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2cfa6aca2336d2319db0c707fe6e1744 | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-world-rankings-idUKMTZXEGBGW9YG5Q?edition-redirect=uk | World Rankings | World Rankings
By Opta Sports Data0 Min Read
Nov 16 (OPTA) - The World Rankings on Nov 15 Rnk Prv Total 3. (3) Justin Thomas (US) 455.06 4. (5) Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 361.63 5. (4) Collin Morikawa (US) 296.62 6. (7) Webb Simpson (US) 314.22 7. (6) Bryson DeChambeau (US) 364.10 8. (8) Xander Schauffele (US) 358.07 9. (10) Patrick Cantlay (US) 273.52 10. (9) Tyrrell Hatton (England) 298.41 11. (11) Patrick Reed (US) 313.45 12. (12) Brooks Koepka (US) 257.48 13. (13) Daniel Berger (US) 215.83 14. (14) Matthew Wolff (US) 194.89 15. (15) Adam Scott (Australia) 183.12 16. (16) Tommy Fleetwood (England) 235.34 17. (18) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 232.54 18. (25) Sungjae Im (Korea Republic) 230.62 19. (17) Tony Finau (US) 228.64 20. (19) Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 206.16 21. (20) Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) 212.75 22. (21) Abraham Ancer (Mexico) 204.39 23. (22) Paul Casey (England) 194.19 24. (23) Viktor Hovland (Norway) 144.45 25. (24) Jason Kokrak (US) 179.22
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671aee90ffa32ccd4ec17c89248340e0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-world-rankings/world-rankings-idINMTZXEFCNZ0MK54?edition-redirect=in | World Rankings | World Rankings
By Opta Sports Data0 Min Read
Dec 23 (OPTA) - The World Rankings on Dec 22 Rnk Prv Total 1. (1) Brooks Koepka (US) 435.75 2. (2) Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 474.96 3. (3) Jon Rahm (Spain) 402.54 4. (4) Justin Thomas (US) 338.82 5. (5) Dustin Johnson (US) 297.82 6. (6) Tiger Woods (US) 267.41 7. (7) Patrick Cantlay (US) 280.72 8. (8) Justin Rose (England) 293.98 9. (9) Xander Schauffele (US) 294.65 10. (10) Tommy Fleetwood (England) 294.73 11. (11) Webb Simpson (US) 238.35 12. (12) Patrick Reed (US) 257.58 13. (18) Adam Scott (Australia) 216.99 14. (13) Bryson DeChambeau (US) 250.75 15. (14) Francesco Molinari (Italy) 206.66 16. (15) Paul Casey (England) 234.47 17. (16) Tony Finau (US) 243.37 18. (17) Gary Woodland (US) 242.76 19. (19) Shane Lowry (Ireland Republic) 226.17 20. (20) Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 199.93 21. (21) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 216.80 22. (22) Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 163.96 23. (23) Rickie Fowler (US) 172.04 24. (24) Matt Kuchar (US) 204.59 25. (25) Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) 195.65
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67cefb260b4a3495827c45a70fd2e0dd | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-world-rankings/world-rankings-idINMTZXEG16OXYHOE?edition-redirect=in | World Rankings | World Rankings
By Opta Sports Data0 Min Read
Jan 6 (OPTA) - The World Rankings on Jan 5 Rnk Prv Total 1. (1) Brooks Koepka (US) 419.48 2. (2) Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 460.07 3. (3) Jon Rahm (Spain) 396.84 4. (4) Justin Thomas (US) 374.53 5. (5) Dustin Johnson (US) 291.57 6. (7) Patrick Cantlay (US) 286.02 7. (6) Tiger Woods (US) 258.83 8. (9) Xander Schauffele (US) 308.63 9. (8) Justin Rose (England) 281.49 10. (10) Tommy Fleetwood (England) 286.42 11. (12) Patrick Reed (US) 271.74 12. (11) Webb Simpson (US) 229.31 13. (13) Adam Scott (Australia) 210.58 14. (17) Gary Woodland (US) 242.13 15. (14) Bryson DeChambeau (US) 238.87 16. (16) Tony Finau (US) 234.40 17. (15) Paul Casey (England) 228.93 18. (18) Francesco Molinari (Italy) 196.79 19. (19) Shane Lowry (Ireland Republic) 219.58 20. (20) Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 194.36 21. (23) Rickie Fowler (US) 175.03 22. (21) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 211.45 23. (22) Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 160.98 24. (24) Matt Kuchar (US) 201.60 25. (25) Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) 190.40
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90220cf286afeb7de5381f28faa864a9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-world-rankings/world-rankings-idINMTZXEG1D1WMKP2?edition-redirect=in | World Rankings | World Rankings
By Opta Sports Data0 Min Read
Jan 13 (OPTA) - The World Rankings on Jan 12 Rnk Prv Total 1. (1) Brooks Koepka (US) 411.36 2. (2) Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 452.63 3. (3) Jon Rahm (Spain) 390.87 4. (4) Justin Thomas (US) 368.41 5. (5) Dustin Johnson (US) 285.13 6. (6) Patrick Cantlay (US) 281.36 7. (7) Tiger Woods (US) 254.54 8. (8) Xander Schauffele (US) 303.67 9. (9) Justin Rose (England) 275.20 10. (10) Tommy Fleetwood (England) 282.27 11. (12) Webb Simpson (US) 243.15 12. (11) Patrick Reed (US) 254.38 13. (13) Adam Scott (Australia) 207.36 14. (14) Gary Woodland (US) 238.01 15. (16) Tony Finau (US) 234.41 16. (15) Bryson DeChambeau (US) 232.85 17. (17) Paul Casey (England) 224.53 18. (20) Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 210.78 19. (19) Shane Lowry (Ireland Republic) 228.28 20. (18) Francesco Molinari (Italy) 191.87 21. (22) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 212.87 22. (21) Rickie Fowler (US) 171.38 23. (23) Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 159.01 24. (24) Matt Kuchar (US) 197.49 25. (25) Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) 187.50
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e4bba03915661a3582c97301d414d95e | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-world-rankings/world-rankings-idUKMTZXEFCNZ0MK54?edition-redirect=uk | World Rankings | World Rankings
By Opta Sports Data0 Min Read
Dec 23 (OPTA) - The World Rankings on Dec 22 Rnk Prv Total 1. (1) Brooks Koepka (US) 435.75 2. (2) Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 474.96 3. (3) Jon Rahm (Spain) 402.54 4. (4) Justin Thomas (US) 338.82 5. (5) Dustin Johnson (US) 297.82 6. (6) Tiger Woods (US) 267.41 7. (7) Patrick Cantlay (US) 280.72 8. (8) Justin Rose (England) 293.98 9. (9) Xander Schauffele (US) 294.65 10. (10) Tommy Fleetwood (England) 294.73 11. (11) Webb Simpson (US) 238.35 12. (12) Patrick Reed (US) 257.58 13. (18) Adam Scott (Australia) 216.99 14. (13) Bryson DeChambeau (US) 250.75 15. (14) Francesco Molinari (Italy) 206.66 16. (15) Paul Casey (England) 234.47 17. (16) Tony Finau (US) 243.37 18. (17) Gary Woodland (US) 242.76 19. (19) Shane Lowry (Ireland Republic) 226.17 20. (20) Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 199.93 21. (21) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 216.80 22. (22) Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 163.96 23. (23) Rickie Fowler (US) 172.04 24. (24) Matt Kuchar (US) 204.59 25. (25) Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) 195.65
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5583ca6f877e612df4f0c71320da4027 | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-world-rankings/world-rankings-idUKMTZXEFCUBZAFEN?edition-redirect=uk | World Rankings | World Rankings
By Opta Sports Data0 Min Read
Dec 30 (OPTA) - The World Rankings on Dec 29 Rnk Prv Total 1. (1) Brooks Koepka (US) 427.61 2. (2) Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 467.52 3. (3) Jon Rahm (Spain) 396.46 4. (4) Justin Thomas (US) 332.67 5. (5) Dustin Johnson (US) 290.78 6. (6) Tiger Woods (US) 263.12 7. (7) Patrick Cantlay (US) 276.35 8. (8) Justin Rose (England) 287.74 9. (9) Xander Schauffele (US) 289.64 10. (10) Tommy Fleetwood (England) 290.58 11. (11) Webb Simpson (US) 233.88 12. (12) Patrick Reed (US) 253.18 13. (13) Adam Scott (Australia) 213.79 14. (14) Bryson DeChambeau (US) 244.88 15. (16) Paul Casey (England) 230.08 16. (17) Tony Finau (US) 238.93 17. (18) Gary Woodland (US) 238.56 18. (15) Francesco Molinari (Italy) 201.73 19. (19) Shane Lowry (Ireland Republic) 222.87 20. (20) Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 197.15 21. (21) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 214.15 22. (22) Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 162.47 23. (23) Rickie Fowler (US) 168.26 24. (24) Matt Kuchar (US) 200.84 25. (25) Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) 193.03
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7cff7e8532f8c9866254ffe9fb005fc2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-yearender/golf-ten-major-talking-points-in-2019-idUKL8N28R5NO?edition-redirect=uk | Golf-Ten major talking points in 2019 | Golf-Ten major talking points in 2019
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
Dec 18 (Reuters) - Ten of the major talking points during the 2019 golf season:
- After more than a decade without a major title, Tiger Woods wins the Masters for his 15th major championship, leaving him needing three more to match the record held by Jack Nicklaus.
- Woods wins the Zozo Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour victory, matching the all-time mark held by Sam Snead.
- Sergio Garcia is disqualified from the Saudi International after officials deem he intentionally damaged at least five greens during the third round. Earlier in the tournament, he was also seen angrily belting his club over and over again in a greenside bunker.
- Patrick Reed is penalised two strokes after television reveals he improved his lie in a waste bunker at Hero Challenge in the Bahamas. Reed accepts the penalty but maintains the infraction was unintentional.
- A major revamping of the rules has teething problems early in the new year as officials rescind a two-stroke penalty handed to Denny McCarthy at Phoenix Open and tweak a rule about when caddies are allowed to stand behind their player.
- Rory McIlroy, after waiting his entire life to play at the British Open in his homeland of Northern Ireland, pulls his opening tee shot out-of-bounds, shoots 79 and eventually misses the cut.
- An underdog European team beats the United States to win the Solheim Cup in a dramatic finish at Gleneagles as Suzann Pettersen sinks the winning putt amid suffocating tension and then announces her retirement.
- Three months after winning the Mayakoba Classic, Matt Kuchar, his good-guy reputation in shreds, finally stems the bleeding by upping his payment to his stand-in caddie from $5000 to $50,000. Kuchar’s prize money for the victory was nearly $1.3 million.
- The never-ending issue of slow play finally reaches tipping point when video of Bryson DeChambeau taking two minutes to line up a putt at the Northern Trust goes viral. The PGA Tour quickly announces it will revamp its pace-of-play policy.
- South Korean Bio Kim receives a draconian three-year suspension from the Korean Tour after making an obscene finger gesture to a fan whose smartphone camera had clicked during his swing. The penalty was subsequently cut to one year.
Compiled by Andrew Both Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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856d02e23495662ceca893b465bd3ced | https://www.reuters.com/article/golf-yearender/golf-tiger-the-master-as-games-compelling-act-stages-major-encore-idINKBN1YM18H?edition-redirect=in | Golf: Tiger the Master as game's compelling act stages major encore | Golf: Tiger the Master as game's compelling act stages major encore
By Andrew Both4 Min Read
(Reuters) - Tiger Woods was the compelling golf story of 2019, a year when Brooks Koepka completed an unprecedented double, Ko Jin-young ruled the women’s game and Matt Kuchar’s reputation as a good guy took a hit.
Tiger Woods of the U.S. celebrates on the 18th hole to win the 2019 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S. April 14, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "POY SPORTS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2019 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
It was a minor miracle that Woods was even able to compete again after undergoing a spinal fusion in 2017, a last ditch attempt to alleviate searing pain after several less radical back surgeries had proved ineffective.
That he won again in 2018 at the Tour Championship, eight months after returning to competition, was no mean feat, but it merely set the stage for the main act in April.
In capturing the Masters for his 15th major title, nearly 11 years after his 14th, Woods scaled a summit at the age of 43 that many had presumed would prove too tall an order.
Four-times major champion Rory McIlroy perhaps summed it up best.
“I still to this day think people don’t give himself enough credit for what he’s been through to get back to where he is,” said the Northern Irishman.
“To me, if not the best comeback in sports, it’s definitely one of them.
“I’ve seen him in some pretty tough places. We had lunch in March of 2017 and he was struggling to get up and move and walk around. Fast forward two years and he’s winning the Masters.”
ONE STROKE
Woods used his guile and experience to hunt down the leaders at Augusta National, hanging within striking distance before pouncing mercilessly when the front-runners stumbled.
In shooting 13 under par, Woods compiled 22 birdies and nine bogeys. Four of those bogeys came at the same hole, the par-four fifth.
Woods eventually triumphed by one stroke, while 10 players finished within three shots, all of whom could realistically have won had things gone a little differently, such is the fine line between victory and no cigar in a game of inches.
Koepka would have forced a playoff had he holed an eight-foot putt at the last, but he had to wait only a month to rectify that disappointment by winning the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black on New York’s Long Island.
In doing so, Koepka became the first player to hold back-to back titles in two majors -- the PGA Championship and U.S. Open -- at the same time.
He finished the year as the clear world number one, even if FedEx Cup champion McIlroy controversially won the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year in a vote of his peers after a season that included victories for the Irishman at the Players Championship, Canadian Open and Tour Championship.
RELENTLESS KO
While Koepka firmly planted his flag as the world number one, South Korean Ko established herself even more emphatically as the premier women’s player, winning four times on the LPGA Tour, including two majors.
If Koepka bludgeons a course into submission, Ko by contrast swings with metronomic accuracy, splitting fairways with her textbook swing and finding the heart of greens with relentless precision thanks to her her pinpoint iron shots.
She hit nearly 80% of greens in regulation, 3% more than anyone else, a dry statistic to be sure, but highly significant nonetheless.
Off the course, Kuchar made headlines for the wrong reasons after winning the Mayakoba Championship in Mexico in late 2018.
With only a vague verbal agreement in place, Kuchar felt no compunction about paying David ‘El Tucan’ Ortiz only $5,000 from his first prize of nearly $1.3 million, evidently feeling he was being rather generous.
Three months later, after being publicly shamed, Kuchar eventually upped the payout to a more respectable $50,000, still small change for a man with career earnings of more than $50 million.
Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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61eac405bbc6d2b37094ba06d0df1c16 | https://www.reuters.com/article/golfNews/idUKSP19860620071208?edition-redirect=uk | INTERVIEW-Golf-Asian Tour cautiously considering super circuit | INTERVIEW-Golf-Asian Tour cautiously considering super circuit
By Martin Petty4 Min Read
BANGKOK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Asian Tour is giving serious consideration to joining a regional “super tour” to compete with the PGA and European circuits, although concerns remain over how it will affect players.
The tour’s executive chairman, Kyi Hla Han, welcomed the proposed creation of the OneAsia Tour in 2009, but said a lot was at stake for the Asian Tour and a decision on joining the circuit with Japan, Australia and New Zealand had to be taken carefully.
“The concept and vision of this tour is very positive and we’re looking at it very seriously,” Han told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.
“But it’s not just about only these tours now, we’ve got to bring in the big countries in Asia like China, Korea and India. It’s got to be a positive step for all golfers in the region. It has to be a win-win situation.”
Han said there was more at stake for his tour because there were more players, more countries and more issues involved.
“We’re being a little bit more careful, taking a little bit more time to make a decision because Japan is one country and one tour, as is Australia,” he said.
“If we split the field into three tours, there will be a lot of reservations from the players. I’ve got 17 different countries and 24 different nationalities as our members, so there are a lot more complications for us.
“However, if it’s something that the corporate marketplace supports, it will be good,” he added.
Han, a former professional player from Myanmar who topped the Asian Tour’s money list in 1999, said serious discussions with the other circuits, which have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding, will begin in the next few weeks.
START TOGETHER
He expects a decision to be taken within three-to-six months on whether to sign-up to the mooted circuit.
“We’re going to have a talk with Australian and Japanese Tours and if we agree to start, we start together,” he said.
“Scheduling will be a huge factor, it will be tough and we need to develop a system where players competing in this elite tour get on through performance, it has to be performance-driven.
“All three tours are player-led. We have to make sure each can sustain itself at a local level, but on a global scale, this tour would be pretty powerful.”
Han said his loyalties rested with the members of his own tour -- the only recognised pan-Asian circuit -- which he said would have to have the biggest say if it joined the pact.
“The Asian Tour should be in full control of this. To make it work and we become in control of both tours, the OneAsia and the Asian Tour.
“I’ve got to make sure the Asian Tour sustains itself in the marketplace. It’s crucial that I protect it and its members,” he said of the tour, which will feature 25 events in 16 countries next year., with a prize pot of over $27 million.
His main fear, he said, would be that the proposed super tour would try to focus on a select number of big-money events, which would overshadow the other tournaments.
However, Han believes a OneAsia tour would boost the competitiveness of the Asian game and keep the continent’s best players at home.
“This will enhance development and keep our players from going to Europe or the United States,” he said. “The sponsors would pay good money and would the best players to play.” (Editing by John O’Brien)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c3127212fd2db5963edf6e20d5cdd03d | https://www.reuters.com/article/goodpack-ma-privateequity-idUKL3N27Z0ZV?edition-redirect=uk | EXCLUSIVE-KKR taps CK Infrastructure, buyout groups as it seeks bids for Goodpack-sources | EXCLUSIVE-KKR taps CK Infrastructure, buyout groups as it seeks bids for Goodpack-sources
By Anshuman Daga2 Min Read
SINGAPORE, Nov 19 (Reuters) - KKR & Co. has tapped Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd and buyout groups including Blackstone and Sweden’s EQT AB to gauge buying interest for Singapore-based Goodpack, an intermediate bulk container maker, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Working with advisors, private equity group (PE) KKR has reached out to more than a dozen potential buyers as it seeks bids for a deal that could give Goodpack a valuation of at least $2 billion, the sources said.
If successful, this would rank as one of the largest PE-backed sales in the past few years in Asia, excluding Japan and Australia, according to data from Refinitiv.
The names of the potential bidders have not been reported previously. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
KKR, EQT and Blackstone declined to comment, while there was no immediate response from CK Infrastructure.
“There are a lot of parties looking at this high-profile auction. This is not a small and cheap deal, so people are keen to do a lot of work on this one,” said one banker familiar with the sale process.
Indicative bids are due in early December, they said.
$1 = 1.3607 Singapore dollars Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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faef92a436e1db7e3971e7f269b3166d | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-balloons/googles-project-loon-explores-balloon-powered-internet-access-idINDEE95F00T20130616?edition-redirect=in | Google's Project Loon explores balloon-powered Internet access | Google's Project Loon explores balloon-powered Internet access
By 2 Min Read
REUTERS - Google IncGOOG.O has launched a small network of balloons over the Southern Hemisphere in an experiment it hopes could bring reliable Internet access to the world's most remote regions, the company said late Friday.
A Google sign is seen at a Best Buy electronics store in this photo illustration in Encinitas, California April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files
The pilot program, Project Loon, took off this month from New Zealand’s South Island, using solar-powered, high-altitude balloons that ride the wind about 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) - twice as high as airplanes - above the ground, Google said.
Like the Internet search engine for which Google is best known, Project Loon uses algorithms to determine where the balloons need to go, then moves them into winds blowing in the desired direction, the company said.
By moving with the wind, the balloons form a network of airborne hot spots that can deliver Internet access over a broad area at speeds comparable to 3G using open radio frequency bands, Google said.
To connect to the balloon network, a special Internet antenna is attached to buildings below.
The Mountain View, Calif-based company announced the project on its official blog here, and its website www.google.com/loon/.
The 30 balloons deployed in New Zealand this month will beam Internet to a small group of pilot testers and be used to refine the technology and shape the next phase of Project Loon, Google said.
Google did not say what it was spending on the pilot project or how much a global network of balloons might cost.
Google has also developed self-driving vehicles, which the company says could significantly increase driving safety.
Those vehicles are beginning to gain support from lawmakers in places like California, where a bill legalizing their operation on state roads was signed into law last by Governor Jerry Brown.
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626679985ddf3801243648b015f8559f | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-compensation/alphabet-grants-pichai-largest-ever-stock-award-again-idINL4N28U3V6?edition-redirect=in | Alphabet grants Pichai largest ever stock award, again | Alphabet grants Pichai largest ever stock award, again
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s newly-instated Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai would receive a hefty $240 million in performance-based stock awards over the next three years, the highest ever promised to any executive of the search giant.
Pichai would also take home $2 million in annual salary starting 2020, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. That compares with a $1 salary received by Larry Page in the same role last year. (bit.ly/36VSo8u)
Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin stepped down earlier this month as leaders of the internet behemoth they founded 21 years ago, giving Pichai charge of the parent company in addition to his role as the chief of Google.
Pichai is now the public face of a company that is facing criticism from U.S. lawmakers as well as its employees over a number of issues ranging from privacy to monopoly.
When he took over as Google’s chief in 2015, Pichai drew an annual salary of $652,500. The following year his earnings skyrocketed, thanks to a massive $199 million in stock awards, the highest ever for any Alphabet executive back then.
