by sources, was also an option. Regarding OMV’s work in Iran, Seele said the Austrian group planned to conclude seismic studies but would not pursue projects further, after the United States withdrew from a nuclear pact with Tehran and said it would reimpose sanctions. “Let’s face it, you cannot simply carry on in Iran,” he said. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-12T17:56:00.000+03:00|Indonesia's Pertamina buys U.S. condensate in rare move: traders|SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina bought a condensate cargo from the United States in a rare move, trade sources said on Tuesday. A Pertamina fuel station in Labuan Bajo on Flores Island, Indonesia April 7, 2018. REUTERS/Henning Gloystein Pertamina bought an Eagle Ford condensate cargo for delivery in July on behalf of the Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) condensate splitter, the traders said, though price details and the seller could not immediately be confirmed. This could be the first time Pertamina has bought a condensate cargo from the United States, two of them said, though this could not be verified. Phone calls to Pertamina officials went unanswered. The state company also bought two cargoes of Equatorial Guinea’s Alba condensate for delivery in July and early August through two separate tenders, traders said. Pertamina typically purchases Australian North West Shelf condensate cargoes for the TPPI splitter. The 100,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) TPPI splitter in Tuban, East Java, typically processes condensate, a light oil that is typically produced in association with natural gas and is sought for its large yield of fuels such as naphtha and gasoline. Record crude oil volumes exported from the United States will be heading to Asia as U.S. production hit all-time highs, depressing U.S. prices to a wide discount against Brent crude futures. The majority of crude oil contracts for cargoes originating from Southeast Asia are priced off of benchmark Brent crude. Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Tom Hogue  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-12T18:17:00.000+03:00|Iran warns North Korea on deal with United States: report|(Reuters) - Iran has warned North Korea against accepting any nuclear deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Associated Press Quote: d the semi-official Fars news agency as saying. “We are facing a man who revokes his signature while abroad,” Fars Quote: d Iran government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht as saying. Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-12T18:18:00.000+03:00|Iran tells North Korea Trump could cancel deal before getting home|LONDON (Reuters) - Iran warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday against trusting Trump, saying he could cancel their denuclearization agreement within hours.  Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walk during their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore June 12, 2018. Anthony Wallace/Pool via Reuters Tehran cited its own experience in offering the advice to Kim a month after Washington withdrew from a similar deal with Iran. Trump and Kim pledged at a meeting in Singapore on Tuesday to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula while Washington committed to provide security guarantees for its old enemy. “We don’t know what type of person the North Korean leader is negotiating with. It is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning home,” Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht was Quote: d as saying by IRNA new agency. Nobakht questioned Trump’s credibility. “This man does not represent the American people, and they will surely distance themselves from him at the next elections,” he said. As well as pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Trump disowned on Saturday a joint communique issued by Group of Seven leaders, just hours after he had left their summit for the meeting with Kim. Israel, which has hailed Trump’s tough line on Iran, praised his summit with Kim. “This is an important step in the effort to strip the Korean peninsula of nuclear weaponry,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “President Trump is also taking a firm stance against Iran’s attempt to obtain nuclear weaponry, as well as its belligerence in the Middle East.” Israel is believed to have the region’s sole atomic arsenal. Trump has said would be open to striking a new nuclear accord with Tehran. However, he says the existing deal negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama had failed to address Iran’s ballistic missile program. On top of this, he also cited the terms under which international inspectors can visit suspect Iranian nuclear sites and “sunset” clauses, under which limits on the nuclear program start to expire after 10 years. Trump has insisted any deal with North Korea should include irreversible and verifiable denuclearization. Washington will reimpose a wide array of Iran-related sanctions after the expiry of 90- and 180-day wind-down periods, including measures aimed at the oil sector and transactions with its central bank. Other remaining signatories of the deal - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia- have criticized the U.S. exit and are still trying to salvage the accord. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and David Stamp  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-12T18:48:00.000+03:00|AT&T wins U.S. court approval to buy Time Warner for $85 billion|"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc ( T.N ) won court approval on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) for $85 billion, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and likely setting off a wave of corporate mergers. The deal, which could close next week, is seen as a turning point for a media industry that has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google which produce content and sell it online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. Cable, satellite and wireless carriers all see buying content companies as a way to add revenue. Trump, a frequent detractor of Time Warner’s CNN and its coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found little to support the government’s arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling one position “gossamer thin” and another “poppycock.” The ruling could also prompt a cascade of pay TV companies buying television and movie makers, with Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) bid for some Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) assets potentially the first out of the gate. The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon concluded that the government had failed to show competitive harm and urged the U.S. government not to seek a stay of his ruling pending a potential appeal, saying it would be ""manifestly unjust"" to do so and not likely to succeed. “That’s a legal shocker,” said J.B. Heaton, an attorney and consultant on litigation and regulatory proceedings. “I think we’ll see now that companies will be much more confident about vertical mergers,” he added, referring to deals where a company merges with a supplier. Shares of AT&T fell about 1.3 percent in after-hours trade following the decision, while Time Warner rose more than 5 percent. Twenty-First Century Fox jumped 7 percent in extended trade after the ruling on expectations that Comcast and Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ) could start a bidding war to acquire its media assets. Comcast and Walt Disney dropped 4.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Shares of other media and telecom companies also rose, including T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ), Sprint Corp ( S.N ), CBS Corp ( CBS.N ), Dish Network Corp ( DISH.O ), Discovery Inc ( DISCA.O ) and Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ). “This will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Shares of Express Scripts Holding Co ( ESRX.O ), which is set to be bought by Cigna Corp ( CI.N ) for $52 billion, rose 4.8 percent, while shares of health insurer Aetna Inc ( AET.N ), due to be acquired by CVS Health Corp ( CVS.N ) for $69 billion, rose 3.6 percent. Opponents of the AT&T decision also predicted more deals. “Consumers should fear a cascade of unchecked mergers and acquisitions to further consolidate the telecom industry resulting in less choice, fewer competitors and higher prices,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a statement. FILE PHOTO: A combination photo shows the Time Warner shares price at the New York Stock Exchange and AT&T logo in New York, NY, U.S., on November 15, 2017 and on October 23, 2016 respectively. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (L) and REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photos - RC132156B010 The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop the deal in November 2017, saying that AT&T&rsquo;s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content, such as CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Leaving the courtroom, Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice department’s antitrust division, said that he would read the judge’s opinion before making a decision on an appeal. The Justice Department is not likely to be put off by the loss, said Amy Ray of the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, noting it had prevailed in stopping other mergers between rivals. “Put me on the side of the fence of thinking that AAG (Makan) Delrahim is interested in challenging the next problematic vertical transaction,” she said. Cornell law professor George Hay added that the ruling found the government’s evidence lacking, rather than a broader determination of how vertical mergers affected competition. AT&T in a six-week trial argued that the purchase of Time Warner would allow it to gain information about viewers needed to target digital advertising, much like Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) and Google already do. AT&T can use the content from Time Warner to fill its streaming services DirecTV Now and soon-to-be-launched AT&T Watch, which are cheaper online video packages with fewer channels. That could give it a leg up over rival live streaming platforms that do not own content, media analysts have said. AT&T applauded the court’s decision and said it expected to close the merger before the June 21 contractual deadline. The government estimated costs to industry rivals, such as Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ), would increase by $580 million a year if AT&T owned Time Warner. Before the trial started, AT&T lawyers said the Time Warner deal may have been singled out for government enforcement but the judge rejected their bid to force the disclosure of White House communications that might have shed light on the matter. The deal cost AT&T&rsquo;s top lobbyist, Bob Quinn, his job in May after it became public that AT&T had paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $600,000 for advice on winning approval. Burns McKinney, a portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors who owns AT&T, said he would not say the telecoms company had won a huge victory. “It’s more that they just didn’t lose. You always wonder in these cases if there’s a winner’s curse, given the risk (AT&T) can’t get the desired synergies and they’re taking on a lot of debt with the merger,” he said. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington; Sheila Dang and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Kanishkay Singh, Supantha Mukherjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  "|https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-12T18:49:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: EU set to probe deeper into Deutsche Telekom, Tele2's Dutch deal - sources|BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom faces a four-month investigation into its bid to buy the Dutch business of Swedish peer Tele2 after EU antitrust regulators voiced concerns about the deal. FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Telekom logo is seen during preparations at the CeBit computer fair in Hanover, Germany, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo The European Commission’s investigation, which began on Tuesday, underscores its hard line against telecoms deals which reduce the number of players in a market from four to three and could hit consumers with higher bills. “We are opening this in-depth investigation to ensure, that the proposed transaction between T-Mobile NL and Tele2 NL will not lead to higher prices or less choice in mobile services for Dutch consumers,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. Her decision to delve deeper into the deal confirmed a Reuters story earlier on Tuesday. The EU competition authority will decide by Oct. 17 whether to clear or block the deal, depending on whether Deutsche Telekom and Tele2 offer concessions. Tele2 said the lengthy investigation was expected and reiterated its goal of closing the deal in the second half of the year. Vestager scuppered a plan by Telia Company and Telenor to merge their businesses in Denmark in 2015, saying they had failed to allay her concerns about the reduced number of players in her home country after the deal. A year later, she blocked CK Hutchison Holdings’ bid to merge its Three UK subsidiary with Telefonica’s O2 UK, but then allowed Hutchison to combine its Italian mobile network unit with that of Vimpelcom after securing hefty concessions. Telecoms operators have long urged the Commission to take a broader view of the industry and not focus only on the number of telecoms operators in a market, while regulators say a softer line may be justified in the case of cross-border mergers. Deutsche Telekom wants to buy Tele2’s Dutch assets and combine them with its T-Mobile Nederland so it can offer so-called fixed-to-mobile convergence packages, allowing for transmission of data, voice and video to devices at home or on the go and better compete with KPN and Ziggo. T-Mobile Nederland and Tele2 are the third and fourth biggest players in the Netherlands, a market dominated by KPN which had a 43 percent share of the market at the end of 2017, followed by Ziggo with 30.5 percent. T-Mobile Nederland was a distant third at 21 percent while Tele2’s share was negligible. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Olof Swahnberg in Stockholm; additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Nadine Schimroszik in Berlin and Daniel Dickson in Stockholm; Editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek/Mark Potter/Susan Fenton Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-12T19:00:00.000+03:00|Go Daddy founder Parsons buys revamped Arizona center for $133 mln|June 12, 2018 / 4:05 PM / Updated a day ago Go Daddy founder Parsons buys revamped Arizona center for $133 million Herbert Lash 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - A real estate concern of Bob Parsons, founder of web hosting company Go Daddy, said on Tuesday it agreed to pay $133 million for a revamped retail center in a Phoenix suburb that was a major foreclosure in 2011 following the Great Recession. The 76-acre Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale, Arizona, includes 533,000 square feet of retail, office and residential space that was redeveloped by iStar Inc, a real estate investment trust headquartered in New York. “If you go back to the depths of the recession in Phoenix, Westgate was one of the poster children for big failed white elephant real estate developments,” Los Angeles-based David Sotolov, head of West Coast originations at iStar, told Reuters. YAM Properties LLC said it is acquiring Westgate from iStar without taking on any debt. The transaction, which includes 33 acres of undeveloped land, is one of Arizona’s largest retail real estate deals and marks the turnaround of a soured development with the popular “experiential” focus, iStar said in a statement. Brick-and-mortar retailers can compete with e-commerce if they create a unique destination and offer products that can’t be found online, said James Cook, Americas research director for retail at JLL, a unit of brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “There is a caveat there are certain shopping centers that have a lot of competition or they might not have been built in the right area,” Cook said. “You got to be in a good location to begin with.” Parson’s YAM Properties said a boutique hotel and more housing, office and specialty entertainment are under consideration for Westgate in a five-year plan, which will benefit from the Super Bowl in 2023 at the adjacent University of Phoenix Stadium. Parsons is a major Phoenix philanthropist who owns various local businesses through YAM Worldwide Inc, including more than $630 million of metro-area commercial real estate. Westgate was a $2 billion mixed-use center championed by local developer Steve Ellman with the Gila River Arena, home of the Arizona Coyotes hockey team, as its anchor. The university stadium is home to football’s Arizona Cardinals. In 2011 iStar Financial foreclosed on part of the property after the Ellman Cos failed to pay the balance of $97.5 million in debt on what was called the Westgate City Center, the Arizona Republic newspaper said at the time. The size, tenant mix and entertainment opportunities, along with its proximity to the sports arenas, make Westgate a high-profile asset, said Dan Dahl, who heads YAM Properties. “This property really fits our profile,” Dahl said. Reporting by Herbert Lash; editing by David Gregorio and Phil Berlowitz|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-12T19:09:00.000+03:00|Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner|(Reuters) - AT&T Inc won approval from a U.S. court on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, allowing AT&T to compete with internet companies that dominate digital advertising and providing new sources of revenue. FILE PHOTO: An AT&T logo is seen at a AT&T building in New York City, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo GEORGE HAY, CORNELL LAW SCHOOL, ITHACA, NEW YORK “The opinion is not a radical one and it will be difficult to overturn on appeal. “In ruling that the merger could go forward, the judge did not take the approach favored by some that a vertical transaction like this could never pose a competitive problem. Rather he took the straightforward position that the evidence did not support the assumptions on which the DOJ theory of competitive harm depended. “Therefore, he found that AT&T would be unlikely to find it profitable to withhold content from its distribution rivals and that any impact on the price of content would be negligible. The result is not a green light for all possible media mergers but will serve as a roadmap for the kinds of facts merging parties will have to assemble to make their case. And in that sense it will certainly prompt additional media mergers. “The opinion does not take the DOJ completely out of the merger business but simply admonishes them to make sure the facts support their theory. Of course, the DOJ can seek to prevent the merger from going forward pending appeal though the judge discouraged them from doing so. Even if the merger is consummated, the DOJ can appeal the decision but it is uncertain whether they will.” JENNIFER FRITZSCHE, SENIOR ANALYST AT WELLS FARGO, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: “This ruling from Judge Leon represents the best case scenario for (AT&T & Time Warner), in our view. Not only was the deal approved, but the Judge did not impose any conditions on the merger, and went so far as to encourage DOJ not to file a stay pending appeal. We fully expect (AT&T) to close the acquisition on 6/18 (the earliest point that it can), and look for a business update shortly thereafter.” JIM COX, DUKE UNIVERSITY LAW PROFESSOR, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA: “I’m not surprised about this. The government has not had a rich history in recent years... in these vertical acquisitions. There was a lot more focus 50 years ago on industry structure... Even the business community has been questioning whether AT&T is doing the right thing. This was a hard road to hoe for the Department of Justice, and it was a case worth bringing, but unfortunately the precedents just weren’t there. This is a judge who is very good and takes the law seriously, and he just didn’t have the stepping stones to get to where the Department of Justice wanted him to go.” DAVID GLICKMAN, CEO, ULTRA MOBILE AND MINT MOBILE, CALIFORNIA: “I’m not sure the judge or the Justice Department considered all the impacts this merger could have on smaller competitors,” Glickman said, who said he tried to buy an advertisement on DirecTV, but was rejected because his company is a competitor of AT&T. “At the same time, if this decision helps T-Mobile and Sprint complete their merger, that’s better for consumers.” BURNS MCKINNEY, PORTFOLIO MANAGER WHO OWNS AT&T, ALLIANZ GLOBAL INVESTORS, DALLAS: “I wouldn’t call it a huge victory for AT&T, it’s more that they just didn’t lose. You always wonder in these cases if there’s a winner’s curse, given the risk [AT&T] can’t get the desired synergies and they’re taking on a lot of debt with the merger.” GENE KIMMELMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, FORMER CHIEF COUNSEL FOR U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S ANTITRUST DIVISION, WASHINGTON: “This is a very disappointing result. We’re most concerned that this will open the floodgates to mergers among the largest and entertainment and transmission companies, further consolidating the power of dominant cable and satellite companies. The end result for consumers is that online video is unlikely to break the large bundles and high monthly charges that consumers have been oppressed with for decades. All video will effectively go through the portals of these dominant providers and Internet video will remain and add on to the high price of broadband and cable service.” “It’s a very disappointing result for consumers. I think it also sends the wrong signal to the market place at a time when the public is increasingly worried about giant tech companies’ growing dominance over the market place. This unfortunately sends the signal that those companies as well can continue to gobble up adjacent properties and grow their market power.” “This is all headed in the wrong direction for the goal of promoting more consumer choices, lower prices and greater innovation in the market place.” BRIAN WIESER, ANALYST, PIVOTAL RESEARCH GROUP, OREGON: “This was much what we expected would happen almost two years ago that the deal would eventually go through. Obviously, it’s not a done deal yet, it sounds like appeals are still possible. But, in terms of progressing toward the kind of outcome we always expected would occur, we are here. Given what’s evolved over the last year in particular, it does mean there will be more M&A to the extent that there were mergers or acquisitions which were held up because they wanted to see how this plays out so, I think Comcast has already indicated it will bid for Fox, that could have happened regardless of this ruling but, it almost certainly will now. This trend toward consolidation among conglomerates has been persistent. If AT&T had lost, that might have caused less M&A, but this keeps open the realm of possibilities of combinations.” J.B. HEATON, ATTORNEY AND CONSULTANT ON LITIGATION AND REGULATORY PROCEEDINGS, INDEPENDENT PRACTICE, CHICAGO: “In 18 years of legal practice, I’ve never heard a judge say you should not appeal. That’s as close to him saying the government’s case was frivolous. That’s a legal shocker. I think we’ll see now that companies will be much more confident about vertical mergers.” NILS TRACY, ANALYST, REORG RESEARCH INC, WASHINGTON D.C.: “The ruling ... represents a major turning point in U.S. antitrust law, as it limits the power of the federal government to block vertical mergers purely out of a desire for structural rather than behavioral remedies. This policy point has been the cornerstone of antitrust policy under the Trump administration. The decision will make it more difficult for the DOJ and FTC to block vertical deals in the future, and will likely lead to a wave of vertical M&A in the near term. This decision bodes well for other vertical deals currently under review such as (Aetna Inc-CVS Health Corp) AET/CVS, (Express Scripts Holding Co-Cigna Corp) ESRX/CI, and Twenty-first Century Fox Inc-Walt Disney Co) FOX/Disney.” ERIC SCHIFFER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM PATRIARCH, GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA: “You are witnessing the single biggest day this century in the marriage of large media with giant distribution. Fox surges in interest because of this ruling with a voracious Comcast that won’t want to back down. Verizon now will go into massive hunting mode and a CBS Verizon tie-up is a real possibility. The probabilities of a Sprint/T-Mobile deal became powerfully more realistic.” BRETT SAPPINGTON, DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PARKS ASSOCIATES, DALLAS: “If you’re AT&T, who do you want to include in your own skinny bundle? The channels you own. This means if you’re a small content network, you have less negotiating power, because the bundler owns its own content.” Sappington added that without conditions, AT&T doesn’t have to guarantee anything other than its promise that it will play nice with other distributors and content providers. “That’s a big win for AT&T.” ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL MAKAN DELRAHIM, WASHINGTON: “We are disappointed with the Court’s decision today. We continue to believe that the pay-TV market will be less competitive and less innovative as a result of the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner. We will closely review the Court’s opinion and consider next steps in light of our commitment to preserving competition for the benefit of American consumers.” DANIEL IVES, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER AND HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, GBH INSIGHTS, GREATER NEW YORK: “With Judge Leon ruling in favor of letting the landmark AT&T/Time Warner $85 billion deal to go ahead as planned this afternoon despite DOJ anti-trust concerns, the impact from this decision will have wide reaching ramifications across the telecommunications, media, and tech industry for decades to come.” “For AT&T and Time Warner this is a ‘major victory lap’ as having these combined media and entertainment assets under the hood of AT&T will significantly enhance streaming endeavors and cross pollination going forward with a major shot across the bow toward other cable and wireless players as this telecommunications and media behemoth is now hitting the ground running.” “In particular we would expect aggressive bundling of HBO, CNN, and other proprietary sports content (NBA, NCAA, MLB) from Time Warner into the AT&T network as a key incentive for current and new AT&T wireless customers.” “With the AT&T ruling to move the deal forward, Comcast and Roberts will likely throw their hat in the ring in its quest to battle Iger and Disney for these unique entertainment assets that will propel the eventual winner to become a major streaming player and content rich behemoth for years to come.” JEFFREY LOGSDON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, JBL ADVISORS, CALIFORNIA: “For AT&T, birth of vision in deal to buy TWX. Death of a vision when DOJ challenged prolonged the process. Fulfillment of a vision now that the court has approved the deal. The court is the last place you want to accomplish your M&A goal but in this case it was a sweet victory.” MARY ANN HALFORD, SENIOR ADVISOR, OC&C STRATEGY CONSULTANTS, NEW YORK: “I would expect that the government will file an appeal to prevent a June 18th closing. If that appeal is granted, then Time Warner will want compensation for extending the merger termination date. All that being said, I know that Time Warner management is keen to get this deal done.” “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney. This will then trigger Disney coming in with a higher price. They are already lining up cash to increase that offer. The question then will be how will the Murdoch family decide which offer they take. There complexities around taxes, voting shares, antitrust concerns depending on who the winner is.” “The other interesting factor here is that on June 15th, it is likely that the EU will ok Comcast buying Sky - this will likely lead the Sky board to recommend a Comcast-Sky deal go forward. There are still too many complexities around Fox-Sky. Assuming Disney wins Fox, Fox still has to sell Sky News as well as raise its offer for Sky to meet Comcast’s.” “There are a lot of moving pieces. All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” MARKET REACTION: AT&T shares fell 2.8 percent in afterhours trading. Ahead of the ruling, its shares gained 0.5 percent to close at $34.35. Time Warner shares gained 4.3 percent in afterhours trading. Ahead of the ruling, the stock closed up fractionally to $96.22. Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-12T19:19:00.000+03:00|Soccer: Atletico Madrid agree preliminary deal for France’s Lemar|MADRID (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid have agreed a preliminary deal to sign Thomas Lemar from French club AS Monaco, the Europa League winners announced on Tuesday. Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - France Press Conference - Domaine de Montjoye, Clairefontaine, France - June 5, 2018 France's Thomas Lemar during the press conference REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Midfielder Lemar, who is currently on international duty with France, is expected to join the Spanish club once the World Cup is over. “Atletico Madrid and AS Monaco have achieved a preliminary agreement over the transfer of Thomas Lemar to our club,” read an Atletico club statement. “Over the next days, both clubs will work to close the agreement for the definitive transfer.” The announcement comes on the same day that Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann refused to comment on his future, amid media speculation he is on the verge of joining domestic rivals Barcelona. Reporting by Joseph Cassinelli; Editing by Toby Davis  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-12T19:23:00.000+03:00|M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger|(Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave a ringing endorsement to AT&T Inc’s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. Smartphone with AT&T logo is seen in front of displayed Time Warner logo in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The ruling by Judge Richard Leon bit.ly/2Jxx6qE of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner's content. The judge’s strong approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to seek a stay if they opposed the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. Investors are now also expecting major media consolidation, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc shares rising more than 6 percent in after-market trading. Cable network owner Discovery Inc saw shares increase 3.2 percent while mobile providers, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc, which are waiting for a government approval of their own, also saw a bump following the decision. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. The Justice Department had argued that AT&T&rsquo;s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T&rsquo;s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Related Coverage AT&T legal win could spur another jumbo bond; more M&As Fox shares pop ahead of expected Comcast bid Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Fox away from Walt Disney Co, which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T&rsquo;S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signaled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp and Viacom Inc, analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Smartphone with AT&T logo is seen in front of displayed Time Warner logo in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T19:58:00.000+03:00|Vietnam says will deal with 'extremists' behind protest clashes|HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s government vowed on Tuesday to punish “extremists” it said had instigated rare clashes with police at the weekend when a nationwide protest over new economic zones for foreigners spiraled into chaos in one central province. The Ministry of Public Security is investigating what led to protesters hurling bricks and Molotov cocktails at police and damaging some government buildings in Binh Thuan province, where anti-Chinese sentiment boiled over. The protests, by thousands of people in several cities, were fueled by concerns that a draft law to develop economic zones offering land leases of up to 99 years would be dominated by investors from China, a neighbor with which Vietnam has a rocky history. Police arrested 100 people on Monday night after detaining 102 people a day earlier, although it was unclear how many had since been released. In its evening news bulletin on Tuesday, broadcaster VTV said 80 people were being held. Vietnamese officials have blamed “reactionary groups” for orchestrating the violence. The police-run Ministry of Public Security said “extremists” had injured dozens of policemen, damaged government offices and torched police vehicles. Those who had incited people to vandalize and cause disorder would be dealt with strictly, the government said in a statement. State media reported on Tuesday that tensions in Binh Thuan province had subsided. “We should not let bad people take advantage of us,” Ho Trung Phuoc, head of the provincial propaganda department, was Quote: d as saying. “And if we truly love our country, we should love it by protecting social order in our hometown, protecting our peaceful life, our friendly environment and somehow maintain a beautiful image of Vietnam,” he added. Though the authorities often tolerate protests, rallies against China’s perceived aggression and infringements upon Vietnamese sovereignty are a challenge for the government, which is keen to avoid angering a neighbor with growing military, political and economic clout. In the capital Hanoi on Sunday, police detained more than a dozen protesters during a march where some held anti-Chinese banners, including one that said: “No leasing land to China even for one day”. The economic zone plan did not single out China, but the prospect of Chinese firms boosting their presence has created unease in Vietnam, which in recent years has received tens of billions of dollars of investment from South Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Singaporean firms, among others. The National Assembly was due to pass the legislation for the economic zones later this week but decided to delay the vote until its next meeting in October. Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty and Darren Schuettler  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T20:24:00.000+03:00|M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger|(Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave a ringing endorsement to AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ) and Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. FILE PHOTO: The Verizon logo is seen on the side of a truck in New York City, U.S., October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo - RC161D76D640 The ruling by Judge Richard Leon bit.ly/2Jxx6qE of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner's content. The judge’s strong approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to seek a stay if they opposed the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. Investors are now also expecting major media consolidation, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) shares rising more than 6 percent in after-market trading. Cable network owner Discovery Inc ( DISCA.O ) saw shares increase 3.2 percent while mobile providers, Sprint Corp ( S.N ) and T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ), which are waiting for a government approval of their own, also saw a bump following the decision. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. The Justice Department had argued that AT&T&rsquo;s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T&rsquo;s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Fox away from Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T&rsquo;S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signalled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp ( CBS.N ) and Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ), analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T20:24:00.000+03:00|Iran’s Rouhani asks Macron for action to save nuclear deal: IRNA|PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned world powers on Tuesday that it was impossible for Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal if it cannot benefit from the accord after the U.S. withdrawal. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rouhani said he was satisfied with Europe’s stance, especially French efforts to salvage the 2015 deal, but that “such statements should be combined with actions and tangible measures”. “If Iran cannot benefit from the (nuclear) deal, then it’s practically impossible to stay in the accord,” Rouhani was Quote: d by state news agency IRNA as saying in a phone call with the French president. The pact between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran scaled back its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so, a goal it denies having. Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in May, calling the accord flawed, European signatories - France, Britain and Germany - have been scrambling to ensure Iran retains enough economic benefits to persuade it not to pull out. Related Coverage Macron urges Iran to ensure commitment to nuclear deal is 'without any ambiguity' Macron’s office said he had told Rouhani in the same telephone call that France remained committed to the nuclear deal but Tehran needed to fully comply with its commitments. “The President of the Republic recalled the will of France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, to continue to implement the Vienna agreement in all its dimensions,” Macron’s office said. “The president informed President Rouhani of the progress in the work being done on our side. He hoped that Iran, for its part, will fulfill its obligations without any ambiguity.” Macron’s office confirmed a previously agreed ministerial meeting between all the remaining signatories of the deal, the European powers, China and Russia, would be held in the coming weeks in Vienna. French diplomatic sources said the meeting was likely to take place during the week of June 25. Reporting by John Irish and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-12T20:39:00.000+03:00|Iran’s Rouhani asks Macron for action to save nuclear deal - IRNA|June 12, 2018 / 5:37 PM / Updated 38 minutes ago Iran’s Rouhani asks Macron for action to save nuclear deal - IRNA Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned world powers on Tuesday that it was impossible for Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal if it cannot benefit from the accord after the U.S. withdrawal. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rouhani said he was satisfied with Europe’s stance, especially French efforts to salvage the 2015 deal, but that “such statements should be combined with actions and tangible measures”. “If Iran cannot benefit from the (nuclear) deal, then it’s practically impossible to stay in the accord,” Rouhani was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying in a phone call with the French president. The pact between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran scaled back its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so, a goal it denies having. Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in May, calling the accord flawed, European signatories - France, Britain and Germany - have been scrambling to ensure Iran retains enough economic benefits to persuade it not to pull out. Related Coverage Macron urges Iran to ensure commitment to nuclear deal is 'without any ambiguity' Macron’s office said he had told Rouhani in the same telephone call that France remained committed to the nuclear deal but Tehran needed to fully comply with its commitments. “The President of the Republic recalled the will of France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, to continue to implement the Vienna agreement in all its dimensions,” Macron’s office said. “The president informed President Rouhani of the progress in the work being done on our side. He hoped that Iran, for its part, will fulfil its obligations without any ambiguity.” Macron’s office confirmed a previously agreed ministerial meeting between all the remaining signatories of the deal, the European powers, China and Russia, would be held in the coming weeks in Vienna. French diplomatic sources said the meeting was likely to take place during the week of June 25. Reporting by John Irish and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-12T20:42:00.000+03:00|Latvian banking regulator approves liquidation of ABLV Bank|June 12, 2018 / 5:43 PM / Updated 36 minutes ago Latvian banking regulator approves liquidation of ABLV Bank Reuters Staff 2 Min Read RIGA, (Reuters) - Latvia’s banking regulator on Tuesday approved the self-liquidation of ABLV Bank, the country’s third-largest financial institution. ABLV bank sign is seen at the main office building in Riga, Latvia May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has accused ABLV of institutionalising money laundering, violating sanctions imposed on North Korea and using bribery to influence Latvian officials. In February, ABLV - which has been focussing on serving non-resident clients - was ruled failing or likely to fail by the European Central Bank. “The FCMC’s Board has approved the bank’s application (plan) for self-liquidation and tomorrow the process begins,” Peters Putnins, head of the Financial and Capital Market Commission, told a press conference. The regulator said that compared to other forms of liquidation, a self-imposed liquidation allowed it better control over the entire process and was a more appropriate way to ensure that the bank’s assets were preserved. “Of course, we will control everything that is connected with the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) side and the bank itself will have to think about it internally very hard,” said Putnins. The privately held bank denies any wrongdoing and it turned to the European Court of Justice, asking it to review decisions of the ECB and the Single Resolution Board at the start of May. The U.S. sanction proposal against ABLV and investigation by the police into possible bribery of the governor of the country’s central bank Ilmars Rimsevics, who denies any wrongdoing, are Latvia’s worst financial troubles in a decade. The Latvian government has adopted an action plan for cleaning up the non-resident banking sector and has already banned financial institutions from cooperating with shell companies that fulfil certain criteria. Reporting by Gederts Gelzis; Editing by Daniel Dickson and David Evans|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-12T20:54:00.000+03:00|Macedonian PM Zaev confirms 'historic' name deal reached with Greece|June 12, 2018 / 5:59 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Macedonian PM Zaev confirms 'historic' name deal reached with Greece Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of Northern Macedonia after reaching a historic deal with Greece on their decades-old dispute over the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Tuesday. National Macedonian flags flutter in front of the government building in Skopje, Macedonia June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski Zaev said resolving the long-standing issue would open Macedonia’s access to NATO and the European Union. “There is no way back,” Zaev told a news conference after a telephone conversation with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras who had earlier announced the breakthrough on the name. Reporting by Kole Casule, writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; editing by Gareth Jones|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-12T21:03:00.000+03:00|Iran’s Rouhani asks Macron for action to save nuclear deal - IRNA|June 12, 2018 / 5:37 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Iran’s Rouhani asks Macron for action to save nuclear deal - IRNA Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned world powers on Tuesday that it was impossible for Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal if it cannot benefit from the accord after the U.S. withdrawal. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Pool via Reuters In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rouhani said he was satisfied with Europe’s stance, especially French efforts to salvage the 2015 deal, but that “such statements should be combined with actions and tangible measures”. “If Iran cannot benefit from the (nuclear) deal, then it’s practically impossible to stay in the accord,” Rouhani was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying in a phone call with the French president. The pact between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran scaled back its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so, a goal it denies having. Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in May, calling the accord flawed, European signatories - France, Britain and Germany - have been scrambling to ensure Iran retains enough economic benefits to persuade it not to pull out. Macron’s office said he had told Rouhani in the same telephone call that France remained committed to the nuclear deal but Tehran needed to fully comply with its commitments. “The President of the Republic recalled the will of France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, to continue to implement the Vienna agreement in all its dimensions,” Macron’s office said. “The president informed President Rouhani of the progress in the work being done on our side. He hoped that Iran, for its part, will fulfil its obligations without any ambiguity.” Macron’s office confirmed a previously agreed ministerial meeting between all the remaining signatories of the deal, the European powers, China and Russia, would be held in the coming weeks in Vienna. French diplomatic sources said the meeting was likely to take place during the week of June 25. Related Coverage Reporting by John Irish and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-12T21:19:00.000+03:00|British lawmakers to question Sainsbury's and Asda CEOs over deal|LONDON (Reuters) - A British parliamentary committee will question the CEOs of the UK’s no.2 supermarket Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) and its third-biggest supermarket Asda ahead of their proposed combination, as scrutiny of the deal cranks up. FILE PHOTO: Till receipts from Asda and Sainsbury's can be seen in this photo illustration April 28, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Sainsbury’s announced a 7.3 billion pound ($9.77 billion) deal to buy U.S. group Walmart’s ( WMT.N ) Asda in April. If it goes ahead, the combined giant will overtake Tesco ( TSCO.L ) as Britain’s biggest supermarket group. The competition regulator has started a preliminary probe into the deal ahead of a formal investigation, while on Wednesday lawmakers from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said that they would also gather evidence on it. “Grocery retailers do not have a great record of treating their suppliers well,” the committee’s chair Neil Parish said in a statement. “My committee is holding this session to investigate how the biggest potential shake-up of the grocery market in recent years could affect British farmers and suppliers, as well as consumers.” The cross-party group will question Sainsbury’s Mike Coupe and Asda’s Roger Burnley on June 20. Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-12T21:21:00.000+03:00|Brexit secretary confident government can secure deal parliament will support|LONDON (Reuters) - British Brexit minister David Davis said on Tuesday he is confident the government will secure a deal with European Union that MPs will support, speaking during a debate on laws that could give parliament more powers over the divorce process. Britain's Secretary of State for Departing the EU David Davis arrives in Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson “I am confident as ever that we will secure an agreement to which this house will want to support,” Davis said. Davis also told parliament the government cannot get a good deal with the EU if its hands are tied in negotiations by a vote that would give MPs the power to force her government to go back to the negotiating table if they reject a Brexit deal. Reporting By Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill; editing by William James  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T22:47:00.000+03:00|OMV seeks talks with Norway to secure Gazprom deal approval|VIENNA (Reuters) - OMV will seek talks with Norway about the Austrian energy group’s planned asset swap deal with Gazprom in order to address Oslo’s concerns, the chief executive said. Chief executive of Austrian energy group OMV Rainer Seele poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kirsti Knolle In 2016, OMV agreed to swap 38.5 percent of its Norway assets for 24.98 percent of the Russian company’s Urengoy gas field. But Norway’s energy minister, Terje Soeviknes, said in May this year he was concerned the deal would give Gazprom access to the Norwegian continental shelf. “We now have to hold tri-partite discussions and talk to the minister,” Chief Executive Rainer Seele told Reuters on Tuesday. Talks would take place in mid-July at the earliest, he said in an interview. “I do not even want to think about setting up a date during the World Cup,” the 57-year-old German added. OMV and Gazprom remained committed to the deal, he said when asked whether an outright purchase of Gazprom’s assets, as suggested by sources, was also an option. “Should any obstacles arise in the talks with the ministry, then we must discuss with Gazprom how to deal with it,” he said. Russia is a core region for OMV as production is cheap and transport pipelines to Austria are in place. OMV bought about a quarter of the Yuzhno Russkoye field, one of Russia’s largest gas fields, last year and is one of Gazprom’s construction partners in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The OMV logo is seen at a gas station in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader Nord Stream 2, which will double Russia’s capacity to pipe gas to Europe, has been criticized by some in the European Union who say it will make the bloc too reliant on Russian gas and strengthen Gazprom’s already dominant position. Seele said the pipeline would protect European energy security against possible transatlantic interventions. He also said Russia could be relied on to keep gas flowing as it needed the revenue from European importers. “As long as Russia needs this market, we can manage that wonderfully,” he said. With more than 80 percent of necessary approvals on the route already granted, Seele said he hoped Denmark would give approval for the pipeline to be built near its coast in the summer. Regarding OMV’s work in Iran, Seele said the Austrian group planned to conclude seismic studies but would not pursue projects further, after the United States withdrew from a nuclear pact with Tehran and said it would reimpose sanctions. “Let’s face it, you cannot simply carry on in Iran,” he said. “U.S. sanctions are a much bigger risk for OMV’s business than any possible compensation that Europe ... could offer.” The European Union signatories to the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran have said they want to keep the deal in place. OMV started operations in Iran in 2001 as operator of the Mehr exploration block in the west of the country. It halted work in 2006 due to sanctions, but signed several agreements for new projects when the 2015 deal was reached. Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Edmund Blair  |https://www.reuters.com/places/africa|0
2018-06-12T23:01:00.000+03:00|Small fry: Faroe Islands seek fish export pledge with Russia trade deal|COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Faroe Islands are targeting a free trade deal with Moscow next year to cement their place as Russia’ biggest foreign supplier of fish, a minister said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A salmon fish farm operates in a bay near the town of Vagur on Sururoy island October 17, 2007. REUTERS/Bob Strong With a population of only 50,000, the tiny group of windswept rocky islands in the North Atlantic became the No.1 exporter of fish to Russia last year, according to data from the country’s customs agency. They supplanted Norway following the tit-for-tat sanctions with the West that followed Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The boom in exports to Russia began in 2013, when the European Union in turn imposed sanctions on the Faroe Islands in a dispute over fishing quotas. “(That) created major difficulties for our economy. This was when Russia came to the rescue and greatly increased purchases with us,” Foreign and Trade Minister Poul Michelsen told Reuters in an interview. Driven by exports of farmed salmon, the Faroese economy has flourished in recent years, growing nearly 7 percent in 2016. Michelsen said he aimed to sign a final free trade agreement in 2019 with Russia and the remaining countries in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). “Thereby our exports of fish to Russia which now amount to roughly 2.4 billion Danish crowns ($380 million) a year would be formalized, allowing us to maintain this level for a longer period.” For graphic on Russian fish imports by country click reut.rs/2JGj3uO He aims to kick off free trade talks with EEU members Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan after signing a declaration of intent in August. Faroe Islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but have opted out of joining the EU. Before the quota dispute, as much as 80 percent of their fish exports went to the bloc. Now just 43 percent go there, while 29 percent go to Russia, “We were wrong to trust the EU. So now we’re pursuing a strategy not to put all our eggs in one basket and become less vulnerable by distributing exports to several countries,” Michelsen said. There was no immediate comment from the trade ministry in Russia, where government institutions were closed on Tuesday for a public holiday. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by John Stonestreet  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T23:06:00.000+03:00|Brazil's BRF major shareholders won't sell at current prices -Petros CEO|RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, June 12 (Reuters) - Controlling shareholders of Brazil’s BRF SA, the world’s largest poultry exporter, are not interested in selling their stakes at current prices, said the chief executive of pension fund Petros, a major stakeholder, on Tuesday. Walter Mendes said Petros, which manages pensions for employees of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, was “not aware” of any proposal by meatpacker Minerva SA to merge with BRF. He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a pension fund conference in Rio de Janeiro. Minerva last week denied speculation about such a merger, following reports that it had contacted investors for funding. Mendes added that BRF may benefit from its Chairman Pedro Parente quitting his other job as Petrobras’ CEO. “He will have more time to dedicate to BRF,” he said. Brazilian police arrested the former CEO of BRF in March on charges that he and other executives knew the company engaged in fraud to evade food safety checks. Mendes said BRF’s new CEO will be chosen by the board and did not elaborate on any potential candidates. BRF shares have slumped 43 percent this year because of the food safety scandal, a huge truckers’ strike against high diesel prices that paralyzed the Brazilian economy in May and forced farms to cull some 70 million chickens due to a lack of feed. Last week, BRF shares were hard hit by China’s decision to impose temporary anti-dumping measures on imports of Brazilian chicken meat. On Tuesday, Credit Suisse analysts reduced the target price for BRF shares to 18 reais from 28 reais. BRF shares fell 3.2 in Sao Paulo to 20.82 reais. In a report to clients, the analysts led by Victor Saragiotto said the new target price factors in the latest results, the spike in grain prices and the depreciation of Brazilian currency. (Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Richard Chang)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-12T23:41:00.000+03:00|AT&T wins U.S. court approval to buy Time Warner for $85 billion|WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc won approval from a U.S. court on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, allowing AT&T to compete with internet companies that dominate digital advertising and providing new sources of revenue. The planned deal is seen as a turning point for a media industry that has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Google which produce content and sell it online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. Distributors including cable, satellite and wireless carriers all see buying content companies as a way to add revenue. The ruling could also prompt a cascade of pay TV companies buying television and movie makers, with Comcast Corp’s bid for some Twenty-First Century Fox Inc assets potentially the first out of the gate. The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop the deal in November 2017, saying that AT&T&rsquo;s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content, such as CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” AT&T in a six-week trial argued that the purchase of Time Warner would allow it to gain information about viewers needed to target digital advertising, much like Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google already do. AT&T and other wireless carriers need to find new sources of revenue as the mobile phone market stagnates and more customers abandon pricey cable and satellite packages for streaming services they can watch on their phones or televisions. The government estimated costs to industry rivals, such as Charter Communications Inc, would increase by $580 million a year if AT&T owned Time Warner. To assuage the Trump administration’s criticisms, AT&T offered to submit pricing disagreements with other pay TV companies over Turner’s channels to third-party arbitration. The companies further offered not to black out programming during arbitration for seven years. Announced in October 2016, the deal was quickly denounced by Donald Trump, who as a candidate and later as president has been critical of Time Warner’s CNN and its coverage. Before the trial started, AT&T lawyers said the Time Warner deal may have been singled out for government enforcement but Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected their bid to force the disclosure of White House communications that might have shed light on the matter. The deal cost AT&T&rsquo;s top lobbyist, Bob Quinn, his job in May after it became public that AT&T had paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $600,000 for advice on winning approval. The ruling could also have implications for CBS Corp’s potential tie-up with Viacom Inc, which is already uncertain because of a lawsuit between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and its board. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington and Sheila Dang in New York; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-12T23:43:00.000+03:00|AT&T wins U.S. court approval to buy Time Warner for $85 billion|"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc won court approval on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and likely setting off a wave of corporate mergers. The deal, which could close next week, is seen as a turning point for a media industry that has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google which produce content and sell it online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. Cable, satellite and wireless carriers all see buying content companies as a way to add revenue. Trump, a frequent detractor of Time Warner’s CNN and its coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found little to support the government’s arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling one position “gossamer thin” and another “poppycock.” The ruling could also prompt a cascade of pay TV companies buying television and movie makers, with Comcast Corp’s bid for some Twenty-First Century Fox Inc assets potentially the first out of the gate. The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon concluded that the government had failed to show competitive harm and urged the U.S. government not to seek a stay of his ruling pending a potential appeal, saying it would be ""manifestly unjust"" to do so and not likely to succeed. “That’s a legal shocker,” said J.B. Heaton, an attorney and consultant on litigation and regulatory proceedings. “I think we’ll see now that companies will be much more confident about vertical mergers,” he added, referring to deals where a company merges with a supplier. Shares of AT&T fell about 1.3 percent in after-hours trade following the decision, while Time Warner rose more than 5 percent. Twenty-First Century Fox jumped 7 percent in extended trade after the ruling on expectations that Comcast and Walt Disney Co could start a bidding war to acquire its media assets. Comcast and Walt Disney dropped 4.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Related Coverage M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger AT&T to close Time Warner purchase by June 20: attorney Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner Shares of other media and telecom companies also rose, including T-Mobile US Inc, Sprint Corp, CBS Corp, Dish Network Corp, Discovery Inc and Viacom Inc. “This will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Shares of Express Scripts Holding Co, which is set to be bought by Cigna Corp for $52 billion, rose 4.8 percent, while shares of health insurer Aetna Inc, due to be acquired by CVS Health Corp for $69 billion, rose 3.6 percent. Opponents of the AT&T decision also predicted more deals. “Consumers should fear a cascade of unchecked mergers and acquisitions to further consolidate the telecom industry resulting in less choice, fewer competitors and higher prices,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a statement. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop the deal in November 2017, saying that AT&T&rsquo;s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content, such as CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Leaving the courtroom, Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice department’s antitrust division, said that he would read the judge’s opinion before making a decision on an appeal. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The Justice Department is not likely to be put off by the loss, said Amy Ray of the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, noting it had prevailed in stopping other mergers between rivals. “Put me on the side of the fence of thinking that AAG (Makan) Delrahim is interested in challenging the next problematic vertical transaction,” she said. Cornell law professor George Hay added that the ruling found the government’s evidence lacking, rather than a broader determination of how vertical mergers affected competition. AT&T in a six-week trial argued that the purchase of Time Warner would allow it to gain information about viewers needed to target digital advertising, much like Facebook Inc and Google already do. AT&T can use the content from Time Warner to fill its streaming services DirecTV Now and soon-to-be-launched AT&T Watch, which are cheaper online video packages with fewer channels. That could give it a leg up over rival live streaming platforms that do not own content, media analysts have said. AT&T applauded the court’s decision and said it expected to close the merger before the June 21 contractual deadline. The government estimated costs to industry rivals, such as Charter Communications Inc, would increase by $580 million a year if AT&T owned Time Warner. Before the trial started, AT&T lawyers said the Time Warner deal may have been singled out for government enforcement but the judge rejected their bid to force the disclosure of White House communications that might have shed light on the matter. The deal cost AT&T&rsquo;s top lobbyist, Bob Quinn, his job in May after it became public that AT&T had paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $600,000 for advice on winning approval. Slideshow (3 Images) Burns McKinney, a portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors who owns AT&T, said he would not say the telecoms company had won a huge victory. “It’s more that they just didn’t lose. You always wonder in these cases if there’s a winner’s curse, given the risk (AT&T) can’t get the desired synergies and they’re taking on a lot of debt with the merger,” he said. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington; Sheila Dang and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Kanishkay Singh, Supantha Mukherjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|1
2018-06-12T23:45:00.000+03:00|Turkey's Sok seeks to calm investors after Godiva owner deal hits shares|LONDON/ISTANBUL, June 12 (Reuters) - Turkish grocer Sok Marketler has been calling investors spooked by its deal to buy shares at a premium from its controlling shareholder, just weeks after issuing them to shore up its listing, a person familiar with the deal said. Sok shares have fallen by some 9 percent since it disclosed the buyback from Yildiz Holding on Friday and were down 1.4 percent at 8.76 lira at 1534 GMT on Tuesday. One international investor, who participated in $531 million initial public offering last month and has shares in Sok, confirmed it was in contact with the discount grocer. “We are aware of the situation and have been engaging with the company,” the investor said, on condition of anonymity. Sok was forced to slash its IPO price and get unlisted shareholder Yildiz Holding to buy a direct stake via a private placement in order to complete the listing, amid a downturn in demand for new Turkish listings. Sok and Yildiz did not respond to questions from Reuters. Yildiz, which owns food brands including Godiva chocolate and McVitie’s biscuits, is struggling with foreign-currency debt as the Turkish lira weakens and last month signed a deal with its banks to refinance $5.5 billion in debt. Sok, which operates some 5,500 supermarkets across Turkey, said late on Friday it had bought back 33.4 million shares - or 5.46 percent of its outstanding stock - from Yildiz for 10.5 lira a share, to “utilise commercial opportunity and make investment”. The price paid represented a 10 percent premium to Sok’s market value as of Friday’s closing share price and essentially reversed its earlier $77 million capital increase. Sok said on Tuesday the deal was subject to the same lock-up that followed its IPO and it would therefore be reimbursed by Yildiz if the market price at the end of the period was less than what it paid. The IPO lock-up ranged from six months to 18 months, according to the prospectus. Turkish markets have been hit by a sell-off in the lira over concerns about President Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on monetary policy. The central bank has since stepped in with aggressive rate hikes to avert a currency crisis. But even before that, Turkish equity markets had been hit by weakening demand for new listings. While Sok was forced to cut its price and extend its bookbuilding, some other retailers cancelled plans to list. “If you are an investor and you see this, it’s going to put you off,” the source familiar with the deal said. “Demand for Turkish deals was already much lower.” ($1 = 4.5430 liras) (Additional reporting by Can Sezer in Istanbul and Owen Wild in London; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Alexander Smith)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-12T23:53:00.000+03:00|'We have a deal', Greek PM says over Macedonian name row|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have reached a historic accord to resolve a decades-old dispute over the name of the tiny Balkan nation, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives for the swearing-in ceremony of his government at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo “I have good news .. a while ago we reached an agreement with the Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on an issue which has been on our minds for many years,” Tsipras told Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos during a televised meeting on Tuesday afternoon. “We have a deal, I’m happy because we have a good deal which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side,” he said. Tsipras had earlier spoken to his Macedonian counterpart, Zoran Zaev. The dispute between the two neighbors had been an obstacle to Macedonia joining either the NATO military alliance or the European Union. Reporting By Michele Kambas  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T00:00:00.000+03:00|Go Daddy founder Parsons buys revamped Arizona center for $133 mln|NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - A real estate concern of Bob Parsons, founder of web hosting company Go Daddy, said on Tuesday it agreed to pay $133 million for a revamped retail center in a Phoenix suburb that was a major foreclosure in 2011 following the Great Recession. The 76-acre Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale, Arizona includes 533,000 square feet of retail, office and residential space that was redeveloped by iStar Inc, a real estate investment trust headquartered in New York. “If you go back to the depths of the recession in Phoenix, Westgate was one of the poster children for big failed white elephant real estate developments,” Los Angeles-based David Sotolov, head of West Coast originations at iStar, told Reuters. The transaction, which includes 33 acres of undeveloped land, is one of Arizona’s largest retail real estate deals and marks the turnaround of a soured development with the popular “experiential” focus, iStar said in a statement. Parson’s YAM Properties LLC said a boutique hotel and more housing, office and specialty entertainment are under consideration in a five-year plan, which aligns with the Super Bowl in 2023 at the adjacent University of Phoenix Stadium. Parsons is a major Phoenix philanthropist who owns various local businesses through parent YAM Worldwide Inc, including more than $630 million of metro-area commercial real estate. Westgate was a $2 billion mixed-use center championed by local developer Steve Ellman with the Gila River Arena, home of the Arizona Coyotes hockey team, as its anchor. The university stadium is home to football’s Arizona Cardinals. In 2011 iStar Financial foreclosed on part of the property after the Ellman Companies failed to pay the balance of $97.5 million in debt on what was called the Westgate City Center, the Arizona Republic newspaper said at the time. The size, tenant mix and entertainment opportunities, along with its proximity to the sports arenas, make Westgate a high-profile asset, said Dan Dahl, who heads YAM Properties. “This property really fits our profile,” Dahl said. “Every business has a mess, and we’re here to help them clean that mess up,” he said, explaining the naming of Parsons’ companies with an expression from his youth: “You’re a mess!” (Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Daniel Bases and David Gregorio)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T00:01:00.000+03:00|Atletico Madrid agree preliminary deal for France’s Lemar|June 12, 2018 / 9:03 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Atletico Madrid agree preliminary deal for France’s Lemar Reuters Staff 1 Min Read MADRID (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid have agreed a preliminary deal to sign Thomas Lemar from French club AS Monaco, the Europa League winners announced on Tuesday. Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - France Press Conference - Domaine de Montjoye, Clairefontaine, France - June 5, 2018 France's Thomas Lemar during the press conference REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Midfielder Lemar, who is currently on international duty with France, is expected to join the Spanish club once the World Cup is over. “Atletico Madrid and AS Monaco have achieved a preliminary agreement over the transfer of Thomas Lemar to our club,” read an Atletico club statement. Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - France Press Conference - Domaine de Montjoye, Clairefontaine, France - June 5, 2018 France's Thomas Lemar during the press conference REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes “Over the next days, both clubs will work to close the agreement for the definitive transfer.” The announcement comes on the same day that Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann refused to comment on his future, amid media speculation he is on the verge of joining domestic rivals Barcelona. Reporting by Joseph Cassinelli; Editing by Toby Davis|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-13T00:23:00.000+03:00|AT&T wins court approval to buy Time Warner over Trump opposition|"June 12, 2018 / 8:47 PM / Updated 2 hours ago AT&T wins court approval to buy Time Warner over Trump opposition Diane Bartz , David Shepardson 6 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc won court approval on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and likely setting off a wave of corporate mergers. The deal, which could close next week, is seen as a turning point for a media industry that has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google which produce content and sell it online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. Cable, satellite and wireless carriers all see buying content companies as a way to add revenue. Trump, a frequent detractor of Time Warner’s CNN and its coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found little to support the government’s arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling one position “gossamer thin” and another “poppycock.” The ruling could also prompt a cascade of pay TV companies buying television and movie makers, with Comcast Corp’s bid for some Twenty-First Century Fox Inc assets potentially the first out of the gate. The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon concluded that the government had failed to show competitive harm and urged the U.S. government not to seek a stay of his ruling pending a potential appeal, saying it would be ""manifestly unjust"" to do so and not likely to succeed. “That’s a legal shocker,” said J.B. Heaton, an attorney and consultant on litigation and regulatory proceedings. “I think we’ll see now that companies will be much more confident about vertical mergers,” he added, referring to deals where a company merges with a supplier. Shares of AT&T fell about 1.3 percent in after-hours trade following the decision, while Time Warner rose more than 5 percent. Twenty-First Century Fox jumped 7 percent in extended trade after the ruling on expectations that Comcast and Walt Disney Co could start a bidding war to acquire its media assets. Comcast and Walt Disney dropped 4.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Related Coverage Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner Shares of other media and telecom companies also rose, including T-Mobile US Inc, Sprint Corp, CBS Corp, Dish Network Corp, Discovery Inc and Viacom Inc. “This will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Shares of Express Scripts Holding Co, which is set to be bought by Cigna Corp for $52 billion, rose 4.8 percent, while shares of health insurer Aetna Inc, due to be acquired by CVS Health Corp for $69 billion, rose 3.6 percent. Opponents of the AT&T decision also predicted more deals. “Consumers should fear a cascade of unchecked mergers and acquisitions to further consolidate the telecom industry resulting in less choice, fewer competitors and higher prices,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a statement. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop the deal in November 2017, saying that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content, such as CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Leaving the courtroom, Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice department’s antitrust division, said that he would read the judge’s opinion before making a decision on an appeal. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The Justice Department is not likely to be put off by the loss, said Amy Ray of the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, noting it had prevailed in stopping other mergers between rivals. “Put me on the side of the fence of thinking that AAG (Makan) Delrahim is interested in challenging the next problematic vertical transaction,” she said. Cornell law professor George Hay added that the ruling found the government’s evidence lacking, rather than a broader determination of how vertical mergers affected competition. AT&T in a six-week trial argued that the purchase of Time Warner would allow it to gain information about viewers needed to target digital advertising, much like Facebook Inc and Google already do. AT&T can use the content from Time Warner to fill its streaming services DirecTV Now and soon-to-be-launched AT&T Watch, which are cheaper online video packages with fewer channels. That could give it a leg up over rival live streaming platforms that do not own content, media analysts have said. AT&T applauded the court’s decision and said it expected to close the merger before the June 21 contractual deadline. The government estimated costs to industry rivals, such as Charter Communications Inc, would increase by $580 million a year if AT&T owned Time Warner. Before the trial started, AT&T lawyers said the Time Warner deal may have been singled out for government enforcement but the judge rejected their bid to force the disclosure of White House communications that might have shed light on the matter. The deal cost AT&T’s top lobbyist, Bob Quinn, his job in May after it became public that AT&T had paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $600,000 for advice on winning approval. Slideshow (3 Images) Burns McKinney, a portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors who owns AT&T, said he would not say the telecoms company had won a huge victory. “It’s more that they just didn’t lose. You always wonder in these cases if there’s a winner’s curse, given the risk (AT&T) can’t get the desired synergies and they’re taking on a lot of debt with the merger,” he said. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington; Sheila Dang and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Kanishkay Singh, Supantha Mukherjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker"|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-13T00:26:00.000+03:00|AT&T wins court approval to buy Time Warner over Trump opposition|"June 12, 2018 / 8:49 PM / Updated 6 hours ago AT&T wins court approval to buy Time Warner over Trump opposition Diane Bartz , David Shepardson 6 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc won court approval on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and likely setting off a wave of corporate mergers. The deal, which could close next week, is seen as a turning point for a media industry that has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google which produce content and sell it online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. Cable, satellite and wireless carriers all see buying content companies as a way to add revenue. Trump, a frequent detractor of Time Warner’s CNN and its coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found little to support the government’s arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling one position “gossamer thin” and another “poppycock.” The ruling could also prompt a cascade of pay TV companies buying television and movie makers, with Comcast Corp’s bid for some Twenty-First Century Fox Inc assets potentially the first out of the gate. The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon concluded that the government had failed to show competitive harm and urged the U.S. government not to seek a stay of his ruling pending a potential appeal, saying it would be ""manifestly unjust"" to do so and not likely to succeed. “That’s a legal shocker,” said J.B. Heaton, an attorney and consultant on litigation and regulatory proceedings. “I think we’ll see now that companies will be much more confident about vertical mergers,” he added, referring to deals where a company merges with a supplier. Shares of AT&T fell about 1.3 percent in after-hours trade following the decision, while Time Warner rose more than 5 percent. Twenty-First Century Fox jumped 7 percent in extended trade after the ruling on expectations that Comcast and Walt Disney Co could start a bidding war to acquire its media assets. Comcast and Walt Disney dropped 4.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Related Coverage Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner Shares of other media and telecom companies also rose, including T-Mobile US Inc, Sprint Corp, CBS Corp, Dish Network Corp, Discovery Inc and Viacom Inc. “This will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Shares of Express Scripts Holding Co, which is set to be bought by Cigna Corp for $52 billion, rose 4.8 percent, while shares of health insurer Aetna Inc, due to be acquired by CVS Health Corp for $69 billion, rose 3.6 percent. Opponents of the AT&T decision also predicted more deals. “Consumers should fear a cascade of unchecked mergers and acquisitions to further consolidate the telecom industry resulting in less choice, fewer competitors and higher prices,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a statement. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop the deal in November 2017, saying that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content, such as CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Leaving the courtroom, Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice department’s antitrust division, said that he would read the judge’s opinion before making a decision on an appeal. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The Justice Department is not likely to be put off by the loss, said Amy Ray of the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, noting it had prevailed in stopping other mergers between rivals. “Put me on the side of the fence of thinking that AAG (Makan) Delrahim is interested in challenging the next problematic vertical transaction,” she said. Cornell law professor George Hay added that the ruling found the government’s evidence lacking, rather than a broader determination of how vertical mergers affected competition. AT&T in a six-week trial argued that the purchase of Time Warner would allow it to gain information about viewers needed to target digital advertising, much like Facebook Inc and Google already do. AT&T can use the content from Time Warner to fill its streaming services DirecTV Now and soon-to-be-launched AT&T Watch, which are cheaper online video packages with fewer channels. That could give it a leg up over rival live streaming platforms that do not own content, media analysts have said. AT&T applauded the court’s decision and said it expected to close the merger before the June 21 contractual deadline. The government estimated costs to industry rivals, such as Charter Communications Inc, would increase by $580 million a year if AT&T owned Time Warner. Before the trial started, AT&T lawyers said the Time Warner deal may have been singled out for government enforcement but the judge rejected their bid to force the disclosure of White House communications that might have shed light on the matter. The deal cost AT&T’s top lobbyist, Bob Quinn, his job in May after it became public that AT&T had paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $600,000 for advice on winning approval. Slideshow (3 Images) Burns McKinney, a portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors who owns AT&T, said he would not say the telecoms company had won a huge victory. “It’s more that they just didn’t lose. You always wonder in these cases if there’s a winner’s curse, given the risk (AT&T) can’t get the desired synergies and they’re taking on a lot of debt with the merger,” he said. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington; Sheila Dang and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Kanishkay Singh, Supantha Mukherjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-13T00:37:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 12)|BRUSSELS, June 12 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS None NEW LISTINGS — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of British healthcare provider Heath and Protection Solutions Ltd (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Private equity firm Apollo Management to acquire Belgian insurer Generali Belgium (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Irish fresh food producer Total Produce to acquire a 45-percent stake in U.S. peer Dole Food Company (notified June 11/deadline July 16) — Private equity firm Advent International to acquire generics drugmaker Zentiva from French healthcare group Sanofi (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 12 after the European Commission opens an in-depth investigation) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 25 — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (notified May 18/deadline June 25/simplified) — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Italian motorway operator Atlantia and German builder ACS Hochtief to jointly acquire Spanish construction company Abertis Infraestructuras (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 11 — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) JULY 12 — French energy company Total directo acquire French power utility Direct Energie (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Private equity firm Partners Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to have joint control of U.S.software company GlobalLogic which is now jointly controlled by CPPIB and private equity firm Apax Partners (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) JULY 13 — Italian company Snam to acquire Greek gas grid operator DESFA (notified June 8/July 13/simplified) — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|1
2018-06-13T00:42:00.000+03:00|BC Partners buys Italy's Forno d'Asolo in deal valuing group at 300 mln euros-source|MILAN, June 12 (Reuters) - Private equity firm BC Partners has bought Italy’s Forno d’Asolo in a deal that implies an enterprise value for the pastry company of around 300 million euros ($353 million), one source close to the transaction said on Tuesday. BC Partners said in a statement earlier on Tuesday it had acquired the food group from 21 Partners, the investment fund of Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Benetton. Forno d’Asolo, which makes frozen pastry and bakery products, is expected to report core profits of 25 million euros for this year. Rothschild and Mediobanca acted as financial advisers for 21 Partners, while Intesa Sanpaolo assisted BC Partners in the acquisition. ($1 = 0.8488 euros) (Reporting by Francesca Landini; editing by Agnieszka Flak)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|1
2018-06-13T00:54:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger|(Adds share prices of media companies) By Carl O’Donnell and Diane Bartz June 12 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave a ringing endorsement to AT&T Inc’s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. The ruling by Judge Richard Leon bit.ly/2Jxx6qE of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner's content. The judge’s strong approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to seek a stay if they opposed the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. Investors are now also expecting major media consolidation, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc shares rising more than 6 percent in after-market trading. Cable network owner Discovery Inc saw shares increase 3.2 percent while mobile providers, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc , which are waiting for a government approval of their own, also saw a bump following the decision. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. The Justice Department had argued that AT&T&rsquo;s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T&rsquo;s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Fox away from Walt Disney Co, which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T&rsquo;S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signaled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp and Viacom Inc, analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-13T01:07:00.000+03:00|Brazil pension fund Petros expects to sell part of Vale stake in 2018 -CEO|RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12 (Reuters) - Brazilian pension fund Petros, which manages pensions for employees of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, expects this year to sell part of its stake in iron ore miner Vale SA, Petros Chief Executive Officer Walter Mendes said on Tuesday. Mendes, on the sidelines of a conference in Rio de Janeiro, said the stake sale is being discussed with other shareholders, but the pension fund will not “rush” to sell nor divest from its full stake in the miner this year. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by David Gregorio)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T01:32:00.000+03:00|Macron urges Iran to ensure commitment to nuclear deal is 'without any ambiguity'|"PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday that he remained committed to the nuclear deal with world powers, but that Tehran needed to fully comply with its commitments. French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after he attended the ""prise d'armes"" military ceremony at the Invalides in Paris, France, June 11, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters “The President of the Republic recalled the will of France, the Britain, Germany, Russia and China, to continue to implement the Vienna agreement in all its dimensions,” Macron’s office said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone. “The president informed President Rouhani of the progress in the work being done on our side. He hoped that Iran, for its part, will fulfill its obligations without any ambiguity.” Macron confirmed a ministerial meeting would be held in the coming weeks in Vienna. French diplomatic sources said the meeting was likely to take place during the week of June 25. Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Alison Williams  "|https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-13T01:32:00.000+03:00|Macedonian PM Zaev confirms 'historic' name deal reached with Greece|SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of Northern Macedonia after reaching a historic deal with Greece on their decades-old dispute over the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev gives a news conference at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo Zaev said resolving the long-standing issue would open Macedonia’s access to NATO and the European Union. “There is no way back,” Zaev told a news conference after a telephone conversation with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras who had earlier announced the breakthrough on the name. Reporting by Kole Casule, writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; editing by Gareth Jones  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T01:32:00.000+03:00|Latvian banking regulator approves liquidation of ABLV Bank|RIGA, June 12, (Reuters) - Latvia’s banking regulator on Tuesday approved the self-liquidation of ABLV Bank, the country’s third-largest financial institution. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has accused ABLV of institutionalising money laundering, violating sanctions imposed on North Korea and using bribery to influence Latvian officials. In February, ABLV - which has been focusing on serving non-resident clients - was ruled failing or likely to fail by the European Central Bank. “The FCMC’s Board has approved the bank’s application (plan) for self-liquidation and tomorrow the process begins,” Peters Putnins, head of the Financial and Capital Market Commission, told a press conference. The regulator said that compared to other forms of liquidation, a self-imposed liquidation allowed it better control over the entire process and was a more appropriate way to ensure that the bank’s assets were preserved. “Of course, we will control everything that is connected with the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) side and the bank itself will have to think about it internally very hard,” said Putnins. The privately held bank denies any wrongdoing and it turned to the European Court of Justice, asking it to review decisions of the ECB and the Single Resolution Board at the start of May. The U.S. sanction proposal against ABLV and investigation by the police into possible bribery of the governor of the country’s central bank Ilmars Rimsevics, who denies any wrongdoing, are Latvia’s worst financial troubles in a decade. The Latvian government has adopted an action plan for cleaning up the non-resident banking sector and has already banned financial institutions from cooperating with shell companies that fulfil certain criteria. Reporting by Gederts Gelzis; Editing by Daniel Dickson and David Evans  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T01:49:00.000+03:00|Toshiba unveils $6.3 billion share buyback after completing massive chip deal|June 13, 2018 / 3:49 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Toshiba unveils $6.3 billion share buyback after completing massive chip deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp announced a planned share buyback of around 700 billion yen ($6.33 billion), following up on a pledge to share the windfall from an $18 billion sale of its memory chip business which closed earlier this month. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Shares of the company rose 7 percent on Wednesday after the news. Toshiba had promised to reward shareholders after completing the sale of the chips unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital. The company had in recent years cancelled dividend payments and came close to a delisting following an accounting scandal and massive cost overruns at its U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse. It avoided the delisting with a $5.4 billion share issue to overseas investors late last year. Analysts have said Toshiba’s growth prospects could be limited without its semiconductor unit and the medical business, which it sold earlier, but the company said it was considering dividend payments and the possibility of further moves to bolster shareholder returns. “Even after repurchasing 700 billion yen in our shares, and although we no longer hold a memory business or overseas nuclear business, we assume we can maintain a healthy capital ratio,” it Toshiba said it will carefully consider the timing and method of the repurchases but aimed to carry them out as soon as possible. ($1 = 110.5300 yen)|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-13T02:01:00.000+03:00|British lawmakers to question Sainsbury's and Asda CEOs over deal|LONDON (Reuters) - A British parliamentary committee will question the CEOs of the UK’s no.2 supermarket Sainsbury’s ( SBRY.L ) and its third-biggest supermarket Asda ahead of their proposed combination, as scrutiny of the deal cranks up. FILE PHOTO: Till receipts from Asda and Sainsbury's can be seen in this photo illustration April 28, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Sainsbury’s announced a 7.3 billion pound ($9.77 billion) deal to buy U.S. group Walmart’s ( WMT.N ) Asda in April. If it goes ahead, the combined giant will overtake Tesco ( TSCO.L ) as Britain’s biggest supermarket group. The competition regulator has started a preliminary probe into the deal ahead of a formal investigation, while on Wednesday lawmakers from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said that they would also gather evidence on it. “Grocery retailers do not have a great record of treating their suppliers well,” the committee’s chair Neil Parish said in a statement. “My committee is holding this session to investigate how the biggest potential shake-up of the grocery market in recent years could affect British farmers and suppliers, as well as consumers.” The cross-party group will question Sainsbury’s Mike Coupe and Asda’s Roger Burnley on June 20. Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T02:10:00.000+03:00|U.S. House Republicans fail to reach immigration bill deal; talks continue|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A high-level meeting of U.S. House of Representatives Republicans ended on Tuesday with no deal and no draft immigration legislation even being offered, a leading lawmaker said upon exiting the 90-minute, closed-door session. FILE PHOTO: Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, listens at a news conference with other Republican members of Congress announcing their introduction of a U.S. House resolution alleging misconduct in the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation and requesting the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the law enforcement probes into the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis Representative Mark Meadows, who heads a group of hard-right conservative Republicans, told reporters that while he was still optimistic a compromise could be found, there was “no deal at this point” and “I haven’t seen a draft proposal” for legislation. Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Sandra Maler  |http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/PoliticsNews|0
2018-06-13T02:17:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Brazil pension fund Petros expects to sell part of Vale stake in 2018-CEO|(Updates with Vale shareholder Petros comments) By Carolina Mandl RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12 (Reuters) - Brazilian pension fund Petros expects to sell part of its stake in mining company Vale SA this year, Chief Executive Officer Walter Mendes said on Tuesday, an indication that Vale’s main shareholders may sell their stakes separately. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a pension fund conference in Rio de Janeiro, Mendes said Petros wants to sell part of its stake in Vale this year, but does not want to “rush” nor divest completely from the world’s top iron ore miner. Petros, which manages the pensions of workers at Petroleo Brasileiro SA, last year reached a deal under which the state-controlled oil company and its employees agreed to boost contributions to the fund to tackle a 27.7 billion reais ($7.5 billion) actuarial deficit. Funcef, another Vale shareholder that manages pensions for employees of the state-owned lender Caixa Economica Federal, said earlier on Tuesday it has not yet decided whether to sell its stake. Funcef director Paulo Werneck, at the same conference in Rio, said the fund sees no immediate urgency to sell its Vale stake. It has enough liquidity to cover retirement payments over the next two years, he said, adding: “We don’t need a fire sale”. Since Vale unified its outstanding stock into a single class of shares last year, controlling shareholders such as pension funds Previ and Funcef, holding company Bradespar SA and Mitsui & Co Ltd are allowed to gradually sell their stakes. The first lock-up period ended in February, allowing partial sale of the stakes. Vale’s corporate reorganization approved last year aims to turn the miner into a company with dispersed share ownership in the next decade. Funcef is also considering which stocks pay larger dividends when choosing stocks from its portfolio to sell, Werneck said. Vale said publicly it intends to hand out $1 billion in dividends each quarter this year. The sale of Vale stakes has been a subject of market speculation since the move to a single class of stock. Pension funds have been considering selling 10 to 12.5 percent of their stakes in Vale together. But Reuters reported in April that Previ, the largest Vale pension fund shareholder, which manages pensions of workers at state-controlled Banco do Brasil SA, is not likely to sell its shares in 2018. Vale shares were up 1.6 percent at 51.66 reais per share. They are up 30 percent year-to-date. ($1 = 3.6930 reais) (Reporting by Carolina Mandl; writing by Tatiana Bautzer, editing by Bill Berkrot)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T02:18:00.000+03:00|MPs to question Sainsbury's and Asda CEOs over deal|June 12, 2018 / 11:12 PM / Updated 8 hours ago MPs to question Sainsbury's and Asda CEOs over deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A British parliamentary committee will question the CEOs of the UK’s no.2 supermarket Sainsbury’s and its third-biggest supermarket Asda ahead of their proposed combination, as scrutiny of the deal cranks up. FILE PHOTO: Till receipts from Asda and Sainsbury's can be seen in this photo illustration April 28, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Sainsbury’s announced a 7.3 billion pound deal to buy U.S. group Walmart’s Asda in April. If it goes ahead, the combined giant will overtake Tesco as Britain’s biggest supermarket group. The competition regulator has started a preliminary probe into the deal ahead of a formal investigation, while on Wednesday MPs from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said that they would also gather evidence on it. “Grocery retailers do not have a great record of treating their suppliers well,” the committee’s chair Neil Parish said in a statement. “My committee is holding this session to investigate how the biggest potential shake-up of the grocery market in recent years could affect British farmers and suppliers, as well as consumers.” The cross-party group will question Sainsbury’s Mike Coupe and Asda’s Roger Burnley on June 20. Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-13T03:00:00.000+03:00|Comcast offers to buy Fox media assets for $65 billion in cash | (Reuters) – Comcast Corp offered $65 billion on Wednesday for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc media assets, emboldened by AT&T Inc prevailing over the Trump administration’s attempt to block a merger with Time Warner Inc . Share this: ||0
