Commerzbank doubles quarterly profit, helped by higher interest rates

By Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany’s Commerzbank said on Wednesday that its net profit nearly doubled in the first quarter in a better-than-expected result helped by higher interest rates. The bank said it sees “upside potential” in net interest income this year, and raised its forecast to 7 billion euros ($7.7 billion)…

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Blackstone, Thomson Reuters consortium sells $3.4 billion LSEG shares at discount

(Reuters) -An investor consortium including U.S. buyout firm Blackstone and Thomson Reuters sold 33 million shares in the London Stock Exchange Group worth about 2.7 billion pounds ($3.41 billion), a bookrunner said on Wednesday. The placing of shares, which was upsized from 28 million, was at a price of 8,050 pence per share, a discount…

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Japan embraces G7’s gas support but companies may face long-term problems

By Katya Golubkova, Yuka Obayashi and Kate Abnett TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s energy companies were quick to embrace the G7’s support for natural gas investment in their statement last month but analysts caution that relying on the fossil fuel may open the companies up to long-term problems. Resource poor Japan, the world’s biggest buyer of…

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China’s BYD beefs up autonomous driving credentials with new unit, hiring spree

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – BYD Co Ltd may be China’s biggest electric vehicle maker by a country mile but it knows it lags rivals in autonomous driving, and has set up a new division and embarked on a huge hiring spree to rectify that shortcoming. Between 4,000 and 5,000 software engineers have been hired recently, BYD…

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‘Losing our best’: activists killed in war seen as blow to Ukraine’s future

By Dan Peleschuk KYIV (Reuters) – Investigative journalist Oleksandr Tsakhniv spent much of his professional life trying to uncover corruption in Ukraine’s eastern hinterlands where he lived and worked. He was killed in March, aged 37, fighting Russian forces near Bakhmut. Now, his employer says his death could have an impact on the local fight…

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Explainer-Can Ukraine use Patriot defense systems to knock out Russian hypersonic missiles?

(Reuters) – Ukraine said on Tuesday that it downed six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in a single night, in what would be a major setback for Moscow’s efforts to develop an unstoppable next-generation weapon. It was not clear which air defense system Kyiv used to shoot down the missiles, but last week the U.S. military…

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