WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust complaint against Activision Blizzard on Monday, according to a court filing.
The complaint was not immediately available on the docket.
The Federal Trade Commission, which works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law, moved to block Microsoft’s $69 billion bid to buy “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard in December.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Mark Porter)
By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Blackstone Inc said on Monday it had again blocked withdrawals from its $70 billion real estate income trust in March as the private equity firm faced a flurry of redemption requests.
Blackstone has been exercising its right to block investor withdrawals from BREIT since November after requests exceeded a preset 5% of the net asset value of the fund.
BREIT fulfilled March withdrawal requests of $666 million, representing only 15% of the $4.5 billion in total redemption requests for the month, the firm said in a letter to investors.
Total redemption requests for March were 15% higher than the approximately $3.9 billion demanded by investors in February but 16% lower than the $5.3 billion Blackstone received in January.
“BREIT is not a mutual fund and has never gated,” a Blackstone spokesperson said in a statement. “It is a semi-liquid product and is working exactly as planned. In fact, BREIT has paid out nearly $5 billion to redeeming shareholders since November 30th when proration began.”
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The level of withdrawal requests is expected to normalize over time as Blackstone works through its backlog, Blackstone President Jonathan Gray said during an analyst earnings call in January.
Blackstone shares were down 4.2% at $84.10, in line with the broader market, which was also weaker. Its shares have gained 18.4% in the first quarter after falling 43% in 2022.
BREIT’s net asset value had risen by 8.4% last year while the publicly traded Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index fell 29%.
“Cognizant of easing forward interest rate expectations, we believe the reacceleration of gross redemptions may weigh on the shares,” Credit Suisse analysts, led by Bill Katz, said in a note to investors.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh; Editing by Conor Humphries, Tomasz Janowski and Richard Chang)
TRENTON, NJ – One lucky third-tier Mega Millions prizewinning ticket was sold for Friday’s drawing. The ticket matched four of the five white balls and the Gold Mega Ball and won $10,000.
The lucky ticket was purchased at Stop & Shop on Main Street in Madison.
The winning Mega Millions numbers for Friday were: 16, 26, 27, 42, and 61. The Gold
Mega Ball was 23, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 04.
The jackpot increased to $385 million for Tuesday’s drawing at 11:00 pm.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Two men were shot Saturday afternoon in Southern Baltimore. The men were found at the 2100 Block of Maryland Avenue in Northern Baltimore.
Shortly after 3:30 pm, officers from the Baltimore Police Department arrived at the location to investigate a shooting report. Police found a 38-year-old man and a 25-year-old man both suffering from gunshot wounds. Both victims were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, and both are in stable condition.
An initial investigation discovered that the shooting happened at the 500 block of Callender Street in Southern Baltimore.
If you have any information about this shooting, please contact Southern District detectives at 410-396-2499 or the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
By Santiago Limachi and Monica Machicao
(Reuters) – In the high altitudes of Bolivia’s La Paz, some of South America’s top chefs are paying homage to regional Amazonian culinary ingredients including gusanillo, or worm chili, tree bark that tastes like garlic, and honey from stingless bees.
The new collaboration between Bolivian chef Marsia Taha and Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez is seeking to raise awareness of the region’s incredible – and at times unusual – foods, and the indigenous communities at the forefront of collecting them.
At Taha’s restaurant Gustu in La Paz, a feast of colors and flavors was carefully spread out on wooden tables decorated with large leaves to celebrate the gastronomic diversity of the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon.
“This is not only a celebration of the Amazon and its biodiversity but of our producers as well. They are the ones who make it possible for these products to arrive to our homes or our restaurants,” said Taha.
Indigenous communities in the countries’ huge areas of tropical rainforest capture feet-long fish, use bows and arrows to hunt, and harvest green and yellow peppers, and maize, transporting the products often hundreds of miles to big cities.
Martinez said there had been a growing movement to preserve regional culinary products and flavors.
“Over the last five years, we have seen a strong Latin American culture that wants to preserve its identity, that wants to preserve its ancestral culture,” he told Reuters.
“As Latin-Americans and South Americans, we have understood that our advantage is that we have the capacity to translate this environment, these products and flavors into something simple. We can bring it to the table with simplicity and grace.”
The chefs sourced ingredients from almost 200 indigenous communities in the Amazon through Gustu’s project Sabores Silvestres, or Wild Flavors, which has collected information on hundreds of ingredients through 15 years of research.
“We have worked with close to 200 indigenous communities and over 600 registered products – we have also used them at our restaurant. This brings us great pride,” Taha said.
(Reporting by Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi, Monica Machicao, and Nina Lopez; writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The Baltimore Police Department is investigating the shooting of two men in Northeast Baltimore yesterday evening.
