By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) – A leading Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday he had filed a complaint about an online art tool promoted by the country’s largest bank, saying it consistently generated negative images of Russia. Lender Sberbank features the “Kandinsky 2.1” design tool on its website, with versions in Russian and English. Visitors are…
By Richa Naidu LONDON (Reuters) -Unilever smashed quarterly sales forecasts on Thursday as another big rise in prices from the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream triggered only a small dip in volumes, sending its shares up nearly 2% in early trade. The 10.7% increase in prices was, however, lower than…
By Katie Paul and Akash Sriram (Reuters) -Meta Platforms Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that AI was helping the company boost traffic to Facebook and Instagram and earn more in ad sales, as it forecast quarterly revenue well above analyst expectations. Meta shares surged 12% in after hours trading, adding over $50 billion…
By Makiko Yamazaki and Mariko Katsumura TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Nomura Holdings Inc saw about $850 million wiped off its market value on Thursday as its latest earnings slump showed it remains a long way off CEO Kentaro Okuda’s goal of finally making the bank a global force in investment banking. Shares in Japan’s biggest investment…
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s United Overseas Bank reported on Thursday a 74% surge in core profit in the first quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong net interest and non-interest income growth. The lender’s core profit, which excludes one-off expenses, rose to a record S$1.58 billion ($1.20 billion) in the first quarter,…
By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Wednesday pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea amid anxiety over Pyongyang’s growing arsenal of missiles and bombs. The announcement, which included a renewed pledge by Seoul not to pursue a…
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s industrial firms’ profits shrank at a slightly slower pace in January-March but the decline remained in the double-digits as the economy struggled to fully recover despite the country’s exit from its zero-COVID policy. Profits at these firms fell 21.4% in the first three months from a year earlier, cumulative data released by…
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s job market remains tough, and it is becoming especially hard for college graduates to find jobs, vice Human Resources minister Yu Jiadong said on Thursday. China’s cabinet on Wednesday unveiled plans to boost employment, including supporting financial institutions to offer loans to small firms and issuing subsidies to firms that hire college…
By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) – Tyson Foods Inc will eliminate about 10% of corporate jobs and 15% of senior leadership roles, Chief Executive Donnie King told employees on Wednesday. The layoffs are the latest cost-cutting move for the biggest U.S. meat company by sales as it grapples with declining profit and struggles to improve…
By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard over concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming, dealing an unexpected blow to the biggest-ever deal in gaming. The country’s antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that Microsoft’s commitment to offer access to Activision’s multi-billion…