2018-06-13T03:05:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Argentina's peso firms as central bank sells dollars, holds rate|(Adds official amount sold by central bank) BUENOS AIRES, June 12 (Reuters) - Argentina’s peso strengthened on Tuesday, breaking two sessions of losses as the central bank said it sold some $695 million, returning to the spot market despite signaling last week that exchange rate volatility had passed. The peso closed up 1.4 percent at 25.75 per U.S. dollar, rebounding from a record low of 26.20 touched on Monday. Traders said the central bank, along with state-run Banco Nacion, had offered to sell dollars at various times and at several different levels. “Only the dollars from the state-run banks can calm the foreign exchange tension,” one trader said on condition of anonymity, adding that other market actors were expecting further depreciation and were holding onto their dollars as a result. “There are no signs that private investors want to sell.” A run on the peso prompted Argentina to announce on May 8 that it was turning to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. The central bank hiked interest rates to 40 percent, the world’s highest, and for weeks repeatedly offered to sell $5 billion in reserves at 25 pesos per dollar, effectively preventing the peso from falling below that level. But the monetary authority withdrew that offer on Friday, the day after its $50 billion standby arrangement with the IMF was announced. Central bank Governor Federico Sturzenegger had said on Thursday the exchange rate “turbulence” had been “surpassed,” foreshadowing the withdrawal of the offer. The central bank held its policy rate steady at 40 percent on Tuesday, arguing that while May inflation would likely be lower than private-sector estimates, it appeared to be picking up in June. Government statistics agency Indec was expected to publish May inflation figures on Thursday. “This scenario demands a decisive response,” the central bank said in a statement. “This institution is committed to maintaining a contractive bias in monetary policy until it observes tangible signals that both inflation and inflation expectations are starting to decline.” (Reporting by Jorge Otaola; writing by Luc Cohen; editing by David Gregorio, Tom Brown and Jonathan Oatis)  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-06-13T04:57:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Top shareholders of Brazil's BRF will not sell at current prices|(Adds Previ comments, background) By Carolina Mandl and Paula Laier RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, June 12 (Reuters) - Two pension funds that control 22 percent of Brazil’s BRF SA, the world’s largest poultry exporter, are not interested in selling their stakes at current prices, the funds’ chief executives said on Tuesday. Previ CEO Gueitiro Genso said his fund, which manages pensions for employees of state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil SA, will not sell its stake in the near or medium term. Walter Mendes, CEO of Petros, the fund for employees of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, also said it was unwilling to sell. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Rio de Janeiro, the executives said they were unaware of proposals from BRF’s rivals for a merger with the company. Minerva SA last week denied speculation about such a merger, following reports that the meatpacker had contacted investors for funding. BRF’s board will be responsible for the choice of a new CEO, the fund executives said. Guenso noted that current Chairman Pedro Parente, who quit his other job as Petrobras’ CEO days ago, would be a “great name.” Brazilian police arrested BRF’s former in March on charges that he and other executives knew the company engaged in fraud to evade food safety checks. BRF’s board named Parente as chairman in April to turn the company around after two years of net losses caused by a food safety scandal and mismanagement of feed inventory. The agreement on Parente’s appointment ended a long boardroom battle waged by shareholders with dissenting views on how to rescue BRF from its problems. BRF shares have slumped 43 percent this year because of the food safety scandal, a huge truckers’ strike against high diesel prices that paralyzed the Brazilian economy in May and forced farms to cull some 70 million chickens due to a lack of feed. Last week, BRF shares were hard hit by China’s decision to impose temporary anti-dumping measures on imports of Brazilian chicken meat. On Tuesday, Credit Suisse analysts reduced the target price for BRF shares to 18 reais from 28 reais. BRF shares fell 3.2 percent in Sao Paulo to 20.82 reais. In a report to clients, the analysts led by Victor Saragiotto said the new target price factors in the latest results, the spike in grain prices and the depreciation of Brazilian currency. (Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Richard Chang)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T05:05:00.000+03:00|AT&T-Time Warner ruling opens door to more media deals|June 12 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc’s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc received a nod from a federal judge on Tuesday without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp, and Verizon Communications Inc to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. The ruling by Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content. The judge’s approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to oppose the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. The Justice Department had argued that AT&T&rsquo;s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T&rsquo;s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Twenty-First Century Fox Inc away from Walt Disney Co, which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T&rsquo;S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signaled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp and Viacom Inc, analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://www.reuters.com/news/media|0
2018-06-13T05:08:00.000+03:00|Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner|(Reuters) - AT&T Inc won approval from a U.S. court on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, allowing AT&T to compete with internet companies that dominate digital advertising and providing new sources of revenue. FILE PHOTO: An AT&T logo is seen at a AT&T building in New York City, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo GEORGE HAY, CORNELL LAW SCHOOL, ITHACA, NEW YORK “The opinion is not a radical one and it will be difficult to overturn on appeal. “In ruling that the merger could go forward, the judge did not take the approach favored by some that a vertical transaction like this could never pose a competitive problem. Rather he took the straightforward position that the evidence did not support the assumptions on which the DOJ theory of competitive harm depended. “Therefore, he found that AT&T would be unlikely to find it profitable to withhold content from its distribution rivals and that any impact on the price of content would be negligible. The result is not a green light for all possible media mergers but will serve as a roadmap for the kinds of facts merging parties will have to assemble to make their case. And in that sense it will certainly prompt additional media mergers. “The opinion does not take the DOJ completely out of the merger business but simply admonishes them to make sure the facts support their theory. Of course, the DOJ can seek to prevent the merger from going forward pending appeal though the judge discouraged them from doing so. Even if the merger is consummated, the DOJ can appeal the decision but it is uncertain whether they will.” JENNIFER FRITZSCHE, SENIOR ANALYST AT WELLS FARGO, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: “This ruling from Judge Leon represents the best case scenario for (AT&T & Time Warner), in our view. Not only was the deal approved, but the Judge did not impose any conditions on the merger, and went so far as to encourage DOJ not to file a stay pending appeal. We fully expect (AT&T) to close the acquisition on 6/18 (the earliest point that it can), and look for a business update shortly thereafter.” JIM COX, DUKE UNIVERSITY LAW PROFESSOR, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA: “I’m not surprised about this. The government has not had a rich history in recent years... in these vertical acquisitions. There was a lot more focus 50 years ago on industry structure... Even the business community has been questioning whether AT&T is doing the right thing. This was a hard road to hoe for the Department of Justice, and it was a case worth bringing, but unfortunately the precedents just weren’t there. This is a judge who is very good and takes the law seriously, and he just didn’t have the stepping stones to get to where the Department of Justice wanted him to go.” DAVID GLICKMAN, CEO, ULTRA MOBILE AND MINT MOBILE, CALIFORNIA: “I’m not sure the judge or the Justice Department considered all the impacts this merger could have on smaller competitors,” Glickman said, who said he tried to buy an advertisement on DirecTV, but was rejected because his company is a competitor of AT&T. “At the same time, if this decision helps T-Mobile and Sprint complete their merger, that’s better for consumers.” BURNS MCKINNEY, PORTFOLIO MANAGER WHO OWNS AT&T, ALLIANZ GLOBAL INVESTORS, DALLAS: “I wouldn’t call it a huge victory for AT&T, it’s more that they just didn’t lose. You always wonder in these cases if there’s a winner’s curse, given the risk [AT&T] can’t get the desired synergies and they’re taking on a lot of debt with the merger.” GENE KIMMELMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, FORMER CHIEF COUNSEL FOR U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S ANTITRUST DIVISION, WASHINGTON: “This is a very disappointing result. We’re most concerned that this will open the floodgates to mergers among the largest and entertainment and transmission companies, further consolidating the power of dominant cable and satellite companies. The end result for consumers is that online video is unlikely to break the large bundles and high monthly charges that consumers have been oppressed with for decades. All video will effectively go through the portals of these dominant providers and Internet video will remain and add on to the high price of broadband and cable service.” “It’s a very disappointing result for consumers. I think it also sends the wrong signal to the market place at a time when the public is increasingly worried about giant tech companies’ growing dominance over the market place. This unfortunately sends the signal that those companies as well can continue to gobble up adjacent properties and grow their market power.” “This is all headed in the wrong direction for the goal of promoting more consumer choices, lower prices and greater innovation in the market place.” BRIAN WIESER, ANALYST, PIVOTAL RESEARCH GROUP, OREGON: “This was much what we expected would happen almost two years ago that the deal would eventually go through. Obviously, it’s not a done deal yet, it sounds like appeals are still possible. But, in terms of progressing toward the kind of outcome we always expected would occur, we are here. Given what’s evolved over the last year in particular, it does mean there will be more M&A to the extent that there were mergers or acquisitions which were held up because they wanted to see how this plays out so, I think Comcast has already indicated it will bid for Fox, that could have happened regardless of this ruling but, it almost certainly will now. This trend toward consolidation among conglomerates has been persistent. If AT&T had lost, that might have caused less M&A, but this keeps open the realm of possibilities of combinations.” J.B. HEATON, ATTORNEY AND CONSULTANT ON LITIGATION AND REGULATORY PROCEEDINGS, INDEPENDENT PRACTICE, CHICAGO: “In 18 years of legal practice, I’ve never heard a judge say you should not appeal. That’s as close to him saying the government’s case was frivolous. That’s a legal shocker. I think we’ll see now that companies will be much more confident about vertical mergers.” NILS TRACY, ANALYST, REORG RESEARCH INC, WASHINGTON D.C.: “The ruling ... represents a major turning point in U.S. antitrust law, as it limits the power of the federal government to block vertical mergers purely out of a desire for structural rather than behavioral remedies. This policy point has been the cornerstone of antitrust policy under the Trump administration. The decision will make it more difficult for the DOJ and FTC to block vertical deals in the future, and will likely lead to a wave of vertical M&A in the near term. This decision bodes well for other vertical deals currently under review such as (Aetna Inc-CVS Health Corp) AET/CVS, (Express Scripts Holding Co-Cigna Corp) ESRX/CI, and Twenty-first Century Fox Inc-Walt Disney Co) FOX/Disney.” ERIC SCHIFFER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM PATRIARCH, GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA: “You are witnessing the single biggest day this century in the marriage of large media with giant distribution. Fox surges in interest because of this ruling with a voracious Comcast that won’t want to back down. Verizon now will go into massive hunting mode and a CBS Verizon tie-up is a real possibility. The probabilities of a Sprint/T-Mobile deal became powerfully more realistic.” BRETT SAPPINGTON, DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PARKS ASSOCIATES, DALLAS: “If you’re AT&T, who do you want to include in your own skinny bundle? The channels you own. This means if you’re a small content network, you have less negotiating power, because the bundler owns its own content.” Sappington added that without conditions, AT&T doesn’t have to guarantee anything other than its promise that it will play nice with other distributors and content providers. “That’s a big win for AT&T.” ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL MAKAN DELRAHIM, WASHINGTON: “We are disappointed with the Court’s decision today. We continue to believe that the pay-TV market will be less competitive and less innovative as a result of the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner. We will closely review the Court’s opinion and consider next steps in light of our commitment to preserving competition for the benefit of American consumers.” DANIEL IVES, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER AND HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, GBH INSIGHTS, GREATER NEW YORK: “With Judge Leon ruling in favor of letting the landmark AT&T/Time Warner $85 billion deal to go ahead as planned this afternoon despite DOJ anti-trust concerns, the impact from this decision will have wide reaching ramifications across the telecommunications, media, and tech industry for decades to come.” “For AT&T and Time Warner this is a ‘major victory lap’ as having these combined media and entertainment assets under the hood of AT&T will significantly enhance streaming endeavors and cross pollination going forward with a major shot across the bow toward other cable and wireless players as this telecommunications and media behemoth is now hitting the ground running.” “In particular we would expect aggressive bundling of HBO, CNN, and other proprietary sports content (NBA, NCAA, MLB) from Time Warner into the AT&T network as a key incentive for current and new AT&T wireless customers.” “With the AT&T ruling to move the deal forward, Comcast and Roberts will likely throw their hat in the ring in its quest to battle Iger and Disney for these unique entertainment assets that will propel the eventual winner to become a major streaming player and content rich behemoth for years to come.” JEFFREY LOGSDON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, JBL ADVISORS, CALIFORNIA: “For AT&T, birth of vision in deal to buy TWX. Death of a vision when DOJ challenged prolonged the process. Fulfillment of a vision now that the court has approved the deal. The court is the last place you want to accomplish your M&A goal but in this case it was a sweet victory.” MARY ANN HALFORD, SENIOR ADVISOR, OC&C STRATEGY CONSULTANTS, NEW YORK: “I would expect that the government will file an appeal to prevent a June 18th closing. If that appeal is granted, then Time Warner will want compensation for extending the merger termination date. All that being said, I know that Time Warner management is keen to get this deal done.” “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney. This will then trigger Disney coming in with a higher price. They are already lining up cash to increase that offer. The question then will be how will the Murdoch family decide which offer they take. There complexities around taxes, voting shares, antitrust concerns depending on who the winner is.” “The other interesting factor here is that on June 15th, it is likely that the EU will ok Comcast buying Sky - this will likely lead the Sky board to recommend a Comcast-Sky deal go forward. There are still too many complexities around Fox-Sky. Assuming Disney wins Fox, Fox still has to sell Sky News as well as raise its offer for Sky to meet Comcast’s.” “There are a lot of moving pieces. All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” MARKET REACTION: AT&T shares fell 2.8 percent in afterhours trading. Ahead of the ruling, its shares gained 0.5 percent to close at $34.35. Time Warner shares gained 4.3 percent in afterhours trading. Ahead of the ruling, the stock closed up fractionally to $96.22. Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300  |https://www.reuters.com/innovation|1
2018-06-13T05:21:00.000+03:00|M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger|(Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave a ringing endorsement to AT&T Inc’s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. Smartphone with AT&T logo is seen in front of displayed Time Warner logo in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The ruling by Judge Richard Leon bit.ly/2Jxx6qE of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner's content. The judge’s strong approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to seek a stay if they opposed the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. Investors are now also expecting major media consolidation, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc shares rising more than 6 percent in after-market trading. Cable network owner Discovery Inc saw shares increase 3.2 percent while mobile providers, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc, which are waiting for a government approval of their own, also saw a bump following the decision. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. Related Coverage AT&T legal win could spur another jumbo bond; more M&As Fox shares pop ahead of expected Comcast bid Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner The Justice Department had argued that AT&T&rsquo;s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T&rsquo;s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Smartphone with AT&T logo is seen in front of displayed Time Warner logo in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Fox away from Walt Disney Co, which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T&rsquo;S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signaled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp and Viacom Inc, analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://www.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-13T06:18:00.000+03:00|Toshiba says to buy back $6.33 billion in shares|June 13, 2018 / 3:19 AM / Updated 33 minutes ago Toshiba sets $6.3 billion share buyback with proceeds of chip unit sale Reuters Staff 2 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) unveiled a higher-than-expected $6.3 billion (4.71 billion pounds) stock buyback that sent its shares up as much as 11 percent, as the Japanese firm followed up on a pledge to share proceeds from an $18 billion sale of its memory chip business. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Its announcement on Wednesday that about 700 billion yen ($6.33 billion) of its shares will be repurchased allayed concerns Toshiba may keep more of its cash, given its uncertain outlook after the disposal of the chip unit and other assets. Toshiba had promised to reward shareholders after the sale of the chips unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital closed earlier this month. Investors, including activist hedge funds, were expected to press the company at its annual shareholders’ meeting on June 27 to share the cash raised from the unit’s sale. “The scale of the buyback exceeds what some in the market expected, which was around 600 billion yen. The timing of the announcement is earlier than we had expected, so the first impression is positive,” Mizuho Securities analyst Takeshi Tanaka said in a note to clients. Toshiba shares hit an intra-day high of 351 yen on Wednesday, before erasing some of the gains to be up 6.7 percent at 337 yen. The company had in recent years cancelled dividend payments and came close to a delisting following an accounting scandal and massive cost overruns at its U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse. It avoided the delisting with a $5.4 billion share issue to overseas investors, including activist funds, late last year. The company said it was considering dividend payments and the possibility of further moves to bolster shareholder returns. Toshiba said it will carefully consider the timing and method of the share repurchases but aimed to carry them out as soon as possible. Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T06:45:00.000+03:00|Toshiba unveils $6.3 billion share buyback after completing massive chip deal|June 13, 2018 / 2:33 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago Toshiba sets $6.3 billion share buyback with proceeds of chip unit sale Reuters Staff 2 Min Read TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp unveiled a higher-than-expected $6.3 billion stock buyback that sent its shares up as much as 11 percent, as the Japanese firm followed up on a pledge to share proceeds from an $18 billion sale of its memory chip business. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Its announcement on Wednesday that about 700 billion yen ($6.33 billion) of its shares will be repurchased allayed concerns Toshiba may keep more of its cash, given its uncertain outlook after the disposal of the chip unit and other assets. Toshiba had promised to reward shareholders after the sale of the chips unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital closed earlier this month. Investors, including activist hedge funds, were expected to press the company at its annual shareholders’ meeting on June 27 to share the cash raised from the unit’s sale. “The scale of the buyback exceeds what some in the market expected, which was around 600 billion yen. The timing of the announcement is earlier than we had expected, so the first impression is positive,” Mizuho Securities analyst Takeshi Tanaka said in a note to clients. Toshiba shares hit an intra-day high of 351 yen on Wednesday, before erasing some of the gains to be up 6.7 percent at 337 yen. The company had in recent years canceled dividend payments and came close to a delisting following an accounting scandal and massive cost overruns at its U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse. It avoided the delisting with a $5.4 billion share issue to overseas investors, including activist funds, late last year. The company said it was considering dividend payments and the possibility of further moves to bolster shareholder returns. Toshiba said it will carefully consider the timing and method of the share repurchases but aimed to carry them out as soon as possible. Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T08:10:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Linde, Madrigal Pharma, Cellnex, Education Realty, Comcast) June 13 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2020 GMT on Wednesday: ** Comcast Corp offered $65 billion for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc media assets, emboldened by AT&T Inc prevailing over the Trump administration’s attempt to block a merger with Time Warner Inc. ** AT&T Inc won court approval on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and likely setting off a wave of corporate mergers. ** Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings has made a A$12.98 billion ($9.8 billion) takeover offer for Australia’s biggest gas pipeline company, APA Group, offering a hefty 33 percent premium to tap into a hot gas market. ** Medical device maker Stryker Corp was not in discussions to buy rival Boston Scientific Corp, Stryker said in a regulatory filing, two days after reports of a potential deal between the two surfaced. ** Greystar Real Estate Partners is in exclusive discussions to buy Education Realty Trust Inc, owner of collegiate housing communities, for about $3.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ** Australia’s Investa Office Fund and Blackstone Group entered into a scheme implementation agreement through which the U.S. private equity giant would acquire the real estate investment trust for A$3.08 billion ($2.3 billion). ** Siemens AG is considering strategic options including a potential sale of its struggling business that makes large gas turbines for power plants, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. ** A British parliamentary committee will question the CEOs of the UK’s no.2 supermarket Sainsbury’s and its third-biggest supermarket Asda ahead of their proposed combination, as scrutiny of the deal cranks up. ** Canadian utility AltaGas Ltd said it would sell a 35 percent stake in three hydroelectric projects in Northwest British Columbia for C$922 million ($707.87 million) to help fund its acquisition of U.S.-based WGL Holdings Inc. ** Finland’s centre-right government sold a stake of 5 percent in oil refiner and biofuel company Neste for 861 million euros ($1.0 billion), prompting criticism from the opposition that it gives up too much control of company. ** German car parts maker IFA Rotorion has been put up for sale by its family owners in a potential 500 million euro ($588 million) deal, two people close to the matter said. ** Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it has accepted private equity firm Platinum Equity’s $2.1 billion buyout offer for the company’s LifeScan Inc unit. ** France’s ERAMET increased its all-cash offer for Australia’s Mineral Deposits Ltd to A$1.75 a share, valuing the company at A$344.7 million ($261 million). ** Australia’s Gateway Lifestyle Group said it received a non-binding offer from Hometown Australia Holdings Pty Ltd and Hometown America Communities Ltd Partnership - a proposal that values the company at A$635 million ($480 million). ** Finnish utility Fortum has agreed to sell its 10 percent stake in Norwegian hydropower company Hafslund Produksjon to Svartisen Holding AS for 160 million euros ($188 million), it said. ** Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will offload a further 49 percent stake and not limit the sale to only strategic investors as previously planned, in order to attract more buyers, its chief executive officer said. ** Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc is exploring a sale, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, nearly three weeks after the company reported mid-stage data from its drug to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH. ** Italy’s Benetton family is in talks with long-term investors including Singapore’s GIC to sell up to 30 percent in a new holding entity that will handle its stake in Spanish telecom masts group Cellnex, four sources familiar with the deal told Reuters. ** South African frozen fish supplier Sea Harvest Group said a consortium of black investors it leads will buy the fishing business of domestic peer Viking Fishing Group for 885 million rand ($66 million). ** Brazil’s antitrust regulator approved the $80 billion merger of gas group Linde AG and Praxair Inc, as long as the companies go ahead with an undisclosed asset sale plan. (Compiled by Nivedita Balu and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-13T08:47:00.000+03:00|Australia's Gateway Lifestyle gets takeover offer from Hometown|June 13 (Reuters) - Australia’s Gateway Lifestyle Group on Wednesday said it received a confidential, non-binding offer from Hometown Australia Holdings Pty Ltd and Hometown America Communities Ltd Partnership. The offer is for A$2.10 per stapled security, and is subject to a conditions including due diligence and approval by the Australian foreign investment regulator. $1 = 1.3207 Australian dollars Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180612.html|0
2018-06-13T09:24:00.000+03:00|Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal|June 13, 2018 / 6:25 AM / a day ago Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - South African miner Tharisa on Wednesday deepened its exposure to Zimbabwe, saying it had bought a 26.8 percent shareholding in Karo Mining Holdings for $4.5 million. It also bought chrome business Salene in Zimbabwe in May. In a statement Tharisa said the deal would give it access to an area covering 23,903 hectares on the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, containing an estimated 96 million ounces in platinum group metals. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAzimbabweNews|0
2018-06-13T09:24:00.000+03:00|Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal|June 13, 2018 / 6:25 AM / Updated a day ago Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - South African miner Tharisa on Wednesday deepened its exposure to Zimbabwe, saying it had bought a 26.8 percent shareholding in Karo Mining Holdings for $4.5 million. It also bought chrome business Salene in Zimbabwe in May. In a statement Tharisa said the deal would give it access to an area covering 23,903 hectares on the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, containing an estimated 96 million ounces in platinum group metals. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-13T10:00:00.000+03:00|China's CITIC files for approval of taking over Czech CEFC - watchdog|PRAGUE, June 13 (Reuters) - A unit of China’s state-owned conglomerate CITIC has filed a request for antitrust approval to take full control over Czech assets of troubled private Chinese group CEFC China Energy, Czech competition watchdog UOHS said on Wednesday. The Czech assets involved are the CEFC Europe firm, holding interests in hotels, real estate, engineering and a sports club and Lapasan, through which CEFC holds a majority stake in beer brewer Lobkowicz. The UOHS did not mention Czech airline Travel Service in which a China-based CEFC entity holds 49.9 percent interest. The CITIC entity filing the request was British Virgin Islands-based Hengxin Enterprises Limited and it would take over the Czech firms via Hong Kong-based Rainbow Wisdom Investments Limited, UOHS said. No decision has been made in the matter, UOHS said. Last month, CITIC stepped in to pay some 12 billion crown ($549.05 million) debt owed by CEFC Europe to Czech financial group J&T. ($1 = 21.8560 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Jan Lopatka)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-13T10:11:00.000+03:00|Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal|June 13, 2018 / 7:16 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - South African miner Tharisa on Wednesday deepened its exposure to Zimbabwe, saying it had bought a 26.8 percent shareholding in Karo Mining Holdings for $4.5 million. It also bought chrome business Salene in Zimbabwe in May. In a statement Tharisa said the deal would give it access to an area covering 23,903 hectares on the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, containing an estimated 96 million ounces in platinum group metals. Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-13T10:20:00.000+03:00|Finland cuts stake in biofuel firm Neste with $1 billion deal|HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland’s center-right government sold a stake of 5 percent in oil refiner and biofuel company Neste ( NESTE.HE ) on Wednesday for 861 million euros ($1.0 billion), prompting criticism from the opposition that it gives up too much control of company. As a result of the sale, the state’s stake fell to 44.7 percent. The government said it wanted to capitalize on the stock’s recent strong performance while still holding a strong grip on the company. “The state will continue to be a significant shareholder of the company, which will, among other things, ensure the strategic interest relating to the ownership,” Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintila said in a statement. The sale price was 67.27 euros per share, compared with Tuesday’s closing price of 69.18 euros. The stock fell to 66.60 euros on Wednesday by 1120 GMT. It is still up about 90 percent from a year earlier. Neste has benefited from its profitable biofuel business, which has plants in Singapore and Rotterdam, and is looking to expand its capacity. It also has two conventional refineries in Finland. The acting head of the state ownership department Jarmo Vaisanen told Reuters that there were no plans at the moment to cut the stake further. Last year, the government pushed through a law that gives it a mandate to cut the state’s previously controlling stake in Neste to a minimum of 33.4 percent - prompting strike threats from the company’s employees. State-ownership is a sensitive subject in Finland where many think the government should do more to protect Finnish jobs. “The logic of the sale is rather confusing. There is really no need to sell the shares and lose common ownership, they could instead borrow cheap money,” said lawmaker Sirpa Paatero from the opposition Social Democrats told Reuters. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl, editing by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Louise Heavens  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-13T10:37:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal|June 13, 2018 / 7:39 AM / a day ago UPDATE 2-Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal Reuters Staff * Company sees early mover advantage * Elections next month could unleash more mineral investment (Adds quotes, comment, context) By Barbara Lewis LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - South African miner Tharisa on Wednesday deepened its exposure to Zimbabwe, saying it had bought a 26.8 percent stake in platinum group reserves for $4.5 million and could increase its presence greatly if conditions are right. Tharisa has made clear its interest in moving into Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke region, which is considered to have chrome and platinum reserves comparable to those it mines in the Bushveld region of South Africa. In May it bought a 90 percent stake in a Zimbabwean chrome. It has added to that with a deal that gives it access to an area covering 23,903 hectares on the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, containing an estimated 96 million ounces in platinum group metals, including platinum and palladium. Both assets have been acquired from holding companies owned by the Pouroulis family that leads Tharisa. The family’s Cyprus-based Karo Resources signed a $4.2 billion outline deal in March to develop a platinum mine and refinery in Zimbabwe, although it was not clear when the full investment would be made. Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis on Wednesday told Reuters Tharisa would adopt a phased approach and could increase its exposure further. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said, adding the company was getting early mover advantage as Zimbabwe opens up to international investment. Zimbabwe in July is set to hold its first election since Robert Mugabe’s downfall in November after nearly 40 years in power. Analysts say many in the mining community excited by the country’s mineral wealth are waiting for the results of that vote before making decisive moves. Tharisa says the platinum group reserves it is acquiring are a tier one resource, a term used in mining to refer to assets that are large enough to be mined over decades, although the extent of them still has to be formally proven. They are richer in palladium than platinum, a metal that has outstripped platinum in value as the market for diesel vehicles — a prime use for platinum — has been hit by concerns about pollution. Karo Holdings’ deal with Zimbabwe in March over time aim to establish a mine, treatment plants and power generation. Tharisa is taking a step by step approach and so far has bought into the project at a discount, analysts said. Peel Hunt in a note said the “modular approach” was wise. “Importantly these come on a case-by-case basis, not all-or-nothing,” it said. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAzimbabweNews|0
2018-06-13T10:37:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal|June 13, 2018 / 7:39 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Tharisa deepens Zimbabwe exposure with platinum deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Adds detail, quotes, context) LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - South African miner Tharisa on Wednesday deepened its exposure to Zimbabwe, saying it had bought a 26.8 percent stake in platinum group reserves for $4.5 million. Tharisa has made clear its interest in moving into Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke region, which is considered to have chrome and platinum reserves comparable to those it mines in the Bushveld region of South Africa. In May it also bought a 90 percent stake in chrome business Salene in Zimbabwe in May. It has added to that with a deal that gives it access to an area covering 23,903 hectares on the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, containing an estimated 96 million ounces in platinum group metals, including platinum and palladium. Both assets have been acquired from holding companies owned by the Pouroulis family that leads Tharisa. The family’s Cyprus-based Karo Resources signed a $4.2 billion outline deal in March to develop a platinum mine and refinery in Zimbabwe, although it was not clear when the full investment would be made. Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis on Wednesday told Reuters Tharisa would adopt a phased approach and could increase its exposure further. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said, adding the company was getting early mover advantage as Zimbabwe opens up to international investment. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-13T11:14:00.000+03:00|Italy's Poste and Amazon sign deal to boost online shopping|MILAN, June 13 (Reuters) - Italian mail operator Poste Italiane said on Wednesday it had signed a three-year deal with online giant Amazon aimed at developing new products to improve delivery and returns for online shopping. The agreement is “a key step for reaching the goals set for the e-commerce business in the ‘Deliver 2022’ plan”, Poste Italiane said in a statement, without disclosing the value of the deal. With its ambitious Deliver 2022 strategy Poste Italiane aims to grow parcel revenues by 70 percent to 1.2 billion euros ($1.41 billion) over the plan period. ($1 = 0.8519 euros) (Reporting by Giulia Segreti; editing by Agnieszka Flak)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T11:14:00.000+03:00|Russia's Putin to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed, discuss oil deal: Kremlin|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he visits Russia for the opening of the soccer World Cup, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference on the results of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Qingdao, China June 10, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhael Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS Peskov said the two would discuss the global oil production cut agreement which Saudi Arabia and Russia are leading, but did not plan to discuss an exit from the deal. Crown Prince Mohammed is among leaders of many countries who will visit Russia for the World Cup opening, Peskov said. Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Kevin Liffey  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-13T11:19:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Vietnam's Binh Son to sell 49 pct stake via auction, sees April listing|* Stake sale would be for investment in petrochemical products * Maximum sale of 49 pct shares, foreigners allowed up to 44 pct * Stake sale switched to public auction instead of strategic sale (Adds details, CEO Quote: s) By Mai Nguyen and Khanh Vu HANOI, June 13 (Reuters) - Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will offload a further 49 percent stake and not limit the sale to only strategic investors as previously planned, in order to attract more buyers, its chief executive said. The sale is expected to take place via a public auction ahead of state-owned Binh Son’s possible listing in April next year, CEO Tran Ngoc Nguyen told Reuters, adding proceeds will be used for long-term investment in petrochemicals products. In an IPO earlier this year, the Vietnamese government raised $245 million by selling a 7.79 percent stake in Binh Son, the operator of the $3-billion Dung Quat oil refinery. At the time, Binh Son had said it would sell a further 49 percent stake to strategic investors, including domestic and foreign investors. But the refinery operator has so far failed to find a strategic investor, CEO Nguyen said. “The timing is too short for strategic investors to decide to invest in such a big stake,” he added. BSR also hopes to ease requirements such as lock-up time and minimum registered capital for the planned sale, Nguyen said, adding he expected the government to approve the change in order to help speed up the process. Vietnam has been privatising hundreds of state-owned enterprises in order to boost their performance, relax a tight state budget and reform an economy that is highly reliant on foreign investments. Binh Son’s foreign ownership is capped at 49 percent. It is currently 5 percent owned by foreigners, indicating overseas buyers may take up to 44 percent in the upcoming sale. Shares of the company have been trading on the unlisted public company market, or UPCoM, since March, and Nguyen expects the shares to be listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange , the country’s main bourse, by April next year. Binh Son expects to rake in a net profit of 2.95 trillion dong ($129 million) in the first half of this year, or about 85 percent of its full-year target, it said in a statement. The company will use retained profits as well as loans to fund a planned upgrade of its Dung Quat refinery. Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first refinery that began operations in 2009, was initially designed to process light sweet crude oil, mostly sourced from the Bach Ho field offshore Vietnam. The upgrade will enable the plant to process sour crude oil as well, Nguyen said, and will also allow it to produce more petrochemical products. Binh Son will select an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the upgrade next year. Nguyen said seven companies had registered to bid for the contract, but declined to name them. ($1 = 22,810 dong) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen and Khanh Vu; Editing by Richard Pullin and Himani Sarkar)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-13T11:21:00.000+03:00|Iran says will begin uranium enrichment at Fordow if nuclear deal unravels|BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran will begin uranium enrichment at its Fordow plant and will install new nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility if it withdraws from a nuclear deal with major powers, said the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS The fate of the 2015 nuclear deal is unclear after the United States withdrew from it. The other signatory nations - Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France - are trying to salvage the accord, which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions. Iran has two vast enrichment sites, at Natanz and Fordow. Much of Natanz is deep underground and Fordow is buried inside a mountain, which is widely believed to protect them from aerial bombardment. AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an interview published on Wednesday that new work would begin on the nuclear programme on the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not specify what kind of new equipment might be installed at Natanz. “Currently the Supreme Leader has ordered that the programmes be carried out within the parameters of the nuclear deal,” Kamalvandi told the Young Journalists’ Club (YJC) in an interview. “And when he gives the order we will announce the programmes for operating outside of the nuclear deal for reviving Fordow,” he added. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the AEOI, announced last week that Iran had begun work on a facility to construct advanced centrifuges at Natanz. The announcement appeared at least in part to be an effort to pressure the remaining signatories to preserve the 2015 deal. Kamalvandi accused the United States and other Western countries of applying double standards by opposing Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said was purely peaceful, while accepting the nuclear arms programme of Tehran’s foe Israel. “The West doesn’t criticise the Zionist regime and have even helped them,” the YJC Quote: d Kamalvandi as saying. “Without the help of the West and America this regime could never have obtained nuclear weapons.” Israel is widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear power. Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has a nuclear arsenal. Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|https://in.reuters.com/news/world|0
2018-06-13T12:15:00.000+03:00|Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig: Kremlin critic|MOSCOW (Reuters) - A long-time Kremlin critic lambasted Robbie Williams for deciding to sing at the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow on Thursday, while a campaign group offered to brief the British pop star on Russia’s human rights record. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Soccer Aid 2018 - England v Soccer Aid World XI - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - June 10, 2018 Robbie Williams before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers -/File Photo British businessman Bill Browder, who accuses President Vladimir Putin of conducting a personal vendetta against him, took to Twitter to question why Williams was performing while Russia was under western sanctions. “There’s lots of ways to make money @robbiewilliams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you,” Browder wrote. Russia is keen to use the soccer tournament to signal that despite the sanctions, imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and role in a rebellion in eastern Ukraine, it remains a top player on the global stage. The singer’s PR team declined comment. However, Williams, who has previously sung at private parties organised by wealthy Russians, told Reuters he liked visiting the country and performing at the opening ceremony was an honour. U.S.-born Browder was once a major investor in Russia. He has led a campaign to expose corruption and punish officials he blames for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer he employed, in a Moscow prison. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently imposed its own sanctions under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act. Last year a Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia for deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion. Browder, who heads investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, has dismissed the allegations. Human Rights Watch said it had called on world leaders to stay away from the event, pointing to Russia’s rights record and its role in the Syrian war. “We certainly see the way the Russian government and President Putin is using the World Cup and in particular the opening ceremony as a way of legitimising his power and his authority,” the group’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Hugh Williamson, said. “We’d be happy to brief (Williams) on the human rights situation in Russia ... so that he’s well informed when he gets there. He could also make a positive contribution if he speaks out during his visit,” he added. The tournament kicks off on Thursday with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by David Stamp  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-13T12:15:00.000+03:00|White House seeks to block Senate bid to kill ZTE Deal: WSJ|June 13, 2018 / 2:15 PM / Updated 18 hours ago U.S. Senate, White House gear up for battle over China's ZTE Patricia Zengerle 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to block the Trump administration’s agreement allowing China’s ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ) to resume business with American suppliers could be killed in the U.S. Congress in the coming weeks, lawmakers and aides said on Wednesday. A woman stands outside a building of ZTE Beijing research and development center in Beijing, China June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee The U.S. Senate is due to vote within days on the measure as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defence policy bill Congress passes every year. The White House strongly opposes the ZTE measure. If it passes, the House of Representatives and Senate must negotiate a final version of the NDAA. The ZTE provision, which is not included in the House version of the defence bill, could be stripped out during those negotiations. Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he would oppose anything in the NDAA not germane to the Defense Department if it threatened to delay swift passage of the $716 billion bill, which governs everything from military pay raises to aircraft and ship purchases, military aid and other national security policies. He said that process could be completed by the end of July. The House NDAA includes a separate provision barring U.S. government agencies from using “risky” technology from ZTE or Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], describing the Chinese telecommunications companies as “linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence apparatus.” Should it become law, the ZTE measure would restore penalties on the company for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from the Chinese company. The U.S. government banned the company earlier this year, but the Trump administration reached an agreement to lift the ban, while it is negotiating broader trade agreements with China and looking to Beijing for support during negotiations to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Chinese President Xi Jinping requested the change. STIFF PENALTY ON ZTE In a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department, ZTE agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions, including putting $400 million in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank. The White House pushed back against the legislation, defending the agreement as “part of an historic enforcement action” giving the U.S. government some leverage over ZTE’s activity without “undue harm” to U.S. suppliers and workers. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the administration will work with Congress to ensure that the final version of the NDAA “respects the separation of powers.” And some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress, back the White House. Republican Senator David Perdue tried and failed to win the Senate’s support for killing the ZTE measure on Wednesday, arguing that limiting the Commerce Department’s authority would undercut Trump’s ability to negotiate trade deals with China. But the ZTE measure’s main sponsors, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Tom Cotton, both said they believed it had enough support from Republicans and Democrats to pass the Senate despite White House opposition. “These companies have proven themselves to be untrustworthy, and at this point I think the only fitting punishment would be to give them the death penalty - that is, to put them out of business in the United States,” Cotton said in a Senate speech, referring to both ZTE and Huawei. Cotton said he and Van Hollen would keep working in the common months to ensure the ZTE measure stays in the defence bill. ZTE shares plunged in Hong Kong and Shenzhen markets on Wednesday in its first day of trading after an almost two-month halt. Investors wiped about $3 billion off its market value, or about 40 percent, in initial trading. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Damon Darlin, Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-13T12:32:00.000+03:00|Argentina to use $7.5 bln from IMF deal to finance budget|BUENOS AIRES, June 13 (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have asked to use $7.5 billion of the $50 billion financing deal signed with the International Monetary Fund to fund their budget, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Wednesday. Argentina’s Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the funds would be sold on the market through pre-announced daily auctions conducted by the central bank. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Luc Cohen Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-13T12:35:00.000+03:00|Linde-Praxair deal gets Brazil antitrust nod|BRASILIA, June 13 (Reuters) - Brazil’s antitrust regulator on Wednesday approved the $80 billion merger of gas group Linde AG and Praxair Inc, as long as the companies go ahead with an undisclosed asset sale plan. Reuters reported last week that Linde and Praxair have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion worth of assets they are jointly selling, according to people familiar with the matter. The board of antitrust regulator Cade unanimously voted to approve the transaction. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-13T12:37:00.000+03:00|South Africa's Sea Harvest to buy Viking Fishing assets for $66 mln|June 13, 2018 / 9:39 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago South Africa's Sea Harvest to buy Viking Fishing assets for $66 mln JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) - South African frozen fish supplier Sea Harvest Group said on Tuesday a consortium of black investors it leads will buy the fishing business of domestic peer Viking Fishing Group for 885 million rand ($66 million). Sea Harvest announced in December that it was heading a consortium of broad-based black economic empowerment investors that was in talks to acquire Viking Fishing’s entire fishing business and a 51 percent stake in Viking Aquaculture. The deal will be funded by the consortium through a combination of cash, bank loans, an issue of 19.2 million Sea Harvest ordinary shares and vendor funding, Cape Town-based Sea Harvest said in a statement. Since listing in 2017, Sea Harvest has actively sought to grow its business through acquisitions. Privately held Viking Group was founded in 1980 and its fishing business operates a fleet of 30 vessels along the South Africa coast from Cape Town to Maputo in Mozambique. ($1 = 13.3342 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla Editing by James Macharia) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|1
2018-06-13T12:38:00.000+03:00|Argentina to use $7.5 billion from IMF deal to finance budget|BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have asked to use $7.5 billion of the $50 billion financing deal signed with the International Monetary Fund to fund their budget, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Wednesday. Argentine President Mauricio Macri holds a meeting with Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne, Finance Minister Luis Caputo, Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger and other members of the government's economic team that led negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), at Olivos presidential residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina June 8, 2018. Argentine Presidency/Handout via REUTERS That marked half of the 30 percent of the total that authorities requested be disbursed immediately, Lagarde said. The Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the $7.5 billion would be sold on the market through pre-announced daily auctions conducted by the central bank. The peso currency ARS=RASL added to gains after the Finance Ministry announcement, but turned negative later in the session. It closed down 2.5 percent weaker at a record-low 26.40 per U.S. dollar, as the central bank retreated from the spot market after selling reserves early in the day. A Treasury Ministry spokesman said the government would soon publish a letter of intent of the policies it would implement in the context of the IMF deal. The IMF board is expected to meet to discuss final approval of the Argentina deal on June 20. Reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Luc Cohen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-13T12:40:00.000+03:00|Linde-Praxair deal gets Brazil antitrust nod|BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s antitrust regulator on Wednesday approved the $80 billion merger of gas group Linde AG and Praxair Inc, as long as the companies go ahead with an undisclosed asset sale plan. Linde Group logo is seen at company building before the annual news conference in Munich, Germany March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth Reuters reported last week that Linde and Praxair have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion worth of assets they are jointly selling, according to people familiar with the matter. The board of antitrust regulator Cade unanimously voted to approve the transaction. Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-13T12:52:00.000+03:00|Greek PM faces domestic backlash over Macedonia name deal|June 13, 2018 / 9:53 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Macedonia president says won't approve name deal with Greece Kole Casule , Renee Maltezou 4 Min Read SKOPJE/ATHENS (Reuters) - Macedonia’s president said on Wednesday he would not sign a landmark deal reached with Greece on changing his country’s name, dashing hopes of a swift end to a diplomatic dispute that has blocked Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. In Greece too, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced a barrage of criticism and the prospect of a no-confidence vote against his government after he and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced the accord late on Tuesday. Under the deal, Macedonia would become formally known as ‘the Republic of Severna (Northern) Macedonia’. It is currently known officially at the United Nations as the ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’. Athens has long objected to its northern neighbour’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of that name and also amounts to appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. “My position is final and I will not yield to any pressure, blackmail or threats. I will not support or sign such a damaging agreement,” Macedonian President Djordje Ivanov told a news conference in Skopje. Ivanov, who is backed by the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE, can veto the deal. Macedonia’s centre-left government also needs a two-thirds majority to win parliamentary approval and this would require the backing of VMRO-DPMNE, which is strongly opposed to the accord. Related Coverage Greece opposition to submit PM no-confidence motion over Macedonia deal - source The president also said Macedonia’s possible future membership of the EU and NATO was not sufficient excuse to sign such a “bad agreement”. The accord must be approved by Macedonians in a referendum as well as by the parliaments of both countries. “DEEPLY PROBLEMATIC” In Athens, where Tsipras is also trying to negotiate a definitive exit from financial bailouts which have traumatised Greece, resistance to the Macedonia deal was growing. National Macedonian flags flutter in front of the government building in Skopje, Macedonia June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski A source in Greece’s main opposition party, New Democracy, said it planned to submit a motion of no-confidence in the Tsipras government over the deal. New Democracy will submit the motion after the conclusion of a debate on bailout reforms scheduled to wrap up late on Thursday, the source told Reuters. If the motion is submitted, it would be the first since Tsipras, a leftist, won elections in September 2015, testing the unity of his governing left-right coalition. New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the Macedonia deal “deeply problematic” because he said most Greeks were against it and Tsipras lacked the authority to sign it. “We are in a situation that is unprecedented in Greece’s constitutional history. A prime minister without a clear parliamentary mandate willing to commit the country to a reality which will not be possible to change,” Mitsotakis said. In a front-page editorial, conservative daily Eleftheros Typos called the agreement “the surrender of the Macedonian identity and language”, while the centre-right Kathimerini newspaper referred to “a deal with gaps and question marks”. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses the nation from his office in Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS For some Greeks the compromise deal over Macedonia was the final straw after nine years of painful austerity under three international bailouts. “We have lost, we retreated,” said 40-year old Stamatia Valtadorou, a private sector employee. “It’s one thing to sell off a part of yourself for a bailout and a different thing to sell off your land, it hurts deeply.” Writing by George Georgiopoulos and Michele Kambas, Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou in Athens and Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo; Editing by Gareth Jones|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-13T12:52:00.000+03:00|Greek PM faces domestic backlash over Macedonia name deal|June 13, 2018 / 9:53 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Greek PM faces domestic backlash over Macedonia name deal George Georgiopoulos 3 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was accused on Wednesday of surrendering part of his nation’s identity, as a deal he struck to settle a name dispute with Macedonia prompted a barrage of criticism from opposition politicians and media. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses the nation from his office in Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS Under the agreement announced by Athens and Skopje on Tuesday, the Balkan state known as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” would henceforth be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. The accord would open the way for the small nation’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, currently blocked by Greece’s objections to its current name. But conservative opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called it “deeply problematic”, because the majority of Greeks were against it and Tsipras lacked the political legitimacy to sign it. “We are in a situation that is unprecedented in Greece’s constitutional history. A prime minister without a clear parliamentary mandate willing to commit the country to a reality which will not be possible to change,” Mitsotakis said. The accord requires ratification by both countries’ parliaments, and the junior partner in Greece’s coalition, the right wing Independent Greeks party, has said it does not back any deal that gives away the name Macedonia. That chimes in with the view of many ordinary Greeks, who feel the name implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name, the birthplace of national hero Alexander the Great. The name dispute has soured bilateral relations since 1991, when Greece’s northern neighbour declared its independence from former Yugoslavia under the name Republic of Macedonia. In a front-page editorial conservative daily Eleftheros Typos called the agreement “the surrender of the Macedonian identity and language,” while centre-right Kathimerini referred to “a deal with gaps and question marks”. NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION? Responding to the conservatives, Deputy Foreign Minister George Katrougkalos said the deal would put an end to the perpetuation of the name Macedonia as an identifier for the Balkan state. “If they believe this (that the government does not have the legitimacy), they have the means ... to question it with a no-confidence motion. Why aren’t they doing it?” Katrougkalos told Greek Skai TV. Centre-left daily Ta Nea newspaper said that, while the historian of the future would have the luxury of time to assess the deal, “until then one must keep in mind that there are no compromises without concessions.” Activist group The Committee for The Hellenic Identity of Macedonia said it would organise protests in Athens and northern Greece if the deal went ahead and urged lawmakers not to ratify it. “We peacefully assert that they have no right to sign (a deal) against Greek people’s will,” they wrote on Facebook. Mikis Theodorakis, who composed the music to the film ‘Zorba the Greek’, said the agreement would “stigmatise us forever” if it went ahead. Writing by George Georgiopoulos, Angeliki Koutantou; editing by John Stonestreet 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-13T12:57:00.000+03:00|South Africa's Sea Harvest to buy Viking Fishing assets for $66 mln|June 13, 2018 / 10:01 AM / in 2 hours South Africa's Sea Harvest to buy Viking Fishing assets for $66 mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African frozen fish supplier Sea Harvest Group said on Tuesday a consortium of black investors it leads will buy the fishing business of domestic peer Viking Fishing Group for 885 million rand ($66 million). Sea Harvest announced in December that it was heading a consortium of broad-based black economic empowerment investors that was in talks to acquire Viking Fishing’s entire fishing business and a 51 percent stake in Viking Aquaculture. The deal will be funded by the consortium through a combination of cash, bank loans, an issue of 19.2 million Sea Harvest ordinary shares and vendor funding, Cape Town-based Sea Harvest said in a statement. Since listing in 2017, Sea Harvest has actively sought to grow its business through acquisitions. Privately held Viking Group was founded in 1980 and its fishing business operates a fleet of 30 vessels along the South Africa coast from Cape Town to Maputo in Mozambique. ($1 = 13.3342 rand) Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|1
2018-06-13T13:00:00.000+03:00|Greek PM faces domestic backlash over Macedonia name deal|SKOPJE/ATHENS (Reuters) - Macedonia’s president said on Wednesday he would not sign a landmark deal reached with Greece on changing his country’s name, dashing hopes of a swift end to a diplomatic dispute that has blocked Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. In Greece too, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced a barrage of criticism and the prospect of a no-confidence vote against his government after he and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced the accord late on Tuesday. Under the deal, Macedonia would become formally known as ‘the Republic of Severna (Northern) Macedonia’. It is currently known officially at the United Nations as the ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’. Athens has long objected to its northern neighbor’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of that name and also amounts to appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. “My position is final and I will not yield to any pressure, blackmail or threats. I will not support or sign such a damaging agreement,” Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov told a news conference in Skopje. Ivanov, who is backed by the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE, can veto the deal. Macedonia’s center-left government also needs a two-thirds majority to win parliamentary approval and this would require the backing of VMRO-DPMNE, which is strongly opposed to the accord. The president also said Macedonia’s possible future membership of the EU and NATO was not sufficient excuse to sign such a “bad agreement”. The accord must be approved by Macedonians in a referendum as well as by the parliaments of both countries. “We will oppose this deal of capitulation with all democratic and legal means,” VMRO-DPMNE head Hristijan Mickoski told a news conference, branding the agreement “an absolute defeat for Macedonian diplomacy”. Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev addresses the media at the government offices in Skopje, Macedonia June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski “DEEPLY PROBLEMATIC” In Athens, where Tsipras is also trying to negotiate a definitive exit from financial bailouts which have traumatized Greece, resistance to the Macedonia deal was growing. A source in Greece’s main opposition party, New Democracy, said it planned to submit a motion of no-confidence in the Tsipras government over the deal. New Democracy will submit the motion after the conclusion of a debate on bailout reforms scheduled to wrap up late on Thursday, the source told Reuters. If the motion is submitted, it would be the first since Tsipras, a leftist, won elections in September 2015, testing the unity of his governing left-right coalition. New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the Macedonia deal “deeply problematic” because he said most Greeks were against it and Tsipras lacked the authority to sign it. “We are in a situation that is unprecedented in Greece’s constitutional history. A prime minister without a clear parliamentary mandate willing to commit the country to a reality which will not be possible to change,” Mitsotakis said. In a front-page editorial, conservative daily Eleftheros Typos called the agreement “the surrender of the Macedonian identity and language”, while the center-right Kathimerini newspaper referred to “a deal with gaps and question marks”. For some Greeks the compromise deal over Macedonia was the final straw after nine years of painful austerity under three international bailouts. Slideshow (3 Images) “We have lost, we retreated,” said 40-year old Stamatia Valtadorou, a private sector employee. “It’s one thing to sell off a part of yourself for a bailout and a different thing to sell off your land, it hurts deeply.” Writing by George Georgiopoulos and Michele Kambas, Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou in Athens and Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo; Editing by Gareth Jones  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-13T13:09:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Linde, Madrigal Pharma, Cellnex, Education Realty, Comcast) June 13 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2020 GMT on Wednesday: ** Comcast Corp offered $65 billion for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc media assets, emboldened by AT&T Inc prevailing over the Trump administration’s attempt to block a merger with Time Warner Inc. ** AT&T Inc won court approval on Tuesday to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and likely setting off a wave of corporate mergers. ** Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings has made a A$12.98 billion ($9.8 billion) takeover offer for Australia’s biggest gas pipeline company, APA Group, offering a hefty 33 percent premium to tap into a hot gas market. ** Medical device maker Stryker Corp was not in discussions to buy rival Boston Scientific Corp, Stryker said in a regulatory filing, two days after reports of a potential deal between the two surfaced. ** Greystar Real Estate Partners is in exclusive discussions to buy Education Realty Trust Inc, owner of collegiate housing communities, for about $3.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ** Australia’s Investa Office Fund and Blackstone Group entered into a scheme implementation agreement through which the U.S. private equity giant would acquire the real estate investment trust for A$3.08 billion ($2.3 billion). ** Siemens AG is considering strategic options including a potential sale of its struggling business that makes large gas turbines for power plants, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. ** A British parliamentary committee will question the CEOs of the UK’s no.2 supermarket Sainsbury’s and its third-biggest supermarket Asda ahead of their proposed combination, as scrutiny of the deal cranks up. ** Canadian utility AltaGas Ltd said it would sell a 35 percent stake in three hydroelectric projects in Northwest British Columbia for C$922 million ($707.87 million) to help fund its acquisition of U.S.-based WGL Holdings Inc. ** Finland’s centre-right government sold a stake of 5 percent in oil refiner and biofuel company Neste for 861 million euros ($1.0 billion), prompting criticism from the opposition that it gives up too much control of company. ** German car parts maker IFA Rotorion has been put up for sale by its family owners in a potential 500 million euro ($588 million) deal, two people close to the matter said. ** Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it has accepted private equity firm Platinum Equity’s $2.1 billion buyout offer for the company’s LifeScan Inc unit. ** France’s ERAMET increased its all-cash offer for Australia’s Mineral Deposits Ltd to A$1.75 a share, valuing the company at A$344.7 million ($261 million). ** Australia’s Gateway Lifestyle Group said it received a non-binding offer from Hometown Australia Holdings Pty Ltd and Hometown America Communities Ltd Partnership - a proposal that values the company at A$635 million ($480 million). ** Finnish utility Fortum has agreed to sell its 10 percent stake in Norwegian hydropower company Hafslund Produksjon to Svartisen Holding AS for 160 million euros ($188 million), it said. ** Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will offload a further 49 percent stake and not limit the sale to only strategic investors as previously planned, in order to attract more buyers, its chief executive officer said. ** Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc is exploring a sale, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, nearly three weeks after the company reported mid-stage data from its drug to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH. ** Italy’s Benetton family is in talks with long-term investors including Singapore’s GIC to sell up to 30 percent in a new holding entity that will handle its stake in Spanish telecom masts group Cellnex, four sources familiar with the deal told Reuters. ** South African frozen fish supplier Sea Harvest Group said a consortium of black investors it leads will buy the fishing business of domestic peer Viking Fishing Group for 885 million rand ($66 million). ** Brazil’s antitrust regulator approved the $80 billion merger of gas group Linde AG and Praxair Inc, as long as the companies go ahead with an undisclosed asset sale plan. (Compiled by Nivedita Balu and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-13T13:14:00.000+03:00|Greek PM faces domestic backlash over Macedonia name deal|June 13, 2018 / 9:55 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago Greek PM faces domestic backlash over Macedonia name deal George Georgiopoulos 3 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was accused on Wednesday of surrendering part of his nation’s identity, as a deal he struck to settle a name dispute with Macedonia prompted a barrage of criticism from opposition politicians and media. Under the agreement announced by Athens and Skopje on Tuesday, the Balkan state known as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” would henceforth be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. The accord would open the way for the small nation’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, currently blocked by Greece’s objections to its current name. But conservative opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called it “deeply problematic”, because the majority of Greeks were against it and Tsipras lacked the political legitimacy to sign it. “We are in a situation that is unprecedented in Greece’s constitutional history. A prime minister without a clear parliamentary mandate willing to commit the country to a reality which will not be possible to change,” Mitsotakis said. The accord requires ratification by both countries’ parliaments, and the junior partner in Greece’s coalition, the right wing Independent Greeks party, has said it does not back any deal that gives away the name Macedonia. That chimes in with the view of many ordinary Greeks, who feel the name implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name, the birthplace of national hero Alexander the Great. The name dispute has soured bilateral relations since 1991, when Greece’s northern neighbour declared its independence from former Yugoslavia under the name Republic of Macedonia. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses the nation from his office in Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, June 12, 2018. Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS In a front-page editorial conservative daily Eleftheros Typos called the agreement “the surrender of the Macedonian identity and language,” while centre-right Kathimerini referred to “a deal with gaps and question marks”. NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION? Responding to the conservatives, Deputy Foreign Minister George Katrougkalos said the deal would put an end to the perpetuation of the name Macedonia as an identifier for the Balkan state. “If they believe this (that the government does not have the legitimacy), they have the means ... to question it with a no-confidence motion. Why aren’t they doing it?” Katrougkalos told Greek Skai TV. Centre-left daily Ta Nea newspaper said that, while the historian of the future would have the luxury of time to assess the deal, “until then one must keep in mind that there are no compromises without concessions.” Activist group The Committee for The Hellenic Identity of Macedonia said it would organise protests in Athens and northern Greece if the deal went ahead and urged lawmakers not to ratify it. National Macedonian flags flutter in front of the government building in Skopje, Macedonia June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski “We peacefully assert that they have no right to sign (a deal) against Greek people’s will,” they wrote on Facebook. Mikis Theodorakis, who composed the music to the film ‘Zorba the Greek’, said the agreement would “stigmatise us forever” if it went ahead. Writing by George Georgiopoulos, Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by John Stonestreet|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-13T13:36:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-YNAP: Richemont Reports 3.3 Pct Of Share Capital Tendered In Sell-Out Procedure|June 13 (Reuters) - YNAP: * RICHEMONT REPORTS 3.3 PERCENT OF SHARE CAPITAL WAS TENDERED IN SELL-OUT PROCEDURE * RICHEMONT TO OWN 98.4 PERCENT OF YNAP AT END OF SELL-OUT PERIOD Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-13T14:06:00.000+03:00|Envision US$9.9bn leveraged buyout by KKR adds to private equity deal bonanza|NEW YORK (LPC) - Private equity firm KKR & Co’s US$9.9bn leveraged buyout (LBO) of physician service provider Envision Healthcare has helped boost private equity deal volumes to levels not seen since before the credit crisis. Global private equity-backed merger & acquisition (M&A) volume stands at US$191.7bn this year, which is up 39% over last year at this time and the highest level since 2007 when volume had already topped US$350bn by June 11, according to data from Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence. The buyout flurry comes as private equity firms look to take advantage of supportive credit markets, coupled with a record amount of dry powder available for purchases. In addition, bankers have cited strong fundamentals as corporate tax reform has propelled the economy. The deal, which was announced Monday, marks KKR’s second multi-billion acquisition within two weeks after announcing the US$8.5bn purchase of business software provider BMC Software on May 29. In addition to the KKR deals, private equity firm Blackstone earlier this year announced that it had agreed to buy a 55% stake of Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk business in a deal valued at US$20bn. The transaction is backed by a US$13bn financing, which will be the largest LBO-related credit since 2013 when food maker HJ Heinz lined up US$14.1bn to support its acquisition by conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and private equity firm 3G Capital. Blackstone is buying a 55% stake in Thomson Reuters’ F&R unit, which includes LPC and IFR. BIG DEALS Solid economics and certainty about the new administration in the US has created a risk-on environment where private equity sponsors have been more willing to commit to larger endeavors. As a result, M&A activity this year has broadly favored the larger transactions such as those seen in 2015-2016, said Marc-Anthony Hourihan, co-head of Americas Mergers and Acquisitions at UBS. “It’s really back on to the elephant deals – the US$10bn and up,” Hourihan said. Buyout financing in the US stands at US$22bn so far during the second quarter with US$6.1bn in progress, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. LBO volume in the first quarter totaled US$22.6bn. For the first half of 2017, volume reached US$58.8bn. PUMPING UP LEVERAGE The Envision financing will add to these totals, but it is not expected to be offered to investors until after Labor Day, a banking source said. Envision’s buyout is expected to be financed with US$5bn of first-lien loan debt and US$2bn of senior notes, the source said. This will put leverage at the company in the 7.1 times to 7.4 times area with adjustments. Another source familiar with the purchase said leverage will be closer to 7.5 times, though pointed out that the company has historically been able to deleverage quickly as maintenance capital expenditures totaled 2% of revenues in 2017. “It’s a people business and has lots of free cash flow,” the source familiar said. The deal has already captured the eyes of investors who are waiting to look at the financials for themselves. “It will get a lot of attention, but it’s a lot of leverage,” said one investor. The buyout is one of many recently with leverage well above the 6.0 times level that federal regulators had said would call for additional scrutiny, unless all senior debt or half of all debt could be paid down within five to seven years, according to federal leveraged lending guidance implemented in 2013. Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting reinforced last month that banks can step outside the guidelines if they proceed judiciously and have the capital to safely do so. Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, UBS, Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC, Mizuho, and KKR Capital Markets are providing the financing for the Envision deal. Envision and KKR declined comment. Reporting by Jonathan Schwarzberg; Editing by Michelle Sierra, Lynn Adler, and Chris Mangham  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-13T14:06:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Nextbike Polska Signs 3 Mln Zloty Gross Deal|June 13 (Reuters) - NEXTBIKE POLSKA SA: * SAID ON TUESDAY IT SIGNED DEAL WITH MUNICIPALITY OF KONIN FOR DELIVERY, IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGING CITY BIKE SYSTEM IN KONIN * CO’S REMUNERATION FOR DEAL IS 3.0 MILLION ZLOTYS GROSS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T14:07:00.000+03:00|French parliament set to approve SNCF reform in boon for Macron|June 13, 2018 / 11:19 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago French parliament approves SNCF reform bill in breakthrough for Macron Luke Baker 4 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - France’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill overhauling the indebted state-run rail company SNCF on Wednesday, handing a significant victory to President Emmanuel Macron in his bid to outflank the unions and reform the economy. View shows the voting results board in favor of the French government's SNCF reform bill at the National Assembly in Paris, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier The 452 to 80 vote in the National Assembly, where Macron’s Republique En Marche party has an absolute majority, was largely a formality after a committee of the lower house and the Senate agreed joint amendments to the legislation on Monday. The Senate upper house will approve the bill on Thursday. It represents the most fundamental reform of the 150,000-strong SNCF since rail nationalization in the 1930s, and Macron has overcome a challenge that defeated previous administrations. Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe had to withdraw welfare reforms in 1995 after weeks of strikes and social unrest led by rail workers. The new law will turn the SNCF into a joint-stock company, giving its management greater corporate responsibility, will phase out its domestic passenger monopoly from 2020 and put an end to generous benefits and pensions for future employees. At the same time, the government has committed not to sell any of the stock, a move to reassure unions that it won’t be privatized. French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne is pictured before the vote for the French government's SNCF reform bill at the National Assembly in Paris, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier “The government has committed itself to our rail industry as no other has before us,” Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne told FranceInfo radio on Tuesday. “I now urge the unions to take stock of their responsibilities.” The government has also said it will write off 35 billion euros of the SNCF’s 47 billion euros ($55 billion) of debt, giving the company more room to maneuver and prepare for greater competition from other European operators. AN OVERPLAYED HAND? France’s rail unions have been staunchly opposed to the reforms. In April they began three months of rolling strikes in protest, shutting down local, regional and international services for two days out of every five. Those stoppages are set to run until the end of June. At the start, the public expressed some sympathy — polls showed more than half of those surveyed thought the strikes were justified — but support has waned over time. Commuters have grown fed up with the disruptions and found ways around them, using car-sharing apps, telecommuting or cycling to work. Slideshow (10 Images) Gaps in the unions’ position have also emerged and been exploited — a tactic Macron used to sound effect last year in securing the backing of the largest union, the CFDT, for reforms to the labor code to make hiring and firing easier. The CFDT, the most moderate of the larger unions as well as the biggest, has signaled it will accept the SNCF bill once it becomes law. When the rolling strikes end on June 28, its railworkers are expected to return to work. The more militant CGT union remains firmly against, with 95 percent of its members voting against the legislation last month. Employees represented by the union have said they will pursue wildcat strikes from July. But their ability to cause widespread disruption or win public sympathy appears limited. Many CGT unionists are among those who have gradually given up adhering to the strike. For a graphic see tmsnrt.rs/2JnAdwO “I think the unions may have overplayed their hand here,” said Bob Hancke, a professor of European political economy at the London School of Economics, describing the SNCF as “one of the last bastions of union power in France”. A change in public sentiment toward organized labor — part of a broader social shift as younger people increasingly engage in the ‘gig’ economy and see the future in technology — has left the unions looking out of touch. But Hancke warns that while it is an important symbolic victory for Macron, it may do little to improve the business climate in France or stimulate much-needed growth. Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Catherine Evans and John Stonestreet|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-13T14:07:00.000+03:00|French parliament set to approve SNCF reform in boon for Macron|June 13, 2018 / 11:08 AM / Updated 2 hours ago French parliament approves SNCF reform bill in breakthrough for Macron Luke Baker 4 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - France’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill overhauling the indebted state-run rail company SNCF on Wednesday, handing a significant victory to President Emmanuel Macron in his bid to outflank the unions and reform the economy. View shows the voting results board in favor of the French government's SNCF reform bill at the National Assembly in Paris, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier The 452 to 80 vote in the National Assembly, where Macron’s Republique En Marche party has an absolute majority, was largely a formality after a committee of the lower house and the Senate agreed joint amendments to the legislation on Monday. The Senate upper house will approve the bill on Thursday. It represents the most fundamental reform of the 150,000-strong SNCF since rail nationalisation in the 1930s, and Macron has overcome a challenge that defeated previous administrations. Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe had to withdraw welfare reforms in 1995 after weeks of strikes and social unrest led by rail workers. The new law will turn the SNCF into a joint-stock company, giving its management greater corporate responsibility, will phase out its domestic passenger monopoly from 2020 and put an end to generous benefits and pensions for future employees. At the same time, the government has committed not to sell any of the stock, a move to reassure unions that it won’t be privatised. “The government has committed itself to our rail industry as no other has before us,” Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne told FranceInfo radio on Tuesday. “I now urge the unions to take stock of their responsibilities.” The government has also said it will write off 35 billion euros of the SNCF’s 47 billion euros ($55 billion) of debt, giving the company more room to manoeuvre and prepare for greater competition from other European operators. View shows the voting results board in favor of the French government's SNCF reform bill at the National Assembly in Paris, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier AN OVERPLAYED HAND? France’s rail unions have been staunchly opposed to the reforms. In April they began three months of rolling strikes in protest, shutting down local, regional and international services for two days out of every five. Those stoppages are set to run until the end of June. At the start, the public expressed some sympathy — polls showed more than half of those surveyed thought the strikes were justified — but support has waned over time. Commuters have grown fed up with the disruptions and found ways around them, using car-sharing apps, telecommuting or cycling to work. Gaps in the unions’ position have also emerged and been exploited — a tactic Macron used to sound effect last year in securing the backing of the largest union, the CFDT, for reforms to the labour code to make hiring and firing easier. The CFDT, the most moderate of the larger unions as well as the biggest, has signalled it will accept the SNCF bill once it becomes law. When the rolling strikes end on June 28, its railworkers are expected to return to work. The more militant CGT union remains firmly against, with 95 percent of its members voting against the legislation last month. Employees represented by the union have said they will pursue wildcat strikes from July. But their ability to cause widespread disruption or win public sympathy appears limited. Many CGT unionists are among those who have gradually given up adhering to the strike. For a graphic see tmsnrt.rs/2JnAdwO “I think the unions may have overplayed their hand here,” said Bob Hancke, a professor of European political economy at the London School of Economics, describing the SNCF as “one of the last bastions of union power in France”. Slideshow (6 Images) A change in public sentiment towards organised labour — part of a broader social shift as younger people increasingly engage in the ‘gig’ economy and see the future in technology — has left the unions looking out of touch. But Hancke warns that while it is an important symbolic victory for Macron, it may do little to improve the business climate in France or stimulate much-needed growth. Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Catherine Evans and John Stonestreet 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-13T14:09:00.000+03:00|India sells new season cotton crop to China in rare advance deals|June 13, 2018 / 11:10 AM / Updated 7 hours ago India sells new season cotton crop to China in rare advance deals Rajendra Jadhav , Hallie Gu 3 Min Read MUMBAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - India’s cotton exporters have signed contracts to ship 500,000 bales (85,000 tonnes) of their new season harvest to China as the world’s biggest consumer of the fibre looks to raise its imports in the next crop year, industry officials told Reuters. A worker fills a vacuum pipe with cotton to clean it at a cotton processing unit in Kadi town in the western state of Gujarat, India, February 9, 2015. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo Exporters in India, the world’s biggest producer of cotton, usually start selling new season cotton from end-August, after estimating the nation’s crop size. But robust demand from China and higher prices have prompted Indian exporters to sign deals in advance, the officials said. “Chinese demand is very robust. They are ready to book Indian cotton,” said Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India (CAI). “But Indian traders don’t have a clear idea about the upcoming crop size and prices, so they are hesitant to commit to large amounts,” he said. Most Indian farmers sow cotton with the arrival of monsoon rains in June, and the crop is typically ready for harvesting from the end of September. Indian cotton was sold at around 86 to 92 cents per pound on a cost and freight basis (C&F) to China, for shipments in November and December, said Chirag Patel, chief executive at Jaydeep Cotton Fibres Pvt Ltd, a leading exporter. The country could export more than 2 million bales (340,000 tonnes) to China in November and December as Indian cotton is nearly 10 cents a pound cheaper than supplies from other exporters such as the United States and Brazil, Patel said. China will import 1.4 million tonnes of cotton in the 2018/19 crop year, its agriculture ministry said on Tuesday, raising its forecast from a previous estimate of 1.2 million tonnes due to a poor local crop. Some traders said China’s forecast was too low, with one estimating Chinese imports in the range of 1.5 million to 2.5 million tonnes. “Everyone thinks prices will go up further, so many deals have been signed,” said an Indian trader, who declined to be named. New York cotton futures were trading near their highest in more than six years due to worries over dry weather in West Texas, a major producing region in top exporter the United States. India’s cotton exports are likely to jump nearly 30 percent from the previous year to a four-year high of 7.5 million bales (1.3 million tonnes) in the 2017/18 crop year, which ends on Sept. 30. Amid the robust export demand, cotton sowing in India has been delayed by nearly a fortnight in central and southern India due to patchy rainfall, but it is expected to pick up in coming weeks, said Ganatra of CAI. (1 Indian bale = 170 kg) Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI and Hallie Gu in BEIJING; Editing by Tom Hogue|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-13T14:12:00.000+03:00|French parliament set to approve SNCF reform in boon for Macron|PARIS (Reuters) - France’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill overhauling the indebted state-run rail company SNCF on Wednesday, handing a significant victory to President Emmanuel Macron in his bid to outflank the unions and reform the economy. The 452 to 80 vote in the National Assembly, where Macron’s Republique En Marche party has an absolute majority, was largely a formality after a committee of the lower house and the Senate agreed joint amendments to the legislation on Monday. The Senate upper house will approve the bill on Thursday. It represents the most fundamental reform of the 150,000-strong SNCF since rail nationalization in the 1930s, and Macron has overcome a challenge that defeated previous administrations. Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe had to withdraw welfare reforms in 1995 after weeks of strikes and social unrest led by rail workers. The new law will turn the SNCF into a joint-stock company, giving its management greater corporate responsibility, will phase out its domestic passenger monopoly from 2020 and put an end to generous benefits and pensions for future employees. At the same time, the government has committed not to sell any of the stock, a move to reassure unions that it won’t be privatized. “The government has committed itself to our rail industry as no other has before us,” Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne told FranceInfo radio on Tuesday. “I now urge the unions to take stock of their responsibilities.” The government has also said it will write off 35 billion euros of the SNCF’s 47 billion euros ($55 billion) of debt, giving the company more room to maneuver and prepare for greater competition from other European operators. View shows the voting results board in favor of the French government's SNCF reform bill at the National Assembly in Paris, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier AN OVERPLAYED HAND? France’s rail unions have been staunchly opposed to the reforms. In April they began three months of rolling strikes in protest, shutting down local, regional and international services for two days out of every five. Those stoppages are set to run until the end of June. At the start, the public expressed some sympathy — polls showed more than half of those surveyed thought the strikes were justified — but support has waned over time. Commuters have grown fed up with the disruptions and found ways around them, using car-sharing apps, telecommuting or cycling to work. Gaps in the unions’ position have also emerged and been exploited — a tactic Macron used to sound effect last year in securing the backing of the largest union, the CFDT, for reforms to the labor code to make hiring and firing easier. The CFDT, the most moderate of the larger unions as well as the biggest, has signaled it will accept the SNCF bill once it becomes law. When the rolling strikes end on June 28, its railworkers are expected to return to work. The more militant CGT union remains firmly against, with 95 percent of its members voting against the legislation last month. Employees represented by the union have said they will pursue wildcat strikes from July. But their ability to cause widespread disruption or win public sympathy appears limited. Many CGT unionists are among those who have gradually given up adhering to the strike. For a graphic see tmsnrt.rs/2JnAdwO “I think the unions may have overplayed their hand here,” said Bob Hancke, a professor of European political economy at the London School of Economics, describing the SNCF as “one of the last bastions of union power in France”. Slideshow (13 Images) A change in public sentiment toward organized labor — part of a broader social shift as younger people increasingly engage in the ‘gig’ economy and see the future in technology — has left the unions looking out of touch. But Hancke warns that while it is an important symbolic victory for Macron, it may do little to improve the business climate in France or stimulate much-needed growth. Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Catherine Evans and John Stonestreet  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T14:27:00.000+03:00|Sri Lankan stocks near 6-month closing low on foreign selling|COLOMBO, June 13 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares ended lower for a sixth straight session on Wednesday to hit their lowest closing in nearly six months, as foreign investors sold banking shares such as Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc. The Colombo stock index ended 0.17 percent weaker at 6,337.88, its lowest close since Dec. 22. The index dropped 0.7 percent last week, marking its third straight weekly fall. Foreign investors net sold 213.2 million rupees ($1.34 million) worth of equities on Wednesday, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow to 741.1 million rupees worth of shares. “The market is down with foreign selling,” said Atchuthan Srirangan, assistant manager - research, First Capital Holdings Plc. “We saw some foreign selling in Commercial Bank, which brought the index down. The rupee depreciation also affected foreign investors.” Shares in Distillers Company of Sri Lanka Plc closed 2.3 percent weaker, while Lanka ORIX leasing Company Plc ended down 3.3 percent, conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc ended 0.2 percent lower and biggest listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon ended 0.2 percent down. Most investors have adopted a wait-and-watch approach, hoping for some positive news on the economic front, analysts said. Turnover stood at 459.8 million rupees, half of this year’s daily average of 964.6 million rupees. A weaker rupee, political uncertainty and the recent fuel price hike weighed on sentiment in the past few weeks with local investors remaining on the sidelines as they gauged the impact of the floods last month, brokers said. The Sri Lankan rupee slipped to a fresh all-time low of 159.80 per dollar on Monday, pulled down by a lack of support for the local currency from exporters. $1 = 159.7000 Sri Lankan rupees Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-13T14:37:00.000+03:00|AT&T slips after Time Warner buyout gets approval|June 13, 2018 / 11:38 AM / Updated 35 minutes ago Fox shares pop ahead of expected Comcast bid Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s shares hit a record high on Wednesday as approval for AT&T Inc’s $85 billion buyout of Time Warner Inc spurred speculation that Comcast Corp would make an offer for most of Fox’s assets. The AT&T and Time Warner logos are seen on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid A firm offer from Comcast, widely expected later in the day, could upend Fox’s $52 billion all-stock deal to be bought by Walt Disney Co. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday approved AT&T’s buyout of Time Warner, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump to block the takeover and potentially clearing the path for more such deals in a rapidly changing media industry. Fox shares rose 7 percent in afternoon trade. Shares of other telecom and media companies such as Sprint Corp, CBS Corp and Discovery Inc were all up between 1 percent to 3 percent. Time Warner rose almost 3 percent, while Disney was up 2 percent. While the judge’s approval of AT&T’s deal for Time Warner may embolden Comcast, it does not guarantee clear passage for its acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business, according to antitrust lawyers. The 21st Century Fox logo is seen outside the News Corporation building in Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Henry Su, an antitrust expert with Constantine Cannon LLP, said that Comcast already owns significant amounts of content because it bought NBC Universal. Both companies operate television and film studios, have a stake in streaming service Hulu and own regional sports networks. Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson, said Judge Leon’s opinion will be seen as a green light for Comcast to bid for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, but tipped Disney as the potential winner in a bidding war. Slideshow (5 Images) “We continue to believe that Disney has the superior balance sheet, cost of debt, equity and rationale to emerge victorious over Comcast in a bidding war,” Moffett said. Comcast said in May it was in advanced stages of preparing a higher all-cash offer for Fox’s assets but did not indicate the value of its bid. Reuters reported last November that both Comcast and Verizon Communications Inc had expressed interest in buying Fox’s assets. The move by media companies to consolidate highlights the threat from online players such as Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, which sell content online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. AT&T’s stock, however, was down 5 percent, with analysts raising concerns about the debt the company would absorb. Research firm MoffettNathanson said AT&T will carry $249 billion of debt after the merger. Cowen and Co analyst Gregory Williams played down the drop in AT&T’s stock price. “Once technically driven volatility wears off we expect the stock to move higher as closure will likely provide a new investor catalyst including about $1.5 billion in anticipated cost synergies,” Williams said. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru and; Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Lisa Shumaker|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-13T14:46:00.000+03:00|AT&T slips after Time Warner buyout gets approval|June 13, 2018 / 11:50 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Fox, media firms rise after AT&T-Time Warner approval Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Twenty First Century Fox Inc’s shares rose 8 percent to a record-high on Wednesday as an approval for AT&T’s buyout of Time Warner Inc spurred speculation that Comcast Corp would proceed with an offer for most of the media company’s assets. FILE PHOTO: An AT&T logo and communication equipment is shown on a building in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Comcast’s proposal, widely expected later in the day, could upend Fox’s $52 billion all-stock deal to be bought by Walt Disney. A federal judge on Tuesday approved AT&T Inc’s $85 billion buyout of Time Warner, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to block the deal and clearing the path for more such deals in a rapidly changing media industry. Shares of other telecom and media companies such as Sprint Corp, CBS Corp and Discovery Inc were all up between 1.5 percent and 3 percent in early trading. Time Warner rose about 4 percent. “The decision ... may be interpreted as indicative of the general tone in Washington (and at the DOJ) towards large-scale vertical mergers,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note to clients. The move by media companies to consolidate highlights the threat from players such as Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, which sell content online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. AT&T’s stock, however, was down nearly 4 percent, with at least one analyst raising concerns about the debt the company would absorb as part of the deal. “Time Warner will be a positive for AT&T’s income statement, at least initially. But it will be a negative for the balance sheet,” said research firm Moffett Nathanson’s Craig Moffett, who downgraded the stock to “sell”. “The new AT&T will carry an astounding $249 billion of debt.” The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Cowen and Co analyst Gregory Williams played down the initial stock reaction. “Once technically driven volatility wears off we expect the stock to move higher as closure will likely provide a new investor catalyst including about $1.5 billion in anticipated cost synergies,” Williams said. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sweta Singh and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-13T14:53:00.000+03:00|MEDIA-SocGen to sell Belgian private banking unit - L'echo|** France’s third-biggest bank is exploring a sale of its private banking unit in Belgium, L’echo reports, citing several unnamed sources ** Possible buyers include Degroof Petercam, Puilaetco Dewaay, Credit Agricole’s Indosuez or Banque Transatlantique ** European private banking sector is undergoing a consolidation, as smaller players face pressure on profitability from rising regulatory costs ** SocGen bought the Belgian private banking business, la banque De Martelaere, in 2001 for 78 million euros ($91.57 million), according to L’echo ** SocGen did not immediately reply to a request for comment Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy Further company coverage: ($1 = 0.8518 euros) (Reporting by Paris Newsroom, editing by Louise Heavens)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T15:05:00.000+03:00|AltaGas sells 35 pct stake in hydro projects for C$922 mln|June 13 (Reuters) - Canadian utility AltaGas Ltd said on Wednesday it would sell a 35 percent stake in the Northwest British Columbia Hydro Electric Facilities for C$922 million ($707.87 million). The sale to a joint venture owned by Axium Infrastructure Inc and Manulife Financial Corp is part of a plan to raise C$2 billion related to the company’s acquisition of U.S.- based utility WGL Holdings Inc. ($1 = 1.3025 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Karan Nagarkatti in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T15:08:00.000+03:00|China's Hengli buys Brazilian oil ahead of refinery start-up: sources|SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese chemical producer Hengli Group [HLGRP.UL] has bought its first crude oil cargo from Brazil ahead of the start-up of a new refinery in the fourth quarter, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in the northeastern port city of Dalian will be one of the five largest refineries in China and a major crude oil buyer. The plant is configured to process medium and heavy crude grades from Saudi Arabia as well as Brazilian oil. To prepare for trial runs at the plant scheduled for October, the company has bought 1 million barrels of spot Marlim crude from Petrobras that arrived in China at the end of May, one of the sources said. Both sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media. Private company Hengli said it does not comment on spot deals. Reuters reported last month that Hengli would receive its first Saudi crude, 2 million barrels of Arab Medium, in July, with plans to lift Arab heavy crude later. The Ministry of Commerce recently gave Hengli permission to import 5 million tonnes (36.5 million barrels) of crude oil this year, one of the sources said. The ministry declined to comment. Tuesday also marked the official opening of Hengli’s joint-venture trading office with Chinese state oil firm Sinochem Corp [SASADA.UL] in Singapore. Hengli OilChem, 80 percent owned by Hengli and 20 percent by Sinochem, will procure crude, sell products and petrochemicals and conduct third-party trading, the company said. Reporting by Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu; Additional reporting by Meng Meng and Seng Li Peng; Editing by Joseph Radford  |https://www.reuters.com/places/china|0