Just before 7:30 pm, officers arrived at the 3100 Block of Elmore Avenue to investigate a shooting report. Police found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. A 23-year-old man was taken to a nearby hospital and is currently in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his ankle. An unidentified man suffered a gunshot wound to his back. He was also taken to a nearby hospital for treatment where he is currently in critical condition.
If you have any information about the shooting, please contact Northeast District detectives at 410-396-2444 the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing activity slumped in March to the lowest level in nearly three years as new orders plunged, and analysts said activity could decline further due to tighter credit conditions.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey on Monday showed all subcomponents of its manufacturing PMI below the 50 threshold for the first time since 2009. Some economists said this suggested a recession was around the corner, while others said much would depend on the services sector, whose PMI remains consistent with a growing economy.
The survey made no direct comment on recent financial markets turmoil. Makers of miscellaneous products said they were “closely monitoring the global banking situation” but there were no impacts “at this time.”
Federal Reserve rate hikes to fight inflation have raised borrowing costs and cooled demand for goods.
“Manufacturing is pulling back, but the service sector was still chugging along in February,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial in New York. “As long as it remains well above 50 when reported on Wednesday, the broad economy should be just fine. Nevertheless, the health of manufacturing is related to the health of the overall economy.”
The ISM’s manufacturing PMI fell to 46.3 last month, the lowest level since May 2020, from 47.7 in February. Outside the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the weakest reading since mid-2009.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index would dip to 47.5. The PMI remained below the 50 threshold for the fifth straight month, a sign of contraction in manufacturing, yet hard data have suggested continued moderate growth in manufacturing, which accounts for 11.3% of the economy.
Manufacturing expanded at a 4.5% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, the government reported last week. Reports last month also showed orders for capital goods excluding aircraft eked out a small gain in February as did manufacturing output.
A separate survey from S&P Global on Monday showed an improvement in U.S. manufacturing in March from February.
“Economic statistics in the rest of the economy are not showing convincing signs of a recession,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.
According to the ISM, 70% of manufacturing gross domestic product was contracting in March, down from 82% in February. It said more industries contracted strongly last month.
“The proportion of manufacturing GDP with a composite PMI calculation at or below 45 percent, a good barometer of overall manufacturing sluggishness, was 25 percent in March, compared to 10 percent in February,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
Of the six largest manufacturing industries, only petroleum and coal products as well as machinery, registered growth in March. Other manufacturing industries reporting growth were printing and related support activities, miscellaneous manufacturing, fabricated metal products and primary metals.
Twelve industries reporting contraction included furniture and related products, nonmetallic mineral products, textile mills, transportation equipment and computer and electronic products as well as electrical equipment, appliances and components.
Comments from manufacturers were mostly downbeat. Transportation equipment producers said “sales are slowing at an increasing rate.” Electrical equipment, appliances and components manufacturers reported “new orders are starting to soften.” Makers of chemical products said “sales (were) a bit down, and budgets being cut with a greater emphasis on savings.”
But food, beverage and tobacco products manufacturers said “business is doing generally well, with input costs falling in some areas and rising in others.”
U.S. stocks were trading mixed. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices rose.
Graphic-ISM Manufacturing PMI, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-STOCKS/mypmobdnbpr/ism.png
NEW ORDERS PLUNGE
The ISM survey’s forward-looking new orders sub-index fell to 44.3 last month from 47.0 in February. Demand could come under pressure following the failure of two regional banks recently. Banks have tightened lending standards, which could make it harder for small businesses and households to access credit.
“Manufacturing activity was slowing before the recent stress, and we expect tighter conditions will contribute further to that slowdown in investment spending,” said Tim Quinlan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Work backlogs shrank further last month, reflecting slower demand and improved supply chains. The ISM survey’s measure of supplier deliveries slipped to 44.8, the lowest level since March 2009, from 45.2 in February. A reading below 50 indicates faster deliveries to factories.
With supply improving, inflation at the factory gate is retreating. The ISM survey’s measure of prices paid by manufacturers dropped to 49.2 from 51.3 in February.
But oil prices jumped on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers on Sunday announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day. Prices for services also remain high.
Last month, the Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further rate hikes due to market turmoil. The U.S. central bank has hiked its policy rate by 475 basis points since last March from the near-zero level to the current 4.75%-5.00% range.
With weak demand, the survey’s gauge of factory employment fell to 46.9 from 49.1 in February.
The ISM said companies were “attempting to maintain workforce levels to support projected second-half growth, but to a lesser degree compared to February.” Six industries reported a decline in employment.
Economists were confident nonfarm payrolls growth in March would exceed 200,000 in the government’s employment report on Friday.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and David Gregorio)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – An 18-year-old was injured in a shooting in Northern Baltimore last night.
Shortly before 10:30 pm, officers from the Baltimore Police Department arrived at the 4000 Block of Oswego Avenue to investigate a report of a gun discharge. At the location, police found the victim suffering from a single gunshot wound. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The identity and condition of the victim remain unknown at this time.
