By David Morgan and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday narrowly passed a bill to raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling that includes sweeping spending cuts over the next decade. The bill isn’t expected to pass the Senate, and President Joe Biden would veto it if it did…
By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) -European commercial real estate investment fell to its lowest in 11 years in the first quarter of 2023, MSCI Real Assets said on Thursday, as investors spooked by higher interest rates and the economic outlook put acquisition plans on ice. The number of offices sold – Europe’s largest real estate…
By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) – A leading Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday he had filed a complaint about an online art tool promoted by the country’s largest bank, saying it consistently generated negative images of Russia. Lender Sberbank features the “Kandinsky 2.1” design tool on its website, with versions in Russian and English. Visitors are…
By Richa Naidu LONDON (Reuters) -Unilever smashed quarterly sales forecasts on Thursday as another big rise in prices from the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream triggered only a small dip in volumes, sending its shares up nearly 2% in early trade. The 10.7% increase in prices was, however, lower than…
By Richa Naidu LONDON (Reuters) – Nestle is piloting using Airbus satellites to monitor reforestation, amid global concerns about whether consumer goods companies are doing enough to reduce their carbon footprints. Airbus’ Pléiades Neo satellites will provide high-resolution images in the Ranong and Chumphon provinces of southern Thailand that will help to ensure trees Nestle…
By Lawrence White and Iain Withers LONDON (Reuters) -Barclays reported better than expected first-quarter profit on Thursday after a strong performance from its credit card business offset pressure on other business lines. The British bank’s pretax profit of 2.6 billion pounds ($3.25 billion) beat analyst forecasts for a repeat of the previous year’s 2.2 billion…
By Katie Paul and Akash Sriram (Reuters) -Meta Platforms Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that AI was helping the company boost traffic to Facebook and Instagram and earn more in ad sales, as it forecast quarterly revenue well above analyst expectations. Meta shares surged 12% in after hours trading, adding over $50 billion…
By Makiko Yamazaki and Mariko Katsumura TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Nomura Holdings Inc saw about $850 million wiped off its market value on Thursday as its latest earnings slump showed it remains a long way off CEO Kentaro Okuda’s goal of finally making the bank a global force in investment banking. Shares in Japan’s biggest investment…
By Tom Balmforth (Reuters) – The anti-tank ditches near Ukraine’s occupied southeastern town of Polohy stretch for 30 km (19 miles). Behind are rows of concrete “dragon’s teeth” barricades. Further back are defensive trenches where Russia’s troops will be positioned. The defences visible in satellite imagery taken by Capella Space are part of a vast…
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s United Overseas Bank reported on Thursday a 74% surge in core profit in the first quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong net interest and non-interest income growth. The lender’s core profit, which excludes one-off expenses, rose to a record S$1.58 billion ($1.20 billion) in the first quarter,…
