Amazon’s iRobot deal in EU antitrust crosshairs

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition of robot vacuum cleaner maker iRobot may reduce competition and strengthen Amazon’s position as online marketplace provider, EU antitrust regulators warned on Thursday. The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation and will decide by November 15 whether to clear or block the deal. “We continue…

Read More

UBS overhauls leadership at wealth management division

ZURICH (Reuters) -UBS’s flagship global wealth management business on Thursday announced a raft of management changes triggered by the Swiss bank’s takeover of Credit Suisse. Several former Credit Suisse managers have got jobs in the changes which affect roughly 180 executives and mainly take effect from July 17. Former Credit Suisse executive Michael Marr will…

Read More

Small U.S. homebuilders tap the brakes as credit squeeze, rising rates hurt

By Ananta agarwal (Reuters) – Small U.S. homebuilders are backing off from bringing more houses to the market, discouraged by a banking crisis-led credit squeeze and rising borrowing costs, industry experts said, exacerbating the shortage of new homes. The housing market, which is one of the biggest casualties of the fastest rate-hike cycle in the…

Read More

Pfizer makes equity investment in Caribou Biosciences

(Reuters) – Pfizer has invested $25 million to buy a minority stake in Caribou Biosciences, making it the latest small biotechnology firm to attract the pharmaceutical giant’s interest. The news lifted shares of Caribou more than 61% in early trade. Pfizer purchased nearly 4.7 million Caribou shares at $5.33 per share, Caribou said on Thursday,…

Read More

US labor market shows resilience on eve of June’s employment report

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, while private payrolls surged in June, suggesting that the labor market remained on solid ground despite growing risks of a recession. The reports on Thursday, which also suggested that laid-off workers were experiencing shorter spells…

Read More

Greece’s re-elected PM outlines government goals up to 2027

By Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece’s re-elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday pledged his conservative government would “fix the sins of the past” and over the next four years cut taxes, boost wages and pensions, and repay bailout debts earlier than expected. Mitsotakis, 55, won 158 sets in the 300-seat parliament…

Read More