If you have any information about this shooting, please contact Northern District detectives at 410-396-2455 or the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
HONG KONG (Reuters) – HSBC Holdings Plc’s board is unanimous in recommending that shareholders vote against proposals to restructure the bank and pay fixed dividends, its chairman, Mark Tucker, told Hong Kong shareholders on Monday.
The comment came as Ken Lui, an individual HSBC shareholder and leader of a Hong Kong-based investor group, called for a break up of the bank. His second proposed resolution calls on HSBC to restore pre-COVID-19 dividend levels.
Tucker told the shareholders a restructuring or spin-off of its Asia business, as demanded by Lui, would create a major period of uncertainty for clients, and employees and shareholders would be disrupted.
(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Robert Birsel)
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK (Reuters) – ValueAct Capital is pushing Seven & i Holdings to explain its corporate strategy to shareholders including why it is not spinning off of its 7-Eleven convenience store chain or considering selling the whole company.
The investment firm, which owns a 4.4% stake and has been pushing for change since 2020, is ratcheting up pressure before the company’s April 6 earnings call and the annual meeting where it seeks to replace four board members.
“We have been unable to establish confidence in the management or governance of Seven & i,” ValueAct wrote in a letter to the company’s board dated April 2, adding recent communication heightened concern about “entrenchment.”
The investment firm, which has a track record of investments in Japan and has board seats at Olympus Corp and JSR Corp, has suggested a tax-free spin off of 7-Eleven or even a sale of the entire company.
A representative for Seven & i declined to comment and a representative for ValueAct declined further comment beyond the letter.
Last month Seven & i signaled a “continuation of its status quo conglomerate structure,” which confused and disappointed markets, the letter said.
Now ValueAct wants answers to nine key questions when the company reports earnings this week.
Does the board understand how frustrating the conglomerate structure is to shareholders and has it evaluated the conglomerate discount, the investment firm asked.
And it wants to answers to which strategic alternatives were considered and why the company has not pushed ahead with a tax-free spin-off of 7-Eleven, something ValueAct had called on the company’s management to do in January.
The spin-off could be completed through a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in roughly a year, ValueAct said earlier.
It also wants to know why the company is not putting itself up for sale and whether the board is aware of any takeover approaches for Seven & i in the last five years.
Seven & i said in March that it will close an additional 14 Ito-Yokado supermarket stores in Japan and fully exit its apparel business as part of a structural reform plan.
ValueAct’s latest letter underpins its effort to replace four board members on the company’s 14-member board with four director candidates that it has not identified publicly.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Josie Kao)
TOKYO (Reuters) – Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc <8306.T> has postponed the issuance of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) debt, a spokesperson said on Monday, making the bank one of the first to do so after Credit Suisse AT1 holders lost some $17 billion.
Mitsubishi UFJ decided on the postponement taking into account investor appetite and market conditions, the spokesperson said.
The transaction planned for late April is now on hold until mid-May at the earliest, the spokesperson added.
He declined to comment on the planned issue amount.
AT1 bonds – a $275 billion sector known as “contingent convertibles” or “CoCo” bonds – can be converted into equity or written off if a bank’s capital level falls below a certain threshold.
As part of the rescue of Credit Suisse by its rival UBS, Swiss regulator FINMA determined that Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds would be wiped out, a decision that surprised global credit markets as equity holders stand to recoup some of their money.
Reuters previously reported Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were planning to issue AT1 bonds as early as this month but that the deals could be put on hold.
There are $69 billion worth of outstanding dollar-denominated AT1 bonds from Asian Pacific banks, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, with mainland Chinese institutions accounting for 41% of total issuance.
Following Credit Suisse’s rescue a number of global regulators and central banks sought to calm investors’ nerves by saying they would continue to impose losses on shareholders before bondholders.
Masahiko Kato, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association and the head of Mizuho Bank, said on Monday the Credit Suisse bond write-off was a special case where the AT1 bonds came with a clause warning investors they could be wiped out in the event of a government-backed bailout.
AT1 bonds issued by Japanese banks do not carry such clauses, he noted.
“I believe there would be no immediate impact on Japanese banks raising funds,” he said.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu and Makiko Yamazaki; additional reporting Scott Murdoch; editing by Varun H K and Jason Neely)
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s accounting watchdog on Monday handed the 2016-2018 auditor of Wirecard, named in the company’s annual reports as EY, a 500,000 euro fine ($541,650.00) and banned it from taking on new audits for companies of public interest for two years.
EY said in an email that it had been informed by watchdog APAS that an investigation into the company had been completed, but that it had not been briefed on the details of the decision.
APAS said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on Wirecard’s auditing company and five individual auditors, without referring to EY by name. Wirecard’s annual report names EY as the auditor for that period.
Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro hole in its accounts that EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.
The company, founded in 1999, began by processing payments for gambling and [censored]ography websites before becoming a fintech star and a member of Germany’s blue chip DAX index.
