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Euro News Today, Great Britain, Cardiff (2024)

12/12/2022

The 30-year deal, announced Monday, marks internet pioneer Yahoo's big bet on digital advertising as industry giants from Alphabet-owned Google to Meta Platforms Inc grapple with an inflation-driven slump in ad spending.

The Yahoo-Taboola partnership is expected to bring in $1 billion in annual revenue. Yahoo will also get a seat on Taboola's board of directors.

Yahoo, owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, has nearly 900 million monthly active users thanks to a collection of sites such as Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports and TechCrunch.

Taboola, whose shares are up 60% on the news, links to advertiser-sponsored articles known as native ads on many websites such as CNBC and NBC News.

Under the terms of the deal, Taboola will have exclusive rights to sell native ads on Yahoo's sites.

The advertising company expects the agreement to boost its revenue and operating profit.

The deal, approved by the companies' boards of directors, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

12/12/2022

Asset management division of the Australian company Macquarie Group Ltd. has completed its second series fundraising for its Super Core Infrastructure Fund. The fund has received commitments from investors including insurers, sovereign wealth funds and family offices from 22 countries.

“Grid infrastructure is at the heart of our daily lives and will play a central role in the clean energy transition,” said Martin Bradley, Head of Europe and the Middle East, Macquarie Asset Management.

Macquarie is actively buying network infrastructure and has already invested heavily from its core fund. Over the past 18 months, an agreement has been reached to buy a 60% stake in National Grid Plc's gas transmission business in a £9.6bn deal, acquire the German Thyssengas network and acquire Greek distributor Hellenic Electricity.

“We look forward to working closely with our portfolio companies and clients to proactively manage the fund's existing investments while driving a strong stream of new opportunities,” Bradley said.

Infrastructure investors are attracted to network assets such as electricity grids and gas transmission systems because of their ability to generate stable long-term returns.

11/12/2022

Italy's second-largest bank, UniCredit, bought back €1 billion worth of its own shares, fulfilling its plans for the current year.

UniCredit received supervisory approval for a second buyback in September, when the European Central Bank (ECB) deemed its capital reserves strong enough to weather the contraction as Europe's economy heads into recession.

Since then, the economic outlook has deteriorated and the ECB has stepped up scrutiny of banks' payment plans to ensure they properly factor in recession risks.

The latest share buyback of UniCredit, which represents 4.3% of its capital, will reduce the number of its shares, thereby boosting earnings per share.

The bank did this maneuver for the second time, the first buyback in the amount of 7.4% of the capital took place at the beginning of the year.

The bank's CEO, Andrea Orsel, has turned down a possible takeover of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which would help boost UniCredit's domestic market share. Instead, he bet on capital allocation to drive up the bank's share price.

11/12/2022

Genting Bhd, a major casino operator, plans to sell some of its Miami real estate and hopes to raise more than $1 billion for it to focus on other investment opportunities such as New York.

The 16-acre (6.5 ha) site that once housed the Miami Herald newspaper is one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land along the city's waterfront. Located on Biscayne Bay, across the street from Miami Beach, this hotel is close to arts and entertainment venues.

“Over the coming months, we will be pooling our resources to open a full-fledged commercial casino in New York and expand our already huge business in Las Vegas,” said Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East.

Genting, which owns casino resorts in Malaysia, Singapore and the United States, purchased real estate in Florida and some properties nearby for about $236 million in 2011.

Genting plans to open a $100 million arcade parlor in Newburgh, New York, next month.

10/12/2022

Octopus Energy Group announces the acquisition of UK-based solar energy developer Zestec Renewable Energy.

Zestec is developing over 160MW of new solar energy supply in the UK to be sold to solar panel hosts through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). This will enable small and medium enterprises, public sector organizations such as schools and local governments, and large corporations to benefit from self-generated green energy.

Through a fund managed by Octopus Energy Generation, more than 100 facilities from 100 kW to 7 MW will be built by 2027. The clean energy generated will help reduce gas dependency and emissions, and is equivalent to taking 40,000 gasoline cars off the road.

Octopus is one of the largest renewable energy investors in Europe and has been investing in solar energy since 2010. The deal builds on Octopus' existing partnership with Zestec. The acquisition of Zestec will increase the solar assets operated by Octopus by 11%.

The CEO of Octopus Energy Generation said: “There is a significant untapped opportunity in the UK to produce cheaper green energy from the rooftops of businesses. This space is growing rapidly and will help improve energy security and reduce energy bills, while also allowing companies to reduce their carbon footprint.”

10/12/2022

Corteva said the Stoller acquisition reinforces its commitment to providing farmers with biological tools that complement new farming practices and help them meet changing market expectations.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approval.

