October 6, 2021 By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS’s wealthy clients have raised $650 million for the biggest biotechnology impact fund ever, the Swiss bank said on Wednesday. Impact investing – a term coined in 2007 – grew out of the desire to extend philanthropic goals into mainstream financial holdings. Alongside financial returns, […]
London’s finance district, steeped in slavery, confronts its past
October 6, 2021 By Carolyn Cohn and Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – British ships ferried over 3 million enslaved African people across the Atlantic Ocean. Lloyd’s of London insured many of those vessels, the people chained below deck sometimes categorized as “perishable goods”, alongside cattle, by the market’s underwriters. Lloyd’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave […]
Column: Hiring sprees, worker shortages and wages – Mike Dolan
October 6, 2021 By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – Much higher wages alone would probably not clear churning and distorted global labour markets at the moment – and for many workers, they may not even be the primary demand. If future pay growth dictates whether this year’s headline inflation spikes persist and booming demand for […]
Sweden’s AB Volvo wins its largest electric truck order so far
October 6, 2021 STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Volvo Trucks has received an order for 100 electric trucks from shipping firm DFDS, its biggest commercial electric truck order to date, the Swedish truck maker said on Wednesday. Volvo Trucks, AB Volvo’s main truck brand, said the order was one of the largest ever for heavy electric trucks […]
YouTube drops R&B singer R. Kelly’s official channels
October 6, 2021 By Jahnavi Nidumolu and Aakriti Bhalla (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said it has removed R&B singer R. Kelly’s channels from its video platform, distancing itself from the singer who was convicted of sex trafficking last month. R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in September in his sex trafficking trial, […]
Hong Kong leader sets goals on housing, finance, climate in speech
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) -Here are highlights of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s annual policy address on Wednesday, the last in her current term, mapping out priorities for the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. POLITICS – Hong Kong has got back on the right track of “one country, two systems” […]
France’s Thales partners with Google on secure cloud services
October 6, 2021 By Mathieu Rosemain PARIS (Reuters) – Defence company Thales and Google are partnering to offer state-vetted cloud computing services for the storage of some of France’s most sensitive data, the companies said on Wednesday. The alliance between Thales, Europe’s largest defence electronics supplier, and the Alphabet unit fulfils a May government plan […]
ASEAN ministers weigh not inviting Myanmar junta boss to summit -envoy
October 6, 2021 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters) – Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are discussing not inviting junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to an upcoming leaders’ summit, the grouping’s special envoy to the country said on Wednesday. The envoy, Erywan Yusof, Brunei’s second foreign affairs minister, told a news conference that […]
Chanel strikes playful note for spring
October 6, 2021 PARIS (Reuters) – Chanel struck a playful note on Tuesday sending bare-legged models sashaying down the runway in bodysuits and tweed jackets layered with accessories. Photographers lined the catwalk, snapping the models as they twirled and posed, swinging their purses and smiling for cameras. Lending an air of intimacy to the event, […]
Climate change protester disrupts Louis Vuitton show in Paris
October 6, 2021 PARIS (Reuters) – A protester disrupted a Louis Vuitton fashion show in Paris on Tuesday by walking down the catwalk with a banner condemning the impact of excessive consumption on the environment. Carrying a sign reading “overconsumption = extinction,” the woman representing Amis de la Terre France, Youth for Climate and Extinction […]
Hong Kong needs to tackle housing, leader Carrie Lam says
October 6, 2021 HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong aims to target its chronic housing problem, the financial hub’s leader, Carrie Lam, said on Wednesday, as property prices in the world’s most expensive city hover near record highs. Her comments came at the start of an annual policy address expected to focus on housing and […]
Malaysia’s AirAsia Group reaffirms commitment for fleet migration to Airbus A321neo
October 6, 2021 KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd has reaffirmed its commitment for fleet migration to Airbus A321neo with the conversion of the remaining A320 orders, it said on Wednesday. With the conversion, the airline now has a total order of 362 A321neo aircraft with deliveries up until 2035, it said in […]
Golf-Opening women’s major gets new sponsor, prize fund up 60% to $5 million
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – The opening women’s major of 2022 will have its prize fund boosted by 60% to $5 million, the elite LPGA Tour said after announcing a new title sponsor for the tournament. The event, previously known as the ANA Inspiration, will be renamed ‘The Chevron Championship’ as part of a six-year […]
Hong Kong property agencies suing Evergrande to recover commissions
October 6, 2021 HONG KONG (Reuters) – Two Hong Kong property agencies are suing heavily indebted China Evergrande Group over unpaid commissions, according to a court filing and media reports, piling pressure on the developer as it scrambles to raise funds and avert a collapse. Centaline filed a suit against Evergrande in September to recover […]
New Japan PM Kishida off to rocky start in polling
October 6, 2021 TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s new Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, is struggling to find his footing with voters just two days after he was voted into office and launched his new government, multiple polls by local media showed on Tuesday. On the lower end, the daily Asahi put Kishida’s approval rating at 45% while […]
BOJ Kuroda says Japan’s economy picking up on export strength
October 6, 2021 TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday the economy has picked up, led by exports and the manufacturing sector, although the retail sector’s recovery has been slower than that in the United States. “If Japan can simultaneously protect public health and improve consumption activities through the use […]
World Bank ups Russia’s 2021 GDP forecast but warns of sanctions impact
October 6, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s economic recovery will be stronger than expected this year but U.S. sanctions, a poor vaccination rate and the central bank’s monetary tightening will all weigh on the growth outlook, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Russia’s economic rebound will outpace its neighbour Belarus, hit by Western sanctions amid […]
Oil at new multi-year highs, Asian shares fall
October 6, 2021 By Alun John HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares dropped on Wednesday, reversing early gains, after an overnight rebound in U.S. and European stocks as investors shrugged off worries about a potential U.S. government debt default, while oil paused near new multi-year highs. The gains in oil are driven by concerns about […]
Taiwan defence minister says tensions with China are the worst in four decades
October 6, 2021 TAIPEI (Reuters) -Military tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan’s defence minister said on Wednesday, days after record numbers of Chinese aircraft flew into the island’s air defence zone. Tensions have hit a new high between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its […]
New Zealand raises interest rates, more tightening to come
October 6, 2021 WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s central bank on Wednesday hiked interest rates for the first time in seven years and signalled further tightening to come, as it looks to cool its domestic economy and a red-hot housing market. The 25 basis point rate hike marks the start of a tightening cycle that […]