According to the most recent proxy statement from the company, Pichai earned nearly $1.9 million in 2018, which mostly included the costs for his security and personal use of aircraft. His base salary that year was $650,000.
Reporting by Neha Malara and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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1ef4f6d86054d2cf86abd03100c77f6f | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-compensation/alphabet-grants-pichai-largest-ever-stock-award-again-idUKL4N28U3V6?edition-redirect=uk | Alphabet grants Pichai largest ever stock award, again | Alphabet grants Pichai largest ever stock award, again
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s newly-instated Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai would receive a hefty $240 million in performance-based stock awards over the next three years, the highest ever promised to any executive of the search giant.
Pichai would also take home $2 million in annual salary starting 2020, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. That compares with a $1 salary received by Larry Page in the same role last year. (bit.ly/36VSo8u)
Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin stepped down earlier this month as leaders of the internet behemoth they founded 21 years ago, giving Pichai charge of the parent company in addition to his role as the chief of Google.
Pichai is now the public face of a company that is facing criticism from U.S. lawmakers as well as its employees over a number of issues ranging from privacy to monopoly.
When he took over as Google’s chief in 2015, Pichai drew an annual salary of $652,500. The following year his earnings skyrocketed, thanks to a massive $199 million in stock awards, the highest ever for any Alphabet executive back then.
According to the most recent proxy statement from the company, Pichai earned nearly $1.9 million in 2018, which mostly included the costs for his security and personal use of aircraft. His base salary that year was $650,000.
Reporting by Neha Malara and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0e7bdaf3e564733ad3cfc2297fbbcde1 | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-diversity-legal-idUSL1N1KU21M | Google memo writer faces tough legal road challenging firing | Google memo writer faces tough legal road challenging firing
By Daniel Wiessner, Jan Wolfe4 Min Read
(Reuters) - The Google software engineer fired for writing an internal memo critical of diversity hiring policies at the company faces an uphill battle legally challenging his termination, but he could succeed in prolonging the controversy, potentially driving the tech firm to settle, legal experts said on Tuesday.
James Damore told Reuters in an email on Monday that he had been fired by Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, for “perpetuating gender stereotypes” in his 10-page memo, which asserted Google had “a left bias” hostile to conservative viewpoints and argued that the lack of representation of women in leadership roles in the tech industry was due to biological differences rather than discrimination.
Damore said in the email he was exploring his legal options. Neither Damore nor Mountain View, California-based Google responded to a request for comment for this article.
Damore’s memo and his firing have quickly become flashpoints in the culture wars with right-leaning writers and websites embracing Damore’s stand against “political correctness” and those on the left decrying his “sexist” arguments.
Employment lawyers mostly said Damore’s potential legal case over his firing was weak though, with some noting Google would have faced potential lawsuits if it had not acted against him.
“If an employer is met with someone making statements that unabashedly stereotype based on gender and the employer doesn’t respond, the employer may be sued by others who say that discriminatory conduct creates a harassing atmosphere,” said Philadelphia-based labor lawyer Jonathan Segal of Duane Morris.
Discrimination lawsuits might not directly target a Google decision not to fire Damore but could cite it as evidence of a “hostile work environment,” said Segal.
William Gould, a Stanford law professor and former National Labor Relations Board chairman, said Google had a strong argument its firing of Damore was justified on the grounds that his memo raised questions about whether he could fairly assess the work of female colleagues.
Gould said Damore would have a tough time arguing his firing violated his right to free speech. Private employers can largely fire workers for any reason. Some states including California have laws protecting political speech by employees but that protection would probably not apply to an internal memo focused on Google’s own policies, Gould said.
In his email to Reuters on Monday, Damore suggested Google may have retaliated against him for filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board shortly before he was fired. The complaint claimed Google management was trying to silence his views.
But several employment lawyers said this claim would likely fail because his memo would not be considered a “concerted activity” among Google employees protected by the National Labor Relations Act, just griping by Damore alone.
Michael Willemin, a plaintiff’s lawyer with employment firm Wigdor, also said Damore would have a hard time bringing a retaliation claim based on the idea that his memo constituted a complaint about discrimination against men. Willemin noted the memo contained no specific accusation of unlawful conduct.
Damore may not need to prevail in a legal proceeding to win, however. Though his memo received widespread criticism for its perceived sexism, it also drew a great deal of support, especially from the political right.
Such voices would likely increase during a legal case, and Jeffrey Hirsch, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law, said the controversy could lead Google to settle any legal action brought by Damore.
“My guess is Google would rather not have people talking about this,” he said.
But Hirsch also said it was possible a quick settlement was less Damore’s goal than publicity for his point of view.
“It takes a certain personality to stick your neck out like that - to write a memo and send it to the workforce,” said Hirsch. “That same type of person might also embrace the martyr role.”
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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eabcd885b88fa796e74f86a0a15ee465 | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-india-antitrust/exclusive-india-orders-anti-trust-probe-of-google-for-alleged-android-abuse-sources-idINKCN1SG17L?edition-redirect=in | Exclusive: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse - sources | Exclusive: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse - sources
By Aditya Kalra4 Min Read
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s antitrust watchdog has ordered an investigation into Alphabet Inc’s unit Google for allegedly abusing the dominant position of its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals, two sources aware of the matter told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of Google logo in this illustration picture, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year started looking into the complaint, which is similar to one Google faced in Europe that resulted in a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine on the company, Reuters reported in February.
In mid-April, the CCI decided there was merit in the accusations made in the complaint and ordered its investigation unit to launch a full probe, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
That decision, which was confirmed by the second source, has not been previously reported and the order calling the full investigation was not made public.
“It is a strong case for the CCI, given the EU precedent,” said the first source. “The CCI has (preliminarily) found Google abused its dominant position.”
The probe would be completed in about a year and Google executives would likely be summoned to appear before the CCI in coming months, the source said.
The CCI did not respond to a request for comment.
A Google spokesman said Android has enabled millions of Indians to connect to the internet by making mobile devices more affordable. Google looked forward to working with the CCI “to demonstrate how Android has led to more competition and innovation, not less”, the spokesman said in a statement.
Reuters could not establish who filed the complaint, which involves more than one person.
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
The precise details of the complaint against Google in India could not be determined, but sources have told Reuters it is on the exact same lines as the case filed against the company in Europe.
In the EU case, regulators said Google forced manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser, together with its Google Play app store, on Android devices, giving it an unfair advantage.
Google has appealed the order but, in a bid to quell EU antitrust concerns, last month said its Android device users in Europe would be able to choose rival browsers and search engines. Once a user downloads a rival search app, it also prompts them to change their default search engine in their Google Chrome browser, if they so wish.
Android, used by device makers for free, features on about 88 percent of the world’s smartphones. In India, about 99 percent of the smartphones sold this year used the platform, Counterpoint Research estimates.
It remains possible that the CCI’s investigations unit could clear Google of any wrongdoing. The amount of fine that can be imposed on Google if the CCI rules against it was not immediately clear.
The Indian regulator has powers to impose a penalty of up to 10% of the relevant turnover of a company in the last three financial years if it is found to have abused its dominant position. In that case, Google’s earnings linked to its web browser and search engine could be considered to assess the fine, New Delhi-based antitrust lawyer Gautam Shahi said.
Google does not disclose its India earnings from its web browser or search engine.
“They can either change their conduct in India voluntarily or let CCI investigate. Voluntary change in conduct may have an impact on the quantum of penalty, if it’s imposed,” said Shahi.
The Indian investigation, however, is not the only antitrust trouble for the Mountain View, California-based company in its key market.
Last year, the CCI imposed a fine of 1.36 billion rupees ($19.46 million) on Google for “search bias” and abuse of its dominant position. It also found Google had put its commercial flight search function in a prominent position on the search results page.
Google appealed against that order, saying the ruling could cause it “irreparable” harm and reputational loss.
Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Martin Howell and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e2fbc9198ef581f2d4a87bfb2d98aabd | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-media-germany-idUSL8N1IB4LX | UPDATE 1-German court refers publishers' case vs Google to European court | UPDATE 1-German court refers publishers' case vs Google to European court
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Adds judge’s comment, ruling)
BERLIN, May 9 (Reuters) - A court in Berlin on Tuesday referred to the European Court of Justice a dispute in which German publishers want search engine providers such as Google to pay them for displaying parts of their newspaper articles online.
Germany’s biggest newspaper publisher Axel Springer and 40 other publishers have accused Alphabet Inc’s Google of copyright infringement in the case.
The European Court of Justice will now have to look into whether a German media law dealing with copyright issues is in line with European principles.
It must decide whether the German government should have presented its draft Leistungsschutzrecht law to the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, before it took effect in 2013, judge Peter Scholz said.
“We think that the complaint is at least partially justified,” Scholz said in his ruling, without giving details.
But he said the European Court of Justice should review the matter, a process that could take around a year, according to a lawyer for the publishers.
If the court finds the German government should have had its law reviewed by the EU, that could remove the legal basis for the publishers’ complaint, experts said.
A German Justice Ministry spokesman said the government had not seen any reason to present the draft law to the European Commission and get approval.
A Google spokesman said the company remained convinced that it would prevail, saying Tuesday’s ruling showed the German copyright law was full of contradictions and open-ended questions. (Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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53fe5d4ad00d4c3673b1a248077b13bc | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-taxes-netherlands/google-to-end-double-irish-dutch-tax-scheme-filing-idINA5N294001?edition-redirect=in | Google to end "Double Irish, Dutch" tax scheme - filing | Google to end "Double Irish, Dutch" tax scheme - filing
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
AMSTERDAM, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Alphabet, the parent company of Google, will no longer use the intellectual property licensing scheme commonly known as the “Double Irish, Dutch sandwich”, according to 2018 tax filings with the Irish and Dutch governments seen by Reuters.
In 2017, Google’s Dutch filings showed that it had moved $23 billion through a shell company to Bermuda, a strategy that allowed it to delay paying U.S. taxes. In the 2018 filings seen by Reuters on Tuesday for both Ireland and the Netherlands, the company said it would end the practice.
“A date of termination of the Company’s licencing activities has not yet been confirmed by senior leadership, however management expects that this termination will take place as of 31 December 2019 or during 2020,” the filing with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce said.
“Consequently, the Company’s turnover and associated expense base generated from licensing activities will discontinue as of this date.” (Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by David Evans)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ae728daf3d0d6f6264fb7bf2026dc979 | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-trump-mnuchin-idINKCN1UJ1K2?edition-redirect=in | Mnuchin says Google's work with China does not raise concerns | Mnuchin says Google's work with China does not raise concerns
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attends a working session during the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Chantilly, near Paris, France, July 17, 2019. Ian Langsdon/Pool via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google’s work with the Chinese government does not raise any concerns, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday after President Donald Trump last week called for his administration to investigate the issue.
Mnuchin, speaking in an interview on CNBC, said he did not see any areas of work by Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, that in any way raised concerns.
Reporting by Makini Brice and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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cea06457f5582a90fbf8d27b17b41fed | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-unions/google-fires-fifth-activist-employee-in-three-weeks-complaint-filed-idINKBN1YL1MT?edition-redirect=in | Google fires fifth activist employee in three weeks; complaint filed | Google fires fifth activist employee in three weeks; complaint filed
By Joseph Menn3 Min Read
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O Google fired a security engineer on Friday after she used an internal alert system to remind colleagues that they had the right to take collective action.
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Kathryn Spiers, a two-year member of the security team recently working on the Chrome browser, said she had authority to use the system to alert employees to new policies. In this case, she was drawing attention to the company’s declaration that workers could organize and discuss various workplace issues without retribution.
Google posted a list of such rights in September, settling a complaint brought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Spiers’ alert triggered a pop-up inside the Chrome browser if employees visited an internal policy page or the website of a firm involved in attempts to break unions elsewhere and recently consulted by Google.
“The issue here is that a security engineer misused a security and privacy tool to create a pop-up that was neither about security nor privacy,” a spokeswoman said on condition she not be named. “This person did that without authorization and without a business justification.”
Spiers was suspended the same day that four activist colleagues were fired, during Thanksgiving week. After repeated questioning by Google staff, she was dismissed.
“I expected it to be a controversial change, and I didn’t expect it to be added forever, but I also didn’t expect to be fired over it,” Spiers said in an interview.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA), a union that filed an NLRB complaint on behalf of the other four fired workers, filed a new complaint late on Monday for Spiers.
The union argued that the firing was illegal because it aimed “to quell Spiers and other employees from asserting their right to engage in concerted protected activities.”
Google said it would have acted the same if Spiers had posted something else.
Google said the action was worse because Spiers used an emergency mechanism to install the pop-up warning without a second person approving it.
The recent firings have galvanized some employees into doing more to rally one another and protest company policies, workers said, and they drew in the CWA after many months of actions. But other employees said their co-workers were intimidated and speaking out less.
Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0c0ad2b2c18cac85bbf937c920e0a303 | https://www.reuters.com/article/google-virtual-reality-bavor-idINKCN0UR0GP20160113?edition-redirect=in | Google creates virtual reality arm, names key exec to run it | Google creates virtual reality arm, names key exec to run it
By 2 Min Read
Slideshow ( 2 images )
REUTERS - Alphabet Inc’s Google has created a virtual reality (VR) computing division and said Clay Bavor, the executive running its product management team, will run the new arm.
A spokesman for Google, Joshua Cruz, confirmed Bavor’s new role on the team, but declined to provide any further details.
According to Bavor’s Twitter profile, he is the vice president of Virtual Reality at Google.
As vice president of product management, Bavor oversaw some of Google’s key apps, including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs, his LinkedIn profile showed.
Technology news website Re/code first reported Bavor’s appointment on Tuesday and said his earlier role will now be taken over by Senior Vice President Diane Greene.
Google has been flirting with virtual reality but never quite fully dived into it until now. In May last year, the company announced a partnership with action-camera maker GoPro to enable 360 degree view in virtual reality, using a new technology that Google had developed.
The company said in November its video-sharing site YouTube supported virtual reality video. Viewers could view VR video using a cellphone and Google Cardboard viewer.
Oculus, the virtual reality company Facebook bought in 2014, has started accepting pre-orders for its much-awaited virtual reality headset, Rift, which will ship in Q1.
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47470dfe63445cc4ae159843b6d9702e | https://www.reuters.com/article/gopro-results/gopro-tops-revenue-estimates-posts-first-profit-in-five-quarters-idINKCN1PV2L5?edition-redirect=in | GoPro tops revenue estimates, posts first profit in five quarters | GoPro tops revenue estimates, posts first profit in five quarters
By Sonam Rai3 Min Read
(Reuters) - GoPro Inc reported its first profit in five quarters on Wednesday and topped Wall Street estimates for revenue, as it cut costs and saw strong demand for the latest action cameras from its flagship HERO line.
FILE PHOTO: A GoPro device featuring 16 cameras, to be used with Google's "Jump," to provide viewers with 360-degree video, is shown during the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco, California May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo
GoPro, whose mounted cameras are used by everyone from action junkies to Instagram travel bloggers, has launched cheaper cameras to drive demand, exited a failing drone business and become leaner through job cuts, helping it revive profit margins. Still, its action cameras face stiff competition from ever-improving cameras on smartphones.
GoPro shares rose 2 percent in after-hours trading, paring gains from an initial 10 percent jump.
In the fourth quarter ended December, GoPro gained market share in Asian markets including Japan, China, Korea and Thailand, while in the United States it had an 87 percent share of the action camera market by units, the San Mateo, California-based company said.
“It appears that GoPro accurately planned its Q4 inventory,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Alicia Reese. “HERO7 Black sold very well in Q4, driving ASPs 20 percent higher,” she said, referring to average selling prices.
GoPro’s HERO 7 Black camera, which carries a $400 price tag, was its top-selling product in the December quarter without discounting, Chief Financial Officer Brian McGee said on a conference call with analysts.
The company also projected revenue of between $510 million and $550 million for the first half of 2019.
“With this momentum and a continued focus on expense management, we’re planning for growth and profitability in 2019,” GoPro Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Woodman said in a statement.
The company reported a net income of $32 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a net loss of $55.9 million a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned 30 cents per share, above analysts’ estimate of 26 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Revenue surged 13 percent to $377 million, exceeding analysts’ average estimate of $374.2 million.
Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin RavikumarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d8bedf5d9c7227985affbce0a695c4c7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKBNG38594620081218?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 1-Avigen sells haemophilia compound to Baxter for $7 mln | UPDATE 1-Avigen sells haemophilia compound to Baxter for $7 mln
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
Dec 18 (Reuters) - Biopharmaceutical company Avigen Inc AVGN.O said it sold all rights to its early-stage blood coagulation compound for $7 million to Baxter Healthcare Corp BAX.N, boosting its shares 64 percent.
Avigen Chief Executive Kenneth Chahine said it was the company’s goal to move the compound to a better-resourced company as the compound was outside Avigen’s focus on neurology.
The company is also in the process of partnering its experimental treatment for neuropathic pain and drug addiction, Chahine said.
Avigen’s experimental treatment for spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis had failed in mid-stage studies, in October. In November, Avigen said it would cut more than 70 percent of its workforce as a part of restructuring.
Baxter makes blood therapy products, including blood-thinner Heparin, apart from making intravenous medication pumps and renal products.
Avigen shares, which have lost more than three-fourths of their value so far this year, were up 39 cents at $1 in trading before the bell. (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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1c6d54240dafabdb6599664cc1d2ee29 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKL2045048020080620?edition-redirect=uk | Daimler to offer electric Mercedes in 2010: report | Daimler to offer electric Mercedes in 2010: report
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler plans to roll out a Mercedes-Benz model that runs on electricity in 2010, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview.
“We plan an electric Smart for 2010 and for the same year a Mercedes (electric) model as well,” Dieter Zetsche told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in comments to be published in the Saturday edition.
Daimler currently has in London a fleet of 100 first-generation Smart cars that run on electricity.
Unlike General Motors Corp, which has promised to launch a Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car in 2010 selling for about $30,000, Zetsche said no decision has been made regarding the price for the electric models.
“That depends on whether we sell the batteries with the car or lease them. The willingness (on the part of consumers) to pay more is limited,” he said, adding that the group is also considering whether to manufacture electric motors itself.
Daimler, which spends about half of its research and development budget on powertrains and CO2 reduction, is also in talks with ex-SAP executive Shai Agassi regarding his plan to create a mass-market infrastructure for electric cars.
Zetsche also said he aimed to bring a small series of fuel cell cars to the market in 2010.
Earlier this week, Honda kicked off production of its FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan, which will be leased in the United States via a special dealership network starting in July and then in autumn in Japan.
Honda targets a volume of 200 cars in the first three years in the two countries combined.
Zetsche, who reaffirmed the Mercedes-Benz operating margin target of 10 percent, said Daimler so far had not been hurt by a drop in used car prices in North America that forced BMW to raise its risk provisions by 236 million euros ($366.5 million) in April.
He also called the talks with BMW to cooperate on components for the next generation of compact models as “good and concrete.”
BreakingviewsReuters 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.
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383193a89ed08afd02c2df74ce54c37b | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKLD2497220090213?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 2-BA plane's undercarriage fails on landing, 4 hurt | UPDATE 2-BA plane's undercarriage fails on landing, 4 hurt
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Adds BA, passenger comments)
LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Passengers used emergency slides to evacuate a British Airways BAY.L plane when its nosewheel collapsed on landing at London's City airport on Friday, injuring four people, officials said.
The front undercarriage failed when BA flight 8456 from Amsterdam landed at the east London airport on Friday evening with 67 passengers and four crew on board, the airline said.
“As a precaution, the emergency slides were deployed and the passengers were evacuated down the slides onto the runway,” BA said in a statement.
A passenger was taken to hospital with a minor injury and one other minor injury was reported, BA said.
The London Ambulance Service, which sent six ambulance crews to the airport, said four people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
A BA spokeswoman said the plane was an RJ-100, a model manufactured by BAE Systems BAES.L.
Passenger Justin Fletcher told BBC Television: “It appeared that it was coming in a bit quicker, and on landing the front wheel collapsed.”
“There was obviously quite a loud bang as the plane scraped in. Afterwards the stewards and stewardesses were quick to evacuate everyone,” he said. “Everyone was quite calm and handled it all quite well.”
Reuters photographer Andrew Winning, at the scene, said the plane had come to a halt half-way down the runway, slumped on its nose, with its emergency chutes out. The plane was ringed by several emergency vehicles.
A Fire Brigade spokeswoman said the passengers and crew got out of the plane before emergency services arrived. There was no fire and the Fire Brigade did not have to intervene, she said.
A City airport spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment, but Sky News said the airport was closed. (Reporting by Adrian Croft and Dominic Evans; Editing by Matthew Jones)
BreakingviewsReuters 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.
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59760fff22e29d2c7f0b7c8d5b8e4d37 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKLG14238020090217?edition-redirect=uk | CORRECTED - MOBILE FAIR-Freescale aims to sell Android netbook chips in Q2 | CORRECTED - MOBILE FAIR-Freescale aims to sell Android netbook chips in Q2
By Georgina Prodhan4 Min Read
(Corrects headline to show company is selling the chipset for the Android netbooks, not the netbooks themselves)
BARCELONA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Chipmaker Freescale, which began making chips for small netbook laptop computers last month, plans to expand its offering to include chipsets for Google's GOOG.O Android operating system by next quarter.