APAS found breaches of duty by the auditor in connection with the scandal, it said.
The ban forbids the auditor from participating in tenders for audits of certain companies for two years. This includes all listed companies as well as the majority of the financial sector consisting of banks and insurance companies.
($1 = 0.9231 euros)
(Reporting by Joern Poltz, Writing by Linda Pasquini, Editing by Kirsti Knolle and Friederike Heine)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a shooting that killed three and critically injured one in Northeast Baltimore Saturday night.
Shortly before 9 pm, police arrived at the 3200 block of Woodring Avenue to investigate a shooting report. At the location, officers found two men, ages 49 and 41. Both men were pronounced dead at the crime scene.
Police also found a 69-year-old female and a 31-year-old female suffering from gunshot wounds. Both victims were taken to nearby hospitals. The 69-year-old woman died a short time later at the hospital. The 31-year-old is currently in critical condition.
According to police, this wasn’t random. The suspect opened fire after a dispute broke out between two people who knew each other.
If you have any information about the shooting, please contact Homicide detectives at 410-396-2100 or the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line, at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Police in Alexandria are at the scene of a commercial robbery in the 400 block of John Carlyle Street. A heavy police presence was noted as police investigate the incident. Commuters should avoid the area during the investigation.
At this time, police report there were no injuries involved during this robbery.
This is a breaking news story and information is limited at this time. Please check back later for updates.
By Jayshree P Upadhyay
MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s market regulator is investigating possible violation of ‘related party’ transaction rules in the Adani Group’s dealings with at least three offshore entities that have links to the brother of the conglomerate’s founder, two people said.
The three entities allegedly entered into several investment transactions with unlisted units of the ports-to-power conglomerate founded by billionaire Gautam Adani over the last 13 years, said the sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani’s brother, is either a beneficial owner, director or has links with those three offshore entities, said the two sources, adding the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is probing if lack of that disclosure violated ‘related party transaction’ rules.
Under Indian laws, direct relatives, promoter groups and subsidiaries of listed companies are considered related parties.
A promoter group is defined as an entity that has a large shareholding in a listed company and can influence company policy.
Transactions between such entities have to be disclosed in regulatory and public filings and require shareholder approval above a specified threshold. Violations typically attract monetary fines.
An e-mail to SEBI requesting comment was not answered. SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch declined to comment on the Adani investigations at a news conference on Wednesday.
An Adani Group spokesperson said Vinod Adani is a member of the Adani family and is part of the promoter group, but he does not hold any managerial position in any of the listed Adani entities or their subsidiaries.
“This fact, like all other material information required to be reported, has been disclosed to the regulatory authorities in the past and also as and when required,” the spokesperson added, without commenting on the regulatory probe into offshore entities.
Vinod Adani could not be reached for comment. Requests for comment sent to his holding company in Dubai, Adani Global Investment DMCC, were not responded to.
The probe comes after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research’s Jan. 24 report alleging improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by Adani Group, among other things – charges it has denied.
Hindenburg’s report eroded more than $100 billion in the value of shares in Adani group of companies.
India’s Supreme Court asked SEBI in March to investigate the Adani Group for any lapses related to public shareholding, related party rules or regulatory disclosures.
SEBI’s investigation into Adani’s possible ‘related party’ transactions with offshore entities with links to Vinod Adani has not been reported before.
While SEBI investigations are continuing, top regulatory officials are due to give a status report to a court-appointed panel on Sunday, the two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as investigations are private.
‘DISCLOSURE VIOLATIONS’
Hindenburg in its January report alleged that Vinod Adani entities have collectively moved “billions of dollars” into Adani’s publicly listed and private entities, often without required disclosure of the related party nature of the deals.
The Adani Group in a 413-page response to the allegations had said all transactions entered into by it with entities who qualify as ‘related parties’ under Indian laws and accounting standards have been duly disclosed.
The three offshore entities with links to Vinod Adani being probed for ‘related party’ transactions are Mauritius-based Krunal Trade and Investments Ltd and Gardenia Trade and Investments Ltd, and Electrogen Infra in Dubai.
There was no response from Krunal, Gardenia and Electrogen Infra to e-mails requesting comment.
While the sources said that other similar transactions are also under regulatory examination, Reuters could not ascertain the names of other entities and their possible violation of ‘related party’ transaction rules.
SEBI suspects there were “disclosure violations” on some of those transactions, said one of the two sources.
If proven, it could lead to monetary penalties and the matter may be referred to India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for transactions that are beyond SEBI jurisdiction, the source said.
(Reporting by Jayshree P. Upadhyay; Editing by Ira Dugal, Sumeet Chatterjee and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elon Musk asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
In an evening filing in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Musk and his electric car company Tesla Inc called the lawsuit by Dogecoin investors a “fanciful work of fiction” over Musk’s “innocuous and often silly tweets” about Dogecoin.
