CHICAGO (Reuters) -U.S. grains merchant Bunge and Glencore-backed Viterra are merging in an $18 billion deal including debt, the companies said on Tuesday, creating one of the world’s largest agriculture trading firms. The deal brings Bunge closer in global scale to leading rivals Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill and will be examined closely by antitrust regulators. Shares…
By Judy Hua and Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new bank loans picked up in May from the previous month, as the central bank kept policy accommodative to support the economy, but signs of slowing momentum have raised expectations that more stimulus may be needed to sustain the recovery. The weaker-than-expected credit data could…
BERLIN (Reuters) -A modest improvement in investor morale in June fuelled hopes on Tuesday that Germany’s current recession could be a mild one, but economists were quick to warn that there was no considerable turnaround on the horizon. The ZEW economic research institute’s economic sentiment index remained in negative territory at -8.5 points in June,…
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Medha Singh (Reuters) – It’s a rough time to be an altcoin. Insecurity reigns. A slew of altcoins – a catch-all for most cryptocurrencies except bitcoin and ether – have been harpooned in lawsuits filed by U.S. regulators against exchanges Binance and Coinbase last week, hammering the prices of the…
By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Monday finalized a deal to preserve the federal mandate requiring U.S. health insurers to cover preventive care like cancer screenings and HIV-preventing medication at no extra cost to patients while a legal challenge continues. The agreement, first disclosed on Friday and now finalized in a filing…
By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine (Reuters) – When Pixar Animation Studios releases its 27th feature film in theaters on Friday, the pioneering studio behind blockbuster movies such as “Toy Story,” “Cars” and “Finding Nemo” will be under pressure to demonstrate it has not lost its Midas touch. The stakes are high for “Elemental,” a…
By Ann Saphir and Michael S. Derby (Reuters) – Federal Reserve officials sit down Tuesday for their first meeting in 15 months with no pre-determined interest rate hike on the table in what amounts to the debut gathering of the “will-they-or-won’t-they” era. With still-too-hot inflation riding their heels but abundant uncertainty about both the economic…
A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Samuel Indyk. Jerome Powell and his band of brothers on the Federal Open Market Committee will be sitting nervously. At 0830 EDT (1230 GMT), the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its latest consumer price data, which could go some way to determining…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. small business confidence rebounded in May, but worries about the economy’s outlook and inflation remained, according to a survey released on Tuesday that also showed businesses still eager to hire more workers. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.4 point to 89.4 last…
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine reported more gains in the early stages of its counteroffensive on Tuesday, but said Russian forces were “doing everything” they can to defend the territory they have occupied. Deputy Defence Minister said Ukrainian troops had advanced 250 metres (275 yards) near the small eastern city of Bakhmut, 200 metres on the…
