Facebook owner Meta touts AI might as digital ads boost outlook; shares jump

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…

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South Korea, US to share nuclear planning to deter North Korean threat

By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Wednesday pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea amid anxiety over Pyongyang’s growing arsenal of missiles and bombs. The announcement, which included a renewed pledge by Seoul not to pursue a…

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Swedbank Q1 profits beats expectations on better deposit margins

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish bank Swedbank reported first-quarter net profit above market expectations on Thursday and said higher deposit margins had boosted results, although credit impairments also rose. The rival of Handelsbanken, SEB and Nordea said net profit totaled 7.56 billion Swedish crowns ($733.24 million) versus a year-ago 4.48 billion, topping a mean forecast of 6.62…

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Founder of Taiwan’s Foxconn says China won’t attack if he’s president

TAIPEI (Reuters) – The billionaire founder of Taiwan’s Foxconn and presidential hopeful Terry Gou said on Thursday China does not want war with the island and would not attack if he become president as he would not declare independence. Tension between Taipei and Beijing has surged in the run-up to January’s presidential election in Taiwan,…

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Speed of US bank failures to play starring role in Fed, FDIC post-mortems

By Hannah Lang and Ann Saphir WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Of all the facts that have emerged about last month’s two U.S. bank busts – the unanswered warning letters from regulators, the ignored interest-rate risk, the outsized levels of uninsured deposits – one data point in particular continues to stir deep-seated unease among finance officials:…

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