2018-06-13T15:10:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 13)|BRUSSELS, June 13 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (approved June 12) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (approved June 12) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (approved June 8) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 25 — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Italian motorway operator Atlantia and German builder ACS Hochtief to jointly acquire Spanish construction company Abertis Infraestructuras (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 11 — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) JULY 12 — French energy company Total directo acquire French power utility Direct Energie (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Private equity firm Partners Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to have joint control of U.S.software company GlobalLogic which is now jointly controlled by CPPIB and private equity firm Apax Partners (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) JULY 13 — Private equity firm Advent International to acquire generics drugmaker Zentiva from French healthcare group Sanofi (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Italian company Snam to acquire Greek gas grid operator DESFA (notified June 8/July 13/simplified) — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) JULY 16 — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of British healthcare provider Heath and Protection Solutions Ltd (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Private equity firm Apollo Management to acquire Belgian insurer Generali Belgium (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Irish fresh food producer Total Produce to acquire a 45-percent stake in U.S. peer Dole Food Company (notified June 11/deadline July 16) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) OCT 17 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 12 after the European Commission opens an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-13T15:10:00.000+03:00|Medical device maker Stryker says not in talks to buy Boston Scientific|June 13 (Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp was not in discussions to buy rival Boston Scientific Corp, Stryker said in a regulatory filing bit.ly/2Jy6VQB on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal had reported on Monday Stryker had made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T15:22:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Medical device maker Stryker says not in talks to buy Boston Scientific|(Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp ( SYK.N ) is not in talks to buy rival Boston Scientific Corp ( BSX.N ), the company said in a regulatory filing bit.ly/2Jy6VQB on Wednesday, two days after a media report of a potential deal between the two surfaced. Stryker’s shares rose 7 percent to $174 in premarket trading after falling 9 percent in the last two days. Boston Scientific’s shares fell 6.8 percent to $31.60. They closed up 7.4 percent on Monday. There has been rapid consolidation across the healthcare industry in recent years, but there has been a slower stream of larger deals in the medical device sector. A potential deal between Stryker and Boston Scientific would create a combined company with a market value of more than $110 billion. Wall Street analysts said any deal between the two companies would be transformational, but were skeptical about the rationale of the deal. “Stryker is not in discussions with Boston Scientific Corporation regarding a potential acquisition,” Stryker said. The Wall Street Journal had reported on Monday that Stryker had made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific. “The filing from Stryker states that the company is not in discussions with Boston Scientific. It does not deny that prior discussions took place,” Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at Roosevelt Investment Group said. “Putting together a deal for Boston Scientific that creates value for Stryker shareholders would be a challenging high-wire act.” Roosevelt Investment does not own shares in either of the companies. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T15:25:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-AltaGas sells 35 pct stake in hydro projects for C$922 mln|(Adds deal details, background, CEO comment) June 13 (Reuters) - Canadian utility AltaGas Ltd said on Wednesday it would sell a 35 percent stake in three hydroelectric projects in Northwest British Columbia for C$922 million ($707.87 million) to help fund its acquisition of U.S.-based WGL Holdings Inc. The sale to a joint venture owned by Axium Infrastructure Inc and Manulife Financial Corp is part of a plan to raise C$2 billion of the C$8.4 billion WGL deal. AltaGas, which will remain the majority holder of the projects, said it expected the transaction to close by the end of June. “We also continue to advance discussions for the monetization of certain additional assets, which we expect to conclude in the third quarter,” Chief Executive Officer David Harris said. The projects include the 195-megawatt Forrest Kerr Hydroelectric Facility, the 16-megawatt Volcano Creek Hydroelectric Facility and the 66-megawatt McLymont Creek Hydroelectric Facility. TD Securities Inc, J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets acted as joint financial advisers to AltaGas. ($1 = 1.3025 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Karan Nagarkatti and Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T15:26:00.000+03:00|Iran says will begin uranium enrichment at Fordow if nuclear deal unravels|June 13, 2018 / 12:28 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Iran says will begin uranium enrichment at Fordow if nuclear deal unravels Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran will begin uranium enrichment at its Fordow plant and will install new nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility if it withdraws from a nuclear deal with major powers, said the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi//File Photo The fate of the 2015 nuclear deal is unclear after the United States withdrew from it. The other signatory nations - Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France - are trying to salvage the accord, which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions. Iran has two vast enrichment sites, at Natanz and Fordow. Much of Natanz is deep underground and Fordow is buried inside a mountain, which is widely believed to protect them from aerial bombardment. AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an interview published on Wednesday that new work would begin on the nuclear programme on the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not specify what kind of new equipment might be installed at Natanz. “Currently the Supreme Leader has ordered that the programmes be carried out within the parameters of the nuclear deal,” Kamalvandi told the Young Journalists’ Club (YJC) in an interview. “And when he gives the order we will announce the programmes for operating outside of the nuclear deal for reviving Fordow,” he added. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the AEOI, announced last week that Iran had begun work on a facility to construct advanced centrifuges at Natanz. The announcement appeared at least in part to be an effort to pressure the remaining signatories to preserve the 2015 deal. Kamalvandi accused the United States and other Western countries of applying double standards by opposing Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said was purely peaceful, while accepting the nuclear arms programme of Tehran’s foe Israel. “The West doesn’t criticise the Zionist regime and have even helped them,” the YJC quoted Kamalvandi as saying. “Without the help of the West and America this regime could never have obtained nuclear weapons.” Israel is widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear power. Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has a nuclear arsenal. Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-13T15:26:00.000+03:00|Iran says will begin uranium enrichment at Fordow if nuclear deal unravels|June 13, 2018 / 12:28 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago Iran says will begin uranium enrichment at Fordow if nuclear deal unravels Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran will begin uranium enrichment at its Fordow plant and will install new nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility if it withdraws from a nuclear deal with major powers, said the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi//File Photo The fate of the 2015 nuclear deal is unclear after the United States withdrew from it. The other signatory nations - Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France - are trying to salvage the accord, which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions. Iran has two vast enrichment sites, at Natanz and Fordow. Much of Natanz is deep underground and Fordow is buried inside a mountain, which is widely believed to protect them from aerial bombardment. AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an Wednesday that new work would begin on the nuclear programme on the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not specify what kind of new equipment might be installed at Natanz. “Currently the Supreme Leader has ordered that the programmes be carried out within the parameters of the nuclear deal,” Kamalvandi told the Young Journalists’ Club (YJC) in an interview. “And when he gives the order we will announce the programmes for operating outside of the nuclear deal for reviving Fordow,” he added. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the AEOI, announced last week that Iran had begun work on a facility to construct advanced centrifuges at Natanz. The announcement appeared at least in part to be an effort to pressure the remaining signatories to preserve the 2015 deal. Kamalvandi accused the United States and other Western countries of applying double standards by opposing Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said was purely peaceful, while accepting the nuclear arms programme of Tehran’s foe Israel. “The West doesn’t criticise the Zionist regime and have even helped them,” the YJC quoted Kamalvandi as saying. “Without the help of the West and America this regime could never have obtained nuclear weapons.” Israel is widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear power. Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has a nuclear arsenal. Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-13T15:26:00.000+03:00|Iran says will begin uranium enrichment at Fordow if nuclear deal unravels|BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran will begin uranium enrichment at its Fordow plant and will install new nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility if it withdraws from a nuclear deal with major powers, said the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). FILE PHOTO: Iran's national flags are seen on a square in Tehran February 10, 2012, a day before the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo The fate of the 2015 nuclear deal is unclear after the United States withdrew from it. The other signatory nations - Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France - are trying to salvage the accord, which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions. Iran has two vast enrichment sites, at Natanz and Fordow. Much of Natanz is deep underground and Fordow is buried inside a mountain, which is widely believed to protect them from aerial bombardment. AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an interview published on Wednesday that new work would begin on the nuclear program on the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not specify what kind of new equipment might be installed at Natanz. “Currently the Supreme Leader has ordered that the programs be carried out within the parameters of the nuclear deal,” Kamalvandi told the Young Journalists’ Club (YJC) in an interview. “And when he gives the order we will announce the programs for operating outside of the nuclear deal for reviving Fordow,” he added. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the AEOI, announced last week that Iran had begun work on a facility to construct advanced centrifuges at Natanz. The announcement appeared at least in part to be an effort to pressure the remaining signatories to preserve the 2015 deal. Kamalvandi accused the United States and other Western countries of applying double standards by opposing Iran’s nuclear program, which he said was purely peaceful, while accepting the nuclear arms program of Tehran’s foe Israel. “The West doesn’t criticize the Zionist regime and have even helped them,” the YJC Quote: d Kamalvandi as saying. “Without the help of the West and America this regime could never have obtained nuclear weapons.” Israel is widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear power. Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has a nuclear arsenal. Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T15:31:00.000+03:00|Medical device maker Stryker says not in talks to buy Boston Scientific|(Reuters) - Medical device maker Stryker Corp is not in talks to buy rival Boston Scientific Corp, the company said in a regulatory filing bit.ly/2Jy6VQB on Wednesday, two days after a media report of a potential deal between the two surfaced. Stryker’s shares rose 7 percent to $174 in premarket trading after falling 9 percent in the last two days. Boston Scientific’s shares fell 6.8 percent to $31.60. They closed up 7.4 percent on Monday. There has been rapid consolidation across the healthcare industry in recent years, but there has been a slower stream of larger deals in the medical device sector. A potential deal between Stryker and Boston Scientific would create a combined company with a market value of more than $110 billion. Wall Street analysts said any deal between the two companies would be transformational, but were skeptical about the rationale of the deal. “Stryker is not in discussions with Boston Scientific Corporation regarding a potential acquisition,” Stryker said. The Wall Street Journal had reported on Monday that Stryker had made a takeover approach to Boston Scientific. “The filing from Stryker states that the company is not in discussions with Boston Scientific. It does not deny that prior discussions took place,” Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at Roosevelt Investment Group said. “Putting together a deal for Boston Scientific that creates value for Stryker shareholders would be a challenging high-wire act.” Roosevelt Investment does not own shares in either of the companies. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-13T15:43:00.000+03:00|Mongolian ex-finance minister held over mining deal released -sources|ULAANBAATAR, June 13 (Reuters) - A former Mongolian finance minister and a businessman held since April as part of an investigation into negotiations on the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine operated by Rio Tinto have been released, court sources said. The prosecutor’s office requested their release on Tuesday. Both former officials are prohibited from travelling abroad. Former finance minister Bayartsogt Sangajav was arrested with Byambasaikhan Bayanjargal, former chief executive of state-owned investment company Erdenes Mongol. Mongolia’s Independent Agency Against Corruption is investigating suspected misuse of power in connection with a 2009 agreement to develop the Oyu Tolgoi mine. It was signed by the government with Rio Tinto and Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines (now called Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd) and was followed by a 2015 deal to expand the project. Bayartsogt’s lawyer said he expected his client to be acquitted. Bayartsogt is keen to cooperate with investigators and had voluntarily come to the country to “establish the truth”, the lawyer told media in Mongolia. Former prime ministers Bayar Sanj and Saikhanbileg Chimed were also arrested as part of the investigation. The Independent Agency Against Corruption was not available for immediate comment. (Reporting by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav; writing by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T15:56:00.000+03:00|M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger|June 12, 2018 / 9:22 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger Carl O'Donnell , Diane Bartz 5 Min Read (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave a ringing endorsement to AT&T Inc’s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. Smartphone with AT&T logo is seen in front of displayed Time Warner logo in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The ruling by Judge Richard Leon bit.ly/2Jxx6qE of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner's content. The judge’s strong approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to seek a stay if they opposed the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. Investors are now also expecting major media consolidation, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc shares rising more than 6 percent in after-market trading. Cable network owner Discovery Inc saw shares increase 3.2 percent while mobile providers, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc, which are waiting for a government approval of their own, also saw a bump following the decision. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. Related Coverage Instant View: Federal judge OKs AT&T takeover of Time Warner The Justice Department had argued that AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Smartphone with AT&T logo is seen in front of displayed Time Warner logo in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Fox away from Walt Disney Co, which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T’S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signaled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp and Viacom Inc, analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-06-13T16:28:00.000+03:00|Fox, other media companies rise after AT&T-Time Warner approval|(Reuters) - Twenty First Century Fox Inc’s shares rose 8 percent to a record-high on Wednesday as approval for AT&T&rsquo;s buyout of Time Warner Inc spurred speculation that Comcast Corp would proceed with an offer for most of the media company’s assets. The AT&T and Time Warner logos are seen on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid A firm offer from Comcast, widely expected later in the day, could upend Fox’s $52 billion all-stock deal to be bought by Walt Disney. A federal judge on Tuesday approved AT&T Inc’s $85 billion buyout of Time Warner, rebuffing an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump to block the takeover and potentially clearing the path for more such deals in a rapidly changing media industry. Shares of other telecom and media companies such as Sprint Corp, CBS Corp and Discovery Inc were all up between 1.5 percent and 3 percent in early trading. Time Warner rose about 4 percent, while Disney was up 2 percent. “The decision ... may be interpreted as indicative of the general tone in Washington (and at the DOJ) toward large-scale vertical mergers,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note to clients. Craig Moffett, an analyst with Moffett Nathanson, said Judge Richard Leon’s opinion will be seen as a green light for Comcast to bid for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, but tipped Disney as the potential winner in a bidding war. “We continue to believe that Disney has the superior balance sheet, cost of debt, equity and rationale to emerge victorious over Comcast in a bidding war,” Moffett said. Comcast said in May it was in advanced stages of preparing a higher all cash offer for Fox’s assets but did not indicate the value of its bid. Reuters reported last November that both Comcast and Verizon Communications Inc had expressed interest in buying Fox’s assets. The 21st Century Fox logo is seen outside the News Corporation building in Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton The move by media companies to consolidate highlights the threat from online players such as Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, which sell content online directly to consumers, without requiring a pricey cable subscription. AT&T&rsquo;s stock, however, was down nearly 5 percent, with Moffett raising concerns about the debt the company would absorb as part of the deal. “Time Warner will be a positive for AT&T&rsquo;s income statement, at least initially. But it will be a negative for the balance sheet,” said research firm Moffett Nathanson’s Craig Moffett, who downgraded the stock to “sell”. “The new AT&T will carry an astounding $249 billion of debt.” The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Cowen and Co analyst Gregory Williams played down the drop in AT&T&rsquo;s stock price. Slideshow (5 Images) “Once technically driven volatility wears off we expect the stock to move higher as closure will likely provide a new investor catalyst including about $1.5 billion in anticipated cost synergies,” Williams said. Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sweta Singh and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|1
2018-06-13T16:43:00.000+03:00|Italy's Creval sells 1.6 bln-euro bad loan portfolio|MILAN, June 13 (Reuters) - Italian mid-sized bank Credito Valtellinese (Creval) said on Wednesday it had finalised the securitisation of a bad loan portfolio with a gross book value of 1.6 billion euros ($1.88 billion), pushing its shares up more than 4 percent. Earlier this year the mid-tier bank, known as Creval, raised eight times its market value in cash from investors to strengthen its balance sheet but it is still in the process of shedding bad debt. In its 2018-2020 restructuring plan, dubbed “Renaissance”, the group aimed to address concerns by Italy’s central bank that the lender may struggle to restore adequate profitability given its high bad loans and operating costs. The bank sold the portfolio at a price of about 32 percent its gross book value, tapping the so-called GACS state-backed guarantee scheme for the senior tranche, it said in a statement. The sale reduces Creval’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to a pro forma basis of around 11.5 percent as of the end of March compared with the 19.3 percent disclosed previously. The target for the end of 2018 is 10.5 percent. “With this transaction, the NPL sale plan for 2018 is almost completed,” it said. Shares in the bank were up 4.2 percent at 0.1 euros by 0810 GMT, outperforming a 0.5 percent rise in Italy’s banking index . $1 = 0.8514 euros Reporting by Giulia Segreti; editing by Jason Neely  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T17:06:00.000+03:00|Greystar in talks to buy Education Realty for about $3.1 billion: WSJ|(Reuters) - Greystar Real Estate Partners is in exclusive discussions to buy Education Realty Trust Inc ( EDR.N ), owner of collegiate housing communities, for about $3.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Greystar, which operates apartments in the United States, has offered $41.50 a share for Education Realty, the Journal reported, adding that the deal is expected to be announced later this week. Education Realty’s shares rose 1.5 percent at $40.69. This comes about two weeks after the Journal reported that the Memphis-based real estate investment trust was exploring a potential sale and was in talks with private-equity firms, citing people familiar with the matter. At least one other group is looking to buy Education Realty, the Journal reported on Wednesday. Both Greystar and Education Realty were not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-13T17:12:00.000+03:00|White House seeks to block Senate bid to kill ZTE Deal -WSJ|June 13, 2018 / 2:13 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago White House seeks to block Senate bid to kill ZTE deal: WSJ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - The White House will aim to block legislative language before Congress that would block a Trump administration agreement allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker, ZTE Corp, to resume business with U.S. suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. A woman stands outside a building of ZTE Beijing research and development center in Beijing, China June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee The newspaper, citing a senior White House official, said the White House aimed to change the related language later in the legislative process. Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Eric Walsh|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-13T17:14:00.000+03:00|Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic|June 13, 2018 / 2:18 PM / Updated an hour ago Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic Reuters Staff 3 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - A long-time Kremlin critic lambasted Robbie Williams for deciding to sing at the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow on Thursday, while a campaign group offered to brief the British pop star on Russia’s human rights record. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Soccer Aid 2018 - England v Soccer Aid World XI - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - June 10, 2018 Robbie Williams before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers -/File Photo British businessman Bill Browder, who accuses President Vladimir Putin of conducting a personal vendetta against him, took to Twitter to question why Williams was performing while Russia was under western sanctions. “There’s lots of ways to make money @robbiewilliams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you,” Browder wrote. Russia is keen to use the soccer tournament to signal that despite the sanctions, imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and role in a rebellion in eastern Ukraine, it remains a top player on the global stage. The singer’s PR team declined comment. However, Williams, who has previously sung at private parties organized by wealthy Russians, told Reuters he liked visiting the country and performing at the opening ceremony was an honor. U.S.-born Browder was once a major investor in Russia. He has led a campaign to expose corruption and punish officials he blames for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer he employed, in a Moscow prison. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently imposed its own sanctions under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act. Last year a Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia for deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion. Browder, who heads investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, has dismissed the allegations. Human Rights Watch said it had called on world leaders to stay away from the event, pointing to Russia’s rights record and its role in the Syrian war. “We certainly see the way the Russian government and President Putin is using the World Cup and in particular the opening ceremony as a way of legitimizing his power and his authority,” the group’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Hugh Williamson, said. “We’d be happy to brief (Williams) on the human rights situation in Russia ... so that he’s well informed when he gets there. He could also make a positive contribution if he speaks out during his visit,” he added. The tournament kicks off on Thursday with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by David Stamp|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-13T17:15:00.000+03:00|White House seeks to block Senate bid to kill ZTE deal: WSJ|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to block the Trump administration’s agreement allowing China’s ZTE Corp to resume business with American suppliers could be killed in the U.S. Congress in the coming weeks, lawmakers and aides said on Wednesday. A woman stands outside a building of ZTE Beijing research and development center in Beijing, China June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee The U.S. Senate is due to vote within days on the measure as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. The White House strongly opposes the ZTE measure. If it passes, the House of Representatives and Senate must negotiate a final version of the NDAA. The ZTE provision, which is not included in the House version of the defense bill, could be stripped out during those negotiations. Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he would oppose anything in the NDAA not germane to the Defense Department if it threatened to delay swift passage of the $716 billion bill, which governs everything from military pay raises to aircraft and ship purchases, military aid and other national security policies. He said that process could be completed by the end of July. The House NDAA includes a separate provision barring U.S. government agencies from using “risky” technology from ZTE or Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], describing the Chinese telecommunications companies as “linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence apparatus.” Should it become law, the ZTE measure would restore penalties on the company for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from the Chinese company. The U.S. government banned the company earlier this year, but the Trump administration reached an agreement to lift the ban, while it is negotiating broader trade agreements with China and looking to Beijing for support during negotiations to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Chinese President Xi Jinping requested the change. STIFF PENALTY ON ZTE In a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department, ZTE agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions, including putting $400 million in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank. The White House pushed back against the legislation, defending the agreement as “part of an historic enforcement action” giving the U.S. government some leverage over ZTE’s activity without “undue harm” to U.S. suppliers and workers. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the administration will work with Congress to ensure that the final version of the NDAA “respects the separation of powers.” And some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress, back the White House. Republican Senator David Perdue tried and failed to win the Senate’s support for killing the ZTE measure on Wednesday, arguing that limiting the Commerce Department’s authority would undercut Trump’s ability to negotiate trade deals with China. But the ZTE measure’s main sponsors, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Tom Cotton, both said they believed it had enough support from Republicans and Democrats to pass the Senate despite White House opposition. “These companies have proven themselves to be untrustworthy, and at this point I think the only fitting punishment would be to give them the death penalty - that is, to put them out of business in the United States,” Cotton said in a Senate speech, referring to both ZTE and Huawei. Cotton said he and Van Hollen would keep working in the common months to ensure the ZTE measure stays in the defense bill. ZTE shares plunged in Hong Kong and Shenzhen markets on Wednesday in its first day of trading after an almost two-month halt. Investors wiped about $3 billion off its market value, or about 40 percent, in initial trading. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Damon Darlin, Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-13T17:15:00.000+03:00|White House seeks to block Senate bid to kill ZTE Deal: WSJ|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to block the Trump administration’s agreement with China’s ZTE Corp allowing it to resume business with American suppliers could be delayed, or even killed, by procedural rules in the U.S. Congress, lawmakers and aides said on Wednesday. A woman stands outside a building of ZTE Beijing research and development center in Beijing, China June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee The U.S. Senate is due to vote as soon as this week on the legislation as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a defense policy bill Congress passes every year. The White House strongly opposes the measure. If it passes, before the defense bill becomes law, a joint committee of the House of Representatives and Senate must negotiate a final version of the bill. The ZTE provision could be stripped out during those negotiations. The House version does not include the ZTE measure. Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he would oppose including anything in the NDAA not germane to the Defense Department if it threatened to delay the swift package of the $716 billion bill, which governs everything from military pay raises to aircraft and ship purchases, military aid and other national security policies. He said that process could be completed by the end of July. The House NDAA already includes a provision barring U.S. government agencies from using “risky” technology from ZTE or Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], describing the companies as “linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence apparatus.” The measure could also be held up if President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control Congress, rule that it does not belong in legislation setting policy for the Pentagon. Should it become law, the measure would restore penalties on ZTE for violating export controls and bar U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or services from the Chinese company. The United States government banned the company earlier this year, but the Trump administration reached an agreement to lift the ban, while it is negotiating broader trade agreements with China and looking to Beijing for support during negotiations to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Chinese President Xi Jinping requested the change. In a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department, the company agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions, including putting $400 million in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank. The White House pushed back against the legislation, defending the agreement as “part of an historic enforcement action” giving the U.S. government some leverage over ZTE’s activity without “undue harm” to U.S. suppliers and workers. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the administration will work with Congress to ensure that the final version of the NDAA “respects the separation of powers.” The ZTE measure’s main sponsors, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Tom Cotton, both said they believed it had enough support from Republicans and Democrats to pass the Senate despite White House opposition. “We can’t let them off the hook with a slap on the wrist, because if we do that it will ... send the wrong messages to countries around the world,” Van Hollen said in a Senate speech. Cotton said he and Van Hollen would keep working in the common months to ensure the ZTE measure stays in the defense bill. ZTE shares plunged in Hong Kong and Shenzhen markets on Wednesday in its first day of trading after an almost two-month halt. Investors wiped about $3 billion off its market value, or about 40 percent, in initial trading. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Damon Darlin and Tom Brown  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-13T17:16:00.000+03:00|Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic|June 13, 2018 / 2:18 PM / Updated 10 hours ago Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic Reuters Staff 3 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - A long-time Kremlin critic lambasted Robbie Williams for deciding to sing at the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow on Thursday, while a campaign group offered to brief the British pop star on Russia’s human rights record. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Soccer Aid 2018 - England v Soccer Aid World XI - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - June 10, 2018 Robbie Williams before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers -/File Photo British businessman Bill Browder, who accuses President Vladimir Putin of conducting a personal vendetta against him, took to Twitter to question why Williams was performing while Russia was under western sanctions. “There’s lots of ways to make money @robbiewilliams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you,” Browder wrote. Russia is keen to use the soccer tournament to signal that despite the sanctions, imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and role in a rebellion in eastern Ukraine, it remains a top player on the global stage. The singer’s PR team declined comment. However, Williams, who has previously sung at private parties organized by wealthy Russians, told Reuters he liked visiting the country and performing at the opening ceremony was an honor. U.S.-born Browder was once a major investor in Russia. He has led a campaign to expose corruption and punish officials he blames for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer he employed, in a Moscow prison. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently imposed its own sanctions under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act. Last year a Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia for deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion. Browder, who heads investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, has dismissed the allegations. Human Rights Watch said it had called on world leaders to stay away from the event, pointing to Russia’s rights record and its role in the Syrian war. “We certainly see the way the Russian government and President Putin is using the World Cup and in particular the opening ceremony as a way of legitimizing his power and his authority,” the group’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Hugh Williamson, said. “We’d be happy to brief (Williams) on the human rights situation in Russia ... so that he’s well informed when he gets there. He could also make a positive contribution if he speaks out during his visit,” he added. The tournament kicks off on Thursday with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by David Stamp|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INhollywood|0
2018-06-13T17:16:00.000+03:00|Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic|MOSCOW (Reuters) - A long-time Kremlin critic lambasted Robbie Williams for deciding to sing at the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow on Thursday, while a campaign group offered to brief the British pop star on Russia’s human rights record. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Soccer Aid 2018 - England v Soccer Aid World XI - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - June 10, 2018 Robbie Williams before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers -/File Photo British businessman Bill Browder, who accuses President Vladimir Putin of conducting a personal vendetta against him, took to Twitter to question why Williams was performing while Russia was under western sanctions. “There’s lots of ways to make money @robbiewilliams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you,” Browder wrote. Russia is keen to use the soccer tournament to signal that despite the sanctions, imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and role in a rebellion in eastern Ukraine, it remains a top player on the global stage. The singer’s PR team declined comment. However, Williams, who has previously sung at private parties organized by wealthy Russians, told Reuters he liked visiting the country and performing at the opening ceremony was an honor. U.S.-born Browder was once a major investor in Russia. He has led a campaign to expose corruption and punish officials he blames for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer he employed, in a Moscow prison. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently imposed its own sanctions under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act. Last year a Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia for deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion. Browder, who heads investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, has dismissed the allegations. Human Rights Watch said it had called on world leaders to stay away from the event, pointing to Russia’s rights record and its role in the Syrian war. “We certainly see the way the Russian government and President Putin is using the World Cup and in particular the opening ceremony as a way of legitimizing his power and his authority,” the group’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Hugh Williamson, said. “We’d be happy to brief (Williams) on the human rights situation in Russia ... so that he’s well informed when he gets there. He could also make a positive contribution if he speaks out during his visit,” he added. The tournament kicks off on Thursday with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by David Stamp Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 0 : 0 narrow-browser-and-phone medium-browser-and-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser wide-browser-and-larger medium-browser-and-landscape-tablet medium-wide-browser-and-larger above-phone portrait-tablet-and-above above-portrait-tablet landscape-tablet-and-above landscape-tablet-and-medium-wide-browser portrait-tablet-and-below landscape-tablet-and-below Apps Newsletters Advertise with Us Advertising Guidelines Cookies Terms of Use Privacy All Quote: s delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. © 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/entertainment|0
2018-06-13T17:38:00.000+03:00|South Africa's Sea Harvest to buy Viking Fishing assets for $66 mln|JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) - South African frozen fish supplier Sea Harvest Group said on Tuesday a consortium of black investors it leads will buy the fishing business of domestic peer Viking Fishing Group for 885 million rand ($66 million). Sea Harvest announced in December that it was heading a consortium of broad-based black economic empowerment investors that was in talks to acquire Viking Fishing’s entire fishing business and a 51 percent stake in Viking Aquaculture. The deal will be funded by the consortium through a combination of cash, bank loans, an issue of 19.2 million Sea Harvest ordinary shares and vendor funding, Cape Town-based Sea Harvest said in a statement. Since listing in 2017, Sea Harvest has actively sought to grow its business through acquisitions. Privately held Viking Group was founded in 1980 and its fishing business operates a fleet of 30 vessels along the South Africa coast from Cape Town to Maputo in Mozambique. ($1 = 13.3342 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla Editing by James Macharia)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|1
2018-06-13T17:39:00.000+03:00|Linde-Praxair deal gets Brazil antitrust nod|BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s antitrust regulator on Wednesday approved the $80 billion merger of gas group Linde AG and Praxair Inc, as long as the companies go ahead with an undisclosed asset sale plan. Linde Group logo is seen at company building before the annual news conference in Munich, Germany March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth Reuters reported last week that Linde and Praxair have slashed the bidding pool for the more than $4 billion worth of assets they are jointly selling, according to people familiar with the matter. The board of antitrust regulator Cade unanimously voted to approve the transaction. Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-13T18:11:00.000+03:00|White House seeks to block Congress from killing ZTE deal - report|June 13, 2018 / 2:14 PM / Updated an hour ago White House seeks to block Congress from killing ZTE deal - report Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will try to derail an effort in the U.S. Congress to block the Trump administration’s deal to allow ZTE Corp, China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker, to resume doing business with American suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The logo of China's ZTE Corp is seen on the building of ZTE Beijing research and development center in Beijing, China June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee The ZTE issue encompasses U.S.-China relations, national security, trade and President Donald Trump’s ties to fellow Republicans in the Senate. The administration wants to change legislative language in a defense spending bill before the Senate, but will intervene later in the legislative process, the Journal said, citing a senior White House official. The Senate was expected to pass its bill as soon as this week. It will later need to be reconciled with a defense spending measure already passed by the House of Representatives. The White House was not immediately available for comment. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, and Democrats expressed national security concerns about ZTE after it broke an agreement to discipline executives who had conspired to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea. The United States had banned the company but later moved to lift the ban. In a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department, the company agreed earlier this week to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions, including putting $400 million in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank. A Commerce Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Journal report. ZTE shares plunged in Hong Kong and Shenzhen on Wednesday following the settlement, with investors wiping about $3 billion off its market value. Reporting by Karen Freifeld; writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Eric Walsh and Jonathan Oatis|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T18:52:00.000+03:00|Tel Aviv bourse seeks to extend deadline for banks to sell shares|TEL AVIV, June 13 (Reuters) - The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) has asked Israeli banks to extend the deadline for an agreement to sell their shares in the bourse until the end of August after the Israel Securities Authority requested more time to examine the buyers. In April, U.S.-based investment fund Manikay Partners agreed to buy 19.9 percent of TASE in a deal valuing it at 551 million shekels ($153 million). Another 21.8 percent is to be acquired by a number of international investors. TASE demutualised last September, became a for-profit bourse and offered to buy out its shareholders. It received commitments from member banks to buy back 71.7 percent of their shares and had until June 19 to complete this. “We have asked the banks to extend this deadline to the end of August,” a TASE spokeswoman said on Wednesday, adding that the Securities Authority has advised it needs more time to examine the international investors. The First International Bank of Israel said in a statement it was examining the bourse’s extension request. ($1 = 3.5921 shekels) (Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T19:06:00.000+03:00|French parliament set to approve SNCF reform in boon for Macron|PARIS, June 13 (Reuters) - France’s parliament will approve a bill on Wednesday overhauling the indebted state-run rail company SNCF, handing a significant victory to President Emmanuel Macron in his bid to outwit the unions and reform the economy. The vote in the National Assembly, where Macron’s Republique En Marche party has an absolute majority, is largely a formality after a committee of the lower house of parliament and the Senate agreed joint amendments to the legislation on Monday. The Senate upper house will approve the bill on Thursday. It represents the most fundamental reform of the 150,000-strong SNCF since rail nationalisation in the 1930s. Dismissed by some as an unreformable entity, Macron has taken on a challenge that defeated previous administrations. Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe had to withdraw welfare reforms in 1995 after weeks of strikes and social unrest led by rail workers. The new law will turn the SNCF into a joint-stock company, giving its management greater corporate responsibility, will phase out its domestic passenger monopoly from 2020 and put an end to generous benefits and pensions for future employees. “The government has committed itself to our rail industry as no other has before us,” Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne told FranceInfo radio on Tuesday. “I now urge the unions to take stock of their responsibilities.” With passage of the law, the government has said it will write off 35 billion euros of the SNCF’s 47 billion euros ($55 billion) of debt, giving the company more room to manoeuvre. France’s rail unions have been staunchly opposed to the reforms from the start. In April they began three months of rolling strikes in protest, shutting down local, regional and international services for two days out of every five. Those stoppages are set to run until the end of June. At the start, the public expressed some sympathy — polls showed more than half of those surveyed thought the strikes were justified — but support has waned over time. Commuters have grown fed up with the disruptions and found ways around them, using car-sharing apps, telecommuting or cycling to work. Gaps in the unions’ position have also emerged and been exploited — a tactic Macron used to sound effect last year in securing the backing of the largest union, the CFDT, for reforms to the labour code to make hiring and firing easier. The CFDT, the most moderate of the larger unions as well as the biggest, has signalled it will accept the SNCF bill once it becomes law. When the rolling strikes end on June 28, its railworkers are expected to return to work. The more militant CGT union remains firmly against, with 95 percent of its members voting against the legislation last month. Employees represented by the union have said they will pursue wildcat strikes from July. But their ability to cause widespread disruption or win public sympathy appears limited. Many CGT unionists are among those who have gradually given up adhering to the strike. For a graphic see tmsnrt.rs/2JnAdwO “I think the unions may have overplayed their hand here,” said Bob Hancke, a professor of European political economy at the London School of Economics, describing the SNCF as “one of the last bastions of union power in France”. A change in public sentiment towards organised labour — part of a broader social shift as younger people increasingly engage in the ‘gig’ economy and see the future in technology — has left the unions looking out of touch. But Hancke warns that while it is an important symbolic victory for Macron, it may do little to improve the business climate in France or stimulate much-needed growth. Writing by Luke Baker Editing by Catherine Evans  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T19:25:00.000+03:00|Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic|June 13, 2018 / 2:14 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Robbie Williams selling his soul for World Cup gig - Kremlin critic Reuters Staff 3 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - A long-time Kremlin critic lambasted Robbie Williams for deciding to sing at the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow on Thursday, while a campaign group offered to brief the British pop star on Russia’s human rights record. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Soccer Aid 2018 - England v Soccer Aid World XI - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - June 10, 2018 Robbie Williams before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers British businessman Bill Browder, who accuses President Vladimir Putin of conducting a personal vendetta against him, took to Twitter to question why Williams was performing while Russia was under western sanctions. “There’s lots of ways to make money @robbiewilliams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you,” Browder wrote. Russia is keen to use the soccer tournament to signal that despite the sanctions, imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and role in a rebellion in eastern Ukraine, it remains a top player on the global stage. The singer’s PR team declined comment. However, Williams, who has previously sung at private parties organised by wealthy Russians, told Reuters he liked visiting the country and performing at the opening ceremony was an honour. U.S.-born Browder was once a major investor in Russia. He has led a campaign to expose corruption and punish officials he blames for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer he employed, in a Moscow prison. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently imposed its own sanctions under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act. Last year a Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia for deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion. Browder, who heads investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, has dismissed the allegations. Human Rights Watch said it had called on world leaders to stay away from the event, pointing to Russia’s rights record and its role in the Syrian war. “We certainly see the way the Russian government and President Putin is using the World Cup and in particular the opening ceremony as a way of legitimising his power and his authority,” the group’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Hugh Williamson, said. “We’d be happy to brief (Williams) on the human rights situation in Russia ... so that he’s well informed when he gets there. He could also make a positive contribution if he speaks out during his visit,” he added. The tournament kicks off on Thursday with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Editing by David Stamp|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKEntertainment/|0
2018-06-13T19:28:00.000+03:00|Brazil's central bank to impose conditions on XP-Itau deal -media|BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, June 13 (Reuters) - Brazil’s central bank plans to impose restrictions on Itau Unibanco Holding SA’s purchase of a stake in financial services firm XP Investimentos SA, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Wednesday. Several possible restrictions are being considered, with the preferred option that Itau be limited to buying a stake of 49.9 percent or less, Valor Economico reported, without citing the source of the information. Itau, Brazil’s largest bank, is proposing to buy a 74.9 percent stake and a 49.9 percent stake in the voting capital in XP by 2022 for 5.7 billion reais. Other possible restrictions include limiting Itau’s participation in governance of XP or that the parties agree to give up on options to buy and sell control that are laid out in the contract, according to Valor. Itau, XP and the central bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The newspaper cited an unnamed source saying that the bank is not considering vetoing the deal, but rather imposing significant restrictions. Antitrust regulator Cade approved Itau’s purchase of the stake in XP in March. Reporting by Jake Spring and Carolina Mandl Editing by Chizu Nomiyama  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T19:37:00.000+03:00|French parliament approves landmark bill to reform state rail company|PARIS (Reuters) - France’s National Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill to overhaul the state-run SNCF railway company on Wednesday, backing President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to break the unions and reform the economy. French ministers and members of parliament leave the questions to the government session prior to the vote for the French government's SNCF reform bill at the National Assembly in Paris, France, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier The bill, which the upper house Senate will approve in a vote on Thursday, turns the SNCF into a joint-stock company, giving its management greater corporate responsibility, will phase out its domestic passenger monopoly from 2020 and put an end to generous benefits and pensions for future employees. The legislation, the most fundamental reform of the 150,000-strong company since nationalization in the 1930s, has been pushed through over the objections of unions, who have carried out nearly three months of strikes against the reforms. Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, writing by Luke Baker, Editing by Leigh Thomas  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-13T19:57:00.000+03:00|China's CITIC files for approval of taking over Czech CEFC - watchdog|PRAGUE, June 13 (Reuters) - A unit of China’s state-owned conglomerate CITIC has filed a request for antitrust approval to take full control over Czech assets of troubled private Chinese group CEFC China Energy, Czech competition watchdog UOHS said on Wednesday. The Czech assets involved are the CEFC Europe firm, holding interests in hotels, real estate, engineering and a sports club and Lapasan, through which CEFC holds a majority stake in beer brewer Lobkowicz. The UOHS did not mention Czech airline Travel Service in which a China-based CEFC entity holds 49.9 percent interest. The CITIC entity filing the request was British Virgin Islands-based Hengxin Enterprises Limited and it would take over the Czech firms via Hong Kong-based Rainbow Wisdom Investments Limited, UOHS said. No decision has been made in the matter, UOHS said. Last month, CITIC stepped in to pay some 12 billion crown ($549.05 million) debt owed by CEFC Europe to Czech financial group J&T. ($1 = 21.8560 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Jan Lopatka)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T20:11:00.000+03:00|GRAINS-CBOT soybeans, wheat plunge on fund selling|(Recasts, updates with U.S. trading, adds new analyst Quote: , changes byline/dateline; pvs PARIS/SINGAPORE) By Mark Weinraub CHICAGO, June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean and wheat futures fell sharply on Wednesday, with wheat sinking 3.4 percent and soybean futures hitting their lowest in more than nine months. Traders said that long liquidation by investment funds triggered the sell-off. Concerns about trade with China sparked the bearish wave in soybeans while wheat was ripe for a round of profit-taking after surging 3.9 percent on Tuesday. “Realistically, we are just kind of out of gas,” said Bill Gentry, a broker with Risk Management Commodities in Lafayette, Indiana. “This is one of the days the funds are saying I do not want to play anymore.” At 11:57 a.m. CDT (1627 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade July wheat futures were 18-1/4 cents lower at $5.16-1/4 a bushel. CBOT soybeans for July delivery were down 14-1/2 cents at $9.39-1/4 a bushel. The most-active contract hit its lowest since Aug. 31. “Tensions may soon be ratcheting higher with China,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist with INTL FCStone. “The Trump Administration indicated a couple of weeks ago that it was preparing to implement tariffs on up to $50 billion of goods and services coming from China on June 15th.” Soybean futures have fallen for seven of the last eight days, shedding 8.0 percent during that time. CBOT July corn futures were 2-1/4 cents lower at $3.75-1/4 a bushel, with the weakness in wheat and soybeans spilling over into the corn market. Private analytics firm Informa Economics cut its estimate of 2018 U.S. corn plantings to 88.706 million acres from 89.0 million acres. Forecasts for crop-boosting rain in key growing areas of the U.S. Midwest for the next week added pressure to both corn and soybeans. (Additional reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Louise Heavens and Diane Craft)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-13T20:21:00.000+03:00|Mediaset drops out of tender to buy Serie A TV rights - source|June 13, 2018 / 5:24 PM / Updated an hour ago Mediaset drops out of race for Italy's TV football rights - source Elvira Pollina , Giancarlo Navach 2 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - Italian broadcaster Mediaset has dropped out of an auction for rights to screen Italy’s top flight Serie A football matches after submitting a lower bid than rival Sky, a source attending Wednesday’s Serie A League meeting said. The Mediaset tower is seen at the headquarter in Cologno Monzese, near Milan, Italy, April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini Mediaset had no comment. Sky could not immediately be reached for comment. The League kicked off a new bidding round for the 2018-2021 season rights earlier this month after it cancelled a contract awarding them to the Spanish multimedia group Mediapro. The decision was taken as the Barcellona-based, Chinese-owned group had failed to present the necessary bank guarantees. Mediapro had been expected to auction the rights to other operators but its tender was also cancelled by a Milan judge in May on grounds that it breached antitrust rules. This followed a legal challenge from Sky’s Italian subsidiary. Mediapro did not take part in Wednesday’s auction for the rights of the 400 matches, a separate source close to the League said, adding that British-based sports media group Perform was also one of the bidders. The process to award the rights to Italy’s main football championship has been going on for over a year. The 2018 season of Italy’s Serie A, which ended in May, was aired by both Sky’s Italian subsidiary and Mediaset’s pay-TV arm Premium. Bids for the rights to air matches of the next three seasons, bundled in different packages, were due by 0900 GMT on Wednesday, with the League expected to assign them by the end of the day. Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Giancarlo Navach; Writing by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Paola Arosio and Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKEntertainment/|0
2018-06-13T20:22:00.000+03:00|Finland cuts stake in biofuel firm Neste with $1 billion deal|HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland’s center-right government sold a stake of 5 percent in oil refiner and biofuel company Neste ( NESTE.HE ) on Wednesday for 861 million euros ($1.0 billion), prompting criticism from the opposition that it gives up too much control of company. As a result of the sale, the state’s stake fell to 44.7 percent. The government said it wanted to capitalize on the stock’s recent strong performance while still holding a strong grip on the company. “The state will continue to be a significant shareholder of the company, which will, among other things, ensure the strategic interest relating to the ownership,” Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintila said in a statement. The sale price was 67.27 euros per share, compared with Tuesday’s closing price of 69.18 euros. The stock fell to 66.60 euros on Wednesday by 1120 GMT. It is still up about 90 percent from a year earlier. Neste has benefited from its profitable biofuel business, which has plants in Singapore and Rotterdam, and is looking to expand its capacity. It also has two conventional refineries in Finland. The acting head of the state ownership department Jarmo Vaisanen told Reuters that there were no plans at the moment to cut the stake further. Last year, the government pushed through a law that gives it a mandate to cut the state’s previously controlling stake in Neste to a minimum of 33.4 percent - prompting strike threats from the company’s employees. State-ownership is a sensitive subject in Finland where many think the government should do more to protect Finnish jobs. “The logic of the sale is rather confusing. There is really no need to sell the shares and lose common ownership, they could instead borrow cheap money,” said lawmaker Sirpa Paatero from the opposition Social Democrats told Reuters. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl, editing by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Louise Heavens  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-13T20:26:00.000+03:00|M&A gates open with judge's blessing on AT&T-Time Warner merger|(Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave a ringing endorsement to AT&T Inc’s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc without any conditions, opening the door for companies such as Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc to pursue deals to buy creators of media content. The ruling by Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brings an end to a six-week antitrust trial in which U.S. regulators argued that the $85 billion deal would give AT&T undue leverage against rival cable providers that relied on Time Warner’s content. The judge’s strong approval, and scathing opinion that urged the government not to seek a stay if they opposed the ruling, will give telecommunications providers the confidence that similar types of acquisitions will also have a shot at clearing regulatory hurdles, and could spur other copycat mergers this year, industry analysts and dealmakers said. Investors are now also expecting major media consolidation, with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc shares rising more than 6 percent in after-market trading. Cable network owner Discovery Inc saw shares increase 3.2 percent while mobile providers, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ), which are waiting for a government approval of their own, also saw a bump following the decision. AT&T said that controlling Time Warner’s cable brands will help it craft new types of content to retain its customers as web-based rivals like Netflix Inc woo audiences away from traditional pay-TV subscriptions. For cable companies feeling the pain of cord-cutting, similar deals for coveted media brands could help them build out new content offerings and offset expected declines in revenues, analysts and dealmakers told Reuters. The Justice Department had argued that AT&T&rsquo;s acquisition of Time Warner would allow it to charge premium prices to rivals who relied on its Turner and HBO channels to woo customers to their cable plans, potentially giving it an unfair advantage in the pay-TV market. Now this will be a less of a concern for companies. “This decision could serve as a ‘green light’ for other potential M&A, including Comcast’s ongoing pursuit of FOX,” said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS, in a note. Regulators will still likely scrutinize similar deals, and there is no guarantee that the district court’s approval of AT&T&rsquo;s merger with Time Warner means that other major media acquisitions would be approved, several antitrust attorneys told Reuters. Still, at least one company, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, had been waiting for the court decision before making any large M&A moves in media, sources have said. Rival cable company Comcast is now likely to go ahead with its planned attempt to woo Fox away from Walt Disney Co, which said it would acquire most assets of the media company for around $50 billion last year. “Regardless of what happens on the appeal front, expect Comcast to put forth an all-cash bid in the next day or so at a premium to Disney,” said Mary Ann Halford, senior adviser to OC&C Strategy Consultants. Comcast is aiming to gain control over Fox assets such as its Twentieth Century Fox Film and TV studios, which includes brands ranging from X-Men to The Simpsons, as well many of its cable networks. The court ruling could also open the door for Verizon, AT&T&rsquo;S main rival, to bid for a media company, UBS’ Hodulik added. However, in Verizon’s most recent quarterly earnings call, executives said they would rather sit out the current consolidation, and instead build out its content offerings through partnerships with independent media companies. It also appointed a new chief executive officer earlier this month, Hans Vestberg, the company’s chief technology officer, in a move that signaled Verizon would likely double down on its existing telecommunications business. Still, one potential target for Verizon would be a combined CBS Corp and Viacom Inc, analysts have said, assuming that on ongoing legal battle between CBS’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, and the company’s board, is resolved. In a recent court filing, Redstone said her long-term plan was to create a combined company, which would unite media assets including CBS’ broadcast networks, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and then sell it. Halford, from OC&C added, “All I know is that this will be a blockbuster summer for media mergers!” Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-13T21:00:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea - Reuters/Ipsos poll|WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Just over half of all Americans say they approve of how President Donald Trump has handled North Korea, but only a quarter think that his summit this week with Kim Jong Un will lead to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: A television screen at the Baro bar broadcasts the Singapore summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as customers sit at the bar in the Korea Town section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files In a joint declaration following their meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, the North Korean leader pledged to move toward complete denuclearization of the peninsula and Trump vowed to guarantee the security of the United States’ old foe. Forty percent of those polled said they did not believe the countries would stick to their commitments. Another 26 percent said they believed the United States and North Korea would meet their commitments, while 34 percent said they did not know whether they would follow through. Thirty-nine percent believe the summit has lowered the threat of nuclear war between the United States and nuclear-armed North Korea, slightly more than the 37 percent who said they did not believe it changed anything. Trump has pursued what he calls a “maximum pressure” campaign” against Pyongyang to force it to give up its nuclear weapons. He toughened up international sanctions to further isolate North Korea and then agreed to meet directly with Kim after South Korea’s president convinced him that the North was committed to giving up its nuclear weapons. The Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests the Republican president has broad support for one of his biggest foreign policy efforts, despite criticism from non-proliferation experts that Trump had exacted few concrete commitments from Kim on Tuesday on dismantling his nuclear arsenal. FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un listens to U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet in a one-on-one bilateral session at the start of their summit on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files Republicans appear much more enthusiastic than Democrats about the potential benefits of the summit. The poll found that Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats to say that the meeting lowered the threat of nuclear war, and they were three times as likely to say that both sides would follow through on their commitments. Democrats typically give Trump low approval ratings - only 12 percent approve of his overall job performance. But about 30 percent said they approved of his handling of North Korea. Trump, who returned to Washington early on Wednesday, hailed the meeting with Kim, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, as a success that had removed the North Korean nuclear threat. Their seemingly friendly meeting was in sharp contrast to their tit-for-tat insults and bellicose rhetoric late last year while Pyongyang carried out its biggest nuclear and missile tests. In the poll, Trump received a 51 percent approval rating for his handling of North Korea and also led the list of leaders who should take the most credit for the summit and the joint pledge. Forty percent say the former real estate developer should take the most credit, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in FILE PHOTO: People watch from a shopping mall food court in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown as Singapore hosted a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files with 11 percent. Kim was third with 7 percent. MIGHT IMPACT VOTERS Trump has repeatedly touted his role in bringing the reclusive North Korea to the negotiating table, a feat that he says his predecessors were unable to pull off. It may be too soon though to know whether Trump’s diplomatic breakthrough will help Republican candidates in congressional elections in November, when Democrats will attempt to retake control of both houses. Typically foreign policy is not a major concern for mid-term voters. “It’s too early to say if there is a net positive out of that,” said Republican strategist Alice Stewart. “It’s a good step to have the conversation but that doesn’t yet mean that it’s a success.” Ron Bonjean, also a Republican strategist, said voters were more likely to be influenced if there was serious and measurable progress closer to the election. The Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll was conducted online in English, between June 12-13 in the United States. It gathered responses from more than 1,000 adults, including more than 400 Democrats and 400 Republicans. It has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll’s precision, of 4 percentage points for the full sample and 6 percentage points for the Democrats and Republicans, meaning that the results could vary in either direction by that amount. Reporting by Chris Kahn; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson; Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Ross Colvin Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T21:25:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll|June 13, 2018 / 6:05 PM / Updated 9 hours ago Exclusive - Half of Americans back Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll Mary Milliken , Chris Kahn 5 Min Read WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Just over half of all Americans say they approve of how President Donald Trump has handled North Korea, but only a quarter think that his summit this week with Kim Jong Un will lead to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: A television screen at the Baro bar broadcasts the Singapore summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as customers sit at the bar in the Korea Town section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files In a joint declaration following their meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, the North Korean leader pledged to move towards complete denuclearisation of the peninsula and Trump vowed to guarantee the security of the United States’ old foe. Forty percent of those polled said they did not believe the countries would stick to their commitments. Another 26 percent said they believed the United States and North Korea would meet their commitments, while 34 percent said they did not know whether they would follow through. Thirty-nine percent believe the summit has lowered the threat of nuclear war between the United States and nuclear-armed North Korea, slightly more than the 37 percent who said they did not believe it changed anything. Trump has pursued what he calls a “maximum pressure” campaign” against Pyongyang to force it to give up its nuclear weapons. He toughened up international sanctions to further isolate North Korea and then agreed to meet directly with Kim after South Korea’s president convinced him that the North was committed to giving up its nuclear weapons. The Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests the Republican president has broad support for one of his biggest foreign policy efforts, despite criticism from non-proliferation experts that Trump had exacted few concrete commitments from Kim on Tuesday on dismantling his nuclear arsenal. Republicans appear much more enthusiastic than Democrats about the potential benefits of the summit. The poll found that Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats to say that the meeting lowered the threat of nuclear war, and they were three times as likely to say that both sides would follow through on their commitments. Democrats typically give Trump low approval ratings - only 12 percent approve of his overall job performance. But about 30 percent said they approved of his handling of North Korea. Trump, who returned to Washington early on Wednesday, hailed the meeting with Kim, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, as a success that had removed the North Korean nuclear threat. Their seemingly friendly meeting was in sharp contrast to their tit-for-tat insults and bellicose rhetoric late last year while Pyongyang carried out its biggest nuclear and missile tests. FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un listens to U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet in a one-on-one bilateral session at the start of their summit on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files In the poll, Trump received a 51 percent approval rating for his handling of North Korea and also led the list of leaders who should take the most credit for the summit and the joint pledge. Forty percent say the former real estate developer should take the most credit, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in with 11 percent. Kim was third with 7 percent. MIGHT IMPACT VOTERS Trump has repeatedly touted his role in bringing the reclusive North Korea to the negotiating table, a feat that he says his predecessors were unable to pull off. It may be too soon though to know whether Trump’s diplomatic breakthrough will help Republican candidates in congressional elections in November, when Democrats will attempt to retake control of both houses. Typically foreign policy is not a major concern for mid-term voters. “It’s too early to say if there is a net positive out of that,” said Republican strategist Alice Stewart. “It’s a good step to have the conversation but that doesn’t yet mean that it’s a success.” Ron Bonjean, also a Republican strategist, said voters were more likely to be influenced if there was serious and measurable progress closer to the election. FILE PHOTO: People watch from a shopping mall food court in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown as Singapore hosted a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files The Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll was conducted online in English, between June 12-13 in the United States. It gathered responses from more than 1,000 adults, including more than 400 Democrats and 400 Republicans. It has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll’s precision, of 4 percentage points for the full sample and 6 percentage points for the Democrats and Republicans, meaning that the results could vary in either direction by that amount. Reporting by Chris Kahn; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson; Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Ross Colvin|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-13T21:26:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll|June 13, 2018 / 6:27 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Exclusive - Half of Americans back Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll Mary Milliken , Chris Kahn 5 Min Read WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Just over half of all Americans say they approve of how President Donald Trump has handled North Korea, but only a quarter think that his summit this week with Kim Jong Un will lead to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: People watch from a shopping mall food court in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown as Singapore hosted a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files In a joint declaration following their meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, the North Korean leader pledged to move towards complete denuclearization of the peninsula and Trump vowed to guarantee the security of the United States’ old foe. Forty percent of those polled said they did not believe the countries would stick to their commitments. Another 26 percent said they believed the United States and North Korea would meet their commitments, while 34 percent said they did not know whether they would follow through. Thirty-nine percent believe the summit has lowered the threat of nuclear war between the United States and nuclear-armed North Korea, slightly more than the 37 percent who said they did not believe it changed anything. Trump has pursued what he calls a “maximum pressure” campaign” against Pyongyang to force it to give up its nuclear weapons. He toughened up international sanctions to further isolate North Korea and then agreed to meet directly with Kim after South Korea’s president convinced him that the North was committed to giving up its nuclear weapons. The Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests the Republican president has broad support for one of his biggest foreign policy efforts, despite criticism from non-proliferation experts that Trump had exacted few concrete commitments from Kim on Tuesday on dismantling his nuclear arsenal. FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un listens to U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet in a one-on-one bilateral session at the start of their summit on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files Republicans appear much more enthusiastic than Democrats about the potential benefits of the summit. The poll found that Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats to say that the meeting lowered the threat of nuclear war, and they were three times as likely to say that both sides would follow through on their commitments. Democrats typically give Trump low approval ratings - only 12 percent approve of his overall job performance. But about 30 percent said they approved of his handling of North Korea. Trump, who returned to Washington early on Wednesday, hailed the meeting with Kim, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, as a success that had removed the North Korean nuclear threat. Their seemingly friendly meeting was in sharp contrast to their tit-for-tat insults and bellicose rhetoric late last year while Pyongyang carried out its biggest nuclear and missile tests. In the poll, Trump received a 51 percent approval rating for his handling of North Korea and also led the list of leaders who should take the most credit for the summit and the joint pledge. Forty percent say the former real estate developer should take the most credit, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in FILE PHOTO: A television screen at the Baro bar broadcasts the Singapore summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as customers sit at the bar in the Korea Town section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files with 11 percent. Kim was third with 7 percent. MIGHT IMPACT VOTERS Trump has repeatedly touted his role in bringing the reclusive North Korea to the negotiating table, a feat that he says his predecessors were unable to pull off. It may be too soon though to know whether Trump’s diplomatic breakthrough will help Republican candidates in congressional elections in November, when Democrats will attempt to retake control of both houses. Typically foreign policy is not a major concern for mid-term voters. “It’s too early to say if there is a net positive out of that,” said Republican strategist Alice Stewart. “It’s a good step to have the conversation but that doesn’t yet mean that it’s a success.” Ron Bonjean, also a Republican strategist, said voters were more likely to be influenced if there was serious and measurable progress closer to the election. The Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll was conducted online in English, between June 12-13 in the United States. It gathered responses from more than 1,000 adults, including more than 400 Democrats and 400 Republicans. It has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll’s precision, of 4 percentage points for the full sample and 6 percentage points for the Democrats and Republicans, meaning that the results could vary in either direction by that amount. Reporting by Chris Kahn; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson; Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Ross Colvin|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-13T21:26:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll|June 13, 2018 / 6:28 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Exclusive - Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll Mary Milliken, Chris Kahn 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just over half of all Americans say they approve of how President Donald Trump has handled North Korea, but only a quarter think that his summit this week with Kim Jong Un will lead to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: People watch from a shopping mall food court in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown as Singapore hosted a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files In a joint declaration following their meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, the North Korean leader pledged to move towards complete denuclearization and Trump vowed to guarantee the security of the United States’ old foe. Forty percent of those polled said they did not believe the countries would stick to their commitments. Another 26 percent said they believed the United States and North Korea would meet their commitments, while 34 percent said they did not know whether they would follow through. Thirty-nine percent believe the summit has lowered the threat of nuclear war between the United States and nuclear-armed North Korea, slightly more than the 37 percent who said they did not believe it changed anything. Trump, who returned to Washington early on Wednesday, hailed the meeting with Kim, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, as a success that had removed the North Korean nuclear threat. Their seemingly friendly meeting was in sharp contrast to their tit-for-tat insults and bellicose rhetoric late last year while Pyongyang carried out its biggest nuclear and missile tests. FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un listens to U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet in a one-on-one bilateral session at the start of their summit on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files Trump received a 51 percent approval rating for his handling of North Korea and also led the list of leaders who should take the most credit for the summit and the joint pledge. Forty percent say the former reality television star should take the most credit, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in with 11 percent. Kim was third with 7 percent. The Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll was conducted online in English, between June 12-13 in the United States. It gathered responses from more than 1,000 adults, including more than 400 Democrats and 400 Republicans. FILE PHOTO: A television screen at the Baro bar broadcasts the Singapore summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as customers sit at the bar in the Korea Town section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files It has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll’s precision, of 4 percentage points for the full sample and 6 percentage points for the Democrats and Republicans, meaning that the results could vary in either direction by that amount. Writing by Mary Milliken,; Editing by Ross Colvin 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-13T21:41:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll|June 13, 2018 / 6:05 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago Exclusive - Half of Americans approve of Trump's handling of North Korea: Reuters/Ipsos poll Mary Milliken , Chris Kahn 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just over half of all Americans say they approve of how President Donald Trump has handled North Korea, but only a quarter think that his summit this week with Kim Jong Un will lead to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: A television screen at the Baro bar broadcasts the Singapore summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as customers sit at the bar in the Korea Town section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files In a joint declaration following their meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, the North Korean leader pledged to move towards complete denuclearisation and Trump vowed to guarantee the security of the United States’ old foe. Forty percent of those polled said they did not believe the countries would stick to their commitments. Another 26 percent said they believed the United States and North Korea would meet their commitments, while 34 percent said they did not know whether they would follow through. Thirty-nine percent believe the summit has lowered the threat of nuclear war between the United States and nuclear-armed North Korea, slightly more than the 37 percent who said they did not believe it changed anything. Trump, who returned to Washington early on Wednesday, hailed the meeting with Kim, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, as a success that had removed the North Korean nuclear threat. Their seemingly friendly meeting was in sharp contrast to their tit-for-tat insults and bellicose rhetoric late last year while Pyongyang carried out its biggest nuclear and missile tests. FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un listens to U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet in a one-on-one bilateral session at the start of their summit on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files Trump received a 51 percent approval rating for his handling of North Korea and also led the list of leaders who should take the most credit for the summit and the joint pledge. Forty percent say the former reality television star should take the most credit, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in with 11 percent. Kim was third with 7 percent. The Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll was conducted online in English, between June 12-13 in the United States. It gathered responses from more than 1,000 adults, including more than 400 Democrats and 400 Republicans. FILE PHOTO: People watch from a shopping mall food court in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown as Singapore hosted a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files It has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll’s precision, of 4 percentage points for the full sample and 6 percentage points for the Democrats and Republicans, meaning that the results could vary in either direction by that amount. Writing by Mary Milliken,; Editing by Ross Colvin|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-13T21:42:00.000+03:00|Greystar in talks to buy Education Realty for about $3.1 bln - WSJ|June 13, 2018 / 6:42 PM / in a day Greystar in talks to buy Education Realty for about $3.1 bln - WSJ Reuters Staff 1 Min Read June 13 (Reuters) - Greystar Real Estate Partners is in discussions to buy Education Realty Trust Inc, owner of collegiate housing communities, for about $3.