By Jesús Aguado MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish banking group BBVA reported a 39% rise in first-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating forecasts on the back of a solid performance in Mexico, its main market, and keeping a lid on deposits costs. BBVA’s profit of 1.85 billion euros ($2.04 billion) for the January to March period was…
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia does not intend to take the path of nuclear escalation in its standoff with the West over Ukraine but others should not test its patience, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. Her comments follow a flurry of warnings by senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, that Western…
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic sentiment was broadly unchanged overall in April, as a pick-up among consumers and retail and services sectors offset a more gloomy view among manufacturers, while price expectations continued to fall. The European Commission’s monthly survey showed on Thursday that economic sentiment in the 20 countries sharing the euro rose…
(Reuters) – Hershey Co beat market expectations for quarterly sales on Thursday, boosted by price hikes and steady demand for its Kisses chocolates and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The company’s net revenue rose to $2.99 billion in the first quarter from $2.67 billion a year earlier, while analysts on average expected $2.91 billion, according to…
By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) – For all the thunder about Xbox versus PlayStation, it was the nascent cloud market that led to Britain’s surprise decision to block Microsoft’s record Activision Blizzard takeover. Microsoft has been working for months to satisfy concerns about the $69 billion deal raised by Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA),…
LONDON (Reuters) – The boss of Britain’s antitrust regulator said blocking Microsoft’s acquisition of ‘Call of Duty’ maker Activision Blizzard was the right decision for the UK after both companies said it sent the wrong message to the global tech industry. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal on Wednesday, saying it could…
A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan The Big Tech earnings season is going some way to justifying the striking outperformance of its mega cap shares this year, with Meta Platforms the latest to impress overnight and Amazon advancing ahead of its readout on Thursday. Perhaps even more…
ROTTERDAM (Reuters) – Millions of Dutch revellers took to the streets on Thursday to celebrate King’s Day festivities, dressing in orange and enjoying open-air markets – even as trust in the man at the centre of the nationwide party sinks to a low ebb. King Willem-Alexander, whose 56th birthday is the official reason for the…
By Matteo Allievi and Natalia Siniawski (Reuters) – Spanish steelmaker Acerinox beat first quarter net profit expectations on Thursday, driven by growth in its U.S. operations, and forecast slightly better earnings in the second quarter. Net profit was 136 million euros ($150 million), well above analysts’ average forecast of 83 million euros, according to Refinitiv…
By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) -Global leasing giant Avolon said on Thursday it had committed to ordering 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in a deal worth over $4 billion at current list prices, a boost for the U.S. planemaker as it grapples with fresh delivery issues. Avolon, the world’s third largest aircraft leasing firm, said…
