2023

PARIS (Reuters) – Kering is creating a new position at the group level to oversee “brand safety” following the controversy over a Balenciaga ad campaign that dented sales in December, executives said Wednesday. The label drew fire over an advertising campaign featuring imagery with children, prompting apologies from Kering executives including Balenciaga’s creative director and…

BEIJING (Reuters) – China said it will take countermeasures against U.S. entities that undermine Chinese sovereignty, its foreign ministry said at a press conference on Wednesday.    China foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the announcement at the start of a regular press briefing, after the United States shot down a Chinese balloon and said…

LONDON (Reuters) -Glencore announced a payout of $7.1 billion to its investors on Wednesday, including a $1.5 billion share buyback, as strong oil and coal prices helped it post a record 2022 profit. In preliminary 2022 results, the miner and trader said it cut net debt to $75 million at the end of the year…

PARIS (Reuters) – Sales at French luxury group Kering fell 7% in the fourth quarter, dragged lower by a slump in revenues at its biggest brand Gucci as COVID-19 disruptions in China hit its business hard. Gucci’s revenues fell 14% on a comparable basis in the last three months of the year, compared with an…

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s import prices fell for a third consecutive month in January to bring the annual growth rate down to a near 2-year low, data showed on Wednesday, adding to signs of easing pressure on consumer inflation ahead. The import price index, measured in terms of the won, dropped 2.3% in January…

By Laila Kearney and Muyu Xu (Reuters) -Oil prices extends losses on Wednesday as a much bigger-than-expected surge in the U.S. crude inventories and expectations of further interest rate hikes sparked concerns over the prospect of weaker fuel demand and economic recession. Brent crude futures slid 72 cents, or 0.8%, to $84.86 per barrel by…

(Reuters) – Tesla chief executive Elon Musk donated shares worth $1.95 billion in the world’s most valuable automaker to charity last year, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed on Tuesday. Musk donated about 11.6 million shares between August and December last year, according to the filing, which did not say…

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor nominee Kazuo Ueda is the best fit to lead the central bank as he is a well known economist globally and has high expertise in financial field. The appointment of Ueda was made after taking the market impact as…

By Laila Kearney (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade on Wednesday after falling by more than $1 a barrel in the previous session as industry data pointed to a much bigger-than-expected surge in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures lost 20 cents to $85.38 per barrel by 0111 GMT, while U.S. West…