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Reuters

  • Oil eases after rising to two-week high on Russia-Ukraine supply concerns

    Oil eases after rising to two-week high on Russia-Ukraine supply concerns

    Oil prices edged down on Tuesday after surging nearly 2% in the previous session, as traders kept a close watch on developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for the potential impact on fuel supplies from the region.

    Brent crude futures fell 16 cents, or 0.23%, to $68.64 per barrel at 0005 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also lost 16 cents, or 0.25%, to $64.64.

    Both contracts rose to their highest in over two weeks on Monday, with WTI futures climbing above the 100-day moving average.

    “The risks for crude oil prices appear tilted toward further gains, particularly if the price sustains a move above the $64–$65 resistance level,” IG analysts said in a note.

    Oil’s rally on Monday was primarily driven by concerns of supply disruptions as Ukraine struck Russian energy infrastructure, and as traders anticipated more US sanctions on Russian oil.

    Read more: Fire at nuclear plant after Russia downs Ukrainian drone

    The attacks disrupted Moscow’s oil processing and exports, created gasoline shortages in some parts of Russia, and came in response to Moscow’s advances on the front lines and its pounding of Ukraine’s gas and power facilities.

    Barclays, in a note to clients on Monday, said that oil prices remain in a tight range amid geopolitical volatility and relatively resilient fundamentals.

    US President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to impose sanctions on Russia if there is no progress towards a peace deal in the next two weeks.

    Traders are also awaiting the latest US inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) later in the day, with expectations pointing to a fall in crude and gasoline stocks but a possible build in distillate inventories.

  • Tesla rejected $60 million settlement before losing $243m Autopilot verdict

    Tesla rejected $60 million settlement before losing $243m Autopilot verdict

    Billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla rejected a $60 million settlement proposal in a lawsuit over the 2019 fatal crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S before a jury this month awarded a $243 million verdict in the case.

    Lawyers for the plaintiffs disclosed the settlement proposal in a filing on Monday in the federal court in Miami, Florida, as part of a request for legal fees from Tesla.

    They said Florida law entitles them to the legal fees the plaintiffs accrued since May 30, when the settlement was proposed.

    Tesla and a lawyer representing the company in the case did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had no immediate comment.

    The trial focused on an April 2019 crash involving a 2019 Model S featuring Autopilot driver-assistance software. The driver’s Tesla struck the victims’ parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing beside it on a shoulder.

    Read more: Tesla to sell Model Y cars in India, starting at $69,770

    Jurors awarded the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo, who was seriously injured, a combined $129 million in compensatory damages, plus $200 million in punitive damages. Tesla was held liable for 33% of the compensatory damages, or $42.6 million, and all of the punitive damages.

    Jurors found the driver liable for 67% of the compensatory damages, but he was not a defendant.

    Tesla has denied any wrongdoing, and said the verdict “only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology.” Tesla has said it will appeal.

    The plaintiffs’ lawyers have said the trial was the first involving the wrongful death of a third party resulting from Autopilot.

    Tesla has faced similar lawsuits over its vehicles’ self-driving capabilities, but they have been resolved or dismissed without getting to trial.

  • Puma shares soar on report Pinault family exploring sale of 29% stake

    Puma shares soar on report Pinault family exploring sale of 29% stake

    Shares in Puma SE surged after Bloomberg reported on Monday that the holding company of France’s Pinault family is weighing options for its 29% stake in the German sportswear maker including sounding out potential buyers.

    The Pinault’s holding company, Artemis, which controls Gucci-owner Kering (PRTP.PA), opens new tab and other businesses in the luxury, arts and entertainment industries, has become the subject of increased scrutiny from investors over high debt accumulated across its portfolio as it sought to diversify investments.

    A spokesperson for Artemis, Puma’s biggest shareholder, declined to comment. Puma did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

    Puma’s shares, which have lost over 60% of their value over the past two years, were up 18% at 1353 GMT.

    Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported the Pinaults were working with advisors to assess options for the asset and had reached out to potential buyers.

    The stake is worth roughly 800 million euros ($936.56 million), based on Puma’s market capitalisation provided by LSEG which does not include Monday’s price surge.

    Artemis had issued an exchangeable bond worth 500 million euros that was due earlier this year in a bid to downsize its holding.

    But it needed to pay investors back in cash rather than company shares due to Puma’s poor share price performance.

    Artemis said last month it was not facing any liquidity problems due to a drop in dividends from Kering and other assets, including Puma.