The lawyers said the investors never explained how Musk intended to defraud anyone or what risks he concealed, and that his statements such as “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, only Doge” were too vague to support a fraud claim.
“There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion,” Musk’s lawyers said. “This court should put a stop to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.”
In a footnote, the lawyers also rejected the investors’ claim that Dogecoin qualified as a security.
The investors’ lawyer, Evan Spencer, said in an email: “We are more confident than ever that our case will be successful.”
Investors accused Musk, the world’s second-richest person according to Forbes, of deliberately driving up Dogecoin’s price more than 36,000% over two years and then letting it crash.
They said this generated billions of dollars of profit at other Dogecoin investors’ expense, even as Musk knew the currency lacked intrinsic value.
Investors also pointed to Musk’s appearance on a “Weekend Update” segment of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” where, portraying a fictitious financial expert, he called Dogecoin “a hustle.”
The $258 billion damages figure is triple the estimated decline in Dogecoin’s market value in the 13 months before the lawsuit was filed.
Dogecoin Foundation, a nonprofit, is also a defendant and seeking the lawsuit’s dismissal.
Musk’s posts on Twitter, which he owns, have prompted multiple lawsuits.
He won a court victory on Feb. 3 when a San Francisco jury found him not liable for tweeting in August 2018 that he had arranged financing to take Tesla private.
The case is Johnson et al v. Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-05037.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by William Mallard)
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will delay the dismissal of his defence chief, announced over a week ago after the minister called for a halt to the government’s flagship justice overhaul, a source close the matter said on Monday.
Netanyahu announced he was firing Yoav Gallant on March 26, following Gallant’s public call to pause the bitterly contested plans for the judiciary, which opened social divisions he said were affecting the military and threatening Israel’s security.
The plan, which would see a tightening of government control over judicial appointments and give parliament the power to overturn many Supreme Court decisions, triggered unprecedented nationwide demonstrations, some involving military reservists saying they might refuse call-ups.
With tensions running high during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish Passover, Netanyahu decided to hold off on replacing the former navy admiral until an unspecified time.
“Due to the present security situation, the issue of the firing of the Defence Minister will be determined at a later date,” a source close to the prime minister’s office said.
The news of Gallant’s abrupt dismissal, during a period of exceptional tension in the occupied West Bank and continuing concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, triggered immediate mass protests, with tens of thousands pouring into the streets after the announcement.
As the protests continued amid mounting international alarm, Netanyahu relented and suspended the contested reforms to allow for compromise talks with opposition parties.
Political sources said there have been efforts in recent days to end the rift between Netanyahu and Gallant, whose potential firing had set off alarms within the ruling Likud party, the armed services and among Israel’s Western allies.
Gallant and Netanyahu made a public appearance together on Monday evening during a visit to a military base to toast troops for the Passover holiday.
“The most important thing, I’ll say it this way, is to leave politics at the base gate, to come together to defend the strength of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Conor Humphries and Nick Macfie)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington, D.C., Metro Police Department is asking for assistance finding suspects and a vehicle involved in an armed robbery in Southeast, D.C., Friday evening.
Just before 7:30 pm, the suspects walked into an establishment and approached an employee. One of the suspects displayed a gun and demanded money. Upon receiving instructions, the employee complied. The suspects then used a vehicle to flee the scene.
A nearby surveillance camera captured the suspects and their vehicle. A red 2016 Hyundai Elantra with Maryland tag 04105CG is described as the vehicle.
If you have any information about this incident or recognize the suspects, please take no action but call the police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411. This case remains under investigation.
By Dietrich Knauth
(Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Monday approved Revlon Inc’s reorganization plan, allowing the cosmetics maker to cut $2.7 billion from its debt and exit bankruptcy later this month.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Manhattan, who has been overseeing the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, said Revlon had reached “a hard-fought multi-faceted settlement” that resolves a “series of enterprise-threatening” risks to the business, including “debilitating” litigation among its lenders.
Under the plan, Revlon’s lenders will take ownership of the company in exchange for the debt reduction agreement, wiping out the equity value of existing shareholders. The reorganized company plans to raise $670 million after exiting from bankruptcy by selling new equity shares.
Revlon’s reorganization was supported by 88% of the 4,500 creditors who voted on the plan, and those supporting creditors hold 98% of the company’s debt. The reorganization will provide Revlon with a “fresh start” and provide a sustainable foundation for future growth, Revlon said in a Friday court filing.
Revlon, which has a 91-year history selling lipstick, nail polish and other beauty products, filed for bankruptcy in June, saying its $3.5 billion debt load and pandemic-related disruptions had left it too cash-poor to make timely payments to critical vendors in its cosmetics supply chain.
During its bankruptcy, Revlon reached settlements with two warring factions of lenders who financed Revlon’s purchase of cosmetics and fragrance company Elizabeth Arden in 2016. The lenders clashed over a 2020 loan that gave one faction of lenders additional control over Revlon’s intellectual property assets.