Corteva CEO Chuck Magro noted that biologics provide farmers with environmentally friendly tools that complement traditional plant protection. Together, they contribute to addressing global challenges related to food security and climate change. Stoller is a leader in the biologics industry, given its commercial footprint and market expansion potential, providing attractive growth and operating margins.

According to experts' forecasts, the biopreparations market will annually grow at a high rate until 2035, covering in the future about 25% of the total market for plant protection products.

Corteva Agriscience is a publicly traded, global, all-agriculture company providing farmers around the world with the most comprehensive portfolio in the industry, including a balanced and diverse selection of seeds, crop protection products, and digital solutions focused on maximizing productivity to improve yields and profitability.

09/12/2022

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, along with an investment company run by the former chief executive officer of Barclays PLC, will become investors in the new investment bank Credit Suisse.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the prince is considering investing about $500 million in CS First Boston. Credit Suisse has received more offers from investors interested in its new business.

Credit Suisse has received commitments from other firms in addition to a pledged $500 million investment, according to the chairman of the Swiss bank's board of directors.

Credit Suisse is spinning off the New York-based bank as a separate business as part of a reorganization following multiple scandals, regulatory scrutiny and massive losses.

09/12/2022

Harsha Shetty, chief executive officer of Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel LLC, said the company has the necessary permits to allocate land for the project, which can process 5 million tons of steel per year. Construction of the plant in Duqma, Oman, should be completed by 2026, he said.

As more and more consumers strive to achieve zero emissions, steelmakers around the world are investing heavily in decarbonizing their operations. It is widely believed that green hydrogen, produced using water and renewable electricity, will play a critical role in decarbonizing heavy industry.

At the same time, rising energy prices for markets such as Europe have affected production volumes and forced a focus on alternative sources for the sector.

About 30-40% of the output from the new Jindal Shadeed plant will be consumed in Oman and other GCC countries, with the remainder exported to meet the growing demand for green steel in global markets, Shetty said. The plant will service cars, wind turbines and consumer goods in Europe, Japan and other countries, he said.

08/12/2022

Commodity trader Trafigura Group has secured a $3 billion loan from the German government for gas supplies as Berlin ramps up efforts to protect natural resources following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Trafigura made the first delivery on 1 November.

This is the second deal of its kind in recent months, after Trafigura announced in October that it had received an $800 million loan to supply metals to Germany. Governments, historically major buyers of Russian energy, grains and metals, are increasingly turning to trading companies to find alternatives in international markets.

Germany has had to rethink its energy policy as the war in Ukraine forced it to end its long-standing dependence on cheap Russian gas.

The country is increasingly concerned about the supply of critical materials, such as metals, that underpin the technologies needed to move away from fossil fuels. The government is considering setting up a state fund to look for alternative suppliers to China.

Germany offers support to commodity traders through a program known as unrelated loan guarantees, administered through Euler Hermes AG, an export credit arm now part of Allianz SE.

For trading houses like Trafigura, deals are a key means of obtaining funding at a time when high commodity prices and extreme volatility have increased their need for credit and made some banks reluctant to expand their positions in the sector.

The loan means that Trafigura is committed to supplying "significant volumes of gas to the European gas network and ultimately to Germany over the next four years," the statement said. Trafigura will supply gas to SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, a former subsidiary of PJSC Gazprom, which was recently nationalized by the German government.

08/12/2022

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned that pension funds and other "non-banking" financial companies currently have more than $80 trillion in hidden off-balance sheet dollar debt in the form of currency swaps.

Having repeatedly urged central banks to take decisive action to curb inflation, this time the BIS has adopted a more measured tone.

Currency swap markets, where, for example, a Dutch pension fund or a Japanese insurance company borrows in dollars and lends in euros or yen at the spot stage and then repays them, have a number of problems.

They faced funding cuts both during the global financial crisis and again in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed chaos that required leading central banks like the US Federal Reserve to intervene with dollar swap lines.

According to the BIS, an estimate of more than $80 trillion in "hidden" debt exceeds the combined holdings of dollar Treasury bills and commercial paper, while transactions in April were almost $5 trillion a day, two-thirds of the world's daily foreign exchange turnover.

07/12/2022

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain faces widespread industrial unrest in the run up to the Christmas holiday and into January as workers struggling with double-digit inflation resort to strike action to demand better pay and working conditions.

Below are some of the industries in which labour unions have undertaken or threatened strikes, echoing actions across Europe:

RAILWAYS

Large sections of Britain's rail network have been repeatedly brought to a standstill over recent months.

Tens of thousands of railway workers will stage further strikes before and after Christmas in a dispute over pay and conditions. Commuters are bracing for severe travel disruption over the festive period.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has said more than 40,000 rail workers will walkout on Dec. 13-14, 16-17, 24-27, Jan. 3-4 and 6-7 after failing to reach agreement with train operators.