The privately held company spun off from Motorola MOT.N in 2004 will also collaborate with wireless technology companies Wavecom WAVC.PA and Option OPIN.BR to make higher-end netbooks offering faster, third-generation connections.
Netbooks -- pared-down, light, inexpensive notebooks made for easy Web browsing on the go -- have seen explosive growth in the past year and are still a bright spot for computer makers although growth may come at the expense of more expensive PCs.
Google’s Android software is so far being adopted by phone companies to make smartphones with computer-like capabilities but is being designed to support all kinds of connected devices.
Freescale expects the amount of netbooks sold this year to double to about 30 million. Mobile research firm ABI Research has a higher forecast of 35 million.
Loss-making Freescale competes with wireless chip giants Qualcomm QCOM.O and Texas Instruments TXN.N but says it can connect its chips to the computer's memory far more cheaply.
Most of the netbooks in its target markets, aimed at casual, young users in the West, ship with only Wi-Fi connectivity.
“For price reasons, the netbooks are going to primarily be shipped with just Wi-Fi. For mobile professional users, you do need 3G connectivity,” Glen Burchers, marketing director for Freescale’s consumer business, told Reuters.
As well as Google Android, Freescale will also support third-generation operating systems from Phoenix Technologies PTEC.O and Xandros starting next quarter, the company said at the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona.
The netbook market is shaping up as a battleground for Intel's INTC.O Atom processors -- which currently have the market to themselves -- and chips based on designs from Britain's ARM ARM.L.
Freescale has thrown its lot in with ARM, saying ARM-based processors have battery life of about eight hours -- about four times as long as Atom -- less heat generation, eliminating the need for fans, and far cheaper prices.
Burchers said he believed that in time ARM could capture about half the world’s netbook chip market, with the first ARM-based netbooks coming to market this summer.
Freescale designs its netbook chips for free software operating systems such as Ubuntu, saving manufacturers the cost of licence fees for Microsoft MSFT.O Windows.
“I think for developed countries you’ll see good, better and best. I believe the good and better will be based on ARM. I believe the best will be Atom-based and will still run Windows, because you can do more with it,” Burchers told Reuters.
Freescale believes netbooks built around its technology will be able to be made at a cost of about $100. Netbook prices currently start at about $200.
Freescale is focused on developed markets but is now talking to Indian technology firm Encore Software, which is reported to be planning to supply millions of ultra-cheap netbooks to India’s government as part of an education programme.
“We quickly rushed down there, found who they were and are now engaged with them,” said Burchers, when asked about media reports of an Indian government project to supply netbooks for as little as $100. “I do think it’s a huge potential market.”
Asked about what kind of consumer would buy netbooks in economically hard times, Burchers said: “Nobody needs this stuff but they want it, everybody wants it. And at the price point of $199, it’s a great Christmas present or birthday present.” (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b2104978d870396f49ff985d6f2a672f | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKLS18946720090128?edition-redirect=uk | FACTBOX-Key facts on Madagascar | FACTBOX-Key facts on Madagascar
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island, where thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated on Wednesday, two days after an earlier anti-government rally descended into violence that killed nearly 40 people.
* THE ECONOMY:
-- Traditionally, the Madagascan economy has been based on cultivation of paddy rice, coffee, vanilla and cloves. But in recent years there have been billions of dollars of foreign investment by resource companies.
-- The economy has been forecast to grow by 7.5 percent in 2009 compared to 7.1 percent in 2008. The mining, hotel and agriculture sectors are expected to lead the expansion, according to the finance ministry.
-- Madagascar said last month it planned to increase spending in 2009 by 17 percent to 4,074 billion ariary ($2.23 billion) compared with 3,482 billion in 2008.
* MINING:
-- The global economic downturn and falling commodity prices have shown signs of hitting the pace of mine development.
-- Canada's Sherritt International S.TO, has said it is revising the plan for its Ambatovy nickel project to cut costs, meaning it could be delayed beyond its early 2010 start date.
-- The project is expected to yield 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,600 tonnes of cobalt a year.
-- A subsidiary of UK-based multinational Rio Tinto Plc RIO.AXRIO.L started production of ilmenite, used to make titanium dioxide, this month.
-- Companies are also looking for gold, coal, chromium, platinum and uranium. Conservationists say mining projects could threaten the island’s biodiversity.
* OIL:
-- In 2008, Houston-based Madagascar Oil said it produced Madagascar’s first oil in 60 years from an onshore project at Tsimiroro. It estimated reserves near there of at least 1.7 billion barrels.
-- French oil group Total TOTF.PA signed an agreement with Madagascar Oil to operate the Bemolanga licence, a separate project, with a 60 percent interest. Exxon Mobil XOM.N is also investing in Madagascar's oil potential.
* TOURISM:
-- Against tough regional competition from Indian Ocean neighbours Mauritius and the Seychelles, the world’s fourth largest island is promoting itself as a tourism destination.
-- Madagascar received 344,000 arrivals in 2007, increasing to 380,000 in 2008. That number, however, is expected to fall to an estimated 340,000 in 2009, according to analysts.
* THE COUNTRY:
AREA: 581,540 square km (224,532 sq miles), Madagascar is in the Indian Ocean about 400 km (250 miles) off the coast of Mozambique. It is slightly larger than France.
POPULATION: 20 million.
CAPITAL: Antananarivo.
LANGUAGE: Malagasy and French are the official languages, but Hovba and other local dialects are also spoken. ETHNICITY: The Malgaches, who comprise 99 percent of the population, are of Malagasy-Afro-Indonesian origin. RELIGION: About half of the population professes traditional beliefs, with 41 percent Christians and seven percent Muslims.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2cc161471b410638532dbeabb8501e31 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN0253100820090202?edition-redirect=uk | Insulin protects brain from Alzheimer's - US study | Insulin protects brain from Alzheimer's - US study
By Julie Steenhuysen4 Min Read
CHICAGO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Insulin appears to shield the brain from toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Monday, supporting a theory that Alzheimer’s may be a third form of diabetes.
And they said GlaxoSmithKline's GSK.L diabetes drug Avandia, or rosiglitazone, which increases sensitivity to insulin, appeared to enhance this protective effect.
“Our results demonstrate that bolstering insulin signaling can protect neurons from harm,” William Klein of Northwestern University, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said in a statement.
Klein said the findings support a new idea that Alzheimer’s is a type of diabetes of the brain.
“In Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas isn’t making insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, your tissues are insensitive to insulin because of problems in the insulin receptor. Type 3 is where that insulin receptor problem is localized in the brain,” Klein said in a telephone interview.
In some people, this can occur with age, he said.
“As you get older, some individuals start to have less effective insulin signaling, including in the brain,” he said, making the brain more vulnerable to toxins that cause Alzheimer’s disease.
Large sticky plaques of amyloid beta protein are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, which causes memory loss, confusion, the inability to care for oneself and eventually death.
Recent studies by Klein and others have suggested that short strands of the protein, known as amyloid beta-derived diffusible ligands or ADDLs, attack memory-forming brain cells, causing memory loss.
Klein and colleagues treated rat nerve cells with insulin. “It blocked all of the effects of ADDLs,” Klein said.
The effect was amplified when they added the drug rosiglitazone, which increases insulin sensitivity.
Several studies have found that diabetics have a higher risk of getting Alzheimer’s than the general population.
Last July, researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reported that diabetics who take insulin plus a diabetes pill have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s than diabetics who only take insulin.
That study included a range of anti-diabetic medications, including an older pill known as a sulfonylurea.
Klein said the findings suggest that measures to protect people from diabetes -- including a healthy diet and exercise -- are also important for avoiding Alzheimer’s disease.
In a separate study of more than 6,500 people, U.S. researchers found that having more education does little to slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease once people show signs of becoming forgetful.
“While education is associated with the memory’s ability to function at a higher level, we found no link between higher education and how fast the memory loses that ability,” said Robert Wilson of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, whose study appears in the journal Neurology.
Alzheimer’s affects 5.2 million people in the United States and 26 million globally, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. (Editing by Maggie Fox and Vicki Allen)
BreakingviewsReuters 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.
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9640acf2a5725a0d3fb8410434fbd0d6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN0938085020090114?edition-redirect=uk | PluggedIn - Shortwave radio still packs an audible thrill | PluggedIn - Shortwave radio still packs an audible thrill
By Robert MacMillan5 Min Read
NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Somewhere on a lonely mountaintop on a starry night, or maybe in an apartment on a bustling city block, someone is channeling the whole world onto a mobile device. It’s not a phone; it’s a shortwave radio.
A staple form of broadcasting in many parts of the world since the 1920s and 1930s -- shortwave in North America has been mostly a hobby for decades.
Now that the Internet is a fixture in many homes in the United States and Canada, there are few practical reasons to buy a shortwave radio. Thousands of stations that once were available only on the shortwave band are online.
Shortwave also is distinctly old fashioned, cast against the shadow of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which was held in Las Vegas earlier this month. The mother of gargantuan gadget fests featured shortwave radio makers, but the action these days revolves around digital audio devices.
The contrast is stark: iPods and satellite radios are slim and pocket-sized, while shortwaves are throwbacks, typically as square as a textbook and just as serious looking.
So why bother with shortwave?
It’s easy and cheap -- and fun. You can hear and learn things that you would never find even if you work your search engine like a mule. From Swaziland to Paris to Havana, shortwave broadcasters can surprise an adventurous listener more than any MP3 playlist.
“You tune carefully, twist the radio from side to side, and there’s still a bit of a ‘Hey, I made this happen!’ sort of thing,” said Harold Cones, retired chairman of the biology and chemistry department at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.
It’s also magic. Shortwave radio enthusiasts acknowledge the thrill -- the romance, in a way -- of going out at night and snaring news, music, odd bleeps, religious zealots and other broadcasts from the wild sea of frequencies in the sky.
In aural terms, the Internet wins. Shortwave by nature sounds dirty: Its signals whoosh from clouds of static and are subject to the whims of sunspots and atmospheric disturbances.
But when you hear voices over the noise and squeal, and realize you are hearing Mongolia, live, there is a warmth and a human connection that are hard to find on the Web.
Shortwave also can deliver news faster than you might find it online, and in places where your other devices don’t work, said Ian McFarland, a former host and writer at Radio Canada International.
“It’s more portable than a computer, especially if you ... don’t have a laptop and you don’t happen to have a hot spot on your favorite beach,” he said. Batteries also keep them going a long time when the power goes out.
On a serious note, shortwave stations often resist many government attempts to jam them.
"Shortwave is unfettered by intermediaries so it's pretty much always there," said Lawrence Magne, publisher of the Passport to World Band Radio (www.passband.com).
GETTING STARTED
You can find shortwave radios at a variety of Web retail and auction shops like Amazon, Universal Radio, The Shortwave Store, Grove Enterprises or even National Public Radio.
Bob Grove, at Grove Enterprises in Brasstown, North Carolina, also offers a handy beginner's guide (tinyurl.com/8rq3bt).
You could drop thousands of dollars on a radio, but units such as the Eton E100 (tinyurl.com/8x5q9o) generally range from $50 to $250. A perfectly serviceable radio sells for as little as $30, but more expensive models are better at pulling in fainter signals.
Listening is best an hour before and after sunrise and sunset -- and away from urban areas -- because of atmospheric conditions and because many broadcasters in distant lands are gearing up their broadcasts.
Try searching for distant shortwave signals, identify the station, write to them and get a “QSL Card,” the broadcaster’s acknowledgment that you made contact.
For die hards, listening to shortwave can make hours go by in a dream. For others, its an acquired taste -- Bob Grove said his wife is “partially tolerant.”
“I’ve had radio equipment in my car in the past, and I have learned not to turn it all on when we were going on a date somewhere.”
To find a a partial English-language list of what's on shortwave, try RadioShack tinyurl.com/6texnw or C.Crane tinyurl.com/yjfcrq. Reporting by Robert MacMillan; editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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9ae926c3a7055e1662669f9249d4ebf8 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN2446309020090425?edition-redirect=uk | Worried about swine flu? Wash your hands | Worried about swine flu? Wash your hands
By Maggie Fox, Health, Science Editor4 Min Read
(For full coverage of the flu outbreak, click on [nFLU])
* Virus is carried on hands
* Simple hygiene measures are highly effective
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - Worried about swine flu? There is one easy way to protect against infection, health experts agree -- handwashing.
Global health officials are worried about an unusual new strain of flu that may have killed as many as 68 people in Mexico, with 1,000 showing possible symptoms. It has infected at least eight people in the United States. [ID:nN24462379]
Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health said they expected to find more cases in the coming days and weeks.
Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of flu from spreading, health experts caution, but they say common sense measures can help individuals protect themselves.
Number one is hand-washing, they say -- a surprisingly effective way to prevent all sorts of diseases, including ordinary influenza and the new and mysterious swine flu virus.
“Cover your cough or your sneeze, wash your hands frequently,” advised Dr. Richard Besser, acting CDC director.
Influenza can spread in coughs or sneezes, but an increasing body of evidence shows little particles of virus can linger on tabletops, telephones and other surfaces and be transferred via the fingers to the mouth, nose or eyes.
Alcohol-based gel or foam hand sanitizers work well to destroy viruses and bacteria.
Anyone with flu-like symptoms such as a sudden fever, cough or muscle aches should stay away from work or public transportation and should see a doctor to be tested.
STAYING HOME
“If you have the flu, then you shouldn’t be getting on the bus or getting on the plane and traveling,” Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing.
“Social distancing” is another tactic. It means staying away from other people who might be infected and can include avoiding large gatherings, spreading out a little at work, or perhaps staying home and lying low if an infection is spreading in a community.
Flu experts have also long advised against trying to stockpile personal supplies of antivirals.
Tamiflu and Relenza are two drugs shown to work against the current strains of seasonal influenza. Tamiflu or oseltamivir, invented by Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O and marketed by Roche AG ROG.VX, is a pill while GlaxoSmithKline's GSK.LGSK.N Relenza, known generically as zanamivir, is inhaled.
Both drugs treat a flu infection, making it less serious and perhaps making the illness last fewer days. But they must be taken within 48 hours of the first symptoms to do any good.
They can also prevent infection with garden-variety flu if taken, for example, by a family member caring for a sick relative. No one knows if they will do the same with the new swine flu.
And the average person is not going to know when, precisely, to begin taking the drug. Many infections look like flu, says pediatrician and immunologist Dr. Anne Moscona of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
Viruses and bacteria alike can evolve resistance to drugs they encounter frequently. “If you have Tamiflu at home and you take it for a cold or give it for a respiratory virus that is not influenza, we will be unable to use these drugs when we encounter a lethal strain of flu,” Moscona says. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f28b5f8543010774d615fb514bbc32af | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKPEK33595520080704?edition-redirect=uk | Historic China-Taiwan flights take off | Historic China-Taiwan flights take off
By Ralph Jennings, Sophie Taylor5 Min Read
TAIPEI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Historic regular flights between Taiwan and China began on Friday, in a show of conciliation between the long-time rivals that could bring large numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to the island.
The first of the flights, a China Southern Airlines plane, landed at Taipei’s Taoyuan airport after leaving Guangzhou in southern China early in the morning.
It was followed a short time later by a flight from the southern city of Xiamen that arrived at Taipei’s Songshan city airport. Flights from China will be leaving from a number of cities, including Shanghai.
No such regular flights, aside from a few charters on select holidays, have flown since 1949, when defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war.
The flights are largely the work of new Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May on pledges to revitalise the island’s economy with closer trade and transit ties to China. He has estimated that 50 million Chinese want to visit Taiwan.
Since Ma took office, his government has introduced a raft of other reforms as well, many designed to make it easier for Taiwanese to invest in China’s financial and other markets.
The recent cross-Strait detente contrasts sharply with the tension of only 11 years ago when missiles were splashing into the Taiwan Strait.
Related CoverageFACTBOX - First regular Taiwan-China flights since 1949 take offTIMELINE - Business, pleasure, benefit in China-Taiwan thaw
The flights represent the first of a step-by-step approach to improve ties but trickier issues remain, such as a peace treaty and the hundreds of missiles Taiwan says China has aimed at the island.
China claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and has vowed to bring the island under its rule.
For the moment, though, both sides are keen to capitalise on the goodwill generated by the flights.
At Taipei’s Songshan airport, passengers on the first flight were greeted by a throng of local media, along with a welcoming ceremony complete with dragon dancers.
“It’s so convenient to get here. Since I was very young I always wanted to go to Alishan,” said Wang Qi, a 40-year-old Chinese tourist on the Xiamen flight, referring to Taiwan’s most famous mountain. “So today I feel very happy and warm.”
Wang was one of 109 tourists, all wearing pink T-shirts, who came on the first flight to Taipei for a 10-day stay.
Slideshow ( 20 images )
PROTESTS
The pageantry was lower key at Pudong airport in Shanghai, home to China’s largest Taiwanese community, where only an airline counter banner reading “Welcome to Shanghai Airlines’ cross-Strait weekend charter flights” marked the departure of a morning flight filled with mostly Taiwanese returning home.
The flights were not without some controversy, as a group of about a dozen Tibet independence activists shouting “Welcome to free Taiwan” protested outside the airport over Beijing’s recent crackdown in Tibetan regions of China.
Slideshow ( 20 images )
Representatives of the Fulun Gong spiritual movement, banned by China as a cult, were also expected to organise demonstrations outside famous tourist spots for mainland tourists.
Enthusiasm about an expected boom in cross-Strait tourism helped to push up the tourism index by nearly 3 percent in early Friday trade in Taiwan, even as the broader market fell.
Negotiators from China and Taiwan agreed last month to the Friday to Monday “weekend” flights. They also decided to let as many as 3,000 Chinese tourists a day visit the island, which has viewed them as a security risk but now wants their money.
The 36 round trips per week will eliminate time-consuming Hong Kong or Macau stopovers for Taiwanese, about 1 million of whom live on the mainland. But they will still fly a roundabout route through Hong Kong air space for security reasons.
The flights are expected to hurt Hong Kong’s airlines, most notably Cathay Pacific, and to help Taiwan’s China Airlines and China’s China Eastern, though the shift in travel patterns should be gradual.
In Beijing, tourism and government officials gave speeches before the departure of an Air China flight with 294 passengers bound for Taiwan.
“Today is a new start in the history of exchanges between the two sides,” said Wang Yi, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which oversees Taiwan relations. “At present, cross-Strait relations are facing a rare opportunity for development,” he said
Twelve airlines, eight Taiwan airports and numerous travel agents have scrambled over the past month to prepare for Friday’s flights, which ply between Taiwan and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Xiamen.
Additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by David FogartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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fb24a9bd50b95c73c05f3057158525c3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKT32329520090221?edition-redirect=uk | Japan to help Indonesia issue $1.5 bln Samurai bonds | Japan to help Indonesia issue $1.5 bln Samurai bonds
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Japan will help Indonesia issue up to $1.5 billion of Samurai bonds and the two nations will double their bilateral currency swap arrangement, they agreed on Saturday, as the deepening global economic crisis freezes up financial markets.
Indonesia sought the agreement as the jittery state of the markets may make it hard for the country to issue bonds overseas, a senior official at Japan’s Ministry of Finance said.
The deal enables Indonesia to issue Samurai bonds from March with the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) [JBIC.UL] providing a guarantee of up to $1.5 billion.
Jakarta, which has never issued yen-denominated foreign bonds in the Japanese capital market, has not set any terms and dates for such issues.
In a joint statement, Japan also pledged to engage in a joint emergency loan facility through JBIC for Indonesia that Jakarta, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other countries are considering setting up.
The two sides, meeting in Thailand ahead of a gathering of finance ministers from 13 Asian countries on Sunday, also agreed to double their existing bilateral swap agreement to $12 billion.
The Japanese MOF official said the measures were precautionary.
“The Indonesian economy is basically in good shape... Due to the global financial crisis and worsening of economic conditions, its currency is weakening and share prices are falling, but it is not at all in a critical situation.”
Finance ministers from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Japan, China and South Korea are expected to discuss expanding their currency swap scheme to $120 billion at the Sunday meeting on the resort island of Phuket. [nBKK419207]
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano is missing the meeting but will be represented by a parliamentary secretary for finance.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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635db849c00105364ee8ef2a13c477ba | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKTOE63Q03Z20100428?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 3-No forecast from Nippon Steel; costs too volatile | UPDATE 3-No forecast from Nippon Steel; costs too volatile
By Yuko Inoue5 Min Read
* Jan-March recurring profit Y55.5 bln vs Y58.1 bln consensus
* Analysts see 2010/11 profit at Y308.7 bln
* Sees quarterly crude steel output at 8 mln tonnes (Recasts with company comment)
TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp 5401.T, the world's No.2 steelmaker, failed to give annual profit guidance for the first time, highlighting the industry's uncertainty over raw material costs and the increasingly tough market conditions.
Nippon Steel has tried to stabilise its earnings by shifting focus to high-end sheet steel, but income could swing wildly on volatile spot prices for iron ore and coal, key inputs for producing steel.
Big global miners such as BHP Billiton BHP.AXBLT.L and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX> RIO.L are pressing steelmills to move from annual pricing to more market-sensitive quarterly pricing, but steelmakers worry this will squeeze margins as they will find it harder to pass on the extra costs.
