Smaller consultancies eye opportunities as China crackdown hits sector leader

(This May 17 story has been corrected to rectify the name to Friberg, not Friburg, in paragraph 17) By Samuel Shen and Xie Yu SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Smaller consultancy and due-diligence firms in China reckon they stand to gain once business returns to normal after the shock administered by Beijing’s crackdown on firms supplying…

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Analysis-Overexposed US regional banks could sell commercial property loans

By Matt Tracy (Reuters) -Many U.S. regional lenders may have to consider selling off commercial real estate (CRE) loans at a steep discount after breaching key regulatory thresholds for exposure to the troubled sector, according to new data and market sources. Regional banks, the largest lenders to the beleaguered U.S. CRE and construction markets, have…

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Visiting Ukraine, China’s envoy urged all sides to create space for peace talks

BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing’s special envoy noted there was no panacea to the war in Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv earlier this week, but urged all parties to create conditions for peace talks, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. Special envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui visited Kyiv on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he…

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Chile’s lithium giant SQM sees profits dip, despite uptick in prices

(Reuters) -Chile’s SQM, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, said on Wednesday that its first-quarter net profit slid almost 6% compared to the year-ago period to total nearly $750 million. Revenue for the miner landed at $2.26 billion during the January-to-March period, up almost 12% compared to revenue during last year’s first quarter as sale prices…

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