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on.wsj.com/2l9cGpn on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Greystar, which operates apartments in the United States, has offered $41.50 a share for Education Realty, the Journal reported, adding that the deal is expected to be announced later this week. Education Realty’s shares rose 1.5 percent at $40.69. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T21:46:00.000+03:00|Argentina to use $7.5 billion from IMF deal to finance budget|June 13, 2018 / 2:34 PM / Updated 35 minutes ago Argentina to use $7.5 billion from IMF deal to finance budget Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have asked to use $7.5 billion of the $50 billion financing deal signed with the International Monetary Fund to fund their budget, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Wednesday. Argentine President Mauricio Macri holds a meeting with Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne, Finance Minister Luis Caputo, Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger and other members of the government's economic team that led negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), at Olivos presidential residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina June 8, 2018. Argentine Presidency/Handout via REUTERS That marked half of the 30 percent of the total that authorities requested be disbursed immediately, Lagarde said. The Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the $7.5 billion would be sold on the market through pre-announced daily auctions conducted by the central bank. The peso currency ARS=RASL added to gains after the Finance Ministry announcement, but turned negative later in the session. It closed down 2.5 percent weaker at a record-low 26.40 per U.S. dollar, as the central bank retreated from the spot market after selling reserves early in the day. A Treasury Ministry spokesman said the government would soon publish a letter of intent of the policies it would implement in the context of the IMF deal. The IMF board is expected to meet to discuss final approval of the Argentina deal on June 20. Reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Luc Cohen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-13T22:03:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Greystar in talks to buy Education Realty for about $3.1 bln - WSJ|(Reuters) - Greystar Real Estate Partners is in exclusive discussions to buy Education Realty Trust Inc ( EDR.N ), owner of collegiate housing communities, for about $3.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Greystar, which operates apartments in the United States, has offered $41.50 a share for Education Realty, the Journal reported, adding that the deal is expected to be announced later this week. Education Realty’s shares rose 1.5 percent at $40.69. This comes about two weeks after the Journal reported that the Memphis-based real estate investment trust was exploring a potential sale and was in talks with private-equity firms, citing people familiar with the matter. At least one other group is looking to buy Education Realty, the Journal reported on Wednesday. Both Greystar and Education Realty were not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-13T22:09:00.000+03:00|White House seeks to block Senate bid to kill ZTE Deal -WSJ|June 13 (Reuters) - The White House will aim to block legislative language before Congress that would block a Trump administration agreement allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker, ZTE Corp, to resume business with U.S. suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The newspaper, citing a senior White House official, said the White House aimed to change the related language later in the legislative process. (Reporting by Susan Heavey Editing by Eric Walsh)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T22:32:00.000+03:00|Argentina to use $7.5 bln from IMF deal to finance budget|BUENOS AIRES, June 13 (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have asked to use $7.5 billion of the $50 billion financing deal signed with the International Monetary Fund to fund their budget, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Wednesday. Argentina’s Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the funds would be sold on the market through pre-announced daily auctions conducted by the central bank. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Luc Cohen Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-13T22:38:00.000+03:00|Argentina to use $7.5 billion from IMF deal to finance budget|BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have asked to use $7.5 billion of the $50 billion financing deal signed with the International Monetary Fund to fund their budget, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Wednesday. Argentine President Mauricio Macri holds a meeting with Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne, Finance Minister Luis Caputo, Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger and other members of the government's economic team that led negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), at Olivos presidential residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina June 8, 2018. Argentine Presidency/Handout via REUTERS That marked half of the 30 percent of the total that authorities requested be disbursed immediately, Lagarde said. The Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the $7.5 billion would be sold on the market through pre-announced daily auctions conducted by the central bank. The peso currency ARS=RASL added to gains after the Finance Ministry announcement, but turned negative later in the session. It closed down 2.5 percent weaker at a record-low 26.40 per U.S. dollar, as the central bank retreated from the spot market after selling reserves early in the day. A Treasury Ministry spokesman said the government would soon publish a letter of intent of the policies it would implement in the context of the IMF deal. The IMF board is expected to meet to discuss final approval of the Argentina deal on June 20. Reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Luc Cohen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-13T23:06:00.000+03:00|Comcast offers to buy Fox media assets for $65 bln in cash|June 13 (Reuters) - Comcast Corp on Wednesday offered $65 billion for the businesses Twenty-First Century Fox had already agreed to sell to Walt Disney Co, a day after AT&T won approval to buy Time Warner. Comcast confirmed last month that it was preparing a higher all-cash offer than Disney’s $52 billion all-stock deal for Fox’s media assets, but had been awaiting the outcome of the court hearing on the AT&T deal before bidding formally. Fox in December agreed to sell its film, television and international businesses to Disney. (Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-13T23:06:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-White House seeks to block Congress from killing ZTE deal -report|(Adds no immediate comment from White House, Commerce Department) WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - The White House will try to derail an effort in the U.S. Congress to block the Trump administration’s deal to allow ZTE Corp, China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker, to resume doing business with American suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The ZTE issue encompasses U.S.-China relations, national security, trade and President Donald Trump’s ties to fellow Republicans in the Senate. The administration wants to change legislative language in a defense spending bill before the Senate, but will intervene later in the legislative process, the Journal said, citing a senior White House official. The Senate was expected to pass its bill as soon as this week. It will later need to be reconciled with a defense spending measure already passed by the House of Representatives. The White House was not immediately available for comment. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, and Democrats expressed national security concerns about ZTE after it broke an agreement to discipline executives who had conspired to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea. The United States had banned the company but later moved to lift the ban. In a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department, the company agreed earlier this week to pay a $1 billion fine, overhaul its leadership and meet other conditions, including putting $400 million in escrow in a U.S.-approved bank. A Commerce Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Journal report. ZTE shares plunged in Hong Kong and Shenzhen on Wednesday following the settlement, with investors wiping about $3 billion off its market value. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Eric Walsh and Jonathan Oatis)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T23:12:00.000+03:00|Comcast offers to buy Fox media assets for $65 billion in cash|June 13, 2018 / 8:10 PM / Updated 44 minutes ago Comcast offers $65 billion to lure Fox from Disney bid Sheila Dang , Diane Bartz 4 Min Read (Reuters) - Comcast Corp offered $65 billion (£48.6 billion) on Wednesday to lure Twenty-First Century Fox Inc away from a merger with Walt Disney Co, saying its all-cash bid was about 19 percent higher and launching the first salvo in what could be a bidding war between two of the largest U.S. media companies. An entrance to Fox Studios is shown in Los Angeles, California, June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he was highly confident regulators would allow a Comcast-Fox deal after AT&T Inc’s court victory on Tuesday, which allowed it to buy Time Warner Inc for $85 billion. Some analysts see some difficulties for Comcast-Fox, which would add Fox’s movie and television studios to Comcast’s NBC Universal, but Roberts said in a letter to Fox that he would offer the same conditions as Disney and promised to fight for the deal in court if necessary. Comcast is expected to lead a wave of traditional media companies trying to combine distribution and production to compete with Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google. The younger firms produce content, sell it online directly to consumers and often offer lucrative targeted advertising. Shares of Comcast, Fox and Disney were barely changed in after-hours trade. Comcast in a statement outlined an offer that was similar to Disney’s, including a commitment to the same divestitures. It said that it would agree to litigate any action taken by the Justice Department to block the deal. FILE PHOTO: The NBC and Comcast logos are displayed on 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo Comcast offered $35 per Fox share for the media assets, compared with Disney’s stock offer, worth $29.18 per share at the close of trade on Wednesday. Comcast also offered a $2.5 billion reverse termination fee if the deal did not go through, the same as Disney. It also offered to pay Fox’s $1.525 billion breakup fee owed Disney, if Fox went with Comcast. Comcast said it intended to pursue its $30 billion acquisition of Sky Plc in parallel with its Fox bid. Comcast bid for Sky in April, after Fox’s bid for the remainder of European pay-TV group it did not already own was delayed by regulators. Justice Department lawyers who tried to stop AT&T’s $85 billion deal expect consumers will lose out as bigger companies raise prices, and some lawyers saw that as a concern in a Comcast-Fox deal which would put two movie studios and two major television brands under one roof. A sign is shown at the entrance to Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake “One cannot ignore the fact that there’s less independent content to go around,” after the AT&T deal, said Henry Su, an antitrust expert with Constantine Cannon LLP. Still, the AT&T court fight gave Comcast valuable information about how to structure a Fox deal, said David Scharf, a litigation expert with Morrison Cohen. “Any deal that’s coming down the pike that’s not baked yet knows the government’s playbook. They know what the government is concerned about,” he said. “They can learn how to structure a deal to make it more palatable.” Disney itself has “surgically” structured a transaction that “might be doable,” avoiding Fox Broadcasting and big Fox sports channels, U.S. antitrust chief Makan Delrahim said last week. “I don’t think either will have a significant advantage over the other,” given that both Disney and Comcast seem motivated to divest what they need to win a deal with Fox, said Ketan Jhaveri, a former Justice Department attorney who served on the telecommunications task force. Comcast may have a tough time winning over Fox’s largest shareholder, Rupert Murdoch’s family. They own a 17-percent stake and would face a multi-billion dollar capital gains tax bill if he accepted an all-cash offer from Comcast, tax experts have told Reuters. Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson, said in a research note that Disney could prevail for other reasons. “Disney has the superior balance sheet, cost of debt, equity and rationale to emerge victorious over Comcast in a bidding war,” Moffett said. Reporting by Sheila Dang in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Additional reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru and Carl O'Donnell in New York; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Maju Samuel and Lisa Shumaker|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-06-13T23:16:00.000+03:00|Comcast offers to buy Fox media assets for $65 billion in cash|June 13, 2018 / 8:10 PM / Updated 21 hours ago Comcast offers $65 billion to lure Fox from Disney bid Carl O'Donnell , Liana B. Baker 5 Min Read (Reuters) - Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ) offered $65 billion on Wednesday to lure Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) away from a merger with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), setting up a bidding war between two of the largest U.S. media companies with its 20 percent higher offer. Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he was highly confident regulators would allow Comcast to acquire most of Fox’s media assets after AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) court victory on Tuesday, which allowed it to buy Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) for $85 billion. The fight to win Fox’s assets is shaping up to be a summer blockbuster starring well-known media moguls, led by Rupert Murdoch who built Fox into a global media empire. Comcast’s Roberts, who led a failed bid for Disney in 2004, now faces off against Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger, whose own dealmaking has added heroes from Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel comics to the home of Mickey Mouse. Fox’s board will now have to decide whether Comcast’s offer beats Disney’s. If Fox prefers Comcast, Disney will have five business days to respond. Comcast may have a tough time winning over Fox’s largest shareholder, the Murdoch family. They own a 17-percent stake and would face a multi-billion dollar capital gains tax bill by accepting an all-cash offer from Comcast, tax experts previously told Reuters. Fox shareholders will vote July 10 on the Disney transaction but the company could postpone the meeting, Fox said in a statement. Some analysts see difficulties for Comcast-Fox, which would add Fox’s movie and television studios to Comcast’s NBC Universal, but Roberts said in a letter to Fox that he would offer the same conditions as Disney and promised to fight for the deal in court if necessary. Comcast is expected to lead a wave of traditional media companies trying to combine distribution and production to compete with Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google. The younger firms produce content, sell it online directly to consumers and often offer lucrative targeted advertising. A merger between Fox and Comcast would create a company with a stable of well-known media brands and franchises, such as the X-Men superheroes. A combined company would hold the rights to air Fox’s long running TV show “The Simpsons”, the U.S. rights to the Olympics and Premier League Soccer. Fox’s international assets such as Star India appeal to both Disney and Comcast, which want to expand their global presence. Major sports and news assets including Fox News, Fox Business Network and Fox Sports would be spun off into a separate company. Slideshow (8 Images) Shares of Comcast, Fox and Disney were barely changed in after-hours trade. Comcast in a statement outlined an offer that was similar to Disney’s, including a commitment to the same divestitures. It said that it would go to court and fight if the Justice Department tried to block the deal. Comcast offered $35 per Fox share for the media assets, compared with Disney’s stock offer, worth $29.18 per share at the close of trade on Wednesday. Comcast offered a $2.5 billion reverse termination fee if the deal did not go through, the same as Disney. It also offered to pay Fox’s $1.525 billion breakup fee owed Disney, if Fox went with Comcast. Comcast said it intended to pursue its $30 billion acquisition of Sky Plc ( SKYB.L ) in parallel with its Fox bid. Comcast bid for Sky in April, after Fox’s bid for the remainder of European pay-TV group it did not already own was delayed by regulators. Fox in a statement said it had received the proposal and would review it. Justice Department lawyers who tried to stop AT&T’s $85 billion deal expect consumers will lose out as bigger companies raise prices, and some lawyers saw that as a concern in a Comcast-Fox deal which would put two movie studios and two major television brands under one roof. “One cannot ignore the fact that there’s less independent content to go around,” after the AT&Tdeal, said Henry Su, an antitrust expert with Constantine Cannon LLP. Still, the AT&T court fight gave Comcast valuable information about how to structure a Fox deal, said David Scharf, a litigation expert with Morrison Cohen. Disney itself has “surgically” structured a transaction that “might be doable,” avoiding Fox Broadcasting and big Fox sports channels, U.S. antitrust chief Makan Delrahim said last week. “I don’t think either will have a significant advantage over the other,” given that both Disney and Comcast seem motivated to divest what they need to win a deal with Fox, said Ketan Jhaveri, a former Justice Department attorney who served on the telecommunications task force. Reporting Carl O'Donnell and Liana B. Baker in New York; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang in New York; Diane Bartz in Washington; and Vibhuti Sharma and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/technologyNews|0
2018-06-13T23:16:00.000+03:00|Greece opposition to submit PM no-confidence motion over Macedonia deal: source|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s opposition New Democracy party plans to submit a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in parliament over a deal on neighboring Macedonia’s name, a party source told Reuters. New Democracy would wait until the conclusion of a debate on bailout reforms which was scheduled to wrap up on Thursday before submitting the motion, the source said. Athens and Skopje reached a historic accord on Tuesday agreeing to call the former Yugoslav nation the “Republic of Northern Macedonia,” settling nearly three decades of disagreement over its name. Reporting By Renee Maltezou  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-13T23:25:00.000+03:00|Elon Musk buys 72,500 of Tesla shares|June 13, 2018 / 8:25 PM / a day ago Elon Musk buys 72,500 of Tesla shares Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk bought 72,500 shares of the company's common stock, a regulatory filing bit.ly/2t4K2sY showed on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: SpaceX founder Elon Musk smiles at a press conference following the first launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Joe Skipper Musk bought the shares at between $342.44 and $347.44 per share in multiple transactions on Tuesday and Wednesday. He is already the electric car maker’s largest shareholder and now owns 33.74 million shares worth about $11.6 billion. Tesla, which continues to burn through cash as it spends on its assembly line and prepares for new investments on projects, is cutting several thousand jobs seeking to reduce costs and become profitable without endangering the critical production ramp-up for its Model 3 sedan. Tesla has been trying to hit a 5,000 per week production target of its Model 3 sedans after facing initial production hiccups. Noted short seller Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates said in an interview on CNBC that he continues to short Tesla’s shares. “The company will pull out all the stops, it will do a lot of one-time items, we believe, to show a GAAP profit in the third quarter. But they are just that, one-time items,” Chanos said. “The basic problem is that he is making cars at not enough of a gross margin to make money, and that’s before the competition rolls out, which is late this year and early next year.” Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru and Noel Randewich in San Francisco|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/technologyNews|0
2018-06-13T23:26:00.000+03:00|Elon Musk buys 72,500 of Tesla shares|June 13, 2018 / 8:30 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Elon Musk buys 72,500 of Tesla shares Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk bought 72,500 shares of the company's common stock, a regulatory filing bit.ly/2t4K2sY showed on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Uber is pictured during the presentation of their new security measures in Mexico City, Mexico April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme/File Photo Musk bought the shares at between $342.44 and $347.44 per share in multiple transactions on Tuesday and Wednesday. He is already the electric car maker’s largest shareholder and now owns 33.74 million shares worth about $11.6 billion. Tesla, which continues to burn through cash as it spends on its assembly line and prepares for new investments on projects, is cutting several thousand jobs seeking to reduce costs and become profitable without endangering the critical production ramp-up for its Model 3 sedan. Tesla has been trying to hit a 5,000 per week production target of its Model 3 sedans after facing initial production hiccups. Noted short seller Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates said in an interview on CNBC that he continues to short Tesla’s shares. “The company will pull out all the stops, it will do a lot of one-time items, we believe, to show a GAAP profit in the third quarter. But they are just that, one-time items,” Chanos said. “The basic problem is that he is making cars at not enough of a gross margin to make money, and that’s before the competition rolls out, which is late this year and early next year.” Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru and Noel Randewich in San Francisco|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-13T23:29:00.000+03:00|Comcast offers to buy Fox media assets for $65 billion in cash|(Reuters) - Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ) offered $65 billion on Wednesday to lure Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) away from a merger with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ), launching the first salvo with its 20 percent higher offer and setting up a bidding war between two of the largest U.S. media companies. Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he was highly confident regulators would allow Comcast to acquire most of Fox’s media assets after AT&T Inc’s ( T.N ) court victory on Tuesday, which allowed it to buy Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) for $85 billion. Some analysts see difficulties for Comcast-Fox, which would add Fox’s movie and television studios to Comcast’s NBC Universal, but Roberts said in a letter to Fox that he would offer the same conditions as Disney and promised to fight for the deal in court if necessary. Comcast is expected to lead a wave of traditional media companies trying to combine distribution and production to compete with Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google. The younger firms produce content, sell it online directly to consumers and often offer lucrative targeted advertising. A merger between Fox and Comcast would create a company with a stable of well-known media brands and franchises, such as the X-Men superheroes. A combined company would hold the rights to air Fox’s long running TV show “The Simpsons”, the Olympics and Premier League Soccer. Major sports and news assets including Fox News, Fox Business Network and Fox Sports would be spun off into a separate company. Shares of Comcast, Fox and Disney were barely changed in after-hours trade. Comcast in a statement outlined an offer that was similar to Disney’s, including a commitment to the same divestitures. It said that it would agree to litigate any action taken by the Justice Department to block the deal. Comcast offered $35 per Fox share for the media assets, compared with Disney’s stock offer, worth $29.18 per share at the close of trade on Wednesday. Comcast also offered a $2.5 billion reverse termination fee if the deal did not go through, the same as Disney. It also offered to pay Fox’s $1.525 billion breakup fee owed Disney, if Fox went with Comcast. Comcast said it intended to pursue its $30 billion acquisition of Sky Plc ( SKYB.L ) in parallel with its Fox bid. Comcast bid for Sky in April, after Fox’s bid for the remainder of European pay-TV group it did not already own was delayed by regulators. Slideshow (6 Images) Fox in a statement said it had received the proposal and would review it. Justice Department lawyers who tried to stop AT&T&rsquo;s $85 billion deal expect consumers will lose out as bigger companies raise prices, and some lawyers saw that as a concern in a Comcast-Fox deal which would put two movie studios and two major television brands under one roof. “One cannot ignore the fact that there’s less independent content to go around,” after the AT&T deal, said Henry Su, an antitrust expert with Constantine Cannon LLP. Still, the AT&T court fight gave Comcast valuable information about how to structure a Fox deal, said David Scharf, a litigation expert with Morrison Cohen. “Any deal that’s coming down the pike that’s not baked yet knows the government’s playbook. They know what the government is concerned about,” he said. “They can learn how to structure a deal to make it more palatable.” Disney itself has “surgically” structured a transaction that “might be doable,” avoiding Fox Broadcasting and big Fox sports channels, U.S. antitrust chief Makan Delrahim said last week. “I don’t think either will have a significant advantage over the other,” given that both Disney and Comcast seem motivated to divest what they need to win a deal with Fox, said Ketan Jhaveri, a former Justice Department attorney who served on the telecommunications task force. Comcast may have a tough time winning over Fox’s largest shareholder, Rupert Murdoch’s family. They own a 17-percent stake and would face a multi-billion dollar capital gains tax bill if he accepted an all-cash offer from Comcast, tax experts have told Reuters. Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson, said in a research note that Disney could prevail for other reasons. “Disney has the superior balance sheet, cost of debt, equity and rationale to emerge victorious over Comcast in a bidding war,” Moffett said. Reporting Carl O'Donnell and Liana B. Baker in New York; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang in New York; Diane Bartz in Washington; and Vibhuti Sharma and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-13T23:29:00.000+03:00|Report: Cowboys, Zack Martin reach six-year, $84 million deal|June 13, 2018 / 8:32 PM / in 17 hours Report: Cowboys, Zack Martin reach six-year, $84 million deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and the Dallas Cowboys have come to terms on a six-year contract extension worth $84 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Jun 12, 2018; Frisco, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive guard Zack Martin (70) and center Joe Looney (73) participate in drills during minicamp at Dallas Cowboys headquarters at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports At $14 million per year, the deal would make Martin the second-highest-paid offensive lineman in the league. “Cowboys and Pro-Bowl G Zack Martin finally agreed today to 6-year, $84 million extension that includes $40 million guaranteed, per source,” Schefter tweeted. Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones had said Monday at a rookie luncheon that the deal was imminent. Since left tackle Nate Solder signed with the New England Patriots in free agency averaging $15.5 million per season to become the top-paid blocker in the NFL, 10 offensive linemen make at least $12 million per season. Andrew Norwell, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency after starting his career with the Carolina Panthers, would now become the third-highest-paid offensive lineman and the second-highest-paid guard in the NFL at $13.3 million. Browns guard Kevin Zeitler averages $12 million per season in Cleveland. Martin, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro in four NFL seasons, has not participated in offseason workouts while a contract with the Cowboys is negotiated. Dallas made a cost-cutting roster move in parting with popular wide receiver Dez Bryant before the NFL draft, allowing for some funds to be slid to Martin. The Cowboys boast the highest-paid offensive line in the NFL with center Travis Frederick and left tackle Tyron Smith into their second pro contracts. Dallas drafted Connor Williams in the second round of April’s draft and La’el Collins, undrafted out of LSU, signed a two-year deal worth up to $15.4 million covering the next two seasons. —Field Level Media|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/sportsNews|0
2018-06-13T23:57:00.000+03:00|BRIEF-Genentech says FDA Approved Avastin Plus Chemotherapy As Treatment For Advanced Ovarian Cancer After Surgery|June 13 (Reuters) - Genentech : * FDA APPROVES GENENTECH’S AVASTIN (BEVACIZUMAB) PLUS CHEMOTHERAPY AS A TREATMENT FOR WOMEN WITH ADVANCED OVARIAN CANCER FOLLOWING INITIAL SURGERY * GENENTECH SAYS AVASTIN IS NOW APPROVED FOR TEN DISTINCT USES ACROSS SIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER IN UNITED STATES Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe|0
2018-06-14T00:01:00.000+03:00|Envision US$9.9bn leveraged buyout by KKR adds to private equity deal bonanza|NEW YORK (LPC) - Private equity firm KKR & Co’s US$9.9bn leveraged buyout (LBO) of physician service provider Envision Healthcare has helped boost private equity deal volumes to levels not seen since before the credit crisis. Global private equity-backed merger & acquisition (M&A) volume stands at US$191.7bn this year, which is up 39% over last year at this time and the highest level since 2007 when volume had already topped US$350bn by June 11, according to data from Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence. The buyout flurry comes as private equity firms look to take advantage of supportive credit markets, coupled with a record amount of dry powder available for purchases. In addition, bankers have cited strong fundamentals as corporate tax reform has propelled the economy. The deal, which was announced Monday, marks KKR’s second multi-billion acquisition within two weeks after announcing the US$8.5bn purchase of business software provider BMC Software on May 29. In addition to the KKR deals, private equity firm Blackstone earlier this year announced that it had agreed to buy a 55% stake of Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk business in a deal valued at US$20bn. The transaction is backed by a US$13bn financing, which will be the largest LBO-related credit since 2013 when food maker HJ Heinz lined up US$14.1bn to support its acquisition by conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and private equity firm 3G Capital. Blackstone is buying a 55% stake in Thomson Reuters’ F&R unit, which includes LPC and IFR. BIG DEALS Solid economics and certainty about the new administration in the US has created a risk-on environment where private equity sponsors have been more willing to commit to larger endeavors. As a result, M&A activity this year has broadly favored the larger transactions such as those seen in 2015-2016, said Marc-Anthony Hourihan, co-head of Americas Mergers and Acquisitions at UBS. “It’s really back on to the elephant deals – the US$10bn and up,” Hourihan said. Buyout financing in the US stands at US$22bn so far during the second quarter with US$6.1bn in progress, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. LBO volume in the first quarter totaled US$22.6bn. For the first half of 2017, volume reached US$58.8bn. PUMPING UP LEVERAGE The Envision financing will add to these totals, but it is not expected to be offered to investors until after Labor Day, a banking source said. Envision’s buyout is expected to be financed with US$5bn of first-lien loan debt and US$2bn of senior notes, the source said. This will put leverage at the company in the 7.1 times to 7.4 times area with adjustments. Another source familiar with the purchase said leverage will be closer to 7.5 times, though pointed out that the company has historically been able to deleverage quickly as maintenance capital expenditures totaled 2% of revenues in 2017. “It’s a people business and has lots of free cash flow,” the source familiar said. The deal has already captured the eyes of investors who are waiting to look at the financials for themselves. “It will get a lot of attention, but it’s a lot of leverage,” said one investor. The buyout is one of many recently with leverage well above the 6.0 times level that federal regulators had said would call for additional scrutiny, unless all senior debt or half of all debt could be paid down within five to seven years, according to federal leveraged lending guidance implemented in 2013. Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting reinforced last month that banks can step outside the guidelines if they proceed judiciously and have the capital to safely do so. Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, UBS, Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC, Mizuho, and KKR Capital Markets are providing the financing for the Envision deal. Envision and KKR declined comment. Reporting by Jonathan Schwarzberg; Editing by Michelle Sierra, Lynn Adler, and Chris Mangham  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|1
2018-06-14T00:11:00.000+03:00|U.S. Fed approves Ameris Bancorp-Hamilton State Bancshares merger|WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it had approved a merger between Georgia’s Ameris Bancorp and Hamilton State Bancshares, in a further sign of growing bank consolidation in the country. FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building in Washington September 1, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Ameris, which has consolidated assets of about $7.9 billion, will take over Hamilton, with $1.8 billion in assets. The combined group will be a top 200 bank by assets. Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Richard Chang  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-14T01:07:00.000+03:00|Mediaset drops out of tender to buy Serie A TV rights - source|MILAN, June 13 (Reuters) - Italian broadcaster Mediaset has dropped out of a tender to buy Serie A football matches TV rights after submitting a lower offer than rival Sky , a source inside the championship league said on Wednesday. Bids for the rights to air the 2018-2021 seasons were due by 0900 GMT on Wednesday and the Serie A is expected to assign them by the end of the day. Reporting by Elvira Pollina; writing by Francesca Landini; editing by Luca Trogni  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-14T01:12:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 13)|BRUSSELS, June 13 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Chinese car parts maker Beijing Automotive Group’s subsidiary BHAP and Spanish peer Gestamp Automocion to set up a joint venture (approved June 12) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of UK risk management services provider Professional Fee Protection Ltd (approved June 12) — Oaktree Capital Group and Spanish real estate holding company Bitarte, which is a unit of Spanish bank Banco de Sabadell, to set up a joint venture (approved June 8) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 25 — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Italian motorway operator Atlantia and German builder ACS Hochtief to jointly acquire Spanish construction company Abertis Infraestructuras (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 11 — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) JULY 12 — French energy company Total directo acquire French power utility Direct Energie (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Private equity firm Partners Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to have joint control of U.S.software company GlobalLogic which is now jointly controlled by CPPIB and private equity firm Apax Partners (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) JULY 13 — Private equity firm Advent International to acquire generics drugmaker Zentiva from French healthcare group Sanofi (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Italian company Snam to acquire Greek gas grid operator DESFA (notified June 8/July 13/simplified) — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) JULY 16 — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of British healthcare provider Heath and Protection Solutions Ltd (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Private equity firm Apollo Management to acquire Belgian insurer Generali Belgium (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Irish fresh food producer Total Produce to acquire a 45-percent stake in U.S. peer Dole Food Company (notified June 11/deadline July 16) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) OCT 17 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 12 after the European Commission opens an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|1
2018-06-14T01:58:00.000+03:00|Arison sells control of Israel's Shikun & Binui to Saidoff|TEL AVIV, June 13 (Reuters) - Arison Investments said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell its 47.5 percent stake in Israel’s largest construction firm Shikun & Binui Ltd to Naty Saidoff for 1.1 billion shekels ($306 million). Arison said the decision to sell its controlling stake in Shikun & Binui, which has a market capitalisation of 2.7 billion shekels, was part of its global strategy to diversify its investments. Arison has held shares in Shikun & Binui for 22 years and became controlling shareholder in 2007. Shikun & Binui employs 11,000 people and operates in more than 20 countries. Shikun & Binui’s shares have fallen this year in the wake of an investigation into suspicions of bribery in Africa by current and former employees. Shikun & Binui said it was conducting its own examination using an independent firm from abroad. Saidoff, a U.S.-Israeli businessman, tried this year to buy Eurocom, the indebted parent company of Bezeq Israel Telecom . Arison Investments, the investment arm of U.S.-Israeli billionaire Shari Arison, also holds a controlling stake in Hapoalim, Israel’s largest bank. $1 = 3.5918 shekels Reporting by Tova Cohen Editing by Edmund Blair  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180613.html|0
2018-06-14T02:06:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-India's ICICI Prudential Life Insurance falls; ICICI Bank to sell 2 pct stake in insurer|** Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd slip as much as 2.9 pct at 398.55 rupees, lowest since April 24 ** Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd fall nearly 1 pct ** ICBK said on Wednesday it would sell its 2 pct stake, or 28.7 mln shares, in ICIR in one or more tranches ** ICBK will offer for sale stake in ICIR with floor price of 390 rupees, which is at about 5 pct discount to ICIR’s closing price - Jefferies ** Deal should fetch ICBK about 11.2 bln rupees ($165.7 mln) or about 4.5 pct of its FY 2019 operating profits - analysts add ** Jefferies maintains “buy” rating on ICIR with price target at 520 rupees ** Over 1.6 mln shares changed hands vs. 30-day moving avg of 1.3 mln ** Of 22 analysts covering ICIR stock, 21 rate it “buy” or higher, while 1 rates it “hold”; median PT is 520 rupees - Thomson Reuters data ** Up to Wednesday’s close, ICIR stock had risen 7 pct this year ($1 = 67.6000 Indian rupees) Our |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/india-stock-market|0
2018-06-14T02:31:00.000+03:00|Comcast prepares financing for 21st Century Fox buy|NEW YORK (IFR) - Comcast says it has “Highly Confident Letters” from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo for its US$65bn 21st Century Fox bid. The Comcast NBC logo is shown on a building in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake A “Highly Confident Letter” is a note from an investment banking firm that says the firm is highly confident it will be able to arrange the financing for a securities deal. Comcast’s competing bid for 21st Century Fox is the largest all-cash deal of all-time, surpassing Bayer’s US$64bn merger with Monsanto, according to Thomson Reuters Deal Insight data. Comcast said its all-cash proposal is not subject to a financing condition. It is proposing to acquire 100% of outstanding shares of 21st Century Fox for US$35.00 per share in cash. It also said it would reimburse the US$1.525bn break-up fee paid to 21st Century Fox by Disney for a total cost to Comcast of US$4.025bn in the “highly unlikely” scenario that Comcast’s transaction does not close. The deal will take Comcast’s net leverage to above four times, according to executives speaking on a conference call Wednesday. A company flag flutters over Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake That number would include the leverage incurred from Comcast’s acquisition of Sky, which the US media company is also hoping to buy. One analyst on the call expressed surprise at the proposed increase in leverage, noting the company has been “historically conservative on the leverage front”. Comcast executives said they plan to cut net leverage by half a turn each year with free cash flow to arrive at 2.2x. “We are very focused on getting our leverage back down,” one Comcast executive said. The company is expecting to maintain its investment-grade rating. Moody’s has warned it may cut Comcast’s A3 rating, citing concerns about higher debt levels, especially in light of Comcast’s simultaneous US$30bn all cash bid for Sky. S&P and Fitch both have A- ratings on Comcast. Reporting by Eleanor Duncan; Editing by Jack Doran and Paul Kilby  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews|0
2018-06-14T04:52:00.000+03:00|Israel Aerospace signs $600 million drone deal with Airbus for Germany|JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [ISRAI.UL] said on Thursday it signed a $600 million deal with Airbus ( AIR.PA ) to lease Heron TP drones to Germany’s Defense Ministry. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Airbus is pictured at the Airbus A380 final assembly line at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo IAI’s Heron TP is a high altitude, long endurance drone with multiple-payload capabilities. Airbus will manage all aspects of the nine-year agreement, including operational support and maintenance, state-owned IAI said in a statement. Germany’s parliamentary budget committee this week backed plans by the military to lease the Israeli-built surveillance drones, according to committee sources. The deal had run into resistance last year within Germany’s coalition government because the drones could be armed in the future. The German military currently uses a different model of Heron drones that cannot be armed. The leasing program is intended as a temporary solution until a European drone is ready for use around 2025. Shaul Shahar, general manager of IAI’s military aircraft group, said the Heron TP “will provide Germany with unprecedented air superiority”. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-14T05:44:00.000+03:00|Japan Post Insurance to buy emerging market bonds if U.S. rates spark selloff|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Post Insurance Co ( 7181.T ), one of the largest Japanese institutional investors, plans to buy emerging market bonds if other investors dump those assets as the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, the firm’s senior managing director said. The firm, popularly known as “Kampo”, started investing in emerging market bonds, both sovereign and corporate, earlier this year through outside managers, Takayuki Haruna, head of credit and alternative investment, told Reuters on Thursday. “The amount is not much at the moment. We just wanted to enter the emerging bonds market but we are now looking for opportunities to buy more,” said Haruna. “Now that the Fed signalled a steeper path for rate hikes in 2018-20, we expect elevated volatility in emerging markets.” Kampo holds 76.8 trillion yen ($700 billion) of assets under management. Based on its latest disclosure, the life insurer holds 7 trillion yen in foreign bonds. The Fed raised its benchmark overnight lending rate a quarter of percentage point to a range of 1.75 percent to 2 percent, as expected, on the back of strong U.S. economic growth. Fed policymakers projected two additional increases by the end of this year compared to one previously, based on board member’s median forecast. The Fed’s continuous rate hikes has raised worries higher U.S. interest rates could prompt investors to shift funds to the United States and also squeeze dollar borrowers in emerging markets. <MKTS/GLOB> To view a graphic on Currency reterns YTD, click: reut.rs/2ycaXJc In particular, currencies suffering from domestic political instabilities, such as the Turkish lira TRY= and the Brazilian real BRL= have fallen sharply. But many Asian currencies have shown resilience, thanks to robust growth in the region. Reporting By Tomo Uetake; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Kim Coghill  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-14T05:59:00.000+03:00|Claire's wins court approval for reduced executive bonus plan|Jewelry and accessories chain Claire’s Stores Inc won approval on Wednesday for incentive bonuses for Chief Executive Ron Marshall and six other top managers after announcing in court an agreement to cut the value of the awards by 17.5 percent. Claire’s, famous for its ear-piercing service, had argued that the bonuses were urgently needed because its performance was key to valuing its estate. The company said in court papers it operates in a particularly challenging retail environment that has been exacerbated by the ongoing liquidation of Toys ‘R’ Us, which hosted scores of Claire’s “store-within-a-store” locations. To read the full story on WestlawNext Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2JF8FDE  |https://www.reuters.com/legal|0
2018-06-14T06:47:00.000+03:00|Wealth manager Rathbone to buy Scotland's largest independent rival|LONDON (Reuters) - British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers ( RAT.L ) has agreed to buy its biggest independent rival in Scotland, Speirs & Jeffrey, boosting its assets by almost a fifth to 44.5 billion pounds ($60 billion). Rathbone said on Thursday that it will pay 104 million pounds in cash and shares, from a new share issue, for Glasgow-based Speirs’ 6.7 billion pounds in assets, with further shares to be paid out if earnings targets are met. Rathbone has played a lead role in industry consolidation, as rising regulatory and other costs push smaller fund managers to join forces, and as the firm looks to increase the amount of money it invests directly on behalf of clients. As part of that strategy, it discussed merging with peer Smith & Williamson last year, but the deal was eventually ditched. Speirs was established more than 100 years ago and employs 38 investment professionals servicing more than 8,500 clients. After the takeover the two firms will combine their Glasgow offices, making it the group’s biggest office after London. As well as sharing costs, the deal will also give Speirs’ clients access to a broader range of products and services, including ethical investments. “From the outset of our engagement, both teams have recognized how compatible they are in culture, investment philosophy and dedication to client service,” Rathbone Chief Executive Philip Howell said. “Speirs & Jeffrey represents an ideal strategic, professional and geographic fit with Rathbones and we look forward to working together both to develop our business in Scotland and deliver compelling returns for our shareholders.” At 0802 GMT, shares in Rathbone were down 0.2 percent, broadly in line with the FTSE mid-cap index .FTMC . Rathbone said it plans to pay an initial 79 million pounds in cash, funded from a combination of internal cash and the proceeds of a 60 million pounds equity placing, which amounts to 5 percent of Rathbone’s existing share capital, announced separately on Thursday. The rest of the initial payment will be in shares, through the issue of 1 million new Rathbone shares worth 25 million pounds. Payouts linked to earnings targets could see up to a further 5.8 million shares paid out, it said. The deal is expected to be marginally accretive to earnings per share in the first full year following completion, and will boost EPS by 8 percent in the third full year with a return on investment of 13 percent by then, Rathbone said. ($1 = 0.7463 pounds) Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Susan Fenton  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-14T07:14:00.000+03:00|German grids have recipes to deal with more green power: 50Hertz|BERLIN (Reuters) - German power grids must deploy new strategies to cope with targets just set by the government for the expansion of renewable power up to 2030, a prominent operator said in a debate triggered by Berlin’s need to meet tough climate goals. FILE PHOTO: CEO of 50Herz Transmission Company Boris Schucht addresses a news conference in Berlin, Germany, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt 50Hertz, a high-voltage operator in northeast Germany, said more wind and solar power plants could be integrated if the industry parted with the idea they must be synchronized with increased grid capacity. “We must change our thinking from networks having to follow production capacity to renewables having to tap into where the networks are,” Boris Schucht, 50Hertz’ chief executive, said in an interview. “I expect that, instead, there will be a new mix of measures, including installing more photovoltaics, more onshore wind also in the south and boosting networks with batteries,” he said. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier is due to present a draft plan for changes to national grids before parliament breaks for summer. Other transmission grid companies initially rebelled when Germany’s ruling coalition in January set fresh challenges for their job, which is ensuring grid balance so power can flow from producers to consumers without disruption. A near doubling of the current national share of a third of renewables to 65 percent by 2030 could multiply by many times their management costs of already well over 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in 2017, they said. New cables might be required, adding time pressure and triggering opposition by the public, which has already delayed thousands of kilometers of lines, 50Hertz peer TenneT warned on Tuesday. This has resulted in the north of the country often throwing away excess wind power while the industrial south risks shortages when nuclear power is switched off by 2022, removing stable supply. But Schucht said the measures he outlined could work. “I am optimistic that we can get near the 65 percent target,” he said. Solar power, which accounted for 7 percent of total production last year against wind’s 18.4 percent, has become inexpensive. Costs have fallen to under 5 cents per kilowatt-hour from over 50 cents 20 years ago. “It can be handled more easily than wind and supplies electricity during the day, meeting peak demand,” Schucht said. It made sense for the south to build more wind turbines, because the region had no grid bottlenecks, he added. 50Hertz could also help the state of Bavaria by possibly doubling capacity on SuedOstLink, a 580-km line planned for the mid-2025s, to 4 gigawatts. Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Dale Hudson  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-14T08:02:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Royal Caribbean, Diversified Gas & Oil, Centrica. Updates Sirtex Medical) June 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Thursday: ** Comcast Corp offered $65 billion on Wednesday to lure Twenty-First Century Fox Inc away from a merger with Walt Disney Co, setting up a bidding war between two of the largest U.S. media companies with its 20 percent higher offer. ** Australia’s Sirtex Medical has picked the highest bidder in a takeover battle for the liver cancer specialist, going with a $1.4 billion Chinese offer that trumped U.S. company Varian Medical Systems. ** Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said it would buy a 66.7 percent stake in privately owned Silversea Cruises for about $1 billion to add ultra-luxury and expedition cruises to its fleet. ** Fortis Healthcare Ltd on Wednesday withdrew the scheme of arrangement and amalgamation with its units Fortis Malar Hospitals Ltd and SRL Ltd, citing a delay in its completion. ** Mineral sands producer Mineral Deposits advised its shareholders to reject an increased A$345 million ($261 million) takeover bid from French miner Eramet SA, saying it still undervalued the company. ** Investment firm Kinnevik said it aimed to distribute its shares in MTG to its shareholders in an effort to speed up the completion of the proposed merger of Tele2 and Com Hem. Mobile operator Tele2, in which Kinnevik owns 30 percent of shares, agreed in January a $3.2 billion takeover of cable TV company Com Hem, in which the investment firm owns 19 percent. ** Embattled private equity firm Abraaj has sold its entire 5.4 percent stake in Orascom Construction Ltd for about $52 million. ** Diversified Gas & Oil Plc said it planned to buy oil and gas producing assets in the Appalachian Basin for about $575 million, as it bets on the U.S. shale gas boom. ** Centrica plans to sell its 20 percent stake in eight British power plants by the end of 2020, but has yet to start marketing the assets, the company’s CEO said. ** Luxembourg’s Anatol S.a.r.l. will not announce a takeover bid for Slovenian metal products maker Cinkarna Celje, strategic communication firm Propiar, which represents Anatol, said. ** British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers has agreed to buy its biggest independent rival in Scotland, Speirs & Jeffrey, boosting its assets by almost a fifth to 44.5 billion pounds ($60 bln). ** The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it had approved a merger between Georgia’s Ameris Bancorp and Hamilton State Bancshares, in a further sign of growing bank consolidation in the country. (Compiled by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-14T08:05:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Engie's Luxembourg tax deal set to be declared illegal aid - source|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will rule against French utility Engie’s tax deals with Luxembourg in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said, as the bloc continues its crackdown on corporate tax arrangements. The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie, near Paris, France. May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau It will be the third ruling by the European Commission against Luxembourg’s tax deals with multinationals and the fifth against European Union countries including Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, and could result in Engie paying millions of euros in back taxes. The EU’s competition enforcer declined to comment. The Luxembourg finance ministry, which has denied giving Engie any special treatment, said it would make a comment in due time. Engie said it had not been informed of any imminent EU decision. The Commission in 2016 opened an investigation into rulings granted by Luxembourg to Engie since 2008, which the regulator said appeared to treat the same financial transaction between Engie subsidiaries as both debt and equity. The company has been present in Luxembourg since 1933. This resulted in double non-taxation of companies in the GDF Suez group, as Engie was formerly known, a tax benefit that regulators said was not available to other companies. The financial transactions were loans granted in 2009 and 2011 between four companies in the GDF Suez group that can be converted into equity and bear zero interest for the lender. The Commission is using rules aimed at preventing EU countries from granting unfair state subsidies to certain companies, but which critics say over-reach regulatory powers against deals agreed according to international tax rules. The EU tax avoidance clampdown has resulted in a record demand for Apple to pay back taxes of up to 13 billion euros to Ireland, Amazon 250 million euros to Luxembourg, Fiat 20-30 million euros to Luxembourg and Starbucks the same amount to the Dutch. Thirty-five multinationals including AB Inbev and BASF <BASFn.DE have also been told to pay back a total of 700 million euros to Belgium. Fiat and Luxembourg will challenge the Commission’s finding at a hearing at Europe’s second-highest court in Luxembourg on June 21, kicking off a series of appeals by the targeted companies and countries in the coming months. Starbucks’ hearing is scheduled for July 2. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Geert De Clercq in Paris; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-14T08:17:00.000+03:00|Diversified Gas to buy U.S. oil, gas assets for about $575 million|(Reuters) - Diversified Gas & Oil Plc ( DGOC.L ) said on Thursday it planned to buy oil and gas producing assets in the Appalachian Basin for about $575 million, as it bets on the U.S. shale gas boom. The company did not disclose the identity of the seller, but said the deal would be a reverse takeover. The assets, which include about 11,350 wells with current net total gas production of 32,100 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, would more than double its net daily production, the company said. London-listed Diversified Gas, which has a market value of about $300 million, said it would fund the deal through a new $1 billion debt facility and a share sale worth $225 million. The company said the deal is expected to immediately add to earnings and that it would more than double its proven developed producing reserves to 393 mmboe. Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-14T09:14:00.000+03:00|Royal Caribbean to buy majority stake in Silversea Cruises for $1 bln|June 14 (Reuters) - Royal Caribbean Cruises said on Thursday it would buy a near 67 percent stake in privately owned Silversea Cruises for about $1 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at $2 billion. Royal Caribbean said it plans to finance the purchase through debt. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-14T09:17:00.000+03:00|Royal Caribbean to buy majority stake in Silversea Cruises for $1 billion|(Reuters) - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ( RCL.N ) said on Thursday it would buy a 66.7 percent stake in privately owned Silversea Cruises for about $1 billion to add ultra-luxury and expedition cruises to its fleet. FILE PHOTO - A view of the world's largest cruise ship of Royal Caribbean Cruises, the 362-metre-long Symphony of the Seas, during its world presentation ceremony, berthed at a port in Malaga, Spain March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jon Nazca Silversea Cruises, which has nine ships, sails to destinations including Antarctica, the Arctic and Greenland, with most of its tickets selling for more than $5,000. In contrast, the most expensive cruises run by Royal Caribbean under its Azamara Club Cruises brand cost around $3,000. “Ultraluxury and expedition cruises are gaps in our portfolio today,” Royal Caribbean Chief Executive Officer Richard Fain said on a conference call. The two segments are the fastest growing areas in the industry that the company could not develop on its own, Fain added in an interview with Reuters. Shares of the U.S. cruise operator rose as much as 7 percent to $115.50, with the company also maintaining its full-year profit forecast despite higher fuel prices and a stronger dollar. Including debt, the deal is valued at $2 billion. Royal Caribbean said it plans to finance the purchase through debt. The 2018 total worldwide ocean cruise industry is estimated to reach $45.6 billion in revenue, a 4.6 percent increase over 2017, according to the industry analytics firm Cruise Market Watch. Royal Caribbean had nearly $9 billion in revenue at the end of 2017. Silversea Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio will get about 472,000 Royal Caribbean shares, payable after the Miami-based company achieves some 2019-2020 performance targets. This translates to about $51 million, based on Royal Caribbean’s closing price on Wednesday. “Silversea had a fantastic plan of growing on its own, but I did realize that the potential that the market was offering Silversea was beyond the means that I could put in place,” Lefebvre d’Ovidio told Reuters. Royal Caribbean does not expect the transaction, which will likely close later in the year, to materially impact its near-term adjusted earnings per share, the company said. Silversea CEO Roberto Martinoli will continue in his role. Perella Weinberg Partners LP was financial adviser to Royal Caribbean and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP provided legal counsel. Barclays Plc was d’Ovidio’s financial adviser and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP provided legal counsel. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-14T10:00:00.000+03:00|ECB to end bond buys but signals rate hike is distant|RIGA/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will shut its hallmark bond purchase scheme by the close of the year, it said on Thursday, taking its biggest step yet toward dismantling crisis-era stimulus a decade after the start of the euro zone’s economic downturn. President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during the news conference following the meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank in Riga, Latvia June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins But in a balanced announcement reflecting the uncertainties hanging over the economy, it signaled that any interest rate hike is still distant, raising the prospect that ECB chief Mario Draghi might leave office in October 2019 without having raised rates in his eight-year term. The timid move to roll back stimulus contrasted with the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate hike a day earlier, which signaled a break from policies used to battle the 2007-2009 financial crisis and a return to normalized central banking. The new rates guidance sent the euro down over one percent against the dollar to $1.1644 EUR=EBS and pushed bets by investors on the timing of a first deposit rate increase back by three months to September 2019. “While yesterday’s Fed hike was very much ‘hawkish’, in our view, the ECB opted to announce the end of its net asset purchases with a dovish flavor,” BNP economist Luigi Speranza said. The ECB will halve its bond buys to 15 billion euros a month from October then shut the program at the end of the year. It also sees interest rates steady “at least through the summer of 2019” — a vague definition that gives policymakers a wide window and the flexibility to push back any move. “‘Through the summer’ is intentionally not precise,” Draghi told a press conference after policymakers met in Riga, Latvia’s capital. “There is a desire to maintain optionality in each and every part of this decision.” Adding a surprisingly dovish tinge to the decision, Draghi emphasized that uncertainty and risks were increasing, comments taken to indicate that risks were skewed toward a later hike, rather than an earlier move. “This decision has been taken in the presence of a strong economy with increasing uncertainty,” he said of a political landscape characterized notably by rising trade tensions between the United States, Europe and China. Related Coverage ECB's Draghi dismisses Italian threat to 'irreversible' euro ECB's Draghi says trade measures threaten confidence, growth Euro is irreversible, strong and more want to join, Draghi says For graphic on ECB policy and bond yield developments click reut.rs/2MmjKeH HURDLE “We suspect the hurdle to deviating from the intention on QE is probably pretty high,” JPMorgan economist Greg Fuzesi said. “The decision on rates is dovish, but likely with more flexibility in both directions than the decision on QE.” Highlighting the risks to the outlook, the ECB downgraded its euro zone growth forecast for this year to 2.1 percent from 2.4 percent previously, while upgrading its inflation forecast to 1.7 percent from 1.4 percent, largely as a result of rising oil prices. By putting a specific end-date on its stimulus, the ECB is nevertheless taking a more decisive step than the Fed did when it started its own taper in December 2013 without committing to a specific end or any subsequent steps. For the ECB, the biggest complication could be a murky economic outlook, muddied by the developing trade war, a populist challenge from Italy’s new government and softening export demand. Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Luis de Guindos, representative of the Latvian Central bank Zoja Razmusa, ECB President Mario Draghi and ECB director general communications Christine Graeff attend a news conference following the meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank in Riga, Latvia June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Draghi, a former Italian central bank governor, downplayed Italy’s turbulence as “a pretty local episode”, arguing that government policy shifts are normal market events. “Contagion was not significant if (there was) any at all,” he said, emphasizing differences with the widespread market panic seen around the peak of the euro zone debt crisis. “We haven’t seen really any redenomination risk.” Italian bond yields rose sharply this month as a new government of anti-establishment parties promised higher spending. That threatens a clash with Brussels, which is pushing Rome to cut the euro zone’s second-biggest debt pile. But a broader slowdown could make it harder for the ECB to cut support if lower growth eases pressure on inflation, a threat to the bank’s credibility as it has missed its inflation target of almost 2 percent for over five years. For graphic on Euro zone inflation vs wage growth click reut.rs/2y6wsLk INFLATION While inflation has remained weak, higher oil prices, increasingly evident wage pressures and record employment suggest that prices will be moving up in the coming years, even if more slowly than the ECB had originally hoped. The euro’s more than 6 percent fall against the dollar since April is helping the ECB as the weaker currency is increasing the cost of imports and boosting inflation. While a rebound is likely, the Fed’s tightening stance will limit the potential for a big rise in the euro. Slideshow (2 Images) Projections for underlying inflation — excluding volatile food and energy prices — barely moved in the bank’s new forecasts, however, rising only 0.1 percentage point for next year and 2020. “The end of net purchases does not mark the end of very loose policy. In fact, Draghi sounded dovish today, and we still expect the first rate hike only in December 2019,” Nordea economist Jan von Gerich said. Writing by Mark John; Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-14T10:36:00.000+03:00|Japan Post Insurance to buy emerging market bonds if US rate hikes create opportunities|TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Post Insurance Co ( 7181.T ), one of the largest Japanese institutional investors, plans to buy emerging market bonds if other investors dump those assets as the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, the firm’s senior managing director said. The firm, popularly known as “Kampo”, started investing in emerging market bonds, both sovereign and corporate, earlier this year through outside managers, Takayuki Haruna, head of credit and alternative investment, told Reuters on Thursday. “The amount is not much at the moment. We just wanted to enter the emerging bonds market but we are now looking for opportunities to buy more,” said Haruna. “Now that the Fed signalled a steeper path for rate hikes in 2018-20, we expect elevated volatility in emerging markets.” Kampo holds 76.8 trillion yen ($700 billion) of assets under management. Based on its latest disclosure, the life insurer holds 7 trillion yen in foreign bonds. The Fed raised its benchmark overnight lending rate a quarter of percentage point to a range of 1.75 percent to 2 percent, as expected, on the back of strong U.S. economic growth. Fed policymakers projected two additional increases by the end of this year compared to one previously, based on board member’s median forecast. The Fed’s continuous rate hikes has raised worries higher U.S. interest rates could prompt investors to shift funds to the United States and also squeeze dollar borrowers in emerging markets. <MKTS/GLOB> To view a graphic on Currency reterns YTD, click: reut.rs/2ycaXJc In particular, currencies suffering from domestic political instabilities, such as the Turkish lira TRY= and the Brazilian real BRL= have fallen sharply. But many Asian currencies have shown resilience, thanks to robust growth in the region. Reporting By Tomo Uetake; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Kim Coghill  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-14T10:36:00.000+03:00|Japan Post Insurance to buy emerging market bonds if US rate hikes create opportunities|TOKYO, June 14 (Reuters) - Japan Post Insurance Co, one of the largest Japanese institutional investors, plans to buy emerging market bonds if other investors dump those assets as the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, the firm’s senior managing director said. The firm, known in Japan as “Kampo”, started investing in emerging market bonds, both sovereign and corporate, earlier this year through outside managers, Takayuki Haruna, head of credit and alternative investment, told Reuters on Thursday. “The amount we invested is not much at the moment. We just wanted to enter the emerging bonds market but we are now looking for opportunities to buy more,” said Haruna. “Now that the Fed signalled a steeper path for rate hikes in 2018-20, we expect elevated volatility in emerging markets.” Kampo holds 76.8 trillion yen ($700 billion) of assets under management. Based on its latest disclosure, the life insurer holds 7 trillion yen in foreign bonds. $1 = 110.00 yen Reporting By Tomo Uetake; Editing by Chris Gallagher  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-14T10:55:00.000+03:00|Italy won't ratify EU free-trade deal with Canada: farm minister|MILAN (Reuters) - Italy will not ratify the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada, its new agriculture minister said on Thursday, ratcheting up an international trade spat and potentially scuppering the EU’s biggest accord in years. FILE PHOTO: Italy's Minister of Agriculture Gian Marco Centinaio is seen during the sworn-in ceremony at the Quirinal palace in Rome, Italy, June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first major trade deal the European Union has signed since it began implementing its South Korea agreement in 2011. All 28 EU member states must approve the agreement for it to take full effect. In an interview with daily La Stampa, Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said the Italian government would ask the parliament not to ratify the treaty since it does not ensure sufficient protection for the country’s speciality foods. “We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products,” Centinaio told the newspaper. “Doubts over this agreement are shared by many of my European colleagues.” In the 28-member European Union, Italy has the most food products with PDO and PGI labels, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham. Under CETA, Canada has recognized more than 40 Italian PDO and PGI labels out of a total of 292 for the food-obsessed country. Coldiretti, the influential association of Italian agricultural companies, backed Centinaio’s intention, saying in a statement CETA was “wrong and risky” for Italy. It said Italian food exports, equal to 41 billion euros last year, could triple with a serious fight against international food counterfeiting. The treaty did enter in force on a provisional basis in September 2017, sweeping away tariffs on a large number of goods and widening access to Canadian beef in Europe and EU cheese and wine in Canada. Its supporters say it would increase trade between the partners by 20 percent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion euros ($14 billion) a year and Canada’s by C$12 billion ($9 billion). Some farm associations and critics in European states have expressed concerns about the threat of rapidly rising pork and beef imports from Canada. Coldiretti also mentioned risks posed by the annulment of duties on Canadian wheat, a country where the herbicide glyphosate can be used. Centinaio belongs to the far-right League party and is considered close to its leader and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini is emerging as the pivot in the new government that the League formed this month with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement. The minister was not immediately available to comment on the interview and it was not possible to get a reaction from the office of the prime minister on the issue. Asked about Italy’s position on CETA, the European Commission said it was working closely with EU members to ensure that the EU trade accords were mutually beneficial. The government program that forms the basis of the League-5-Star coalition mentioned CETA, saying the executive would oppose “the aspects (of the treaty) that imply an excessive weakening of the protection of citizens’ rights”. The government’s program also pledged to “protect the highest-quality products of Made in Italy”. Italy’s challenge to CETA comes after U.S. President Donald Trump backed out of a joint communique agreed by Group of Seven leaders in Canada at the weekend that mentioned the need for “free, fair and mutually beneficial” trade and the importance of fighting protectionism. The United States has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union and is weighing up the possibility of slapping additional duties on automobile imports. Trump says his tariffs are meant to protect U.S. industry and workers from unfair international competition as part of his “America First” agenda. Reporting by Francesca Landini in Milan and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Hugh Lawson  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-14T11:42:00.000+03:00|Dries Van Noten sells majority stake to Spanish fashion house Puig|PARIS (Reuters) - Spanish fashion and fragrance group Puig said on Thursday it had taken a majority stake in Belgian brand Dries Van Noten, adding to a portfolio that includes labels like Jean Paul Gaultier. FILE PHOTO: Models present creations by Belgian designer Dries Van Noten as part of his Fall/Winter 2017-2018 women's ready-to-wear collection during Fashion Week in Paris, France March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo In a world dominated by European luxury goods conglomerates such as LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, or Kering ( PRTP.PA ), parent to Gucci and Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten, founded in 1986, was a rare independent brand. Barcelona-based Puig - a family-owned group which has the perfume license for brands like Prada ( 1913.HK ) and also owns and develops fragrances for Paco Rabanne and Nina Ricci - did not disclose the terms of the deal. Dries Van Noten, who founded the Belgian fashion label, will maintain a minority stake in the brand, Puig said. He will stay on as its creative director. The designer is known for his elegant tailoring and emphasis on colored prints. Reporting by Sarah White and Pascale Denis. Editing by Jane Merriman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-14T11:44:00.000+03:00|Wealth manager Rathbone to buy Scotland's largest independent rival|June 14, 2018 / 8:48 AM / in 5 days Wealth manager Rathbone to buy Scotland's largest independent rival Simon Jessop , Sinead Cruise 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers ( RAT.L ) has agreed to buy its biggest independent rival in Scotland, Speirs & Jeffrey, boosting its assets by almost a fifth to 44.5 billion pounds ($60 billion). Rathbone said on Thursday that it will pay 104 million pounds in cash and shares, from a new share issue, for Glasgow-based Speirs’ 6.7 billion pounds in assets, with further shares to be paid out if earnings targets are met. Rathbone has played a lead role in industry consolidation, as rising regulatory and other costs push smaller fund managers to join forces, and as the firm looks to increase the amount of money it invests directly on behalf of clients. As part of that strategy, it discussed merging with peer Smith & Williamson last year, but the deal was eventually ditched. Speirs was established more than 100 years ago and employs 38 investment professionals servicing more than 8,500 clients. After the takeover the two firms will combine their Glasgow offices, making it the group’s biggest office after London. As well as sharing costs, the deal will also give Speirs’ clients access to a broader range of products and services, including ethical investments. “From the outset of our engagement, both teams have recognized how compatible they are in culture, investment philosophy and dedication to client service,” Rathbone Chief Executive Philip Howell said. “Speirs & Jeffrey represents an ideal strategic, professional and geographic fit with Rathbones and we look forward to working together both to develop our business in Scotland and deliver compelling returns for our shareholders.” At 0802 GMT, shares in Rathbone were down 0.2 percent, broadly in line with the FTSE mid-cap index .FTMC . Rathbone said it plans to pay an initial 79 million pounds in cash, funded from a combination of internal cash and the proceeds of a 60 million pounds equity placing, which amounts to 5 percent of Rathbone’s existing share capital, announced separately on Thursday. The rest of the initial payment will be in shares, through the issue of 1 million new Rathbone shares worth 25 million pounds. Payouts linked to earnings targets could see up to a further 5.8 million shares paid out, it said. The deal is expected to be marginally accretive to earnings per share in the first full year following completion, and will boost EPS by 8 percent in the third full year with a return on investment of 13 percent by then, Rathbone said. ($1 = 0.7463 pounds)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|1
2018-06-14T11:54:00.000+03:00|Wealth manager Rathbone to buy Scotland's largest independent rival|June 14, 2018 / 8:55 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago Wealth manager Rathbone to buy Scotland's largest independent rival Simon Jessop , Sinead Cruise 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers ( RAT.L ) has agreed to buy its biggest independent rival in Scotland, Speirs & Jeffrey, boosting its assets by almost a fifth to 44.5 billion pounds. Rathbone said on Thursday that it will pay 104 million pounds in cash and shares, from a new share issue, for Glasgow-based Speirs’ 6.7 billion pounds in assets, with further shares to be paid out if earnings targets are met. Rathbone has played a lead role in industry consolidation, as rising regulatory and other costs push smaller fund managers to join forces, and as the firm looks to increase the amount of money it invests directly on behalf of clients. As part of that strategy, it discussed merging with peer Smith & Williamson last year, but the deal was eventually ditched. Speirs was established more than 100 years ago and employs 38 investment professionals servicing more than 8,500 clients. After the takeover the two firms will combine their Glasgow offices, making it the group’s biggest office after London. As well as sharing costs, the deal will also give Speirs’ clients access to a broader range of products and services, including ethical investments. “From the outset of our engagement, both teams have recognised how compatible they are in culture, investment philosophy and dedication to client service,” Rathbone Chief Executive Philip Howell said. “Speirs & Jeffrey represents an ideal strategic, professional and geographic fit with Rathbones and we look forward to working together both to develop our business in Scotland and deliver compelling returns for our shareholders.” At 0802 GMT, shares in Rathbone were down 0.2 percent, broadly in line with the FTSE mid-cap index .FTMC . Rathbone said it plans to pay an initial 79 million pounds in cash, funded from a combination of internal cash and the proceeds of a 60 million pounds equity placing, which amounts to 5 percent of Rathbone’s existing share capital, announced separately on Thursday. The rest of the initial payment will be in shares, through the issue of 1 million new Rathbone shares worth 25 million pounds. Payouts linked to earnings targets could see up to a further 5.8 million shares paid out, it said. The deal is expected to be marginally accretive to earnings per share in the first full year following completion, and will boost EPS by 8 percent in the third full year with a return on investment of 13 percent by then, Rathbone said. Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Susan Fenton|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-14T13:00:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Puig, Media-Saturn, Teleperformance, Deutsche Bank, Apollo Global, Rene Benko, CRH; Updates Royal Caribbean) June 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday: ** Comcast Corp offered $65 billion on Wednesday to lure Twenty-First Century Fox Inc away from a merger with Walt Disney Co, setting up a bidding war between two of the largest U.S. media companies with its 20 percent higher offer. ** Australia’s Sirtex Medical has picked the highest bidder in a takeover battle for the liver cancer specialist, going with a $1.4 billion Chinese offer that trumped U.S. company Varian Medical Systems. ** Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said it would buy a 66.7 percent stake in privately owned Silversea Cruises for about $1 billion to add ultra-luxury and expedition cruises to its fleet. ** Teleperformance has agreed to buy India-based Intelenet from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone in a $1 billion deal aimed at strengthening its specialised services business, the French company said. ** Fortis Healthcare Ltd on Wednesday withdrew the scheme of arrangement and amalgamation with its units Fortis Malar Hospitals Ltd and SRL Ltd, citing a delay in its completion. ** Mineral sands producer Mineral Deposits advised its shareholders to reject an increased A$345 million ($261 million) takeover bid from French miner Eramet SA, saying it still undervalued the company. ** Investment firm Kinnevik said it aimed to distribute its shares in MTG to its shareholders in an effort to speed up the completion of the proposed merger of Tele2 and Com Hem. Mobile operator Tele2, in which Kinnevik owns 30 percent of shares, agreed in January a $3.2 billion takeover of cable TV company Com Hem, in which the investment firm owns 19 percent. ** Embattled private equity firm Abraaj has sold its entire 5.4 percent stake in Orascom Construction Ltd for about $52 million. ** Diversified Gas & Oil Plc said it planned to buy oil and gas producing assets in the Appalachian Basin for about $575 million, as it bets on the U.S. shale gas boom. ** Centrica plans to sell its 20 percent stake in eight British power plants by the end of 2020, but has yet to start marketing the assets, the company’s CEO said. ** Luxembourg’s Anatol S.a.r.l. will not announce a takeover bid for Slovenian metal products maker Cinkarna Celje, strategic communication firm Propiar, which represents Anatol, said. ** British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers has agreed to buy its biggest independent rival in Scotland, Speirs & Jeffrey, boosting its assets by almost a fifth to 44.5 billion pounds ($60 bln). ** Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko has reached a deal to buy Steinhoff’s Austrian unit Kika/Leiner, saving the division from bankruptcy, several Austrian newspapers reported. ** Spanish fashion and fragrance group Puig said it had taken a majority stake in Belgian brand Dries Van Noten, adding to a portfolio that includes labels like Jean Paul Gaultier. ** Deutsche Bank has found a buyer for the bulk of its bad ship loans as it seeks to draw a line under sour investments in the sector and to start a fresh push in transport lending, people close to the matter said. ** German consumer electronics group Media-Saturn is in advanced talks to sell its loss-making Russian business to Safmar and take a 15 percent stake in Safmar’s M.video , parent firm Ceconomy said. ** The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it had approved a merger between Georgia’s Ameris Bancorp and Hamilton State Bancshares, in a further sign of growing bank consolidation in the country. ** Apollo Global Management has halted plans to sell U.S. military security services business Constellis after talks with Canada’s Garda World Security Corp broke down, according to people familiar with the matter. ** Construction company CRH Plc agreed to divest facilities in three states in order to win U.S. antitrust approval to buy Ash Grove Cement Co, the Federal Trade Commission said. (Compiled by Nivedita Balu and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-14T13:02:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: EU regulators to rule against Engie's Luxembourg tax deal - source|June 14, 2018 / 10:03 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Exclusive: EU regulators to rule against Engie's Luxembourg tax deal - source Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators in the coming weeks will order Luxembourg to recover millions of euros in back taxes from French power utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ), a person familiar with the matter said, as the EU steps up its crackdown on unfair tax deals. The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie, near Paris, France. May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau It will be the third ruling by the European Commission against Luxembourg’s tax deals with multinationals and the fifth against EU countries including Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The EU’s competition enforcer declined to comment. The Luxembourg finance ministry, which has denied giving Engie any special treatment, was not available for immediate comment. The Commission in 2016 opened an investigation into rulings granted by Luxembourg to Engie since 2008 which appeared to treat the same financial transaction between Engie subsidiaries as both debt and equity. The company has been present in Luxembourg since 1933. This resulted in double non-taxation of companies in the GDF Suez group, as Engie was formerly known, a tax benefit which regulators said was not available to other companies. The financial transactions were loans granted in 2009 and 2011 between four companies in the GDF Suez group that can be converted into equity and bear zero interest for the lender. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T13:09:00.000+03:00|U.S. to sell $5 billion in reopened 30-year TIPS next week|WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of reopened 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities next week, see: here Washington economics team  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-14T13:13:00.000+03:00|CORRECTED-BRIEF-Minority Shareholder Requested Debica To Spend Up To 436.5 Mln Zlotys On Share Buy-Back|(Corrects headline and text to show that the proposal on share buyback was put forward by Debica’s minority shareholder, not Debica. Specifies that decision on proposed resolutions will be made by the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting on Sept. 25. Adds third bullet on proposed change of dividend policy.) June 14 (Reuters) - FIRMA OPONIARSKA DEBICA SA: * SAID ON WEDNESDAY THAT ITS SHAREHOLDER ALTUS TOWARZYSTWO FUNDUSZY INWESTYCYJNYCH SA (ALTUS TFI), WHICH OWNS OVER 5 PERCENT OF DEBICA’S SHARE CAPITAL, HAS PROPOSED TO VOTE ON BUYBACK OF UP TO 2.6 MILLION SHARES AT THE EXTRAORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS MEETING ON SEPT. 25 * SAID ALTUS TFI PROPOSED THAT SHARES BE BOUGHT BACK AT PURCHASE PRICE OF 170 ZLOTYS PER SHARE, NOT EXCEEDING 436.5 MILLION ZLOTYS IN TOTAL * SAID THAT ALTUS TFI PROPOSED ALSO CHANGING DIVIDEND POLICY FOR 2018-2020 TO PAY DIVIDEND OF 100 PERCENT OF THE AMOUNT POSSIBLE TO BE PAID Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T13:14:00.000+03:00|U.S. to sell $116 billion in 3-month, 6-month, 52-week bills|WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of 3-month, 6-month and 52-week bills next week, see: 3-month bills here 6-month bills here 52-week bills here Washington economics team  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-14T13:14:00.000+03:00|South African union says strike by white workers at Sasol approved|June 14, 2018 / 10:19 AM / Updated an hour ago South African union says strike by white workers at Sasol approved Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG, June 14 (Reuters) - South African trade union Solidarity said on Thursday it had been cleared to call for a strike at energy firm Sasol over an empowerment scheme it says unfairly excludes white workers. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration issued a certificate to Solidarity which allows its members to strike legally, the union representing mostly skilled workers said in a statement. The company was responsible for “blatant discrimination against loyal Sasol employees,” Solidarity Chief Executive Dirk Hermann said. The union said it would seek a mandate from members to begin a strike. (Reporting by Joe Brock; editing by John Stonestreet) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-14T13:19:00.000+03:00|Centrica aims to sell UK nuclear stake by end 2020|June 14, 2018 / 10:20 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Centrica aims to sell UK nuclear stake by end of 2020 Susanna Twidale Centrica plans to sell its 20 percent stake in eight British power plants by the end of 2020, but has yet to start marketing the assets, the company’s CEO said on Thursday France’s EDF owns the other 80 percent of the nuclear plants, which generate around 20 percent of Britain’s electricity. “We have had a number of people calling us saying they would be interested but we haven’t started marketing it yet,” Centrica CEO Iain Conn said on the sidelines of the FT Energy Transition Strategies Summit in London without identifying any interested parties. Conn said as early as last June that the company would consider selling the stake if the right offer came along. Centrica is moving away from large, centralised power generation while increasing its services offerings. The company sold its last large power stations last year, with its generation now focusing on smaller, flexible plants that can react quickly to produce electricity at peak times when it is most needed. Analyst have said it could be difficult to attract buyers for the nuclear assets, with large financials shying away from nuclear investment and half of the plants expected to close in 2024. Last week Britain said it would consider investing in a new plant to be built by Japanese company Hitachi in northern Wales, with private investors reluctant to take on the huge costs of new nuclear power infrastructure. Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Alexander Smith and David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T13:21:00.000+03:00|South African union says strike by white workers at Sasol approved|June 14, 2018 / 10:25 AM / Updated 21 hours ago South African union says strike by white workers at Sasol approved Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African trade union Solidarity said on Thursday it had been cleared to call for a strike at energy firm Sasol over an empowerment scheme it says unfairly excludes white workers. A petrol station is seen in Soweto, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration issued a certificate to Solidarity which allows its members to strike legally, the union representing mostly skilled workers said in a statement. The company was responsible for “blatant discrimination against loyal Sasol employees,” Solidarity Chief Executive Dirk Hermann said. The union said it would seek a mandate from members to begin a strike. Reporting by Joe Brock; editing by John Stonestreet 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-14T13:22:00.000+03:00|Cairn buys into Seacrest-backed British North Sea oilfield|LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Cairn Energy has bought a 50 percent stake in the Agar-Plantain oilfields in the British North Sea from Azinor Catalyst, the companies said on Thursday. The investment by Cairn is another sign that North Sea assets are becoming attractive again to oil producers, which sold assets in the past few years, often to private equity investors, and cut costs after oil prices collapsed. Azinor, which is backed by private equity firm Seacrest Capital and owns a portfolio of North Sea assets, discovered the Agar-Plantain fields in 2014 and said on Thursday that it expected to start drilling in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. Agar and Plantain have “estimated combined mid-case resources of 60 million barrels oil equivalent, with an upside case of 98 million barrels oil equivalent”, Azinor said. The companies did not say how much Cairn Energy paid for its stake. Renewed interest in North Sea assets was highlighted last month when Royal Dutch Shell , BP and Norway’s Equinor as well as smaller independent oil producers including Siccar Point, Chrysaor and Premier Oil awarded 229 blocks in the British North Sea. (Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Susan Fenton)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-14T13:25:00.000+03:00|BHP approves $2.9 billion spend on iron ore project|LONDON (Reuters) - BHP on Thursday approved spending $2.9 billion to develop its Western Australian South Flank iron ore project in the central Pilbara, and said the quality of the mineral would raise the overall grade of its regional output. The project, which should produce its first ore in 2021, will fully replace production from the 80 million tonnes-per-year Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life. In a statement BHP, which has an 85 percent stake in South Flank, said the quality of the ore would take the average grade for the company’s Western Australian iron ore to 62 percent from 61 percent. Fellow Anglo-Australian major miner Rio Tinto is ramping up a new iron ore mine at Silvergrass, also in the Pilbara, and also high grade. Mining executives say China is increasingly demanding high quality ore, which commands a premium and limits pollution as less rock needs to be processed, although an analysis of Reuters data shows the country is struggling to obtain it. Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Editing by Alexandra Hudson  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-14T13:43:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: EU regulators to rule against Engie's Luxembourg tax deal - source|June 14, 2018 / 10:47 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago Exclusive: EU regulators to rule against Engie's Luxembourg tax deal - source Foo Yun Chee 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators in the coming weeks will order Luxembourg to recover millions of euros in back taxes from French power utility Engie, a person familiar with the matter said, as the EU steps up its crackdown on unfair tax deals. The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie, near Paris, France. May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/Files It will be the third ruling by the European Commission against Luxembourg’s tax deals with multinationals and the fifth against EU countries including Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The EU’s competition enforcer declined to comment. The Luxembourg finance ministry, which has denied giving Engie any special treatment, was not available for immediate comment. The Commission in 2016 opened an investigation into rulings granted by Luxembourg to Engie since 2008 which appeared to treat the same financial transaction between Engie subsidiaries as both debt and equity. The company has been present in Luxembourg since 1933. This resulted in double non-taxation of companies in the GDF Suez group, as Engie was formerly known, a tax benefit which regulators said was not available to other companies. The financial transactions were loans granted in 2009 and 2011 between four companies in the GDF Suez group that can be converted into equity and bear zero interest for the lender. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-14T13:52:00.000+03:00|France's Teleperformance agrees to buy Intelenet from Blackstone|June 14 (Reuters) - French telemarketing and teleservices provider Teleperformance said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Intelenet from Blackstone. The company says the transaction will completed for a total consideration of $1.0 billion. (Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdynia)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-14T14:13:00.000+03:00|Greek opposition to file censure motion against PM over Macedonia deal|June 14, 2018 / 11:15 AM / Updated 5 hours ago Greek parliament debates Tsipras no-confidence motion after Macedonia deal Michele Kambas , Renee Maltezou 4 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek parliament began debating a no-confidence motion in the government on Thursday, with opposition lawmakers furious over Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s deal aimed at solving a decades-old dispute with neighbouring Macedonia over its name. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a parliamentary session ahead of a debate on a motion of no confidence by the main opposition in row over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Tsipras and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev reached a landmark agreement on Tuesday to call the ex-Yugoslav republic the “Republic of North Macedonia”, settling nearly three decades of wrangling over its name and removing an obstacle to Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. But in a reflection of the depth of feeling over the issue, both Zaev and Tsipras were accused in their home countries of “national capitulation”. The issue has triggered mass protests both in Skopje and Athens in previous months. The Macedonian president has said he would try to block the deal, and in Greece, the opposition initiated a censure motion against the government, a first since Tsipras came to power in 2015. The debate in parliament is expected to wrap up on Saturday. Tsipras’s governing left-right coalition has 154 seats in the 300-member parliament, so the government is unlikely to fall, but if parliament were to back the no confidence motion Tsipras would have to hand over his mandate to the country’s president. Tsipras is already trailing in opinion polls, hurt by the economic reforms introduced as a condition for a third multibillion-euro bailout for Greece in 2015. The no-confidence motion, submitted by the opposition New Democracy, said the accord was the final blow for Greeks who have suffered years of austerity. Greek conservative New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses lawmakers during a parliamentary session, where he submitted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in row over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis “This is a damaging agreement to our national interests,” the motion said. “It is a major national concession which cannot be tolerated.” Tsipras’ coalition ally, the Independent Greeks, have said publicly they would not support the accord reached with Skopje but would not topple the government, either. Protests were scheduled outside parliament on Saturday night, although demonstrations in central Athens were also expected on Friday. PROTESTS Under the deal, Macedonia would become formally known as “the Republic of North Macedonia”. It is currently known officially at the United Nations as the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Slideshow (3 Images) The deal still requires ratification by both national parliaments and by a referendum in Skopje. “I am compelled, it is my duty, to exhaust every possibility offered in the constitution to avert this development,” New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. In another debate earlier, Tsipras shrugged off the no-confidence motion, saying it gave him an opportunity to expose the see-saw tactics of New Democracy, whom he blamed for a series of blunders on the issue when it was in government. “What goes around, comes around,” Tsipras said. Athens has long objected to its northern neighbour’s use of the name “Macedonia”, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name and amounts to the appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. In Macedonia, Zaev’s government unanimously adopted the agreement, government spokesman Mile Boshnjakovski told reporters after the session. However, Macedonian leading opposition party, the rightist VMRO-DPMNE, called those who reject it to protest on Sunday. The agreement still needs to be adopted by parliament. Zaev does not hold the two thirds majority needed to push it through automatically. And while the government holds the executive power, the president said on Wednesday he would not sign the deal, saying it violated the constitution. Additional reporting by Aleksander Vasovic; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alison Williams|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T14:21:00.000+03:00|Exclusive - Germany's HSH Nordbank says aims to buy shipping loans from other banks|June 14, 2018 / 11:21 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Exclusive - Germany's HSH Nordbank says aims to buy shipping loans from other banks Jonathan Saul 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Germany’s HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL], once the world’s biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry as it emerges from years of turmoil, a top bank official said. FILE PHOTO: The logo of HSH Nordbank is seen in Hamburg, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer The bank’s regional government owners are selling the lender to buyout groups Cerberus Capital Management and J.C. Flowers, with investors GoldenTree, Centaurus Capital and Austrian bank BAWAG ( BAWG.VI ) also taking stakes. “HSH, at the end of this process of privatisation, will for the first time since 2008 be restored. We will not have the same restrictions we faced or the pressures to reduce bad debt,” Christian Nieswandt, global head of shipping with HSH Nordbank, told Reuters. “We are looking to re-invest in the shipping space and are looking for high quality business,” he said, adding the bank had an annual budget of 700 million euros until 2022 to invest in new shipping business, including buying loans from other banks. Segments of the shipping industry, which transports 90 percent of the world’s goods including oil, food and industrial products such as coal and iron ore, are coming out of a near-decade long slump with players looking for opportunities. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-14T14:23:00.000+03:00|Jordan's king approves new cabinet led by ex-World Bank economist|June 14, 2018 / 11:20 AM / Updated an hour ago Jordan's king swears in new cabinet led by ex-World Bank economist Suleiman Al-Khalidi 4 Min Read AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan’s King Abdullah on Thursday swore in a new government led by a former World Bank economist and mandated to review a disputed tax system after widespread protests against IMF-driven austerity measures. FILE PHOTO: Jordan's designated new prime minister Omar al-Razzaz in Amman, Jordan June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo Abdullah, a relatively secure U.S. ally in a conflict-ridden Middle East, appointed Omar al-Razzaz, a Harvard-educated economist outside the ranks of the traditional political elite, as prime minister last week. Razzaz replaces Hani Mulki, a business-friendly politician who was dismissed to defuse public anger that led to triggered some of the largest popular protests in years. Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets in Amman and in provincial towns earlier this month against a series of tax rises since the start of the year. Protesters called for sacking the government and scrapping a tax bill which unions and civic groups blamed for worsening poverty and unemployment. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Interior Minister Samir al Mubadeen kept their posts in Razzaz’s 28-member cabinet, dominated by a mix of conservative politicians and Western-leaning technocrats, including seven women. “The (economic) challenges we face are the accumulation of decades, in fact..., nearly two decades,” Razzaz said, pledging to address sluggish growth and eroding living conditions. Rajai Muasher, a conservative politician and influential banker and among Jordan’s wealthiest businessmen, was appointed as deputy prime minister. Related Coverage Jordan appoints veteran finance ministry official as new finance minister Official sources said the government is expected to maintain traditional support for U.S. policies in the Middle East and continue with International Monetary Fund-guided reforms. Razzaz appointed long-time veteran finance ministry official Izzeddin Kanakrieh as the new finance minister to complete negotiations over a tough three-year programme with the IMF. TAX HIKES Critics and some officials blame the speedy implementation of the programme for successive tax hikes this year which infuriated many Jordanians and sparked the wave of protests. Razzaz, who was education minister in the previous administration, admitted after being appointed that the previous government had rushed into tax rises and pledged to engage a wide cross section of society on future levies. FILE PHOTO: Jordan's designated new prime minister Omar al-Razzaz speaks on the phone after leaving the Parliament building in Amman, Jordan June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed/File Photo The broad-based popular protests were led by middle class professionals, unemployed graduates and youth who feel alienated and disenfranchised in a country where donors and diplomats say corruption is rampant. Critics and economists say the brunt of taxation is borne by salaried professionals in a vibrant, urban private sector that underpins the economy, and that tax evasion by a wealthy business and political elite has become widespread. Most of the increased revenue the government has secured from a series of tax hikes this year has gone to maintaining a bloated bureaucracy in a country with some of the world’s highest government spending relative to its economy. After an IMF arrangement that induced some fiscal stability, Jordan agreed in 2016 to a more ambitious three-year programme of long-delayed structural reforms. The aim is to reduce public debt to 77 percent of GDP by 2021 from 95 percent now. Jordan has seen public debit spiral to nearly $40 billion, driven in part by the expansionist fiscal policies of successive governments keen to create jobs and raise public sector pay to head off an repeat of 2011 “Arab Spring” unrest. Cutting public sector jobs, either by cutting defence spending or streamlining the civil service, would greatly curb spending but both are political red lines in Jordan. That left the IMF little choice but to seek higher taxes to rein in public debt. In the wake of the protests, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates pledged to extend an aid package of $2.5 billion to help Jordan’s economy weather the crisis.[L8N1TD00Q] Rival Qatar also pledged on Wednesday $500 million in cash and investments, officials said. [L8N1TF4UD] Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Mark Heinrich|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T14:23:00.000+03:00|Jordan's king approves new cabinet led by ex-World Bank economist|June 14, 2018 / 11:20 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Jordan's king approves new cabinet led by ex-World Bank economist Reuters Staff 2 Min Read AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan’s King Abdullah issued a decree on Thursday forming a new government led by a former World Bank economist and mandated to review a disputed tax system after widespread protests against IMF-driven austerity measures. FILE PHOTO: Jordan's designated new prime minister Omar al-Razzaz in Amman, Jordan June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo Abdullah, a U.S. ally, appointed Omar al-Razzaz, a Harvard- educated economist outside the ranks of the traditional political elite, last week to replace Hani Mulki, a business- friendly politician who was dismissed to defuse public anger that led to some of the largest protests in years. Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets in Amman and in provincial towns earlier this month against a series of tax rises since the start of the year. Protesters called for sacking the government and scrapping a tax bill which unions and civic groups blamed for worsening poverty and unemployment. Related Coverage Jordan appoints veteran finance ministry official as new finance minister Razzaz’s 28-member cabinet is dominated by a mix of conservative politicians and Western-leaning techocrats who held sway in previous administrations, including seven women, a copy of the royal decree showed. FILE PHOTO: Jordan's designated new prime minister Omar al-Razzaz speaks on the phone after leaving the Parliament building in Amman, Jordan June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed/File Photo Official sources said the government is expected to maintain traditional support for U.S. policies in the region and continue with International Monetary Fund-guided reforms. Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Mark Heinrich 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-14T14:26:00.000+03:00|Greek opposition to file censure motion against PM over Macedonia deal|June 14, 2018 / 11:15 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Greek parliament debates Tsipras no-confidence motion after Macedonia deal Michele Kambas, Renee Maltezou 4 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek parliament began debating a no-confidence motion in the government on Thursday, with opposition lawmakers furious over Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s deal aimed at solving a decades-old dispute with neighbouring Macedonia over its name. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a parliamentary session ahead of a debate on a motion of no confidence by the main opposition in row over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Tsipras and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev reached a landmark agreement on Tuesday to call the ex-Yugoslav republic the “Republic of North Macedonia”, settling nearly three decades of wrangling over its name and removing an obstacle to Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. But in a reflection of the depth of feeling over the issue, both Zaev and Tsipras were accused in their home countries of “national capitulation”. The issue has triggered mass protests both in Skopje and Athens in previous months. The Macedonian president has said he would try to block the deal, and in Greece, the opposition initiated a censure motion against the government, a first since Tsipras came to power in 2015. The debate in parliament is expected to wrap up on Saturday. Tsipras’s governing left-right coalition has 154 seats in the 300-member parliament, so the government is unlikely to fall, but if parliament were to back the no confidence motion Tsipras would have to hand over his mandate to the country’s president. Tsipras is already trailing in opinion polls, hurt by the economic reforms introduced as a condition for a third multibillion-euro bailout for Greece in 2015. The no-confidence motion, submitted by the opposition New Democracy, said the accord was the final blow for Greeks who have suffered years of austerity. “This is a damaging agreement to our national interests,” the motion said. “It is a major national concession which cannot be tolerated.” Tsipras’ coalition ally, the Independent Greeks, have said publicly they would not support the accord reached with Skopje but would not topple the government, either. Protests were scheduled outside parliament on Saturday night, although demonstrations in central Athens were also expected on Friday. Greek conservative New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses lawmakers during a parliamentary session, where he submitted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in row over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis PROTESTS Under the deal, Macedonia would become formally known as “the Republic of North Macedonia”. It is currently known officially at the United Nations as the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. The deal still requires ratification by both national parliaments and by a referendum in Skopje. “I am compelled, it is my duty, to exhaust every possibility offered in the constitution to avert this development,” New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. In another debate earlier, Tsipras shrugged off the no-confidence motion, saying it gave him an opportunity to expose the see-saw tactics of New Democracy, whom he blamed for a series of blunders on the issue when it was in government. “What goes around, comes around,” Tsipras said. Athens has long objected to its northern neighbour’s use of the name “Macedonia”, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name and amounts to the appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. In Macedonia, Zaev’s government unanimously adopted the agreement, government spokesman Mile Boshnjakovski told reporters after the session. Slideshow (3 Images) However, Macedonian leading opposition party, the rightist VMRO-DPMNE, called those who reject it to protest on Sunday. The agreement still needs to be adopted by parliament. Zaev does not hold the two thirds majority needed to push it through automatically. And while the government holds the executive power, the president said on Wednesday he would not sign the deal, saying it violated the constitution. Additional reporting by Aleksander Vasovic; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alison Williams 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-14T14:35:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Germany's HSH Nordbank says aims to buy shipping loans from other banks|June 14, 2018 / 11:37 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago Exclusive: Germany's HSH Nordbank says aims to buy shipping loans from other banks Jonathan Saul 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Germany’s HSH Nordbank, once the world’s biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry as it emerges from years of turmoil, a top bank official said. The bank’s regional government owners are selling the lender to buyout groups Cerberus Capital Management and J.C. Flowers, with investors GoldenTree, Centaurus Capital and Austrian bank BAWAG also taking stakes. “HSH, at the end of this process of privatisation, will for the first time since 2008 be restored. We will not have the same restrictions we faced or the pressures to reduce bad debt,” Christian Nieswandt, global head of shipping with HSH Nordbank, told Reuters. “We are looking to re-invest in the shipping space and are looking for high quality business,” he said, adding the bank had an annual budget of 700 million euros until 2022 to invest in new shipping business, including buying loans from other banks. Segments of the shipping industry, which transports 90 percent of the world’s goods including oil, food and industrial products such as coal and iron ore, are coming out of a near-decade long slump with players looking for opportunities. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-14T14:38:00.000+03:00|Israel's Netanyahu says drone deal with Germany will strengthen ties|June 14, 2018 / 11:40 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Israel's Netanyahu says drone deal with Germany will strengthen ties Reuters Staff 3 Min Read JERUSALEM/BERLIN (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that a roughly one-billion-euro (£0.88 billion) drone deal with Germany would strengthen bilateral security relations and give a boost to Israel’s defence industry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the International Homeland Security Forum conference in Jerusalem, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Germany’s parliament on Wednesday approved the plan to lease Israeli-built surveillance drones for nine years, a sort of stop-gap until a European drone is ready for use around 2025. Agreement on the long-delayed contract also provides some positive news amid recent friction between the countries over their disagreement regarding world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. “It’s a huge deal. It has implications first of all on our defence industry and the Israeli economy, but also the continued strengthening security ties between Germany and Israel,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu. He thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for getting the deal approved in parliament. Israeli defence contractors signed $9.2 billion in export deals in 2017, a 40 percent increase from the year before, but drones accounted for just 2 percent of that. Germany will be receiving Heron TP drones, a high altitude, long-endurance vehicle with multiple-payload capabilities made by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [ISRAI.UL]. The drone programme is in two parts – a 177 million euro contract between the German and Israeli governments, and a contract between the German military and Airbus valued at 718 million euros, according to German parliamentary sources. Airbus said on Thursday it had signed the nine-year contract with the BAAINBw procurement arm of the German military, and it would take effect upon publication of the federal budget. The deal calls for the military to pay an additional 100 million euros for the first drone deployment, and 210 million euros for a second deployment. Airbus, which will manage all aspects of the agreement, including operational support and maintenance, in turn awarded a subcontract to IAI worth $600 million. Armin Schmidt-Franke, vice president of the BAAINBw, said the more capable Heron TP drones would significantly improve Germany’s surveillance capabilities and the ability to protect troops on the ground. The drones will become operational after a two-year set-up phase, with German pilots to be trained in Israel, BAAINBw said. A German parliamentary source said it would cost the German military about 250 million euros a year to operate the new drones, compared with around 70 million euros for the less capable Heron drones now in use in Afghanistan and Mali. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Heinrich|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-14T14:38:00.000+03:00|Israel's Netanyahu says drone deal with Germany will strengthen ties|June 14, 2018 / 11:40 AM / Updated 31 minutes ago Israel's Netanyahu says drone deal with Germany will strengthen ties Reuters Staff 3 Min Read JERUSALEM/BERLIN (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that a roughly one-billion-euro (£0.88 billion) drone deal with Germany would strengthen bilateral security relations and give a boost to Israel’s defence industry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the International Homeland Security Forum conference in Jerusalem, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Germany’s parliament on Wednesday approved the plan to lease Israeli-built surveillance drones for nine years, a sort of stop-gap until a European drone is ready for use around 2025. Agreement on the long-delayed contract also provides some positive news amid recent friction between the countries over their disagreement regarding world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. “It’s a huge deal. It has implications first of all on our defence industry and the Israeli economy, but also the continued strengthening security ties between Germany and Israel,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu. He thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for getting the deal approved in parliament. Israeli defence contractors signed $9.2 billion in export deals in 2017, a 40 percent increase from the year before, but drones accounted for just 2 percent of that. Germany will be receiving Heron TP drones, a high altitude, long-endurance vehicle with multiple-payload capabilities made by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [ISRAI.UL]. The drone programme is in two parts – a 177 million euro contract between the German and Israeli governments, and a contract between the German military and Airbus valued at 718 million euros, according to German parliamentary sources. Airbus said on Thursday it had signed the nine-year contract with the BAAINBw procurement arm of the German military, and it would take effect upon publication of the federal budget. The deal calls for the military to pay an additional 100 million euros for the first drone deployment, and 210 million euros for a second deployment. Airbus, which will manage all aspects of the agreement, including operational support and maintenance, in turn awarded a subcontract to IAI worth $600 million. Armin Schmidt-Franke, vice president of the BAAINBw, said the more capable Heron TP drones would significantly improve Germany’s surveillance capabilities and the ability to protect troops on the ground. The drones will become operational after a two-year set-up phase, with German pilots to be trained in Israel, BAAINBw said. A German parliamentary source said it would cost the German military about 250 million euros a year to operate the new drones, compared with around 70 million euros for the less capable Heron drones now in use in Afghanistan and Mali. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Heinrich 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-14T14:53:00.000+03:00|Kinnevik to distribute MTG shares to push ahead Tele2 and Com Hem merger|STOCKHOLM, June 14 (Reuters) - Investment firm Kinnevik said on Thursday it aimed to distribute its shares in MTG to its shareholders in an effort to speed up the completion of the proposed merger of Tele2 and Com Hem. Mobile operator Tele2, in which Kinnevik owns 30 percent of shares, agreed in January a $3.2 billion takeover of cable TV company Com Hem, in which the investment firm owns 19 percent. Kinnevik announced its support of the proposed deal, and said it would take pro-competitive measures to complete the merger, if needed. The investment firm said on Thursday it had participated in the European Commission’s vetting procedure to identify measures that would enable clearance of the merger in the first phase of the regulatory review. “By distributing all of Kinnevik’s shares in MTG, Kinnevik both expedites clearance of the merger of Tele2 and Com Hem, and delivers an extraordinary dividend to Kinnevik’s shareholders of in total SEK 4.9 billion,” Kinnevik said in a statement. Kinnevik, which owns 20 percent of the shares in MTG, added it would propose the distribution of shares at an extraordinary general meeting in the third quarter of 2018. It said the shares would be distributed after a reclassification of all Kinnevik’s MTG class A shares into class B shares during the first half of August. (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Niklas Pollard)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T14:53:00.000+03:00|Israel Aerospace signs $600 million drone deal with Airbus for Germany|JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [ISRAI.UL] said on Thursday it signed a $600 million deal with Airbus ( AIR.PA ) to lease Heron TP drones to Germany’s Defense Ministry. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Airbus is pictured at the Airbus A380 final assembly line at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo IAI’s Heron TP is a high altitude, long endurance drone with multiple-payload capabilities. Airbus will manage all aspects of the nine-year agreement, including operational support and maintenance, state-owned IAI said in a statement. Germany’s parliamentary budget committee this week backed plans by the military to lease the Israeli-built surveillance drones, according to committee sources. The deal had run into resistance last year within Germany’s coalition government because the drones could be armed in the future. The German military currently uses a different model of Heron drones that cannot be armed. The leasing program is intended as a temporary solution until a European drone is ready for use around 2025. Shaul Shahar, general manager of IAI’s military aircraft group, said the Heron TP “will provide Germany with unprecedented air superiority”. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-14T14:54:00.000+03:00|Cargill fund to buy two Brazil plants from Abengoa Bioenergia|BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, June 14 (Reuters) - Food processor and commodities trader Cargill Inc has agreed to buy two cane processing plants from Brazilian biofuels firm Abengoa Bioenergia SA for $80 million, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Thursday. Cargill’s CarVal fund will acquire the plants in Sao Paulo state from Abengoa Bioenergia, which is in bankruptcy protection and is a unit of Spain’s Abengoa SA, according to O Estado de S. Paulo. The deal will not be finalized until contracts are signed, the newspaper said. Abengoa And Cargill did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Jake Spring and Jose Roberto Gomes Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-14T15:01:00.000+03:00|ECB announces end of bond buys, sees rates stable until summer 2019|June 14, 2018 / 12:02 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago ECB announces end of bond buys, sees rates stable until summer 2019 Reuters Staff 2 Min Read RIGA (Reuters) - The European Central Bank decided on Thursday to end its 2.55 trillion euro (2.3 trillion pounds) bond-purchase programme at the close of the year and said interest rates would stay unchanged until the summer of 2019. The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Between October and December, the ECB plans to buys 15 billion euros (13.2 billion pounds) worth of bonds per month and then close the scheme at the end of the year. “The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels at least through the summer of 2019 and in any case for as long as necessary to ensure that the evolution of inflation remains aligned with the current expectations of a sustained adjustment path,” the ECB said in a statement. This is in line with investors’ expectations. The ECB has already spent well over than 2 trillion euros buying bonds since 2015 and has kept its deposit rate below zero, effectively charging banks for their idle cash, for four years in a bid to revive inflation. Its chief economist, Peter Praet, said last week economic data was making the ECB more confident that inflation would converge to its target of just under 2 percent and policymakers would decide this week whether progress was sufficient. Attention now turns to ECB President Mario Draghi’s 1230 GMT news conference, in which he is likely to provide further hints on the bank’s policy shift and unveil fresh economic forecasts. With Thursday’s decision, the ECB’s rate on bank overnight deposits, which is currently its primary interest rate tool, remains at -0.40 percent. This is seen rising by 10 basis points in mid-2019. The main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of credit in the economy, remained unchanged at 0.00 percent while the rate on the marginal lending facility — the emergency overnight borrowing rate for banks — remains at 0.25 percent. Reporting by Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-14T15:03:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-ECB to end bond buys, keep rates steady through next summer|RIGA/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will shut its hallmark bond purchase scheme by the close of the year, it said on Thursday, taking its biggest step yet toward dismantling crisis-era stimulus a decade after the start of the euro zone’s economic downturn. But in a balanced announcement reflecting the uncertainties hanging over the economy, it signaled that any interest rate hike is still distant, raising the prospect that ECB chief Mario Draghi might leave office in October 2019 without having raised rates in his eight-year term. The timid move to roll back stimulus contrasted with the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate hike a day earlier, which signaled a break from policies used to battle the 2007-2009 financial crisis and a return to normalized central banking. The new rates guidance sent the euro down over one percent against the dollar to $1.1644 EUR=EBS and pushed bets by investors on the timing of a first deposit rate increase back by three months to September 2019. “While yesterday’s Fed hike was very much ‘hawkish’, in our view, the ECB opted to announce the end of its net asset purchases with a dovish flavor,” BNP economist Luigi Speranza said. The ECB will halve its bond buys to 15 billion euros a month from October then shut the program at the end of the year. It also sees interest rates steady “at least through the summer of 2019” — a vague definition that gives policymakers a wide window and the flexibility to push back any move. “‘Through the summer’ is intentionally not precise,” Draghi told a press conference after policymakers met in Riga, Latvia’s capital. “There is a desire to maintain optionality in each and every part of this decision.” Adding a surprisingly dovish tinge to the decision, Draghi emphasized that uncertainty and risks were increasing, comments taken to indicate that risks were skewed toward a later hike, rather than an earlier move. “This decision has been taken in the presence of a strong economy with increasing uncertainty,” he said of a political landscape characterized notably by rising trade tensions between the United States, Europe and China. Related Coverage ECB policymakers split over wording of stimulus end, rate hike: sources ECB's Draghi dismisses Italian threat to 'irreversible' euro ECB's Draghi says trade measures threaten confidence, growth For graphic on ECB policy and bond yield developments click reut.rs/2MmjKeH HURDLE “We suspect the hurdle to deviating from the intention on QE is probably pretty high,” JPMorgan economist Greg Fuzesi said. “The decision on rates is dovish, but likely with more flexibility in both directions than the decision on QE.” Highlighting the risks to the outlook, the ECB downgraded its euro zone growth forecast for this year to 2.1 percent from 2.4 percent previously, while upgrading its inflation forecast to 1.7 percent from 1.4 percent, largely as a result of rising oil prices. By putting a specific end-date on its stimulus, the ECB is nevertheless taking a more decisive step than the Fed did when it started its own taper in December 2013 without committing to a specific end or any subsequent steps. For the ECB, the biggest complication could be a murky economic outlook, muddied by the developing trade war, a populist challenge from Italy’s new government and softening export demand. President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during the news conference following the meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank in Riga, Latvia June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Draghi, a former Italian central bank governor, downplayed Italy’s turbulence as “a pretty local episode”, arguing that government policy shifts are normal market events. “Contagion was not significant if (there was) any at all,” he said, emphasizing differences with the widespread market panic seen around the peak of the euro zone debt crisis. “We haven’t seen really any redenomination risk.” Italian bond yields rose sharply this month as a new government of anti-establishment parties promised higher spending. That threatens a clash with Brussels, which is pushing Rome to cut the euro zone’s second-biggest debt pile. But a broader slowdown could make it harder for the ECB to cut support if lower growth eases pressure on inflation, a threat to the bank’s credibility as it has missed its inflation target of almost 2 percent for over five years. For graphic on Euro zone inflation vs wage growth click reut.rs/2y6wsLk INFLATION While inflation has remained weak, higher oil prices, increasingly evident wage pressures and record employment suggest that prices will be moving up in the coming years, even if more slowly than the ECB had originally hoped. The euro’s more than 6 percent fall against the dollar since April is helping the ECB as the weaker currency is increasing the cost of imports and boosting inflation. While a rebound is likely, the Fed’s tightening stance will limit the potential for a big rise in the euro. Slideshow (3 Images) Projections for underlying inflation — excluding volatile food and energy prices — barely moved in the bank’s new forecasts, however, rising only 0.1 percentage point for next year and 2020. “The end of net purchases does not mark the end of very loose policy. In fact, Draghi sounded dovish today, and we still expect the first rate hike only in December 2019,” Nordea economist Jan von Gerich said. Writing by Mark John; Editing by Catherine Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-14T15:05:00.000+03:00|Greek opposition to file censure motion against PM over Macedonia deal|June 14, 2018 / 12:07 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Greek parliament debates Tsipras no-confidence motion after Macedonia deal Michele Kambas , Renee Maltezou 4 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek parliament began debating a no-confidence motion in the government on Thursday, with opposition lawmakers furious over Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s deal aimed at solving a decades-old dispute with neighbouring Macedonia over its name. Tsipras and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev reached a landmark agreement on Tuesday to call the ex-Yugoslav republic the “Republic of North Macedonia”, settling nearly three decades of wrangling over its name and removing an obstacle to Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. But in a reflection of the depth of feeling over the issue, both Zaev and Tsipras were accused in their home countries of “national capitulation”. The issue has triggered mass protests both in Skopje and Athens in previous months. The Macedonian president has said he would try to block the deal, and in Greece, the opposition initiated a censure motion against the government, a first since Tsipras came to power in 2015. He is trailing in opinion polls, hurt by the economic reforms introduced as a condition for a third multibillion-euro bailout for Greece in 2015. The no-confidence motion, submitted by the opposition New Democracy, said the accord was the final blow for Greeks who have suffered years of austerity. “This is a damaging agreement to our national interests,” the motion said. “It is a major national concession which cannot be tolerated.” Tsipras’s governing left-right coalition has 154 seats in the 300-member parliament, so the government is unlikely to fall. If parliament were to back the no confidence motion Tsipras would have to hand over his mandate to the country’s president. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses lawmakers during a parliamentary session ahead of a debate on a motion of no confidence by the main opposition in row over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis His coalition ally, the Independent Greeks, have said publicly they would not support the accord reached with Skopje but would not topple the government, either. The debate was expected to wrap up on Saturday. Protests were scheduled outside parliament on Saturday night, although demonstrations in central Athens were also expected on Friday. Under the deal, Macedonia would become formally known as “the Republic of North Macedonia”. It is currently known officially at the United Nations as the ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’. The deal still requires ratification by both national parliaments and by a referendum in Skopje. “I am compelled, it is my duty, to exhaust every possibility offered in the constitution to avert this development,” New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. In another debate earlier, Tsipras shrugged off the no-confidence motion, saying it gave him an opportunity to expose the see-saw tactics of New Democracy, whom he blamed for a series of blunders on the issue when it was in government. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a parliamentary session ahead of a debate on a motion of no confidence by the main opposition in row over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis “What goes around comes around,” Tsipras said. Athens has long objected to its northern neighbour’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name and amounts to the appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones and Hugh Lawson|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-14T15:18:00.000+03:00|France's Teleperformance agrees $1 billion deal to buy Intelenet from Blackstone|(Reuters) - Teleperformance ( ROCH.PA ) has agreed to buy India-based Intelenet from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone ( BX.N ) in a $1 billion deal aimed at strengthening its specialized services business, the French company said. FILE PHOTO - The logo of Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Intelenet’s operations, including human resources and administration services primarily to the banking, financial services and insurance sectors, will help Teleperformance toward its 2018-22 targets, CEO Daniel Julien said in a statement. Teleperformance has targeted revenue of 6 billion euros ($7 billion) by 2022. The acquisition, combined with the company’s internal growth, is likely to help Teleperformance reach its 2022 targets earlier than planned, Julien said in a conference call. The deal is expected to lift 2018 earnings per share by 10 percent, Teleperformance said, adding that Intelenet posted core earnings of $83 million on revenue of $449 million for the year to March 31 and expects 10 percent growth in its 2019 financial year. The transaction is expected to close by the end of September and will be fully financed through debt provided by BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan and Natixis. The financing could later be covered by a bond issue, subject to market conditions, the company said. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdynia; Editing by David Goodman  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-14T15:48:00.000+03:00|Bank Leumi agrees to delay selling stake in Tel Aviv bourse|JERUSALEM, June 14 (Reuters) - Bank Leumi, Israel’s second-largest lender, said on Thursday it had agreed to a request by the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) to extend the deadline for an agreement to sell its shares in the bourse until the end of August. TASE on Wednesday asked Israeli banks to extend the deadline to sell their shares in the bourse until the end of August after the Israel Securities Authority requested more time to examine the international buyers. Leumi has said it would sell its entire 9.3 percent stake. That came after the TASE demutualised last September, became a for-profit bourse and offered to buy out its shareholders. It received commitments from member banks to buy back 71.7 percent of their shares and had until June 19 to complete this. In April, U.S.-based investment fund Manikay Partners agreed to buy 19.9 percent of TASE in a deal valuing it at 551 million shekels ($154 million). Another 21.8 percent is to be acquired by a number of international investors. The First International Bank of Israel has said it was examining the bourse’s extension request. $1 = 3.5864 shekels Reporting by Steven Scheer  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T16:09:00.000+03:00|Etsy raises 2018 revenue forecast, transaction fee; shares surge|(Reuters) - Etsy Inc on Thursday raised its full-year revenue growth forecast, boosted by an increase in its transaction fee for sellers, sending shares of the company surging 35 percent to a record high. FILE PHOTO - A sign advertising the online seller Etsy Inc. is seen outside the Nasdaq market site in Times Square following Etsy's initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in New York April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo The share jump pushed up the company’s market cap by $1.4 billion. The site for handmade goods, which struggled after its initial public offering in 2015, began its turnaround effort after board member and former eBay executive Josh Silverman took charge as chief executive officer in May last year after ex-CEO Chad Dickerson stepped down. Silverman came to Etsy amid concerns about slowing growth, poor functionality of the company’s website and the specter of competition from Amazon.com Inc, which launched a marketplace for handmade goods in 2015. The company now expects revenue growth of 32 percent to 34 percent in 2018, up from its previous forecast of 22 percent to 24 percent. It also raised the higher end of its gross merchandise sales growth range. Etsy’s share movement was in contrast to arts and crafts specialty retailer Michaels Cos Inc, which dropped 15 percent after it expected flat comparable sales in the second quarter and comparable sales growth of up to 1.5 percent in fiscal 2018. Etsy, however has beaten average analysts’ estimates in every quarter since Silverman’s appointment to the helm. It missed estimates in the four quarters prior to his arrival. The company’s shares have more than doubled in the last 12 months. “Etsy management has improved its merchandising, which in turn has led to stronger merchant sales. As Etsy is doing more for the merchants, Etsy is able to charge more, especially since the fees were relatively cheaper than competitors,” analyst Ronald Bookbinder of IFS Securities said. Etsy said it would increase the transaction fee it charges when a seller makes a sale to 5 percent from 3.5 percent. The new fee would apply to the cost of shipping. The company said it plans to increase direct marketing spending by at least 40 percent in 2018 and revamp community platforms. Etsy has shifted its focus to areas that are showing the most growth for the handmade marketplace, particularly on its core e-commerce site. The company has improved its website’s search function and uses artificial intelligence to provide better product recommendations for customers. In 2017 the company also ran holiday promotions for the first time. “They took that really good business model and fine tuned the engine and now they have got that engine firing on all cylinders,” D.A. Davidson & Co. analyst Tom Forte said. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Shounak Dasgupta  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/technologyNews/|0
2018-06-14T16:13:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Cargill fund to buy two Brazil plants from Abengoa Bioenergia|SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, June 14 (Reuters) - Food processor and commodities trader Cargill Inc has agreed to buy two cane processing plants from Brazilian biofuels firm Abengoa Bioenergia SA for $80 million, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Thursday. Cargill’s CarVal fund will acquire the plants in Sao Paulo state from Abengoa Bioenergia, which is in bankruptcy protection and is a unit of Spain’s Abengoa SA, according to O Estado de S. Paulo. The deal will not be finalized until contracts are signed, the newspaper said. Abengoa said in a statement there were third parties interested in buying its subsidiary’s assets, but “no transfer of assets occurred so far.” Abengoa and Cargill did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Jose Roberto Gomes and Jake Spring Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bernadette Baum)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-14T16:48:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Deutsche Bank sells $1 bln non-performing ship loan portfolio -sources|(Adds details, background) By Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Saul FRANKFURT/LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank has found a buyer for the bulk of its bad ship loans as it seeks to draw a line under sour investments in the sector and to start a fresh push in transport lending, people close to the matter said. Germany’s flagship lender has agreed to sell a non-performing ship loan portfolio with a notional value of $1 billion to investors Oak Hill Advisors and Varde, one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank and Oak Hill declined to comment, while Varde was not immediately available for comment. There was no word on the price tag for the bundle of loans. Finance sources said the portfolio was expected to include some performing loans from shipowners rather than just distressed debt. “Deutsche has made various efforts to try and reconfigure parts of its portfolio including sales over the past two years. But for various reasons it has not happened. This time round they have been more focused and decisive,” one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank has been looking to shrink its exposure to shipping and other maritime lending, such as port facilities, over the last couple of years. At the end of March, its exposure to the overall sector stood at 4.1 billion euros, of which 3.3 billion euros were for vessel financing. Exploiting German rules that gave tax credits to owners of container ships, German lenders had become some of the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years. Two years ago they were estimated to be behind roughly a quarter of the world’s $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans, although German banks’s share has since decreased as they have cut their exposure amid heavy writedowns. The clean-up of its transport financing book is part of Deutsche Bank’s deep overhaul, which also includes plans to reduce headcount to below 90,000 from 97,000. Christian Sewing, who became CEO in an abrupt management reshuffle in April, has said while the bank was committed to its international presence, it now wants to scale back its global investment bank and refocus on Europe and its home market after three consecutive years of losses. After the sale of the sour shipping portfolio only a small volume of non-performing ship loans remains and Deutsche Bank is poised to start increasing its exposure to the sector again, one of the sources said. In a sign that other banks are also rekindling interest in a sector that is emerging from its worst slump on record, Germany’s HSH Nordbank, once the world’s biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry. HSH Nordbank had needed two bailouts, partly due to its high-risk shipping book, and was privatised earlier this year with taxpayers nursing losses of more than 10 billion euros. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Saul)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-14T16:49:00.000+03:00|Crypto-startup Paxos wins NY approval to trade ether, litecoin|NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) said on Thursday it had granted a virtual currency license to global financial services company Xapo to offer a digital wallet and vault service. DFS also approved New York-based global cryptocurrency exchange itBit’s application to trade and offer custody services to four additional virtual currencies — Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Stellar Lumens. itBit also offers bitcoin on its exchange. Xapo, a start-up that offers bitcoin wallets and cold storage vault, was co-founded by Paypal board member Wences Caceres. Its board of advisers is led by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and former Citibank chairman and chief executive John Reed. “Today’s actions represent New York’s continued commitment to creating a thriving, global fintech marketplace,” DFS Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said in a statement, adding that with strong oversight by the DFS, “consumers and the virtual currency market alike will continue to benefit.” DFS has conducted a comprehensive review of Xapo’s application, including the company’s anti-money laundering, anti-fraud, capitalization, consumer protection, and cybersecurity policies. The new licensee is subject to ongoing supervision, DFS said. itBit, meanwhile, was granted a virtual currency charter in May 2015. It has a sister unit called Paxos, a blockchain company. “This is a milestone for us on a much broader product road map that includes additional assets, additional products,” Chad Cascarilla, chief executive officer of itBit told Reuters in an interview. itBit will immediately start to offer custody, escrow, and over-the-counter trading services, with trading on the exchange to follow, Cascarilla said. He said the exchange currently is the second largest in the United States in terms of the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair, with daily volume of roughly $100 million. With the Xapo approval, DFS has now approved eight firms for virtual currency charters or licenses, while denying applications that did not meet DFS standards. DFS has granted licenses to Genesis Global Trading Inc; bitFlyer USA, Coinbase Inc., XRP II and Circle Internet Financial, and charters to Gemini Trust Company, and itBit. Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-14T17:14:00.000+03:00|German grids have recipes to deal with more green power: 50Hertz|BERLIN (Reuters) - German power grids must deploy new strategies to cope with targets just set by the government for the expansion of renewable power up to 2030, a prominent operator said in a debate triggered by Berlin’s need to meet tough climate goals. FILE PHOTO: CEO of 50Herz Transmission Company Boris Schucht addresses a news conference in Berlin, Germany, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt 50Hertz, a high-voltage operator in northeast Germany, said more wind and solar power plants could be integrated if the industry parted with the idea they must be synchronized with increased grid capacity. “We must change our thinking from networks having to follow production capacity to renewables having to tap into where the networks are,” Boris Schucht, 50Hertz’ chief executive, said in an interview. “I expect that, instead, there will be a new mix of measures, including installing more photovoltaics, more onshore wind also in the south and boosting networks with batteries,” he said. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier is due to present a draft plan for changes to national grids before parliament breaks for summer. Other transmission grid companies initially rebelled when Germany’s ruling coalition in January set fresh challenges for their job, which is ensuring grid balance so power can flow from producers to consumers without disruption. A near doubling of the current national share of a third of renewables to 65 percent by 2030 could multiply by many times their management costs of already well over 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in 2017, they said. New cables might be required, adding time pressure and triggering opposition by the public, which has already delayed thousands of kilometers of lines, 50Hertz peer TenneT warned on Tuesday. This has resulted in the north of the country often throwing away excess wind power while the industrial south risks shortages when nuclear power is switched off by 2022, removing stable supply. But Schucht said the measures he outlined could work. “I am optimistic that we can get near the 65 percent target,” he said. Solar power, which accounted for 7 percent of total production last year against wind’s 18.4 percent, has become inexpensive. Costs have fallen to under 5 cents per kilowatt-hour from over 50 cents 20 years ago. “It can be handled more easily than wind and supplies electricity during the day, meeting peak demand,” Schucht said. It made sense for the south to build more wind turbines, because the region had no grid bottlenecks, he added. 50Hertz could also help the state of Bavaria by possibly doubling capacity on SuedOstLink, a 580-km line planned for the mid-2025s, to 4 gigawatts. Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Dale Hudson  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-14T17:39:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Cairn buys into Seacrest-backed British North Sea oilfield|June 14, 2018 / 2:39 PM / 5 days ago UPDATE 1-Cairn buys into Seacrest-backed British North Sea oilfield Reuters Staff * First oil likely early 2022 * Azinor plans further stake sales in 2019 * Azinor IPO “certainly a possibility” - managing director (Adds comment from Azinor Managing Director) By Shadia Nasralla LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Cairn Energy has bought a 50 percent stake in the Agar-Plantain oilfields in the British North Sea from Azinor Catalyst, the companies said on Thursday, amid renewed interest in North Sea assets. Oil producers are returning to the North Sea having sold many assets in the past few years, often to private equity investors, after oil prices collapsed. “There has clearly been a sentiment change in the North Sea. Certainly from our perspective since the beginning of the year. The oil price is up, costs remain low and it’s a really exciting window of opportunity to invest in the North Sea,” Azinor Managing Director Nick Terrell said. Azinor, which is backed by private equity firm Seacrest Capital and owns a portfolio of North Sea assets, discovered the Agar-Plantain fields in 2014 and said on Thursday that it expected to start drilling in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. First oil is expected in early 2022 from Agar and Plantain which have “estimated combined mid-case resources of 60 million barrels oil equivalent, with an upside case of 98 million barrels oil equivalent”, Azinor said. The companies did not say how much Cairn Energy paid. Azinor currently has nine licences in the British North Sea and plans to take part in the upcoming 31st offshore licensing round. Terrell said the company was open to a possible stock market listing. “Yes, that’s certainly a possiblity. We’re aggressively growing, increasing the value of our company and we will be pursuing a range of sources of capital... Seacrest have been a great investor for us and will continue to be so no doubt but clearly the capital markets are opening.” Renewed interest in North Sea assets was highlighted last month when Royal Dutch Shell , BP and Norway’s Equinor as well as smaller independent oil producers including Siccar Point, Chrysaor and Premier Oil were awarded 229 blocks in the British North Sea. Azinor is planning to sell further stakes next year as it prepares to drill more wells across its portfolio. (Editing by Susan Fenton; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)|http://www.reuters.com/rssFeed/newIssuesNews|0
2018-06-14T17:41:00.000+03:00|PM May agrees compromise deal with pro-EU MPs on Brexit legislation - source|June 14, 2018 / 2:42 PM / Updated an hour ago PM May agrees compromise deal with pro-EU MPs on Brexit legislation - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has reached a deal with pro-EU MPs over the wording of a compromise on the government’s Brexit legislation, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May returns to Downing Street from the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville May and the pro-EU rebels were meeting before a 1600 GMT deadline to thrash out details of a compromise on the extent to which parliament can influence the exit negotiations. Ministers offered to find a compromise on Tuesday to avoid a defeat in parliament. Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-06-14T18:05:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: EU regulators to rule against Engie's Luxembourg tax deal - source|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will rule against French utility Engie’s tax deals with Luxembourg in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said, as the bloc continues its crackdown on corporate tax arrangements. The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie, near Paris, France. May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau It will be the third ruling by the European Commission against Luxembourg’s tax deals with multinationals and the fifth against European Union countries including Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, and could result in Engie paying millions of euros in back taxes. The EU’s competition enforcer declined to comment. The Luxembourg finance ministry, which has denied giving Engie any special treatment, said it would make a comment in due time. Engie said it had not been informed of any imminent EU decision. The Commission in 2016 opened an investigation into rulings granted by Luxembourg to Engie since 2008, which the regulator said appeared to treat the same financial transaction between Engie subsidiaries as both debt and equity. The company has been present in Luxembourg since 1933. This resulted in double non-taxation of companies in the GDF Suez group, as Engie was formerly known, a tax benefit that regulators said was not available to other companies. The financial transactions were loans granted in 2009 and 2011 between four companies in the GDF Suez group that can be converted into equity and bear zero interest for the lender. The Commission is using rules aimed at preventing EU countries from granting unfair state subsidies to certain companies, but which critics say over-reach regulatory powers against deals agreed according to international tax rules. The EU tax avoidance clampdown has resulted in a record demand for Apple to pay back taxes of up to 13 billion euros to Ireland, Amazon 250 million euros to Luxembourg, Fiat 20-30 million euros to Luxembourg and Starbucks the same amount to the Dutch. Thirty-five multinationals including AB Inbev and BASF <BASFn.DE have also been told to pay back a total of 700 million euros to Belgium. Fiat and Luxembourg will challenge the Commission’s finding at a hearing at Europe’s second-highest court in Luxembourg on June 21, kicking off a series of appeals by the targeted companies and countries in the coming months. Starbucks’ hearing is scheduled for July 2. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Geert De Clercq in Paris; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-14T18:06:00.000+03:00|Dries Van Noten sells majority stake to Spanish fashion house Puig|June 14, 2018 / 3:08 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago Dries Van Noten sells majority stake to Spanish fashion house Puig Reuters Staff 2 Min Read PARIS (Reuters) - Spanish fashion and fragrance group Puig said on Thursday it had taken a majority stake in Belgian brand Dries Van Noten, adding to a portfolio that includes labels like Jean Paul Gaultier. FILE PHOTO: Models present creations by Belgian designer Dries Van Noten as part of his Fall/Winter 2017-2018 women's ready-to-wear collection during Fashion Week in Paris, France March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes In a world dominated by European luxury goods conglomerates such as LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, or Kering ( PRTP.PA ), parent to Gucci and Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten, founded in 1986, was a rare independent brand. Barcelona-based Puig - a family-owned group which has the perfume licence for brands like Prada ( 1913.HK ) and also owns and develops fragrances for Paco Rabanne and Nina Ricci - did not disclose the terms of the deal. Dries Van Noten, who founded the Belgian fashion label, will maintain a minority stake in the brand, Puig said. He will stay on as its creative director. The designer is known for his elegant tailoring and emphasis on coloured prints. Reporting by Sarah White and Pascale Denis. Editing by Jane Merriman|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T18:10:00.000+03:00|Talks over three-way Qatari bank merger collapse|DUBAI, June 14 (Reuters) - Talks to merge three Qatari banks have ended after they were unable to reach an agreement, the lenders said in a joint statement on Thursday. Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan and conventional lenders Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) have been in talks since December 2016 over a potential tie-up. “The three banks could not reach an agreement to complete the transaction,” the lenders said in a bourse statement, without elaborating. Sources close to the matter told Reuters the talks stalled over the past year as shareholders could not agree on valuations and due to client concerns about the possibility of converting IBQ into an Islamic lender. Qatari regulations do not allow a bank to operate both types of lending, so IBQ would have had to convert its business to being Sharia-compliant should the deal have gone ahead. A shake-up has long been mooted in the Qatari banking sector, given that 18 local and international commercial banks serve a population of 2.6 million. The argument for consolidation has become more compelling after a diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, which could further dent bank performance, analysts said. KPMG was advising Masraf Al Rayan on the merger, with Perella Weinberg advising IBQ, the sources said. Credit Suisse was advising Barwa, they added. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Mark Potter)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-14T18:14:00.000+03:00|South African union says strike by white workers at Sasol approved|JOHANNESBURG, June 14 (Reuters) - South African trade union Solidarity said on Thursday it had been cleared to call for a strike at energy firm Sasol over an empowerment scheme it says unfairly excludes white workers. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration issued a certificate to Solidarity which allows its members to strike legally, the union representing mostly skilled workers said in a statement. The company was responsible for “blatant discrimination against loyal Sasol employees,” Solidarity Chief Executive Dirk Hermann said. The union said it would seek a mandate from members to begin a strike. (Reporting by Joe Brock; editing by John Stonestreet)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T18:19:00.000+03:00|Diversified Gas to buy U.S. oil, gas assets for about $575 million|(Reuters) - Diversified Gas & Oil Plc ( DGOC.L ) said on Thursday it planned to buy oil and gas producing assets in the Appalachian Basin for about $575 million, as it bets on the U.S. shale gas boom. The company did not disclose the identity of the seller, but said the deal would be a reverse takeover. The assets, which include about 11,350 wells with current net total gas production of 32,100 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, would more than double its net daily production, the company said. London-listed Diversified Gas, which has a market value of about $300 million, said it would fund the deal through a new $1 billion debt facility and a share sale worth $225 million. The company said the deal is expected to immediately add to earnings and that it would more than double its proven developed producing reserves to 393 mmboe. Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-14T18:34:00.000+03:00|Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Naphtha under pressure; Formosa buys|SINGAPORE, June 14 (Reuters) - Asia's naphtha crack edged up 2 cents to $87 a tonne on Thursday, the highest since June 6, supported by firm demand. - But improving supplies impacted fundamentals and spot naphtha premiums came tumbling down after hitting near four-year highs in late May. - Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp, for instance, bought some 150,000 tonnes of open-specification naphtha for second-half July delivery to Mailiao at premiums of about $8.50 a tonne to its own price formula on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. - The fresh premium was down more than 40 percent versus what Formosa paid on May 24 for cargoes scheduled for first-half July delivery when premiums were at levels not seen since 2014. - The current premium was also the lowest Formosa has paid since late April. * TENDERS: In India, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd sold 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for July 10-12 loading through a tender at about $24 a tonne above Middle East Quote: s on a free-on-board (FOB) basis to Gunvor. - This reflected a fall of at least 20 percent in premium levels versus the average premium MRPL had received for three June cargoes. * CRACKER NEWS: Japan's Osaka Petrochemical Industries Ltd has shut its 500,000-tonne-per-year (tpy) naphtha cracker on Thursday for maintenance which would last until July 24. - Formosa Petrochemical will also be restarting a 700,000 tpy cracker in July as the unit was idled on June 5 for a planned maintenance. * GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack recovered to a three-session high of $6.40 a barrel after it hovered at a five-week low in the last two sessions. - Falling supplies in Asia and the U.S. gave sellers a respite. - Singapore's onshore light distillates stocks, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for petrol, fell 9.8 percent or 1.372 million barrels to a six-week low of 12.628 million barrels in the week to June 13, official data showed. - This came a day after data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. gasoline stocks fell 2.3 million barrels last week. - This contrasted expectations in a Reuters poll for a 443,000-barrel gain. * CASH DEALS: Four gasoline deals but none on naphtha. LIGHT DISTILLATES CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev RIC Close OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 661.50 8.50 1.30 653.00 NAF-1H-TYO OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 651.50 8.50 1.32 643.00 NAF-2H-TYO OSN Naphtha Diff 10.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 NAF-TYO-DIF Naphtha Netback FOB Sing 71.92 0.94 1.32 70.98 NAF-SIN Naphtha Diff FOB Sing 1.20 0.00 0.00 1.20 NAF-SIN-DIF Naphtha-Brent Crack 87.00 0.02 0.02 86.98 NAF-SIN-CRK Gasoline 97 86.20 1.30 1.53 84.90 GL97-SIN Gasoline 95 85.05 1.40 1.67 83.65 GL95-SIN Gasoline 92 83.00 1.45 1.78 81.55 GL92-SIN Gasoline crack 6.40 0.32 5.26 6.08 GL92-SIN-CRK For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. Brent M1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2 Naphtha CFR Japan M2 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M1 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M2 Naphtha FOB Sing M1 Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2 Naphtha FOB Sing M2 Naphtha Cracks M1 East-West Naphtha M1 East-West Naphtha M2 NWE Naphtha M1 NWE Naphtha M1/M2 NWE Naphtha M2 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M1 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M2 *Sing refers to Singapore (Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Sunil Nair)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T18:52:00.000+03:00|France's Teleperformance agrees to buy Intelenet from Blackstone|June 14 (Reuters) - French telemarketing and teleservices provider Teleperformance said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Intelenet from Blackstone. The company says the transaction will completed for a total consideration of $1.0 billion. (Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdynia)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-14T19:14:00.000+03:00|Royal Caribbean to buy majority stake in Silversea Cruises for $1 bln|June 14 (Reuters) - Royal Caribbean Cruises said on Thursday it would buy a near 67 percent stake in privately owned Silversea Cruises for about $1 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at $2 billion. Royal Caribbean said it plans to finance the purchase through debt. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-06-14T19:19:00.000+03:00|Royal Caribbean to buy majority stake in Silversea Cruises for $1 billion|(Reuters) - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ( RCL.N ) said on Thursday it would buy a 66.7 percent stake in privately owned Silversea Cruises for about $1 billion to add ultra-luxury and expedition cruises to its fleet. FILE PHOTO - A view of the world's largest cruise ship of Royal Caribbean Cruises, the 362-metre-long Symphony of the Seas, during its world presentation ceremony, berthed at a port in Malaga, Spain March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jon Nazca Silversea Cruises, which has nine ships, sails to destinations including Antarctica, the Arctic and Greenland, with most of its tickets selling for more than $5,000. In contrast, the most expensive cruises run by Royal Caribbean under its Azamara Club Cruises brand cost around $3,000. “Ultraluxury and expedition cruises are gaps in our portfolio today,” Royal Caribbean Chief Executive Officer Richard Fain said on a conference call. The two segments are the fastest growing areas in the industry that the company could not develop on its own, Fain added in an interview with Reuters. Shares of the U.S. cruise operator rose as much as 7 percent to $115.50, with the company also maintaining its full-year profit forecast despite higher fuel prices and a stronger dollar. Including debt, the deal is valued at $2 billion. Royal Caribbean said it plans to finance the purchase through debt. The 2018 total worldwide ocean cruise industry is estimated to reach $45.6 billion in revenue, a 4.6 percent increase over 2017, according to the industry analytics firm Cruise Market Watch. Royal Caribbean had nearly $9 billion in revenue at the end of 2017. Silversea Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio will get about 472,000 Royal Caribbean shares, payable after the Miami-based company achieves some 2019-2020 performance targets. This translates to about $51 million, based on Royal Caribbean’s closing price on Wednesday. “Silversea had a fantastic plan of growing on its own, but I did realize that the potential that the market was offering Silversea was beyond the means that I could put in place,” Lefebvre d’Ovidio told Reuters. Royal Caribbean does not expect the transaction, which will likely close later in the year, to materially impact its near-term adjusted earnings per share, the company said. Silversea CEO Roberto Martinoli will continue in his role. Perella Weinberg Partners LP was financial adviser to Royal Caribbean and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP provided legal counsel. Barclays Plc was d’Ovidio’s financial adviser and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP provided legal counsel. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-14T19:20:00.000+03:00|Exclusive: Germany's HSH Nordbank says aims to buy shipping loans from other banks|LONDON (Reuters) - Germany’s HSH Nordbank, once the world’s biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry as it emerges from years of turmoil, a top bank official said. FILE PHOTO: The logo of HSH Nordbank is seen in Hamburg, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo The bank’s regional government owners are selling the lender to buyout groups Cerberus Capital Management and J.C. Flowers, with investors GoldenTree, Centaurus Capital and Austrian bank BAWAG ( BAWG.VI ) also taking stakes. “HSH, at the end of this process of privatization, will for the first time since 2008 be restored. We will not have the same restrictions we faced or the pressures to reduce bad debt,” Christian Nieswandt, global head of shipping with HSH Nordbank, told Reuters. “We are looking to re-invest in the shipping space and are looking for high-quality business,” he said, adding the bank had an annual budget of 700 million euros until 2022 to invest in new shipping business, including buying loans from other banks. This is the first time HSH is looking at purchasing shipping loans. “We will not buy non-performing portfolios. We are only looking at performing loans. We are talking to a couple of European banks, which have expressly stated that they want to get rid of parts of their portfolio,” he said. “This is a good way of developing the bank’s shipping portfolio. I have never experienced a period during which so many quality portfolios were for sale.” Segments of the shipping industry, which transports 90 percent of the world’s goods including oil, food and industrial products such as coal and iron ore, are coming out of a near-decade long slump with players looking for opportunities. Finance sources familiar with the matter said HSH was looking at potentially acquiring shipping loans from banks such as Germany’s Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), and could spend up to 100 million euros a year in the period until 2022 on such loan purchases. HSH, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined to comment. Commerzbank, whose shipping exposure stood at 1.8 billion euros at the end of March 2018, has previously said it would exit shipping financing. Deutsche Bank has been looking to shrink its exposure to shipping and other maritime lending, such as port facilities. At the end of March, its exposure to the overall sector stood at 4.1 billion euros, of which 3.3 billion euros were for vessel financing. One of HSH’s future owners Cerberus also holds a 3 percent stake in Deutsche Bank and 5 percent of Commerzbank. Other banks have also been trimming their ship finance business, including Germany’s NordLB [NDLG.DE]. LEARNING LESSONS HSH became the world’s top lender to the shipping industry at height of a sector boom in the 2000s. But it needed two state rescues after the downturn caused by over ordering of ships and global economic turmoil in 2008. Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein bailed out HSH with 3 billion euros in equity and a 10 billion-euro guarantee in 2009. The guarantee was cut to 7 billion euros in 2011, but HSH asked for it to be returned to the original level in 2013. “It is our ambition to invest in performing loans of target customers of HSH Nordbank. Since we know the relevant borrowers, we can create a win-win situation since in many cases the selling bank needs the consent of the customer to sell the transaction,” Nieswandt said. “We have a shipping loan portfolio of roughly 5.5 billion euros and we feel comfortable with this size. This represents roughly 10 percent of the total assets of the bank which is a healthy ratio.” He said HSH wanted to stay in shipping finance, but not to the “same extent as in the past”. “We have learned a lot of lessons,” Nieswandt added. HSH posted a pre-tax loss in 2017 of 453 million euros versus pre-tax net income of 121 million euros in 2016 after being hit by non-performing loans especially in shipping. The completion of HSH’s sale will coincide with the sale to a special purpose vehicle of 6.3 billion euros of non-performing loans from the non-core bank, which will include 4.3 billion euros of toxic shipping loans. “The conditions in the shipping market are now pointing to a level of recovery, which will also help us to grow,” Nieswandt said. “It is my expectation that our international (shipping) business will become more and more important, because in Germany there aren’t that many bankable transactions.” HSH’s public owners are aiming to close the privatization, which still needs approval from the European Central Bank and the European Commission, in coming months. “The new bank will be less complex and smaller with a size of roughly 55 billion euros in total assets. The NPL (non-performing loan) exposure of the new bank will be around 2 percent of that,” Nieswandt said. Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Edmund Blair  |https://www.reuters.com/home|0
2018-06-14T19:27:00.000+03:00|Israel's Netanyahu says drone deal with Germany will strengthen ties|JERUSALEM/BERLIN (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that a roughly one-billion-euro ($1.18 billion) drone deal with Germany would strengthen bilateral security relations and give a boost to Israel’s defense industry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the International Homeland Security Forum conference in Jerusalem, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Germany’s parliament on Wednesday approved the plan to lease Israeli-built surveillance drones for nine years, a sort of stop-gap until a European drone is ready for use around 2025. Agreement on the long-delayed contract also provides some positive news amid recent friction between the countries over their disagreement regarding world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. “It’s a huge deal. It has implications first of all on our defense industry and the Israeli economy, but also the continued strengthening security ties between Germany and Israel,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu. He thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for getting the deal approved in parliament. Israeli defense contractors signed $9.2 billion in export deals in 2017, a 40 percent increase from the year before, but drones accounted for just 2 percent of that. Germany will be receiving Heron TP drones, a high altitude, long-endurance vehicle with multiple-payload capabilities made by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [ISRAI.UL]. The drone program is in two parts – a 177 million euro contract between the German and Israeli governments, and a contract between the German military and Airbus valued at 718 million euros, according to German parliamentary sources. Airbus said on Thursday it had signed the nine-year contract with the BAAINBw procurement arm of the German military, and it would take effect upon publication of the federal budget. The deal calls for the military to pay an additional 100 million euros for the first drone deployment, and 210 million euros for a second deployment. Airbus, which will manage all aspects of the agreement, including operational support and maintenance, in turn awarded a subcontract to IAI worth $600 million. Armin Schmidt-Franke, vice president of the BAAINBw, said the more capable Heron TP drones would significantly improve Germany’s surveillance capabilities and the ability to protect troops on the ground. The drones will become operational after a two-year set-up phase, with German pilots to be trained in Israel, BAAINBw said. A German parliamentary source said it would cost the German military about 250 million euros a year to operate the new drones, compared with around 70 million euros for the less capable Heron drones now in use in Afghanistan and Mali. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Heinrich  |https://www.reuters.com/news/world|0
2018-06-14T20:11:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-France's Teleperformance agrees $1 bln deal to buy Intelenet from Blackstone|June 14, 2018 / 5:14 PM / in 2 days France's Teleperformance agrees $1 billion deal to buy Intelenet from Blackstone Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Teleperformance ( ROCH.PA ) has agreed to buy India-based Intelenet from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone ( BX.N ) in a $1 billion deal aimed at strengthening its specialized services business, the French company said. FILE PHOTO - The logo of Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Intelenet’s operations, including human resources and administration services primarily to the banking, financial services and insurance sectors, will help Teleperformance toward its 2018-22 targets, CEO Daniel Julien said in a statement. Teleperformance has targeted revenue of 6 billion euros ($7 billion) by 2022. The acquisition, combined with the company’s internal growth, is likely to help Teleperformance reach its 2022 targets earlier than planned, Julien said in a conference call. The deal is expected to lift 2018 earnings per share by 10 percent, Teleperformance said, adding that Intelenet posted core earnings of $83 million on revenue of $449 million for the year to March 31 and expects 10 percent growth in its 2019 financial year. The transaction is expected to close by the end of September and will be fully financed through debt provided by BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan and Natixis. The financing could later be covered by a bond issue, subject to market conditions, the company said. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdynia; Editing by David Goodman|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-14T20:23:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sells $1 billion non-performing ship loan portfolio - sources|June 14, 2018 / 5:24 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Deutsche Bank sells $1 billion non-performing ship loan portfolio - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) has found a buyer for the bulk of its bad ship loans as it seeks to draw a line under sour investments in the sector and to start a fresh push in transport lending, people close to the matter said. FILE PHOTO: 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 Germany’s flagship lender has agreed to sell a non-performing ship loan portfolio with a notional value of $1 billion (750.9 million pounds) to investors Oak Hill Advisors and Varde, one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank and Oak Hill declined to comment, while Varde was not immediately available for comment. After the sale of the portfolio only a small volume of bad ship loans remain and Deutsche Bank is poised to start increasing its exposure to the sector again, one of the sources said. Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Saul|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T20:26:00.000+03:00|U.S. State Dept nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals|June 14, 2018 / 5:30 PM / in 18 hours U.S. State Dept nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top State Department Middle East post said on Thursday he would dissuade countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt from weapons deals with Russia that could trigger U.S. sanctions. “I would work with our allies to dissuade them, or encourage them, to avoid military purchases that would be potentially sanctionable,” David Schenker, the nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “In other words, I would tell Saudi Arabia not to do it,” he said. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, had asked Schenker whether he agreed that reported purchases of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile systems by Saudi Arabia and Qatar would trigger U.S. sanctions under a sweeping sanctions law that Congress passed overwhelmingly last year. Menendez also asked Schenker about reports that Egypt planned to buy 50 fighter jets and 46 helicopters from Russia. “These entities who are our allies must understand that under U.S. law ... the purchases of such systems ultimately are sanctionable and we will press very hard on the question of pursuing those sanctions should they choose to do so, and I hope you’ll communicate that in your role,” Menendez said. “Absolutely, senator,” Schenker answered. The sanctions law was passed last year to strike back at Moscow for actions including meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, its aggression in Ukraine and involvement in the Syrian civil war. Among its provisions is a bar on significant transactions with the Russian defense industry. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reportedly been in talks to buy the S-400. But Riyadh reportedly threatened military action against Doha if it went ahead with a deal to buy the systems, prompting Qatar to accuse Saudi Arabia of “feckless behavior” that is tearing apart the pro-Western Gulf bloc. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bernadette Baum) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAegyptNews|0
2018-06-14T20:27:00.000+03:00|State Department nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals|June 14, 2018 / 5:29 PM / Updated 9 hours ago State Department nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top State Department Middle East post said on Thursday he would dissuade countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt from weapons deals with Russia that could trigger U.S. sanctions. “I would work with our allies to dissuade them, or encourage them, to avoid military purchases that would be potentially sanctionable,” David Schenker, the nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “In other words, I would tell Saudi Arabia not to do it,” he said. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, had asked Schenker whether he agreed that reported purchases of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile systems by Saudi Arabia and Qatar would trigger U.S. sanctions under a sweeping sanctions law that Congress passed overwhelmingly last year. Menendez also asked Schenker about reports that Egypt planned to buy 50 fighter jets and 46 helicopters from Russia. “These entities who are our allies must understand that under U.S. law ... the purchases of such systems ultimately are sanctionable and we will press very hard on the question of pursuing those sanctions should they choose to do so, and I hope you’ll communicate that in your role,” Menendez said. “Absolutely, senator,” Schenker answered. The sanctions law was passed last year to strike back at Moscow for actions including meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, its aggression in Ukraine and involvement in the Syrian civil war. Among its provisions is a bar on significant transactions with the Russian defense industry. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reportedly been in talks to buy the S-400. But Riyadh reportedly threatened military action against Doha if it went ahead with a deal to buy the systems, prompting Qatar to accuse Saudi Arabia of “feckless behavior” that is tearing apart the pro-Western Gulf bloc. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bernadette Baum|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/politicsNews/|0
2018-06-14T20:35:00.000+03:00|U.S. State Dept nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals|June 14, 2018 / 5:36 PM / Updated an hour ago U.S. State Dept nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top State Department Middle East post said on Thursday he would dissuade countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt from weapons deals with Russia that could trigger U.S. sanctions. “I would work with our allies to dissuade them, or encourage them, to avoid military purchases that would be potentially sanctionable,” David Schenker, the nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “In other words, I would tell Saudi Arabia not to do it,” he said. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, had asked Schenker whether he agreed that reported purchases of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile systems by Saudi Arabia and Qatar would trigger U.S. sanctions under a sweeping sanctions law that Congress passed overwhelmingly last year. Menendez also asked Schenker about reports that Egypt planned to buy 50 fighter jets and 46 helicopters from Russia. “These entities who are our allies must understand that under U.S. law ... the purchases of such systems ultimately are sanctionable and we will press very hard on the question of pursuing those sanctions should they choose to do so, and I hope you’ll communicate that in your role,” Menendez said. “Absolutely, senator,” Schenker answered. The sanctions law was passed last year to strike back at Moscow for actions including meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, its aggression in Ukraine and involvement in the Syrian civil war. Among its provisions is a bar on significant transactions with the Russian defence industry. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reportedly been in talks to buy the S-400. But Riyadh reportedly threatened military action against Doha if it went ahead with a deal to buy the systems, prompting Qatar to accuse Saudi Arabia of “feckless behaviour” that is tearing apart the pro-Western Gulf bloc. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bernadette Baum|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-14T20:35:00.000+03:00|U.S. State Dept nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals|June 14, 2018 / 5:41 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago U.S. State Dept nominee would warn Saudi, Qatar, Egypt against Russia military deals Reuters Staff 2 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top State Department Middle East post said on Thursday he would dissuade countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt from weapons deals with Russia that could trigger U.S. sanctions. “I would work with our allies to dissuade them, or encourage them, to avoid military purchases that would be potentially sanctionable,” David Schenker, the nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “In other words, I would tell Saudi Arabia not to do it,” he said. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, had asked Schenker whether he agreed that reported purchases of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile systems by Saudi Arabia and Qatar would trigger U.S. sanctions under a sweeping sanctions law that Congress passed overwhelmingly last year. Menendez also asked Schenker about reports that Egypt planned to buy 50 fighter jets and 46 helicopters from Russia. “These entities who are our allies must understand that under U.S. law ... the purchases of such systems ultimately are sanctionable and we will press very hard on the question of pursuing those sanctions should they choose to do so, and I hope you’ll communicate that in your role,” Menendez said. “Absolutely, senator,” Schenker answered. The sanctions law was passed last year to strike back at Moscow for actions including meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, its aggression in Ukraine and involvement in the Syrian civil war. Among its provisions is a bar on significant transactions with the Russian defence industry. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reportedly been in talks to buy the S-400. But Riyadh reportedly threatened military action against Doha if it went ahead with a deal to buy the systems, prompting Qatar to accuse Saudi Arabia of “feckless behaviour” that is tearing apart the pro-Western Gulf bloc. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bernadette Baum 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-14T20:49:00.000+03:00|UK government proposes three scenarios for parliament vote on Brexit deal|June 14, 2018 / 5:51 PM / Updated 11 hours ago UK government proposes three scenarios for parliament vote on Brexit deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit department set out its proposed compromise with pro-European Union MPs on Thursday, outlining three scenarios under which a vote in parliament on its European union exit deal would be triggered. Anti-Brexit demonstrators wave Union and EU flags opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson “This ensures that in all circumstances parliament can hold government to account, while also allowing government to deliver on the will of the British people as expressed in the referendum,” a Brexit department spokesman said. “We have included three situations which would trigger a vote in both Houses: a) should parliament reject the government’s deal with the EU, b) that no agreement can be reached, or, c) there is no deal agreed by the 21 January 2019.” Reporting by William James; Editing by Alison Williams|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|0