“While we have tentatively agreed to quarterly pricing for some raw materials for April-June, we believe an annual pricing system is best and are still continuing talks with Australian iron ore producers on the system,” Shinichi Taniguchi, Nippon Steel’s executive vice president, told a news conference.
“We won’t be able to provide an annual forecast unless the volatile spot (iron ore) market stabilises,” he said.
Nippon Steel posted weaker-than-expected quarterly recurring profit -- before tax and one-offs -- of 55.5 billion yen ($596 million), rebounding from a year-earlier loss of 74.3 billion yen, but falling just short of two analysts’ consensus for 58.1 billion yen on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For the year to next March, Nippon Steel is expected to book a recurring profit of 308.7 billion yen, according to a poll of 20 analysts, up from 11.8 billion yen in the year just ended.
Japanese mills’ profits sagged last year as demand from carmakers slumped and competition among five domestic blast furnace mills intensified on weak domestic demand. This resulted in higher stocks of expensive raw materials and products than Asian rivals, triggering huge inventory write-offs.
JFE Holdings Inc 5411.T, the world's sixth-biggest steelmaker, last week posted stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on robust exports, but also passed on its annual forecast. [ID:nTOE63J05K]
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This year, Japan’s top two mills are expected to push up profits to around 50-55 percent of their 2005-06 peak levels as output recovers to 90 percent of capacity.
While rising costs cloud the earnings outlook, strong demand for high-end steel from Asia’s emerging markets make some investors bullish on the stock.
“I see continued strong demand from Asian countries, and even if steel material prices rise further, Nippon Steel will be able to pass these through to product prices,” said Minoru Matsuno, president of Value Search Asset Management.
“Nippon Steel’s strategy of selling higher-end products is no longer seen as unique because other Asian companies are following suit,” said Matsuno, who does not hold Nippon Steel shares. “But Nippon Steel still has a strong advantage in that market.”
Shares of Nippon Steel are down 8.3 percent this year, underperforming the Nikkei average's .N225 5.4 percent gain.
Nippon Steel said it expects crude steel output of 8 million tonnes on a quarterly basis in the financial year to March 2011, while the blast furnace problems it has had in Japan would lower its first-quarter profit by 17 billion yen.
Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd 5405.T, Japan's third-biggest steelmaker, booked a recurring annual loss of 36.63 billion yen on Wednesday, but said it expects to turn an 80 billion yen profit in the current year. [ID:nJE285N77] Kobe Steel 5406.T posted a recurring profit of 10.26 billion yen for the year just-ended, and gave no annual forecast. [ID:nT286GGQ6F] ($1=93.09 Yen) (Additional reporting by Mariko Katsumura and Sachi Izumi)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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73b436d9483962570ba510243f871de7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSBNG7477320081218 | Big Madoff loser eyes legal move on PwC- FT | Big Madoff loser eyes legal move on PwC- FT
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
Dec 18 (Reuters) - Fairfield Greenwich Group, the fund whose clients stand to lose $7.5 billion in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, is considering suing its accountants, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for failing to detect the fraud, the Financial Times reported on its website.
The fund, which is currently the biggest known loser in the Madoff scandal through its investments in Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, is considering the move after an auditor was named in a case brought by another victim, the paper said.
PwC and Fairfield could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.
The New York Law School on Tuesday sued investment firm Ascot Partners LP, its general partner J. Ezra Merkin and auditor BDO Seidman LLP over investments with Bernard Madoff.
Merkin’s lawyer Andrew Levander said in a statement that Merkin and his family were among the largest victims of the alleged fraud.
BDO Seidman said its audits of Ascot Partners “conformed to all professional standards and we will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations.”
The small auditing firm Madoff used, Friehling & Horowitz in a suburb of New York City, is under investigation by the District Attorney in Rockland County for potential violations of New York state law.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Madoff, 70, confined to his $7 million Manhattan apartment and told Madoff’s wife, Ruth, to surrender her U.S. passport by noon on Thursday as part of modified bail conditions.
Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Richard HubbardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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282ab648ab0554c59e1c605ee0cc5d0f | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSLK35963020091020 | Fair value accounting reform wider than planned: IASB | Fair value accounting reform wider than planned: IASB
By Huw Jones4 Min Read
* IASB draft tightens scope of mark-to-market standard
* IASB chairman says asset classification reform on track
LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Reform of an accounting rule criticised for amplifying the credit crunch will be more extensive than originally proposed with many banks benefiting, a global accounting standard setter said on Tuesday.
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published a draft change to narrow the scope of its fair value or mark-to-market standard in July. It seeks to classify assets for valuation either at cost or at the going rate.
The measure was in response to calls from the Group of 20 group of leading economies to simplify fair value accounting rules in time for 2009 annual statements.
Policymakers blamed the rule for unnecessarily forcing banks to value some assets at depressed going rates amid extreme market turmoil, triggering huge writedowns and the need to recapitalise in a frozen credit market.
IASB Chairman, David Tweedie, told a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday that reform of asset classification will be adopted on time in November.
He also outlined several changes to the original proposal following extensive public consultation so that fewer assets will likely be marked-to-market.
“The IASB is making changes to its original proposals to address the issues that have been raised,” Tweedie said.
More types of instruments will be eligible for valuing at cost than was originally proposed, he said.
“As a result, the final standard will likely result in financial institutions that undertake traditional banking activities of raising deposits and making basic loans applying less fair value accounting rather than more,” Tweedie said.
A key change will be much greater emphasis on the bank’s business model so that many big banks in Europe with portfolios of low risk corporate or government bonds can value them at cost, rather than at fair value as they must do at present.
A ban on reclassifying of financial instruments has also been removed from the draft so that when business models change and become more focused on the longer term or are less risky, some assets can be valued at cost rather than fair value.
The wider fair value reform, due to be completed some time in 2010, will also include changes related to hedging and to how impairment of assets is handled.
The changes will be mandatory from January 2012 and apply to publicly listed companies in over 100 countries that use IASB rules, including the EU.
“Insurance companies would not be required to adopt the new standard until 2013 or 2014 at the earliest,” Tweedie said.
The G20 has set a mid-2011 deadline for convergence of global accounting rules such as those set by the IASB and the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).
The FASB has proposed widening the scope of fair value accounting, a step which may make convergence harder, as the IASB is effectively narrowing its application in many cases.
The two boards meet next week to iron out their differing approaches to fair value. “I remain optimistic that we can overcome our current differences,” Tweedie said.
Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Ruth PitchfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b7ca60c02a1e4adff9e515cfe2158286 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN1122284920070511 | MercadoLibre files with U.S. SEC for $100 mln IPO | MercadoLibre files with U.S. SEC for $100 mln IPO
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - MercadoLibre Inc., which hosts an online trading platform in Latin America, filed with U.S. regulators on Friday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of common stock.
The company, which hosts the platform through www.mercadolibre.com, said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch & Co. are underwriting the IPO.
MercadoLibre plans to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "MELI" MELI.O.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f38802783bc6e8eaabe0eb5df529c759 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN1227383620091112 | US GAO says union poses no conflict on tanker issue | US GAO says union poses no conflict on tanker issue
By Reuters Staff0 Min Read
* Protests handled by GAO lawyers, not union workers
* Pentagon to release final tanker bidding terms soon
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The Government Accountability Office, the congressional agency that reviews contract protests, on Thursday denied it would have any conflict of interest if asked to rule again on the Air Force's aerial tanker competition.
Defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute raised the possibility in a recent blog, noting that GAO employees belong to a union that represents 85,000 white collar workers, including some at Boeing Co BA.N.
Boeing is competing with Northrop Grumman Corp NOC.N and Airbus parent EADS EAD.PA to build 179 refueling airplanes for the Air Force in a deal worth up to $35 billion. Northrop and EADS won the contract in February 2008, but the Pentagon canceled it last year after the GAO upheld a Boeing protest.
Analysts and industry officials are closely examining draft terms for the new competition released by the Air Force in September. Final bidding terms are expected to be released soon and the Pentagon aims to award the contract by June.
Many predict the non-partisan GAO may again be asked to weigh in, possibly even before a contract is awarded.
GAO spokesman Chuck Young said the agency would have no potential conflict of interest because all bid protests are handled by GAO lawyers, who are not part of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers union.
"There's no one who is a member of the union who works on our bid protests," Young told Reuters.
"It's completely separate, so there is no conflict of interest," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ed3457146ca0df1eec59dc3366c8e425 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN1953674520090220 | Alberta regulator halts hearing on sour gas wells | Alberta regulator halts hearing on sour gas wells
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Alberta regulators suspended a hearing on Thursday on a controversial plan by Petro-Canada PCA.TO to drill sour gas wells in southern Alberta after one of its workers began a personal relationship with one of the oil company's employees.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board, which regulates energy companies in Alberta, said it hired an investigator to determine if the relationship compromised the hearing or threatened its role as an impartial adjudicator.
“It’s just to ensure the integrity of the process,” said Bob Curran, a spokesman for the board.
The halt comes less than two years after the regulator was rocked by scandal after it hired investigators to spy on groups opposed to construction of a power line.
That sparked the resignation of several key executives and prompted the Alberta government to split the regulator into two arms, with one covering electricity and other overseeing oil and gas development.
Curran said privacy laws prevented the board from revealing any personal details about the employee, who has been put on administrative leave.
Both the Petro-Canada employee and the board employee were involved in the hearing, but the board’s worker was not in a decision-making role. The board employee disclosed the relationship earlier this week.
Petro-Canada’s plans to drill for sour gas, which contains deadly hydrogen-sulfide, in a sensitive region of the Rocky Mountain foothills of southern Alberta is being opposed by local ranchers and environmentalists.
Petro-Canada could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Andre Grenon)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b9c4d4547bc0ff9dcccdf56eac5bc821 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2219854920080823 | Economists-EU needs work on bank crisis response | Economists-EU needs work on bank crisis response
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., Aug 23 (Reuters) - The European Union urgently needs a better plan to share the costs of dealing with large bank failures to prevent the risk of a severe “contagion effect,” according to two top economists.
In a paper prepared for the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank’s economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, economists Franklin Allen and Elena Carletti said that without clearer guidelines, European and global capital markets could be at risk.
Allen is a finance and economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School; Carletti is a finance professor at the University of Frankfurt.
The KC Fed’s annual economics forum has been focused on fallout from the 2007 financial crisis. Delivering the keynote address on Friday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the year-long financial storm “has not yet subsided.”
In the United States critics have focused on the question of an institution being “too big to fail,” or an implicit guarantee that authorities will step in to support struggling financial firms -- as the Fed did in engineering the rescue of investment bank Bear Stearns in March.
But Allen and Carletti mulled a “too big to save problem” posed by large banks headquartered in small countries.
“Even the threat of contagion posed by the failure of the largest banks in the United States ... can be avoided by central bank and government intervention,” they said.
At the same time, some European banks are so large relative to their home countries that they pose a “too big to save problem,” said Allen and Carletti.
For example, the Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis FOR.BR "has assets that are greater in size than the gross domestic product of Belgium."
If such a bank were to fail “the key issue would be how the burden would be shared between countries of the European Union,” the economists said.
Because current guidelines are unspecific, any concerted response could be slow to evolve and “during this time the prospect of contagion could effectively freeze many European and some global capital markets, with enormous effects on the real economy,” said Franklin and Carletti.
Similarly, they said the International Monetary Fund or the Bank for International Settlements should devise a response that could be activated if a large bank fails in a country that is not part of a larger grouping, such as Switzerland.
The potential damage from the failure of a major Swiss bank “is very large. It is again an urgent task to devise a system to prevent this kind of problem.”
Writing by Ros Krasny in Chicago, Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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bf5e9b036a4bb9f4fda2383e1046558a | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2239078120090522?sp=true | UPDATE 3-Large US banks to shoulder more cleanup costs-FDIC | UPDATE 3-Large US banks to shoulder more cleanup costs-FDIC
By Karey Wutkowski, Patrick Rucker5 Min Read
* FDIC’s Bair says formula fair but Dugan disagrees
* Assessment based on assets, not deposits
* Expected 5-year fund losses revised upward (Adds Dugan comment, details on insurance fund)
WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - Big U.S. banks will shoulder a larger share of restoring the fund that guarantees bank deposits under a measure approved on Friday despite a dissenting vote from a key regulator.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair defended the formula saying large institutions deserved much of the blame for fueling the financial crisis by funding high-risk mortgages.
By a 4-1 vote, the FDIC’s board decided to impose a levy of 5 basis points on each institution’s assets, minus its strongest capital holdings.
The move modifies a previous decision to charge banks a special fee of 20 basis points based on domestic deposits.
Large lenders like Bank of America BAC.N, Citigroup C.N and Wells Fargo WFC.N will pay more under the new formula because they have relatively low levels of deposits as part of their assets when compared with regional banks.
Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, whose agency supervises the largest U.S. banks, voted against the measure. He called the shift in the assessment burden “perverse” because the deposit insurance fund has been largely drained by the failure of smaller banks.
Dugan said the change means larger banks will pay for 76 percent of the special assessment when they have not significantly contributed to the insurance fund’s losses.
But Bair said many large banks had been propped up by massive government aid. “If it weren’t for... (that), some big banks would have failed and there would have been costs.”
The new formula shifts about $500 million of the $5.6 billion fee to larger institutions instead of smaller ones.
“Many large institutions played a central role in the securitization process that funded high-risk mortgages,” Bair said.
The special assessment will be collected in the third quarter, and will likely be followed by more special fees. The FDIC raised the expected loss for the insurance fund to $70 billion over the next five years from $65 billion.
The FDIC said it has been forced to charge the emergency fee to stop the deposit insurance fund grinding to zero.
The deposit insurance fund took a big hit during the fourth quarter, plunging almost 50 percent to $18.9 billion in preparation for actual and expected bank failures.
On Thursday the FDIC announced the seizure of BankUnited Financial, the largest Florida-based bank, which will cost the fund about $4.9 billion.
MORE FEES ON THE HORIZON
The agency also approved the option to collect additional special assessments in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 if the deposit insurance fund falls to a level that threatens public confidence.
Bair said “it is probable” that the agency will need to charge another such fee in the fourth quarter. But she hopes the additional fee will be less than 5 basis points on assets -- the equivalent of 5 cents for every $100 in assets.
All of the fees will be capped at 10 basis points of the banks’ usual assessment base, which is domestic deposits.
The special fee to be collected in the third quarter is expected to cost JPMorgan Chase Bank about $740 million, Bank of America about $801 million, Citibank about $318 million, and Wells Fargo about $629 million, according to industry estimates based on the institutions’ assets at the end of 2008.
The banking industry said the fee comes at a time when the industry can least afford it.
“It’s still pulling a substantial amount of reserves out of the industry,” said James Chessen, the chief economist at the American Bankers Association.
Bair said she does not expect to have to tap the FDIC’s line of credit with the Treasury, which this week was more than tripled to $100 billion.
The FDIC said the increase in borrowing authority gives the agency more breathing room, and allowed it to reduce the special assessment. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski and Patrick Rucker; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Richard Chang, Tim Dobbyn)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4a0a7a73f653ce508fe7f304df70c2f5 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2329062820090323 | U.S. market cops ramp up fraud training after Madoff | U.S. market cops ramp up fraud training after Madoff
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Burned by their failure to uncover the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, U.S. securities regulators are ramping up training of staff on how to spot the warning signs of market swindles.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been widely criticized for failing to spot the $65 billion fraud carried out by Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff. Now its inspection unit is offering 90-minute classes for employees.
“We’re doing it because of Bernie Madoff,” said one SEC official who spoke on condition of anonymity because staff are not authorized to speak on the SEC’s behalf.
Madoff has confessed to running a massive Ponzi scheme -- in which funds of new investors were used to pay returns to existing members -- in a scandal that shook global finance.
The first class, replete with PowerPoint slides, called “Basics of Ponzi schemes, affinity fraud and related schemes,” was given on March 9. A second class teaching “Exam issues and techniques for detecting Ponzi schemes, affinity fraud and related schemes” was scheduled for Monday, March 23.
Lori Richards, director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, said the agency was increasing training for detecting methods fraudsters use, including keeping two sets of books, creating false statements and lying about investment returns.
“The training will help examiners spot the ‘yellow flags’ of fraud and to investigate them using the latest fraud detection techniques,” she told Reuters on Monday.
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro is also seeking a better way for handling tips and whistle-blower complaints and has taken steps to bolster the agency’s enforcement unit.
The agency was excoriated by whistle-blower Harry Markopolos during congressional testimony on Feb. 4. He sent a detailed memo to the SEC in 2005 with 29 red flags on Madoff’s operations that were never followed up by enforcement or Office of Compliance staff in a meaningful way.
Madoff pleaded guilty to his massive swindle on March 12. He now is in jail while awaiting sentencing in June. He says he acted alone but the government continues to investigate. (editing by William Schomberg and Dan Grebler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5a01b012c645fd5c2771ac6fc0e4f4d4 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2639637820090126 | US Senator eyes $12.4 bln for health care stimulus | US Senator eyes $12.4 bln for health care stimulus
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The chairman of a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee outlined $12.4 billion in health care spending on Monday for inclusion in the economic stimulus package being written by Congress.
The panel leader, Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa, said he would pursue the funding when the Appropriations subcommittee on health drafts its part of the legislation.
The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and the outlook is good for approval, he said.
During a speech to the National Rural Health Association, Harkin called for $5.8 billion for wellness and preventive care, $5 billion to build and renovate community health care facilities, $1 billion for health care technology and $600 million to aid education and training of health care workers.
Harkin said health care reform should place more emphasis on preventive. (Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7765ec343dc56db7d3174c3c6d98dfbc | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2832358320090428 | UPDATE 2-OTC pain drugs to carry more prominent US warnings | UPDATE 2-OTC pain drugs to carry more prominent US warnings
By Susan Heavey4 Min Read
* Warnings for acetaminophen drugs, NSAIDS
* Companies have one year to update packages (Adds details from FDA, company comments, background)
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Over-the-counter pain relievers such as Tylenol and Advil will carry bolder warnings about the risk of liver damage or stomach bleeding, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday.
Products containing acetaminophen, such as Johnson & Johnson's JNJ.N Tylenol, will carry a prominent package warning about the risk of severe liver damage if, for example, people took too much of the drug.
Painkillers known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, including Bayer AG's BAYG.DE aspirin products, Wyeth's WYE.N Advil and Johnson & Johnson's Motrin, will carry bold warnings about the risk of stomach bleeding, the FDA said.
“We believe the new labeling requirements will add information concerning severe adverse effects of over-the-counter pain relievers and fever reducers that many consumers may not be aware of,” said Matthew Holman, the FDA’s deputy director for the Division of Nonprescription Regulation Development.
The new rules, first proposed in late 2006, also apply to generic drugs and other nonprescription products that contain the painkilling ingredients, such as cold medications.
While the risks with these kinds of drugs have been known for years, FDA’s Holman said it is important to better highlight them for consumers, who could unknowingly take multiple products containing acetaminophen.
The new warnings will also point out the increased risk of liver damage with acetaminophen in consumers who drink three or more alcoholic drinks each day. They also call on consumers taking the widely used blood thinner warfarin to consult their doctors before taking acetaminophen products.
Some companies have already revised their products’ packaging to add some of the new warnings, Holman said, adding that all companies concerned must change their packaging by next April.
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, which makes Tylenol and Motrin as well as St. Joseph Aspirin, said it would make the labeling changes as requested.
Wyeth spokeswoman Linda Mayer said the company was aware of the FDA announcement and would comment soon. A representative for Bayer could not be immediately reached.
The FDA’s announcement comes ahead of a public FDA meeting in late June to discuss what other actions the agency could take to curb the risk of liver damage from products containing acetaminophen.
The risk of liver damage or stomach bleeding with over-the-counter pain medications spurred the development of prescription pain drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors.
But those drugs -- which included two now withdrawn drugs, Pfizer Inc's PFE.N Bextra and Merck & Co Inc's MRK.N Vioxx -- carried their own set of safety concerns, such as an increased risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. Only Pfizer's Celebrex remains on the U.S. market. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Gerald E. McCormick)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2c6cc462dbc60a0cadd38024fc9c62a5 | https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSSP6083820091119 | WRAPUP 1-Asian currencies dip as Brazil fans capital curbs fears | WRAPUP 1-Asian currencies dip as Brazil fans capital curbs fears
By 5 Min Read
* Rupee, rupiah hit after Brazil tightens capital controls
* Indonesia cbank says studying not considering capital curbs
* Taiwan cbank: some “hot money” gone, eyes remaining $11 bn
* India says watching capital inflows, no concern for now
* Market jitters follow Brazil’s move
By Manoj Kumar and Muklis Ali
NEW DELHI/JAKARTA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Indian and Indonesian currencies came under pressure on Thursday as Brazil’s latest attempt to curb foreign inflows into its soaring currency fanned fears more Asian nations may slap controls on capital flows.
Taiwan’s central bank governor seized the opportunity to instil in speculators further doubt about betting on gains in the local currency, while India played down the need for immediate action, but both said they were closely watching “hot money” flows.
