By Promit Mukherjee and Ismail Shakil OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada’s annual inflation rate unexpectedly dropped by a tick to 1.9% in November, driven by a broad-based slowdown in prices, while the consumer price index was unchanged on a monthly basis, data showed on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast that inflation would hold steady at […]
UK approves Daniel Kretinsky’s $6.7 billion bid for Royal Mail parent, FT reports
(Reuters) -The British government has approved Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s 5.3-billion-pound ($6.69 billion) takeover of Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The approval is set to be announced as early as Monday morning, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. International Distribution Services (IDS) and the Competition […]
VW union calls for compromise in last-ditch talks before Christmas
By Victoria Waldersee HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) -Volkswagen’s works council chief said that cost cuts must exclude plant closures or redundancies, as a last-ditch round of pre-Christmas negotiations began on Monday. Europe’s biggest carmakers are being squeezed by high costs and the arrival of cheaper Chinese competitors which are taking the battle for market share to […]
EU adopts new Russia sanctions targeting China, shadow fleet
By Julia Payne BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union has adopted a 15th package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including tougher measures against Chinese entities and more vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, the EU Commission said in a statement on Monday. The new package adds 52 vessels from the shadow fleet […]
Trump, SoftBank CEO announce $100 billion US investment, in echo of 2016 event
By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) -President-elect Donald Trump, with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at his side, announced on Monday that SoftBank would invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years in what would be a boost to the U.S. economy. Trump said in his joint appearance […]
Morning Bid: Making bitcoin great – and above $105,000
(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets by Amanda Cooper. Bitcoin is back in the headlines today, having vaulted above $105,000 for the first time on record, after a nod from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to make crypto great again. In an interview on Thursday with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, […]
Drones over US show gaps in airspace security, top Trump adviser says
By Phil Stewart, Kanishka Singh and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A raft of drone sightings in New Jersey and other U.S. states has underscored gaps in U.S. airspace security that need to be closed, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Sunday. President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration has […]
US manufacturers predict growth in 2025 after prolonged slump
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturers are optimistic that the sector will emerge from a prolonged recession next year, though capital expenditure growth was likely to fall short of 2024’s pace. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey published on Monday also found purchasing and supply executives at factories predicted higher employment levels in 2025. The […]
Regional lenders Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Brookline strike $1.1 billion merger deal
By Manya Saini (Reuters) -Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Brookline Bancorp have agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.1 billion, the regional lenders said on Monday, in yet another sign of increasing consolidation within the industry. Regional lenders that were at the heart of the banking crisis in 2023 have been cutting […]
Local unions group seeks ouster of Kroger CEO after $7.5 billion buyback plan
(Reuters) -Some United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local unions on Friday urged Kroger’s board to replace CEO Rodney McMullen following the company’s announcement of a $7.5 billion stock buyback plan after terminating a deal to buy Albertsons. The UFCW local unions that led the “Stop the Merger coalition” argued that the “abrupt” and “massive” […]