    Artemis acquired its stake in Puma following a reshuffle of Kering’s portfolio in 2018 when Kering, which until then also controlled Puma, was transformed into a pure luxury player.

     

  • Intel warns US stake could hurt international sales, future grants

    Intel warns US stake could hurt international sales, future grants

    WASHINGTON: Intel said on Monday that the U.S. government’s 9.9% stake in the chipmaker could pose risks to its business, from potentially harming international sales to limiting its ability to secure future government grants.

    The company laid out new risk factors in a securities filing after the government decided to convert $11 billion in government grants into an equity stake in Intel, the latest extraordinary intervention in corporate America by President Donald Trump.

    Separately, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a video posted on Monday by the Commerce Department that the company did not need the government funding.

    “I don’t need the grant,” Tan said. “But I really look forward to having the U.S. government be my shareholder.”

    But the filing from Intel raised questions about the U.S. investment. Intel noted, for example, that it is uncertain if the deal may result in other government entities trying to convert existing grants into equity investments or if they might be unwilling to support future grants.

    Intel shares will be acquired with the $5.7 billion in unpaid grants from the 2022 CHIPS and Science semiconductor subsidy law and $3.2 billion awarded to Intel for the Secure Enclave program last year under Trump’s predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden.

    “To the maximum extent permissible under applicable law,” Intel’s obligations under the CHIPS Act will be considered discharged, barring the Secure Enclave program, according to the filing.

    Intel’s non-U.S. business may also be impacted by the U.S. government being a significant stockholder as this could subject the company to additional regulations or restrictions such as foreign subsidy laws in other countries, the filing said.

    Sales outside the United States accounted for 76% of its revenue last year while revenue from China contributed 29% to total revenue.

    Trump’s deal with Intel came after Tan had a meeting with the president, who had demanded Tan’s resignation over his ties to Chinese firms.

    The company also said the shares to be issued to the U.S. government at a discount to the current market price are dilutive to existing stockholders.

    Read More: P&G selling’bumbum’ diapers as Pampers lose ground

    The government is purchasing Intel shares at a $4 discount to Intel’s closing stock price of $24.80 on Friday. Intel shares rose 2% in early trading on Monday to $25.25.

    The government’s substantial additional powers over laws and regulations impacting Intel may limit the company’s ability to pursue transactions that benefit shareholders, the filing said.

     

  • xAI sues Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI

    xAI sues Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI

    Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI sued Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI in U.S. federal court in Texas on Monday, accusing them of illegally conspiring to thwart competition for artificial intelligence.

    Apple and OpenAI have “locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing,” the lawsuit, opens new tab said.

    Apple’s partnership with OpenAI has integrated its AI platform ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

    “If not for its exclusive deal with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason to refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and the Grok app in its App Store,” the lawsuit said.

    In the lawsuit, xAI said it is seeking billions of dollars in alleged damages.
    “This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement.

    Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Musk had threatened to sue Cupertino, California-based Apple earlier this month, saying in a post on his social media platform X that Apple’s behavior “makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.”

    OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history in the months following its launch in late 2022.

    Musk’s xAI acquired X in March for $33 billion to enhance its chatbot training capabilities. Musk has also integrated the Grok chatbot into vehicles made by his electric automobile company Tesla.

    Musk’s xAI was launched less than two years ago and competes with Microsoft-backed, opens new tab OpenAI as well as with Chinese startup DeepSeek.

    Read More: US to take 10% equity stake in Intel

    Musk is separately suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in federal court in California to stop its conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit business. Musk cofounded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit.

    Apple’s App Store practices have been the focus of multiple lawsuits. In one ongoing case by “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games, a judge ordered Apple to allow greater competition for app payment options.

     

     

     

     

     

  • UK migrant arrivals on small boats reach new record

    UK migrant arrivals on small boats reach new record

    LONDON: A record 28,076 migrants have crossed the Channel to Britain in small boats this year, a 46% rise on the same period in 2024, government data showed on Monday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his handling of immigration.

    The sharp increase comes amid mounting public concern over immigration, which is polling as the public’s top concern, with anti-migrant protests continuing outside hotels housing asylum seekers.

    The record was reached on Sunday after 212 migrants arrived in four different boats that day, the data showed.

    The Home Office, or interior ministry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Demonstrations took place across Britain over the weekend following a court ruling last week that ordered the removal of asylum seekers from a hotel in Epping, north-east of London, the latest flashpoint in the immigration debate.