With Western economies still crawling out of recession and interest rates at or near historic lows, funds have been flooding into faster-growing emerging markets. Concerns that inflows were driving currencies to levels that undercut exporters and financial markets to dizzying heights prompted some, including Brazil and Taiwan, to impose controls.
Brazil, the world's eighth biggest economy and a member of the BRIC quartet of emerging powers that also includes Russia, India and China, wants to put the brakes on its real BRBY, which has gained about 36 percent this year against the U.S. dollar. [ID:nN18128104]
Officials across emerging markets also worry that a sharp reversal of inflows could wreak havoc in local financial markets and economies.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy high up on global investors’ hot picks list, mooted curbs on foreign ownership of short-term central bank debt earlier this week only to later play down the likelihood of such a step after the mention of controls spooked markets.
Asked whether Bank Indonesia was considering curbing foreign ownership of such debt, senior deputy governor Darmin Nasution said: “We are not considering it, but studying it. Those are different things.”
FOCUS ON SHORT-TERM DEBT
A source with knowledge of Bank Indonesia’s study told Reuters the authority was looking into limiting foreign ownership of the shortist one-month central bank paper, a move designed to encourage foreigners to invest in longer maturities. [ID:nJKB00327] [ID:nJKB003276]
However, the currency was on the back foot again on Thursday after Brazil overnight tightened its rules to plug a loophole that had allowed players to avoid a 2 percent tax on foreign investment inflows, sending ripples through emerging markets.
The rupiah fell just over 1 percent to 9,510 to the dollar, even as the central bank was seen selling dollars to support the local unit. In offshore non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), the rupiah also fell.
In India, the news of Brazil’s latest effort and a report, later denied by the authorities, that the government may restrict foreign borrowing by its companies also put the rupee currency on the defensive.
“After Brazil last night, there are fears that others in Asia might follow suit,” a senior dealer with a foreign bank in Mumbai said.
The partially convertible rupee INR=IN was down half a percent at 46.41/42 per dollar at 0700 GMT while one-month NDFs INR1MNDFOR= also moved to reflect a weaker currency.
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla denied a newspaper report that the government planned to set quotas on corporate foreign borrowing and played down any immediate threat from capital inflows.
“As of now it is not a cause of concern. As the situation evolves we will see what needs to be done,” Chawla said when asked if the government planned to tax capital inflows. [ID:nDEL296681]
Foreign investors have bought more than $15 billion of local equities in 2009, after selling $13 billion in 2008, helping send Indian stocks more than 75 percent higher.
Taiwan, which keeps its dollar TWD= on a tight leash via frequent central bank intervention and earlier this month banned foreigners from putting money into time deposits, noted that some of the speculative money has already left the country.
Central bank governor Perng Fai-nan told the parliament that out of some T$400 billion ($12.44 billion) parked by foreign investors last month, T$50 billion had been pulled out and that the authority would watch the rest closely. “We hope the level of (hot) money will fall further,” Perng told legislators on Thursday. ($1=32.16 Taiwan Dollar)
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929d70b2978747c1e30381209757803a | https://www.reuters.com/article/gp-global-oil-emirates/indian-court-issues-second-arrest-warrant-for-gp-global-bunker-tanker-document-idUKL4N2GC2RQ?edition-redirect=uk | Indian court issues second arrest warrant for GP Global bunker tanker - document | Indian court issues second arrest warrant for GP Global bunker tanker - document
By Roslan Khasawneh, Abhirup Roy, Saeed Azhar3 Min Read
SINGAPORE/MUMBAI/DUBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - An Indian court has issued a second arrest warrant for a marine refuelling tanker owned by troubled UAE oil trader GP Global after it failed to make payments to its ship manager, court documents showed.
On Sept. 10, the High Court of the western Indian state of Gujrat granted the vessel manager’s, Singapore-based Celestial Ship Management Pte Ltd, a request to arrest the GP B3 bunker tanker for unpaid dues, according to the court documents seen by Reuters.
On the previous day, the same court granted a request by the National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) to arrest the same GP Global-owned bunker tanker after the oil trader defaulted on a loan payment.
Celestial, which offered technical management, crewing and other services for the GP Global ship, said it was owed just over $600,000 in outstanding claims, interest and court fees, the company told the court, according to the documents.
Among the registered directors of Celestial are Prachi Goel and Swati Goel, who are the spouses of the directors and shareholders of GP Global, Prerit Goel and Manan Goel, respectively, according to Singapore company records.
Celestial and GP Global’s Asia Pacific office in Singapore also share the same address, company records showed.
GP Global, a supplier of marine fuels worldwide with offices in Europe, Asia and America, told Reuters in an email it would not be able to comment “since the matter is subjudice”.
Reuters was unable to find contact details for Celestial.
Celestial “had made repeated requests for payment but the last such payment was received in April 2019 and no such payment has been received thereafter,” the court said in the document.
Despite having agreed with the vessel’s owner not to “commit their own funds” for the payment of expenses incurred by from the vendors that the ship’s managers engaged, Celestial “was being chased by the vendors and due to the impeccable reputation of (Celestial), they had to make the payment as they were put in an embarrassing position”, the company told the court.
In July, GP Global said that it had undertaken a financial restructuring exercise after it failed to “get full support from a few financial institutions” and denied rumours questioning the company’s financial condition as “blatant lies”.
Later in July, the UAE-based trader said that an internal investigation had uncovered fraud within the company and it had filed criminal complaints against some of its employees. (Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh in Singapore, Abhirup Roy in Mumbai and Saeed Azhar in Dubai Editing by Robert Birsel)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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52718617a61cc79593224e8659733ca9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/gpa-sales/brazil-supermarket-chain-gpas-gross-sales-jump-24-in-fourth-quarter-idUKE6N25M01J?edition-redirect=uk | Brazil supermarket chain GPA's gross sales jump 24% in fourth quarter | Brazil supermarket chain GPA's gross sales jump 24% in fourth quarter
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
SAO PAULO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian supermarket chain GPA SA on Wednesday reported a 24% rise in total gross sales in the fourth-quarter from a year earlier, to 18.9 billion reais ($4.56 billion), including operations from Colombia’s Almacenes Exito SA.
In Brazil alone, the local subsidiary of France’s Casino Guichard Perrachon SA posted fourth-quarter gross sales of 16.515 billion reais, up 8.4% year-on-year, as double-digit revenue growth in wholesale unit Assai compensated for weaker performance in other segments. E-commerce sales grew over 40% in 2019 from 2018, the retailer said in a securities filing.
Late in 2019, GPA concluded a tender offer to acquire shares of Almacenes Exito, as part of broader efforts by parent company Casino to simplify its shareholding structure in Latin America.
$1 = 4.1477 reais Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4fa07c217e1b8f261d38ca8d786d2a73 | https://www.reuters.com/article/grab-food/grab-plans-deeper-push-into-food-services-idINKBN1Z71PI?edition-redirect=in | Grab plans deeper push into food services | Grab plans deeper push into food services
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
A Grab logo is pictured at the Money 20/20 Asia Fintech Trade Show in Singapore March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Anshuman Daga/Files
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab is setting up more kitchen facilities for merchants and adding new services such as procurement and analytics in a bid to push deeper into the fast-growing food delivery business.
Grab, the region’s most valuable startup, has earmarked food delivery as a major pillar for growth as it expands beyond its taxi-hailing roots into other areas, including financial services.
It is banking on the relatively low penetration of existing food delivery firms in Southeast Asia, and is using its existing network of riders and drivers to build its service.
Grab’s food delivery business saw 5.2 times growth in gross merchandise value last year, and nearly tripled its number of active users.
“We are very much in the investment stage with food, and we will continue to grow that. We do believe that ultimately food will help improve our profitability in the long run,” Lim Kell Jay, regional head of GrabFood, told reporters on Wednesday.
He spoke as Grab showed off its first so-called cloud kitchen in Singapore, which also has takeaway and dine-in options. Its opening has taken the total number of such kitchens operated by the company to 50 in the region.
Grab did not provide a target, but said it would continue to expand its network of kitchens mainly used for delivery. The firm’s regional rival Go-Jek has also been testing out cloud kitchens in Indonesia.
Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7a939d23a839100cb678a2d684dfa46d | https://www.reuters.com/article/grain-iran/update-1-iran-bought-up-to-1-mln-tonnes-of-wheat-in-recent-weeks-idINL8N28T5KE?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 1-Iran bought up to 1 mln tonnes of wheat in recent weeks | UPDATE 1-Iran bought up to 1 mln tonnes of wheat in recent weeks
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
(Adds detail from paragraph four)
HAMBURG/PARIS, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Iran has bought up to 1 million tonnes of wheat in recent weeks on international markets, trade sources said on Thursday.
Origins for the purchase are expected to include Russia and some European Union countries, including Germany, they said.
Two Panamax bulk carriers loaded with Russian wheat will be leaving a major Russian port for Iran next week, a source familiar with the schedule told Reuters.
Iran is planning to import 3 million tonnes of wheat this Iranian calendar year ending in spring 2020, an official from the country’s Federation of Food Industry Associations said in October.
Tehran has signed memorandums of understanding with Russia and Kazakhstan for temporary imports of wheat, Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Akbar Mehrfard told the official IRNA news agency last month.
“We will have to see how much actually gets delivered as trade finance with Iran is still very difficult,” one trader said of the latest purchases.
Under U.S. sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Islamic republic is blocked from the global financial system. Food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies including animal feeds are exempt.
But the U.S. measures targeting everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities have deterred some foreign banks from doing any Iranian business, including humanitarian deals such as food shipments.
More than 20 ships carrying around one million tonnes of grain were in October stuck outside Iranian ports as U.S. sanctions created payment problems and hampered the country’s efforts to import vital commodities.
Multinational grain companies were not believed to be sellers in the latest deals. Two Middle East-backed traders and one Asian trading house were said to be mainly behind the sales.
“I expect the bulk of the 1 million tonnes to be supplied from Russia and other Black Sea regions,” a trader said.
“Some EU, possibly about 100,000 tonnes from Germany, could also be supplied if payment can be sorted out. There are also issues with the levels of bug (insect) damage in Russian wheat.”
Most of the purchasing was believed to have been undertaken by Iran’s state purchasing agency the Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC) with private buying reported for shipment across the Caspian Sea. (Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Gus Trompiz in Paris, Polina Devitt in Moscow and Jonathan Saul in London; Editing by Veronica Brown/Jan Harvey/Jane Merriman)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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19f386868afd0853e8e4f1efc7d6f695 | https://www.reuters.com/article/grains-india/indias-mmtc-raises-volume-in-corn-tender-to-175000-tonnes-idINL8N29C15F?edition-redirect=in | India's MMTC raises volume in corn tender to 175,000 tonnes | India's MMTC raises volume in corn tender to 175,000 tonnes
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
HAMBURG, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Indian state-run trading company MMTC has raised the volume of corn sought in an international purchase tender to around 175,000 tonnes from about 50,000 tonnes previously sought, European traders said on Tuesday.
The company has also postponed the deadline for offer submissions in the tender to Jan. 14 from Jan. 7, they said. (Reporting by Michael Hogan)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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3e9411007983e2f0ecbf5fcc00707f98 | https://www.reuters.com/article/great-portland-results-idINL4N2HX1WM?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 2-Great Portland's retail portfolio valuation plunges on pandemic hit | UPDATE 2-Great Portland's retail portfolio valuation plunges on pandemic hit
By Aakash B3 Min Read
* Retail portfolio valuation plunges 18%
* Central London office take-up drops to record low
* Expects rents and capital value to fall further in London (Adds details on the results, background, shares)
Nov 11 (Reuters) - Property developer Great Portland Estates on Wednesday reported an 18% plunge in the valuation of its retail portfolio as coronavirus restrictions hit the industry, and said office take-up in central London had dropped to record lows.
The FTSE 250-listed company, which owns 2.6 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) worth of retail and office property in central London, said it expects rents and capital values in the British capital to fall further.
“The trajectory of COVID-19 continues to dominate the economic backdrop and disrupt the activities of many of our occupiers across London,” the company said.
“Given this challenging economic and operational context, we expect capital values and rental levels to decline as London’s property markets adjust to a global recession.”
Shares were down 2% at 686 pence by 0819 GMT, taking year-to-date losses to 20%.
Property owners and tenants have been working together to ride out the coronavirus crisis, with the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors hit the hardest in large urban centres.
Occupiers of retail properties are struggling with rents due to a plunge in footfall during the virus curbs, while office space providers are grappling with empty buildings and defaults as companies adopt work-from-home policies.
Workspace Group, which owns and manages 4 million square feet of business space in London, swung to a first-half loss and pushed back a decision on dividends as more customers vacated and downsized during the crisis.
Great Portland said it had collected just 83% of its rent during the first half of the year, with 7.6 million pounds still remaining unpaid as on Sept. 30.
The company said its net rental income in the six months to Sept. 30 fell to 30.6 million pounds from 39.5 million pounds a year earlier.
The central London-focused developer said however that a scarcity of high-quality space had resulted in relative support for prime rents and that it believed it was well-placed to weather market volatility.
It also said demand for flexible, fitted spaces, which make up 13% of its office portfolio, has seen accelerated demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
$1 = 0.7528 pounds Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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8226ddc5858f2ebc3d66e9969c3ef74f | https://www.reuters.com/article/greatreboot/idUSKBN2990XE | Euro zone companies see productivity boost from pandemic - ECB survey | Euro zone companies see productivity boost from pandemic - ECB survey
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone companies expect to emerge more efficient from the coronavirus pandemic thanks to greater use of digital technologies and remote working, a European Central Bank survey showed on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: Office buildings are seen at the financial and business district of La Defense, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Paris, France, November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused the largest economic contraction in centuries, but it might turn out to have a silver lining for firms in the long run by forcing them to modernise their business and become more adaptive.
The ECB asked 72 industrial and services firms about the long-term impact of the pandemic on the way they operate and the environment around them.
It found firms expected home office, virtual meetings and greater digitalisation to remain part of their daily life even after the pandemic, along with reduced demand.
“To a large extent, this seems to reflect a view that some changes in living and working habits brought about by the pandemic, especially the increased conduct of business and consumption online and a consequent reduction in travel, will become embedded,” the ECB wrote in an article accompanying the survey’s results.
Graphic: Main long-term effects of the pandemic reported by leading companies -
These changes were seen helping boost productivity and reduce headcount.
“This would seem to reflect how businesses have learned to maintain production in spite of restrictions on labour inputs due to social distancing and the identification of related efficiency gains,” the ECB said.
Germany was one of several euro zone countries set to extend a national lockdown this month to curb coronavirus infection rates that are still running high.
Graphic: How respondents saw the long-term effect of the pandemic on business aggregates -
More than three-quarters of respondents in the ECB’s survey said that their business would be more efficient and more resilient after the pandemic.
By contrast, some ideas that emerged in the early part of the outbreak, such as expectations that companies will internalise or localise part of their supply chain, had fallen out of favour.
Graphic: Testing narratives in relation to the long-term effects of the pandemic -
Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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39fe1d1ffe23658ad6421d62bb9856d2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-banks-deposits/greek-bank-deposits-dip-in-november-for-second-month-in-a-row-idUSA8N1T0027 | Greek bank deposits dip in November for second month in a row | Greek bank deposits dip in November for second month in a row
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Greek private sector bank deposits dropped slightly in November for the second consecutive month, decreasing by 90 million euros ($102 million) central bank data showed on Thursday.
Private sector bank deposits had risen for eight straight months before a dip in October.
Businesses and household deposits declined to 131.39 billion euros from 131.48 billion in September, Bank of Greece data showed.
Greek banks have seen deposit inflows over the space of more than two years after the country clinched a third bailout to stay in the euro zone in July 2015.
Athens exited its latest bailout in August and will be relying on bond markets to refinance its debt.
While the country’s banks still depend on central bank borrowing to plug their funding gaps, they have significantly reduced their exposures. ($1 = 0.8810 euros) (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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eb22b041ca5038684360dcb441ba07e7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-banks-probe-idUKA8N23A01T?edition-redirect=uk | Greek competition commission probes banks on fee practices- banking sources | Greek competition commission probes banks on fee practices- banking sources
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Greece’s competition commission launched a probe on the country’s banks on Thursday to look into their fees and commission practices, banking sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The probe was simultaneous on all of the country’s big banks, the sources said.
The competition commission is looking into whether banks colluded on fees charged on bank transactions, one of the sources said.
The competion commission was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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208abfff54890c18dfd19d46fb634564 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-bonds-tender-idUSL5N1KF38X | UPDATE 3-Greece announces new 5-year bond issue after 3-year market exile | UPDATE 3-Greece announces new 5-year bond issue after 3-year market exile
By George Georgiopoulos, Renee Maltezou4 Min Read
* Attempting to return to market as debt crisis eases
* Athens offers bondholders to tender 2019 bonds for cash
* Mandates six banks for new 5-year government paper (Adds PM’s office comment, Moscovici visit)
ATHENS, July 24 (Reuters) - In its first attempt to return to the bond market in three years as its debt crisis eases, Greece on Monday invited holders of its 4.75 percent outstanding bonds maturing in 2019 to tender them for cash, along with a plan to offer new five-year paper.
Greece last ventured into international bond markets with two issues in 2014, a year before then newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signed up to a new bailout, the country’s third since 2010, after months of tense negotiations with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Last month Greece concluded a crucial bailout review and its lenders offered some detail on the measures that will be carried out, when its current bailout ends in 2018, to ease its debt mountain, which now stands at 180 percent of economic output.
That development opened the way for Greece’s market foray, which the Tsipras government says should be viewed as a test run and considered part of an overall strategy to ensure the country can fully return to markets next year.
“This decision is a significant step, part of Greece’s strategy to regain viable and steady access to international markets,” Tsipras’s office said in a a statement, referring to the new five-year bond issue.
Greece mandated BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Merrill Lynch as joint lead managers for the benchmark-size offering.
It said the cash to be paid for outstanding bonds would be equal to 102.6 percent of the nominal amount of each bond.
The pricing of the offering of new bonds is expected to occur on Tuesday, subject to market conditions. Settlement is expected on Aug. 1.
Holders of outstanding bonds tendered in the switch offer will receive accrued interest.
“The switch and tender offer is conditional on the successful pricing and closing of the new notes offering in an amount, with pricing and on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Republic,” Greece said in a statement.
YIELD
The yield on the government bond maturing in 2019 fell on Monday to its lowest level since it was issued three years ago, as Athens prepared its market foray. It fell as much as 40 basis points to 3.42 percent {nL5N1KF35S].
Greece’s European creditors are keen for the crisis-hit country to develop a strategy to gradually regain market access so that it will be able to stand on its own feet in 2018, but they have also urged Greece to stick to bailout reforms.
European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici was due to arrive in Athens on Monday and was expected to discuss Greece’s market foray with Tsipras on Tuesday.
The IMF last week approved in principle a $1.8 billion standby loan arrangement for Greece, making a conditional commitment to help underpin the country’s bailout program for the first time in two years.
But the fund will not make any money available until after it receives “specific and credible assurances” from Greece’s European lenders to ensure the country’s debt sustainability.
Debt swaps that may improve Greece’s maturity profile without increasing its overall load can ease forays into bond markets.
“Effectively the new issue is neutral as regards the debt sustainability of Greece,” said Athens-based Eurobank economist Platon Monokroussos.
Standard and Poor’s rating agency revised Greece’s outlook to positive from stable on Friday, while ratings agency Moody’s upgraded Greece’s rating to ‘Caa2’ from ‘Caa3’ last month.
Reuters first reported last year that Greece was considering the possibility of two or three small bond issues before the expiration of the present bailout programme. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4763fa1969c8e9e1869e206dbb39979b | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-budget/greek-jan-dec-primary-budget-surplus-beats-target-idINAPN08KDMN?edition-redirect=in | Greek Jan-Dec primary budget surplus beats target | Greek Jan-Dec primary budget surplus beats target
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Greece’s central government achieved a primary budget surplus of 4.96 billion euros ($5.52 billion) in the 12 months to December, above target, thanks to lower spending, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday.
The government was projecting a primary budget surplus - which excludes debt-servicing costs - of 4.4 billion euros for the January-December period, meaning the surplus outperformed the target by 560 million euros.
The surplus excludes the budgets of social security funds and local administration. It differs from the figure monitored by Greece’s foreign lenders but does indicate the state of the country’s finances. ($1 = 0.8983 euros) (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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cfaa996e730dd64d440d7cc8d872acbf | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-budget/update-1-greek-jan-dec-primary-budget-surplus-beats-target-idUKL8N29K2FG?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 1-Greek Jan-Dec primary budget surplus beats target | UPDATE 1-Greek Jan-Dec primary budget surplus beats target
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
(Adds detail)
ATHENS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Greece’s central government achieved a primary budget surplus of 4.96 billion euros ($5.52 billion) in the 12 months to December, above target, thanks to lower spending, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday.
The government was projecting a primary budget surplus -- which excludes debt-servicing costs -- of 4.4 billion euros for the January-December period, meaning the surplus outperformed the target by 560 million euros.
The surplus excludes the budgets of social security funds and local administration. It differs from the figure monitored by Greece’s foreign lenders but does indicate the state of the country’s finances.
Net tax revenue came in at 55.019 billion euros -- 7 million euros below target. Spending reached 55.244 billion euros -- 620 million euros below target.
