By Maria Caspani and Dawn Chmielewski

(Reuters) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill that strips Walt Disney Co of self-governing authority at its Orlando-area parks in retaliation for its opposition to a new law that limits the teaching of LGBTQ issues in schools.

The Republican-controlled legislature on Thursday approved the bill, which will eliminate the special governing jurisdiction that allows the company to operate Walt Disney World Resort as its own city. Within the 25,000-acre tract, it operates four theme parks, two water parks and 175 miles of roadway.

Disney’s special status “was really an aberration,” DeSantis said at a news conference where he signed the bill into law. “No individual or no company in Florida is treated this way.”

Disney did not immediately comment on the bill’s signing.

While the financial impact on the company and the state is uncertain, the change could alter how Disney operates its sprawling Central Florida empire and sour the close relationship it has enjoyed with the state for more than 50 years.

The governor on Friday said Disney would pay more taxes as a result of the law but did not elaborate.

DeSantis is a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate who has courted conservative voters on issues such as immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights.

With his latest move against Disney, DeSantis is attempting to burnish his conservative credentials by showing he is willing to stand up to what he described as a “woke” company based in California that does not share Florida’s values.

Disney initially did not publicly oppose the LGBTQ legislation last month, prompting criticism from that community and some employees. The company later condemned the law and said it would suspend political donations in Florida pending a review.

The law, dubbed the “don’t say gay” bill by critics, bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade. DeSantis backed the measure, saying it would give parents more control over their children’s education.

Opponents call it a thinly veiled attempt to marginalize gay and transgender students, or the children of queer parents.

At a fundraiser in Seattle on Thursday, President Joe Biden weighed in on the clash between Disney and Florida Republicans. He said efforts to impose such constraints “have nothing to do with traditional conservative doctrine.”

“I respect conservatives. There’s nothing conservative about deciding you’re going to throw Disney out of its present posture because Mickey Mouse … should … not be able to say, you know, gay.”

While the bill appears to be an attack on Disney and sprawling Orlando theme parks, experts say the financial impact of the legislation on the company and the state is unclear at this stage.

DeSantis rushed the bill through the statehouse, pushing it through within three days of a special session, but it will not take effect until June 2023, giving the two sides time to adjust to the new reality.

The law dissolves the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was created in the 1960s to lure Disney World to the state, after the much smaller Disneyland had become a hit theme park in California.

For more than half a century the district has enabled Disney to function like a county government, providing services such as fire-fighting, power, water and roads within Orange and Osceola counties. In turn Disney can issue bonds with tax advantages to pay for improvements.

Disney is a major political contributor in the state. In the 2020 election cycle, the company donated $4.8 million in total, including campaign funds to more than 100 individual Florida legislative members, some of whom sponsored Thursday’s legislation, state records show.

It is unclear if the state or the company will be harmed most now that the bill has become law.

The Walt Disney Resort paid $780.3 million in state and local taxes in 2021, according to a fact sheet commemorating the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph said the legislation will punish local taxpayers more than Disney.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON -Boeing Co is preparing for a new delay in the 777X program that would push first deliveries by at least a year into early 2025, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The delay is in line with an estimate given by the plane’s biggest customer – Emirates Airlines – whose president, Tim Clark, told Aviation Daily in an April 7 story he did expect to receive its first Boeing 777X before 2025.

The source confirmed the delay, first reported Friday by the Air Current aviation industry publication that said Boeing expects to delay the certification target until late 2024 – or by another nine to 12 months for the wide-body aircraft – with deliveries to follow in 2025.

The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the revised target date had not yet been publicly released.

Reuters reported last month the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned Boeing in a March 21 letter that existing certification schedules for the 737 MAX 10 and 777X were “outdated and no longer reflect the program activities.”

Boeing had earlier said it expected to win certification for the 777X by the end of 2023. Certification is needed before Boeing can begin deliveries.