    Starmer’s Labour government has pledged to phase out hotel use by 2029 and to overhaul the asylum system. On Sunday it announced reforms to speed up asylum appeals and reduce a backlog of more than 100,000 cases.

    Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the country’s interior minister, said the changes were aimed at restoring “control and order” to a system she described as “in complete chaos”.

    Official data last week showed asylum claims were at a record high, with more migrants being housed in hotels compared with a year ago.

    Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party that has topped recent surveys of voting intentions, outlined plans for “mass deportations” of migrants arriving by small boats.

    Read More: Three young sisters drown, dozens rescued from boat carrying migrants to Italy

    These would include taking Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights, barring asylum claims, and building detention centres for 24,000 people.

    He told The Times newspaper he would strike repatriation deals with countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea, and arrange daily deportation flights.

     

     

     

     

  • Forward Rowe joins Bologna after alleged dressing room altercation at Marseille

    Forward Rowe joins Bologna after alleged dressing room altercation at Marseille

    England under-21 international Jonathan Rowe has joined Bologna, the Serie A club said, days after the winger was placed on the transfer list by Olympique de Marseille following reports of a dressing room altercation with a teammate.

    Transfer details were not disclosed but Italian media reported on Sunday that the 22-year-old former Norwich City player signed a four-year contract at Bologna, with the fee worth around 19.5 million euros ($22.82 million).

    Rowe and France midfielder Adrien Rabiot were put on the transfer list by Marseille due to “unacceptable behaviour” after their Ligue 1 loss at Stade Rennais.

    Read More: Alexander Isak may still go to Liverpool

    The pair arrived at Marseille last year and played regularly as the club finished second.

     

     

  • French PM Bayrou will seek confidence vote over budget plans

    French PM Bayrou will seek confidence vote over budget plans

    French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou will seek a high-stakes confidence vote in parliament on September 8 over unpopular plans to clean up France’s public finances.

    Bayrou’s move will gauge whether he has enough support in a fragmented parliament for his 44 billion euro ($51.51 billion) budget squeeze as he tries to tame a budget deficit that hit 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3%.

    If he loses the confidence vote, Bayrou’s minority government will fall.

    “We face an immediate danger, which we must tackle … otherwise we have no future,” Bayrou told a news conference about the debt burden. “Our country is in danger.”
    Bayrou said the confidence vote would focus on whether lawmakers agree

    with the gravity of the danger, and choose the path ahead to fix it.

    Bayrou’s efforts at belt-tightening have come under fire from both the left and the right, meaning that he faced the risk of a no-confidence vote like the one that toppled his predecessor, Michel Barnier, in late 2024 after just three months in office.

    With his announcement on Monday, Bayrou is seeking a vote on his government’s fate before the opposition calls a no-confidence vote.

    The confidence vote will take place just two days before planned protests, which have been called for on social media and backed by leftist parties and some unions.

    The September 10 call for general protests has drawn comparisons to the Yellow Vest protests that erupted in 2018 over fuel price hikes and the high cost of living.

    Before that, taxi drivers are expected to restart demonstrations on September 5 against the government’s plans to overhaul compensation for medical trips.

    The “gilets jaunes” protests spiralled into a broader movement against President Emmanuel Macron and his efforts at economic reform.

    Bayrou has proposed scrapping two public holidays and freezing welfare spending and tax brackets in 2026 at 2025 levels, not adjusting them for inflation.

    ($1 = 0.8536 euros)

  • Media mishap sparks Medvedev meltdown as Russian exits US Open

    Media mishap sparks Medvedev meltdown as Russian exits US Open

    NEW YORK: The U.S. Open descended into chaos on Sunday when a photographer came onto the court as Daniil Medvedev faced match point, bringing the first-round match to a standstill and sparking a spectacular meltdown from the Russian.

    Former champion Medvedev was eventually knocked out 6-3 7-5 6-7(5) 0-6 6-4 by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who threatened to walk off the court at one point and called for the Russian to be disqualified.

    Serving for the match at 6-3 7-5 5-4, Bonzi was preparing to play his second serve when the photographer stepped onto the court surface.

    The disruption led chair umpire Greg Allensworth to put Bonzi back onto his first serve, sparking an astonishing outburst from Medvedev.

    “Are you a man? Are you a man? Why are you shaking?” the Russian shouted as he stormed towards the chair.