Under Revlon’s bankruptcy plan, the lenders participating in the 2020 loan will receive most of the company’s equity, valued at $2.75 billion to $3.25 billion. The lenders who did not participate in the 2020 loan can choose to receive up to $56 million in cash or they can forgo cash payments and receive up to 18% of the company’s post-bankruptcy equity shares.
Junior creditors, including retirees with unpaid pension claims and consumers who brought personal injury lawsuits against Revlon, will be paid up to $44 million.
Revlon’s existing equity shares will be wiped out when it emerges from bankruptcy.
Ron Perelman’s MacAndrew & Forbes held 85% of the company’s shares at the time of its bankruptcy filing. The remaining stock saw a surge in interest from retail investors last year, trading above $8 per share early in the company’s bankruptcy before collapsing in value.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Mark Porter and Alexia Garamfalvi)
By Aziz El Yaakoubi
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s unpredictable crown prince is pushing hard to realign Middle East dynamics, engaging with old foes and orchestrating OPEC oil cuts like the ones on Sunday which took the global market by surprise.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, known as MbS, has signalled he is prepared to go it alone without the help of the United States to pursue Saudi interests, whether it means re-establishing ties with U.S. adversaries like Iran, or removing supplies from the oil market and angering consumers.
The strategy is designed to create conditions enabling Saudi Arabia to focus on MbS’s vast economic transformation plan, Vision 2030, in which he has poured hundreds of billions of dollars, hoping it will open the conservative kingdom to business and tourism amid rising regional competition.
The strategic shift began in 2019 after the devastating attacks on Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities – after which Riyadh questioned U.S. security commitments to the region – and gained momentum after Israeli attacks on Iranian targets, analysts say.
The kingdom hopes to avoid getting caught up in the crossfire, they say.
“Saudi Arabia is moving from disengagement towards engagement to allow it to focus on pushing ahead on Vision 2030,” said Saudi analyst Abdulaziz Sager.
The kingdom has gone into diplomatic overdrive, restoring relations with Iran and agreeing to a rapprochement with Syria in its quest to rebuild regional alliances, instead of leaning entirely on the United States, its long-time big power ally.
Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans have said, a move that would formally end Syria’s regional isolation.
‘UNWISE MOVE’
The kingdom also announced a decision to join the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a sign that it is cultivating a long-term relationship with Beijing at the expense of the United States.
A Saudi official said the United States and China are both very important partners for Riyadh.
“We certainly hope not to be part of any competition or dispute between the two superpowers. We are not a superpower, but what we are is an important player in the region and global economy,” the official, who declined to be named, said.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday Riyadh remains a strategic partner for Washington even if the two did not agree on all issues. Washington and Riyadh are working on addressing common security challenges, he said.
Riyadh’s increasing assertiveness extends to oil policies.
On Sunday, the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia (OPEC+) announced further production cuts of about 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd), drawing U.S. disapproval.
The Gulf Research Center, a Saudi-based think-tank, said the OPEC cuts show major oil producers can free themselves from U.S.-Western pressure and pursue an independent policy that puts their national interests first.
“We’re in a Saudi First oil market now. Producers don’t just earn more, they enjoy far more geopolitical leverage when markets are tight,” said Jim Krane, a research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute.
MENDING FENCES WITH IRAN
In a significant deal brokered by China, Riyadh reached an agreement with Tehran to revive diplomatic relations, after years of bitter rivalry that have fuelled conflict across the Middle East.
Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East expert at Cambridge’s Girton College, said the abrupt U-turn might have been spurred by the escalating confrontation between Israel and Iran.
“Saudi likely hopes that by thawing relations with Iran, it will avoid getting caught up in another regional conflict, thereby removing the risk of another direct Iranian attack on its infrastructure, such as the crippling 2019 attacks on Aramco,” Kendall said. Iran denied responsibility.
On Sunday, Israeli forces carried out air strikes on Iranian outposts in Syria, the Syrian defence ministry said. Western intelligence sources said a series of air bases in central Syria where Iranian personnel are based were hit.
The attack, the latest in a series on Iranian military facilities in Tehran’s close ally Syria, raised the spectre of a broader regional confrontation that would put U.S. Gulf allies in the line of fire should military operations escalate.
Previous air strikes on Saudi oil sites, and on a United Arab Emirates fuel depot by Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi forces, have laid bare the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. security stake in its Arab allies, prompting Riyadh to push for de-escalation with Tehran and diversify its security partners.
There has never been any serious dialogue, either within the U.S. government or with the Saudis, on the conditions under which Washington would come to the defence of Saudi Arabia should it be attacked, said Bilal Saab, Director of the Defence and Security Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
“The Saudis don’t want to be in a shooting war between Iran and the United States. They don’t trust that Washington will protect them,” Saab said.