Asked about the delay report, Boeing said in a statement Friday it remains “focused on working transparently with regulators and our customers.”

The 777X, known as the 777-9 and a larger version of the 777 wide-body jet, has been in development since 2013 and at one point was expected to be released for airline use in June 2020.

Boeing is also working to gain approval for the 737 MAX 10 by the end of the year and ahead of a key safety deadline set by Congress.

The FAA in March asked Boeing to provide a “mature certification schedule” for the MAX 10.

A 2020 law sets a December 2022 deadline for imposing a new safety standard for cockpit alerts. Only Congress can extend the deadline if the FAA does not certify the 737 MAX 10 by then.

In May 2021, the FAA told Boeing that, realistically, it would not certify the 777X until mid- to late 2023 and rejected a request by Boeing to clear a certification hurdle, citing numerous concerns about lack of data and the lack of a preliminary safety assessment for the FAA to review.

Boeing is also working to resume 787 Dreamliner deliveries. Reuters reported Wednesday it advised key airlines and parts suppliers that deliveries would resume in the second half of 2022.

Boeing’s swollen 787 inventory, amassed since it halted deliveries nearly a year ago over structural flaws, has locked up desperately needed cash and cut airline capacity.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Tim Hepher; editing by Bernard Orr)

(Reuters) -Bed Bath & Beyond Inc is fielding interest from potential buyers for its Buybuy Baby business following activist pressure to sell the unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The suitors include private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP and Tailwind Acquisition Corp, a blank-check firm chaired by Casper Sleep Inc’s former chief executive Philip Krim, the report said.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Cerberus Capital and Tailwind Acquisition did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Shares of the company gained as much as 11% on the news before closing up 7% at $17.46.

The home goods retailer has been under pressure from activist investor and GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen to explore strategic alternatives.

As part of a settlement with Cohen in March, Bed Bath & Beyond appointed three new directors to its board, two of them to the committee exploring options for the baby products chain.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON -Oil slipped on Friday, posting a weekly loss of nearly 5%, on the prospect of weaker global growth, higher interest rates and COVID-19 lockdowns in China hurting demand even as the European Union considers a ban on Russian oil that would tighten supply.

Brent crude settled down $1.68, or 1.6%, at $106.65 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined $1.72, or 1.7%, to $102.07.

Global benchmark Brent hit $139 a barrel last month, its highest price since 2008, but both oil benchmarks declined nearly 5% this week on demand concerns.

The International Monetary Fund, which this week cut its global economic growth forecast for 2022, could further downgrade it if Western countries expand their sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine, and energy prices rise further, the agency’s No. 2 official said.

The German government will cut its growth forecast for 2022 to 2.2% from 3.6%, a government source said, while Chinese demand for gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel in April is expected to slide 20% from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported, as many of China’s biggest cities, including Shanghai, are in COVID lockdowns.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday said a half-percentage-point increase in U.S. interest rates “will be on the table” at the next Fed policy meeting in May, pushing the dollar to more than a two-year high. A stronger greenback makes oil and other commodities more expensive for those holding other currencies.

“At this stage, fears over China’s growth and overtightening by the Fed, capping U.S. growth, seem to be balancing out concerns that Europe will soon widen sanctions on Russian energy imports,” said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at brokerage OANDA.

Speculators’ net long bets on the U.S. dollar fell for a third straight week, according to calculations by Reuters and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.

SUPPLY TIGHTNESS

On the supply side, the Russia-Kazakh Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is expected to resume full exports from April 22 after almost 30 days of disruptions, sources said.

The U.S. oil rig count rose by one to 549 this week, the highest number since April 2020, according to a Baker Hughes Co report.

Still, supply tightness provided support as Libya loses 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) of output due to disruptions. Supply could be squeezed further if the EU imposes an embargo on Russian oil.

An EU source told Reuters this week the European Commission was working to speed up availability of alternative energy supplies, while a senior White House adviser said he was confident Europe is determined to close off or further restrict remaining Russian oil and gas exports.