Train drivers working for London Overground suspended strike action planned for Nov. 26 following a pay offer made to members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) union which will now be voted on.

Another union, The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said further industrial action had been scheduled for December in a dispute over pay, job security and conditions, with strikes at Avanti West Coast on Dec. 13, 14, 16 and 17.

RMT members working as cleaners throughout the transport network have also voted to strike.

HOSPITALS

Britain's state-run National Health Service (NHS) faces unprecedented industrial action from staff still dealing with the aftermath of the hit to services from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a record 7 million patients on waiting lists for hospital treatment.

Thousands of British nurses will go on strike on Dec. 15 and Dec. 20 after the government refused to meet their pay demands, the Royal College of Nursing union said.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors, said its junior doctor members would ballot for industrial action in early January after the government failed to meet their pay demands.

It has also said other groups of doctors it represents will consider their next steps, warning it is "on a collision course with the government".

EMERGENCY SERVICES

More than 10,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales will strike on Dec. 21 and 28 in a dispute over pay and working conditions, the GMB union said.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff at nine regional ambulance services are set to walk out.

Two other trade unions, Unison and Unite, also announced that ambulance workers who are their members would strike on Dec. 21 over a pay dispute.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has begun balloting firefighters and control staff on potential strike action after a 5% pay offer. The vote closes on Jan. 30, the union said.

TEACHERS

Teachers across Scotland have carried out strike action for the first time in almost 40 years after talks on a pay deal broke down.

Members of Scotland’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), walked out of classrooms on Nov. 24 and the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) has also announced two days of strike action on Dec. 7 and 8 over an ongoing pay dispute.

Hundred of thousands of teachers and education staff in England and Wales began voting in October on whether to carry out strike action in a dispute over pay and funding. The ballot closes in January.

The NASUWT union said it was balloting its roughly 162,000 members working in schools and colleges on industrial action in England and Wales for the first time since 2011.

POSTAL SERVICES

British postal workers at the century's-old post and parcel company Royal Mail (LON:IDSI) have held several rounds of strikes this year in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

The latest round of walkouts by members of the Communications and Workers Union (CWU) over 10 days in late November and throughout December was expected to disrupt Black Friday and pre-Christmas deliveries.

TELECOMS

Some 40,000 BT Group (LON:BT) workers, including telecoms engineers and 999 emergency call handlers, carried out a series of national strikes in October in a dispute over pay.

The CWU, which represents workers at the BT Group and its networking arm Openreach, previously held similar walkouts in July and August.

07/12/2022

Sharecast - "We continue with our relatively cautious view on European banks trading at 6.9x P/E, 0.8x TBV for 11.6% return on tangible equity in 2024E," it said.

"With our house view of a recession, JPMe provisions 13% above consensus expectations 2023-24E and historically banks underperforming when provisions increase and outperforming once provisions peak, we remain cautious.

"Our base case valuation is not expensive at 6.9x P/E 2024E; however, in our Stress scenario, we see the sector trading at average valuation of 12.7x P/E i.e. risk-reward is not as attractive assuming historic PE of 9x, in our view."

In a global context, JPM said it still prefers US money centre banks over European Banks post their underperformance in 2022.

JPM upgraded Barclays (LON:BARC) to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ and lifted the price target to 220p from 180p, saying it was its new UK banks "top pick".

It downgraded Lloyds (LON:LLOY) to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ and cut Close Brothers to ‘underweight’ from ‘neutral’, reducing the price target to 1,120p from 1,240p.

It also cut Societe Generale (EPA:SOGN) to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ and Bankinter to ‘underweight’ from ‘neutral’.

06/12/2022

U.S. stocks are seen opening in a subdued manner Tuesday, after the negative start to the week on uncertainty whether the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes.

At 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was largely flat, S&P 500 Futures traded 3 points, or 0.1% higher, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 30 points, or 0.2%.

The major averages closed sharply lower Monday after the release of stronger than expected ISM non-manufacturing PMI data, following Friday’s healthy jobs report, raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve will need to keep aggressively hiking interest rates to have the intended goal of bringing down inflation.

The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped almost 500 points, or 1.4%, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 1.9% lower.

The Fed meets next week for its last meeting of the year. Investors are still generally expecting a half-percentage point increase, a step back from the 75 basis point raises at its last four meetings, but concerns are growing that another substantial hike may be in order.

The economic data slate in the U.S. Tuesday is largely empty, with only October trade data and the latest Redbook.

Friday’s November PPI release will be of more importance, with the headline figure expected to rise 7.2% on a year-over-year basis, slowing slightly after an 8% increase the previous month.

In the corporate sector, quarterly earnings are expected from the likes of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), and Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) before the open, while Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWBI) and Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) are due after the close.

