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…

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Unseen photos taken by Paul McCartney show Beatlemania

By Sarah Mills LONDON, (Reuters) – Personal and previously unseen photographs taken by musician Paul McCartney as ‘Beatlemania’ was soaring in the 1960s have gone on display at The National Portrait Gallery in London.         Images of McCartney and his former Beatles bandmates – John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison – as…

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ESG equity funds suffer big outflows, buffeted by market jitters and U.S. backlash

By Tommy Wilkes and Patturaja Murugaboopathy LONDON (Reuters) – Equity funds with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) tilt suffered a large loss of investors in the three months to end-June, dragging the sector into a rare net outflow for a first half of the year, data showed. Outflows were driven by economic and regulatory…

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Marketmind: Fed hawks, China tensions keep markets under pressure

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland U.S. policymakers are stealing the spotlight in the markets today, after the Fed cemented its hawkish credentials overnight and Janet Yellen started a trip to China just as Beijing restricts chip-making metal exports. APAC investors clearly took notice, sending stocks sliding…

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Dollar to stay firm on expectations of resilient US economy: Reuters poll

By Indradip Ghosh and Shaloo Shrivastava BENGALURU (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar will hold its ground against most major currencies for the rest of the year despite expectations of narrowing interest rate differentials as the U.S. economy stays resilient, according to FX strategists polled by Reuters. Although the greenback is still down around 0.5% against…

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UK regulator orders investment funds to manage liquidity better

By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Some asset managers face sanctions for failing to manage liquidity properly, posing risks to market stability and investors’ ability to withdraw money, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday. The suspension of property funds in Britain and difficulties faced by liability-driven investment funds last September have thrown a…

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