The Netherlands said it plans to stop using Russian fossil fuels by the end of this year.

Morgan Stanley raised its third-quarter Brent price forecast by $10 per barrel to $130, citing a “greater deficit” this year due to lower supply from Russia and Iran, which is likely to outweigh short-term demand headwinds.

European refiners processed 9.04 million bpd of crude in March, down 4% from a month earlier and 4.8% higher than a year earlier, Euroilstock data showed.

U.S. oil refiners are expected to have about 1.08 million bpd of capacity offline for the week ending April 22, increasing available refining capacity by 47,000 bpd, research company IIR Energy said.

“While we may slide, there’s a certain point at which we will find support because the fundamentals here are just too tight for things to slide very far,” said Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London, Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Isabel Kua in SingaporeEditing by Marguerita Choy, Mark Potter and Paul Simao)

(Reuters) – All three Wall Street benchmarks fell more than 2% on Friday, stumbling towards the end of a week which has seen whipsaw moves caused by surprise earnings news, increased certainty around aggressive near-term interest rate rises and concern that far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen could win an upset victory over incumbent Emmanuel Macron in Sunday’s election. [.N]

MARKET REACTION:

* STOCKS: Dow down 2.71%, S&P 500 down 2.65%, Nasdaq down 2.42%

* BONDS: The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 2.9025%. [US/]

* FOREX: The dollar index rose 0.527% [FRX/]

* VIX: The VIX was up 23.5% at 28.01 and touched its highest level in more than a month

COMMENTS:

JOHN LYNCH, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, COMERICA WEALTH MANAGEMENT, CHARLOTTE, NC (email)

“The combination of Jerome Powell’s comments and some disappointing earnings news was too much for investors to handle heading into the weekend. Moreover, market-based breakeven inflation expectations are climbing, providing a more powerful statement on the potential for persistent pricing pressures than headlines have been suggesting.

“We believe the concerns over the likelihood of 50-basis point rate hikes at the next two FOMC meetings is an overreaction.  Approximately $150 billion in securities on the Fed’s balance sheet are maturing over the next few months, suggesting the central bank could still be purchasing up to $100 billion in bonds, essentially offsetting any impact from the interest rate moves.

“In the months ahead, though, balance sheet reduction will not require elevated asset purchases, providing a better lever for the Fed to pull regarding rates and runoff.”

STEPHEN MASSOCCA, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WEDBUSH SECURITIES, SAN FRANCISCO “The market has concerns inflation is going to prompt central banks to tighten further and faster than investors are comfortable with and that it will have a negative effect on asset pricing including stocks,” “Inflation is starting to have an impact on corporate earnings and we saw that today.”

“It’s starting to be pervasive.” THOMAS HAYES, CHAIRMAN, MANAGING MEMBER, GREAT HILL CAPITAL LLC, NEW YORK

“This has nothing to do with Fed and interest rates. The one thing that no one is talking about is the French election on Sunday. There is a lot of fear in Europe that Le Pen gets elected. Le Pen is a populist who’d be potentially anti-euro and the fear is that it could be a shock along the magnitude of what Brexit was. Because if Le Pen wins, the knock-on implication is that they might withdraw from the European Union or that would be a possibility that’s on the table.

“No one’s thinking about that. It was evident with the selling into the 11:30 a.m. close in Europe and then it carried through with margin calls in the U.S. through 2:30 p.m. No we’re getting a little relief, not much, after the margin calls at 2:30 p.m. This is all about the election on Sunday because that would be a something that nobody’s pricing in.”

JAMIE COX, MANAGING PARTNER, HARRIS FINANCIAL GROUP, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA (email)

“Markets are very uneasy about the growing likelihood of a policy error by the Federal Reserve.  When a Fed official suggests a 50 basis points hike, markets immediately start trying to price in 75 basis point hikes.  It’s madness really.  Most investors would be well served to ignore the machinations of the pricing craziness and wait to see what actually happens with rates.”