2018-06-14T20:49:00.000+03:00|Slovenia fund to sell state's stake in Gorenje to China's Hisense|LJUBLJANA, June 14 (Reuters) - Slovenian state-owned investment fund KAD, which manages some of state assets, will sell its stake in household appliances maker Gorenje to China’s Hisense Electric, the government said on Thursday. Hisense announced a takeover bid for Gorenje last month, offering 12 euros per share which values the company at about 293 million euros ($344.01 million). KAD owns 16.4 percent of Gorenje, which is one of Slovenia’s largest exporters, and will get almost 48 million euros for its stake. “The government ... does not oppose the sale (of KAD’s stake in Gorenje),” it said in a statement after its regular weekly meeting. Hisense has already acquired more than 60 percent of Gorenje as part of its takeover bid which expires on June 26, local media reported. $1 = 0.8517 euros Reporting by Marja Novak; editing by Jason Neely  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T20:55:00.000+03:00|Italy won't ratify EU free-trade deal with Canada: farm minister|MILAN (Reuters) - Italy will not ratify the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada, its new agriculture minister said on Thursday, ratcheting up an international trade spat and potentially scuppering the EU’s biggest accord in years. FILE PHOTO: Italy's Minister of Agriculture Gian Marco Centinaio is seen during the sworn-in ceremony at the Quirinal palace in Rome, Italy, June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first major trade deal the European Union has signed since it began implementing its South Korea agreement in 2011. All 28 EU member states must approve the agreement for it to take full effect. In an interview with daily La Stampa, Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said the Italian government would ask the parliament not to ratify the treaty since it does not ensure sufficient protection for the country’s speciality foods. “We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products,” Centinaio told the newspaper. “Doubts over this agreement are shared by many of my European colleagues.” The European Commission said it was working closely with EU members to ensure that the trade accord was mutually beneficial. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters in Washington: “I’m confident we will have full ratification in the end, and the important thing is this agreement has entered into force as an economic matter.” Of the 28 European Union countries, Italy has the most food products with PDO and PGI labels, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham. Under CETA, Canada has recognized more than 40 Italian PDO and PGI labels out of a total of 292 for the food-obsessed country. “WRONG AND RISKY” Coldiretti, the influential association of Italian agricultural companies, backed Centinaio’s intention, saying in a statement CETA was “wrong and risky” for Italy. It said Italian food exports, equal to 41 billion euros last year, could triple with a serious fight against international food counterfeiting. The treaty entered into force on a provisional basis in September 2017, sweeping away tariffs on a large number of goods and widening access to Canadian beef in Europe and EU cheese and wine in Canada. Its supporters say it would increase trade between the partners by 20 percent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion euros ($14 billion) a year and Canada’s by C$12 billion ($9 billion). Some farm associations and critics in European states have expressed concerns about the threat of rapidly rising pork and beef imports from Canada. Coldiretti also mentioned risks posed by the annulment of duties on Canadian wheat, a country where the herbicide glyphosate can be used. Centinaio belongs to the far-right League party and is considered close to its leader and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini is emerging as the pivot in the new government that the League formed this month with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement. The minister was not immediately available to comment on the interview and it was not possible to get a reaction from the office of the prime minister on the issue. The government program that forms the basis of the League-5-Star coalition mentioned CETA, saying the executive would oppose “the aspects (of the treaty) that imply an excessive weakening of the protection of citizens’ rights”. The government’s program also pledged to “protect the highest-quality products of Made in Italy”. Italy’s challenge to CETA comes after U.S. President Donald Trump backed out of a joint communique agreed by Group of Seven leaders in Canada at the weekend that mentioned the need for “free, fair and mutually beneficial” trade and the importance of fighting protectionism. The United States has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union and is weighing up the possibility of slapping additional duties on automobile imports. Trump says his tariffs are meant to protect U.S. industry and workers from unfair international competition as part of his “America First” agenda. Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and Andrea Hopkins in Ottawa; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Catherine Evans  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T21:03:00.000+03:00|Rare Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $9.6 million in New York|"June 14, 2018 / 11:03 PM / in 10 hours Rare Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $9.6 million in New York Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - A first edition of John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America,” one of the most celebrated books of natural history, sold for $9.65 million at auction in New York on Thursday, Christie’s said. FILE PHOTO: A first edition of John James Audubon's ""The Birds of America"" is shown during a preview at Christie's auction house in New York, in this January 13, 2012 picture. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo The richly illustrated 19th century book, featuring more than 400 hand-coloured illustrations of 1,037 life-size birds, was one of just 13 complete sets thought to be remaining in private hands. Christie’s described the set as “among the most superlative copies in private hands of the finest colour-plate book ever produced.” It said the price, paid by a buyer who wished to remain anonymous, was the second highest sum paid for the book at auction. Another of the complete sets went for $10.27 million in 2010. Audubon’s “The Birds of America” was first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838 and represented his years-long mission to find and paint all the known species of birds in North America. The book that was sold on Thursday was owned by U.S. businessman and naturist Carl W. Knobloch Jr., who died in 2016. Proceeds from the sale will benefit conservation of plants, animals and natural habitats through the work of the Knobloch Family Foundation. Slideshow (2 Images)"|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-14T21:18:00.000+03:00|Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger|(Reuters) - Broadcom Inc ( AVGO.O ) said it had laid off about 1,100 employees across its businesses to cut costs after its merger with Brocade Communications Systems. FILE PHOTO: A sign to the campus offices of chip maker Broadcom Ltd, is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File photo The chipmaker completed its $5.5 billion acquisition of network gear maker Brocade in November. Broadcom is further evaluating its resources and may terminate additional positions, it said in a regulatory filing here Broadcom said it had incurred $143 million in restructuring charges, primarily employee termination costs, during the first two quarters of its fiscal 2018. The company is expected to pay majority of its employee termination costs in the third quarter. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel  |https://in.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-14T21:44:00.000+03:00|Dries Van Noten sells majority stake to Spanish fashion house Puig|PARIS (Reuters) - Spanish fashion and fragrance group Puig said on Thursday it had taken a majority stake in Belgian brand Dries Van Noten, adding to a portfolio that includes labels like Jean Paul Gaultier. FILE PHOTO: Models present creations by Belgian designer Dries Van Noten as part of his Fall/Winter 2017-2018 women's ready-to-wear collection during Fashion Week in Paris, France March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo In a world dominated by European luxury goods conglomerates such as LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, or Kering ( PRTP.PA ), parent to Gucci and Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten, founded in 1986, was a rare independent brand. Barcelona-based Puig - a family-owned group which has the perfume license for brands like Prada ( 1913.HK ) and also owns and develops fragrances for Paco Rabanne and Nina Ricci - did not disclose the terms of the deal. Dries Van Noten, who founded the Belgian fashion label, will maintain a minority stake in the brand, Puig said. He will stay on as its creative director. The designer is known for his elegant tailoring and emphasis on colored prints. Reporting by Sarah White and Pascale Denis. Editing by Jane Merriman  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T21:47:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Deutsche Bank sells $1 bln non-performing ship loan portfolio -sources|FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) has found a buyer for the bulk of its bad ship loans as it seeks to draw a line under sour investments in the sector and to start a fresh push in transport lending, people close to the matter said. FILE PHOTO: 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/File Photo Germany’s flagship lender has agreed to sell a non-performing ship loan portfolio with a notional value of $1 billion to investors Oak Hill Advisors and Varde, one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank and Oak Hill declined to comment, while Varde was not immediately available for comment. There was no word on the price tag for the bundle of loans. Finance sources said the portfolio was expected to include some performing loans from shipowners rather than just distressed debt. “Deutsche has made various efforts to try and reconfigure parts of its portfolio including sales over the past two years. But for various reasons it has not happened. This time round they have been more focused and decisive,” one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank has been looking to shrink its exposure to shipping and other maritime lending, such as port facilities, over the last couple of years. At the end of March, its exposure to the overall sector stood at 4.1 billion euros, of which 3.3 billion euros were for vessel financing. Exploiting German rules that gave tax credits to owners of container ships, German lenders had become some of the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years. Two years ago they were estimated to be behind roughly a quarter of the world’s $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans, although German banks’ share has since decreased as they have cut their exposure amid heavy writedowns. The clean-up of its transport financing book is part of Deutsche Bank’s deep overhaul, which also includes plans to reduce headcount to below 90,000 from 97,000. Christian Sewing, who became CEO in an abrupt management reshuffle in April, has said while the bank was committed to its international presence, it now wants to scale back its global investment bank and refocus on Europe and its home market after three consecutive years of losses. After the sale of the sour shipping portfolio only a small volume of non-performing ship loans remains and Deutsche Bank is poised to start increasing its exposure to the sector again, one of the sources said. In a sign that other banks are also rekindling interest in a sector that is emerging from its worst slump on record, Germany’s HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL], once the world’s biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry. HSH Nordbank had needed two bailouts, partly due to its high-risk shipping book, and was privatized earlier this year with taxpayers nursing losses of more than 10 billion euros. Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Saul  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-14T21:49:00.000+03:00|Israel's Together signs $300 mln Canadian cannabis deal|JERUSALEM, June 14 (Reuters) - Israel’s Together said on Thursday it signed a binding two-year deal worth at least $300 million to supply cannabis products to an unnamed Canadian company. The Canadian firm will buy from Together subsidiary Globus Pharma 5 to 50 tonnes of dried cannabis inflorescences in 2019, which is equivalent to 500 kilograms to 5 tonnes of medical cannabis oil. In 2020, the company, which has a licence to grow, manufacture and import medical cannabis in Canada, will buy another 20 to 50 tonnes of dried flowers, or up to 5 tonnes of cannabis oil. It will pay at least $3 for 1 gram of dried inflorescences, or a minimum of $30,000 for 1 kg of cannabis oil, Together said. Canada approved medical pot in 2001 and will legalize recreational use by July. Together CEO Nissim Bracha said the deal, which was originally agreed upon in April, will bring in high revenue. “We intend to supply cannabis from our farm in Israel or Africa, both of which are being developed and are expected to begin supplying products in the first quarter of 2019,” he said. He noted that while Together expects to receive an export licence from Israel’s government, the company is considering establishing an additional farm outside of Israel given growing demand. Israel’s government ministers are split on whether to approve export licenses for cannabis firms. “The combination of the extremely low costs of the Israeli cannabis with the extremely high quality it has gives Israel a huge advantage which I’m not sure the government fully understands,” Bracha said. “Israel has to wake up and approve exports or else it will lose its competitive advantage, and instead of having the global money come into Israel, it will go somewhere else.” Investors have piled into cannabis stocks such as Canadian producers Aurora and Canopy Growth, as many countries consider legalizing marijuana at least for medicinal purposes. Shares of Together, which has a market value of 400 million shekels ($111.1 million), were up 9 percent on Thursday in Tel Aviv and have soared nearly 600 percent so far in 2018. $1 = 3.6005 shekels Reporting by Steven Scheer Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T21:50:00.000+03:00|Crypto-startup Paxos wins NY approval to trade ether, litecoin|June 14 (Reuters) - Crypto currency startup Paxos Trust on Thursday has been authorised by the state of New York to trade cryptocurrencies such as ether, litecoin, stellar lumens and bitcoin cash on its exchange. The state’s Department of Financial Services also granted Xapo Inc a virtual currency license to offer digital wallet and a vault service to store bitcoins. Paxos, a blockchain and cryptocurrency startup, was founded in 2012 as bitcoin exchange itBit. It later rebranded to Paxos and pivoted into a business focused on providing services using blockchain, the technology underpinning virtual currency. Most recently Paxos has sought to revive the cryptocurrency side of its business, in a bid to take advantage of an explosion in crypto-trading sparked by a rally in prices. New York, last month, also authorised internet entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss-founded firm, Gemini Trust, to offer trading of privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T21:53:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sells $1 billion non-performing ship loan portfolio - sources|June 14, 2018 / 5:24 PM / Updated an hour ago Deutsche Bank sells $1 billion non-performing ship loan portfolio - sources Arno Schuetze , Jonathan Saul 3 Min Read FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) has found a buyer for the bulk of its bad ship loans as it seeks to draw a line under sour investments in the sector and to start a fresh push in transport lending, people close to the matter said. FILE PHOTO: 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 Germany’s flagship lender has agreed to sell a non-performing ship loan portfolio with a notional value of $1 billion (£752.5 million) to investors Oak Hill Advisors and Varde, one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank and Oak Hill declined to comment, while Varde was not immediately available for comment. There was no word on the price tag for the bundle of loans. Finance sources said the portfolio was expected to include some performing loans from shipowners rather than just distressed debt. “Deutsche has made various efforts to try and reconfigure parts of its portfolio including sales over the past two years. But for various reasons it has not happened. This time round they have been more focussed and decisive,” one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank has been looking to shrink its exposure to shipping and other maritime lending, such as port facilities, over the last couple of years. At the end of March, its exposure to the overall sector stood at 4.1 billion euros (£3.5 billion), of which 3.3 billion euros were for vessel financing. Exploiting German rules that gave tax credits to owners of container ships, German lenders had become some of the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years. Two years ago they were estimated to be behind roughly a quarter of the world’s $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans, although German banks’s share has since decreased as they have cut their exposure amid heavy writedowns. The clean-up of its transport financing book is part of Deutsche Bank’s deep overhaul, which also includes plans to reduce headcount to below 90,000 from 97,000. Christian Sewing, who became CEO in an abrupt management reshuffle in April, has said while the bank was committed to its international presence, it now wants to scale back its global investment bank and refocus on Europe and its home market after three consecutive years of losses. After the sale of the sour shipping portfolio only a small volume of non-performing ship loans remains and Deutsche Bank is poised to start increasing its exposure to the sector again, one of the sources said. In a sign that other banks are also rekindling interest in a sector that is emerging from its worst slump on record, Germany’s HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL], once the world’s biggest ship financier, aims to buy shipping loans from other banks and make new investments in the industry. HSH Nordbank had needed two bailouts, partly due to its high-risk shipping book, and was privatised earlier this year with taxpayers nursing losses of more than 10 billion euros. Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Saul|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-14T22:18:00.000+03:00|Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit -papers|June 14, 2018 / 7:20 PM / 2 days ago Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit -papers Reuters Staff 1 Min Read VIENNA, June 14 (Reuters) - Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko has reached a deal to buy Steinhoff’s Austrian unit Kika/Leiner, saving the division from bankruptcy, two Austrian newspapers reported on Thursday. Daily Die Presse and tabloid Oesterreich quoted anonymous sources close to the talks as saying a deal had been reached. Oesterreich said the purchase price was roughly 500 million euros ($580 million) and the company would receive an injection of 100 million euros. A spokeswoman for Kika/Leiner declined to comment on the reports. A spokesman for Benko was not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.8627 euros) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle and Francois Murphy Editing by Alexandra Hudson) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-14T22:32:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit -papers|June 14, 2018 / 7:35 PM / in 3 hours UPDATE 2-Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit Reuters Staff * Austrian investor pays around 500 mln euros -local media * Kika/Leiner did not manage to find new credit insurer * Contract details to be fixed within the next days (Adds confirmation from Steinhoff, detail, background) By Kirsti Knolle VIENNA, June 14 (Reuters) - Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko has reached a deal to buy Steinhoff’s Kika/Leiner furniture and household goods retail unit, saving it from bankruptcy, Kika/Leiner said on Thursday. Steinhoff revealed holes in its accounts six months ago, shocking investors who had backed its reinvention, sending its shares crashing and leaving it scrambling to pay its debts. “With great pleasure we can announce that the offer laid out by the Signa Group has been accepted by the Steinhoff Group,” Kika/Leiner’s managing director Gunnar George said in a statement. All contractual details would be fixed within the next few days, he said, without providing a purchase price. Daily Oesterreich said Signa would pay roughly 500 million euros ($580 million) and the company would receive an injection of 100 million euros. Kika/Leiner, which lost credit insurance cover two weeks ago, makes annual revenue of roughly 800 million euros in Austria with around 5,400 employees in 50 stores, George said in January. It generates around 200 million euros with 1,600 staff in its other, mainly eastern European markets, George said at the time. It was not clear whether Signa agreed to also buy that business. Targeting upmarket as well as price-conscious customers with a broad product range, Kika/Leiner has a market share of around 20 percent in its home market. In comparison with rivals such as Ikea, the group has catching up to do in online sales, experts say. It needs further funding besides a turnaround plan focusing on reducing product range and headcount, Steinhoff said in a presentation last month. The unit’s marketability and fair value were not currently possible to assess, it said. Benko controls a 12 billion euro real estate portfolio and generates annual revenue of 4 billion euros with retail businesses via his Signa Holding, according to his website. Benko already bought Kika/Leiner’s flagship store in central Vienna shortly after the Steinhoff crisis erupted in December. Benko’s Signa runs more than 125 retail stores, including German department store Karstadt, and several online sports goods retailers, which it plans to list in autumn, according to sources. It has not been engaged in furniture retail so far. Canadian department store operator Hudson Bay said in February it rejected a 3 billion euro bid from Benko for its German Kaufhof unit. On Tuesday, Steinhoff creditors agreed to give it more time to restructure 9 billion euros ($11 billion) in debt. Holders of 2.7 billion euros in three convertible bonds backed a debt standstill agreement, the company said. A spokesman for Benko was not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.8627 euro) (Additional reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Alexandra Hudson and Leslie Adler) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-14T22:32:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit -papers|* Kika/Leiner did not manage to find new credit insurer * Contract details to be fixed within the next days (Adds confirmation from Steinhoff, detail, background) By Kirsti Knolle VIENNA, June 14 (Reuters) - Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko has reached a deal to buy Steinhoff’s Kika/Leiner furniture and household goods retail unit, saving it from bankruptcy, Kika/Leiner said on Thursday. Steinhoff revealed holes in its accounts six months ago, shocking investors who had backed its reinvention, sending its shares crashing and leaving it scrambling to pay its debts. “With great pleasure we can announce that the offer laid out by the Signa Group has been accepted by the Steinhoff Group,” Kika/Leiner’s managing director Gunnar George said in a statement. All contractual details would be fixed within the next few days, he said, without providing a purchase price. Daily Oesterreich said Signa would pay roughly 500 million euros ($580 million) and the company would receive an injection of 100 million euros. Kika/Leiner, which lost credit insurance cover two weeks ago, makes annual revenue of roughly 800 million euros in Austria with around 5,400 employees in 50 stores, George said in January. It generates around 200 million euros with 1,600 staff in its other, mainly eastern European markets, George said at the time. It was not clear whether Signa agreed to also buy that business. Targeting upmarket as well as price-conscious customers with a broad product range, Kika/Leiner has a market share of around 20 percent in its home market. In comparison with rivals such as Ikea, the group has catching up to do in online sales, experts say. It needs further funding besides a turnaround plan focusing on reducing product range and headcount, Steinhoff said in a presentation last month. The unit’s marketability and fair value were not currently possible to assess, it said. Benko controls a 12 billion euro real estate portfolio and generates annual revenue of 4 billion euros with retail businesses via his Signa Holding, according to his website. Benko already bought Kika/Leiner’s flagship store in central Vienna shortly after the Steinhoff crisis erupted in December. Benko’s Signa runs more than 125 retail stores, including German department store Karstadt, and several online sports goods retailers, which it plans to list in autumn, according to sources. It has not been engaged in furniture retail so far. Canadian department store operator Hudson Bay said in February it rejected a 3 billion euro bid from Benko for its German Kaufhof unit. On Tuesday, Steinhoff creditors agreed to give it more time to restructure 9 billion euros ($11 billion) in debt. Holders of 2.7 billion euros in three convertible bonds backed a debt standstill agreement, the company said. A spokesman for Benko was not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.8627 euro) (Additional reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Alexandra Hudson and Leslie Adler)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|1
2018-06-14T22:45:00.000+03:00|PM May agrees compromise deal with pro-EU MPs on Brexit legislation - source|LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has reached a deal with pro-EU MPs over the wording of a compromise on the government’s Brexit legislation, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May returns to Downing Street from the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville May and the pro-EU rebels were meeting before a 1600 GMT deadline to thrash out details of a compromise on the extent to which parliament can influence the exit negotiations. Ministers offered to find a compromise on Tuesday to avoid a defeat in parliament. Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T23:09:00.000+03:00|U.S. to sell $5 billion in reopened 30-year TIPS next week|WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of reopened 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities next week, see: here Washington economics team  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T23:14:00.000+03:00|U.S. to sell $116 billion in 3-month, 6-month, 52-week bills|WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury’s auction of 3-month, 6-month and 52-week bills next week, see: 3-month bills here 6-month bills here 52-week bills here Washington economics team  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-14T23:25:00.000+03:00|BHP approves $2.9 billion spend on iron ore project|LONDON (Reuters) - BHP on Thursday approved spending $2.9 billion to develop its Western Australian South Flank iron ore project in the central Pilbara, and said the quality of the mineral would raise the overall grade of its regional output. The project, which should produce its first ore in 2021, will fully replace production from the 80 million tonnes-per-year Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life. In a statement BHP, which has an 85 percent stake in South Flank, said the quality of the ore would take the average grade for the company’s Western Australian iron ore to 62 percent from 61 percent. Fellow Anglo-Australian major miner Rio Tinto is ramping up a new iron ore mine at Silvergrass, also in the Pilbara, and also high grade. Mining executives say China is increasingly demanding high quality ore, which commands a premium and limits pollution as less rock needs to be processed, although an analysis of Reuters data shows the country is struggling to obtain it. Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Editing by Alexandra Hudson  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-15T00:23:00.000+03:00|U.S. Justice Department agrees to allow AT&T to close Time Warner deal pending potential appeal|"June 14, 2018 / 9:28 PM / 4 days ago AT&T closes $85 billion deal for Time Warner Diane Bartz , David Shepardson 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc, the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc after U.S. antitrust regulators indicated they would not seek a delay. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by President Donald Trump. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department, but won approval from a judge to move forward with the deal on Tuesday following a six-week trial. The Justice Department still has 60 days to appeal the decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, even though the deal has closed. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the deal to marry AT&T’s wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner’s movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law. The Justice Department had argued the deal would harm consumers. U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner’s CNN coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. In its lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, filed in November 2017, the Justice Department said that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The AT&T ruling is expected to trigger a wave of mergers in the media sector, which has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google. The first to come was Comcast Corp’s $65 billion bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. AT&T had been worried about closing its deal ahead of a June 21 deadline if the government won a stay pending an appeal. Any stay could take the deal beyond a June 21 deadline for completing the merger, which could allow Time Warner to walk away or renegotiate the proposed transaction with AT&T. The government may have a difficult time winning on appeal because of the way Judge Leon wrote his opinion, four antitrust experts said. “I don’t think this would be overturned. It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion,” said Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon found little to support the government's arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling the evidence for one argument against the deal ""gossamer thin"" and another ""poppycock."" The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-15T00:23:00.000+03:00|U.S. Justice Department agrees to allow AT&T to close Time Warner deal pending potential appeal|WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. government and AT&T Inc agreed on Thursday on conditions that would allow the wireless company to close its deal for Time Warner Inc while the Justice Department considers a potential appeal. In a joint filing, the two sides asked the judge to authorize the companies to close their $85 billion merger pending the potential appeal. AT&T agreed, as one condition, to manage the Turner networks separately until Feb. 28, 2019 or the conclusion of the case, according to a court filing. (Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-15T00:28:00.000+03:00|U.S. Justice Department agrees to allow AT&T to close Time Warner deal pending potential appeal|"June 14, 2018 / 9:26 PM / Updated 5 hours ago AT&T closes $85 billion deal for Time Warner Diane Bartz , David Shepardson 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc, the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc after U.S. antitrust regulators indicated they would not seek a delay. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by President Donald Trump. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department, but won approval from a judge to move forward with the deal on Tuesday following a six-week trial. The Justice Department still has 60 days to appeal the decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, even though the deal has closed. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the deal to marry AT&T’s wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner’s movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law. The Justice Department had argued the deal would harm consumers. U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner’s CNN coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. In its lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, filed in November 2017, the Justice Department said that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The AT&T ruling is expected to trigger a wave of mergers in the media sector, which has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google. The first to come was Comcast Corp’s $65 billion bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. AT&T had been worried about closing its deal ahead of a June 21 deadline if the government won a stay pending an appeal. Any stay could take the deal beyond a June 21 deadline for completing the merger, which could allow Time Warner to walk away or renegotiate the proposed transaction with AT&T. The government may have a difficult time winning on appeal because of the way Judge Leon wrote his opinion, four antitrust experts said. “I don’t think this would be overturned. It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion,” said Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon found little to support the government's arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling the evidence for one argument against the deal ""gossamer thin"" and another ""poppycock."" The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker"|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-15T00:36:00.000+03:00|BHP approves $2.9 billion spend on iron ore project|LONDON (Reuters) - BHP on Thursday approved spending $2.9 billion to develop its Western Australian South Flank iron ore project in the central Pilbara, and said the quality of the mineral would raise the overall grade of its regional output. FILE PHOTO: BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie is silhouetted against a screen projecting the company's logo at a round table meeting with journalists in Tokyo, Japan June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon The project, which should produce its first ore in 2021, will fully replace production from the 80 million tonnes-per-year Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life. In a statement BHP, which has an 85 percent stake in South Flank, said the quality of the ore would take the average grade for the company’s Western Australian iron ore to 62 percent from 61 percent. Its Japanese partners Itochu Corp, which has an 8 percent stake in the project, and Mitsui & Co Ltd, with 7 percent, will spend $270 million and $240 million respectively, bringing the total development cost to $3.4 billion, they said. Fellow Anglo-Australian major miner Rio Tinto is ramping up a new iron ore mine at Silvergrass, also in the Pilbara, and also high grade. Mining executives say China is increasingly demanding high quality ore, which commands a premium and limits pollution as less rock needs to be processed, although an analysis of Reuters data shows the country is struggling to obtain it. Reporting by Barbara Lewis Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi in TOKYO; Editing by Alexandra Hudson  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-15T00:44:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 14)|BRUSSELS, June 14 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — German companies Thyssen Alfa and Max Aicher Recycling to acquire joint control of Noris Metallrecycling (approved June 14) NEW LISTINGS — German copper products maker Wieland-Werke to acquire German copper smelter Aurubis’ flat rolled products unit Products Schwermetall (notified June 13/deadline July 18) — South Korean consumer electronics company LG Electronics to acquire Austrian car light maker ZKW Holding GmbH (notified June 13/deadline July 18/simplified) — Japanese property developer MEC to acquire joint control of Sime Darby MIT Development Sdn Bhd, which is a joint venture by Japanese trading house Mitsui and Sime Darby Property Sungai Kapar (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — German mail order company Kaiser+Kraft and German tool maker Hoffmann to acquire joint control of Germany company Simple System GmbH & Co KG (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 15 — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (notified May 7/deadline June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (notified May 7/deadline June 15) JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 25 — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Italian motorway operator Atlantia and German builder ACS Hochtief to jointly acquire Spanish construction company Abertis Infraestructuras (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 11 — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) JULY 12 — French energy company Total directo acquire French power utility Direct Energie (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Private equity firm Partners Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to have joint control of U.S.software company GlobalLogic which is now jointly controlled by CPPIB and private equity firm Apax Partners (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) JULY 13 — Private equity firm Advent International to acquire generics drugmaker Zentiva from French healthcare group Sanofi (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Italian company Snam to acquire Greek gas grid operator DESFA (notified June 8/July 13/simplified) — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) JULY 16 — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of British healthcare provider Heath and Protection Solutions Ltd (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Private equity firm Apollo Management to acquire Belgian insurer Generali Belgium (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Irish fresh food producer Total Produce to acquire a 45-percent stake in U.S. peer Dole Food Company (notified June 11/deadline July 16) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) OCT 17 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 12 after the European Commission opens an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|1
2018-06-15T00:45:00.000+03:00|Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger|(Reuters) - Broadcom Inc ( AVGO.O ) said it had laid off about 1,100 employees across its businesses to cut costs after its merger with Brocade Communications Systems. FILE PHOTO: A sign to the campus offices of chip maker Broadcom Ltd, is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File photo The chipmaker completed its $5.5 billion acquisition of network gear maker Brocade in November. Broadcom is further evaluating its resources and may terminate additional positions, it said in a regulatory filing here Broadcom said it had incurred $143 million in restructuring charges, primarily employee termination costs, during the first two quarters of its fiscal 2018. The company is expected to pay majority of its employee termination costs in the third quarter. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-15T00:49:00.000+03:00|AT&T to close Time Warner deal but government does not rule out appeal|"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc, the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc after it reached an agreement with U.S. antitrust regulators. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by President Donald Trump. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department, but won approval from a judge to move forward with the deal on Tuesday following a six-week trial. The Justice Department still has 60 days to appeal the decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon. AT&T agreed to temporarily manage Time Warner’s Turner networks separately from DirecTV, including setting prices and managing personnel, as part of the deal approved by Judge Richard Leon late Thursday. The conditions agreed to by AT&T would remain in effect until Feb. 28, 2019, the conclusion of the case or an appeal. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the deal to marry AT&T&rsquo;s wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner’s movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law. The Justice Department had argued the deal would harm consumers. U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner’s CNN coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. The fact that Turner, which includes CNN, will be run separately from DirecTV makes a stay unnecessary, said Seth Bloom, a veteran of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division who is now in private practice. In its lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, filed in November 2017, the Justice Department said that AT&T&rsquo;s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” “This is clearly leaving open the door for the DOJ (Justice Department) to appeal,” Bloom said. “If Turner is run separately, they don’t really need a stay.” The AT&T ruling is expected to trigger a wave of mergers in the media sector, which has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google. The first to come was Comcast Corp’s $65 billion bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. AT&T had been worried about closing its deal ahead of a June 21 deadline if the government won a stay pending an appeal. Any stay could take the deal beyond a June 21 deadline for completing the merger, which could allow Time Warner to walk away or renegotiate the proposed transaction with AT&T. The government may have a difficult time winning on appeal because of the way Judge Leon wrote his opinion, four antitrust experts said. “I don’t think this would be overturned. It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion,” said Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE after a six-week trial, Leon found little to support the government's arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling the evidence for one argument against the deal ""gossamer thin"" and another ""poppycock."" The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker  "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-15T00:53:00.000+03:00|Czech parties edge towards coalition deal after months of stalemate|PRAGUE (Reuters) - Members of the Czech centre-left Social Democrat party have voted to join a coalition with the dominant centrist ANO group, a major step towards ending more than eight months of stalemate after an inconclusive election. Newly appointed Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis speaks to media at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny Social Democrat (CSSD) chief Jan Hamacek said on Friday that nearly 60 percent of those who voted in a party referendum backed the plan. Dissenters did not want to join a government led by ANO chief Andrej Babis, who is facing a fraud investigation. “I see the mandate as very strong... We have to focus on contributing together to creating a stable government and to push our priorities in the government,” Hamacek told reporters. Babis, who is being investigated by police looking into the alleged abuse of a 2 million euro EU subsidy a decade ago, has struggled to find anyone to team up with him in power since his party won nearly 30 percent of the vote last October. He has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a plot against him. The two parties already served together in a three-party coalition in 2014-2017, led by the Social Democrats who were then the biggest party but suffered big losses to ANO in the 2017 election. Babis welcomed the outcome of the vote, adding he would submit his proposed new cabinet to the president on Sunday. An ANO-CSSD government would have 93 votes in the 200-seat lower house and would have to rely on support from the anti-NATO, pro-Russian Communist party to survive the confidence vote that always takes place after a cabinet is appointed. Babis said the vote could take place on July 11. COMMUNIST SUPPORT The Communists have indicated they would vote for the cabinet, although Babis has refused to bow to some of their policy demands such as scaling back Czech participation in NATO foreign military missions. Babis has pledged to keep the country on a firmly pro-Western course despite the pending deal with the Communists, who have had no role in national government since their totalitarian rule ended in 1989. On Friday, the Communist leadership approved a list of conditions for the party’s support for the cabinet, including protection of natural resources and increases in the minimum wage and pensions. It will make a final decision on whether to back the government by the end of June. Babis has already promised to raise public sector wages and boost infrastructure investments while cutting taxes. The Czech Republic ran public finance surpluses in the past two years, allowing looser fiscal policy. The Communists will have an ally in pro-Russian President Milos Zeman in pushing the government’s direction in areas such as energy, where the next cabinet is due to decide on enlarging two existing nuclear power plants. The deal, worth billions of dollars, would be the Czech Republic’s biggest investment and Russia is a leading contender for participation in the project. Babis has served as prime minister in a caretaker capacity since his first, one-party cabinet lost a confidence vote in January. Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Editing by Gareth Jones  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-15T00:55:00.000+03:00|AT&T to close Time Warner deal but government does not rule out appeal|"June 14, 2018 / 9:28 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago AT&T closes $85 billion deal for Time Warner Diane Bartz , David Shepardson 4 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc ( T.N ), the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion (£64.1 billion) deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) after it reached an agreement with U.S. antitrust regulators. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by President Donald Trump. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department, but won approval from a judge to move forward with the deal on Tuesday following a six-week trial. The Justice Department still has 60 days to appeal the decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon. AT&T agreed to temporarily manage Time Warner’s Turner networks separately from DirecTV, including setting prices and managing personnel, as part of the deal approved by Judge Richard Leon late Thursday. The conditions agreed to by AT&T would remain in effect until Feb. 28, 2019, the conclusion of the case or an appeal. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the deal to marry AT&T’s wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner’s movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law. The Justice Department had argued the deal would harm consumers. U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner’s CNN coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. The fact that Turner, which includes CNN, will be run separately from DirecTV makes a stay unnecessary, said Seth Bloom, a veteran of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division who is now in private practice. In its lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, filed in November 2017, the Justice Department said that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” “This is clearly leaving open the door for the DOJ (Justice Department) to appeal,” Bloom said. “If Turner is run separately, they don’t really need a stay.” The AT&T ruling is expected to trigger a wave of mergers in the media sector, which has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google. The first to come was Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) $65 billion bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ). AT&T had been worried about closing its deal ahead of a June 21 deadline if the government won a stay pending an appeal. Any stay could take the deal beyond a June 21 deadline for completing the merger, which could allow Time Warner to walk away or renegotiate the proposed transaction with AT&T. The government may have a difficult time winning on appeal because of the way Judge Leon wrote his opinion, four antitrust experts said. “I don’t think this would be overturned. It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion,” said Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE after a six-week trial, Leon found little to support the government's arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling the evidence for one argument against the deal ""gossamer thin"" and another ""poppycock."" The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker"|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKTopNews|0
2018-06-15T01:19:00.000+03:00|Deutsche Bank sells $1 bln non-performing ship loan portfolio -sources|FRANKFURT, June 14 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank has found a buyer for the bulk of its bad ship loans as it seeks to draw a line under sour investments in the sector and to start a fresh push in transport lending, people close to the matter said. Germany’s flagship lender has agreed to sell a non-performing ship loan portfolio with a notional value of $1 billion to investors Oak Hill Advisors and Varde, one of the sources said. Deutsche Bank and Oak Hill declined to comment, while Varde was not immediately available for comment. After the sale of the portfolio only a small volume of bad ship loans remain and Deutsche Bank is poised to start increasing its exposure to the sector again, one of the sources said. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Saul)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-15T01:29:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Ceconomy in talks to sell Russian business, take stake in M.video|* Non-binding agreement reached * Deal would eliminate Media-Saturn losses in Russia * Ceconomy sees one-time hit to 2017/18 net profit (Adds details, background) BERLIN, June 14 (Reuters) - German consumer electronics group Media-Saturn is in advanced talks to sell its loss-making Russian business to Safmar and take a 15 percent stake in Safmar’s M.video, parent firm Ceconomy said on Thursday. Russia’s top two electrical goods and home appliances retailers — M.video and Eldorado — are preparing to merge and Ceconomy said in January that it was seeking a “strategic answer” to its poorly performing Russian business by the end of 2018. If a deal is concluded Media-Saturn would pay about 258 million euros ($300 million) for the M.Video stake based on current exchange rates, although that could be cut depending on financial performance, Ceconomy said in a statement. It said a non-binding agreement had been reached, adding that the transaction would entirely eliminate the operational losses of Media-Saturn’s Russian business, but have a one-time hit to Ceconomy’s net profit for the 2017/18 financial year of more than 100 million euros. In April, Reuters was first to report that Media-Saturn was in talks with M.video about disposing its Russian business. Ceconomy in January said one of its priorities for the year was improving its performance in Russia, noting it had already cut costs and store sizes. Its sales in Russia fell by 7 percent to 526 million euros in the 2016/17 financial year as it closed five stores to bring the total to 57. It said in May sales continued to decline in the first half of the 2017/18 fiscal year. The Russian retail market has been recovering from a slump, supported by falling interest rates and slowing inflation, and M.video’s sales grew 8.2 percent to 234 billion roubles ($3.76 billion) in 2017 when it opened 27 new stores. M.video and Eldorado are majority owned by Russia’s Safmar, which is controlled by the family of oil-to-real estate tycoon Mikhail Gutseriev. ($1 = 0.8602 euros) ($1 = 62.2104 roubles) (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-15T01:43:00.000+03:00|China regulators approve Qualcomm-NXP Semiconductors merger deal -SCMP|June 14, 2018 / 10:52 PM / 2 days ago Qualcomm-NXP deal still waiting for China nod: sources Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is yet to approve U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc’s ( QCOM.O ) proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI.O ), three people close to the talks said, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. Chinese clearance would remove a long-running roadblock to the deal that has become entangled with broader trade tensions between the United States and China. The acquisition has already got a nod from eight of the nine required global regulators, with China being the only hold-out. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday morning that China had given its go-ahead to the deal, citing people with knowledge of the matter, driving up shares of the U.S. firm in extended trade. But Reuters sources, who are close to the Qualcomm-NXP deal, said they were not aware of any Chinese approval. One of them said planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods expected to be unveiled later in the day could impact the process. Qualcomm did not have an immediate comment on Friday, while NXP did not respond to a request for comment. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, the regulator which reviews merger deals, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. Slideshow (2 Images) Qualcomm met with regulators in Beijing last month in a bid to secure a clearance, but sources at the time said an approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the U.S. government lifting a crippling supplier ban on telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ )( 0763.HK ). Washington and Beijing have struck a deal to help ZTE back into business. However, trade talks remain in the balance with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to unveil “pretty significant” tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday. Analysts said a Chinese approval would be significant as it would remove the last major barrier to the NXP deal, which is seen as key for Qualcomm to diversify its business and make a push into new areas like smart cars. The U.S. chipmaker on Friday extended its cash tender offer to buy all shares of NXP by a week. The offer is now scheduled to expire on June 22, the latest in a series of extensions since Qualcomm initially announced its bid for the Dutch semiconductor company in October 2016. Reporting by Michael Martina and Matthew Miller in BEIJING, Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Nikhil Subba and Arjun Panchadar in BENGALURU; Editing by James Dalgleish, Grant McCool and Himani Sarkar|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T01:45:00.000+03:00|China regulators approve Qualcomm-NXP Semiconductors merger deal - SCMP|June 14, 2018 / 10:52 PM / Updated 4 minutes ago China regulators approve Qualcomm-NXP Semiconductors merger deal: SCMP Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have approved Qualcomm Inc’s ( QCOM.O ) proposed merger with NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI.O ), South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. FILE PHOTO: A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The decision by China's Ministry of Commerce clears a months-long antitrust roadblock caused by trade tensions between the United States and Beijing and will allow the takeover to proceed, SCMP reported. ( bit.ly/2l87thk ) Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-15T01:50:00.000+03:00|UK government proposes three scenarios for parliament vote on Brexit deal|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit department set out its proposed compromise with pro-European Union MPs on Thursday, outlining three scenarios under which a vote in parliament on its European union exit deal would be triggered. Anti-Brexit demonstrators wave Union and EU flags opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson “This ensures that in all circumstances parliament can hold government to account, while also allowing government to deliver on the will of the British people as expressed in the referendum,” a Brexit department spokesman said. “We have included three situations which would trigger a vote in both Houses: a) should parliament reject the government’s deal with the EU, b) that no agreement can be reached, or, c) there is no deal agreed by the 21 January 2019.” Reporting by William James; Editing by Alison Williams  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-15T01:54:00.000+03:00|Rare Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $9.6 million in New York|"June 14, 2018 / 11:02 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Rare Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $9.6 million in New York Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - A first edition of John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America,” one of the most celebrated books of natural history, sold for $9.65 million at auction in New York on Thursday, Christie’s said. FILE PHOTO: A Sotheby's employee poses with a page depicting a Snowy Owl from John James Audubon's ""Birds of America"", at Sotheby's in London December 6, 2010. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo The richly illustrated 19th century book, featuring more than 400 hand-colored illustrations of 1,037 life-size birds, was one of just 13 complete sets thought to be remaining in private hands. Christie’s described the set as “among the most superlative copies in private hands of the finest color-plate book ever produced.” Slideshow (2 Images) It said the price, paid by a buyer who wished to remain anonymous, was the second highest sum paid for the book at auction. Another of the complete sets went for $10.27 million in 2010. Audubon’s “The Birds of America” was first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838 and represented his years-long mission to find and paint all the known species of birds in North America. The book that was sold on Thursday was owned by U.S. businessman and naturist Carl W. Knobloch Jr., who died in 2016. Proceeds from the sale will benefit conservation of plants, animals and natural habitats through the work of the Knobloch Family Foundation. Reporting by Jill Serjeant"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKEntertainment|0
2018-06-15T01:55:00.000+03:00|UK government proposes three scenarios for parliament vote on Brexit deal|LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit department set out its proposed compromise with pro-European Union lawmakers on Thursday, outlining three scenarios under which a vote in parliament on its European union exit deal would be triggered. FILE PHOTO: An anti-Brexit protester waves an EU flag opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain June 8, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson “This ensures that in all circumstances parliament can hold government to account, while also allowing government to deliver on the will of the British people as expressed in the referendum,” a Brexit department spokesman said. “We have included three situations which would trigger a vote in both Houses: a) should parliament reject the government’s deal with the EU, b) that no agreement can be reached, or, c) there is no deal agreed by the 21 January 2019.” Reporting by William James; Editing by Alison Williams  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/euro-zone|0
2018-06-15T01:56:00.000+03:00|Rare Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $9.6 million in New York|"(Reuters) - A first edition of John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America,” one of the most celebrated books of natural history, sold for $9.65 million at auction in New York on Thursday, Christie’s said. FILE PHOTO: A Sotheby's employee poses with a page depicting a Snowy Owl from John James Audubon's ""Birds of America"", at Sotheby's in London December 6, 2010. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo The richly illustrated 19th century book, featuring more than 400 hand-colored illustrations of 1,037 life-size birds, was one of just 13 complete sets thought to be remaining in private hands. Christie’s described the set as “among the most superlative copies in private hands of the finest color-plate book ever produced.”  It said the price, paid by a buyer who wished to remain anonymous, was the second highest sum paid for the book at auction. Another of the complete sets went for $10.27 million in 2010. Audubon’s “The Birds of America” was first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838 and represented his years-long mission to find and paint all the known species of birds in North America. The book that was sold on Thursday was owned by U.S. businessman and naturist Carl W. Knobloch Jr., who died in 2016. Proceeds from the sale will benefit conservation of plants, animals and natural habitats through the work of the Knobloch Family Foundation. Reporting by Jill Serjeant  "|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/domesticNews/|0
2018-06-15T02:05:00.000+03:00|U.S. Fed buys $1.5 billion of mortgage bonds, sells none|NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve bought $1.508 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities in the week from Jun. 7 to Jun. 13, compared with $2.157 billion purchased the previous week, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday. In a move to help the housing market begun in October 2011, the U.S. central bank has been using funds from principal payments on the agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, it holds to reinvest in agency MBS. The New York Fed said on its website the Fed sold no mortgage securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae FNMA.OB, Freddie Mac FMCC.OB or the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, in the latest week. It sold none the prior week. New York Treasury Desk +1-646-223-6300  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-15T02:14:00.000+03:00|Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger|June 14, 2018 / 9:56 PM / Updated 13 hours ago Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Broadcom Inc ( AVGO.O ) said it had laid off about 1,100 employees across its businesses to cut costs after its merger with Brocade Communications Systems. FILE PHOTO: A sign to the campus offices of chip maker Broadcom Ltd, is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File photo The chipmaker completed its $5.5 billion acquisition of network gear maker Brocade in November. Broadcom is further evaluating its resources and may terminate additional positions, it said in a regulatory filing here Broadcom said it had incurred $143 million in restructuring charges, primarily employee termination costs, during the first two quarters of its fiscal 2018. The company is expected to pay majority of its employee termination costs in the third quarter. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|1
2018-06-15T02:17:00.000+03:00|Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger|June 14, 2018 / 11:18 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Broadcom Inc ( AVGO.O ) said it had laid off about 1,100 employees across its businesses to cut costs after its merger with Brocade Communications Systems. FILE PHOTO: Broadcom Limited company logo is pictured on an office building in Rancho Bernardo, California May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The chipmaker completed its $5.5 billion (£4.1 billion) acquisition of network gear maker Brocade in November. Broadcom is further evaluating its resources and may terminate additional positions, it said in a regulatory filing here Broadcom said it had incurred $143 million in restructuring charges, primarly employee termination costs, during the first two quarters of its fiscal 2018. The company is expected to pay majority of its employee termination costs in the third quarter. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-15T02:17:00.000+03:00|Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger|June 14, 2018 / 9:56 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Broadcom lays off 1,100 employees after Brocade merger Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Broadcom Inc ( AVGO.O ) said it had laid off about 1,100 employees across its businesses to cut costs after its merger with Brocade Communications Systems. FILE PHOTO: A sign to the campus offices of chip maker Broadcom Ltd, is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File photo The chipmaker completed its $5.5 billion acquisition of network gear maker Brocade in November. Broadcom is further evaluating its resources and may terminate additional positions, it said in a regulatory filing here Broadcom said it had incurred $143 million in restructuring charges, primarily employee termination costs, during the first two quarters of its fiscal 2018. The company is expected to pay majority of its employee termination costs in the third quarter. Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|1
2018-06-15T02:19:00.000+03:00|China regulators approve Qualcomm-NXP Semiconductors merger deal - SCMP|BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is yet to approve U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors, three people close to the talks said, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. Chinese clearance would remove a long-running roadblock to the deal that has become entangled with broader trade tensions between the United States and China. The acquisition has already got a nod from eight of the nine required global regulators, with China being the only hold-out. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday morning that China had given its go-ahead to the deal, citing people with knowledge of the matter, driving up shares of the U.S. firm in extended trade. But Reuters sources, who are close to the Qualcomm-NXP deal, said they were not aware of any Chinese approval. One of them said planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods expected to be unveiled later in the day could impact the process. Qualcomm did not have an immediate comment on Friday, while NXP did not respond to a request for comment. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, the regulator which reviews merger deals, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files Qualcomm met with regulators in Beijing last month in a bid to secure a clearance, but sources at the time said an approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the U.S. government lifting a crippling supplier ban on telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp. Washington and Beijing have struck a deal to help ZTE back into business. However, trade talks remain in the balance with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to unveil “pretty significant” tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday. Analysts said a Chinese approval would be significant as it would remove the last major barrier to the NXP deal, which is seen as key for Qualcomm to diversify its business and make a push into new areas like smart cars. The U.S. chipmaker on Friday extended its cash tender offer to buy all shares of NXP by a week. A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/Files The offer is now scheduled to expire on June 22, the latest in a series of extensions since Qualcomm initially announced its bid for the Dutch semiconductor company in October 2016. Reporting by Michael Martina and Matthew Miller in BEIJING, Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Nikhil Subba and Arjun Panchadar in BENGALURU; Editing by James Dalgleish, Grant McCool and Himani Sarkar  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-15T03:00:00.000+03:00|In ‘world of two halves’ funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe: BAML – CelebBdays.com Blog|This post was originally published on this site LONDON (Reuters) – Global investors pulled more cash out of European and emerging markets in the past week, opting instead for U.S. stocks, as robust economic growth encouraged a sixth straight week… ||0
2018-06-15T03:02:00.000+03:00|AT&T closes $85 billion deal for Time Warner|"June 14, 2018 / 9:48 PM / Updated 16 hours ago AT&T closes $85 billion deal for Time Warner Diane Bartz , David Shepardson 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc ( T.N ), the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) after U.S. antitrust regulators indicated they would not seek a delay. Coaxial TV Cables are seen in front of AT&T and Time Warner logos in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by President Donald Trump. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department, but won approval from a judge to move forward with the deal on Tuesday following a six-week trial. The Justice Department still has 60 days to appeal the decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, even though the deal has closed. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the deal to marry AT&T’s wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner’s movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law. The Justice Department had argued the deal would harm consumers. U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner’s CNN coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016. In its lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, filed in November 2017, the Justice Department said that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The AT&T ruling is expected to trigger a wave of mergers in the media sector, which has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google. The first to come was Comcast Corp’s ( CMCSA.O ) $65 billion bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ). AT&T had been worried about closing its deal ahead of a June 21 deadline if the government won a stay pending an appeal. Any stay could take the deal beyond a June 21 deadline for completing the merger, which could allow Time Warner to walk away or renegotiate the proposed transaction with AT&T. The government may have a difficult time winning on appeal because of the way Judge Leon wrote his opinion, four antitrust experts said. “I don’t think this would be overturned. It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion,” said Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers. In a scathing opinion bit.ly/2Jxx6qE , Leon found little to support the government's arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling the evidence for one argument against the deal ""gossamer thin"" and another ""poppycock."" The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|1
2018-06-15T03:14:00.000+03:00|Apollo pauses plans to sell security firm Constellis: sources|NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management ( APO.N ) has halted plans to sell U.S. military security services business Constellis after talks with Canada’s Garda World Security Corp [GWSC.UL] broke down, according to people familiar with the matter. The New York-based private equity firm bought Constellis, founded in 1997 as Blackwater, for about $1 billion in 2016 and had been pursuing a so-called dual track sale process looking at an outright sale or an initial public offering (IPO), sources said this week, asking not to be named because the matter is private. A representative for Apollo declined to comment. Garda and Constellis did not respond to requests for comment. Rising U.S. government defense spending has fueled dealmaking in the government services industry, and Apollo, hoping to tap that momentum, was aiming for Constellis to fetch between $2 billion and $2.5 billion, including debt, in a potential sale, the sources said. However, Garda and at least two private equity firms that considered buying Constellis, did not meet this number. Apollo has also cooled on an IPO, in part because Constellis management preferred to remain a private company, one of the people said. Instead, Apollo may now consider a dividend recapitalization, according to the sources. Dividend recapitalizations are funded by loans or bonds and are often used by private equity firms to make a cash return on an investment if they are unable or unwilling to exit a position at a given time. Apollo will now exit Constellis at a later date. A sale at this point would have marked a quick exit for Apollo, as private equity firms typically sell investments after three to five years. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Constellis provides training and security services focused on counter terrorism, force protection, law enforcement and security operations. The company was founded by former U.S. Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince and changed its name to Xe Services LLC in 2009 after the deadly 2007 shootout in Iraq tarnished the Blackwater brand. In 2010, Prince sold the company to two private equity firms, Forte Capital Advisors and Manhattan Strategic Ventures, who renamed the business ACADEMI and pledged to run it with better governance. A Forte managing partner had also been a co-manager of Prince’s family office. In 2014, its financial owners took another step to distance themselves from the Blackwater brand by merging the company with another private security firm, Triple Canopy, to form Constellis Holdings. Under Apollo’s ownership, the company has expanded through further acquisitions. Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York and Mike Stone in Washington with additional reporting by Harry Brumpton; Editing by Cynthia Osterman  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T03:19:00.000+03:00|Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit -papers|VIENNA, June 14 (Reuters) - Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko has reached a deal to buy Steinhoff’s Austrian unit Kika/Leiner, saving the division from bankruptcy, two Austrian newspapers reported on Thursday. Daily Die Presse and tabloid Oesterreich Quote: d anonymous sources close to the talks as saying a deal had been reached. Oesterreich said the purchase price was roughly 500 million euros ($580 million) and the company would receive an injection of 100 million euros. A spokeswoman for Kika/Leiner declined to comment on the reports. A spokesman for Benko was not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.8627 euros) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle and Francois Murphy Editing by Alexandra Hudson)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|1
2018-06-15T03:23:00.000+03:00|Australia's Sirtex expects approval for Chinese buyout|* Sirtex shares hit highest since October 2016 * Stock still trading 8.4 percent below bid price By Tom Westbrook SYDNEY, June 15 (Reuters) - Australian liver cancer treatment maker Sirtex Medical Ltd expects its $1.4 billion buyout by a Chinese consortium to will win regulatory approval in Australia and the United States despite diplomatic tensions with China. The company agreed on Thursday to an offer from Beijing-based CDH Investments and its partner, China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings, which trumped a bid from U.S.-based Varian Medical Systems. Final approval rests with shareholders as well as Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board as relations between Canberra and Beijing sour over allegations of Chinese meddling in Australia’s internal affairs. As Sirtex operates in the United States, the deal also falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which has blocked many proposed Chinese investments in American firms in an effort to stop China from acquiring technology. “We’re confident that CFIUS will approve the transaction ... we don’t expect FIRB to be an issue at all,” Sirtex Chief Executive Officer Andrew McLean told investors on a conference call. “Sirtex is not involved in the defence or technology sectors and that has most definitely been a recent focus of CFIUS.” The firm’s handling of radioactive material in liver cancer treatments was small-scale and could not be “weaponised or used in some inadvertent manner”, he added. Shares in the firm jumped 5 percent at the open of trade on Friday, but at A$31 remain more than 8 percent below the bid price of A$33.60 per share, suggesting at least a few doubts that it will sail through. The broader market rose 1.3 percent. Morningstar analyst Chris Kallos said China Grand’s involvement would probably make the deal more “palatable” for regulators because it showed a commercial motivation for the offer. “We anticipate the deal will be closed as expected,” he said. Australia has proven an attractive destination for Chinese investment in the healthcare sector, with A$5.5 billion in deals agreed since 2015, according to a report published in January by accountancy firm KPMG. But since the sale of the port of Darwin to a Chinese company in 2015 raised national security concerns, the government has been at pains to demonstrate its vigilance over incoming deals from its biggest trading partner. The FIRB rejected bids by China’s State Grid and CK Infrastructure for the nation’s biggest electricity network Ausgrid in 2016 and blocked the sale of the country’s biggest cattle ranch to Chinese buyers. It is currently considering a $9.8 billion bid by CK Infrastructure for Australia’s biggest gas pipeline company, APA Group. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T03:28:00.000+03:00|Australia's Sirtex expects approval for Chinese buyout|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian liver cancer treatment maker Sirtex Medical Ltd ( SRX.AX ) expects its $1.4 billion buyout by a Chinese consortium to will win regulatory approval in Australia and the United States despite diplomatic tensions with China. The company agreed on Thursday to an offer from Beijing-based CDH Investments and its partner, China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings ( 0512.HK ), which trumped a bid from U.S.-based Varian Medical Systems ( VAR.N ). Final approval rests with shareholders as well as Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board as relations between Canberra and Beijing sour over allegations of Chinese meddling in Australia’s internal affairs. As Sirtex operates in the United States, the deal also falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which has blocked many proposed Chinese investments in American firms in an effort to stop China from acquiring technology. “We’re confident that CFIUS will approve the transaction ... we don’t expect FIRB to be an issue at all,” Sirtex Chief Executive Officer Andrew McLean told investors on a conference call. “Sirtex is not involved in the defense or technology sectors and that has most definitely been a recent focus of CFIUS.” The firm’s handling of radioactive material in liver cancer treatments was small-scale and could not be “weaponised or used in some inadvertent manner”, he added. Shares in the firm jumped 5 percent at the open of trade on Friday, but at A$31 remain more than 8 percent below the bid price of A$33.60 per share, suggesting at least a few doubts that it will sail through. The broader market rose 1.3 percent. Morningstar analyst Chris Kallos said China Grand’s involvement would probably make the deal more “palatable” for regulators because it showed a commercial motivation for the offer. “We anticipate the deal will be closed as expected,” he said. Australia has proven an attractive destination for Chinese investment in the healthcare sector, with A$5.5 billion in deals agreed since 2015, according to a report published in January by accountancy firm KPMG. But since the sale of the port of Darwin to a Chinese company in 2015 raised national security concerns, the government has been at pains to demonstrate its vigilance over incoming deals from its biggest trading partner. The FIRB rejected bids by China’s State Grid and CK Infrastructure for the nation’s biggest electricity network Ausgrid in 2016 and blocked the sale of the country’s biggest cattle ranch to Chinese buyers. It is currently considering a $9.8 billion bid by CK Infrastructure for Australia’s biggest gas pipeline company, APA Group ( APA.AX ). Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T05:04:00.000+03:00|Czech parties edge towards coalition deal after months of stalemate|PRAGUE (Reuters) - Members of the Czech centre-left Social Democrat party have voted to join a coalition with the dominant centrist ANO group, a major step towards ending more than eight months of stalemate after an inconclusive election. Newly appointed Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis speaks to media at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny Social Democrat (CSSD) chief Jan Hamacek said on Friday that nearly 60 percent of those who voted in a party referendum backed the plan. Dissenters did not want to join a government led by ANO chief Andrej Babis, who is facing a fraud investigation. “I see the mandate as very strong... We have to focus on contributing together to creating a stable government and to push our priorities in the government,” Hamacek told reporters. Babis, who is being investigated by police looking into the alleged abuse of a 2 million euro EU subsidy a decade ago, has struggled to find anyone to team up with him in power since his party won nearly 30 percent of the vote last October. He has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a plot against him. The two parties already served together in a three-party coalition in 2014-2017, led by the Social Democrats who were then the biggest party but suffered big losses to ANO in the 2017 election. Babis welcomed the outcome of the vote, adding he would submit his proposed new cabinet to the president on Sunday. An ANO-CSSD government would have 93 votes in the 200-seat lower house and would have to rely on support from the anti-NATO, pro-Russian Communist party to survive the confidence vote that always takes place after a cabinet is appointed. Babis said the vote could take place on July 11. COMMUNIST SUPPORT The Communists have indicated they would vote for the cabinet, although Babis has refused to bow to some of their policy demands such as scaling back Czech participation in NATO foreign military missions. Babis has pledged to keep the country on a firmly pro-Western course despite the pending deal with the Communists, who have had no role in national government since their totalitarian rule ended in 1989. On Friday, the Communist leadership approved a list of conditions for the party’s support for the cabinet, including protection of natural resources and increases in the minimum wage and pensions. It will make a final decision on whether to back the government by the end of June. Babis has already promised to raise public sector wages and boost infrastructure investments while cutting taxes. The Czech Republic ran public finance surpluses in the past two years, allowing looser fiscal policy. The Communists will have an ally in pro-Russian President Milos Zeman in pushing the government’s direction in areas such as energy, where the next cabinet is due to decide on enlarging two existing nuclear power plants. The deal, worth billions of dollars, would be the Czech Republic’s biggest investment and Russia is a leading contender for participation in the project. Babis has served as prime minister in a caretaker capacity since his first, one-party cabinet lost a confidence vote in January. Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Editing by Gareth Jones  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews/|0
2018-06-15T05:13:00.000+03:00|Czech parties edge towards coalition deal after months of stalemate|June 15, 2018 / 2:16 AM / Updated 39 minutes ago Czech centre-left party approves joining coalition, new government close Jan Lopatka , Robert Muller 4 Min Read PRAGUE (Reuters) - Members of the Czech centre-left Social Democrat party have voted to join a coalition with the dominant centrist ANO group which would end more than eight months of stalemate after an inconclusive election. Newly appointed Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis speaks to media at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny Social Democrat chief Jan Hamacek said on Friday in an announcement streamed on Facebook that 58.5 percent of over 11,000 of votes cast in a party referendum were in favour of the plan, defeating dissenters who objected to joining a government led by ANO chief Andrej Babis who is facing a fraud investigation. Hamacek was due to comment on the decision at a news conference later on Friday. Babis, who is being investigated by police looking into the alleged abuse of a 2 million euro EU subsidy a decade ago, has struggled to find anyone to team up with him in power since his party won nearly 30 percent of the vote in October. He has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a plot against him. An ANO-CSSD government would have 93 votes in the NATO member’s 200-seat lower house and would have to rely on support from the anti-NATO, pro-Russian Communist party to survive the confidence vote that always takes place in the month after a cabinet is appointed. The Communists have indicated they would vote for the cabinet, although Babis has refused to bow to some of their policy demands such as scaling back participation in NATO foreign military missions. Related Coverage Czech centre-left party agrees to join government Babis has pledged to keep the country on a firmly pro-Western course despite the pending deal with the Communists, who have had no part of national government since their totalitarian rule ended in 1989. On Friday, the Communist leadership approved a list of conditions for the party’s support for the cabinet, including protection of natural resources and growth in minimum wage and pensions. The party said it would make a final decision on whether to back the government by the end of June. Babis has already promised to raise wages in the public sector and boost infrastructure investments while cutting taxes. The country ran public finance surpluses in the past two years, allowing looser fiscal policy. The Communists will have an ally in pro-Russian President Milos Zeman in pushing the government’s direction in areas such as energy where the next cabinet is due to decide on enlarging two existing nuclear power plants. The deal, worth billions of dollars, would be Czech Republic’s biggest investment and Russia is a leading contender for participation in the project. Zeman, who formally appoints cabinet members, has shown he would also try to influence personnel issues. He has objected to the nomination of a pro-European Social Democrat member as foreign minister. Babis has served as prime minister in a caretaker capacity since his first, one-party cabinet lost a confidence vote in January. He has said he would bring proposed list of ministers to Zeman on Sunday, while the new cabinet could be formed by the end of June and would seek a confidence vote after July 9. Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Toby Chopra|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T05:13:00.000+03:00|Czech parties edge towards coalition deal after months of stalemate|June 15, 2018 / 2:17 AM / Updated 26 minutes ago Czech centre-left party approves joining coalition, new government close Jan Lopatka, Robert Muller 4 Min Read PRAGUE (Reuters) - Members of the Czech centre-left Social Democrat party have voted to join a coalition with the dominant centrist ANO group which would end more than eight months of stalemate after an inconclusive election. Newly appointed Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis speaks to media at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny Social Democrat chief Jan Hamacek said on Friday in an announcement streamed on Facebook that 58.5 percent of over 11,000 of votes cast in a party referendum were in favour of the plan, defeating dissenters who objected to joining a government led by ANO chief Andrej Babis who is facing a fraud investigation. Hamacek was due to comment on the decision at a news conference later on Friday. Babis, who is being investigated by police looking into the alleged abuse of a 2 million euro EU subsidy a decade ago, has struggled to find anyone to team up with him in power since his party won nearly 30 percent of the vote in October. He has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a plot against him. An ANO-CSSD government would have 93 votes in the NATO member’s 200-seat lower house and would have to rely on support from the anti-NATO, pro-Russian Communist party to survive the confidence vote that always takes place in the month after a cabinet is appointed. The Communists have indicated they would vote for the cabinet, although Babis has refused to bow to some of their policy demands such as scaling back participation in NATO foreign military missions. Babis has pledged to keep the country on a firmly pro-Western course despite the pending deal with the Communists, who have had no part of national government since their totalitarian rule ended in 1989. On Friday, the Communist leadership approved a list of conditions for the party’s support for the cabinet, including protection of natural resources and growth in minimum wage and pensions. The party said it would make a final decision on whether to back the government by the end of June. Babis has already promised to raise wages in the public sector and boost infrastructure investments while cutting taxes. The country ran public finance surpluses in the past two years, allowing looser fiscal policy. The Communists will have an ally in pro-Russian President Milos Zeman in pushing the government’s direction in areas such as energy where the next cabinet is due to decide on enlarging two existing nuclear power plants. The deal, worth billions of dollars, would be Czech Republic’s biggest investment and Russia is a leading contender for participation in the project. Zeman, who formally appoints cabinet members, has shown he would also try to influence personnel issues. He has objected to the nomination of a pro-European Social Democrat member as foreign minister. Babis has served as prime minister in a caretaker capacity since his first, one-party cabinet lost a confidence vote in January. He has said he would bring proposed list of ministers to Zeman on Sunday, while the new cabinet could be formed by the end of June and would seek a confidence vote after July 9. Related Coverage Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Toby Chopra 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-15T05:31:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-BHP approves $2.9 billion spend on iron ore project|June 15, 2018 / 2:36 AM / Updated 20 hours ago UPDATE 2-BHP, partners to build $3.4 billion iron ore mine in Australia Reuters Staff 3 Min Read * New mine has better ore, which fetches premium in China * Japan’s Itochu, Mitsui to spend $510 mln in total (Adds comment from head of BHP Minerals Australia, changes date in dateline) LONDON/MELBOURNE, June 15 (Reuters) - BHP on Thursday approved $2.9 billion in spending to build a new iron ore mine in Australia, the top global miner’s biggest investment commitment in seven years. The South Flank mine in the state of Western Australia is due to produce its first ore in 2021, replacing the 80 million tonnes-per-year Yandi mine. The move is set to improve the quality of ore offered by BHP as it looks to earn more from China, the world’s biggest buyer of the steelmaking commodity. Mining executives say China is increasingly demanding high quality ore, which commands a premium and limits pollution as less ore needs to be processed, although an analysis of Reuters data shows the country is struggling to obtain it. “We wanted to target an opportunity that would allow us to play to that continued strength in demand for higher quality ore,” BHP’s Minerals Australia President Mike Henry told reporters on a conference call from London. Henry said BHP had long anticipated that shift in demand for higher quality iron ore and coking coal, as China moved its steelmaking blast furnaces to the coast, relied more on bigger blast furnaces and focused on the environment. Ore from South Flank would have an average iron content of 62-63 percent compared to Yandi’s 58 percent, lifting the proportion of BHP’s output of higher valued lump product to 35 percent, Henry said. It would also have lower amounts of phosphorus, an impurity that fetches a discount. BHP has an 85-percent stake in the South Flank project. Its Japanese partners Itochu Corp, with an 8 percent stake, and Mitsui & Co Ltd, with 7 percent, will spend $270 million and $240 million respectively, bringing the total development cost to $3.4 billion, they said. The investment comes at the same time as Rio Tinto, the world’s No.2 iron ore miner, is expected to decide soon on whether to build its Koodaideri mine in Australia at an estimated cost of $2.2 billion. Fortescue Metals Group has just approved development of a $1.3 billion project, Eliwana. Henry said BHP had a slight head start in securing equipment for its project. “We are going to see a bit of pressure in the market as a result of multiple projects being pursued at the same time. We’re pretty well positioned, given the timing of our full sanction,” he said. Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Sonali Paul; Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi in TOKYO Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Joseph Radford 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAsouthAfricaNews|0
2018-06-15T05:35:00.000+03:00|BHP approves $2.9 billion spend on iron ore project|June 15, 2018 / 2:35 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago BHP approves $2.9 billion spend on iron ore project Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - BHP ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) on Thursday approved spending $2.9 billion (2.19 billion pounds) to develop its Western Australian South Flank iron ore project in the central Pilbara, and said the quality of the mineral would raise the overall grade of its regional output. The project, which should produce its first ore in 2021, will fully replace production from the 80 million tonnes-per-year Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life. In a statement BHP, which has an 85 percent stake in South Flank, said the quality of the ore would take the average grade for the company’s Western Australian iron ore to 62 percent from 61 percent. Its Japanese partners Itochu Corp ( 8001.T ), which has an 8 percent stake in the project, and Mitsui & Co Ltd ( 8031.T ), with 7 percent, will spend $270 million and $240 million respectively, bringing the total development cost to $3.4 billion, they said. Fellow Anglo-Australian major miner Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ) is ramping up a new iron ore mine at Silvergrass, also in the Pilbara, and also high grade. Mining executives say China is increasingly demanding high quality ore, which commands a premium and limits pollution as less rock needs to be processed, although an analysis of Reuters data shows the country is struggling to obtain it. Reporting by Barbara Lewis Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi in TOKYO; Editing by Alexandra Hudson|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T06:37:00.000+03:00|Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island|June 15, 2018 / 3:37 AM / a day ago Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island Jolyn Rosa 5 Min Read HONOLULU (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said. The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes. The governor’s office put the number of residences destroyed at 455. Either tally marks the greatest number of homes claimed over such a short period by Kilauea - or by any other volcano in Hawaii’s modern history - far surpassing the 215 structures consumed by lava in an earlier eruption cycle that began in 1983 and continued nearly nonstop for three decades, experts say. The latest volcanic eruption also stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the cataclysmic 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington state that reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland. The geographical footprint of Kilauea’s current upheaval is much smaller, covering nearly 6,000 acres, or just over 9 square miles (2,400 hectares) of the Big Island in lava, an area roughly seven times Central Park in Manhattan. No specific sum of money was sought by the governor for federal disaster aid, and no dollar figure was attached to the package Trump approved under the Individuals and Households Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported this week that eligible homeowners and renters could get up to $34,000 each. The program provides grants to displaced residents to secure temporary housing while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance can also be obtained for repair and replacement costs. In addition to housing assistance, Trump approved relief from several other FEMA programs, including crisis counseling, unemployment benefits and legal aid. Trump previously issued a major disaster declaration weeks ago authorizing money from FEMA public assistance grants for the County of Hawaii, the island’s local governing authority. Journalists and National Guard soldiers watch as lava erupts in Leilani Estates during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 9, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester Residents will be able to register for assistance at a disaster recovery center that will open on Friday at the Kea’au High School Gymnasium. The center will be jointly operated by Hawaii County, the State of Hawaii and FEMA. NO END IN SIGHT His expansion of FEMA assistance came as the Kilauea eruption entered its 43rd day on Thursday. In addition to lava and toxic sulfur dioxide gas spewing from about two-dozen fissures on the eastern flank of the volcano, daily periodic explosions of ash from the crater at Kilauea’s summit have created a nuisance and health hazard to communities downwind. Volcanic smog, or vog, carried aloft by the winds has hampered air quality for parts of the island and been detected as far away as the western Pacific island of Guam. The volcanic activity at Kilauea’s summit has also triggered thousands of mostly small-scale earthquakes that have added to the jitters of residents living nearby and damaged facilities at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the island’s biggest attraction. Most of the park remains closed. A report from the governor accompanying his request for federal aid documented the larger toll taken on residents of the island’s volcano-stricken Puna district, including disruption of power, communications and drinking water infrastructure. It cited an uptick in reports of residents “experiencing acute mental health effects of fear, anxiety and stress” as the crisis drags on with no end in sight. With about one-fifth of Puna’s population displaced by the eruption, the disaster has created a “housing crisis in a rental market that was already severely constrained,” the report said. Slideshow (4 Images) In other economic impacts, the report cited losses of nearly $37 million in vacation rentals and $14 million from agriculture, including half of the state’s entire cut-flower industry and 80 percent of its papaya crop. Additonal reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T06:44:00.000+03:00|China regulators approve Qualcomm-NXP Semiconductors merger deal -SCMP|June 14 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have approved Qualcomm Inc’s proposed merger with NXP Semiconductors , South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The decision by China's Ministry of Commerce clears a months-long antitrust roadblock caused by trade tensions between the United States and Beijing and will allow the takeover to proceed, SCMP reported. ( bit.ly/2l87thk ) (Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru Editing by James Dalgleish)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-15T06:54:00.000+03:00|Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island|HONOLULU (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said. Journalists and National Guard soldiers watch as lava erupts in Leilani Estates during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 9, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes. The governor’s office put the number of residences destroyed at 455. Either tally marks the greatest number of homes claimed over such a short period by Kilauea - or by any other volcano in Hawaii’s modern history - far surpassing the 215 structures consumed by lava in an earlier eruption cycle that began in 1983 and continued nearly nonstop for three decades, experts say. The latest volcanic eruption also stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the cataclysmic 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington state that reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland. The geographical footprint of Kilauea’s current upheaval is much smaller, covering nearly 6,000 acres, or just over 9 square miles (2,400 hectares) of the Big Island in lava, an area roughly seven times Central Park in Manhattan. No specific sum of money was sought by the governor for federal disaster aid, and no dollar figure was attached to the package Trump approved under the Individuals and Households Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported this week that eligible homeowners and renters could get up to $34,000 each. The program provides grants to displaced residents to secure temporary housing while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance can also be obtained for repair and replacement costs. In addition to housing assistance, Trump approved relief from several other FEMA programs, including crisis counseling, unemployment benefits and legal aid. Lava illuminates a sign in Leilani Estates during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 9, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester Trump previously issued a major disaster declaration weeks ago authorizing money from FEMA public assistance grants for the county of Hawaii, the island’s local governing authority. NO END IN SIGHT His expansion of FEMA assistance came as the Kilauea eruption entered its 43rd day on Thursday. In addition to lava and toxic sulfur dioxide gas spewing from about two-dozen fissures on the eastern flank of the volcano, daily periodic explosions of ash from the crater at Kilauea’s summit have created a nuisance and health hazard to communities downwind. Volcanic smog, or vog, carried aloft by the winds has hampered air quality for parts of the island and been detected as far away as the western Pacific island of Guam. The volcanic activity at Kilauea’s summit has also triggered thousands of mostly small-scale earthquakes that have added to the jitters of residents living nearby and damaged facilities at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the island’s biggest attraction. Most of the park remains closed. A report from the governor accompanying his request for federal aid documented the larger toll taken on residents of the island’s volcano-stricken Puna district, including disruption of power, communications and drinking water infrastructure. It cited an uptick in reports of residents “experiencing acute mental health effects of fear, anxiety and stress” as the crisis drags on with no end in sight. Slideshow (2 Images) With about one-fifth of Puna’s population displaced by the eruption, the disaster has created a “housing crisis in a rental market that was already severely constrained,” the report said. In other economic impacts, the report cited losses of nearly $37 million in vacation rentals and $14 million from agriculture, including half of the state’s entire cut-flower industry and 80 percent of its papaya crop. Additonal reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-15T07:30:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm-NXP deal still waiting for China nod - sources|June 14, 2018 / 10:46 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Qualcomm-NXP deal still waiting for China nod - sources Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is yet to approve U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc’s ( QCOM.O ) proposed $44 billion (33.20 billion pounds) acquisition of NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI.O ), three people close to the talks said, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. FILE PHOTO: A booth of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is pictured at an expo in Beijing, China, September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Chinese clearance would remove a long-running roadblock to the deal that has become entangled with broader trade tensions between the United States and China. The acquisition has already got a nod from eight of the nine required global regulators, with China being the only hold-out. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday morning that China had given its go-ahead to the deal, citing people with knowledge of the matter, driving up shares of the U.S. firm in extended trade. FILE PHOTO: A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo But Reuters sources, who are close to the Qualcomm-NXP deal, said they were not aware of any Chinese approval. One of them said planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods expected to be unveiled later in the day could impact the process. Qualcomm did not have an immediate comment on Friday, while NXP did not respond to a request for comment. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, the regulator which reviews merger deals, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. Qualcomm met with regulators in Beijing last month in a bid to secure a clearance, but sources at the time said an approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the U.S. government lifting a crippling supplier ban on telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ )( 0763.HK ). Washington and Beijing have struck a deal to help ZTE back into business. However, trade talks remain in the balance with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to unveil “pretty significant” tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday. Analysts said a Chinese approval would be significant as it would remove the last major barrier to the NXP deal, which is seen as key for Qualcomm to diversify its business and make a push into new areas like smart cars. Qualcomm initially announced its bid for Dutch semiconductor company NXP in October 2016. Reporting by Michael Martina and Matthew Miller in BEIJING, Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Nikhil Subba in BENGALURU; Editing by James Dalgleish, Grant McCool and Himani Sarkar|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T07:35:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 2-Centrica, Tokyo Gas break mould in Mozambique LNG deal|(Recasts, adds context, explains significance of the deal structure for LNG markets, consultant comments) By Oleg Vukmanovic LONDON/TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Britain’s Centrica and Japan’s Tokyo Gas aim to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Anadarko Petroleum’s $20 billion project in Mozambique, the first joint procurement deal designed to defuse risks facing the buyers in their respective markets. The deal also brings Anadarko one step closer to constructing its East African LNG project just as it corrals $14 billion to $15 billion from banks and export credit agencies for the 17,000-acre liquefaction complex in Mozambique’s remote north. Lenders require Anadarko to fix at least 8.1 million tonnes (mt) of the project’s 12.88 mt total annual output in long-term sales deals to guarantee project revenues. The preliminary agreement between Centrica and Tokyo Gas for 2.6 mt of LNG annually brings Anadarko’s total supply tally to 7.7 mt, via a mix of binding and non-binding deals. Deliveries will commence once Mozambique LNG starts operations, expected to be in the early- to mid-2020s and last until the early 2040s, the companies said. The main destinations are Tokyo Gas’ four terminals in Japan and Centrica’s terminal at Britain’s Isle of Grain, but the two firms also have the right to ship cargoes to other destinations, Centrica Vice President, LNG Business Development, David Dunlavy said in Tokyo during a joint news conference. How much each company will buy has not yet been decided, said Tokyo Gas Executive Officer Takashi Higo. The LNG will be priced based on multiple unidentified indexes, but they did not give details. Centrica’s purchases will likely be linked to Britain’s National Balancing Point gas trading hub and Tokyo Gas will pay a price linked to a basket of crude oil grades, such as the Japanese Crude Cocktail, sources said. “The transaction represents the first long-term offtake agreement from Africa for both Tokyo Gas and Centrica, in line with ongoing efforts to further diversify their respective portfolios of LNG sources,” Centrica said in a statement. Sharing the supply between buyers - an innovation - allows each company to weather domestic demand uncertainties by gaining an alternative outlet. Japanese utilities, for example, must grapple with the impact of the liberalisation of domestic power markets and the potential impact on demand, as well as uncertainty over nuclear reactor restarts and the role of renewables, any of which may undercut LNG demand. In Britain, dwindling North Sea output, Russia’s unpredictable export strategy, rising offshore wind output and the potential for more or less LNG from the United States all complicate demand forecasts. “This deal is an example of buyers cooperating to create flexibility rather than relying on sellers to create it for them,” said Frank Harris, head of global LNG consulting at Wood Mackenzie. Centrica and Tokyo Gas will benefit from being able to direct shipments into the most competitive region as prices fluctuate. In 2016, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding on a “location swap” for LNG deliveries that helped to cut transportation cost on their gas purchases. (Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic and Sabina Zawadzki in LONDON and Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO; editing by Jason Neely, Tom Hogue and G Crosse)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-15T07:59:00.000+03:00|Norway approves merger of payments services Vipps, BankID, BankAxept|OSLO, June 15 (Reuters) - The merger of payments services Vipps, BankID and BankAxept is approved in line with recommendations from Norway’s financial supervisory authority, the finance ministry said late Thursday. The merger is an attempt to improve product offering and prepare for competition against global technology firms after certain regulatory changes made it possible for companies outside the banking industry to facilitate payments. (Reporting by Camilla Knudsen, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|1