Additionally, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Monday threatened to remove news from its platform if the U.S. Congress passes a proposal aimed at making it easier for news organizations to negotiate collectively with companies like Alphabet’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook.

Crude oil prices fell Tuesday, continuing the previous session’s sharp losses as a stronger dollar on the back of Monday’s strong services sector data weighed.

Additionally, Russia's January-November oil output rose 2.2% from a year earlier, the Interfax news agency said on Tuesday, citing Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, ahead of the EU import ban and Group of Seven's $60-a-barrel price cap on seaborne Russian oil coming into force.

The American Petroleum Institute releases its weekly estimate of U.S. crude inventories later in the session, while the Energy Information Administration publishes its short-term energy outlook.

By 07:00 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.4% lower at $75.89 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 1.2% to $82.67.

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,788.55/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher to 1.0512.

06/12/2022

The last remaining U.S. Senate contests will be decided in Georgia, while President Joe Biden is set to announce he'll run for re-election in 2024. China announces the relaxation of more COVID-19 measures. Stocks are still under the weather after a surprisingly strong services PMI on Monday, Pepsi is reportedly laying off hundreds of people, and oil prices hit their lowest in a week ahead of U.S. inventory data later. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, 6th December.

1. Georgia runoff to round off U.S. midterms; Biden expected to run for re-election

The final U.S. Senate seat, still up for grabs, will be decided in a runoff between Democrat Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, the former NFL star Herschel Walker.

While the Democrats have already secured effective control of the Senate, a victory for Warnock would cement that control and deliver a further setback to the caucus of Republicans who still hope to bring back Donald Trump as president in 2024. Walker owed his nomination as GOP candidate largely to Trump, but the former president has distanced himself in recent days, apparently wary of being too closely associated with a campaign that polls suggest will end in defeat.

Trump’s opponent in 2020, Joe Biden, is meanwhile set to announce he’ll run for re-election in 2024, according to comments from his chief of staff, Ron Klain. Biden, 80, is already the oldest president in the U.S.'s history.

2. China relaxes more COVID rules, but market rally pauses

Beijing moved further away from its Zero-COVID policy, relaxing more regulations on quarantining and testing.

Authorities in the Chinese capital said negative tests would no longer be required to enter various public venues, although they will remain a requirement for restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. That follows a pattern set by other major cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen and comes as a wave of outbreaks at the start of winter starts to recede. Official case numbers are now down by one-third from their peak in late November.

The rally in Chinese stocks and the yuan nevertheless paused for a breather.

3. Stocks still reeling from ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI; Pepsi layoffs eyed

U.S. stocks are set to open mixed later, still under pressure from a stronger-than-expected non-manufacturing PMI from the ISM on Monday that reminded investors of the likelihood of further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Interest rate futures now project a ‘terminal’ rate for fed funds above 5%.

By 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT), Dow Jones futures were effectively flat, as were S&P 500 futures. Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 0.2%. All three of the major cash indices had fallen by between 1.4% and 1.9% on Monday.

Stocks likely to be in focus later include PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), after The Wall Street Journal reported that it is set to lay off hundreds of people in North America, largely from its snacks and drinks business. The news is surprising in as much as PepsiCo was prominent among the companies that had been able to expand its profit margins in the third quarter, setting it apart from cash-squeezed tech companies that had grabbed most of the layoff headlines.

Trade data for October dominates an otherwise thin economic calendar.

4. Russian tankers trapped by G7 price cap

A line of Russian oil tankers formed at the Bosporus Strait, as Turkish authorities indicated they will enforce the G7 price cap on Russian crude exports.

The tankers had been unable to provide the marine insurance certification required for passing through the busy straits, which are the gateway to world markets for oil coming out of Russia’s Black Sea ports. Under the mechanism, EU companies are banned from insuring any Russian oil cargo bought for more than $60 a barrel.

The EU and U.S. drew up the mechanism to restrict the flow of petrodollars to finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. It came into force on a day when Ukraine demonstrated that it could hit military targets deep inside Russia with drones, aiming to relieve the pressure of repeated missile strikes against its energy infrastructure.

5. Oil hits lowest in a week; API inventories due

Crude oil prices fell to their lowest in a week, as the market grappled with the added layer of complexity in delivering crude arising from the G7 measures. The broader pause in the China-led risk rally also contributed to the dip.

If the bottleneck at the Bosporus lasts for any length of time, that could restrict the overall supply of crude to world markets. However, it might also lead to the diversion of more Russian oil to export points where it has to be priced more cheaply in order to attract buyers.

By 06:45 ET, U.S. crude futures were down 1.3% at $75.97 a barrel, while Brent futures were down 1.2% at $81.68 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute reports weekly inventory data at 16:30 ET.