Under a post-bailout plan agreed with its lenders, Greece aims to achieve a primary surplus of 3.5% of GDP this year.
$1 = 0.8983 euros Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Catherine EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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836e4490bdf2a24d140ab451d2248070 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-budget/update-1-greek-january-central-government-primary-budget-surplus-misses-target-idUSL8N2AI56A | UPDATE 1-Greek January central government primary budget surplus misses target | UPDATE 1-Greek January central government primary budget surplus misses target
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Adds details, minister’s comment)
ATHENS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Greece’s central government achieved a primary budget surplus of 498 million euros ($539.33 million) in January, missing its target because it got less money from the European Union, finance ministry data showed on Tuesday.
The government was projecting a primary budget surplus - which excludes debt-servicing costs - of 1.269 billion euros for January, meaning the surplus undershot the target by 771 million euros.
The surplus excludes the budgets of social security funds and local administration. It differs from the figure monitored by Greece’s foreign lenders but does indicate the state of the country’s finances.
Net revenue, including taxes, came in at 3.9 billion euros -- 743 million euros below target, because of higher tax refunds and a delay in getting EU funds.
“In January we had a shortfall in revenue from investments due to bureaucratic reasons,” said Deputy Finance Minister Theodore. “A significant sum of 350 to 400 million euros was submitted in late January and will be booked in February.”
Under a post-bailout plan agreed with its official lenders, Greece aims to achieve a primary surplus of 3.5% of gross domestic product this year. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, editing by Larry King)
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841dd50c8bd915f00e040d146d0c6cae | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-cameroon-piracy/greece-says-eight-abducted-as-tanker-stormed-off-cameroon-idINKBN1YZ0FM?edition-redirect=in | Greece says eight abducted as tanker stormed off Cameroon | Greece says eight abducted as tanker stormed off Cameroon
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS (Reuters) - Eight people were abducted and one person injured during an armed raid overnight on a Greek-registered tanker anchored off Cameroon, Greek authorities said on Tuesday.
Greece’s shipping ministry said the ‘Happy Lady’ tanker was two nautical miles off the port of Limboh in Cameroon when it was stormed by individuals who were armed.
Five Greeks, two people from the Philippines and a Ukrainian were kidnapped and a Greek national injured, the ministry said in a statement.
The tanker has a crew of 28.
Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Catherine EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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111010b049b5bc2b0a6c4405df1050f4 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-casino-tender/rpt-mohegan-advances-in-greek-casino-resort-tender-hard-rock-rejected-source-idINL8N29J68K?edition-redirect=in | RPT- Mohegan advances in Greek casino resort tender, Hard Rock rejected -source | RPT- Mohegan advances in Greek casino resort tender, Hard Rock rejected -source
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Repeats to additional subscribers; no change to text)
ATHENS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Greece has put Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment into the next phase of a long-delayed tender process to build and operate a luxury casino resort in Athens but rejected Hard Rock International, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.
The two U.S. groups had bid in October for the construction and 30-year operation of the casino resort, with Mohegan partnered by Greek construction company GEK TERNA.
The winner of the tender will build a casino on a site of at least 1.2 hectares, with a minimum of 120 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines. There will also be a luxury hotel, entertainment venues, a conference centre and sports centre in a planned 8 billion euro tourist resort on the site of the former Athens airport in Hellenikon.
Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the source said that Hard Rock submitted documents that failed to meet the tender’s criteria for financing of the project and required construction experience.
Once the bidders are officially notified of the decision, they have the right to appeal within 10 days. The opening of the technical offers will then follow.
Greece attracted a record 33 million tourists in 2018, with last year’s number expected to match that. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou Editing by David Goodman)
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990d9f6a23e1d080f61ecf497e854df0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-economy-industrialoutput/greek-industrial-output-falls-81-y-y-in-november-idINAPN08M1PW?edition-redirect=in | Greek industrial output falls 8.1% y/y in November | Greek industrial output falls 8.1% y/y in November
By Reuters Staff0 Min Read
ATHENS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Greek industrial output fell 8.1% in November compared to the same month last year, after an upwardly revised 0.1% rise in October, data from statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday. Looking at index components, manufacturing production dropped 4.9% from the same month in 2018, while electricity production dropped 20.1%. Mining output fell 9.4% with water output down 0.7%. KEY FIGURES (%) Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug July June Industrial -8.1 +0.1* +2.7* +0.9* -1.9* -0.1 output y/y Manufacturing -4.9 +2.8 +4.5 0.1 -1.9 +1.0 output * revised source: ELSTAT (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6cc36b7c5394664eac38e86c27ce55ea | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-economy-tax-bill-idINL8N27N3GE?edition-redirect=in | Greece to offer tax incentives in bid to lure rich foreigners | Greece to offer tax incentives in bid to lure rich foreigners
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
ATHENS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Greece will offer tax incentives to lure wealthy individuals to move their tax residence to the country as part of draft legislation on tax relief set to be announced on Thursday, a senior government official said.
Greece’s conservative government is keen on attracting investments to boost the recovering economy’s growth prospects.
Tax relief included in the draft legislation will include a cut in the corporate tax rate to 24% from 28% and lowering the tax rate on dividends to 5% from 10%.
The so-called non-dom programme will offer qualified wealthy investors who opt to shift their tax residence to the country a flat tax of 100,000 euros ($110,710) on global incomes earned outside Greece annually.
“The tax incentive will run for a duration of up to 15-years and will include the benefit of no inheritance tax for assets outside Greece,” a senior government official told Reuters.
One of the requirements to qualify will be residing in the country for at least 183 days per year and making an investment of at least 500,000 euros within three years.
“The investment can be in real estate, stocks or bonds. If the investment reaches 1.5 million euros then the flat tax is cut by half,” the official said.
Investments of 3 million euros will reduce the flat tax to just 25,000 euros. There will also be a grandfathering clause protecting investors from policy changes by future governments.
“Once you’re in the programme, you’re in. A future government cannot get you out,” the official said.
The government’s rationale is that the tax incentive can entice deep-pocketed investors, including shipping magnates, to take up the offer and move to Greece, boosting investments. ($1 = 0.9 euros) (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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c33d45083d8dfd7e6b3e62241d3ec39d | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-economy-unemployment/greek-october-unemployment-drops-to-166-lowest-since-april-2011-idUKAPN08M1KM?edition-redirect=uk | Greek October unemployment drops to 16.6%, lowest since April 2011 | Greek October unemployment drops to 16.6%, lowest since April 2011
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Greece’s jobless rate eased to 16.6% in October from a downwardly revised 16.8% in the previous month, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.
It was the lowest jobless rate since April 2011.
Seasonally adjusted data showed the number of unemployed at 780,913 people, with those aged up to 24 bearing the brunt of being out of work.
Among younger persons aged 15 to 24, the jobless rate fell to 35.6% from 39.4% in the same month in 2018. Greece’s jobless rate, which hit a record high of 27.8% in September 2013, has been falling since but remains the highest in the euro zone.
Greece’s 2020 budget projects growth picking up to 2.8% this year from 2% in 2019, helping to bring the jobless rate down to 15.6% from 17.4% last year. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Angeliki Koutantou)
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400aa1786fa4caf0c895be6a194b3f23 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-egypt-usa-idINS8N2CG070?edition-redirect=in | Greece, Egypt to welcome more decisive US involvement under Biden-Greek PM | Greece, Egypt to welcome more decisive US involvement under Biden-Greek PM
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Greece and Egypt anticipate more decisive involvement of the United States in the eastern Mediterranean under U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.
Mitsotakis was speaking at a news conference with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was visiting Athens.
Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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24d33d51a2978d0b8dd717b9ee783241 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-egypt-usa-idUKL1N2HX0XT?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 2-Greece, Egypt to welcome "more decisive" U.S. involvement under Biden, Greek PM says | UPDATE 2-Greece, Egypt to welcome "more decisive" U.S. involvement under Biden, Greek PM says
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
(Adds Sisi’s comments)
ATHENS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Greece and Egypt, which angered Turkey by reaching an agreement on natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, will welcome more decisive U.S. involvement in the region under President-elect Joe Biden, the Greek prime minister said on Wednesday.
“Both Greece and Egypt will receive positively a more decisive role of the United States in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a news conference with visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Cairo and Athens sealed an accord for the partial demarcation of maritime boundaries in August, giving them rights over natural resources in the Mediterranean.
Mitsotakis said the accord showed that countries which respect international law and good neighbourly relations can achieve results to the benefit of their people. He said both Greece and Egypt were willing to expand the accord.
Turkey, which is at odds with Greece over overlapping claims to energy resources in the Mediterranean, says the pact infringes on its own continental shelf.
The agreement also overlaps maritime zones Turkey agreed to with Libya last year, which were declared illegal by Athens.
Tensions between the two NATO allies flared following the accord, after Turkey sent its Oruc Reis seismic survey vessel into disputed Mediterranean waters.
Ankara pulled out the vessel in September to allow for diplomacy with Greece but then sent it back to the area.
On Wednesday, Greece said Turkey’s new naval advisory from Nov. 11-23, engaging an area for seismic activities, was provocative and urged Ankara to revoke it immediately.
“We agreed to continue our solidarity, alongside all friendly countries, in order to confront anyone who threatens regional stability and security, and in a way that prevents any party from imposing its hostile positions,” Sisi said.
Biden will further lay the groundwork for his new administration on Wednesday as President Donald Trump pursues a flurry of lawsuits challenging the results of the Nov. 3 election in an effort to cling to power. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alex Richardson, Peter Graff and Nick Macfie)
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b26421dcf9938109576c7a2b2205e6b0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-energy-depa/greek-gas-utility-depa-says-wins-case-over-supply-deal-with-turkeys-botas-idINL8N29L1SE?edition-redirect=in | Greek gas utility DEPA says wins case over supply deal with Turkey's BOTAS | Greek gas utility DEPA says wins case over supply deal with Turkey's BOTAS
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
ATHENS, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Greece’s state-controlled gas utility DEPA, earmarked for privatisation this year, has won a legal case over a supply deal with Turkish state energy company BOTAS, DEPA said on Thursday.
The International Court of Arbitration (ICC) ruled on Wednesday that BOTAS should cut retrospectively the contractual gas prices that DEPA has paid, DEPA said in a statement.
The ruling is the last step in a 10-year legal battle between DEPA and BOTAS and its impact is being assessed by DEPA, it added.
A source with knowledge of the matter said new pricing would apply from 2011 to the present and that DEPA had paid BOTAS $181 million under a previous ruling of the arbitration court as part of the legal case which started in 2009.
BOTAS was not immediately available to comment.
DEPA imports pipeline and liquefied natural gas under long-term contracts with BOTAS, Russia’s Gazprom and Algeria’s Sonatrach. Its outstanding supply contract with BOTAS ends in 2021.
Greece has broken up DEPA and has launched a tender for the sale of a 100% stake in its distribution network. It plans to kick off the sale of a majority stake in DEPA’s wholesale and retail activities later in January. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Mark Potter)
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f2304dc5e0a3a643cf731338a23f2860 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-medicine-cannabis-idINKCN1NO201?edition-redirect=in | Greece eyes pot of gold as medicinal cannabis licensed | Greece eyes pot of gold as medicinal cannabis licensed
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece on Monday issued the first licences to private companies for growing medicinal cannabis in the country, part of an attempt to tap a burgeoning market worth billions.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
Greece legalised cannabis for medical use last year and in March lifted a ban on growing and producing it. Two licences were granted on Monday, and another 12 will be issued by the end of this year, the Economy and Development Ministry said.
“There is huge interest, mainly from Canada and Israel ... some of them (potential investors) are huge,” Stergios Pitsiorlas, the deputy economy minister, told a news conference.
Legalising cannabis for recreational purposes is not under consideration, Pitsiorlas said in response to a question.
Pitsiorlas said the first medicinal cannabis products were expected to hit the market in about 12-18 months time. The industry was mainly export-oriented, he said.
Thousands of patients in Greece are thought to use cannabis for a range of serious medical conditions, though authorities don’t have precise figures.
Several countries, including Britain, Germany, Italy and Denmark, already allow the prescription of medicinal cannabis, and in June Canada became the second country in the world, after Uruguay, to fully legalise marijuana, ending a 90-year ban.
Under Greece’s licensing system, medicinal cannabis products would be available on prescription from chemists. It would not be subsidised through state health insurance schemes, Health Minister Andreas Xanthos said.
The first licensed cannabis hothouses will be in Larisa in central Greece, and in Corinth in the Peloponnese. The 14 licences were expected to create more than 750 jobs and represented about 185 million euros ($212.05 million) in investment.
“Our message is that the country is open for investments,” said Vassilis Kokkalis, deputy minister of agriculture.
($1 = 0.8724 euros)
Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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10f0f8595cbe570adaee75cb8c58eb5c | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-privatisation-port-idUSL8N1AR252 | China's Cosco acquires 51 pct stake in Greece's Piraeus Port | China's Cosco acquires 51 pct stake in Greece's Piraeus Port
By George Georgiopoulos3 Min Read
ATHENS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China’s COSCO Shipping , owner of the world’s fourth largest container fleet, took a 51 percent stake in Greece’s largest port on Wednesday.
The sale of Piraeus Port had been suspended by the leftist-led government when it won elections in January 2015 but talks resumed after Greece agreed an 86 billion euro bailout deal with its euro zone partners.
COSCO agreed to buy 51 percent of Piraeus Port (OLP) in April for 280.5 million euros ($312.51 million) under a deal signed with the HRADF, Greece’s privatisation agency.
COSCO bought 51 percent of Piraeus Port (OLP) for 280.5 million euros ($312.51 million), acquiring a block of 12.75 million shares in OLP.
COSCO Shipping executive Wan Min rang the opening bell at the Athens bourse at a ceremony to mark the agreement.
Privatisation has been a priority of Greece’s bailouts since 2010, but political foot-dragging and a highly unionised public sector workforce have slowed progress.
Shares in Piraeus Port, which has a current market value of 350 million euros, were down 0.4 percent to 13.90 euros as of 1016 GMT lagging a Athens share index up 0.46 percent.
COSCO is expected to increase its stake in Piraeus Port to 67 percent over the next five years, HRADF said.
“Should Cosco fulfil certain conditions set out in the agreement, including the successful completion of the mandatory investments up to 300 million euros, it will pay HRADF an additional 88 million euros and increase its stake by 16 percent to 67 percent,” it said.
Greece’s parliament ratified the sale in June, overcoming some last-minute snags which triggered complaints from the local COSCO representative.
Last month COSCO said it would invest up to 500 million euros in Piraeus Port to upgrade cruise and shipping container facilities.
Operator of one of Piraeus’s container terminals since 2009, COSCO has boosted the port’s competitiveness.
The port’s container throughput stood at 3.36 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year, up from 880,000 TEUs in 2010. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; editing by Jason Neely)
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8ec2325b00bf3cf5cde81af40cc279bf | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-ratings-sp-idUSL4N1UG51I | S&P raises outlook on Greece; affirms rating | S&P raises outlook on Greece; affirms rating
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
July 20 (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings said it raised its outlook on Greece to positive from stable while affirming its 'B+/B' ratings. bit.ly/2mA2V41
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d61fd337da506249cab01dd84fcc06c7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-religion-mosque-idINKBN27M2I0?edition-redirect=in | Athens' first mosque in nearly 200 years opens for Friday prayers | Athens' first mosque in nearly 200 years opens for Friday prayers
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
ATHENS (Reuters) - After years of delays caused by red tape, cutbacks and opposition from religious and political factions, the first government-funded mosque in Athens since 1833 opened its doors to worshippers on Friday.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from countries including Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh live in Athens but the city has not had a formal mosque since it forced occupying Ottomans to leave nearly 200 years ago.
Plans to build a mosque in Athens began in 1890 but it took decades for them to materialise due to opposition from a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and nationalists, sluggish bureaucracy but most recently a decade-long financial crisis.
Amid a coronavirus outbreak, only a limited number of worshippers, wearing masks and sitting at a distance from each other due to COVID-19 restrictions, attended prayers.
“It is a historic moment for the Muslim community living in Athens, we have been waiting for this mosque for so long,” said Heider Ashir, a member of the mosque’s governing council. “Thanks to God, finally, we have a mosque which is open and we can pray here freely.”
But other Muslims were unhappy with the mosque’s appearance. A grey, rectangular structure with no dome or minaret, has no resemblance to other graceful, ornate mosques in Europe.
“It does not at all look like a place of worship, it is a small, square, miserable building,” said Naim El Ghandour, head of the Muslim Association of Greece. “We thank them very much for the offer, but we will fight to reach it to the level that we deserve.”
Under a lockdown to curb a surge in COVID infections, gatherings for formal worshipping will be banned from Saturday until Nov. 30.
“We will pray at home, and as soon as the lockdown is over the mosque will again be open for the worshippers,” Ashir said.
Reporting by Deborah Kyvrikosaios, Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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12e53897eeba3503c61cdf6710fa8f70 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-togo-piracy-idINL8N27K44M?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 2-Pirates kidnap four crew from Greek boat off Togo - Togo navy | UPDATE 2-Pirates kidnap four crew from Greek boat off Togo - Togo navy
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Adds Greek shipping ministry, manager confirming attack)
LOME, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Pirates attacked a Greek oil tanker off the coast of Togo on Monday and fled after taking four crew members as hostages, the West African nation’s navy and Greek authorities said, two days after a similar attack in the waters of neighbouring Benin.
Of the missing crew members, two are Filipinos, one is Greek and one is Georgian, the navy said in a statement. One security guard was also shot and wounded in the attack, it said.
“Monday, 4th of November 2019, around 0300, the tanker boat Elka Aristotle was attacked around 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the port of Lome by armed individuals,” the statement said.
The vessel’s manager, European Product Carriers Ltd, confirmed the early morning attack, without providing further details. Greece’s shipping ministry said it was “closely monitoring the issue”.
While piracy has decreased worldwide, West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea is a high-risk area for abductions and armed robbery, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Armed guards were present on the Greek boat and tried to fight off the attackers, but one was wounded, the Togo navy said. An investigation has been opened.
The attack follows the abduction by pirates of nine Filipino crew members from a Norwegian-flagged boat off the coast of Benin on Saturday. (Reporting by John Zodzi and Noel Tadegnon, writing by Anna Pujol-Mazzini and Renee Maltezou, editing by Gareth Jones)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ba1d0c5cee4a6798645d1ce1c963ca35 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-vessels-crash-idUKL1N2HI1BX?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 1-Greek navy vessel, container ship collide off Piraeus port | UPDATE 1-Greek navy vessel, container ship collide off Piraeus port
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
(Adds details)
ATHENS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A Portuguese-flagged container vessel collided with a Greek navy minehunter off the Greek port of Piraeus early on Tuesday, seriously damaging the Greek ship, authorities said.
TV images showed the navy vessel Kallisto tilting on its side and sinking, and a big part of its stern was missing. A tug boat later towed it to the Salamina naval base.
Two people were slightly injured and transferred to hospital, a coast guard official said, adding that the Greek navy vessel’s 27-member crew had been taken to safety.
The 266-metre long container ship Maersk Launceston was not damaged.
It was not immediately clear how the collision happened, the official said. Piraeus port authorities, which launched an investigation, had temporarily banned the container ship from sailing. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ed Osmond)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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8a084952a2c1e8c9a6b5460122a94469 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-vessels-crash/greek-navy-vessel-container-ship-collide-off-piraeus-port-idINL8N2HI1IM | Greek navy vessel, container ship collide off Piraeus port | Greek navy vessel, container ship collide off Piraeus port
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ATHENS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A Portuguese-flagged container vessel collided with a Greek navy minehunter off the Greek port of Piraeus early on Tuesday, authorities said.
TV images showed the navy vessel tilting on its side and sinking. A tug boat had approached and was expected to pull it to the coast.
Two people were slightly injured, a coast guard official said, adding that the Greek navy vessel’s 27-member crew had been transferred to safety.
The container ship Maersk Launcheston was not damaged, the official said.
It was not immediately clear how the collision happened but the incident would be further investigated, the official added. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e038b7ee37ba8103b396309950cfcd01 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greenbonds-debt/global-sustainable-debt-reached-record-465-bln-last-year-bnef-idINL8N29D4OS?edition-redirect=in | Global sustainable debt reached record $465 bln last year -BNEF | Global sustainable debt reached record $465 bln last year -BNEF
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The volume of sustainable debt issued globally last year reached a record of $465 billion, with green bonds accounting for more than half of that amount, research showed on Wednesday.
Last year, sustainable debt -- which includes green bonds and sustainability-linked loans -- rose by 78% from $261.4 billion the previous year. Cumulative issuance broke the $1 trillion barrier to reach $1.17 trillion on Dec. 31, research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) showed.
As pressure grows for investors, lenders and companies to use money in ways which do not harm the environment, sustainable finance has increased, integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into investment decisions.
Green bonds accounted for more than half of the total sustainable debt market last year with issuance rising to $271 billion from $182 billion in 2018.
Green bonds are a growing category of fixed-income securities that raise capital for projects with environmental benefits.
The volume of sustainability-linked loans, which link a borrower’s performance to ESG criteria, jumped by 168% to $122 billion last year.