Riyadh’s growing ties with Beijing have raised security jitters in Washington, which says Chinese attempts to exert influence around the world will not change U.S. policy toward the Middle East.
Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution in Washington said Saudi Arabia’s view that the U.S. is increasingly disengaged from the region is not entirely wrong.
“The crown prince has decided to hedge his bets, both as a concession to reality but also as a way of provoking the U.S. to pay more attention to its security concerns,” Hamid said.
“The U.S. has been annoyed but has not retaliated in any way, which in turn has emboldened Saudi Arabia to continue deepening its relationship with America’s chief adversaries.”
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi, additional reporting by Ghaida Ghantous and Maha El Dahan; editing by Michael Georgy and Mark Heinrich)
COLUMBUS, OH – Police in Columbus are investigating a murder that took place this weekend. Officers responded to a reported shooting in the 3900 block of Great Southern Boulevard around 4:20 a.m.
Upon arrival, officers located a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound. He was identified as Alijuwon Tolliver.
He was taken to Grant Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:07 a.m.
No arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified.
Anyone with information should call the Columbus Division of Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday he believes the country’s economy will grow “more than pessimists think” as his administration sets up new programs to be launched on its 100-day mark next week.
The new investment plans come as Lula reinforces economic growth as a top priority, calling for investments from both the government and private sector to boost gross domestic product (GDP).
Lula said at a meeting with ministers he was particularly optimistic with a proposal for public-private partnerships (PPPs), noting there were a lot of investments to be made in sectors such as industry, agriculture, science and technology.
“Our obsession must be making Brazil grow again,” the leftist leader said, although noting he didn’t agree with forecasts of slow GDP growth of less than 1% this year.
“I think we’ll grow more than the pessimists predict. More things are going to happen in Brazil than people are expecting,” he said, right after a central bank poll of private economists showed on Monday they expect GDP to grow 0.9% this year and 1.48% in 2024.
Lula, who said he believes Congress will pass his proposal for a new fiscal framework aimed at balancing limits on spending growth with a vow to boost social programs, noted ministers were now outlining new investment plans to be presented next Monday.
After the cabinet meeting, his Chief of Staff Rui Costa told reporters the plans would include both government and private capital, saying the government wishes to create a culture of PPPs in Brazil.
He also said Lula would sign this week an executive order on sanitation aimed at attracting investments and further allowing investment funds to inject money into projects in the sector.
Costa did not provide further details, but said investments could reach more than 100 billion reais ($19.73 billion), citing estimates from the ministry of cities.
($1 = 5.0689 reais)
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia, Gabriel Araujo and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo; Editing by Steven Grattan)
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission is working on rules to ensure fair access to valuable car data for companies and industry but does not know when they will be ready, a spokesperson said on Monday as industry groups fret about unfair competition from U.S. and Chinese tech companies.
The huge potential of the connected car market, which consultancy Fortune Business Insights says could grow to as much as 400 billion euros ($435 billion) by 2030, has triggered a fight between carmakers and industrial users on access to vehicle data.
Carmakers are looking to data-driven software products and subscription services covering everything from driving habits to fuel consumption and tyre wear as the next money spinner.
Data ownership, however, is not clearly defined in EU law, resulting in the current dispute between carmakers and those who want to access it.
“The Commission is working on the preparation of a sector-specific proposal on in-vehicle data. It will aim to complement the proposal for a Data Act, published in February 2022,” a spokesperson for the EU executive told Reuters in an email.
“At this stage we cannot prejudge the content of the final impact assessment and subsequent timeline for adoption.”
Car services groups last week piled pressure on the Commission to come up with a legislative proposal as U.S. tech companies such as Alphabet’s struck deals with General Motors and Mercedes Benz.
($1 = 0.9188 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Josie Kao)
BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo police are investigating a shooting that occurred Saturday night.
Police say a 28-year-old Lackawanna man was critically injured in a shooting overnight on Saturday on Bailey Avenue.
The male patient arrived at ECMC with a gunshot wound at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Police said the shooting occurred in the 800 block of Bailey Avenue.
No suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information is asked to call or text the confidential TIPCALL number at 716-847-2255.
By Howard Schneider
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve officials, increasingly confident they have nipped a potential financial crisis in the bud, now face a difficult judgment on whether demand in the U.S. economy is falling and, if so, whether it is coming down fast enough to lower inflation.
If the U.S. central bank’s policy meeting two weeks ago was dominated by concern that a pair of bank failures risked broader financial contagion – a potential reason to pause further interest rate increases – debate has quickly refocused on whether tighter monetary policy has started to show its impact on the broader economy, or if rates need to rise higher still.
A surprise announcement on Sunday by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies that they would cut production by about 1.1 million barrels per day put the Fed’s dilemma back on display, offering the sort of shock that could keep inflation stickier than otherwise.
