Viasat shares near record daily plunge after satellite fails to deploy

By Chibuike Oguh NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares in Viasat plunged by as much as 36% to about a one-year low on Thursday after the U.S. satellite communications firm disclosed that one of its key satellites malfunctioned during deployment in space. The company’s ViaSat-3 Americas satellite developed an unexpected fault during its deployment – an…

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Blinken, Wang meet again for talks aimed at managing U.S.-China competition

By Gayatri Suroyo, David Brunnstrom and Simon Lewis JAKARTA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held “candid and constructive” talks with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday in Indonesia’s capital, an official said, the latest in a series of interactions Washington says are aimed at managing competition between the rival superpowers. In…

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Explainer-How big oil won the bidding for German offshore wind sites

By Vera Eckert and Susanna Twidale FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) – Energy majors BP and TotalEnergies have won a 7 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind site auction in Germany worth a record 12.6 billion euros ($14.1 billion), allowing them entry to the central European market without a partnership. Previous auctions have been won by consortia, as happened in…

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South African court rules against ex-president Zuma in parole release finding

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa’s top court on Thursday rejected an attempt to overturn a previous decision that found former president Jacob Zuma should go back to jail after being released early on medical parole. The Constitutional Court ruling could send Zuma back to prison, two years after his initial arrest sparked widespread protests…

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Brazil economic team supports interest rate cut of more than 25bps

By Bernardo Caram and Rodrigo Viga Gaier BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Leading members of Brazil’s economic team said on Thursday they predict the central bank has room to cut its benchmark interest rate by more than 25 basis points at its next meeting, further pressuring policymakers at the bank to lower borrowing costs. President Luiz…

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Jordan urges World Food Programme to reverse subsidy cuts for Syrian refugees

DUBAI (Reuters) – Jordan’s foreign minister on Thursday called on the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) to reverse a decision to cut food subsidies to Syrian refugees by Aug. 1. The WFP office in Amman told Reuters that an “unprecedented funding crisis” had forced it to cut food help for 50,000 out of some…

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Bank of Canada’s record tightening campaign exposes lenders’ mortgage risks

By Nivedita Balu TORONTO (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike on Wednesday and prospects of more increases heighten risks to mortgage lenders as homeowners are likely stay in debt longer, struggling to make higher payments or pay even the interest portion of their home loans, investors and analysts said. After urging lenders…

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Alphabet shares soar after it expands AI chatbot internationally

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar (Reuters) – Shares in Google parent Alphabet Inc were up 4.9% on Thursday after it said it was rolling out its artificial-intelligence chatbot Bard in Europe and Brazil, easing worries about overseas regulatory issues. The stock last traded at $124.73 and was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since…

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