2018-06-15T08:09:00.000+03:00|Specialist insurer LCCG buys UK's Equitable Life, policyholders gain $2.4 bln|LONDON (Reuters) - Specialist insurer Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG) is buying Britain’s oldest mutual life insurance company Equitable Life, the firms said on Friday, releasing 1.8 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) to Equitable Life policyholders. Equitable Life, established in 1762, has more than 300,000 policyholders and manages assets of 6.3 billion pounds ($8.4 billion), but it closed to new customers in 2000 after it came close to collapse. Its policies will transfer to LCCG’s Reliance Life subsidiary, with the deal due to complete by the end of 2019, LCCG said in a statement. The transfer to LCCG releases 1.8 billion pounds in Equitable Life capital to its insurance customers, Equitable Life Chief Executive Chris Wiscarson told Reuters. “This is a wonderful windfall for Equitable Life policyholders,” said Danny Cox, financial planner at funds supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown. Reliance Life specializes in life insurance businesses that are closed to new policyholders. Specialist providers say they can run pensions and life policies at a lower cost by using economies of scale, investing more astutely and using actuarial expertise to match assets more closely to liabilities, thereby reducing risk. Standard Life Aberdeen ( SLA.L ) sold its insurance business this year to closed-life specialist Phoenix ( PHNX.L ) for 3.24 billion pounds. “A lot of the really big players are pulling out, so I think there is a lot of mileage in it yet,” LCCG Chief Executive Paul Thompson told Reuters, adding the firm was planning more acquisitions. LCCG, which bought its first UK life business last year, has operations in Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man and policyholder assets of more than 30 billion pounds. It is backed by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. Equitable Life was advised by Goldman Sachs. ($1 = 0.7531 pounds) Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Edmund Blair  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-15T08:23:00.000+03:00|Australia's Sirtex expects approval for Chinese buyout|SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian liver cancer treatment maker Sirtex Medical Ltd ( SRX.AX ) expects its $1.4 billion buyout by a Chinese consortium to will win regulatory approval in Australia and the United States despite diplomatic tensions with China. The company agreed on Thursday to an offer from Beijing-based CDH Investments and its partner, China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings ( 0512.HK ), which trumped a bid from U.S.-based Varian Medical Systems ( VAR.N ). Final approval rests with shareholders as well as Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board as relations between Canberra and Beijing sour over allegations of Chinese meddling in Australia’s internal affairs. As Sirtex operates in the United States, the deal also falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which has blocked many proposed Chinese investments in American firms in an effort to stop China from acquiring technology. “We’re confident that CFIUS will approve the transaction ... we don’t expect FIRB to be an issue at all,” Sirtex Chief Executive Officer Andrew McLean told investors on a conference call. “Sirtex is not involved in the defense or technology sectors and that has most definitely been a recent focus of CFIUS.” The firm’s handling of radioactive material in liver cancer treatments was small-scale and could not be “weaponised or used in some inadvertent manner”, he added. Shares in the firm jumped 5 percent at the open of trade on Friday, but at A$31 remain more than 8 percent below the bid price of A$33.60 per share, suggesting at least a few doubts that it will sail through. The broader market rose 1.3 percent. Morningstar analyst Chris Kallos said China Grand’s involvement would probably make the deal more “palatable” for regulators because it showed a commercial motivation for the offer. “We anticipate the deal will be closed as expected,” he said. Australia has proven an attractive destination for Chinese investment in the healthcare sector, with A$5.5 billion in deals agreed since 2015, according to a report published in January by accountancy firm KPMG. But since the sale of the port of Darwin to a Chinese company in 2015 raised national security concerns, the government has been at pains to demonstrate its vigilance over incoming deals from its biggest trading partner. The FIRB rejected bids by China’s State Grid and CK Infrastructure for the nation’s biggest electricity network Ausgrid in 2016 and blocked the sale of the country’s biggest cattle ranch to Chinese buyers. It is currently considering a $9.8 billion bid by CK Infrastructure for Australia’s biggest gas pipeline company, APA Group ( APA.AX ). Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T10:26:00.000+03:00|China approves 16 investment projects in May worth 18 billion yuan|BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, said on Friday that it approved 16 fixed asset investment projects worth 18 billion yuan ($2.81 billion) in May. The projects were mainly in telecommunications, NDRC spokeswoman Meng Wei told reporters at a news conference. The NDRC said last month that it approved 15 fixed asset investment projects worth 51.7 billion yuan in April. Official data on Thursday showed China’s fixed asset investment growth cooled to 6.1 percent in January-May from the same period a year earlier, the slowest pace since at least February 1996. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill  |https://www.reuters.com/places/china|0
2018-06-15T10:50:00.000+03:00|Tokyo Gas, Britain's Centrica to buy LNG from Mozambique|June 15, 2018 / 7:52 AM / 4 days ago Tokyo Gas, Britain's Centrica to buy LNG from Mozambique Reuters Staff 1 Min Read * Tokyo Gas Co and Great Britain’s Centrica PLC on Friday said they had signed a basic agreement with the sales entity of Mozambique Area 1 joint venture partners for the long-term offtake of (LNG). * The two firms will buy about 2.6 million tonnes of LNG per year from the start-up of production expected in the first half of the 2020s until the early 2040s, they said in a statement. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori Editing by Joseph Radford) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAmozambiqueNews|0
2018-06-15T10:55:00.000+03:00|RPT-Tokyo Gas, Britain's Centrica to buy LNG from Mozambique|June 15, 2018 / 7:57 AM / in 4 days RPT-Tokyo Gas, Britain's Centrica to buy LNG from Mozambique Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - * Tokyo Gas Co and Great Britain’s Centrica PLC on Friday said they had signed a basic agreement with the sales entity of Mozambique Area 1 joint venture partners for the long-term offtake of (LNG). * The two firms will buy about 2.6 million tonnes of LNG per year from the start-up of production expected in the first half of the 2020s until the early 2040s, they said in a statement. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori Editing by Joseph Radford) 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAmozambiqueNews|0
2018-06-15T11:12:00.000+03:00|Russia says OPEC+ deal members to discuss possible quota changes next week|"MOSCOW (Reuters) - OPEC and non-OPEC nations that are part of global oil production curbs plan to discuss possible changes in the oil production cut quotas at a meeting in Vienna on June 23, the Russian Energy Ministry said on Friday. FILE PHOTO - Pipes are pictured at an oil gathering facility owned by Bashneft company near the village of Shushnur, northwest from Ufa, Bashkortostan, January 28, 2015. The signs read: ""Oil"". REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin The ministry also said that participants in the OPEC+ deal plan to discuss framework principles for further cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries. Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Adrian Croft  "|https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets|0
2018-06-15T11:15:00.000+03:00|Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit|June 15, 2018 / 8:16 AM / a day ago Investor Benko strikes deal to buy Steinhoff's Austrian unit Kirsti Knolle 3 Min Read VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko has reached a deal to buy Steinhoff’s Kika/Leiner furniture and household goods retail unit, saving it from bankruptcy, Kika/Leiner said on Thursday. Steinhoff revealed holes in its accounts six months ago, shocking investors who had backed its reinvention, sending its shares crashing and leaving it scrambling to pay its debts. “With great pleasure we can announce that the offer laid out by the Signa Group has been accepted by the Steinhoff Group,” Kika/Leiner’s managing director Gunnar George said in a statement. All contractual details would be fixed within the next few days, he said, without providing a purchase price. Daily Oesterreich said Signa would pay roughly 500 million euros ($580 million) and the company would receive an injection of 100 million euros. Kika/Leiner, which lost credit insurance cover two weeks ago, makes annual revenue of roughly 800 million euros in Austria with around 5,400 employees in 50 stores, George said in January. It generates around 200 million euros with 1,600 staff in its other, mainly eastern European markets, George said at the time. It was not clear whether Signa agreed to also buy that business. Targeting upmarket as well as price-conscious customers with a broad product range, Kika/Leiner has a market share of around 20 percent in its home market. In comparison with rivals such as Ikea, the group has catching up to do in online sales, experts say. It needs further funding besides a turnaround plan focusing on reducing product range and headcount, Steinhoff said in a presentation last month. The unit’s marketability and fair value were not currently possible to assess, it said. Benko controls a 12 billion euro real estate portfolio and generates annual revenue of 4 billion euros with retail businesses via his Signa Holding, according to his website. Benko already bought Kika/Leiner’s flagship store in central Vienna shortly after the Steinhoff crisis erupted in December. Benko’s Signa runs more than 125 retail stores, including German department store Karstadt, and several online sports goods retailers, which it plans to list in autumn, according to sources. It has not been engaged in furniture retail so far. Canadian department store operator Hudson Bay said in February it rejected a 3 billion euro bid from Benko for its German Kaufhof unit. On Tuesday, Steinhoff creditors agreed to give it more time to restructure 9 billion euros ($11 billion) in debt. Holders of 2.7 billion euros in three convertible bonds backed a debt standstill agreement, the company said. A spokesman for Benko was not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.8627 euro) Additional reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Alexandra Hudson and Leslie Adler 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-15T11:19:00.000+03:00|LyondellBasell says in talks on Braskem deal|SAO PAULO (Reuters) - LyondellBasell Industries NV ( LYB.N ) and Odebrecht SA, the controlling owner of petrochemicals producer Braskem, said on Friday they have entered into exclusive talks for Lyondell to acquire control of Braskem, and two people familiar with the matter said the companies are planning a cash and shares deal that could top $9 billion. FILE PHOTO - General view of the refinery of U.S. chemicals group LyondellBasell in Berre, near Marseille, France, October 19, 2015. Picture taken on October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier LyondellBasell and Odebrecht expect to reach a final deal in two months, but there is no deadline yet for LyondellBasell to deliver a binding proposal, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the terms publicly. The sources said Odebrecht expects a premium over Braskem’s market capitalization, which was 33.2 billion reais ($8.93 billion) as of Thursday’s market close. Once LyondellBasell and Odebrecht reach an agreement on price, the acquirer will extend the same terms for the stake owned by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ), known as Petrobras, Braskem’s No. 2 shareholder, according to the sources. Petrobras previously said it planned to divest fully from its stake in Braskem. While Odebrecht is angling for a minority stake in LyondellBasell, the deal may be structured so that Petrobras may receive an all-cash offer if it wishes to, the sources said, adding that minority shareholders will also receive a tender offer. Braskem shares soared 19 percent in Sao Paulo, lifting its market cap to 37.7 billion reais. LyondellBasell edged nearly 1 percent higher in New York, while Petrobras shares were down nearly 3 percent, tracking tumbling crude prices. LyondellBasell and privately held Odebrecht declined to comment on details of the deal. Petrobras said in a filing it had been informed of talks. Most of LyondellBasell’s 55 plants are in the United States, Europe and Asia — a footprint complementary to that of Braskem, which has 29 plants in Brazil, five in the United States, four in Mexico and two in Germany. “The discussions are preliminary and no agreements have been reached,” the two companies said. “There can be no assurance the discussions will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur.” During the exclusive negotiations, LyondellBasell will examine Braskem’s long-term naphtha supply contract with Petrobras, which is set to expire in 2020. Odebrecht recently pledged its 38 percent stake in Braskem as collateral on loans, and part of the proceeds from a deal may go to paying debt, so the conglomerate’s creditors will have to agree to the sale, the sources said. Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl; additional by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Brad Haynes and Leslie Adler  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T11:24:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-LyondellBasell, Brazil's Odebrecht discuss deal for Braskem|June 15 (Reuters) - Plastic, chemicals and refining company LyondellBasell Industries NV has begun talks with Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem SA’s main shareholder about a potential tie-up, the two companies said on Friday. A deal would allow Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht SA, Braskem’s controlling shareholder, to slash its debt, which ballooned as the company became the locus of an intraregional corruption scandal. Odebrecht’s net debt, excluding Braskem, totals 49 billion reais ($12.96 billion). Odebrecht, which had previously denied receiving a proposal from LyondellBasell, said in the statement it had entered exclusive talks with the plastic, chemicals and refining company. “The discussions are preliminary and no agreements have been reached,” the two companies said. “There can be no assurance the discussions will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur.” In March, Odebrecht reached an agreement with Brazil’s top two private banks, Banco Bradesco SA and Itaú Unibanco Holding to get a 2.6 billion reais ($688.32 million) loan and repay bondholders and short term debts. As part of the agreement, Odebrecht’s 38.3 percent stake in Braskem SA were given as collateral to new loans and could be sold by banks if they were not repaid by May 2020. On Friday morning, LyondellBasell Industries NV shares LYB.N was up 2.4 pct premarket at $116.87, top gainer among S&P 500 stocks. U.S. listed shares of Braskem BAK.N were up 16 pct at $25.25. ($1 = 3.7819 reais) (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T11:34:00.000+03:00|Swire Properties to sell two Hong Kong office towers for nearly $2 billion|SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Swire Properties Ltd ( 1972.HK ) plans to sell two office towers in Hong Kong for HK$15 billion ($1.9 billion) to Henglilong Investments Ltd, the latest deal in one of the world’s most expensive commercial property markets. Swire Properties entered into an agreement to sell its entire 100 percent stakes in Cityplaza Three and Cityplaza Four, located on Hong Kong’s main island, Swire said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. “The disposal will enable Swire Properties to realise cash from its investment in the sale interest. The proceeds from the disposal will be applied towards the general working capital requirements of Swire Properties,” it said. The announcement came after the Hong Kong markets closed. Swire Properties shares closed 5.35 percent higher, outperforming the Hang Seng Index's .HSI 0.43 percent fall. ($1 = 7.8493 Hong Kong dollars) Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; editing by David Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T11:35:00.000+03:00|Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island|HONOLULU, June 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said. The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes. The governor’s office put the number of residences destroyed at 455. Either tally marks the greatest number of homes claimed over such a short period by Kilauea - or by any other volcano in Hawaii’s modern history - far surpassing the 215 structures consumed by lava in an earlier eruption cycle that began in 1983 and continued nearly nonstop for three decades, experts say. The latest volcanic eruption also stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the cataclysmic 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington state that reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland. The geographical footprint of Kilauea’s current upheaval is much smaller, covering nearly 6,000 acres, or just over 9 square miles (2,400 hectares) of the Big Island in lava, an area roughly seven times Central Park in Manhattan. No specific sum of money was sought by the governor for federal disaster aid, and no dollar figure was attached to the package Trump approved under the Individuals and Households Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported this week that eligible homeowners and renters could get up to $34,000 each. The program provides grants to displaced residents to secure temporary housing while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance can also be obtained for repair and replacement costs. In addition to housing assistance, Trump approved relief from several other FEMA programs, including crisis counseling, unemployment benefits and legal aid. Trump previously issued a major disaster declaration weeks ago authorizing money from FEMA public assistance grants for the county of Hawaii, the island’s local governing authority. NO END IN SIGHT His expansion of FEMA assistance came as the Kilauea eruption entered its 43rd day on Thursday. In addition to lava and toxic sulfur dioxide gas spewing from about two-dozen fissures on the eastern flank of the volcano, daily periodic explosions of ash from the crater at Kilauea’s summit have created a nuisance and health hazard to communities downwind. Volcanic smog, or vog, carried aloft by the winds has hampered air quality for parts of the island and been detected as far away as the western Pacific island of Guam. The volcanic activity at Kilauea’s summit has also triggered thousands of mostly small-scale earthquakes that have added to the jitters of residents living nearby and damaged facilities at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the island’s biggest attraction. Most of the park remains closed. A report from the governor accompanying his request for federal aid documented the larger toll taken on residents of the island’s volcano-stricken Puna district, including disruption of power, communications and drinking water infrastructure. It cited an uptick in reports of residents “experiencing acute mental health effects of fear, anxiety and stress” as the crisis drags on with no end in sight. With about one-fifth of Puna’s population displaced by the eruption, the disaster has created a “housing crisis in a rental market that was already severely constrained,” the report said. In other economic impacts, the report cited losses of nearly $37 million in vacation rentals and $14 million from agriculture, including half of the state’s entire cut-flower industry and 80 percent of its papaya crop. (Additonal reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180614.html|0
2018-06-15T12:22:00.000+03:00|Putin discusses extension of OPEC+ deal with his security council|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed questions related to an extension of the OPEC+ oil cut deal with his Security Council, Interfax news agency reported on Friday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. FILE PHOTO - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 14, 2018. Yuri Kadobnov/Pool via REUTERS “The topic of the extension of the OPEC+ deal was also touched on the back of the President’s contacts with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Interfax Quote: d Peskov as saying. Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Polina Nikolskaya; Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-15T12:25:00.000+03:00|Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island|June 15, 2018 / 9:27 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island Jolyn Rosa 5 Min Read HONOLULU (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said. Journalists and National Guard soldiers watch as lava erupts in Leilani Estates during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 9, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes. The governor’s office put the number of residences destroyed at 455. Either tally marks the greatest number of homes claimed over such a short period by Kilauea - or by any other volcano in Hawaii’s modern history - far surpassing the 215 structures consumed by lava in an earlier eruption cycle that began in 1983 and continued nearly nonstop for three decades, experts say. The latest volcanic eruption also stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the cataclysmic 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington state that reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland. The geographical footprint of Kilauea’s current upheaval is much smaller, covering nearly 6,000 acres, or just over 9 square miles (2,400 hectares) of the Big Island in lava, an area roughly seven times Central Park in Manhattan. No specific sum of money was sought by the governor for federal disaster aid, and no dollar figure was attached to the package Trump approved under the Individuals and Households Programme, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported this week that eligible homeowners and renters could get up to $34,000 each. The programme provides grants to displaced residents to secure temporary housing while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance can also be obtained for repair and replacement costs. In addition to housing assistance, Trump approved relief from several other FEMA programs, including crisis counselling, unemployment benefits and legal aid. Trump previously issued a major disaster declaration weeks ago authorizing money from FEMA public assistance grants for the County of Hawaii, the island’s local governing authority. Lava destroys homes in the Kapoho area, east of Pahoa, during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester Residents will be able to register for assistance at a disaster recovery centre that will open on Friday at the Kea’au High School Gymnasium. The centre will be jointly operated by Hawaii County, the State of Hawaii and FEMA. NO END IN SIGHT His expansion of FEMA assistance came as the Kilauea eruption entered its 43rd day on Thursday. In addition to lava and toxic sulphur dioxide gas spewing from about two-dozen fissures on the eastern flank of the volcano, daily periodic explosions of ash from the crater at Kilauea’s summit have created a nuisance and health hazard to communities downwind. Volcanic smog, or vog, carried aloft by the winds has hampered air quality for parts of the island and been detected as far away as the western Pacific island of Guam. The volcanic activity at Kilauea’s summit has also triggered thousands of mostly small-scale earthquakes that have added to the jitters of residents living nearby and damaged facilities at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the island’s biggest attraction. Most of the park remains closed. A report from the governor accompanying his request for federal aid documented the larger toll taken on residents of the island’s volcano-stricken Puna district, including disruption of power, communications and drinking water infrastructure. It cited an uptick in reports of residents “experiencing acute mental health effects of fear, anxiety and stress” as the crisis drags on with no end in sight. With about one-fifth of Puna’s population displaced by the eruption, the disaster has created a “housing crisis in a rental market that was already severely constrained,” the report said. Slideshow (3 Images) In other economic impacts, the report cited losses of nearly $37 million in vacation rentals and $14 million from agriculture, including half of the state’s entire cut-flower industry and 80 percent of its papaya crop. Additonal reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-15T12:25:00.000+03:00|Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island|June 15, 2018 / 9:27 AM / Updated 33 minutes ago Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island Jolyn Rosa 5 Min Read HONOLULU (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said. Journalists and National Guard soldiers watch as lava erupts in Leilani Estates during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 9, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes. The governor’s office put the number of residences destroyed at 455. Either tally marks the greatest number of homes claimed over such a short period by Kilauea - or by any other volcano in Hawaii’s modern history - far surpassing the 215 structures consumed by lava in an earlier eruption cycle that began in 1983 and continued nearly nonstop for three decades, experts say. The latest volcanic eruption also stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the cataclysmic 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington state that reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland. The geographical footprint of Kilauea’s current upheaval is much smaller, covering nearly 6,000 acres, or just over 9 square miles (2,400 hectares) of the Big Island in lava, an area roughly seven times Central Park in Manhattan. No specific sum of money was sought by the governor for federal disaster aid, and no dollar figure was attached to the package Trump approved under the Individuals and Households Programme, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Lava destroys homes in the Kapoho area, east of Pahoa, during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported this week that eligible homeowners and renters could get up to $34,000 each. The programme provides grants to displaced residents to secure temporary housing while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance can also be obtained for repair and replacement costs. In addition to housing assistance, Trump approved relief from several other FEMA programs, including crisis counselling, unemployment benefits and legal aid. Trump previously issued a major disaster declaration weeks ago authorizing money from FEMA public assistance grants for the County of Hawaii, the island’s local governing authority. Residents will be able to register for assistance at a disaster recovery centre that will open on Friday at the Kea’au High School Gymnasium. The centre will be jointly operated by Hawaii County, the State of Hawaii and FEMA. Slideshow (3 Images) NO END IN SIGHT His expansion of FEMA assistance came as the Kilauea eruption entered its 43rd day on Thursday. In addition to lava and toxic sulphur dioxide gas spewing from about two-dozen fissures on the eastern flank of the volcano, daily periodic explosions of ash from the crater at Kilauea’s summit have created a nuisance and health hazard to communities downwind. Volcanic smog, or vog, carried aloft by the winds has hampered air quality for parts of the island and been detected as far away as the western Pacific island of Guam. The volcanic activity at Kilauea’s summit has also triggered thousands of mostly small-scale earthquakes that have added to the jitters of residents living nearby and damaged facilities at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the island’s biggest attraction. Most of the park remains closed. A report from the governor accompanying his request for federal aid documented the larger toll taken on residents of the island’s volcano-stricken Puna district, including disruption of power, communications and drinking water infrastructure. It cited an uptick in reports of residents “experiencing acute mental health effects of fear, anxiety and stress” as the crisis drags on with no end in sight. With about one-fifth of Puna’s population displaced by the eruption, the disaster has created a “housing crisis in a rental market that was already severely constrained,” the report said. In other economic impacts, the report cited losses of nearly $37 million in vacation rentals and $14 million from agriculture, including half of the state’s entire cut-flower industry and 80 percent of its papaya crop. Additonal reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKWorldNews/|0
2018-06-15T12:29:00.000+03:00|Fortum wins EU, Russia antitrust approvals for Uniper stake buy|BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators cleared on Friday Finnish utility Fortum’s ( FORTUM.HE ) bid to buy a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) from E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), saying the deal would not hurt competition. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Fortum headquarters in Espoo, Finland August 18, 2017. Picture taken August 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lefteris Karagiannopoulos In a separate statement, Fortum said it had also received merger clearance from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to acquire up to 50 percent of Uniper, in line with a previous decision disclosed at the end of April. Fortum said the FAS decision would prohibit it from making unjustified price increases on the wholesale electricity market, adding that would not have a significant impact on its operations. The approvals remove the remaining hurdles for Fortum to close the 3.8 billion euro ($4.4 billion) transaction, which the Finnish group said would take place no later than June 27. The European Commission gave the green light without setting conditions, confirming a Reuters story earlier this week. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German energy utility company Uniper SE is pictured in the company's headquarter in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo “We can approve their proposed merger, in particular because of the high level of interconnectivity between different countries in the Nordic area and because there is significant spare generation capacity in Sweden,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. Uniper has opposed the transaction, arguing the combination makes little sense given the energy group’s heavy exposure to gas and coal-fired power plants while Fortum’s focus is on clean technologies. Last week, Uniper Chief Executive Klaus Schaefer said he would defend the energy group’s independence, suggesting a full takeover would not be possible with him in the driving seat. ($1 = 0.8607 euros) Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Christoph Steitz; Editing Robert-Jan Bartunek and Mark Potter  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-15T12:34:00.000+03:00|Comcast gains unconditional EU antitrust approval to buy Sky|BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have given the green light to U.S. cable company Comcast’s ( CMCSA.O ) plan to acquire European pay-TV group Sky ( SKYB.L ) without demanding concessions. The NBC and Comcast logos are displayed on 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The European Commission said the deal did not raise any competition concerns, confirming a Reuters story last week. “The proposed transaction would lead to only a limited increase in Sky’s existing share of the markets for the acquisition of TV content, as well as in the market for the wholesale supply of TV channels in the relevant member states,” the EU competition agency said on Friday. Comcast, the world’s biggest entertainment company, is fighting Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) for Sky. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-15T12:54:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 15)|BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (approved June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (approved June 15) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (approved June 14) — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (approved June 14) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 25 — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Italian motorway operator Atlantia and German builder ACS Hochtief to jointly acquire Spanish construction company Abertis Infraestructuras (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 11 — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) JULY 12 — French energy company Total directo acquire French power utility Direct Energie (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Private equity firm Partners Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to have joint control of U.S.software company GlobalLogic which is now jointly controlled by CPPIB and private equity firm Apax Partners (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) JULY 13 — German mail order company Kaiser+Kraft and German tool maker Hoffmann to acquire joint control of Germany company Simple System GmbH & Co KG (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Private equity firm Advent International to acquire generics drugmaker Zentiva from French healthcare group Sanofi (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Italian company Snam to acquire Greek gas grid operator DESFA (notified June 8/July 13/simplified) — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) JULY 16 — Japanese property developer MEC to acquire joint control of Sime Darby MIT Development Sdn Bhd, which is a joint venture by Japanese trading house Mitsui and Sime Darby Property Sungai Kapar (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of British healthcare provider Heath and Protection Solutions Ltd (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Private equity firm Apollo Management to acquire Belgian insurer Generali Belgium (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Irish fresh food producer Total Produce to acquire a 45-percent stake in U.S. peer Dole Food Company (notified June 11/deadline July 16) JULY 18 — German copper products maker Wieland-Werke to acquire German copper smelter Aurubis’ flat rolled products unit Products Schwermetall (notified June 13/deadline July 18) — South Korean consumer electronics company LG Electronics to acquire Austrian car light maker ZKW Holding GmbH (notified June 13/deadline July 18/simplified) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) OCT 17 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 12 after the European Commission opens an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-15T13:07:00.000+03:00|Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions|(Adds Fortum, Comcast, Vinci, Sprint, CYBG, SandRidge, Companhia Energetica ; Updates LyondellBasell) June 15 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday: ** China is yet to approve U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors , three people close to the talks said, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. ** AT&T Inc, the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc after U.S. antitrust regulators indicated they would not seek a delay. ** LyondellBasell Industries NV and Odebrecht SA, the controlling owner of petrochemicals producer, Braskem said they have entered into exclusive talks for Lyondell to acquire control of Braskem, and two people familiar with the matter said the companies are planning a cash and shares deal that could top $9 billion. ** SandRidge Energy Inc said it had been approached by 17 potential bidders for a buyout, including billionaire Carl Icahn who is fighting for control of the oil and gas producer’s board. ** Investor Rene Benko’s Signa Holding said it saw great intrinsic value in Austrian furniture and household goods retailer Kika/Leiner, which it agreed to buy from Steinhoff . ** Specialist insurer Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG) is buying Britain’s oldest mutual life insurance company Equitable Life, the firms said, releasing 1.8 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) to Equitable Life policyholders. ** Construction company Vinci has approached investors to launch a multi-billion-euro bid for part of French airport group Aeroports de Paris (ADP), the largest of President Macron’s planned state sell-offs, four financial sources said. ** Oasis Management has taken stakes in Japanese oil refiners Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd and Showa Shell Sekiyu , keen to encourage a proposed merger that has been opposed by Idemitsu’s founding family, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. ** The merger of payments services Vipps, BankID and BankAxept is approved in line with recommendations from Norway’s financial supervisory authority, the finance ministry said late Thursday. ** Activist firm Shareholder Value Management has bought a 2 percent stake in EDP Renovaveis, the renewables business of EDP-Energias de Portugal, which is the target of a takeover bid from China Three Gorges. ** An Italian state-backed investment fund will pay 70 million euros ($81 million) to buy 41.2 percent of Italian fashion house Missoni to help boost sales ahead of a possible bourse listing. ** Wireless companies Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc have informed the Federal Communications Commission that they will formally file an application asking for approval to merge on Monday, according to a document seen by Reuters. ** Brazilian utility Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais has received far more interest than expected in the sale of its telecommunications assets, attracting 16 groups interested in bidding, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. ** EU antitrust regulators cleared Finnish utility Fortum’s bid to buy a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper from E.ON, saying the deal would not hurt competition. ** EU antitrust regulators have given the green light to U.S. cable company Comcast’s plan to acquire European pay-TV group Sky without demanding concessions. ** CYBG is closing in an agreement to buy rival Virgin Money to create a larger bank to take on Britain’s biggest lenders, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. (Compiled by Nivedita Balu and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-15T13:12:00.000+03:00|Cryptocurrency exchange strikes UK bank account deal -sources|LONDON (Reuters) - A cryptocurrency exchange in the UK has struck a rare deal to open a bank account with British start-up ClearBank, said two people familiar with the matter, allowing domestic customers to trade digital currencies without moving their money overseas. Mainstream British and other European lenders have largely shunned cryptocurrencies, which have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators. ClearBank is a purpose-built clearing bank launched in 2017 by Nick Ogden, the founder of payments group Worldpay. The sources said it has reached a deal with London Block Exchange, one of the UK’s better-known digital wallet providers. “This will make it easier for British customers of the exchange to buy and sell cryptocurrencies by making transactions faster and cheaper,” said one person with knowledge of the agreement who declined to be named. London Block Exchange said in March it would offer its clients on-shore accounts and access to the Faster Payments Service, a network used by the traditional financial industry. The exchange and ClearBank both declined to comment on Friday. Traditional lenders have been reluctant to do business with companies that handle bitcoin and other digital currencies because of money laundering concerns and prospects of a regulatory crackdown. San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase did however strike a deal in March to open a bank account with Britain’s Barclays. Companies that handle cryptocurrencies have been forced to open accounts outside Britain - notably in Gibraltar, Poland and Latvia - and transfer pounds into euros or other currencies. That has raised questions about the UK’s ambition to become a global hub for the fast-growing fintech industry. Big lenders have also limited their customers’ ability to buy cryptocurrencies because of fears that a plunge in their value will leave debts unpaid. ClearBank was set up as a clearing bank offering services to building societies, credit unions and fintech firms that have retail banking needs such as opening current accounts. Reporting by Tom Finn: Editing by Tommy Wilkes and John Stonestreet  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T13:21:00.000+03:00|Cryptocurrency exchange strikes UK bank account deal - sources|June 15, 2018 / 10:22 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Cryptocurrency exchange strikes UK bank account deal - sources Tom Finn 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A cryptocurrency exchange in the UK has struck a rare deal to open a bank account with British start-up ClearBank, said two people familiar with the matter, allowing domestic customers to trade digital currencies without moving their money overseas. Mainstream British and other European lenders have largely shunned cryptocurrencies, which have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators. ClearBank is a purpose-built clearing bank launched in 2017 by Nick Ogden, the founder of payments group Worldpay. The sources said it has reached a deal with London Block Exchange, one of the UK’s better-known digital wallet providers. “This will make it easier for British customers of the exchange to buy and sell cryptocurrencies by making transactions faster and cheaper,” said one person with knowledge of the agreement who declined to be named. London Block Exchange said in March it would offer its clients on-shore accounts and access to the Faster Payments Service, a network used by the traditional financial industry. The exchange and ClearBank both declined to comment on Friday. Traditional lenders have been reluctant to do business with companies that handle bitcoin and other digital currencies because of money laundering concerns and prospects of a regulatory crackdown. San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase did however strike a deal in March to open a bank account with Britain’s Barclays. Companies that handle cryptocurrencies have been forced to open accounts outside Britain - notably in Gibraltar, Poland and Latvia - and transfer pounds into euros or other currencies. That has raised questions about the UK’s ambition to become a global hub for the fast-growing fintech industry. Big lenders have also limited their customers’ ability to buy cryptocurrencies because of fears that a plunge in their value will leave debts unpaid. ClearBank was set up as a clearing bank offering services to building societies, credit unions and fintech firms that have retail banking needs such as opening current accounts. Reporting by Tom Finn: Editing by Tommy Wilkes and John Stonestreet|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-15T13:24:00.000+03:00|Italian state-backed fund to buy 41.2 percent stake of fashion house Missoni|June 15, 2018 / 10:25 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Cash injection from state-backed fund to fuel Missoni expansion Giulia Segreti , Claudia Cristoferi 4 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - Missoni, known for its multi-coloured designs, is looking to expand abroad after an Italian state-backed investment fund injected 70 million euros (£60.9 million) into the fashion house in exchange for a 41.2 percent stake. Angela Missoni, Creative Director of Missoni (R) and Maurizio Tamagnini CEO of FSI attend a news conference in Milan, Italy June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini Missoni is an example of a family-owned business which is well known abroad but not listed on a stock exchange and struggling to compete in what is a tough global market for luxury goods. Small independent brands are increasingly rare in an industry dominated by large conglomerates such as LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, or Kering ( PRTP.PA ), parent to Gucci and Saint Laurent. Missoni, which has annual sales worth 150 million euros, will focus on growing internationally - particularly in the important Chinese market, extending its product range and boosting its retail network. Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI), which has a policy of backing strong Italian brands, will invest mainly through a capital increase, a joint statement said on Friday. FSI is controlled by Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which is in turn is majority-owned by the Treasury. It is the fund’s first investment in the fashion sector. Slideshow (4 Images) The Missoni family will keep the remaining 58.8 percent of the group they founded in 1953. “Our goal was to leave a healthy company in the hands of the third generation,” said Angela Missoni, the daughter of the group’s founders who has been at the creative helm of the group for the last two decades. THREE GENERATIONS Missoni added that the group was considering a future stock market floating and FSI Chief Executive Maurizio Tamagnini said the fund may eventually cut its stake through the listing, but that there was “no rush.” Michele Norsa, a long-time executive at luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo ( SFER.MI ) who joined FSI last year, will become vice-chairman at Missoni. He said he expected Missoni sales to grow as much as by double figures in the next five years by opening new shops, boosting online sales and moving away from a wholesale-based model to a retail-based one. “With the support of the FSI and the strategic vision of the incoming vice-chairman, we will be able to lead this precious family jewel into a bright future,” Angela Missoni said. The brand famous for its rainbow coloured creations and its signature ‘Fiammato’ — flamed, zig-zag pattern — was founded as a knitwear business by couple Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in the small northern Italian town of Gallarate. Contacts between FSI and the Missoni family started in February last year and the deal was finalised in the last months. Angela said she would continue as both creative director and chairwoman. Current Director General Emilio Carbonera Giani is set to stay on with broader powers. Giacomo Missoni, part of a third generation of the family, will sit on the new seven-board member of the group, with oversight on the commercial strategies of the group. Missoni debuted on the catwalk in Florence in 1967 and despite its small size - only 300 employees - became one of the top names in the fashion industry, a favourite with celebrities. Editing by Toby Chopra and Keith Weir|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-15T13:27:00.000+03:00|Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic|June 15, 2018 / 10:28 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior ( INDV.L ) fell by more than 20 percent on Friday after the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment that generates 80 percent of its revenue. Shares in Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser ( RB.L ) in 2014, were down 22.7 percent at 0925 GMT and the biggest loser on the FTSE midcap index .FTMC . India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories ( REDY.NS ) received FDA approval for a copy-cat version of the treatment, which has been rapidly losing market share due to competition from generics. Mylan NV ( MYL.O ) also received approval to market the substitute drug. Dr Reddy’s said it would launch its therapeutic equivalent of Suboxone, which is a composition of buprenorphine and naloxone, at risk, with an approved risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) programme. One analyst said the at-risk sudden launch was a surprise and could threaten Indivior’s 2018 guidance. A spokesman for Indivior said the company was preparing to release a statement. Indivior could seek an injunction to try to halt a launch of the generics or launch its own authorised generic, analysts at Jefferies said in a note. “If Indivior was to prevail in any of its on-going legal challenges then Dr. Reddy’s would be liable for damages,” Jefferies said, estimating that Indivior’s 2018 earnings per share could be hit by as much as 50 percent if Dr. Reddy’s has sufficient inventory and launches by July 1. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-15T13:30:00.000+03:00|Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic|June 15, 2018 / 10:34 AM / Updated 28 minutes ago Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior fell by more than 20 percent on Friday after the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment that generates 80 percent of its revenue. Shares in Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, were down 22.7 percent at 0925 GMT and the biggest loser on the FTSE midcap index. India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories received FDA approval for a copy-cat version of the treatment, which has been rapidly losing market share due to competition from generics. Mylan NV also received approval to market the substitute drug. Dr Reddy’s said it would launch its therapeutic equivalent of Suboxone, which is a composition of buprenorphine and naloxone, at risk, with an approved risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program. One analyst said the at-risk sudden launch was a surprise and could threaten Indivior’s 2018 guidance. A spokesman for Indivior said the company was preparing to release a statement. Indivior could seek an injunction to try to halt a launch of the generics or launch its own authorised generic, analysts at Jefferies said in a note. “If Indivior was to prevail in any of its on-going legal challenges then Dr. Reddy’s would be liable for damages,” Jefferies said, estimating that Indivior’s 2018 earnings per share could be hit by as much as 50 percent if Dr. Reddy’s has sufficient inventory and launches by July 1. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-15T13:30:00.000+03:00|Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic|June 15, 2018 / 11:12 AM / Updated 18 hours ago Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior fell by more than 20 percent on Friday after the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment that generates 80 percent of its revenue. Shares in Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, were down 22.7 percent at 0925 GMT and the biggest loser on the FTSE midcap index. India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories received FDA approval for a copy-cat version of the treatment, which has been rapidly losing market share due to competition from generics. Mylan NV also received approval to market the substitute drug. Dr Reddy’s said it would launch its therapeutic equivalent of Suboxone, which is a composition of buprenorphine and naloxone, at risk, with an approved risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program. One analyst said the at-risk sudden launch was a surprise and could threaten Indivior’s 2018 guidance. A spokesman for Indivior said the company was preparing to release a statement. Indivior could seek an injunction to try to halt a launch of the generics or launch its own authorized generic, analysts at Jefferies said in a note. “If Indivior was to prevail in any of its on-going legal challenges then Dr. Reddy’s would be liable for damages,” Jefferies said, estimating that Indivior’s 2018 earnings per share could be hit by as much as 50 percent if Dr. Reddy’s has sufficient inventory and launches by July 1. Related Coverage|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-15T13:40:00.000+03:00|CORRECTED-BRIEF-Benfica Sells Joao Carvalho And Sends Diogo Goncalves On Loan To Nottingham Forest|June 15 (Reuters) - SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA FUTEBOL SAD : * SAID ON THURSDAY SELLS PLAYER JOAO CARVALHO TO NOTTINGHAM FOREST FOOTBALL CLUB FOR 15 MILLION EUROS * WILL ALSO HAVE RIGHT TO RECEIVE 25 PERCENT OF CAPITAL GAINS IN FUTURE TRANSFER OF PLAYER * SENDS PLAYER DIOGO GONCALVES ON LOAN TO NOTTINGHAM FOREST FOOTBALL CLUB FOR THE 2018/19 SEASON Source text: bit.ly/2sSNJmn bit.ly/2HTNoVi bit.ly/2JRkCtk Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-15T14:11:00.000+03:00|Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic|June 15, 2018 / 11:15 AM / 3 days ago Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior fell by more than 20 percent on Friday after the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment that generates 80 percent of its revenue. Shares in Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, were down 22.7 percent at 0925 GMT and the biggest loser on the FTSE midcap index. India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories received FDA approval for a copy-cat version of the treatment, which has been rapidly losing market share due to competition from generics. Mylan NV also received approval to market the substitute drug. Dr Reddy’s said it would launch its therapeutic equivalent of Suboxone, which is a composition of buprenorphine and naloxone, at risk, with an approved risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program. Related Coverage One analyst said the at-risk sudden launch was a surprise and could threaten Indivior’s 2018 guidance. A spokesman for Indivior said the company was preparing to release a statement. Indivior could seek an injunction to try to halt a launch of the generics or launch its own authorized generic, analysts at Jefferies said in a note. “If Indivior was to prevail in any of its on-going legal challenges then Dr. Reddy’s would be liable for damages,” Jefferies said, estimating that Indivior’s 2018 earnings per share could be hit by as much as 50 percent if Dr. Reddy’s has sufficient inventory and launches by July 1. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/healthNews/|0
2018-06-15T14:11:00.000+03:00|Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic|June 15, 2018 / 11:12 AM / Updated 2 hours ago Indivior shares dive after Dr Reddy's gets FDA approval for generic Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior fell by more than 20 percent on Friday after the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment that generates 80 percent of its revenue. Shares in Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, were down 22.7 percent at 0925 GMT and the biggest loser on the FTSE midcap index. India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories received FDA approval for a copy-cat version of the treatment, which has been rapidly losing market share due to competition from generics. Mylan NV also received approval to market the substitute drug. Dr Reddy’s said it would launch its therapeutic equivalent of Suboxone, which is a composition of buprenorphine and naloxone, at risk, with an approved risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program. One analyst said the at-risk sudden launch was a surprise and could threaten Indivior’s 2018 guidance. A spokesman for Indivior said the company was preparing to release a statement. Indivior could seek an injunction to try to halt a launch of the generics or launch its own authorized generic, analysts at Jefferies said in a note. “If Indivior was to prevail in any of its on-going legal challenges then Dr. Reddy’s would be liable for damages,” Jefferies said, estimating that Indivior’s 2018 earnings per share could be hit by as much as 50 percent if Dr. Reddy’s has sufficient inventory and launches by July 1. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKHealth|0
2018-06-15T14:40:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Italian state-backed fund to buy 41.2 pct stake of fashion house Missoni|* Family company wants to expand internationally * Stock market listing could follow in time (Recasts, adds details, Quote: s) By Giulia Segreti and Claudia Cristoferi MILAN, June 15 (Reuters) - Missoni, known for its multi-coloured designs, is looking to expand abroad after an Italian state-backed investment fund injected 70 million euros ($81 million) into the fashion house in exchange for a 41.2 percent stake. Missoni is an example of a family-owned business which is well known abroad but not listed on a stock exchange and struggling to compete in what is a tough global market for luxury goods. Small independent brands are increasingly rare in an industry dominated by large conglomerates such as LVMH , owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, or Kering , parent to Gucci and Saint Laurent. Missoni, which has annual sales worth 150 million euros, will focus on growing internationally - particularly in the important Chinese market, extending its product range and boosting its retail network. Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI), which has a policy of backing strong Italian brands, will invest mainly through a capital increase, a joint statement said on Friday. FSI is controlled by Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which is in turn is majority-owned by the Treasury. It is the fund’s first investment in the fashion sector. The Missoni family will keep the remaining 58.8 percent of the group they founded in 1953. “Our goal was to leave a healthy company in the hands of the third generation,” said Angela Missoni, the daughter of the group’s founders who has been at the creative helm of the group for the last two decades. THREE GENERATIONS Missoni added that the group was considering a future stock market floating and FSI Chief Executive Maurizio Tamagnini said the fund may eventually cut its stake through the listing, but that there was “no rush.” Michele Norsa, a long-time executive at luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo who joined FSI last year, will become vice-chairman at Missoni. He said he expected Missoni sales to grow as much as by double figures in the next five years by opening new shops, boosting online sales and moving away from a wholesale-based model to a retail-based one. “With the support of the FSI and the strategic vision of the incoming vice-chairman, we will be able to lead this precious family jewel into a bright future,” Angela Missoni said. The brand famous for its rainbow coloured creations and its signature ‘Fiammato’ — flamed, zig-zag pattern — was founded as a knitwear business by couple Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in the small northern Italian town of Gallarate. Contacts between FSI and the Missoni family started in February last year and the deal was finalised in the last months. Angela said she would continue as both creative director and chairwoman. Current Director General Emilio Carbonera Giani is set to stay on with broader powers. Giacomo Missoni, part of a third generation of the family, will sit on the new seven-board member of the group, with oversight on the commercial strategies of the group. Missoni debuted on the catwalk in Florence in 1967 and despite its small size - only 300 employees - became one of the top names in the fashion industry, a favourite with celebrities. ($1 = 0.8629 euros). (Editing by Toby Chopra and Keith Weir)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-15T14:55:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm extends cash tender offer to buy NXP shares|June 15, 2018 / 11:57 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Qualcomm extends cash tender offer to buy NXP shares Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc has extended by a week its cash tender offer to buy all shares of NXP Semiconductors NV for $44 billion, the chipmaker said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The offer is now scheduled to expire on June 22, the latest in a series of extensions since October 2016 when the company announced its initial offer for NXP. Reuters reported on Friday that China is yet to approve the deal, citing three people close to the talks, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INtechnologyNews|0
2018-06-15T15:00:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm extends cash tender offer to buy NXP shares|June 15, 2018 / 12:01 PM / Updated 37 minutes ago Qualcomm extends cash tender offer to buy NXP shares Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc has extended by a week its cash tender offer to buy all shares of NXP Semiconductors NV for $44 billion (33.1 billion pounds), the chipmaker said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake The offer is now scheduled to expire on June 22, the latest in a series of extensions since October 2016 when the company announced its initial offer for NXP. Reuters reported on Friday that China is yet to approve the deal, citing three people close to the talks, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T15:15:00.000+03:00|Qualcomm-NXP deal still waiting for China nod - sources|BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is yet to approve U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc’s ( QCOM.O ) proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI.O ), three people close to the talks said, dismissing an earlier media report that said Beijing had already greenlit the deal. FILE PHOTO: A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Chinese clearance would remove a long-running roadblock to the deal that has become entangled with broader trade tensions between the United States and China. The acquisition has already got a nod from eight of the nine required global regulators, with China being the only hold-out. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday morning that China had given its go-ahead to the deal, citing people with knowledge of the matter, driving up shares of the U.S. firm in extended trade. But Reuters sources, who are close to the Qualcomm-NXP deal, said they were not aware of any Chinese approval. One of them said planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods expected to be unveiled later in the day could impact the process. Qualcomm did not have an immediate comment on Friday, while NXP did not respond to a request for comment. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, the regulator which reviews merger deals, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. FILE PHOTO: A man works on a tent for NXP Semiconductors in preparation for the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Qualcomm met with regulators in Beijing last month in a bid to secure a clearance, but sources at the time said an approval would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the U.S. government lifting a crippling supplier ban on telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ )( 0763.HK ). Washington and Beijing have struck a deal to help ZTE back into business. However, trade talks remain in the balance with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to unveil “pretty significant” tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday. Analysts said a Chinese approval would be significant as it would remove the last major barrier to the NXP deal, which is seen as key for Qualcomm to diversify its business and make a push into new areas like smart cars. The U.S. chipmaker on Friday extended its cash tender offer to buy all shares of NXP by a week. The offer is now scheduled to expire on June 22, the latest in a series of extensions since Qualcomm initially announced its bid for the Dutch semiconductor company in October 2016. Reporting by Michael Martina and Matthew Miller in BEIJING, Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Nikhil Subba and Arjun Panchadar in BENGALURU; Editing by James Dalgleish, Grant McCool and Himani Sarkar  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews|0
2018-06-15T15:17:00.000+03:00|Specialist insurer LCCG buys UK's Equitable Life, policyholders gain $2.4 billion|June 15, 2018 / 10:07 AM / Updated an hour ago Specialist insurer LCCG buys UK's Equitable Life, policyholders gain $2.4 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Specialist insurer Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG) is buying Britain’s oldest mutual life insurance company Equitable Life, the firms said on Friday, releasing 1.8 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) to Equitable Life policyholders. Equitable Life, established in 1762, has more than 300,000 policyholders and manages assets of 6.3 billion pounds ($8.4 billion), but it closed to new customers in 2000 after it came close to collapse. Its policies will transfer to LCCG’s Reliance Life subsidiary, with the deal due to complete by the end of 2019, LCCG said in a statement. The transfer to LCCG releases 1.8 billion pounds in Equitable Life capital to its insurance customers, Equitable Life Chief Executive Chris Wiscarson told Reuters. “This is a wonderful windfall for Equitable Life policyholders,” said Danny Cox, financial planner at funds supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown. Reliance Life specialises in life insurance businesses that are closed to new policyholders. Specialist providers say they can run pensions and life policies at a lower cost by using economies of scale, investing more astutely and using actuarial expertise to match assets more closely to liabilities, thereby reducing risk. Standard Life Aberdeen sold its insurance business this year to closed-life specialist Phoenix for 3.24 billion pounds. “A lot of the really big players are pulling out, so I think there is a lot of mileage in it yet,” LCCG Chief Executive Paul Thompson told Reuters, adding the firm was planning more acquisitions. LCCG, which bought its first UK life business last year, has operations in Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man and policyholder assets of more than 30 billion pounds. It is backed by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. Equitable Life was advised by Goldman Sachs. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Edmund Blair|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKTopNews/|1
2018-06-15T15:29:00.000+03:00|Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multiyear program deal|"June 15, 2018 / 5:29 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Apple nabs Oprah as top talent flocks to digital entertainment Lisa Richwine 4 Min Read LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) on Friday announced a multiyear deal with Oprah Winfrey to create original programming, a coup in the battle for A-list talent and projects in the booming digital entertainment market. Cast member Oprah Winfrey poses at the premiere of ""A Wrinkle in Time"" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” Apple said in a statement. Apple gave no details of the type of programming that Winfrey would create, the value of the deal, or when it might be released. Winfrey had no immediate comment. Winfrey, 64, an influential movie and TV producer who also publishes a magazine, is expected to appear on screen, a source familiar with the deal said. Apple has not said how it plans to distribute its programming, to which it has committed an initial $1 billion. The partnership is the biggest original content deal struck by Apple so far as it aims to compete with Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ), Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and Time Warner Inc’s ( TWX.N ) HBO. Netflix, which has said it will spend up to $8 billion on programming this year, in May struck a multiyear deal with former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to produce films, documentaries and other content. Netflix, the world’s leading streaming entertainment provider, has also lured prolific television producers Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes away from broadcast television. Amazon said in November it had bought the global television rights to “The Lord of the Rings” and would produce a multi-season series that explores new storylines preceding author J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Earlier this week, Amazon also announced a development deal with Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman’s production company for movies and television. For its part, Apple in November ordered two seasons of a dramatic series with Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, looking at the lives of people working on a morning television show. Other projects Apple has announced include a remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s science fiction anthology series “Amazing Stories,” based on Isaac Asimov’s influential “Foundation” science fiction novels, and a drama from “La La Land” movie director Damian Chazelle. Under the deal with Winfrey, she will remain chief executive of cable channel OWN, which she launched in 2011 in partnership with Discovery Inc DISCA.O.. Winfrey in December extended her contract with OWN through 2025, OWN and Apple said. Under her contract with OWN, Winfrey can appear on camera on other platforms on a limited basis. Known in the United States by millions on a first-name basis, Winfrey rose to fame as the host of her own television talk show, using it to build a media empire that spans magazine publishing, movie and television production, cable TV and satellite radio. Born into poverty, she is one of the world’s wealthiest women and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. A rousing speech by Winfrey at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in January triggered an online campaign to persuade her to run for U.S. president in 2020. She dismissed the notion, telling InStyle magazine in an interview, “It’s not something that interests me.” Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Rigby and Richard Chang"|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-15T15:32:00.000+03:00|"In ""world of two halves"" funds buy US stocks, exit Europe-BAML"|"June 15, 2018 / 12:36 PM / in 15 minutes In ""world of two halves"" funds buy US stocks, exit Europe-BAML Sujata Rao 3 Min Read LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Global investors pulled more cash out of European and emerging markets in the past week, opting instead for U.S. stocks, as robust economic growth encouraged a sixth straight week of inflows, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. The bank’s data, which tracks fund flows from Wednesday to Wednesday, references a period when investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second interest rate rise of 2018 and awaited signals from the European Central Bank on its stimulus exit path. The ECB said on Thursday it would end bond buying this year but not raise rates until the second half of 2019. BAML said the week had seen $5.6 billion enter global equity funds, with U.S. stocks accounting for a $10.3 billion inflow and European equities losing $2.5 billion. Emerging stocks funds shed $1.3 billion and Japan suffered $400 million outflows. “It’s a game and world of two halves,” BAML analysts wrote in a reference to the football World Cup which started this week in Russia. “U.S. decoupling from the rest of the world accelerating,” BAML said, noting that in the past six weeks $29 billion had flowed to U.S. stocks, contrasting with losses of $13 billion from European markets. Emerging debt and equity redemptions now amount to $12 billion over the past seven weeks, the bank added. “The bigger picture is global QE is ending, with the United States the sole growth story.” Moreover, U.S. equities now stand just 3 percent off all-time highs, while euro zone and Chinese stocks languish around 30 percent off peaks, the note said. European equities have shed nearly $20 billion so far this year, fund flows data shows, and a pan-European equity index is barely in positive territory, hit by signs of a growth slowdown and also fears the United States will impose large import tarriffs on goods such as autos and steel. U.S. markets meanwhile are benefiting from large tax cuts as as well as the continued rally in technology shares. On bond markets, investors bought higher quality investment-grade debt for the fourth week in a row, putting in $900 million, while junk-rated debt witnessed their sixth week of outflows. Emerging debt funds suffered their eighth straight loss-making week, shedding $1.3 billion. (Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Toby Chopra)"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKbankingFinancial/|0
2018-06-15T15:36:00.000+03:00|LyondellBasell says in talks on Braskem deal|June 15 (Reuters) - Plastic, chemicals and refining company LyondellBasell Industries NV has begun talks with the main shareholder of Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem SA on a potential tie-up, the two companies said on Friday. The controlling shareholder, Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht SA, which has previously denied receiving a proposal from LyondellBaseel Industries NV, said in the statement it had entered exclusive talks with Lyondell. “The discussions are preliminary and no agreements have been reached,” the two companies said. “There can be no assurance the discussions will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur.” (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T15:41:00.000+03:00|In 'world of two halves' funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe - BAML|June 15, 2018 / 12:39 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago In 'world of two halves' funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe - BAML Sujata Rao 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors pulled more cash out of European and emerging markets in the past week, opting instead for U.S. stocks, as robust economic growth encouraged a sixth straight week of inflows, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: The company logo of the Bank of America and Merrill Lynch is displayed at its office in Hong Kong March 8, 2013. REUTERS/Bobby Yip The bank’s data, which tracks fund flows from Wednesday to Wednesday, references a period when investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second interest rate rise of 2018 and awaited signals from the European Central Bank on its stimulus exit path. The ECB said on Thursday it would end bond buying this year but not raise rates until the second half of 2019. BAML said the week had seen $5.6 billion enter global equity funds, with U.S. stocks accounting for a $10.3 billion inflow and European equities losing $2.5 billion. Emerging stocks funds shed $1.3 billion and Japan suffered $400 million outflows. “It’s a game and world of two halves,” BAML analysts wrote in a reference to the football World Cup which started this week in Russia. “U.S. decoupling from the rest of the world accelerating,” BAML said, noting that in the past six weeks $29 billion had flowed to U.S. stocks, contrasting with losses of $13 billion from European markets. Emerging debt and equity redemptions now amount to $12 billion over the past seven weeks, the bank added. “The bigger picture is global QE is ending, with the United States the sole growth story.” Moreover, U.S. equities now stand just 3 percent off all-time highs, while euro zone and Chinese stocks languish around 30 percent off peaks, the note said. European equities have shed nearly $20 billion so far this year, fund flows data shows, and a pan-European equity index is barely in positive territory , hit by signs of a growth slowdown and also fears the United States will impose large import tarriffs on goods such as autos and steel. U.S. markets meanwhile are benefiting from large tax cuts as well as the continued rally in technology shares. On bond markets, investors bought higher quality investment-grade debt for the fourth week in a row, putting in $900 million, while junk-rated debt witnessed their sixth week of outflows. Emerging debt funds suffered their eighth straight loss-making week, shedding $1.3 billion. Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Toby Chopra|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/|0
2018-06-15T15:41:00.000+03:00|In 'world of two halves' funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe - BAML|June 15, 2018 / 1:33 PM / 3 days ago In 'world of two halves' funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe: BAML Sujata Rao 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors pulled more cash out of European and emerging markets in the past week, opting instead for U.S. stocks, as robust economic growth encouraged a sixth straight week of inflows, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. FILE PHOTO - A computer screen showing stock graphs is reflected on glasses in this illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau The bank’s data, which tracks fund flows from Wednesday to Wednesday, references a period when investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second interest rate rise of 2018 and awaited signals from the European Central Bank on its stimulus exit path. The ECB said on Thursday it would end bond buying this year but not raise rates until the second half of 2019. BAML said the week had seen $5.6 billion enter global equity funds, with U.S. stocks accounting for a $10.3 billion inflow and European equities losing $2.5 billion. Emerging stocks funds shed $1.3 billion and Japan suffered $400 million outflows. “It’s a game and world of two halves,” BAML analysts wrote in a reference to the football World Cup which started this week in Russia. “U.S. decoupling from the rest of the world accelerating,” BAML said, noting that in the past six weeks $29 billion had flowed to U.S. stocks, contrasting with losses of $13 billion from European markets. Emerging debt and equity redemptions now amount to $12 billion over the past seven weeks, the bank added. “The bigger picture is global QE is ending, with the United States the sole growth story.” Moreover, U.S. equities now stand just 3 percent off all-time highs, while euro zone and Chinese stocks languish around 30 percent off peaks, the note said. European equities have shed nearly $20 billion so far this year, fund flows data shows, and a pan-European equity index is barely in positive territory, hit by signs of a growth slowdown and also fears the United States will impose large import tariffs on goods such as autos and steel. U.S. markets meanwhile are benefiting from large tax cuts as well as the continued rally in technology shares. On bond markets, investors bought higher quality investment-grade debt for the fourth week in a row, putting in $900 million, while junk-rated debt witnessed their sixth week of outflows. Emerging debt funds suffered their eighth straight loss-making week, shedding $1.3 billion. Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Toby Chopra|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKFundsNews/|0
2018-06-15T15:54:00.000+03:00|Intesa CEO talking to several investors over wealth management deal|MARGHERA, Italy (Reuters) - Intesa SanPaolo ( ISP.MI ) is still in the early stages of looking for an investor in its wealth management unit and is talking to several potential partners, the chief executive of Italy’s biggest retail bank said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: The Intesa Sanpaolo logo is seen in Milan, Italy, in this January 18, 2016 photo. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Intesa Sanpaolo said in February that it would seek a partnership with a global player in asset management via the sale of a minority stake in its Eurizon unit. The Financial Times reported this week that BlackRock ( BLK.N ), the world’s largest asset manager, was in talks about buying a 10 percent stake in Eurizon. “We’re assessing various options with a number of global international players and clearly the world’s best ones,” CEO Carlo Messina told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Marghera, Italy, when asked about the report. “But we haven’t decided anything yet and there isn’t just one (potential partner) we’re talking to ... We’re still in an initial phase,” he added. First among Italian banks to shift away from the traditional lending activity, Intesa has successfully built a business model centered on fees earned through insurance and asset management, an industry where economies of scale are seen as key. Intesa targets 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) in fees in 2021, accounting for 48 percent of annual revenues up from 45 percent in 2017. Financial sources have confirmed Intesa has talked to BlackRock among others. One source said that talks with BlackRock were more advanced on a commercial partnership. BlackRock declined to comment. Reporting by Riccardo Bastianello, additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Valentina Za in Milan and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Susan Fenton  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T16:15:00.000+03:00|UK's Indivior to seek injunction after rival gets FDA approval for generics|June 15 (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior said on Friday it would pursue all legal remedies, including seeking an immediate injunction against the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to approve the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment. Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, stuck to its 2018 guidance saying that until the details of Dr. Reddy’s market entry of the drug’s generic version is confirmed. The company, however, warned that Dr.Reddy’s launch could “potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S., an effect that could occur within months of a successful launch of a generic film alternative into the U.S. market.” (Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T16:24:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-LyondellBasell, Brazil's Odebrecht discuss deal for Braskem|June 15, 2018 / 1:15 PM / in 16 hours LyondellBasell in exclusive talks to acquire control of Braskem Tatiana Bautzer , Carolina Mandl 3 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - LyondellBasell Industries NV ( LYB.N ) and Odebrecht SA, the controlling owner of petrochemicals producer Braskem, said on Friday they have entered into exclusive talks for Lyondell to acquire control of Braskem, and two people familiar with the matter said the companies are planning a cash and shares deal that could top $9 billion. FILE PHOTO - General view of the refinery of U.S. chemicals group LyondellBasell in Berre, near Marseille, France, October 19, 2015. Picture taken on October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier LyondellBasell and Odebrecht expect to reach a final deal in two months, but there is no deadline yet for LyondellBasell to deliver a binding proposal, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the terms publicly. The sources said Odebrecht expects a premium over Braskem’s market capitalization, which was 33.2 billion reais ($8.93 billion) as of Thursday’s market close. Once LyondellBasell and Odebrecht reach an agreement on price, the acquirer will extend the same terms for the stake owned by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ), known as Petrobras, Braskem’s No. 2 shareholder, according to the sources. Petrobras previously said it planned to divest fully from its stake in Braskem. While Odebrecht is angling for a minority stake in LyondellBasell, the deal may be structured so that Petrobras may receive an all-cash offer if it wishes to, the sources said, adding that minority shareholders will also receive a tender offer. Braskem shares soared 19 percent in Sao Paulo, lifting its market cap to 37.7 billion reais. LyondellBasell edged nearly 1 percent higher in New York, while Petrobras shares were down nearly 3 percent, tracking tumbling crude prices. LyondellBasell and privately held Odebrecht declined to comment on details of the deal. Petrobras said in a filing it had been informed of talks. Most of LyondellBasell’s 55 plants are in the United States, Europe and Asia — a footprint complementary to that of Braskem, which has 29 plants in Brazil, five in the United States, four in Mexico and two in Germany. “The discussions are preliminary and no agreements have been reached,” the two companies said. “There can be no assurance the discussions will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur.” During the exclusive negotiations, LyondellBasell will examine Braskem’s long-term naphtha supply contract with Petrobras, which is set to expire in 2020. Odebrecht recently pledged its 38 percent stake in Braskem as collateral on loans, and part of the proceeds from a deal may go to paying debt, so the conglomerate’s creditors will have to agree to the sale, the sources said. Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl; additional by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Brad Haynes and Leslie Adler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T16:33:00.000+03:00|In 'world of two halves' funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe: BAML|June 15, 2018 / 1:36 PM / 4 days ago In 'world of two halves' funds buy U.S. stocks, exit Europe: BAML Sujata Rao 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors pulled more cash out of European and emerging markets in the past week, opting instead for U.S. stocks, as robust economic growth encouraged a sixth straight week of inflows, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. FILE PHOTO - A computer screen showing stock graphs is reflected on glasses in this illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau The bank’s data, which tracks fund flows from Wednesday to Wednesday, references a period when investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second interest rate rise of 2018 and awaited signals from the European Central Bank on its stimulus exit path. The ECB said on Thursday it would end bond buying this year but not raise rates until the second half of 2019. BAML said the week had seen $5.6 billion enter global equity funds, with U.S. stocks accounting for a $10.3 billion inflow and European equities losing $2.5 billion. Emerging stocks funds shed $1.3 billion and Japan suffered $400 million outflows. “It’s a game and world of two halves,” BAML analysts wrote in a reference to the football World Cup which started this week in Russia. “U.S. decoupling from the rest of the world accelerating,” BAML said, noting that in the past six weeks $29 billion had flowed to U.S. stocks, contrasting with losses of $13 billion from European markets. Emerging debt and equity redemptions now amount to $12 billion over the past seven weeks, the bank added. “The bigger picture is global QE is ending, with the United States the sole growth story.” Moreover, U.S. equities now stand just 3 percent off all-time highs, while euro zone and Chinese stocks languish around 30 percent off peaks, the note said. European equities have shed nearly $20 billion so far this year, fund flows data shows, and a pan-European equity index is barely in positive territory, hit by signs of a growth slowdown and also fears the United States will impose large import tariffs on goods such as autos and steel. U.S. markets meanwhile are benefiting from large tax cuts as well as the continued rally in technology shares. On bond markets, investors bought higher quality investment-grade debt for the fourth week in a row, putting in $900 million, while junk-rated debt witnessed their sixth week of outflows. Emerging debt funds suffered their eighth straight loss-making week, shedding $1.3 billion. Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Toby Chopra|http://feeds.reuters.com/news/wealth|0
2018-06-15T16:41:00.000+03:00|Petrobras says will analyze potential Braskem deal btwn Odebrecht, LyondellBasell|RIO DE JANEIRO, June 15 (Reuters) - Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro said on Friday that if LyondellBasell Industries NV reaches an agreement to buy Odebrecht’s stake in Petrochemical firm Braskem SA, it will analyze the deal. Plastic, chemicals and refining company LyondellBasell Industries NV has begun talks with Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA about such a tie-up. Petrobras has a 36 percent stake in Braskem. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T17:37:00.000+03:00|Comcast gains unconditional EU antitrust approval to buy Sky|June 15, 2018 / 2:38 PM / Updated 31 minutes ago Comcast gains unconditional EU antitrust approval to buy Sky Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have given the green light to U.S. cable company Comcast’s plan to acquire European pay-TV group Sky without demanding concessions. FILE PHOTO: A British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) logo is seen at the company's UK headquarters in west London July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo The European Commission said the deal did not raise any competition concerns, confirming a Reuters story last week. “The proposed transaction would lead to only a limited increase in Sky’s existing share of the markets for the acquisition of TV content, as well as in the market for the wholesale supply of TV channels in the relevant member states,” the EU competition agency said on Friday. Comcast, the world’s biggest entertainment company, is fighting Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for Sky. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-15T17:37:00.000+03:00|Comcast gains unconditional EU antitrust approval to buy Sky|June 15, 2018 / 2:32 PM / Updated 3 hours ago Comcast gains unconditional EU antitrust approval to buy Sky Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have given the green light to U.S. cable company Comcast’s plan to acquire European pay-TV group Sky without demanding concessions. The NBC and Comcast logos are displayed on 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The European Commission said the deal did not raise any competition concerns, confirming a Reuters story last week. “The proposed transaction would lead to only a limited increase in Sky’s existing share of the markets for the acquisition of TV content, as well as in the market for the wholesale supply of TV channels in the relevant member states,” the EU competition agency said on Friday. Comcast, the world’s biggest entertainment company, is fighting Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox for Sky. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|1
2018-06-15T17:50:00.000+03:00|EU mergers and takeovers (June 15)|BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — Finnish utility Fortum to acquire a controlling stake in German peer Uniper from German energy company E.ON (approved June 15) — U.S. cable operator Comcast’s to acquire British pay-TV company Sky (approved June 15) — Austrian construction company Strabag and German peer Max Boegl International to set up a joint venture (approved June 14) — U.S. asset manager Blackstone to acquire Spanish gaming company Cirsa (approved June 14) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JUNE 19 — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and investment company Arjun Infrastructure Partners to acquire joint control of British services company South Staffordshire plc (notified May 14/deadline June 19/simplified) JUNE 25 — T-Mobile Austria, which is a unit of German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom, to acquire UPC Austria, which is a subsidiary of cable operator UPC (notified May 18/deadline June 25) JUNE 26 — German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay’s worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline June 26) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire tech software company Exclusive Group (notified May 22/deadline June 26/simplified) JUNE 27 — Private equity firm Rhone Capital LLC and founders of swimming pool equipment maker Fluidra to acquire joint control of the merged Fluidra and its peer Zodiac Holdco (notified May 3/deadline extended to June 27 from June 13 after the companies offered concessions) — Private equity firm Permira to acquire Cisco System’s video software unit (notified Nat 23/deadline June 27/simplified) — U.S. chemicals company Lyondellbasell Industries to acquire U.S. peer A. Schulman (notified May 23/deadline June 27) — German travel group TUI to acquire Spain’s Hotelbeds Group’s destinations services business (notified May 23/deadline June 27/simplified) JUNE 28 — French bank BNP Paribas to acquire ABN Amro Bank Luxembourg from Dutch bank ABN Amro (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) — Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire joint control of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co (notified May 24/deadline June 28/simplified) JUNE 29 — Israeli drugmaker Teva to acquire sole control of part of U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble’s OTC business in which it currently has a minority stake (notified May 25/deadline June 29) JULY 2 — British bank HSBC and U.S. payment technology services provider Global Payments to set up a joint venture in Mexico (notified May 28/deadline July 2/simplified) JULY 4 — French pension scheme and insurance services provider Malakoff Mederic and Finnish peer Ilmarinen to jointly acquire Luxembourg property developer Alto 1 S.a.r.l (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — British drugmaker Phoenix Group to acquire Romanian pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmexim SA and Romanian pharmacy chain Help Net Farma (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) — U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners to acquire payments technology company Verifone Systems (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 — U.S. private equity firms Baring Asia Private Equity Fund and PAI Europe VI Funds to acquire joint control of Luxembourg-based air cargo general sales and service agent WFC International (notified May 31/deadline July 5/simplified) JULY 6 — Italian motorway operator Atlantia and German builder ACS Hochtief to jointly acquire Spanish construction company Abertis Infraestructuras (notified June 1/deadline July 6) — Private equity firm Silver Lake to acquire British company ZPG, the owner of real estate website Zoopla (notified June 1/deadline July 6/simplified) — Dutch offshore wind farm companies Otary, Eneco Wind Belgium and Belgian electricity utility Electrabel to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 6) JULY 9 — Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group, to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline July 9) JULY 10 — Chinese private equity firm China Jianyin Investment Limited and investment company Tamar Alliance Health Limited to jointly acquire Australian healthcare company Australia Nature’s Care Biotech (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) — U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 11 — British investment company Intermediate Capital Group to acquire German fire extinguisher maker Minimax Viking (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified) JULY 12 — French energy company Total directo acquire French power utility Direct Energie (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Private equity firm Partners Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to have joint control of U.S.software company GlobalLogic which is now jointly controlled by CPPIB and private equity firm Apax Partners (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) — Irish carrier Ryanair to acquire Austrian peer Laudamotion (notified June 7/deadline July 12) — South African chemicals company Tronox to acquire the titanium dioxide business of Cristal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee (notified Nov. 15/deadline extended to JuLY 12 after the companies offered concessions) JULY 13 — German mail order company Kaiser+Kraft and German tool maker Hoffmann to acquire joint control of Germany company Simple System GmbH & Co KG (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Private equity firm Advent International to acquire generics drugmaker Zentiva from French healthcare group Sanofi (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) — Italian company Snam to acquire Greek gas grid operator DESFA (notified June 8/July 13/simplified) — Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline July 13) JULY 16 — Japanese property developer MEC to acquire joint control of Sime Darby MIT Development Sdn Bhd, which is a joint venture by Japanese trading house Mitsui and Sime Darby Property Sungai Kapar (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — U.S. private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire joint control of British healthcare provider Heath and Protection Solutions Ltd (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Private equity firm Apollo Management to acquire Belgian insurer Generali Belgium (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) — Irish fresh food producer Total Produce to acquire a 45-percent stake in U.S. peer Dole Food Company (notified June 11/deadline July 16) JULY 18 — German copper products maker Wieland-Werke to acquire German copper smelter Aurubis’ flat rolled products unit Products Schwermetall (notified June 13/deadline July 18) — South Korean consumer electronics company LG Electronics to acquire Austrian car light maker ZKW Holding GmbH (notified June 13/deadline July 18/simplified) AUG 9 — German industrial gases group Linde to merge with U.S. peer Praxair (notified Jan. 12/ deadline extended to Aug. 9) SEPT 4 — iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (notified March 14/deadline extended to Sept. 4 from April 23 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation) OCT 17 — Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2’s Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 12 after the European Commission opens an in-depth investigation) DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company’s proposed remedies or an EU member state’s request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|1
