Lockheed Martin taps strong defense demand to beat results estimates

By Mike Stone and Shivansh Tiwary (Reuters) -U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin Corp’s first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street targets on Tuesday despite parts and labor shortages, as simmering geopolitical tensions fueled demand from both U.S. and international customers. Shares of the company rose as much as 3.8% to hit a record high of $508.1 in…

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GSK bets $2 billion on Bellus cough drug to soothe pipeline fears

By Natalie Grover and Aby Jose Koilparambil (Reuters) -GSK plans to buy Canada-based drug developer Bellus Health Inc in an all-cash deal for $2 billion as the British drugmaker expands its bet on respiratory therapies. The move to replenish its pipeline comes as GSK investors fret about whether there is enough in the medicine cabinet…

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UK regulator probes Amazon’s planned purchase of iRobot

(Reuters) -Britain’s competition regulator said on Tuesday it has launched a “Phase 1” probe into Amazon.com Inc’s planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot Corp, which makes the Roomba vacuum cleaner. The probe launch by the UK watchdog comes at a time antitrust regulators, including those in the U.S. and the European Union, have become increasingly…

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EU may struggle to catch up with U.S., Asia in chips subsidies race

By Foo Yun Chee and Supantha Mukherjee BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The European Union agreed a 43-billion-euro ($47 billion) chip subsidies plan on Tuesday but the relatively modest budget, lack of a domestic market for cutting-edge chips and red tape could hamper efforts to catch up with the United States and Asia. The size of subsidies…

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Teck’s base metals business attracts offers from Freeport, Vale, Anglo – sources

By Mrinmay Dey (Reuters) -Teck Resources Ltd has been approached by Vale SA, Anglo American Plc and Freeport-McMoRan Inc among others to explore deals for its base metals business if the Canadian copper miner goes ahead with a planned split, sources close to the matter told Reuters on Sunday. The approaches from more than six…

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Russia summons Western diplomats over ‘meddling’ in dissident’s case

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S., British and Canadian ambassadors for a dressing down on Tuesday after they condemned the conviction of an opposition politician on treason charges. A Moscow court jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza – who holds Russian and British passports – for 25 years on Monday after…

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Microsoft developing its own AI chip – The Information

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp is developing its own artificial intelligence chip code-named “Athena” that will power the technology behind AI chatbots like ChatGPT, the Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The company, which was an early backer of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, has been working on the chip since 2019 and it…

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US Single-family Housing Starts Rise Further; Building Permits Surge

US Single-family Housing Starts Rise Further; Building Permits Surge

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. single-family homebuilding increased for a second straight month in March, while permits for future construction surged, offering some glimmers of hope for the depressed housing market ahead of the busy spring selling season. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, rose 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted…

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