Russian rouble soars to one-month high as oil prices halt slide

By Alexander Marrow (Reuters) -The Russian rouble climbed sharply to a more-than-one-month high on Thursday, gaining for a fifth straight session, as oil prices steadied after a recent slide, somewhat countering the impact of reduced foreign currency supply. By 1326 GMT, the rouble had firmed 1.6% against the dollar to 77.94, its strongest mark since…

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Argentina seeks US, Brazil support for faster IMF payouts – gov’t sources

By Bernardo Caram and Nicolás Misculin BRASILIA/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina is seeking new easing of targets in its $44 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund and faster payouts, and is pushing to get key IMF members the United States and Brazil to support it, government officials said. The country is expected to return…

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Shell posts $10 billion profit as trading offsets lower energy prices

By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla LONDON (Reuters) – Shell on Thursday posted first-quarter net profit of $9.65 billion as strong earnings from trading and higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales offset cooling energy prices, while extending its large share repurchase programme. The stronger-than-expected profits followed a string of forecast-beating results from rivals including BP…

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TenneT sale talks slow as Germany, Netherlands differ on price, offshore

By Toby Sterling, Christoph Steitz and Markus Wacket AMSTERDAM/BERLIN (Reuters) – Talks on a planned sale of Dutch state-owned electricity grid operator TenneT’s German unit to Berlin have hit a hitch over price, the company’s outstanding bonds and offshore infrastructure, people familiar with the matter said. The sale would be one of Europe’s biggest deals…

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Adecco sales top forecast as corporate Europe hires temps

By Andrey Sychev (Reuters) -Adecco Group beat first-quarter sales expectations on Thursday as companies turned to temporary workers after laying off staff to cope with economic uncertainty. The group reported an 8% rise in quarterly sales to 5.89 billion euros ($6.53 billion), beating analysts’ consensus forecast of 5.83 billion euros. Sales in its biggest unit…

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