U.S. House committees investigate Ford Chinese battery partnership

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two U.S. House of Representatives committees said Friday they are investigating Ford Motor Co’s partnership with Chinese battery company CATL. Ford announced in February it is spending $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan using technology from CATL, the world’s largest battery maker. Jason Smith and Mike Gallagher,…

Read More

Exclusive-Airbus A321XLR jet faces range gap after design safeguards -sources

By Tim Hepher PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus is grappling with a growing shortfall in the range of its upcoming A321XLR passenger jet after reaching an agreement with European regulators on design safeguards needed to achieve certification, industry sources said. The setback has prompted the planemaker to offer some customers potential deals for the larger A330neo to…

Read More

Intuitive says bariatric surgeries shrink as obesity drugs lift off

By Manas Mishra (Reuters) – The rising popularity of highly-effective obesity drugs is weighing on demand for robot-assisted bariatric surgeries, top surgical robots maker Intuitive Surgical said late on Thursday. The company’s shares fell 4.5% to $332.2 in premarket trading on Friday, with at least five analysts attributing the drop to lower-than-expected growth in procedures…

Read More

Sweden temporarily withdraws Iraq embassy staff after storming

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Seconded staff at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad have been temporarily withdrawn for security reasons after it was stormed by Iraqis, Sweden said on Friday, amid persistent anger among Muslim states about a planned Koran burning in Sweden’s capital. Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday and recalled its charge d’affaires in Stockholm…

Read More

SLB flags slowing N.America demand; international lifts profit

By Arathy Somasekhar and Arunima Kumar HOUSTON (Reuters) -SLB on Friday flagged weakening North America oilfield activity even as the company topped analysts’ estimates for second quarter profit, helped by a rebound in offshore and international drilling. SLB, the largest oilfield service company and former Schlumberger, joined rivals Halliburton and Baker Hughes in forecasting tepid…

Read More

Factbox-U.S. banks increase reserves for commercial real estate exposure

By Matt Tracy (Reuters) – The U.S. commercial property market has faced severe challenges since the pandemic due to lingering office vacancies, diminished retail activity and higher interest rates. That stress has caused banks and other lenders to tighten their standards for new loans and scrutinize existing ones. While regional banks carry the greatest exposure…

Read More