September 21, 2021 By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA will make its case at a U.S. trial beginning on Tuesday that it is not liable for nearly $150 million in debts owed to a unit of Siemens Energy because U.S. sanctions prevented it from making payments. In January 2017, […]
Alan acquires Jour and launches mental health service Alan Mind
French startup Alan is better known for its health insurance products — they now insure 200,000 people. But it has been slowly building a superapp for your health and expanding with new services. Today, the company announced its first acquisition ever with the acquisition of Jour for $20 million. This is going to be the […]
U.N. concerned at U.S. pushbacks of migrants who may need asylum
September 21, 2021 GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations agencies said on Tuesday that people massed along the U.S.-Mexican border who have a fear of persecution in their homeland, including Haiti, have a right to file a claim seeking asylum and voiced concern at deportations. “We reiterate that while some people arriving at the border may […]
Factbox: Five things to watch for from Canada’s Liberal minority government
September 21, 2021 WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party won its third straight Canadian federal election on Monday and its second consecutive minority government, in which the Liberals rely on another party to govern. Here are five factors to watch for: NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY DEMANDS The New Democratic Party (NDP), leading […]
New Zealand steps closer to tighter terrorism laws after supermarket knife attack
September 21, 2021 WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s parliament took a step closer on Tuesday to making it easier to arrest and prosecute terrorists planning attacks, just weeks after an Islamic State-inspired assault by a knife-wielding assailant wounded seven people at a supermarket. The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill passed its second reading in parliament with the […]
Indian foreign minister urges UK to resolve COVID quarantine dispute
September 21, 2021 By Alasdair Pal and Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s foreign minister on Tuesday urged Britain to remove a rule requiring Indians visiting there to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated. India’s Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute, is not recognised by Britain […]
In Haiti, festive wakes and Voodoo undertakers help mourners say their last goodbyes
September 21, 2021 By Valerie Baeriswyl and Andre Paultre GRAND-BERA, Haiti (Reuters) – Anaira Jules, who lived her whole life in a small hamlet in rural Haiti, had never set foot on a plane. But for her last journey, she was sent off in a gleaming white, plane-shaped coffin complete with a wing-tail and illuminated portholes. […]
Post-pandemic shifts means Patch will take co-working to UK small towns and suburbs
It would be fair to say the pandemic has had enormous effects on the world of work, but it has come at a time when other factors were already ongoing. The decline of main-street shopping due to e-commerce has only been hastened. The shift to remote working has sky-rocketed. And people no longer want to […]
Investors grappling with Evergrande fallout weigh risk of wider pain
September 21, 2021 By David Randall, Maiya Keidan and Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Investors unnerved by the fallout from heavily indebted Chinese real estate company Evergrande were gauging the potential for a wider shakeout after a selloff hit stocks around the world. For now, many U.S.-based investors believe there is little chance that the […]
UK manufacturing orders gauge hits record high in September: CBI
September 21, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – A record share of British manufacturers reported rising new orders this month but global supply chain problems and labour shortages held back growth in output, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Confederation of British Industry’s monthly manufacturing order book balance rose to +22 in September from +18 in August, […]
A life and death question for regulators: Is Tesla’s Autopilot safe?
September 21, 2021 By Hyunjoo Jin, Mike Spector and David Shepardson (Reuters) – Robin Geoulla had doubts about the automated driving technology equipped on his Tesla Model S when he bought the electric car in 2017. “It was a little scary to, you know, rely on it and to just, you know, sit back and […]
At UN, Biden will try to move past Afghanistan with climate, China focus
September 21, 2021 By Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland NEW YORK (Reuters) – President Joe Biden plans to defend his hasty troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on Tuesday in a speech to the United Nations, arguing it was needed to pivot U.S. policy to focus on a global challenge from China and climate change. Biden will […]
Swiss National Bank to hold rate at record low for years: Reuters poll
September 21, 2021 ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank is set to look past a mild near-term rise in inflation at home as well as a slightly weaker franc and stick firmly to its ultra-expansive monetary policy on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll of economists. All 36 economists in the Sept 14-20 poll […]
Universal Music solo project proves a hit with investors
September 21, 2021 AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Universal Music Group’s shares leapt more than a third in their stock market debut on Tuesday as investors bet a boom in music streaming still has a long way to run. Here are facts about Universal and its flotation: FROM THE BEATLES TO BILLIE EILISH By revenue, Universal Music […]
Factbox: What analysts have to say about Evergrande as default risks rise
September 21, 2021 HONG KONG (Reuters) – Worries about the fate of beleaguered developer China Evergrande Group have rattled markets around the world, and investors are looking for possible intervention by Beijing to stem any domino effects across the global economy.[L1N2QN02R] Here are some highlights of what analysts have been saying about the cash-strapped company […]
SoftBank leads $680 million funding round in NFT fantasy soccer game Sorare
September 21, 2021 By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) – Blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare has raised $680 million in a funding round led by SoftBank, with players including ex-England international Rio Ferdinand and Spain’s Gerard Pique also investing, the company said on Tuesday. Paris-based Sorare said the investment valued the company at $4.3 billion. Founded […]
OECD sees limited Evergrande fallout
September 21, 2021 PARIS (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have the capacity to keep the debt crisis at property developer Evergrande in check and the broader fallout should be limited, OECD chief economist Laurence Boone said on Tuesday. “We think that the Chinese authorities do have the fiscal and monetary capacity to buffer the shock,” Boone […]
Regulators lack understanding of banks’ digital marketplaces, EU watchdog says
September 21, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – Regulators have little understanding of risks from banks setting up digital marketplaces and need a framework for spotting potential contagion if things go wrong, the European Union’s banking watchdog said on Tuesday. So-called platformisation refers to banks creating a digital marketplace for their products and services, and non-banking services, […]
UK’s MarketFinance secures $383M to fuel its online loans platform for SMBs
Small and medium businesses regularly face cashflow problems. But if that’s an already-inconvenient predicament, it has been exacerbated to the breaking point for too many during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, a UK startup called MarketFinance — which has built a loans platform to help SMBs stay afloat through those leaner times — is announcing a […]
Hospital operator Mediclinic gets Africa’s first sustainability-linked loan
September 21, 2021 JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Mediclinic has refinanced 8.45 billion rand ($575.26 million) in loans through Rand Merchant Bank, the hospital operator said on Tuesday, in what the bank described as Africa’s first sustainability-linked banking facility. Investors and environmentalists have been critical of South African banks for not doing enough to meet […]