(Compiled by the Global Finance & Markets Breaking News team)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Stefano Rebaudo

NEW YORK – The dollar surged to a more than two-year high on Friday, continuing to draw support from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on Thursday that seemed to back a half a percentage point tightening at next month’s policy meeting, as well as his remarks on a likely consecutive rate hikes this year.

The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback’s value against six major currencies, hit 101.33, the highest since March 2020, It was last up 0.6% at 101.16 =USD, the largest daily percentage gain since mid-March. So far this year, the dollar index has gained 5.7%.

“The macro fundamentals are still pointing to a higher dollar as short-term Treasury yields vs comparable maturity on sovereign yields are positive and inflation is high globally,” said Stan Shipley, fixed income strategist, at Evercore ISI in New York.

“These macro drivers work well until the dollar reaches a level where economic growth is significantly impaired and the credit worthiness of U.S. government debt is suspect,” he added.

Powell on Thursday said a half-point interest rate increase “will be on the table” when U.S. central bank meets on May 3-4. (Full Story)

Fed funds futures 0#FF: have started to price in a third 50-basis-point hike in July, after the same increase in May and June, and nearly 250 basis points of cumulative increases in 2022.

“Even if the Fed does back-to-back-to-back 50 basis-point hikes, that’s still at a rate that is at the bottom end or below neutral,” said Calvin Tse, head of Americas Developed Markets Strategy (FX, Rates, Equities), at BNP Paribas in New York.

“They likely don’t feel that it’s excessive tightening because even after these hikes are put in place, policy will still be loose, still accommodative.”

Across the Atlantic, the euro fell 0.4% to $1.0792 EUR=EBS, after European Central Bank officials sent mixed policy signals.

ECB President Christine Lagarde struck a dovish tone on Thursday by saying the central bank might need to cut its growth outlook a day after ECB dove Luis de Guindos joined some policymakers in calling for an early end of the bank’s asset buying scheme coupled with a rate rise in July. (Full Story) (Full Story)

Investors are also waiting for Sunday’s run-off of French presidential elections between incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, with the latest polls showing Macron winning with 55% of the votes.

Le Pen’s win could provoke tensions with European allies and weigh on the euro, analysts said.

Sterling fell against the dollar to its lowest since November 2020 GBP= after sales data and recent Bank of England comments (Full Story) (Full Story) signalled a possible slowdown in the expected rate hike path.

The pound fell 1.5% against the dollar to $1.2832 GBP=D3a, after hitting $1.2830, the lowest since October 2020.

Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.2% to 128.55 yen. The yen is still within striking distance of its weakest level since April 2002 at 129.43 yen per dollar hit on Wednesday JPY=EBS.

Since the beginning of the year, the yen has lost more than 10% of its value against a resurgent dollar. A weak yen has raised the cost of import prices such as commodities, which are still priced in dollars.

Traders overall remained wary of intervention from Japanese monetary officials to strengthen the yen.

Japanese television broadcaster TBS reported on Friday that Japan and the United States likely discussed the idea of coordinated currency intervention to stem further yen falls during a bilateral finance leaders’ meeting.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki described recent yen falls as “sharp” and said he agreed with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to communicate closely on currency moves. (Full Story)

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Friday refused to block TurboTax maker Intuit Inc from running ads for “free” tax filing that the Federal Trade Commission said deceived millions of taxpayers.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction for three reasons.

Breyer found the risk of future harm “attenuated” because the main April 18 tax filing deadline has already passed, most taxpayers have filed their taxes, and Intuit said it has largely finished advertising for this tax season.

The judge also said Intuit had removed several of the more “plausibly deceptive” ads, some repeating the word “free” a dozen times or more in 30 seconds before brief disclaimers.

Finally, Breyer said an FTC administrative law judge will review Intuit’s ad practices at a Sept. 14 hearing, and likely rule before the company’s ad campaign resumes.

The FTC can return to court if Intuit resumes its ads before the administrative law judge rules.