“Our data show sustainable finance continuing to power ahead on a global basis,” said Jonas Rooze, lead sustainability analyst at BNEF. “The steep increase is fuelled by end-investors’ concerns about the threat of climate change, and the desire of many big company, bank and government leaders to be seen as behaving responsibly.”
Mortgage financier Fannie Mae was the biggest issuer of global sustainable debt, securitising mortgages totalling $22.8 billion, the report showed.
Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a9e52f99c6f3178250c4e8d2553eb4ef | https://www.reuters.com/article/greenbonds-issuance/global-green-bond-issuance-forecast-at-140-180-bln-this-year-idUSL8N1Z943T | Global green bond issuance forecast at $140-$180 bln this year | Global green bond issuance forecast at $140-$180 bln this year
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) -
* Global green bond issuance is seen at $140-$180 billion this year, HSBC said in a report on Wednesday
* Green bonds are fixed income securities used to raise capital for projects with environmental benefits
* Issuance was $149.2 billion last year, up 8 percent on 2017. But the rate of growth slowed due to market volatility and a move towards emerging market (EM) deleveraging, HSBC said
* Those conditions will remain in 2019, it added
* “Supply growth should reignite when EM markets stabilise and as green capex rises in response to climate change damage,” HSBC analysts said
* “But market and EM stability may not return rapidly in 2019; and the speed of the green capex build out is hard to judge,” they added (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4e3bfb7cc018416ad7829f3683dca10d | https://www.reuters.com/article/greenland-icesheets-research/u-s-researchers-uncover-secret-of-greenlands-vanishing-lakes-idINKBN0OJ2WM20150603?edition-redirect=in | U.S. researchers uncover secret of Greenland's vanishing lakes | U.S. researchers uncover secret of Greenland's vanishing lakes
By Richard Valdmanis2 Min Read
BOSTON (Reuters) - Scientists were baffled last year after meltwater lakes atop Greenland’s ice sheet suddenly drained out at rates rivalling Niagara Falls.
Now a team of U.S. researchers says it has figured out the bizarre phenomenon and that could help them forecast global sea-level rise.
Vertical shafts in the ice sheet, called moulins, can funnel melt water beneath parts of the glacier and lift them up. This causes cracks beneath the so-called supragalcial lakes that can empty them in days, according to scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MIT/WHOI) Joint Program in Oceanography.
Draining lakes can accelerate sea-level rise by suddenly injecting large volumes of water into the ocean and lubricating the flow of ice offshore. However, the finding suggests that only lakes at lower, warmer altitudes on the ice sheet where moulins are more prevalent are vulnerable, according to the research published in the journal Nature.
“The trigger is less likely to occur at lakes at higher elevations on the ice sheet — even though water volumes in those lakes can be large,” according to the research.
“Our discovery will help us predict more accurately how supraglacial lakes will affect ice sheet flow and sea level rise as the region warms in the future,” lead author Laura Stevens wrote in a Woods Hole press release.
Scientists at Ohio State and Cornell University said last year that two lakes on the Greenland ice sheet that had previously held billions of gallons of water had mysteriously disappeared.
The Greenland ice sheet covers more than 600,000 square miles (1.6 million square kilometres) and is expected to be a significant contributor to sea-level rise as it melts.
Writing by Richard Valdmanis. Editing by Andre GrenonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6f7fdfd8fbb929979fbbe7e8a7bfef13 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greenland-telecoms-ericsson-huawei-tech/greenland-says-not-considering-huawei-for-5g-rollout-sticking-with-ericsson-idINKBN1YN0Z3?edition-redirect=in | Greenland says not considering Huawei for 5G rollout, sticking with Ericsson | Greenland says not considering Huawei for 5G rollout, sticking with Ericsson
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen3 Min Read
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Greenland does not plan to consider China's Huawei [HWT.UL] for supplying equipment for its 5G telecoms network and will instead stick with its current telecoms provider Ericsson ERICb.ST, state telecoms operator Tele Greenland said on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: An Ericsson logo is pictured at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, China June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
The decision comes as the United States pushes allies to exclude Huawei from 5G deals, and after President Donald Trump in August offered to buy Greenland from Denmark as part of a broader strategic push into the Arctic.
Tele Greenland has yet to set a date for the rollout of 5G networks on the Arctic island, an autonomous part of Denmark.
“(Tele Greenland) doesn’t consider Huawei as a supplier of 5G network upgrade,” the company said in a statement.
A Huawei spokeswoman in Denmark said the company was not aware of any plans for 5G rollout in Greenland.
“Huawei has no mobile network business in Greenland and had no plans to participate in any 5G rollout in Greenland,” she said.
Ericsson has already supplied Greenland’s 4G network. Greenland’s national broadcaster KNR on Wednesday quoted Tele Greenland’s Chief Executive Kristian Reinert Davidsen as saying the Swedish company also will be picked for 5G.
“It’s hard to say which network is best,” Davidsen told KNR. “We just found that Ericsson was the right choice for us based on all the parameters. It was from an overall point of view, and I can’t say if one is safer than the other.”
Tele Greenland’s decision had been made after considering issues like “quality, price and security in the broadest sense,” the company’s chairman Stine Bosse told Reuters.
A spokeswoman for the Swedish company declined to comment on future plans for 5G rollout in Greenland, but said Tele Greenland is “an important customer” and that its current 4G network in Greenland is based upon Ericsson’s 5G ready products.
Fearing high-tech espionage, and battling with China over trade, the United States has pushed allies to exclude Huawei from lucrative 5G deals. Huawei has denied its equipment can be used for spying.
Last week, Norway's Telenor TEL.OL picked Ericsson as the key technology provider of the country's 5G network.
Earlier this year, privately held Danish telecoms operator TDC also picked Ericsson over Huawei for its 5G network. TDC said it was a commercial decision, but that it “was not blind” to widespread concerns about Huawei and information security.
Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, additional reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7af6a65da8e7d6a817673165375c5301 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greensill-moves/moves-greensill-hires-former-australian-foreign-minister-bishop-as-adviser-idUKL4N29K4O5?edition-redirect=uk | MOVES-Greensill hires former Australian foreign minister Bishop as adviser | MOVES-Greensill hires former Australian foreign minister Bishop as adviser
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
SYDNEY, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Financing group Greensill hired former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop as an adviser to spearhead its growth plans in Asia, the SoftBank Group-backed company said on Thursday.
Bishop was hired in December as chair of Greensill Asia Pacific to provide strategic advice as it accelerates its expansion in the region, the supply-chain financing company said in a statement.
“The ability to draw on Julie’s ... international credentials cemented during five years as Australia’s foreign minister will be invaluable as we continue to unlock capital for businesses and people around the world,” founder and CEO Lex Greensill said.
The appointment follows a $655 million extra investment by SoftBank’s Vision Fund late last year in the company, which was founded in 2011 by former Australian banking executive Lex Greensill, once an advisor to former British prime minister David Cameron.
Cameron now also acts as an adviser for the financing company, according to articles posted on Greensill’s website.
Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a6dc19432ea4b914985a1dc7a0a2bfa0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greggs-just-eat-home-delivery/britains-greggs-to-roll-out-home-delivery-with-just-eat-idINL8N29K4M8?edition-redirect=in | Britain's Greggs to roll out home delivery with Just Eat | Britain's Greggs to roll out home delivery with Just Eat
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - British baker Greggs has joined forces with online food ordering company Just Eat for its latest growth initiative - offering home delivery across the country.
Greggs said on Wednesday that following a successful trial in London, Newcastle and Glasgow, it had opted to work exclusively with Just Eat, providing sausage rolls and steak bakes, including vegan-friendly versions, as well as sandwiches and sweet treats, direct to customers’ doors.
After Birmingham and Bristol, delivery will next launch in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham in the spring, with a plan to achieve national coverage by the end of the year.
Orders can be placed from as early as 0700 GMT, with no minimum spend, though there is a delivery charge.
Last week Greggs said it would pay staff a special bonus after a “phenomenal” year that included the launch of the vegan-friendly sausage roll and higher-than-expected profits.
Shares in Greggs were up 0.6% at 1408 GMT, taking gains over the last year to 62%, and giving it a market value of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.3 billion).
Just Eat is now part of Takeaway.com after the Dutch firm last week won a 6.2 billion pound bid battle. ($1 = 0.7681 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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fe2d5598707cd8fe5ac90d0c0c205c18 | https://www.reuters.com/article/greggs-outlook-idINFWN27P04U?edition-redirect=in | Britain's Greggs upgrades profit outlook | Britain's Greggs upgrades profit outlook
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - British baker and takeaway food group Greggs on Monday forecast a 2019 pretax profit ahead of previous expectations after enjoying strong trading despite comparatives with last year getting progressively harder.
The firm, which trades from over 2,000 UK retail outlets, said total sales grew by 12.4 pct in the six weeks to Nov. 9 - its fourth quarter to date. Like-for-like sales in company-managed shops were up 8.3%.
“Sales growth continues to be driven by increased customer visits and has been stronger than we had expected given the improving comparative sales pattern that we saw in the fourth quarter last year,” Greggs said.
Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f3ea0db8ffc1494ca95effbd9e6a265e | https://www.reuters.com/article/greggs-outlook/uk-baker-greggs-upgrades-profit-forecast-to-reward-staff-idUKFWN29C14E?edition-redirect=uk | UK baker Greggs upgrades profit forecast, to reward staff | UK baker Greggs upgrades profit forecast, to reward staff
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - British baker and takeaway food group Greggs, home of the vegan-friendly sausage roll, said its annual profit would be higher than expected and it would make a special bonus payment to staff to reflect an “exceptional year”.
Greggs said pretax profit for the year ended 28 December would be “slightly higher” than previous expectations. It had already upgraded its profit outlook in November.
The company said it would spend 7 million pounds ($9.20 million) on a one-off payment to all its more than 20,000 employees across its 2,000 store business.
The market currently expects Greggs to report pretax profit of 111.6 million pounds, up from 89.8 million pounds in 2018, according to Refinitiv data. ($1 = 0.7610 pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)
BreakingviewsReuters 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.
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3c3e5deba0078447adf6be4bc4f9f2ac | https://www.reuters.com/article/grenke-results-idUKL8N2HK1OL?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 1-Grenke to abandon franchise model after short-seller attack | UPDATE 1-Grenke to abandon franchise model after short-seller attack
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Adds details)
BERLIN, Oct 29 (Reuters) - German leasing business Grenke GLJn.DE> said it would integrate its franchise companies into the group business and add a chief risk officer to its board in the wake of a short-seller attack.
The company’s franchise model has been in focus following a report by Viceroy Research that accused Grenke of fraud.
Grenke, which denies the allegations, said on Thursday it planned to integrate its 16 franchise companies into the consolidated group over the next 12-18 months.
The Baden-Baden-based company will also expand its board of directors to include a chief risk officer. Board member Sebastian Hirsch will become chief financial officer, while chief executive Antje Leminsky will assume responsibility for internal audit.
“Through continuous development, we want to align this successful model even more closely to what the capital market expects from us: transparency, professional governance and compliance,” Leminsky said in a statement.
Grenke posted a 50% fall in third-quarter net profit to 17.7 million euros, hurt by a 48.8 million euro impairment charge as a resurgence in coronavirus cases deteriorated the business outlook for some of its customers.
The company said prospects for new business would depend on the impact of rising coronavirus infections and the corresponding curbs on economic activity.
It expects new business for the fourth quarter to be around 60% of the previous year’s level.
$1 = 0.8461 euros Reporting by Caroline Copley, editing by Vera Eckert and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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16ea94d3f0da09f64a95834bd9d74b78 | https://www.reuters.com/article/groupon-idUKN1E7A22EM20111104?edition-redirect=uk | CORRECTED - UPDATE 3-Groupon's IPO biggest by U.S. Web co since Google | CORRECTED - UPDATE 3-Groupon's IPO biggest by U.S. Web co since Google
By 5 Min Read
(Amends headline, bullet and first paragraph to clarify Groupon’s IPO is largest by a U.S. Internet company since Google’s)
* IPO is largest by U.S. Internet company since Google’s
* IPO values daily deals company at almost $13 billion
* First-day performance should be solid (Rewrites throughout with Groupon’s pricing announcement and analysts comments)
By Alistair Barr and Clare Baldwin
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Groupon Inc GRPN.O raised $700 million after increasing the size of its initial public offering, becoming the largest IPO by a U.S. Internet company since Google Inc GOOG.O raised $1.7 billion in 2004.
The global leader in “daily deals” is now valued at almost $13 billion after saying it increased the offering by 5 million shares to 35 million in total and pricing them at $20 each, above an initial range of $16 to $18.
The debut of the three-year-old company, which sells Internet coupons for everything from spa treatments to nose jobs, is one of this year’s most closely watched. Its tiny float represents just above 5 percent of the company and helped drive up demand and price.
That constraint -- one of the smallest floats of the past decade -- should support Groupon’s share price when it begins trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker GRPN, analysts say.
But in the longer run, they cited concerns about competition from the deep-pocketed likes of Google and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O; the need to spend continuously to drive user growth; and questions about accounting after the company altered its IPO filings twice to change the way it accounted for revenue.
“Groupon is expensive. The $12.8 billion valuation is only achievable because of the low float,” said Rob Romero, head of technology-focused hedge fund firm Connective Capital Management.
“Today’s reaction to LinkedIn floating additional share supply is an indication of how tight supply-demand of shares can distort valuation for a new IPO.”
LinkedIn LNKD.N, which remains well above its $45 IPO price, plummeted 9 percent after-hours after unveiling a proposal to sell up to $500 million in stock. It had floated 8.3 percent of its shares during the IPO. [ID:nN1E7A21YJ]
Pandora Media P.N, a music streaming service and another recent dotcom debutante, sold 9.2 percent of the company.
At $12.8 billion, Groupon commands a price tag more than twice what Google offered to buy the company last year.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ANALYSIS-Groupon IPO to test pvt stock mkts[ID:nN1E7A01XF]
FACTBOX-Groupon scales back IPO [ID:nN1E79K0KP]
IFR-Groupon launches IPO with view to speed[ID:nN1E79K0NT]
BREAKINGVIEWS-Groupon’s “advantage” [ID:nN1E79K0XP]
NEWSMAKER-Groupon’s Mason makes a splash [ID:nN1E79K1HQ]
IPO VIEW-Groupon IPO could be a tough sale [ID:nN1E79J28Y]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
WIDESPREAD CRITICISM
Beyond Friday, Groupon shares may prove volatile on concern about the company’s ability to generate long-term profit and revenue growth, plus the likelihood that existing investors will sell some of their holdings at some point.
Quirky music major and CEO Andrew Mason and his executive team spent almost two weeks on the road pitching to investors and addressing widespread criticism about Groupon’s replicable business model, slowing growth and accounting concerns.
“The post-IPO investor will be taking a risk on this deal,” said Josef Schuster, founder of IPO research and investment house IPOX Schuster. “It’s maybe a good trade for a day trader, in and out in a single day, but I don’t want to be in it for the long run.”
To pull the deal off, the company cut its valuation by about half. Existing shareholders aren’t selling. And it skipped meetings with potential investors in Europe and Asia.
If underwriters, led by Morgan Stanley MS.N, Goldman Sachs GS.N and Credit Suisse CSGN.VX, exercise their right to buy just over 5 million more Groupon shares in the IPO, known as the greenshoe, Groupon will raise more than $800 million, before fees.
Wall Street will scrutinize Groupon’s Friday showing for clues as to how other highly anticipated dotcom IPOs -- from the likes of Facebook or Zynga -- may fare.
LinkedIn surged on the first day of trading in May and remains far above its $45 IPO price. Pandora’s shares surged initially, then slumped. Its shares traded below the $16 IPO price on Thursday at just over $15.
Groupon “is a company with permission to market to 150 million consumers daily. No other company in the world has ever had that type of reach,” said Boyan Josic, chief executive at DailyDealMedia, which tracks the industry.
“Investors who truly understand this business model and the position that Groupon has in this market are buying.” (Editing by Edwin Chan, Tiffany Wu and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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6a280772888a4397f6ca8c3dcfa2a07f | https://www.reuters.com/article/grubhub-ma-just-eat-takeawaay/just-eat-takeaway-nears-deal-to-buy-grubhub-idUKL4N2DN36C?edition-redirect=uk | Just Eat Takeaway nears deal to buy Grubhub | Just Eat Takeaway nears deal to buy Grubhub
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
June 10 (Reuters) - European food ordering firm Just Eat Takeaway.com NV confirmed on Wednesday it is nearing an all-stock deal to buy Grubhub Inc. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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642360dd04c06ea515fa521942d51e35 | https://www.reuters.com/article/grubhub-results/grubhub-blames-promiscuous-diners-for-slowing-growth-shares-sink-30-idUKL3N27D4CG?edition-redirect=uk | GrubHub blames "promiscuous" diners for slowing growth, shares sink 30% | GrubHub blames "promiscuous" diners for slowing growth, shares sink 30%
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
Oct 28 (Reuters) - Shares of GrubHub Inc tanked 30% in extended trading on Monday, after the online food delivery company warned of slowing growth as customers prefer to switch between rival providers for better deals.
The company also reported lower-than-expected quarterly results and forecast fourth-quarter revenue sharply below Wall Street expectations.
Chicago-based GrubHub is battling startups ranging from DoorDash and Postmates to Uber Technologies Inc’s UberEats for a bigger share of the takeout market in the United States.
The company estimated that the market, including pickup and delivery, is greater than $200 billion annually.
“We believe online diners are becoming more promiscuous,” the company said in a letter to shareholders. “Our newer diners are increasingly coming to us already having ordered on a competing online platform, and our existing diners are increasingly ordering from multiple platforms.”
GrubHub said the competition had a more than 300 basis points impact on third-quarter results.
The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue to be between $315 million and $335 million, below analysts’ expectations of $387.5 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, net income fell to $1 million or 1 cent a share, from $22.7 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned 27 cents per share.
Revenue rose 30% to $322.1 million, but missed estimate of $330.5 million. (Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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387b5c81c527019a3095d96753d4dc98 | https://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-argos-colombia/colombias-grupo-argos-increases-space-for-possible-bond-issues-by-246-mln-idUKL2N25B1JD?edition-redirect=uk | Colombia's Grupo Argos increases space for possible bond issues by $246 mln | Colombia's Grupo Argos increases space for possible bond issues by $246 mln
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
BOGOTA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Colombian investment holding company Grupo Argos will increase its tranche for potential bond releases by 850 billion pesos ($246.4 million), the company said on Thursday.
The increase will bring the total potential tranche of ordinary and commercial paper that could be released by the company to 2.35 trillion pesos, of which 1.35 trillion has already been issued, Argos said in a statement to Colombia’s financial regulator.
Argos’ subsidiaries include cement-maker Cementos Argos , energy company Celsia and infrastructure operator Odinsa.
Argos said on Tuesday its net profit increased 16% in the first half of the year to 265 billion pesos compared with the year-ago period.
$1 = 3,449.27 Colombian pesos Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb Editing by Rosalba O’BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7d877f62d24a43e3e22546585d9fe23a | https://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-boliv-colombia-idINL1N2HI311?edition-redirect=in | Colombia's Grupo Bolivar raises $262.2 mln in ordinary bonds | Colombia's Grupo Bolivar raises $262.2 mln in ordinary bonds
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
BOGOTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Colombia’s Grupo Bolivar on Tuesday placed ordinary bonds for 1 trillion pesos ($262.2 million), with proceeds earmarked for investments and replacing debt, the stock exchange said.
Grupo Bolivar - one of Colombia’s largest financial conglomerates - issued paper for five, 10 and 25 years after receiving offers for 1.43 trillion pesos ($375 million), the stock exchange added.
The group owns Banco Davivienda, the third-largest bank in Colombia. ($1 = 3,812.82 Colombian pesos) (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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728a9cacdbff8c80b9f7b6fcce31cf6e | https://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-mexico-mining/grupo-mexico-starts-gradual-reduction-of-mining-operations-idUKL1N2BR2HB?edition-redirect=uk | Grupo Mexico starts gradual reduction of mining operations | Grupo Mexico starts gradual reduction of mining operations
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
MEXICO CITY, April 3 (Reuters) - Mining and transport firm Grupo Mexico said on Friday it had started the gradual reduction of its mining operations to comply with government orders to suspend non-essential activities as part of efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus. (Reporting by Diego Ore)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c2cecbc4d435889434af71883f743f25 | https://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-mexico-results/grupo-mexico-reports-fourth-quarter-net-profit-jump-idUKL1N2AB1MB?edition-redirect=uk | Grupo Mexico reports fourth quarter net profit jump | Grupo Mexico reports fourth quarter net profit jump
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
MEXICO CITY, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Mining and transport firm Grupo Mexico on Tuesday reported net profit of $777.6 million for the fourth quarter last year, up from $45.4 million the same period a year earlier. Revenues at the company were $2.6 billion.
Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Daina Beth SolomonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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97982e8695e806bce825142357e02264 | https://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-mexico-results/mexican-miner-grupo-mexico-posts-369-2-mln-loss-in-1st-qtr-idUKL2N2CC2M7?edition-redirect=uk | Mexican miner Grupo Mexico posts $369.2 mln loss in 1st-qtr | Mexican miner Grupo Mexico posts $369.2 mln loss in 1st-qtr
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Reuters) - Mexican mining and transport firm Grupo Mexico registered a net loss of $369.2 million during the first quarter of this year, the company said in a filing with the Mexican stock exchange on Friday. (Reporting by Noe Torres; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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79cfdfecd86b35bcae63dbcadd28346f | https://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-mexico-results/update-1-mexican-miner-grupo-mexicos-first-quarter-results-turn-negative-idUKL2N2CC2MD?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 1-Mexican miner Grupo Mexico's first quarter results turn negative | UPDATE 1-Mexican miner Grupo Mexico's first quarter results turn negative
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
(Adds details on revenue, profit)
MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Reuters) - Mexican mining and transport firm Grupo Mexico registered a net loss of $369.2 million during the first quarter of this year in a sharp reversal from the year-ago period, the company said in a filing with the Mexican stock exchange on Friday.
Grupo Mexico posted a profit of $626.2 million profit during the January to March period last year.
Total revenue in the first quarter this year fell 3.3% to total $2.45 billion. (Reporting by Noe Torres; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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505834bb01ec85bdc7c899f84bc52612 | https://www.reuters.com/article/gsk-results/gsk-profit-falls-short-as-cheap-competition-hits-older-drugs-idINKBN1ZZ294?edition-redirect=in | GSK profit falls short as cheap competition hits older drugs | GSK profit falls short as cheap competition hits older drugs
By Pushkala Aripaka, Ankur Banerjee3 Min Read
(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline missed fourth-quarter earnings forecasts on Wednesday as cheap competition to the British drugmaker’s respiratory medicines offset strong growth in sales of its shingles vaccine.
FILE PHOTO: A scientist prepares stem cells for research at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) research centre in Stevenage, Britain November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
GSK shares fell as much as 3% after the company also said adjusted earnings for this year could fall as much as 4%.
Under Chief Executive Emma Walmsley, the London-listed firm has sold several assets, and bought others in fast-growing markets such as oncology, to try to rejuvenate growth as several of its older drugs face losing patent protection.
On Wednesday, the company said it would look at selling more non-core assets, starting with a review of its prescription dermatology business.
It also launched the two-year programme to split into two entities following the merger of its over-the-counter products business into a venture with Pfizer.
Vaccines and prescription treatments including for HIV will play a larger role in driving GSK’s growth going forward as older treatments, including asthma drug Advair, face competition from generic medicines.
“Once a patent expires rivals pile in, forcing the incumbent to cut prices even as volumes tumble and the result is always painful,” said Nicholas Hyett, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
GSK, which has about 3,000 employees in China, said its forecast for the current year did not include any potential impact from the coronavirus outbreak that has killed nearly 500 people in China.
“It is just really too early to say,” Walmsley said on a call with journalists.
GSK echoed rival Novartis by saying it had not faced much disruption in the short term to its supply chain, but was monitoring the situation and had suspended all non-critical travel to China at least until mid-February.
The company expects 2020 adjusted profit to fall by 1% to 4% at constant exchange rates after 2019 adjusted earnings rose 1% to 123.9 pence per share.
Analysts currently expect a 3.8% drop in 2020 adjusted profit, according to a consensus here estimate compiled by the company.
GSK's sales rose 11% to 8.90 billion pounds ($11.6 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, while adjusted earnings were 24.8 pence per share. Both numbers missed consensus here forecasts.
Divestment proceeds from older products should be about 1.6 billion pounds, enough to cover the cash costs of its restructuring programme, GSK said.
Pharmaceuticals sales in the fourth quarter fell 4% to 4.56 billion pounds, including HIV sales of 1.26 billion. Vaccines turnover grew 21% to 1.74 billion pounds, as sales of shingles vaccines Shingrix more than doubled.
($1 = 0.7662 pounds)
Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka, Ankur Banerjee and Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Bernard Orr and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ce63b17bc2cdc34bee01c017af86897b | https://www.reuters.com/article/guatemala-bonds-idUSL2N17U1ZV?feedType=RSS&feedName=financialsSector | UPDATE 3-Guatemala eyes bond sale soon as this week | UPDATE 3-Guatemala eyes bond sale soon as this week
By Paul Kilby, IFR2 Min Read
(Adds investor comments)
NEW YORK, April 27 (IFR) - Guatemalan government officials have started investor calls ahead of an international bond sale as soon as Thursday, market sources told IFR on Wednesday.
Bank of America, mandated as sole lead on the trade, conducted one-on-one calls on Wednesday and will hold a global investor call at 9:00am New York time on Thursday.
Leads have yet to discuss pricing on the deal, but the sovereign is considering tenors of anywhere between 10 and 30 years, Sean Newman, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco, told IFR.
Buyside accounts have expressed interest in gaining exposure to Guatemalan risk despite a bribery scandal that toppled the government last year and landed the former president in jail.
“The Guatemalan story has been punctuated by a history of prudent macroeconomic policies and the finance minister didn’t indicate any departure from that track record,” said Newman, who participated in one of the calls on Wednesday.
Ricardo Adrogue, head of emerging market debt at Babson Capital, echoed such sentiments.
“The country has been doing well,” he told IFR. “It has low tax collection over GDP, which is a small negative, but we will be taking a close look [at the deal].”
Guatemala has congressional approval to go ahead with the new issue, which is expected to be around US$500m in size, Rosa Maria Ortega, the country’s director of public credit, told IFR at the IDB meetings earlier this month.
Guatemala, rated Ba1/BB/BB, last tapped the international bond markets in February 2013, when it raised US$700m through a rare 15-year bond that priced at a yield of 5%. HSBC acted as lead manager on that occasion.
Those bonds were trading on Wednesday at 102.05-103.05 to yield around 4.60%. (Reporting by Paul Kilby; Editing by Marc Carnegie and Davide Scigliuzzo)
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053ee562afab01ea1694f0c2dd4f8d4f | https://www.reuters.com/article/guinea-election-idINKBN2780EG?edition-redirect=in | Guinea President Conde wins re-election in landslide - preliminary results | Guinea President Conde wins re-election in landslide - preliminary results
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Guinea's outgoing president and presidential candidate Alpha Conde, leader of Rally for the People of Guinea (RPG) waves to supporters as he attends his closing campaign rally ahead of the presidential election in Conakre, Guinea October 16, 2020. REUTERS/ Sadak Souici/Files
CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea’s President Alpha Conde has won a landslide re-election victory, giving him a third term in office after official results from 37 of 38 voting districts showed him with double the votes of his nearest rival on Thursday evening.
Conde, 82, has received 2.4 million votes so far, versus 1.26 million for opposition candidate, Cellou Dalein Diallo, following a bitterly fought election that has sparked deadly street violence.
At least 13 people are reported to have been killed in skirmishes since Sunday’s polls, in which Diallo has claimed victory based on his campaign’s tallies.
Conde’s decision to run for a third five-year term has sparked repeated protests over the past year, resulting in dozens of deaths. He says a constitutional referendum in March reset his two-term limit; his opponents say he is breaking the law by holding onto power.
Reporting By Bate Felix and Saliou Samb; Writing by Edward McAllisterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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44c06cf1767c2d95c3a5a2d91522daaf | https://www.reuters.com/article/guinea-election-orange-idINL8N2HG0YH?edition-redirect=in | France's Orange says Guinea network suffered cuts without prior warning | France's Orange says Guinea network suffered cuts without prior warning
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
DAKAR, Oct 25 (Reuters) - French telecoms operator Orange said on Sunday its subsidiary in Guinea has suffered cuts to outgoing international communications links over the past 72 hours, without prior warning.
Orange said the service interruption at the level of Guilab, a telecoms infrastructure company that manages the West African nation’s connection to a high speed submarine communication cable, affected voice calls, roaming and internet services.
Internet and phone calls have been severely disrupted in Guinea after preliminary results of the hotly contested Oct. 18 presidential election showed that incumbent President Alpha Conde had won a disputed third term, sparking violent unrest. At least 20 people have been killed since the vote.
Guinea’s government, which holds a majority stake in Guilab, has cut internet access in the past during times of unrest.
A spokesman for the government could not be reached for comment.
Orange said in the statement late on Sunday that international voice calls and roaming services were re-established on Saturday evening.
It said it was surprised the cuts only affected Orange’s links. The company did not receive any notification of non-compliance with its obligations or a breach of Guinea’s laws, it said.
Orange is one of the main telecoms operators in Guinea’s mobile telecoms market that also includes South Africa’s MTN and Cellcom. (Reporting by Bate Felix; editing by Richard Pullin)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d9cc3b72bd18f8242863740693b5abff | https://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-bonds/update-1-gulf-sovereign-bonds-rally-on-oil-price-recovery-idINL8N2D239O?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 1-Gulf sovereign bonds rally on oil price recovery | UPDATE 1-Gulf sovereign bonds rally on oil price recovery
By Yousef Saba2 Min Read
(Adds research note)
DUBAI, May 20 (Reuters) - Gulf sovereign bonds rallied on Wednesday, particularly those with longer maturities, boosted by a recovery in oil prices over the past month as demand improved.
Saudi dollar bonds maturing in 2060 gained 2.3 cents to trade at 109.7 cents on the dollar. Abu Dhabi bonds due in 2050 were up 1.4 cents to trade at 112.8 cents on the dollar, Refinitiv data showed. Qatari government bonds also rallied, while Omani and Bahraini notes saw small changes.
Three fund managers said the recovery in oil prices helped lift the hydrocarbon-dependent region’s debt markets, which also posted strong gains on Monday on the back of a global markets rally.
Brent crude traded at $35.16 a barrel on Wednesday, up from $29.19 a week ago and a low of $19.33 on April 21.
“Look at the performance of Oman exposure this month,” a fund manager said. “High beta play on oil.”
Oman, among the weakest credits in the region, saw the yield on its 30-year bonds due in 2048 fall to 8.8% on Wednesday from 10.4% a month ago. The yield on those notes peaked at 12.1% in March.
The fund manager added that the Gulf debt market was supported by Asian investors, on the back of an issuance by Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in which it sold $3 billion in bonds through a tap of existing three-tranche dollar bonds that it sold last month.
Kuwait-based KAMCO Investment said in a research note on Wednesday that it expects bond issuances from the Gulf this year to “far surpass” last year’s as the region faces widening deficits due to lower oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Gulf has almost $40 billion in bond maturities this year, it said. (Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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32de713efb59d6a273d237a086f12978 | https://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-currency-idUSL8N1J80HF | Dollar shortages hit Qatar exchange houses as foreign banks scale back ties | Dollar shortages hit Qatar exchange houses as foreign banks scale back ties
By 6 Min Read
* Shipments of dollar cash into Qatar disrupted
* UAE banks absent from Qatar markets after blacklist
* Some Western banks continue business, others halt new deals
* Share prices of five listed Qatari banks fall
* Interbank money rates rise near central bank repo rate
By Tom Finn, Tom Arnold and Stanley Carvalho
DOHA/DUBAI/ABU DHABI, June 11 (Reuters) - Shortages of U.S. dollars hit money exchange houses in Qatar on Sunday, making it harder for worried foreign workers to send money home, as foreign banks scaled back business with Qatari institutions because of the region’s diplomatic crisis.
“We have no dollars because there is no shipment or transportation from the United Arab Emirates. There is no stock,” said a dealer at the Qatar-UAE Exchange House in Doha’s City Center mall. “The shipment is blocked from the UAE.”
Several other exchange houses in Doha also told Reuters they had no supplies of dollars. At Qatar-UAE Exchange, dozens of people - some of the foreigners who comprise nearly 90 percent of the population of 2.6 million - waited quietly in line to change money or make remittances to their home countries.
“I spoke with my wife this morning. She said, ‘Send your savings to me now.’ I am not panicked but my family are scared,” said John Vincent, an air-conditioning repairman from the Philippines.
“I sent 2,000 riyals ($550) home but I have some more savings left here in Qatar. I will see what the situation is in coming days before I decide what to do.”
The dollar shortages do not mean Qatar, which is one of the richest states in the world per capita and has huge foreign reserves, is running out of money. But they show how the diplomatic crisis is disrupting parts of the financial system.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahraini and Egyptian banks began scaling back business with Qatar last week after their governments cut diplomatic and transport ties, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.
Then at the weekend, the UAE told its banks to exercise “enhanced due diligence” towards six Qatari banks which, it alleged, might have done business with people or entities on a terrorism blacklist.
That stopped short of a complete ban on business with Qatar but the effect may turn out to be much the same. UAE banks were absent from Qatar’s foreign exchange and money markets on Sunday, causing both those markets to slow down, because they feared any deals could expose them to legal risk, bankers said.
Some Western banks with a presence in Qatar continued business as normal, partly because they did not want to lose out on billions of dollars of building projects which Qatar plans before it hosts the soccer World Cup in 2022.
But other Western banks have halted new Qatar business including interbank and syndicated lending, while continuing to service existing business, banking sources said, declining to be named because of political sensitivities.
“Everybody is shocked - they’re not worried about Qatar’s credit, they’re worried about compliance and the risk that the local sanctions could be escalated to an international level,” said one foreign banker in the region.
DOLLARS
Exchange house dealers in Qatar said the dollar shortage was partly a seasonal phenomenon, because the Gulf’s hot summer and the holy month of Ramadan had begun, periods when there was traditionally high demand for travel abroad.
Sudhir Kumar Shetty, president of UAE Exchange, which has eight branches in Qatar, said his firm was continuing to handle remittances and currency buying as usual in that country. He said the firm hadn’t seen any major change in remittance volumes due to the diplomatic tension.
But he added that dollar supply was not meeting demand in Qatar and attributed this partly to flows of the U.S. currency from other Gulf countries being disrupted.
“Everywhere, all the banks and exchange houses, there are no dollars. All the exchange houses are trying to get currencies from other countries,” the dealer at Qatar-UAE Exchange said, adding that his firm was hoping for a shipment from Hong Kong.
The six Qatari banks named by the UAE - Qatar National Bank (QNB), Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Doha Bank and unlisted Barwa Bank IPO-BABK.QA - did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The share prices of all five of the listed banks fell on Sunday, with QNB losing 0.5 percent, as investors reacted to the prospect of the banks facing funding difficulties because of reduced ability to borrow from foreign institutions.
Qatari banks have around 60 billion riyals ($16.5 billion) in funding in the form of customer and interbank deposits from other Gulf states, SICO Bahrain estimated. Most of this could eventually be withdrawn if the crisis continues.
Bankers expect Qatari banks to borrow from the central bank’s repo facility if they become short of funds. The repo rate is currently at 2.25 percent and the cost of borrowing three-month money among Qatari banks rose near that level on Sunday, to 2.20 percent, the highest in many years.
Central bank rules limit the size of the repos to 2 percent of each bank’s private sector deposits. Bankers speculate the central bank may lift this cap; the central bank did not respond to requests for comment. (Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Writing by Andrew Torchia, editing by David Evans)
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2702f0e83a1e55b638f097532bb3ab8d | https://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-helium-idUSL8N1JA4A6 | Qatar closes helium plants amid rift with Arab powers | Qatar closes helium plants amid rift with Arab powers
By Tom Finn, Stephen Kalin2 Min Read
DOHA/DUBAI, June 13 (Reuters) - Qatar, the world’s second largest helium producer, has closed its two helium production plants because of the economic boycott imposed on it by other Arab states, industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The helium plants operated by RasGas, a subsidiary of state-owned Qatar Petroleum, were shut because Saudi Arabia closed its border with Qatar, blocking overland exports of the gas, a Qatar Petroleum official told Reuters.
The official declined to be named under briefing rules. Phil Kornbluth, head of U.S.-based industry consultants Kornbluth Helium Consulting said his sources had confirmed the closure.
The two plants have a combined annual production capacity of approximately 2 billion standard cubic feet of liquid helium and can meet about 25 percent of total world demand for the gas, according to RasGas’ website.
Among its uses, helium is used to cool superconducting magnets in medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, as a lifting gas in balloons and airships, as a gas to breathe in deep-sea diving and to keep satellite instruments cool. It is derived from natural gas during processing.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge which Doha denies. (Editing by Andrew Torchia, editing by David Evans)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e4f26836c96ebaf314f73a432a3417db | https://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-lng-usa-idUSL8N1J52ZT | Shell diverts U.S. LNG cargo to Dubai after Qatar diplomatic row | Shell diverts U.S. LNG cargo to Dubai after Qatar diplomatic row
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has sent a replacement cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to Dubai, shipping data shows, after a diplomatic row disrupted typical trade routes from Qatar.
Shell has a deal to supply the Dubai Supply Authority (DUSUP) with LNG which it typically sources from Qatar because of its proximity.
But bans on Qatari vessels entering ports in the United Arab Emirates, imposed after top Arab powers severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar on Monday, meant it had to source the LNG from elsewhere.
The Maran Gas Amphipolis tanker, carrying around 163,500 cubic metres of LNG produced in the United States, was initially headed toward Kuwait’s port of Mina Al-Ahmadi but made a U-turn on Wednesday to head for Dubai’s port of Jebel Ali.
The tanker is currently unloading at DUSUP’s floating import terminal at Jebel Ali, data showed. (Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by Jason Neely)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e71c0fd6a9dd26ff92b9d33582a9bf67 | https://www.reuters.com/article/gulfport-energy-sharebuybacks-firefly-idINL2N2811EQ?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 1-Hedge fund Firefly hits out at Gulfport Energy's plans, demands board seat | UPDATE 1-Hedge fund Firefly hits out at Gulfport Energy's plans, demands board seat
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss, David French3 Min Read
(Adds Gulfport response in paras 7 and 8)
NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Firefly Value Partners on Thursday asked Gulfport Energy for a seat on its board and criticized the “half-measures” which the U.S. gas exploration and production company is taking to improve its financial performance.
On Monday, Oklahoma City-based Gulfport announced job cuts, board changes and an end to its share buyback program to focus on debt repurchases, to help reverse a more than 65% slide in its share price over the last 12 months.
But Monday’s proposals failed to captivate investors who pushed the stock down further.
By Thursday, the New York-based hedge fund fired off a letter to the board in which it blamed the current directors for the company’s failures and said these people could not be entrusted to “clean up the mess they have made.”
“That is why we are asking that the board immediately fill one of the new director vacancies with a Firefly principal as a shareholder representative,” the letter said.
Gulfport had said on Monday that Chairman David Houston would not stand for reelection next year, while two other directors - Craig Groeschel and Scott Streller - would step down from Gulfport’s board by the end of this year.
Responding to Firefly’s letter, a Gulfport spokesperson said its announced changes reflected the collective input from a number of large stakeholders in the business.
“While we disagree with Firefly’s demands for additional share repurchases at this time, we have repeatedly invited them to provide criteria and/or resumes for qualified new director candidates, which they have declined to do.”
The standoff between Gulfport and Firefly has been dragging on for nearly a year, ever since the two sides started private negotiations late last year.
In January, there was a brief public skirmish when Firefly pushed for a share buyback to boost the share price, with Gulfport announcing soon after a repurchase program - albeit smaller than requested by the hedge fund.
Firefly said in March it would not challenge the company after the buyback announcement and, until this week, things had been quiet. Now, Firefly insists nothing has been done to satisfy the need for a shareholder perspective in the boardroom.
“In the middle of our most recent private discussions, instead of engaging with us in good faith to add true shareholder representation and necessary skills to the board, the company rushed out a press release with vague commitments on board refreshment,” Firefly’s letter said. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and David French; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7c2dec9fd5971b0574be88dd1b674a10 | https://www.reuters.com/article/gunvor-grp-vietnam-idUKKBN28I25M?edition-redirect=uk | Oil trader Gunvor enters deal to supply LNG to Vietnam | Oil trader Gunvor enters deal to supply LNG to Vietnam
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
(Reuters) - Oil trading giant Gunvor International said on Tuesday it would enter an alliance to trade and ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Vietnam, as part of a joint venture with U.S.-based development company Energy Capital Vietnam (ECV).
Gunvor will supply the super chilled fuel to an ECV-led project in Vietnam's Binh Thuan Province, where it will be converted to power. The companies expect initial LNG consumption to amount to about 1.5 million tons per year, they said in a statement here.
The multi-phase power project will connect via a subsea pipeline to an offshore floating storage and regasification unit to import LNG.
The final investment decision on the project’s first phase is targeted to be in late 2021, with commercial operational delivery expected by 2025.
Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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52648c33169d15d245ef0203d3f80156 | https://www.reuters.com/article/guoxuan-electric-idUKL4N2HD0ZL?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 1-VW-backed EV battery maker Guoxuan eyes 100 GWh capacity by 2025 | UPDATE 1-VW-backed EV battery maker Guoxuan eyes 100 GWh capacity by 2025
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
(Adds share price move, background)
XIAN, China/SHANGHAI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery maker Guoxuan High-tech Co Ltd, which is backed by German automaker Volkswagen AG, plans to have annual battery manufacturing capacity of 100 GWh by 2025, an official said on Thursday.
The Hefei-based company will have annual battery building capacity of 28 GWh this year, Huang Zhangxi, a senior official at Guoxuan told an industry conference, adding it was also considering setting up production bases in Germany and the United States.
Shares of Guoxuan, which supplies automakers from Volkswagen to General Motors, jumped over 7% after Reuters reported the plan.
Chinese battery makers from CATL to Great Wall-linked SVOLT are also building or planning global production bases.
Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Aditya SoniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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