By Shariq Khan and Maiya Keidan (Reuters) – Low interest rates, and strong debt and equity markets that propelled Canadian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to an all-time high in 2021 would underpin robust dealmaking this year too, M&A bankers said, though another record was unlikely. Pent-up demand for dealmaking from 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic…
By Tim McLaughlin (Reuters) – A deadly form of soot pollution from U.S. refineries has gone unregulated for decades because of a dispute between the U.S. oil industry and federal environmental officials over how to measure it, according to documents from the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed by Reuters. The delay in addressing so-called condensable fine…
(Reuters) – Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc on Thursday posted a profit for the first quarter versus a year-ago loss, as strong demand for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing buoyed sales at its pharmacy stores. Net income attributable to Walgreens was $3.58 billion, or $4.13 per share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared to a loss…
(Reuters) -China’s copyright authority said on Thursday digital music platforms are not allowed to sign exclusive copyright agreements except in special circumstances, amid a regulatory crackdown on monopolistic behaviour in the country’s private sector. The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) gave the order on Thursday at a meeting in Beijing with influential digital music…
By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday, extending a rally from the previous session, on escalating unrest in OPEC+ oil producer Kazakhstan and supply outages in Libya. The global benchmark Brent crude futures rose $1.09, or 1.4%, to $81.89 a barrel, by 1054 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures…
By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Stock markets were deep in the red and some key government bond yields climbed to their highest in years on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled the possibility of faster-than-expected U.S. rate hikes and stimulus withdrawal. Both Asia and Europe’s bourses fell heavily after Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged…
By Saikat Chatterjee LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar resumed its climb towards a recent 14-month high on Wednesday as minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting fuelled expectations of a U.S. rate increase as early as March. The Fed’s December meeting minutes showed officials had discussed shrinking the U.S. central bank’s overall asset…
By Mathieu Rosemain PARIS (Reuters) -France’s data privacy watchdog CNIL said on Thursday it had fined Alphabet’s Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms’ Facebook was also fined 60 million euros for the same reason, the CNIL said….
By Toby Sterling AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A group of institutional investors representing $3.5 trillion in assets under management on Thursday called on pharmaceutical companies to link their executives’ pay to making COVID-19 vaccines available around the globe. While the majority of citizens of wealthy nations are vaccinated and many are now receiving booster shots, across…
By Florence Tan and Naveen Thukral SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices lost ground on Thursday, falling from their highest levels in more than a month after U.S. fuel stockpiles surged amid declining demand. The global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 63 cents, or 0.8%, to $80.17 a barrel, as of 0727 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate…