    “He wants to go home, guys, he doesn’t like it here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”

    Medvedev also repeatedly shouted, “What did Reilly Opelka say?” at the official in reference to the U.S. player’s call for Allensworth to be suspended after receiving a code violation at the Dallas Open for confronting a spectator.

    The match was halted for about six minutes as jeers, whistles and boos rang out around Louis Armstrong Stadium, with fans refusing to stay quiet so Bonzi could serve.

    The USTA said the photographer was escorted from the court by U.S. Open security and that his credentials had been revoked.

    The chaos almost proved Medvedev’s salvation.

    After fending off the match point he broke to level the set at 5-5 before edging the tiebreak to force a fourth set.

    The 2021 champion looked a completely different player in the fourth set as he dished out a bagel to level the match as his rattled opponent took a medical timeout for what appeared to be a knee issue.

    Boos from the crowd continued for the remainder of the match, with some fans targeting Bonzi during his service motion.

    The final set was much more of a contest, with the duo exchanging multiple breaks of serve as the match wound down to a nail-biting finish.

    Spurred on by shouts of “Courage!” and “Allez!” from his box, Bonzi sealed the win with a glorious backhand, with Medvedev returning to his seat and smashing his racket.

    “It was crazy. I may have got some new fans, but also some new non-fans,” said world number 51 Bonzi, who has now beaten Medvedev in all three of their Grand Slam encounters, each time in the first round.

    Read More: Former India skipper Ganguly takes first coaching job at Pretoria Capitals

    “The energy was crazy. Thanks to all who were booing. Thanks for the energy.

    “I’ve never experienced something like that. We waited maybe five minutes before the match point and it was crazy. There was so much noise.”

    Medvedev becomes the first former champion to exit this year’s tournament, leaving Flushing Meadows after a horrible year at the majors where he managed to get to the second round just once.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Dr Pepper takes a shot at Nestle

    Dr Pepper takes a shot at Nestle

    Washington: U.S. soft drinks giant Keurig Dr Pepper is set to create a global coffee giant to rival market leader Nestle (NESN.S), with an $18 billion takeover of JDE Peet’s (JDEP.AS), Europe’s largest acquisition in more than two years.

    The deal, announced on Monday and offering a 20% premium to JDE Peet’s closing market price on Friday, proposes splitting the merged entity’s coffee operations and other beverage businesses into two separate publicly U.S.-listed companies, as the Dutch company would be delisted from the Amsterdam stock exchange.

    The transaction, which comes as the global trade war intensifies corporate action in the consumer goods sector, aims to create $400 million in annual cost savings, allowing the new entities to better fare against rising U.S. tariffs against coffee-producing nations and other trade rivals.

    “The new Coffee entity will be somewhat similar in size to the coffee business of Nestlé… The two would each have a market share of around 20% in the global CPG (coffee and tea consumer packaged goods) coffee market” ING analysts Maxime Stranart told Reuters.

    The deal comes amid record high prices for global coffee, driven by droughts in top producers Brazil and Vietnam and following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50% duties on beans imported from Brazil.

    “Rolling the two coffee businesses together makes sense, reducing the European-centric and commoditised nature of most of JDE Peet’s business, and giving Keurig international exposure,” said Jon Cox of Kepler Cheuvreux.

    The transaction announced on Monday would partly reverse a 2018 merger that created Keurig Dr Pepper by combining Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple, allowing investors to focus on one single segment rather than a bundle of diverse products.

    The new entities, called Beverage Co., and Global Coffee Co., will be led by Keurig’s CEO Cofer and CFO Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, respectively.

    Keurig said that Global Coffee Co., with around $16 billion in combined annual net sales, will be well positioned to profit from the world’s $400 billion coffee market, while Beverage Co., with more than $11 billion in yearly net sales, will focus on North America’s $300 billion refreshment beverage market.

     

    Read More: P&G selling’bumbum’ diapers as Pampers lose ground

    JDE Peet’s, with brands including Jacobs, L’Or, Tassimo and Douwe Egberts, was valued at 12.76 billion euros at Friday’s market close, while Keurig’s worth stood at around $48 billion, according to LSEG data.

    Its shares have risen nearly 10% this year on strong beverage sales, while the Dutch coffee maker’s almost doubled, supported by stable revenues and focus shift towards shareholders’ remuneration.

    JDE Peet’s is majority-owned by Germany’s JAB, which also holds a significant minority stake in Keurig Dr Pepper, according to LSEG data.