Oil prices jumped around 6% on the move by the group known as OPEC+. Investors in contracts tied to the Fed’s benchmark overnight interest rate, who as of Friday viewed any further rate increase as a toss-up, on Monday put a nearly 60% probability of a hike at the central bank’s May 2-3 policy meeting.
“Some of that might feed into inflation and make our job a little more difficult,” St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Monday.
The next decision on rates will be a critical one as the Fed plans the final steps in what has been a historic hiking cycle, with policymakers still hoping to avoid the sort of deep economic downturn triggered by raising rates too far, but also determined not to do too little and allow inflation to remain high.
The nine rate hikes delivered by the central bank since March of 2022 have pushed the benchmark overnight interest rate from the near-zero level to the current 4.75%-5.00% range, a tightening pace not seen since Paul Volcker was Fed chair in the 1980s. Consumer and business interest rates have followed suit.
Yet data released on Friday showed the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation was still running at 5% annually, more than double the 2% target, and projections issued by Fed policymakers on March 22 indicated rates needed to rise a bit more. Also embedded in those projections is the sort of rise in the unemployment rate, from the current 3.8% to 4.6% by the end of the year, and growth slowdown typically associated with recession, something Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues still maintain they can avoid.
Graphic-Rates and inflation, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-FED/INFLATION/gkvlgnaywpb/chart.png
“It is absolutely a balance … There are uncertainties,” Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday. “We do need to balance the risk that we don’t do enough … don’t hold the course, and don’t bring inflation down … At the same time I do monitor the data, looking at when we might see the economy turning. … It is early days yet.”
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin struck a similar note last week. “Inflation is still very high. The job market is still very tight,” he told reporters. “When you raise rates there’s always the risk of the economy softening faster than it might have otherwise. If you don’t raise rates, there’s the risk of inflation getting out of control.”
That back-and-forth will play out between now and the Fed’s next policy meeting on May 2-3, when officials will decide whether to press ahead with another quarter-of-a-percentage-point rate increase and signal if even more hikes are to come, or defer to early evidence that consumers are finally feeling the pinch of tighter credit and higher borrowing costs.
CREDIT CONCERNS
On an inflation-adjusted basis, consumer spending dipped in February, while more recent weekly data on credit card spending from retail banking giants like Citi and Bank of America pointed to a consumer pullback. Consumer sentiment has also edged lower, a possible precursor to retrenchment.
The Labor Department’s release this coming Friday of the March employment report will be an important snapshot for the Fed of whether a red-hot job market is cooling – something that would also cause demand to slow.
Concerns remain about the banking sector and the condition of credit markets.
At the last Fed meeting, Powell noted that even if further bank failures are avoided, lending institutions may still become more cautious and, by curbing access to credit, slow the economy faster than anticipated. That is partly how monetary policy is supposed to operate, but if the process goes too far or too fast it could boost the risk of a recession, something Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari has warned about.
Graphic-Overall bank credit, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-ECONOMY/BANKS/jnvwyjlokvw/chart.png
The possibility of an acute crisis, however, seems to have receded. Fed emergency lending to banks, which jumped in the week after the March 10 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and failure of Signature Bank two days later, declined last week in a sign that financial sector stress was easing.
Overall credit provided by banks fell slightly in the week ending March 22 to a seasonally adjusted level of $17.53 trillion from $17.6 trillion the week before. Overall bank deposits fell, but rose slightly at the smaller institutions where recent financial stress has been focused.
Even if credit slows or dips, that may not translate clearly into less spending – and lower inflation – as long as the job market remains as strong as it is.
“People will continue to spend as long as they get paid,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, senior U.S. economist with BNP Paribas. “They get a little bit less access to credit, is it going to really affect the decisions? It will, but only at the point at which they stop getting paid” because of a slowing economy and rising unemployment.
‘MARKED CHANGE’
But regardless of how much or little an upcoming “credit crunch” affects the economy, there are signs consumer behavior is already starting to turn.
The personal savings rate, for example, has risen steadily from 3% – a pandemic-era low and well below the level of recent years – to 4.6%, a textbook reaction to the higher yields savers can now earn on money market funds and other short-term cash accounts, with less disposable income left for spending.
Graphic-Consumers moving towards yield?, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-FED/ECONOMY/egvbyjrklpq/chart.png
Recent spending and savings data show “a marked change in consumer behaviors … with inflation prompting more caution,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, wrote after the release last week of the most recent personal consumption statistics.
A recent decline in consumer sentiment was coupled with a drop in inflation expectations, something that could give the Fed confidence to be more cautious with any further rate increases.
Karen Dynan, a Harvard University economics professor and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said her outlook was for the Fed to face a “slog” against inflation that will require more rate increases but, because of the strength of household balance sheets and the labor market, skirt a recession.
Recent bank stress “has done a bit of the Fed’s work for it, but I don’t view it as a full substitute,” she said.
(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns and Paul Simao)