2018-06-15T18:06:00.000+03:00|Specialist insurer LCCG buys UK insurer Equitable Life|LONDON (Reuters) - Specialist insurer Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG) is buying Britain’s oldest mutual life insurance company Equitable Life, the firms said on Friday, releasing 1.8 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) to Equitable Life policyholders. Equitable Life, established in 1762, has more than 300,000 policyholders and manages assets of 6.3 billion pounds ($8.4 billion), but it closed to new customers in 2000 after it came close to collapse. Its policies will transfer to LCCG’s Reliance Life subsidiary, with the deal due to complete by the end of 2019, LCCG said in a statement. The transfer to LCCG releases 1.8 billion pounds in Equitable Life capital to its insurance customers, Equitable Life Chief Executive Chris Wiscarson told Reuters. “This is a wonderful windfall for Equitable Life policyholders,” said Danny Cox, financial planner at funds supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown. Reliance Life specializes in life insurance businesses that are closed to new policyholders. Specialist providers say they can run pensions and life policies at a lower cost by using economies of scale, investing more astutely and using actuarial expertise to match assets more closely to liabilities, thereby reducing risk. Standard Life Aberdeen ( SLA.L ) sold its insurance business this year to closed-life specialist Phoenix ( PHNX.L ) for 3.24 billion pounds. “A lot of the really big players are pulling out, so I think there is a lot of mileage in it yet,” LCCG Chief Executive Paul Thompson told Reuters, adding the firm was planning more acquisitions. LCCG, which bought its first UK life business last year, has operations in Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man and policyholder assets of more than 30 billion pounds. It is backed by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. Equitable Life was advised by Goldman Sachs. ($1 = 0.7531 pounds) Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Edmund Blair Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://www.reuters.com/|1
2018-06-15T18:13:00.000+03:00|Foreigners sell U.S. Treasuries for second month in April: data|NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreigners sold Treasuries for a second consecutive month in April, as holdings of central banks and government institutions declined, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday. Overseas investors sold $4.78 billion in U.S. Treasuries in April, following outflows of $4.92 billion the previous month. Data also showed China’s holdings of Treasuries declined to $1.18 trillion in April after posting increases in March and February. Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-15T18:20:00.000+03:00|Italian state-backed fund to buy 41.2 pct stake of fashion house Missoni|MILAN, June 15 (Reuters) - Italian state-backed investment fund Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) has agreed to buy 41.2 percent of Italian fashion house Missoni, leaving the remaining controlling stake in the hands of the eponymous founding family. The investment will be carried out mainly through a capital increase, with no financial leverage on Missoni, a joint statement said. The brand famous for its zig-zag decor was founded in 1953 as a knitwear business by couple Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in the small northern Italian town of Gallarate - an area known in the country for the production of high-end textiles. Their daughter Angela has been at the creative helm of the company in the last two decades. Michele Norsa, a long-time chief executive of rival luxury goods group Salvatore Ferragamo who joined FSI last year, will be appointed as deputy chairman of Missoni. FSI is controlled by Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti which in turn is majority-owned by the Treasury. (Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Valentina Za)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-15T18:21:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-U.S. stocks weekly: Let's make a deal|** S&P 500 extends winning streak to four weeks, though edges just fractionally higher as M&A, U.S./North Korea summit and trade tensions dominate the news ** Indeed, SPX may have reached a make or break moment ** This as Dow Jones Futures run hot and cold ** Nevertheless, majority of sectors disappoint; energy, telecom and financials go home empty handed, while utilities and consumer discretionary win prizes; growth still steamrolling value ** Telecom down 2 pct. AT&T off 2 pct, closes $85 bln deal for Time Warner ** Financials lose 1.9 pct. Banks slump as yield curve flattens after Fed lifts rates, signals two more hikes to come this year. S&P 500 Banks Index may laugh or cry with range resolution ** Tech lifts 0.5 pct. Best sector performer Twitter rises 11 pct as analyst sees strong ad revenue growth, hikes PT. This as tech vs financials tests Dotcom boom highs ** Cons Discretionary rises 2.2 pct. Media stocks jump as Comcast offers $65 bln to lure Twenty-First Century Fox from Disney bid . Netflix up ~9 pct, signs deal to bring simple games to its streaming service ** Utilities surge 2.6 pct. Utilities SPDR at first takes a spill on the charts, but in the end, 8-year support line holds ** SPX sector performance over past 12 mths: reut.rs/2yhgEWo ** Meanwhile, rising corp dividend payouts a bullish sign, per DataTrek  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-15T18:53:00.000+03:00|Colombia's Sunday vote will determine future of peace deal, economy|BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians will choose either a business-friendly protégé of a powerful ex-president or a leftist former guerrilla as their new head of state on Sunday, with the future of a historic peace accord and the nation’s economic model hanging in the balance. Workers finish up the final details in a centre to be used for the second round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia, June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff Ivan Duque, hand-picked by former hardline president Alvaro Uribe, is predicted to win Sunday’s runoff as he is polling about 20 points ahead of Gustavo Petro, a former mayor of Bogota and one-time member of the now-defunct M19 rebel group. At stake is the implementation of a 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which brought an end to five decades of conflict with the Marxist rebel group, and whether Latin America’s fourth-largest economy will abandon its traditionally market-friendly posture. “A Duque victory wouldn’t mean the end of the peace agreement, but it could mean it’s reduced to a minimum,” said Yann Basset of Rosario University. “A Petro victory would probably mean a difficult period of economic uncertainty.” The 41-year-old Duque made a name as senator for his staunch opposition to the peace deal negotiated by outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos, who once counted Uribe among his backers before falling out with him over the talks. Duque has promised changes to the accord, which he slams as far too lenient on former rebels. His pledge to jail commanders for war crimes has sparked concern among some Colombians that he could upset the deal and send fighters back to the trenches. Petro has criticized the deal as not resolving deep rural inequality but says he will keep it intact. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, Duque can make to the deal, which was upheld by the constitutional court. Workers finish up the final details in a centre to be used for the second round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia, June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff Whoever takes office as president on Aug. 7 faces a tough time. The $320 billion economy remains weak, a new wave of drug trafficking crime gangs have moved into areas once controlled by the FARC and almost a million Venezuelan migrants have crossed into Colombia, looking for food and work. here ECONOMIC CHALLENGES Though he was never a combatant, Petro belonged to the M19 urban rebel group, which demobilized in 1990. He has been hailed as an example of how ex-rebels can transition to politics but his tenure as mayor was criticized and he failed to win over Bogota voters in the May 27 first round. He was ousted from office for allowing garbage to pile on Bogota’s streets when he was mayor, before being reinstated. A worker finish up the final details in a centre to be used for the second round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia, June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff “He was a very bad leader. Bogota was too big for him to govern; the whole country would be too,” said Fidel Hernandez, 43, standing outside a Bogota bicycle shop where he works. His opponents accuse him of wanting to turn Colombia into socialist Venezuela, which is suffering a punishing economic crisis. The 58-year-old denies his plans to redistribute land amounts to expropriation and says power has remained too long in the hands of elites. Petro would likely struggle to get his policies through a conservative congress. Duque, who worked at the Inter-American Development Bank until 2014, is considered by some to be too inexperienced and beholden to Uribe. The former president is loved and hated in equal measure by millions who either believe he safeguarded Colombians by crushing the FARC or supported right-wing paramilitary death squads that killed thousands. “Duque is counseled by Uribe. He’s his puppet,” said deliveryman Francisco Roballo, 50, who plans to vote for Petro. Colombia may struggle to maintain its prized investment grade credit rating whoever wins. Petro’s pledges to hike taxes on the rich and raise social spending have unsettled investors but there are concerns that Duque’s agenda of cutting taxes could also worsen the deficit. Duque has promised policies friendly to the oil and mining industries, Colombia’s top exporters, in a bid to revive production. Petro wants to ban open-pit gold mining and not renew coal contracts, as well as transition state-run oil company Ecopetrol to renewables. Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb, Additional reporting by Steven Grattan and Dylan Baddour; Editing by Helen Murphy, Daniel Flynn and Marguerita Choy  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews|0
2018-06-15T19:07:00.000+03:00|UN aviation agency may include fossil fuels in emissions deal - sources|June 15, 2018 / 4:12 PM / a few seconds ago UN aviation agency may include fossil fuels in emissions deal: sources Allison Lampert , Julia Fioretti 4 Min Read MONTREAL/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The U.N. aviation agency is expected to include fossil fuels in a landmark global agreement to limit aircraft emissions, a move that could encourage airlines to purchase crude over more costly biojet fuels, sources familiar with the matter said. FILE PHOTO: Buildings stand shrouded in smog while an aircraft flies in Mexico City, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido Countries at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are seeking to agree on rules that will govern how the overall deal, brokered by the ICAO in 2016, will be implemented. The United States, backed by Saudi Arabia and other countries, has proposed giving airlines credit for using crude oil as well as aviation fuels from renewable sources like corn, provided they meet the deal’s lower-emissions criteria, two industry sources said. Europe will back the proposal next week at an ICAO meeting in Montreal, as long as the fossil fuels eligible under the deal deliver actual carbon savings, two European Commission officials said separately. ICAO experts would determine how many emissions each fuel emits to avoid any confusion. The emission levels of individual fuels need to be “very robust so there is no fooling around with what is the actual performance of one fuel over another”, one of the officials said. Oil giant Saudi Arabia, for example, has previously argued that the 2016 agreement should be “fuel neutral” - whereby it does not discriminate between different types of fuels - because technological advances could one day enable crude to be produced with 10 percent fewer emissions, as the deal requires, according to a Saudi presentation seen by Reuters. “What they (the Saudis) are saying is ‘don’t rule it out for us,” said the first industry source. All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because talks on how to implement the 2016 deal, known as the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), are private. Representatives from Saudi Arabia and the U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for comment. An ICAO spokesman declined to comment. LOWER EMISSION FOSSIL FUELS The European Commission sent a letter to EU ministers this week reiterating concerns that any attempts to weaken the 2016 deal, which will go into effect in 2021, should be “strongly opposed.” The agreement aims to cap airline emissions at 2020 levels, and airlines would be required to limit their emissions or offset them by buying carbon credits from designated environmental projects around the world. Airlines would receive credit toward lowering their emissions if they use eligible lower-carbon fuels. Haldane Dodd, spokesman for the Air Transport Action Group, which represents 50 members of the aviation industry, would not take a position on the use of lower-carbon crudes but advocated “strong sustainability standards for our fuels.” Europe hopes that airlines will still be encouraged to use more costly biojet fuels if they deliver bigger emissions savings. But with aviation biofuels now only produced in small quantities, lowering the emissions of conventional jet fuel may prove a better option for the environment, said a fifth source who works in the aviation industry. “If we can develop technologies that are going to make fossil fuels with lower emissions, isn’t that a carbon savings compared with business as usual?” Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Susan Fenton|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T19:21:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Foreigners sell U.S. Treasuries in April, led by central banks -data|By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - Foreigners sold Treasuries for a second consecutive month in April, as holdings of central banks and government institutions declined, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday. Analysts said foreign central banks, especially those in emerging markets, sold Treasuries to prop up their weakening currencies. Overseas investors sold $4.78 billion in U.S. Treasuries in April, following outflows of $4.92 billion the previous month. In addition, major holders of U.S. Treasuries showed a decline in holdings to $6.17 trillion in April, the lowest since December. Those countries whose holdings declined included China, whose Treasuries portfolio fell to $1.18 trillion in April after posting increases in March and February. China though is still the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries. This could well be the effect of a brewing trade war between the United States and China, analysts said. U.S. President Donald Trump announced his plan to impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers on March 1. Not coincidentally, Trump on Friday said he was pushing ahead with hefty tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports. China immediately vowed to retaliate. Data also showed Russia’s holdings showed a massive drop to $48.7 billion from $96.1 billion in March. Treasury holdings of Turkey, Mexico, India, and Taiwan all declined during the month. “This reflects emerging market wobbles,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rates strategist, at TD Securities in New York. “The central banks sold their Treasuries to defend their currencies.” The dollar has strengthened so far this year against a host of emerging market currencies such as the Turkish lira, Mexican peso, and Indian rupee amid political tensions in some of these countries, and as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates. Japan’s holdings of Treasuries, meanwhile, declined as well in April to $1.031 trillion, their lowest level since October 2011, data showed. TD Securities’ Goldberg said the decline in Japan’s holdings was not a surprise as Japanese investors have long been diversifying away from U.S. Treasuries. Japanese investors typically buy Treasuries on a cross-currency hedged basis and the advantage has gone against U.S. debt because of the rise in Libor cost. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, saw inflows of $5.93 billion in April, from outflows of $24.15 billion in March. Data further showed offshore investors purchased $93.9 billion in long-term U.S. assets in April, after buying $61.8 billion the previous month. Including shorter-dated securities, foreigners bought $138.7 billion in April, from sales of $43.6 billion in March. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; editing by Grant McCool)  |https://in.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-15T19:26:00.000+03:00|Colombia's Sunday vote will determine future of peace deal, economy|June 15, 2018 / 4:28 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Colombia's Sunday vote will determine future of peace deal, economy Julia Symmes Cobb 5 Min Read BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians will choose either a business-friendly protégé of a powerful ex-president or a leftist former guerrilla as their new head of state on Sunday, with the future of a historic peace accord and the nation’s economic model hanging in the balance. Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Duque (C) greets followers at his party's headquarters in Bogota, Colombia June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Julio Martinez Ivan Duque, hand-picked by former hardline president Alvaro Uribe, is predicted to win Sunday’s runoff as he is polling about 20 points ahead of Gustavo Petro, a former mayor of Bogota and one-time member of the now-defunct M19 rebel group. At stake is the implementation of a 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which brought an end to five decades of conflict with the Marxist rebel group, and whether Latin America’s fourth-largest economy will abandon its traditionally market-friendly posture. “A Duque victory wouldn’t mean the end of the peace agreement, but it could mean it’s reduced to a minimum,” said Yann Basset of Rosario University. “A Petro victory would probably mean a difficult period of economic uncertainty.” The 41-year-old Duque made a name as senator for his staunch opposition to the peace deal negotiated by outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos, who once counted Uribe among his backers before falling out with him over the talks. Duque has promised changes to the accord, which he slams as far too lenient on former rebels. His pledge to jail commanders for war crimes has sparked concern among some Colombians that he could upset the deal and send fighters back to the trenches. Petro has criticized the deal as not resolving deep rural inequality but says he will keep it intact. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, Duque can make to the deal, which was upheld by the constitutional court. Related Coverage Former guerrilla Petro fights to become Colombia's first leftist president Whoever takes office as president on Aug. 7 faces a tough time. The $320 billion (£240.9 billion) economy remains weak, a new wave of drug trafficking crime gangs have moved into areas once controlled by the FARC and almost a million Venezuelan migrants have crossed into Colombia, looking for food and work. here ECONOMIC CHALLENGES Though he was never a combatant, Petro belonged to the M19 urban rebel group, which demobilized in 1990. He has been hailed as an example of how ex-rebels can transition to politics but his tenure as mayor was criticized and he failed to win over Bogota voters in the May 27 first round. He was ousted from office for allowing garbage to pile on Bogota’s streets when he was mayor, before being reinstated. Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro gives a speech while participating in a meeting, ahead of the second round of presidential voting, in Bogota, Colombia June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff “He was a very bad leader. Bogota was too big for him to govern; the whole country would be too,” said Fidel Hernandez, 43, standing outside a Bogota bicycle shop where he works. His opponents accuse him of wanting to turn Colombia into socialist Venezuela, which is suffering a punishing economic crisis. The 58-year-old denies his plans to redistribute land amounts to expropriation and says power has remained too long in the hands of elites. Petro would likely struggle to get his policies through a conservative congress. Duque, who worked at the Inter-American Development Bank until 2014, is considered by some to be too inexperienced and beholden to Uribe. The former president is loved and hated in equal measure by millions who either believe he safeguarded Colombians by crushing the FARC or supported right-wing paramilitary death squads that killed thousands. “Duque is counselled by Uribe. He’s his puppet,” said deliveryman Francisco Roballo, 50, who plans to vote for Petro. Colombia may struggle to maintain its prized investment grade credit rating whoever wins. Petro’s pledges to hike taxes on the rich and raise social spending have unsettled investors but there are concerns that Duque’s agenda of cutting taxes could also worsen the deficit. Duque has promised policies friendly to the oil and mining industries, Colombia’s top exporters, in a bid to revive production. Petro wants to ban open-pit gold mining and not renew coal contracts, as well as transition state-run oil company Ecopetrol to renewables. Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb, Additional reporting by Steven Grattan and Dylan Baddour; Editing by Helen Murphy, Daniel Flynn and Marguerita Choy|http://feeds.feedburner.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews|0
2018-06-15T19:26:00.000+03:00|Colombia's Sunday vote will determine future of peace deal, economy|June 15, 2018 / 4:28 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Colombia's Sunday vote will determine future of peace deal, economy Julia Symmes Cobb 5 Min Read BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians will choose either a business-friendly protégé of a powerful ex-president or a leftist former guerrilla as their new head of state on Sunday, with the future of a historic peace accord and the nation’s economic model hanging in the balance. Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Duque (C) greets followers at his party's headquarters in Bogota, Colombia June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Julio Martinez Ivan Duque, hand-picked by former hardline president Alvaro Uribe, is predicted to win Sunday’s runoff as he is polling about 20 points ahead of Gustavo Petro, a former mayor of Bogota and one-time member of the now-defunct M19 rebel group. At stake is the implementation of a 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which brought an end to five decades of conflict with the Marxist rebel group, and whether Latin America’s fourth-largest economy will abandon its traditionally market-friendly posture. “A Duque victory wouldn’t mean the end of the peace agreement, but it could mean it’s reduced to a minimum,” said Yann Basset of Rosario University. “A Petro victory would probably mean a difficult period of economic uncertainty.” The 41-year-old Duque made a name as senator for his staunch opposition to the peace deal negotiated by outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos, who once counted Uribe among his backers before falling out with him over the talks. Duque has promised changes to the accord, which he slams as far too lenient on former rebels. His pledge to jail commanders for war crimes has sparked concern among some Colombians that he could upset the deal and send fighters back to the trenches. Petro has criticized the deal as not resolving deep rural inequality but says he will keep it intact. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, Duque can make to the deal, which was upheld by the constitutional court. Whoever takes office as president on Aug. 7 faces a tough time. The $320 billion (£240.9 billion) economy remains weak, a new wave of drug trafficking crime gangs have moved into areas once controlled by the FARC and almost a million Venezuelan migrants have crossed into Colombia, looking for food and work.|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0
2018-06-15T19:57:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Intesa CEO talking to several investors over wealth management deal|MARGHERA, Italy, June 15 (Reuters) - Intesa SanPaolo is still in the early stages of looking for an investor in its wealth management unit and is talking to several potential partners, the chief executive of Italy’s biggest retail bank said on Friday. Intesa Sanpaolo said in February that it would seek a partnership with a global player in asset management via the sale of a minority stake in its Eurizon unit. The Financial Times reported this week that BlackRock , the world’s largest asset manager, was in talks about buying a 10 percent stake in Eurizon. “We’re assessing various options with a number of global international players and clearly the world’s best ones,” CEO Carlo Messina told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Marghera, Italy, when asked about the report. “But we haven’t decided anything yet and there isn’t just one (potential partner) we’re talking to ... We’re still in an initial phase,” he added. First among Italian banks to shift away from the traditional lending activity, Intesa has successfully built a business model centred on fees earned through insurance and asset management, an industry where economies of scale are seen as key. Intesa targets 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) in fees in 2021, accounting for 48 percent of annual revenues up from 45 percent in 2017. Financial sources have confirmed Intesa has talked to BlackRock among others. One source said that talks with BlackRock were more advanced on a commercial partnership. BlackRock declined to comment. ($1 = 0.8617 euros) (Reporting by Riccardo Bastianello, additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York Editing by Susan Fenton)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T20:00:00.000+03:00|Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multi-year program deal|June 15, 2018 / 5:10 PM / 3 days ago Apple nabs Oprah as top talent flocks to digital entertainment Lisa Richwine 4 Min Read LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Friday announced a multi-year deal with Oprah Winfrey to create original programing, a coup in the battle for A-list talent and projects in the booming digital entertainment market. “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” Apple said in a statement. Apple gave no details of the type of programing that Winfrey would create, the value of the deal, or when it might be released. Winfrey had no immediate comment. Winfrey, 64, an influential movie and TV producer who also publishes a magazine, is expected to appear on screen, a source familiar with the deal said. Apple has not said how it plans to distribute its programing, to which it has committed an initial $1 billion. The partnership is the biggest original content deal struck by Apple so far as it aims to compete with Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Time Warner Inc’s HBO. Netflix, which has said it will spend up to $8 billion on programming this year, in May struck a multi-year deal with former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to produce films, documentaries and other content. Netflix, the world’s leading streaming entertainment provider, has also lured prolific television producers Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes away from broadcast television. Amazon said in November it had bought the global television rights to “The Lord of the Rings” and would produce a multi-season series that explores new storylines preceding author J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Earlier this week, Amazon also announced a development deal with Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman’s production company for movies and television. For its part, Apple in November ordered two seasons of a dramatic series with Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, looking at the lives of people working on a morning television show. Other projects Apple has announced include a remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s science fiction anthology series “Amazing Stories,” based on Isaac Asimov’s influential “Foundation” science fiction novels, and a drama from “La La Land” movie director Damian Chazelle. Under the deal with Winfrey, she will remain chief executive of cable channel OWN, which she launched in 2011 in partnership with Discovery Inc. Winfrey in December extended her contract with OWN through 2025, OWN and Apple said. Under her contract with OWN, Winfrey can appear on camera on other platforms on a limited basis. Known in the United States by millions on a first-name basis, Winfrey rose to fame as the host of her own television talk show, using it to build a media empire that spans magazine publishing, movie and television production, cable TV and satellite radio. Born into poverty, she is one of the world’s wealthiest women and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. A rousing speech by Winfrey at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in January triggered an online campaign to persuade her to run for U.S. president in 2020. She dismissed the notion, telling InStyle magazine in an interview, “It’s not something that interests me.” 75th Golden Globe Awards – Photo Room – Beverly Hills, California, U.S., 07/01/2018 – Oprah Winfrey poses backstage with her Cecil B. DeMille Award. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Rigby and Richard Chang|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T20:00:00.000+03:00|Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multi-year program deal|LOS ANGELES, June 15 (Reuters) - Apple Inc has signed a multi-year deal with Oprah Winfrey to create programming as part of the iPhone maker’s push into original entertainment, the company said on Friday. “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” Apple said in a statement. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine Editing by Bill Rigby)  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T20:05:00.000+03:00|Sprint, T-Mobile plan to file deal application to FCC on Monday|June 15, 2018 / 5:13 PM / in 2 days Sprint, T-Mobile plan to file deal application to FCC on Monday Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wireless companies Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc have informed the Federal Communications Commission that they will formally file an application asking for approval to merge on Monday, according to a document seen by Reuters. A smartphones with Sprint logo are seen in front of a screen projection of T-mobile logo, in this picture illustration taken April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The document, which was filed to the FCC on Thursday, also requests a protective order that would shield sensitive corporate information from public view. The two companies, which are the third- and fourth-largest wireless carries, agreed to a $26 billion all-stock deal in April that they said would create thousands of jobs and help the United States beat China to creating the next generation mobile network. Two areas of potential regulatory concern focus on the companies’ large market share for prepaid and wholesale customers. Neither Sprint nor T-Mobile immediately responded to a request for comment. Reporting by David Shepardson; Writing by Diane Bartz; Editing by Dan Grebler|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T20:13:00.000+03:00|Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multi-year program deal|June 15, 2018 / 5:08 PM / in 3 days Apple nabs Oprah as top talent flocks to digital entertainment Lisa Richwine 4 Min Read LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Friday announced a multi-year deal with Oprah Winfrey to create original programing, a coup in the battle for A-list talent and projects in the booming digital entertainment market. “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” Apple said in a statement. Apple gave no details of the type of programing that Winfrey would create, the value of the deal, or when it might be released. Winfrey had no immediate comment. Winfrey, 64, an influential movie and TV producer who also publishes a magazine, is expected to appear on screen, a source familiar with the deal said. Apple has not said how it plans to distribute its programing, to which it has committed an initial $1 billion. The partnership is the biggest original content deal struck by Apple so far as it aims to compete with Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Time Warner Inc’s HBO. Netflix, which has said it will spend up to $8 billion on programming this year, in May struck a multi-year deal with former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to produce films, documentaries and other content. Netflix, the world’s leading streaming entertainment provider, has also lured prolific television producers Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes away from broadcast television. Amazon said in November it had bought the global television rights to “The Lord of the Rings” and would produce a multi-season series that explores new storylines preceding author J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Earlier this week, Amazon also announced a development deal with Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman’s production company for movies and television. For its part, Apple in November ordered two seasons of a dramatic series with Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, looking at the lives of people working on a morning television show. Other projects Apple has announced include a remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s science fiction anthology series “Amazing Stories,” based on Isaac Asimov’s influential “Foundation” science fiction novels, and a drama from “La La Land” movie director Damian Chazelle. Under the deal with Winfrey, she will remain chief executive of cable channel OWN, which she launched in 2011 in partnership with Discovery Inc. Winfrey in December extended her contract with OWN through 2025, OWN and Apple said. Under her contract with OWN, Winfrey can appear on camera on other platforms on a limited basis. Known in the United States by millions on a first-name basis, Winfrey rose to fame as the host of her own television talk show, using it to build a media empire that spans magazine publishing, movie and television production, cable TV and satellite radio. Born into poverty, she is one of the world’s wealthiest women and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. A rousing speech by Winfrey at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in January triggered an online campaign to persuade her to run for U.S. president in 2020. She dismissed the notion, telling InStyle magazine in an interview, “It’s not something that interests me.” 75th Golden Globe Awards – Photo Room – Beverly Hills, California, U.S., 07/01/2018 – Oprah Winfrey poses backstage with her Cecil B. DeMille Award. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Rigby and Richard Chang|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INhollywood|0
2018-06-15T20:30:00.000+03:00|CYBG on track to clinch Virgin Money deal before deadline - source|June 15, 2018 / 5:31 PM / in 18 hours CYBG on track to clinch Virgin Money deal before deadline - source Ben Martin 2 Min Read LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - CYBG is closing in an agreement to buy rival Virgin Money to create a larger bank to take on Britain’s biggest lenders, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. CYBG, the owner of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, must decide whether to make a firm offer or walk away from Virgin by 5 pm on June 18, when a deadline set by the UK’s Takeover Panel expires. It faced an earlier deadline of June 4 but Virgin agreed to an extension after CYBG made an improved all-share proposal earlier this month of 1.2125 new shares for every share in Virgin. The banks are now on track to reach an agreement before the next deadline expires on Monday, the source said, adding that another extension is not currently expected. Any deal would be struck on similar terms to CYBG’s sweetened proposal, the source said. The value of that bid moves with CYBG’s share price but it puts a price-tag of about 1.6 billion pounds on Virgin. Last minute obstacles could still scupper an agreement. It comes after CYBG launched its pursuit of Virgin, which is backed by entrepreneur Richard Branson, on May 7 with an initial bid of 1.1297 new shares for every share in Virgin. Combining the two lenders would create a group better placed to compete with larger rivals such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, which dominate the British high streets. Branson owns about 35 percent of Virgin. (Reporting by Ben Martin, editing by John O’Donnell and Louise Heavens)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBankingFinancial|0
2018-06-15T20:32:00.000+03:00|CYBG on track to clinch Virgin Money deal before deadline - source|June 15, 2018 / 5:32 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago CYBG on track to clinch Virgin Money deal before deadline - source Ben Martin 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - CYBG ( CYBGC.L ) is closing in an agreement to buy rival Virgin Money ( VM.L ) to create a larger bank to take on Britain’s biggest lenders, told Reuters on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A sign hangs outside a Clydesdale Bank in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne CYBG, the owner of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, must decide whether to make a firm offer or walk away from Virgin by 5 pm on June 18, when a deadline set by the UK’s Takeover Panel expires. It faced an earlier deadline of June 4 but Virgin agreed to an extension after CYBG made an improved all-share proposal earlier this month of 1.2125 new shares for every share in Virgin. FILE PHOTO: A man checks his phone as he walks past a branch of Virgin Money in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble The banks are now on track to reach an agreement before the next deadline expires on Monday, the source said, adding that another extension is not currently expected. Any deal would be struck on similar terms to CYBG’s sweetened proposal, the source said. The value of that bid moves with CYBG’s share price but it puts a price-tag of about 1.6 billion pounds on Virgin. Last minute obstacles could still scupper an agreement. It comes after CYBG launched its pursuit of Virgin, which is backed by entrepreneur Richard Branson, on May 7 with an initial bid of 1.1297 new shares for every share in Virgin. Combining the two lenders would create a group better placed to compete with larger rivals such as Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) and Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), which dominate the British high streets. Branson owns about 35 percent of Virgin. Reporting by Ben Martin, editing by John O'Donnell and Louise Heavens|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-15T20:37:00.000+03:00|RPT-UPDATE 1-Intesa CEO talking to several investors over wealth management deal|MARGHERA, Italy (Reuters) - Intesa SanPaolo ( ISP.MI ) is still in the early stages of looking for an investor in its wealth management unit and is talking to several potential partners, the chief executive of Italy’s biggest retail bank said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: The Intesa Sanpaolo logo is seen in Milan, Italy, in this January 18, 2016 photo. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Intesa Sanpaolo said in February that it would seek a partnership with a global player in asset management via the sale of a minority stake in its Eurizon unit. The Financial Times reported this week that BlackRock ( BLK.N ), the world’s largest asset manager, was in talks about buying a 10 percent stake in Eurizon. “We’re assessing various options with a number of global international players and clearly the world’s best ones,” CEO Carlo Messina told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Marghera, Italy, when asked about the report. “But we haven’t decided anything yet and there isn’t just one (potential partner) we’re talking to ... We’re still in an initial phase,” he added. First among Italian banks to shift away from the traditional lending activity, Intesa has successfully built a business model centered on fees earned through insurance and asset management, an industry where economies of scale are seen as key. Intesa targets 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) in fees in 2021, accounting for 48 percent of annual revenues up from 45 percent in 2017. Financial sources have confirmed Intesa has talked to BlackRock among others. One source said that talks with BlackRock were more advanced on a commercial partnership. BlackRock declined to comment. Reporting by Riccardo Bastianello, additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Valentina Za in Milan and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Susan Fenton  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T20:38:00.000+03:00|Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multiyear programme deal|June 15, 2018 / 5:42 PM / 2 days ago Apple nabs Oprah as top talent flocks to digital entertainment Lisa Richwine 4 Min Read LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Friday announced a multiyear deal with Oprah Winfrey to create original programming, a coup in the battle for A-list talent and projects in the booming digital entertainment market. “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” Apple said in a statement. Apple gave no details of the type of programming that Winfrey would create, the value of the deal, or when it might be released. Winfrey had no immediate comment. Winfrey, 64, an influential movie and TV producer who also publishes a magazine, is expected to appear on screen, a source familiar with the deal said. Apple has not said how it plans to distribute its programming, to which it has committed an initial $1 billion (£753.1 million). The partnership is the biggest original content deal struck by Apple so far as it aims to compete with Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Time Warner Inc’s HBO. Netflix, which has said it will spend up to $8 billion on programming this year, in May struck a multiyear deal with former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to produce films, documentaries and other content. Netflix, the world’s leading streaming entertainment provider, has also lured prolific television producers Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes away from broadcast television. Amazon said in November it had bought the global television rights to “The Lord of the Rings” and would produce a multi-season series that explores new storylines preceding author J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Earlier this week, Amazon also announced a development deal with Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman’s production company for movies and television. For its part, Apple in November ordered two seasons of a dramatic series with Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, looking at the lives of people working on a morning television show. Other projects Apple has announced include a remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s science fiction anthology series “Amazing Stories,” based on Isaac Asimov’s influential “Foundation” science fiction novels, and a drama from “La La Land” movie director Damian Chazelle. Under the deal with Winfrey, she will remain chief executive of cable channel OWN, which she launched in 2011 in partnership with Discovery Inc. Winfrey in December extended her contract with OWN through 2025, OWN and Apple said. Under her contract with OWN, Winfrey can appear on camera on other platforms on a limited basis. Known in the United States by millions on a first-name basis, Winfrey rose to fame as the host of her own television talk show, using it to build a media empire that spans magazine publishing, movie and television production, cable TV and satellite radio. Born into poverty, she is one of the world’s wealthiest women and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. A rousing speech by Winfrey at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in January triggered an online campaign to persuade her to run for U.S. president in 2020. She dismissed the notion, telling InStyle magazine in an interview, “It’s not something that interests me.” 75th Golden Globe Awards – Photo Room – Beverly Hills, California, U.S., 07/01/2018 – Oprah Winfrey poses backstage with her Cecil B. DeMille Award. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Rigby and Richard Chang|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKEntertainment|0
2018-06-15T21:12:00.000+03:00|Russia says OPEC+ deal members to discuss possible quota changes next week|"MOSCOW (Reuters) - OPEC and non-OPEC nations that are part of global oil production curbs plan to discuss possible changes in the oil production cut quotas at a meeting in Vienna on June 23, the Russian Energy Ministry said on Friday. FILE PHOTO - Pipes are pictured at an oil gathering facility owned by Bashneft company near the village of Shushnur, northwest from Ufa, Bashkortostan, January 28, 2015. The signs read: ""Oil"". REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin The ministry also said that participants in the OPEC+ deal plan to discuss framework principles for further cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries. Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Adrian Croft  "|https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-15T21:15:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Coal, Paris deal isolates U.S. from other G20 nations at energy meeting|By Luc Cohen BARILOCHE, Argentina, June 15 (Reuters) - The United States split from other Group of 20 member countries on Friday over the future of the coal industry and the 2015 Paris climate accord, though all of them agreed to transition to cleaner fuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking at a press conference at the close of the G20 meeting of energy ministers in Bariloche, Argentina, Germany’s director of energy policy Thorsten Herdan said G20 member countries “have to get out of coal” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. While Herdan said phasing out coal was discussed at the meeting, there was no reference to winding down coal production in a joint statement issued by the ministers, which encouraged “increased investment and financing in renewable energy” but acknowledged that “fossil fuels still play a major role.” The talks come as the United States is evaluating a plan to prevent struggling coal and nuclear power plants from shuttering. Environmentalists and oil, gas, solar and wind energy industry groups have criticized the move, which the Trump administration says is crucial for natural security. “It’s not possible to put in the communique that at a certain point of time every country has to step out of coal due to the different requirements every country has,” Herdan said. “We are not a club which what the others have to do.” The meeting marked the latest disagreement between the United States and other major countries on climate policy since President Donald Trump last year pulled the country out of the Paris deal, reversing a key commitment by former President Barack Obama to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The ministers alluded to that decision in the statement, noting that “energy transitions” were important to reduce emissions “and for those countries that are determined to implement the Paris Agreement.” “That was one of the sentences we a long time for,” Herdan said, noting that despite the withdrawal by the United States from the Paris climate agreement, other countries wanted to express their commitment. “Perhaps we have to admit that the language may be not as clear as everybody would like to have it, but at the end of the day that was the compromise for us to go further.” Speaking to reporters earlier on Friday in Bariloche, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said “clean coal” and nuclear energy were “very positive for the environment,” while noting that carbon capture technology would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; editing by Diane Craft)  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/us|0
2018-06-15T21:18:00.000+03:00|Coal, Paris deal isolates U.S. from other G20 nations at energy meeting|BARILOCHE, Argentina (Reuters) - The United States split from other Group of 20 member countries on Friday over the future of the coal industry and the 2015 Paris climate accord, though all of them agreed to transition to cleaner fuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions. FILE PHOTO: A man stands next to a board with the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers logo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Speaking at a press conference at the close of the G20 meeting of energy ministers in Bariloche, Argentina, Germany’s director of energy policy Thorsten Herdan said G20 member countries “have to get out of coal” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. While Herdan said phasing out coal was discussed at the meeting, there was no reference to winding down coal production in a joint statement issued by the ministers, which encouraged “increased investment and financing in renewable energy” but acknowledged that “fossil fuels still play a major role.” The talks come as the United States is evaluating a plan to prevent struggling coal and nuclear power plants from shuttering. Environmentalists and oil, gas, solar and wind energy industry groups have criticized the move, which the Trump administration says is crucial for natural security. “It’s not possible to put in the communique that at a certain point of time every country has to step out of coal due to the different requirements every country has,” Herdan said. “We are not a club which [says] what the others have to do.” The meeting marked the latest disagreement between the United States and other major countries on climate policy since last year pulled the country out of the Paris deal, reversing a key commitment by former President Barack Obama to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The ministers alluded to that decision in the statement, noting that “energy transitions” were important to reduce emissions “and for those countries that are determined to implement the Paris Agreement.” “That was one of the sentences we [fought] a long time for,” Herdan said, noting that despite the withdrawal by the United States from the Paris climate agreement, other countries wanted to express their commitment. “Perhaps we have to admit that the language may be not as clear as everybody would like to have it, but at the end of the day that was the compromise for us to go further.” Speaking to reporters earlier on Friday in Bariloche, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said “clean coal” and nuclear energy were “very positive for the environment,” while noting that carbon capture technology would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reporting by Luc Cohen; editing by Diane Craft  |https://in.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-15T21:30:00.000+03:00|Swire Properties to sell two Hong Kong office towers for nearly $2 billion|SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Swire Properties Ltd ( 1972.HK ) plans to sell two office towers in Hong Kong for HK$15 billion ($1.9 billion) to Henglilong Investments Ltd, the latest deal in one of the world’s most expensive commercial property markets. Swire Properties entered into an agreement to sell its entire 100 percent stakes in Cityplaza Three and Cityplaza Four, located on Hong Kong’s main island, Swire said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. “The disposal will enable Swire Properties to realise cash from its investment in the sale interest. The proceeds from the disposal will be applied towards the general working capital requirements of Swire Properties,” it said. The announcement came after the Hong Kong markets closed. Swire Properties shares closed 5.35 percent higher, outperforming the Hang Seng Index's .HSI 0.43 percent fall. ($1 = 7.8493 Hong Kong dollars) Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; editing by David Evans  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|0
2018-06-15T21:30:00.000+03:00|UK's Indivior to seek injunction after rival gets FDA approval for generics|(Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior said on Friday it would pursue all legal remedies, including seeking an immediate injunction against the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to approve the first generic versions of Suboxone Film, an opioid addiction treatment. Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, stuck to its 2018 guidance saying that until the details of Dr. Reddy’s market entry of the drug’s generic version is confirmed. The company, however, warned that Dr.Reddy’s launch could “potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S., an effect that could occur within months of a successful launch of a generic film alternative into the U.S. market.” Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-15T22:00:00.000+03:00|Soccer: Swiss midfielder Xhaka signs new long-term deal at Arsenal|"LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal’s Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka has signed a new long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Friday. Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - Switzerland Training - Freienbach, Switzerland - May 23, 2018 - Switzerland player Granit Xhaka kicks the ball. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The 25-year-old featured in all 38 league games last season and has made 94 appearances for the London outfit, including winning the FA Cup in his first campaign. He has 61 caps for Switzerland and is part of their squad for the World Cup in Russia. The Swiss open their campaign against five-times champions Brazil on Sunday. Xhaka joined Arsenal from Borussia Moenchengladbach in 2016 after helping them to fourth place in the Bundesliga that season and two Champions League group-stage qualifications. ""I’m delighted that Granit has extended his contract with us,"" new Arsenal manager Unai Emery told the club website www.arsenal.com after the player said he was ""happy and proud"" with the new deal. “He’s an important member of the squad and is still young so will be able to develop even more. I hope he has a successful World Cup with Switzerland and comes back fit and ready for the new season.” Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Rory Carroll  "|https://in.reuters.com/|0
2018-06-15T22:22:00.000+03:00|Putin discusses extension of OPEC+ deal with his security council|MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed questions related to an extension of the OPEC+ oil cut deal with his Security Council, Interfax news agency reported on Friday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. FILE PHOTO - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 14, 2018. Yuri Kadobnov/Pool via REUTERS “The topic of the extension of the OPEC+ deal was also touched on the back of the President’s contacts with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Interfax Quote: d Peskov as saying. Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Polina Nikolskaya; Editing by Catherine Evans  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-15T22:30:00.000+03:00|Fortum wins EU, Russia antitrust approvals for Uniper stake buy|BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators cleared on Friday Finnish utility Fortum’s ( FORTUM.HE ) bid to buy a 46.65 percent stake in German energy group Uniper ( UN01.DE ) from E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), saying the deal would not hurt competition. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Fortum headquarters in Espoo, Finland August 18, 2017. Picture taken August 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lefteris Karagiannopoulos In a separate statement, Fortum said it had also received merger clearance from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to acquire up to 50 percent of Uniper, in line with a previous decision disclosed at the end of April. Fortum said the FAS decision would prohibit it from making unjustified price increases on the wholesale electricity market, adding that would not have a significant impact on its operations. FILE PHOTO: A logo of German energy utility company Uniper SE is pictured in the company's headquarter in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo The approvals remove the remaining hurdles for Fortum to close the 3.8 billion euro ($4.4 billion) transaction, which the Finnish group said would take place no later than June 27. The European Commission gave the green light without setting conditions, confirming a Reuters story earlier this week. “We can approve their proposed merger, in particular because of the high level of interconnectivity between different countries in the Nordic area and because there is significant spare generation capacity in Sweden,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. Uniper has opposed the transaction, arguing the combination makes little sense given the energy group’s heavy exposure to gas and coal-fired power plants while Fortum’s focus is on clean technologies. Last week, Uniper Chief Executive Klaus Schaefer said he would defend the energy group’s independence, suggesting a full takeover would not be possible with him in the driving seat. ($1 = 0.8607 euros) Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Christoph Steitz; Editing Robert-Jan Bartunek and Mark Potter  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/deals|1
2018-06-15T22:32:00.000+03:00|Foreigners stocked up on Italian bonds before May's sell-off|MILAN, June 15 (Reuters) - Foreign investors stocked up on Italian government bonds after an inconclusive March 4 vote, data showed on Friday, paving the way for a violent sell-off in May when an anti-establishment coalition government first took shape. Foreign holdings of Italian bonds rose to a two-year high of 712.73 billion euros ($827 billion) in March, up 24 billion euros from February, the Bank of Italy said in a monthly report. The figure includes bonds Italians buy through asset managers based abroad and purchases carried out by the European Central Bank under its quantitative easing programme. However, UniCredit analyst Luca Cazzulani calculated that Italian funds based abroad had net inflows of just 3.3 billion euros in the first quarter. This “suggests that most of the buying that emerges from the Bank of Italy data in March was related to genuine foreign investors,” Cazzulani said in a note, adding that “non-resident investors were the main sellers during the sell-off.” Investors dumped Italian bonds in May, frightened by the spending plans and anti-euro rhetoric of a government coalition comprising the anti-system 5 Star Movement and far right League. Italian debt has since regained some ground, helped by reassuring comments from the new economy minister, an academic with no political affiliation who was picked after Italy’s president blocked the appointment of an anti-euro economist. Confirmation of cooling foreign demand for Italian assets came from data last week showing that the Bank of Italy’s negative position within the euro zone cross-border payment system rose by 38.6 billion euros in May to a record high of 464.65 billion euros. A rise in the Bank of Italy’s liabilities towards other euro zone central bank signals net capital outflows from the country. $1 = 0.8616 euros Reporting by Valentina Za and Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Larry King  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-15T22:41:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-UK's Indivior will fight U.S. FDA's approval for copycat drug|* Co may launch a generic, cut costs * To focus on optimizing launch of Sublocade * Shares down 23 pct at 1427 GMT (Adds company comments, outlook, background, strategy) By Justin George Varghese June 15 (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior on Friday vowed to pursue all legal options and seek an immediate injunction against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to approve the first copycat versions of its best-selling opioid addiction treatment. India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and U.S.-based Mylan NV received FDA approval on Thursday for a generic version of Suboxone Film, which generates 80 percent of Indivior’s revenue. Generic rivals in tablet form are already on the U.S. market, which is grappling with an opioid addiction epidemic that killed 33,000 people in 2015, but Suboxone Film leads the market with its version which is placed under the tongue to suppress cravings. Dr Reddy’s said it would launch its new drug regardless of the legal squabble. “We are surprised by Dr. Reddy’s decision to launch “at risk” given the ongoing litigation and associated significant risk to them of substantial economic damages if, as we believe, we eventually prevail in protecting the Suboxone Film patent estate,” Indivior’s Chief Executive Shaun Thaxter said. Indivior warned, however, that Dr.Reddy’s launch could “potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the U.S., an effect that could occur within months of a successful launch of a generic film alternative.” The market share of the drug had declined to 55 percent by the end of April from 60 percent last year, the British firm said last month. Indivior stuck to its 2018 revenue guidance but said it would revisit the forecast if Dr. Reddy’s launches the cheaper drug. Indivior had forecast net revenue of $1.13 billion to $1.17 billion and net income of $290 million to $320 million. Indivior said it was considering a potential launch of its own generic and operational cost cuts in reponse. Brokerage Jefferies warned that Indivior’s 2018 earnings per share could be hit by as much as 50 percent if Dr. Reddy’s has sufficient inventory and launches by July 1. The company said its contingency plans would also focus on supporting and optimising the launch of Sublocade, a once-a-month injectable drug to suppress opioid craving that it launched in the United States in February. However, the company said in February that initial sales could be slow. The FDA’s decision on Thursday wiped out about a quarter of Indivior’s market value, which is currently $4.82 billion. Dr. Reddy’s shares closed up 3.5 percent. Shares of Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014 and has tripled in value even after this week’s fall, have taken a beating in recent months after losing legal cases to protect the patent of Suboxone Film. It is also in patent disputes with Allergan Plc’s Actavis Laboratories, Endo International’s Par Pharmaceutical and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. (Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-15T23:24:00.000+03:00|BUZZ-U.S. stocks weekly: Let's make a deal|** S&P 500 extends winning streak to four weeks, though edges just fractionally higher as M&A, U.S./North Korea summit and trade tensions dominate the news ** Indeed, SPX may have reached a make or break moment ** This as Dow Jones Futures run hot and cold ** Nevertheless, majority of sectors disappoint; energy, telecom and financials go home empty handed, while utilities and consumer discretionary win prizes; growth still steamrolling value ** Telecom down 2 pct. AT&T off 2 pct, closes $85 bln deal for Time Warner ** Financials lose 1.9 pct. Banks slump as yield curve flattens after Fed lifts rates, signals two more hikes to come this year. S&P 500 Banks Index may laugh or cry with range resolution ** Tech lifts 0.5 pct. Best sector performer Twitter rises 11 pct as analyst sees strong ad revenue growth, hikes PT. This as tech vs financials tests Dotcom boom highs ** Cons Discretionary rises 2.2 pct. Media stocks jump as Comcast offers $65 bln to lure Twenty-First Century Fox from Disney bid . Netflix up ~9 pct, signs deal to bring simple games to its streaming service ** Utilities surge 2.6 pct. Utilities SPDR at first takes a spill on the charts, but in the end, 8-year support line holds ** SPX sector performance over past 12 mths: reut.rs/2yhgEWo ** Meanwhile, rising corp dividend payouts a bullish sign, per DataTrek  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-15T23:44:00.000+03:00|Colombia's presidential frontrunner Duque pledges to tweak peace deal|BOGOTA (Reuters) - When Ivan Duque was a boy, his grandmother made him memorize the speeches of assassinated Colombian presidential candidate Eliecer Gaitan. By the age of seven, he could recite them all. Colombian presidential of the Democratic Center party Ivan Duque gestures during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia, June 11, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Julio Martinez The fiery speeches from the leftist politician inspired him, and soon Duque was telling friends and teachers that he would one day be president of Colombia. The 41-year-old lawyer may yet get his wish, though now his speeches are more right-wing. Duque is the frontrunner in Sunday’s election to replace President Juan Manuel Santos. His rival is Gustavo Petro, leftist former member of the now-defunct M19 rebel movement. Duque is running about 20 points ahead of Petro in opinion polls. Duque is the candidate for the Democratic Center Party, a movement started in 2013 by former president Alvaro Uribe, who is seen as the power behind the throne if Duque wins. The two men have pledged to prevent the nation falling into the hands of the left. They have promised to adjust a peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), cut corporate taxes and redouble security efforts in certain areas. “We have the obligation to transform Colombia, to restore security and confidence to citizens, to promote entrepreneurship and to work toward a country with social justice,” said Duque on his website. He faces a tough time if he wins. The economy remains weak, a new wave of drug trafficking crime gangs have moved into areas once controlled by the FARC, and more than half a million Venezuelan migrants have crossed into Colombia, looking for food and work. And although Duque is considered the most market-friendly of the contenders, his limited experience worries some. A one-term senator, Duque worked at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington until 2014, when Uribe asked him to return to Colombia and take a seat in Congress. His closeness to the former president is an advantage but also his Achilles heel. Uribe is loved by millions of Colombians who say his tough military action against the FARC made Colombia safer and helped attract record foreign investment. His supporters will happily vote for Duque as his hand-picked successor. But Uribe is hated in equal numbers by those who allege he has ties to far-right paramilitary death squads. Numerous close associates have been jailed for corruption. Uribe denies the allegations and has not been charged with any crime. Critics fear Duque will bow to Uribe’s political expertise and allow the former president extensive power. But Duque shrugs off criticism. He joked in March that he had: “Zero experience, but of corruption, zero experience of clientelism, zero experience of politicking.” A former rock band member who loves soccer and Cuban music, Duque made a name for himself harshly criticizing the FARC accord on the Senate floor. The 2016 peace deal saw thousands of FARC rebels hand in their weapons in return for amnesty. Their leadership will be tried for war crimes - but they will not serve jail time - while their new political party has 10 congressional seats guaranteed through 2026. [L2N1T30W7] Duque has not specified what changes he would make to the agreement, but believes it is too lenient and rebel leaders belong in jail. Prematurely gray-haired, bilingual Duque studied economic law at American University in Washington and public policy management at Georgetown. When Santos was finance minister during a previous administration, Duque was his advisor. Economically, Duque has “an orthodox vision, supporting business and private enterprise to generate new wealth,” said Andres Molano, director of the Hernan Echavarria Olozaga institute of political science. The father-of-three, who hopes he will hold youthful appeal for centrist voters, plans to cut taxes while raising revenue from a crackdown on evasion. He says he will relax the so-called fiscal rule, which obliges the government to reduce the budget deficit. But Duque will have a hard time satisfying credit rating agencies unless he is able to bring in cash to replace revenue lost from weaker international oil prices. His family is steeped in politics - his father Ivan Duque Escobar was a government minister, central banker and governor of Antioquia province. The older Duque is said to have owned 17,000 books and instilled a love of reading in his son, he has said. “He was a supremely cheerful young man, always willing to help others,” said Sonia Munoz, his high school teacher in an interview. “He decided he wanted to be president and worked toward it. His friends called him Mr President.” Reporting by Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Marguerita Choy  |https://www.reuters.com/news/world|0
2018-06-16T00:15:00.000+03:00|UN aviation agency may include fossil fuels in emissions deal: sources|MONTREAL/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The U.N. aviation agency is expected to include fossil fuels in a landmark global agreement to limit aircraft emissions, a move that could encourage airlines to purchase crude over more costly biojet fuels, sources familiar with the matter said. FILE PHOTO: Buildings stand shrouded in smog while an aircraft flies in Mexico City, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido Countries at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are seeking to agree on rules that will govern how the overall deal, brokered by the ICAO in 2016, will be implemented. The United States, backed by Saudi Arabia and other countries, has proposed giving airlines credit for using crude oil as well as aviation fuels from renewable sources like corn, provided they meet the deal’s lower-emissions criteria, two industry sources said. Europe will back the proposal next week at an ICAO meeting in Montreal, as long as the fossil fuels eligible under the deal deliver actual carbon savings, two European Commission officials said separately. ICAO experts would determine how many emissions each fuel emits to avoid any confusion. The emission levels of individual fuels need to be “very robust so there is no fooling around with what is the actual performance of one fuel over another”, one of the officials said. Oil giant Saudi Arabia, for example, has previously argued that the 2016 agreement should be “fuel neutral” - whereby it does not discriminate between different types of fuels - because technological advances could one day enable crude to be produced with 10 percent fewer emissions, as the deal requires, according to a Saudi presentation seen by Reuters. “What they (the Saudis) are saying is ‘don’t rule it out for us,” said the first industry source. All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because talks on how to implement the 2016 deal, known as the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), are private. Representatives from Saudi Arabia and the U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for comment. An ICAO spokesman declined to comment. LOWER EMISSION FOSSIL FUELS The European Commission sent a letter to EU ministers this week reiterating concerns that any attempts to weaken the 2016 deal, which will go into effect in 2021, should be “strongly opposed.” The agreement aims to cap airline emissions at 2020 levels, and airlines would be required to limit their emissions or offset them by buying carbon credits from designated environmental projects around the world. Airlines would receive credit toward lowering their emissions if they use eligible lower-carbon fuels. Haldane Dodd, spokesman for the Air Transport Action Group, which represents 50 members of the aviation industry, would not take a position on the use of lower-carbon crudes but advocated “strong sustainability standards for our fuels.” Europe hopes that airlines will still be encouraged to use more costly biojet fuels if they deliver bigger emissions savings. But with aviation biofuels now only produced in small quantities, lowering the emissions of conventional jet fuel may prove a better option for the environment, said a fifth source who works in the aviation industry. “If we can develop technologies that are going to make fossil fuels with lower emissions, isn’t that a carbon savings compared with business as usual?” Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Susan Fenton  |https://www.reuters.com/subjects/middle-east|0
2018-06-16T00:42:00.000+03:00|Greece, Macedonia to sign name change deal after lengthy dispute|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia will sign an accord on Sunday to change the name of the former Yugoslav republic to the “Republic of North Macedonia”, the Greek government said on Friday, though there is mounting opposition in both countries to the plan. Athens has long objected to its northern neighbor’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name and amounts to the appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Here are the key points in the agreement, which comes after nearly three decades of negotiations: NAME - The country’s official name will be “Republic of North Macedonia”, or “North Macedonia” for short. LANGUAGE - The agreement recognizes the country’s language as Macedonian, part of the Southern Slavic language group, and states it is not related to ancient Hellenic civilization, or the history, culture or heritage of Greece’s Macedonian region. NATIONALITY - Macedonian. IMPLEMENTATION - Once the agreement is signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Macedonia will submit the accord to its parliament for ratification. It has the option of calling a referendum. The country should have fully completed all necessary constitutional amendments by the end of 2018. Once this is completed, Greece will ‘promptly’ ratify the agreement. NATO-EU - Macedonia will seek NATO and EU membership under the name Republic of North Macedonia. When the Macedonian parliament has ratified the deal, Greece will notify both the EU and NATO that it supports opening accession negotiations. Greek support for NATO membership is contingent on the outcome of any referendum and the completion of constitutional reforms in North Macedonia. BORDERS - Both countries confirm their common existing frontier as their ‘enduring and inviolable international border’. CULTURE & HISTORY - Within a month of signing the deal, both countries will establish a committee of experts on historic, educational and archaeological matters to consider interpretation of historical events. May also revise school textbooks. If either side believes the other is using symbols of the other, ‘corrective action’ will be taken to respect patrimony. Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones  |http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-16T01:20:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multiyear program deal|June 15, 2018 / 5:20 PM / a minute ago UPDATE 1-Apple signs Oprah Winfrey to multiyear program deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LOS ANGELES, June 15 (Reuters) - Apple Inc has signed a multiyear deal with Oprah Winfrey to create programming as part of the iPhone maker’s push into original entertainment, the company said on Friday. “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” Apple said in a statement. Apple gave no details of the type of programming that Winfrey would create, the value of the deal or when it might be released. Winfrey had no immediate comment. The partnership with Winfrey, 64, regarded as one of the most influential people in the entertainment business, is the biggest original content deal struck by Apple so far. Apple in November ordered two seasons of a dramatic series with Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, looking at the lives of people working on a morning television show. It has also ordered a remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s science fiction anthology series “Amazing Stories.” (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; editing by Bill Rigby)|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews|0
2018-06-16T01:49:00.000+03:00|Swiss midfielder Xhaka signs new long-term deal at Arsenal|"June 15, 2018 / 10:53 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Swiss midfielder Xhaka signs new long-term deal at Arsenal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal’s Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka has signed a new long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Friday. Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - Switzerland Training - Freienbach, Switzerland - May 23, 2018 - Switzerland player Granit Xhaka. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The 25-year-old featured in all 38 league games last season and has made 94 appearances for the London outfit, including winning the FA Cup in his first campaign. He has 61 caps for Switzerland and is part of their squad for the World Cup in Russia. The Swiss open their campaign against five-times champions Brazil on Sunday. Xhaka joined Arsenal from Borussia Moenchengladbach in 2016 after helping them to fourth place in the Bundesliga that season and two Champions League group-stage qualifications. ""I’m delighted that Granit has extended his contract with us,"" new Arsenal manager Unai Emery told the club website www.arsenal.com after the player said he was ""happy and proud"" with the new deal. “He’s an important member of the squad and is still young so will be able to develop even more. I hope he has a successful World Cup with Switzerland and comes back fit and ready for the new season.” Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Rory Carroll"|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKSportsNews|0
2018-06-16T04:12:00.000+03:00|Foreigners sell U.S. Treasuries for second month in April: data|NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreigners sold Treasuries for a second consecutive month in April, as holdings of central banks and government institutions declined, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday. Overseas investors sold $4.78 billion in U.S. Treasuries in April, following outflows of $4.92 billion the previous month. Data also showed China’s holdings of Treasuries declined to $1.18 trillion in April after posting increases in March and February. Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-16T04:41:00.000+03:00|LIVESTOCK-CME live cattle pivot higher on bargain buying|"CHICAGO, June 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle turned up sharply on Friday, with support from short-covering and bargain buying after Thursday's losses that were partly led by U.S. trade uncertainty, said analysts and traders. On Friday China said it planned to impose similar size tariffs soon after Washington announced duties on $50 billion of Chinese goods. Some CME live cattle investors had feared China would slap higher tariffs on U.S. beef after imposing an extra 25 percent duty on U.S. pork in early April. Opening the Chinese market to U.S. beef in June 2017 presents an opportunity for growth, but up to this point it is not a major importer of U.S. beef, said independent livestock futures trader Dan Norcini. Instead, CME live cattle buyers focused on future's bullish price discount to prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle. Packers want to buy cash cattle in the U.S. Plains for $110 per cwt amid abundant supplies. Sellers are asking for as much as $120 while eyeing slipping, but historically high, packer margins. On Thursday a few cash cattle in Nebraska brought $110 per cwt, down $4 to $5 from last week. Fund buying provided more lift to live cattle contracts that broke through technical resistance levels. June live cattle closed 2.200 cents per pound higher at 108.450 cents, and August ended 2.900 cents higher at 104.775 cents. Both contracts landed above their respective 10-day moving averages of 107.857 cents and 104.013 cents. Live cattle future's rebound and technical buying rallied CME feeder cattle contracts. August closed 4.275 cents per pound higher at 147.950 cents. HOG FUTURES END MOSTLY WEAKER CME hog investors sold deferred contracts and simultaneously bought July stirred by soaring cash and wholesale pork prices as supplies diminish seasonally, traders said. Technical selling along with caution over U.S. pork trade with China, Mexico and Canada further weighed on August futures and remaining 2018 trading months. ""Any damage as far as U.S. pork export share going into China has already been done with those tariffs already in place,"" said Norcini. Trade issues regarding Canada and Mexico are worrisome because they are larger markets for pork than China, he added. July hogs ended up 0.100 cent per pound at 81.725 cents. August closed down 0.350 cent at 78.250 cents, and below the 100-day moving average of 78.827 cents. October finished 0.375 cent lower at 64.275 cents. (Reporting by Theopolis Waters; Editing by Richard Chang)  "|http://www.reuters.com/resources/archive/us/20180615.html|0
2018-06-16T04:46:00.000+03:00|Reports: Duke's Marvin Bagley III to sign shoe, clothing deal with Puma|It appears Puma has found a projected NBA lottery pick to promote their shoes and apparel in the company’s return to the basketball market. Mar 25, 2018; Omaha, NE, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Marvin Bagley III (35) grabs a rebound against Kansas Jayhawks guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) during the first half in the championship game of the Midwest regional of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Duke’s Marvin Bagley III has signed a five-year deal with the apparel company, which last had an NBA endorsement deal some 20 years ago, according to multiple reports. While numbers weren’t given, it was reported that the deal would be the biggest for a rookie since Kevin Durant signed with Nike for seven years and $60 million in 2007. Puma also reportedly approached for Oklahoma star Trae Young about a deal and is looking into signing other rookies and established stars in its return to the basketball scene. The last NBA star to sign a deal with Puma was Vince Carter in 1998. That 10-year deal fell apart after two years and the company turned its focus elsewhere. Puma has worked on partnerships with several celebrities in recent years, including Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez. It also has endorsement deals with golfer Rickie Fowler, Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt and several other athletes in other sports. In his one season at Duke, Bagley broke nine school records, including marks for most 30-point games (seven), double-doubles (22) and dunks (98), while leading the ACC in scoring and rebounding. Bagley, who averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds last season, is expected to go in the top five in the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21. —Field Level Media  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/sportsNews|0
2018-06-16T05:21:00.000+03:00|UPDATE 1-Foreigners sell U.S. Treasuries in April, led by central banks -data|By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - Foreigners sold Treasuries for a second consecutive month in April, as holdings of central banks and government institutions declined, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday. Analysts said foreign central banks, especially those in emerging markets, sold Treasuries to prop up their weakening currencies. Overseas investors sold $4.78 billion in U.S. Treasuries in April, following outflows of $4.92 billion the previous month. In addition, major holders of U.S. Treasuries showed a decline in holdings to $6.17 trillion in April, the lowest since December. Those countries whose holdings declined included China, whose Treasuries portfolio fell to $1.18 trillion in April after posting increases in March and February. China though is still the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries. This could well be the effect of a brewing trade war between the United States and China, analysts said. U.S. President Donald Trump announced his plan to impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers on March 1. Not coincidentally, Trump on Friday said he was pushing ahead with hefty tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports. China immediately vowed to retaliate. Data also showed Russia’s holdings showed a massive drop to $48.7 billion from $96.1 billion in March. Treasury holdings of Turkey, Mexico, India, and Taiwan all declined during the month. “This reflects emerging market wobbles,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rates strategist, at TD Securities in New York. “The central banks sold their Treasuries to defend their currencies.” The dollar has strengthened so far this year against a host of emerging market currencies such as the Turkish lira, Mexican peso, and Indian rupee amid political tensions in some of these countries, and as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates. Japan’s holdings of Treasuries, meanwhile, declined as well in April to $1.031 trillion, their lowest level since October 2011, data showed. TD Securities’ Goldberg said the decline in Japan’s holdings was not a surprise as Japanese investors have long been diversifying away from U.S. Treasuries. Japanese investors typically buy Treasuries on a cross-currency hedged basis and the advantage has gone against U.S. debt because of the rise in Libor cost. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, saw inflows of $5.93 billion in April, from outflows of $24.15 billion in March. Data further showed offshore investors purchased $93.9 billion in long-term U.S. assets in April, after buying $61.8 billion the previous month. Including shorter-dated securities, foreigners bought $138.7 billion in April, from sales of $43.6 billion in March. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; editing by Grant McCool)  |https://www.reuters.com/markets/bonds|0
2018-06-16T07:18:00.000+03:00|Coal, Paris deal isolates U.S. from other G20 nations at energy meeting|BARILOCHE, Argentina (Reuters) - The United States split from other Group of 20 member countries on Friday over the future of the coal industry and the 2015 Paris climate accord, though all of them agreed to transition to cleaner fuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions. FILE PHOTO: A man stands next to a board with the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers logo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Speaking at a press conference at the close of the G20 meeting of energy ministers in Bariloche, Argentina, Germany’s director of energy policy Thorsten Herdan said G20 member countries “have to get out of coal” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. While Herdan said phasing out coal was discussed at the meeting, there was no reference to winding down coal production in a joint statement issued by the ministers, which encouraged “increased investment and financing in renewable energy” but acknowledged that “fossil fuels still play a major role.” The talks come as the United States is evaluating a plan to prevent struggling coal and nuclear power plants from shuttering. Environmentalists and oil, gas, solar and wind energy industry groups have criticized the move, which the Trump administration says is crucial for natural security. “It’s not possible to put in the communique that at a certain point of time every country has to step out of coal due to the different requirements every country has,” Herdan said. “We are not a club which (says) what the others have to do.” The meeting marked the latest disagreement between the United States and other major countries on climate policy since President Donald Trump last year pulled the country out of the Paris deal, reversing a key commitment by former President Barack Obama to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The ministers alluded to that decision in the statement, noting that “energy transitions” were important to reduce emissions “and for those countries that are determined to implement the Paris Agreement.” “That was one of the sentences we (fought) a long time for,” Herdan said, noting that despite the withdrawal by the United States from the Paris climate agreement, other countries wanted to express their commitment. “Perhaps we have to admit that the language may be not as clear as everybody would like to have it, but at the end of the day that was the compromise for us to go further.” Speaking to reporters earlier on Friday in Bariloche, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said “clean coal” and nuclear energy were “very positive for the environment,” while noting that carbon capture technology would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reporting by Luc Cohen; editing by Diane Craft  |https://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities|0
2018-06-16T11:33:00.000+03:00|Centrica, Tokyo Gas break mould in Mozambique LNG deal|June 16, 2018 / 8:35 AM / a day ago Centrica, Tokyo Gas break mould in Mozambique LNG deal Oleg Vukmanovic 4 Min Read LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Britain’s Centrica and Japan’s Tokyo Gas aim to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Anadarko Petroleum’s $20 billion project in Mozambique, the first joint procurement deal designed to defuse risks facing the buyers in their respective markets. A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged towards a thermal power station in Futtsu, east of Tokyo, Japan November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo The deal also brings Anadarko one step closer to constructing its East African LNG project just as it corrals $14 billion to $15 billion from banks and export credit agencies for the 17,000-acre liquefaction complex in Mozambique’s remote north. Lenders require Anadarko to fix at least 8.1 million tonnes (mt) of the project’s 12.88 mt total annual output in long-term sales deals to guarantee project revenues. The preliminary agreement between Centrica and Tokyo Gas for 2.6 mt of LNG annually brings Anadarko’s total supply tally to 7.7 mt, via a mix of binding and non-binding deals. Deliveries will commence once Mozambique LNG starts operations, expected to be in the early- to mid-2020s and last until the early 2040s, the companies said. The main destinations are Tokyo Gas’ four terminals in Japan and Centrica’s terminal at Britain’s Isle of Grain, but the two firms also have the right to ship cargoes to other destinations, Centrica Vice President, LNG Business Development, David Dunlavy said in Tokyo during a joint news conference. How much each company will buy has not yet been decided, said Tokyo Gas Executive Officer Takashi Higo. The LNG will be priced based on multiple unidentified indexes, but they did not give details. Centrica’s purchases will likely be linked to Britain’s National Balancing Point gas trading hub and Tokyo Gas will pay a price linked to a basket of crude oil grades, such as the Japanese Crude Cocktail, sources said. “The transaction represents the first long-term offtake agreement from Africa for both Tokyo Gas and Centrica, in line with ongoing efforts to further diversify their respective portfolios of LNG sources,” Centrica said in a statement. Sharing the supply between buyers - an innovation - allows each company to weather domestic demand uncertainties by gaining an alternative outlet. Japanese utilities, for example, must grapple with the impact of the liberalisation of domestic power markets and the potential impact on demand, as well as uncertainty over nuclear reactor restarts and the role of renewables, any of which may undercut LNG demand. In Britain, dwindling North Sea output, Russia’s unpredictable export strategy, rising offshore wind output and the potential for more or less LNG from the United States all complicate demand forecasts. “This deal is an example of buyers cooperating to create flexibility rather than relying on sellers to create it for them,” said Frank Harris, head of global LNG consulting at Wood Mackenzie. Centrica and Tokyo Gas will benefit from being able to direct shipments into the most competitive region as prices fluctuate. In 2016, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding on a “location swap” for LNG deliveries that helped to cut transportation cost on their gas purchases. Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic and Sabina Zawadzki in LONDON and Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO; editing by Jason Neely, Tom Hogue and G Crosse 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAbusinessNews|0
2018-06-16T19:16:00.000+03:00|Greek police fire teargas to protesters over Macedonia deal|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas at protesters outside parliament on Saturday as lawmakers were in session discussing a no-confidence motion against the government over a controversial name deal with neighbouring Macedonia. Reuters witnesses saw police fire at least two rounds of teargas at individuals who tried to scale stairs outside parliament in central Athens, angered by the accord between the two countries earlier in the week. “Traitors, traitors,” up to 5,000 protesters gathered in the central Syntagma square chanted. Athens and Skopje agreed this week to end a decades-old dispute over the name of the Balkan country, which it shares with a northern Greek province. Under the deal, the former Yugoslav state will be known in future as “North Macedonia”. The agreement has triggered a storm of protest in both countries. In Athens, opposition parties filed a motion of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, angered at what they describe as a national sellout. A vote on the motion is expected later on Saturday. “I’m furious. That person (Tsipras) is not working in the national interests or the national sentiment of Greeks,” said demonstrator Sophia Constantinidou, 45. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbours at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Many Greeks see the name issue as an attempt by Skopje to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Once the deal is ratified, Greece has said it will support the opening of negotiations for North Macedonia to join the European Union and NATO. Reporting By Michele Kambas and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Catherine Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INworldNews|0
2018-06-16T19:17:00.000+03:00|Greek police fire teargas to protesters over Macedonia deal|June 16, 2018 / 4:20 PM / Updated an hour ago Greek police fire teargas to protesters over Macedonia deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas at protesters outside parliament on Saturday as lawmakers were in session discussing a no-confidence motion against the government over a controversial name deal with neighbouring Macedonia. Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Reuters witnesses saw police fire at least two rounds of teargas at individuals who tried to scale stairs outside parliament in central Athens, angered by the accord between the two countries earlier in the week. “Traitors, traitors,” up to 5,000 protesters gathered in the central Syntagma square chanted. Protesters scuffle with riot police during a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Athens and Skopje agreed this week to end a decades-old dispute over the name of the Balkan country, which it shares with a northern Greek province. Under the deal, the former Yugoslav state will be known in future as “North Macedonia”. Slideshow (3 Images) The agreement has triggered a storm of protest in both countries. In Athens, opposition parties filed a motion of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, angered at what they describe as a national sellout. A vote on the motion is expected later on Saturday. “I’m furious. That person (Tsipras) is not working in the national interests or the national sentiment of Greeks,” said demonstrator Sophia Constantinidou, 45. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbours at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Many Greeks see the name issue as an attempt by Skopje to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Once the deal is ratified, Greece has said it will support the opening of negotiations for North Macedonia to join the European Union and NATO. Reporting By Michele Kambas and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Catherine Evans|http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKWorldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-16T19:34:00.000+03:00|Greek police fire teargas to protesters over Macedonia deal|ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas at protesters outside parliament on Saturday as lawmakers were in session discussing a no-confidence motion against the government over a controversial name deal with neighboring Macedonia. Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Reuters witnesses saw police fire at least two rounds of teargas at individuals who tried to scale stairs outside parliament in central Athens, angered by the accord between the two countries earlier in the week. “Traitors, traitors,” up to 5,000 protesters gathered in the central Syntagma square chanted. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a parliamentary session before a vote following a motion of no confidence by the main opposition in dispute over a deal on neighbouring Macedonia's name, in Athens, Greece June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Athens and Skopje agreed this week to end a decades-old dispute over the name of the Balkan country, which it shares with a northern Greek province. Under the deal, the former Yugoslav state will be known in future as “North Macedonia”. Slideshow (5 Images) The agreement has triggered a storm of protest in both countries. In Athens, opposition parties filed a motion of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, angered at what they describe as a national sellout. A vote on the motion is expected later on Saturday. “I’m furious. That person (Tsipras) is not working in the national interests or the national sentiment of Greeks,” said demonstrator Sophia Constantinidou, 45. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbors at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Many Greeks see the name issue as an attempt by Skopje to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Once the deal is ratified, Greece has said it will support the opening of negotiations for North Macedonia to join the European Union and NATO. Reporting By Michele Kambas and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Catherine Evans  |http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/worldNews?format=xml|0
2018-06-16T19:50:00.000+03:00|Greek police fire teargas to protesters over Macedonia deal|June 16, 2018 / 4:22 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago Greek police fire teargas to protesters over Macedonia deal Reuters Staff 2 Min Read ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas at protesters outside parliament on Saturday as lawmakers were in session discussing a no-confidence motion against the government over a controversial name deal with neighbouring Macedonia. Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Reuters witnesses saw police fire at least two rounds of teargas at individuals who tried to scale stairs outside parliament in central Athens, angered by the accord between the two countries earlier in the week. “Traitors, traitors,” up to 5,000 protesters gathered in the central Syntagma square chanted. Athens and Skopje agreed this week to end a decades-old dispute over the name of the Balkan country, which it shares with a northern Greek province. Under the deal, the former Yugoslav state will be known in future as “North Macedonia”. The agreement has triggered a storm of protest in both countries. In Athens, opposition parties filed a motion of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, angered at what they describe as a national sellout. Protesters scuffle with riot police during a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas A vote on the motion is expected later on Saturday. “I’m furious. That person (Tsipras) is not working in the national interests or the national sentiment of Greeks,” said demonstrator Sophia Constantinidou, 45. The name dispute has soured relations between the two neighbours at least since 1991, when Macedonia broke away from former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Slideshow (3 Images) Many Greeks see the name issue as an attempt by Skopje to hijack Greece’s ancient cultural heritage. Once the deal is ratified, Greece has said it will support the opening of negotiations for North Macedonia to join the European Union and NATO. Reporting By Michele Kambas and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Catherine Evans 0 : 0|http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/AFRICAWorldNews|0