Sweden sees ’cause for concern’ on retailer margins as food prices surge

By Marie Mannes STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s competition authority has expressed concern about margins being charged by supermarkets and wholesalers as it probes possible profiteering in a country that saw the largest food price increases in the Nordics this year. Food inflation is a key driver of the cost-of-living crisis in a number of European…

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Factbox-PwC Australia scandal latest of many around the globe for the firm

By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia is under fire after a former partner leaked confidential government tax plans between 2014 and 2017 which were then used to drum up work with multinational companies hoping to sidestep new rules. Acting Chief Executive Kristin Stubbins told state parliament on Monday there would be “severe”…

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GSK soothes investors by settling first Zantac cancer lawsuit due for US trial

(This June 23 story has been corrected to say analysts had suggested cases in California, not only the Goetz case, would have cost GSK ‘low hundreds of millions’ of dollars to settle, in paragraph 13) By Natalie Grover and Eva Mathews (Reuters) – GSK agreed to settle a U.S. lawsuit alleging its discontinued heartburn drug…

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A second life for EV batteries? Depends how long the first is

By Nick Carey, Paul Lienert and Victoria Waldersee LONDON (Reuters) – Global automakers have touted plans to re-use electric vehicle (EV) batteries when they lose power, but competition for battery packs and cell materials, and the appetite for affordable cars cast doubt on this part of the circular economy. An array of startups offers second-life…

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Analysis-After the buzz, investors are doing their own homework on AI

By Danilo Masoni and Lucy Raitano MILAN (Reuters) – The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence has boosted markets this year, but after the initial euphoria, investors are waking up to the possible risks, including the need to be highly selective in stock-picking. Businesses ranging from IT services and consulting to media, information and education…

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Exclusive-Deutsche Bank tells investors some of their Russian shares are missing

By Sinead Cruise and Carolina Mandl LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank has told clients it can no longer guarantee full access to Russian stocks that belong to them, underlining the challenges global investors face to recover stranded investments in the country’s companies. Germany’s largest bank said in a note dated June 9 and viewed…

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Factbox-What’s new with the U.S. Fed’s 2023 bank stress tests?

By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to release the results of its annual bank health checks on Wednesday, June 28. Under the “stress test” exercise, the Fed tests banks’ balance sheets against a hypothetical severe economic downturn, the elements of which change annually. The results dictate how much capital…

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