By Simon Jessop LONDON (Reuters) – The majority of Britain’s top companies now have at least one ethnic minority board member, the government-backed Parker Review committee, set up to improve the diversity of UK boards, said on Wednesday. Improving boardroom diversity has become a hot topic for policymakers and investors in recent years, as many…
Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is returning to lead the company on an interim basis after the coffee giant’s current chief executive announced his retirement. Kevin Johnson said he will retire next month after five years as president and CEO and 13 years at Starbucks. Johnson, a former executive at Microsoft and Juniper Networks, succeeded…
(Reuters) – Drugmaker Merck and Co said on Wednesday it would supply life-saving medicines and vaccines to Russia, but not make further investments in the country. The company does not have any research or production facilities in Russia, a company’s spokesperson said. (Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
LONDON (AP) — Nickel trading in London was suspended Wednesday shortly after it resumed following a weeklong halt as the exchange investigated a glitch. The London Metal Exchange said it had to pause trading to investigate a “system error” that let the price fall below a lower daily limit. The exchange brought in daily price…
(Reuters) – Global drugmakers condemned on Wednesday an initiative by four World Trade Organization members to introduce an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, saying it could undermine the industry’s ability to respond to health crises in future. The United States, the European Union, India and South Africa reached consensus on Tuesday on key elements…
Ratings agencies say Russia is on the verge of defaulting on government bonds following its invasion of Ukraine, with billions of dollars owed to foreigners. That prospect recalls memories of a 1998 default by Moscow that helped fuel financial disruption worldwide. Ratings agency Fitch said Wednesday that “a default or a default-like process has begun”…
By Francesco Canepa and Jesús Aguado FRANKFURT/MADRID (Reuters) – European Union regulators have told some banks to scrutinise transactions by all Russian and Belarusian clients, including EU residents, to ensure that they are not used to circumvent Western sanctions against Moscow, three sources told Reuters. The instructions from European Central Bank (ECB) supervisors mean tens…
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sarah Bloom Raskin’s decision Tuesday to withdraw her nomination as the Federal Reserve’s Wall Street cop further delays rule changes that have been in limbo since Randal Quarles stepped down as vice chair for supervision in October. A Fed controlled by Democrats will pursue the same broad agenda regardless…
By Pratima Desai, Zandi Shabalala and Eric Onstad LONDON (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange (LME) halted nickel trading on its electronic system shortly after it reopened on Wednesday after technical issues allowed a small number of trades to be executed below the new daily price limit. The nickel market was suspended on March 8…
BERLIN (Reuters) – German carmaker Volkswagen said on Wednesday that deliveries of its core brand dropped by 8% to 4.9 million vehicles last year, and it was reluctant to make forecasts for 2022. While the brand announced an increase in operating profit, sales and returns for 2021, it was much less specific than the group,…