Intuit, based in Mountain View, California, ran some of the challenged ads during this year’s Super Bowl and NCAA college basketball tournament, the FTC said.

An FTC spokesman declined to comment.

Intuit said it was pleased with the ruling and will continue defending against the FTC’s claims.

“We are clear and fair with our customers and open and transparent about our advertising practices,” the company said in a statement.

In its March 28 lawsuit, the FTC said about two-thirds of tax filers, including gig workers and people with farm income, could not use TurboTax’s free product despite ad slogans such as: “TurboTax Free is free. Free free free free.”

The FTC enforces antitrust law and laws against deceptive ads.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Will Dunham)

By Alan Charlish and Anna Koper

WARSAW -Poland failed to reach agreement with air traffic controllers on Friday in a dispute over pay and conditions, a trade union spokeswoman said, moving airlines closer to what European authorities have said could be mass flight cancellations.

The disruption, affecting not only flights to and from Poland but also those passing through the country’s airspace, could start on May 1, the day after the end of the notice period for air traffic controllers who chose to quit rather than accept new working regulations they say threaten safety.

Talks will resume on Sunday afternoon, the spokeswoman said.

European air safety body Eurocontrol said Poland’s Civil Aviation Authority will drastically cut the number of flights in Polish airspace if no agreement is reached.

“As of 1 May, the Polish CAA will implement a flight cancellation programme to significantly reduce the number of flights into/out of Polish airspace,” Eurocontrol said in an emailed statement.

“It is anticipated that there will be enough controllers for the approach to Warsaw airports to operate … with a total capacity of around 170 flights. The two Warsaw airports were expected to handle on average 510 flights each day in May.”

According to the Polish air traffic controllers’ union, 180 out of 206 controllers working in Warsaw chose to resign rather than accept the new working conditions. Forty-four of the 180 have already left, and the notice period for the remaining 136 ends on April 30.

The union says proposals including a cut in air traffic controllers’ pay and an increase from eight to 12 in the maximum number of hours they can work in a shift are unacceptable.

“We are fighting for safety and for the return of a culture of work safety and this means an environment of trust, which is built, not bought,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

Deputy Infrastructure Minister Marcin Horala has previously said the air traffic controllers’ pay demands are not realistic given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced the fees the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) gets from airlines.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Koper; Editing by Hugh Lawson, William Maclean and Catherine Evans)

By Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM – Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB), a subsidiary of Russia’s Alfa Bank, has been declared bankrupt, the Dutch central bank (DNB) said on Friday, citing an Amsterdam District Court Ruling.

A statement on the DNB website said ATB depositors would be covered up to 100,000 euros ($108,000) each under the Netherlands’ deposit guarantee system. The bank had around 23,000 customers, of whom most are Dutch but 6,000 are German, the DNB said.

According to filings at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, the bank’s ultimate beneficial owner is Mikhail Fridman, the Russian-Israeli billionaire who is contesting Western sanctions imposed on him following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His stake in ATB was said to be more than 25% but no more than 50%.

Alfa Bank is subject to U.S. sanctions, but has not been targeted by the European Union.

ATB itself had not been sanctioned, but Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) reported that depositors began to panic on Thursday.

In a statement on its website, ATB confirmed it had requested and been granted bankruptcy. The bank said that U.S. and British sanctions had “caused operational difficulties, as the majority of ATB’s counterparties, including corresponding banks … find it difficult to continue supporting ATB.”

The FD newspaper had previously reported that ATB’s owners were seeking to sell the bank and depositors discovered that other European banks were unwilling to accept transfers out of ATB for fear of falling foul of sanctions.

The small bank had previously been known for trade financing but had sought in recent years to become a lender to small and medium size companies.

According to its 2020 annual report, the most recent on record at the Chamber of Commerce, ATB had assets of around 1.2 billion euros and equity of 174 million euros. It made a profit of 27 million euros that year.

($1 = 0.9270 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)