2024-04-26 15:24

Involves one of Germany's biggest online brokers, FlatexDegiro CEO stepped down after criticism from founder and shareholder Disagreement included crypto strategy Shares up 22% after earnings FRANKFURT, April 26 (Reuters) - A rare public boardroom dispute in Germany escalated on Friday, with the outgoing CEO of a major online broker criticising a company founder who had publicly campaigned against him. Frank Niehage, the CEO of broker FlatexDegiro (FTKn.DE) New Tab, opens new tab, this week suddenly announced he would leave after 10 years at the helm of the firm that operates in 16 countries with 2.7 million customers. The departure followed sharp criticism from the company's founder and major shareholder, Bernd Foertsch, who told a business magazine last month New Tab, opens new tab he would vote against Niehage and the company's chair at an upcoming shareholder meeting due to strategic mistakes, such as "sleeping through a cryptocurrency boom". It is rare in the staid corporate culture of Europe's largest economy for such disagreements to occur in public rather than behind closed doors. Niehage told a regularly scheduled earnings call with analysts on Friday he had resigned to "avoid further damage" to the company's reputation and to "resolve tension" with Foertsch. He accused Foertsch of trying to get a seat on the supervisory board "through the back door, claiming to know better what's good for the firm", and called on shareholders to vote in favour of the chair at their meeting. "Please register yourself for the upcoming annual meeting and exercise your voting power," Niehage said. "It is like in democracies: if you don't vote, you support minorities." Niehage, Foertsch and a FlatexDegiro spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. The chair, Martin Korbmacher, declined to comment. The broker, which was fined by its regulator in 2023 and told to fix "serious shortcomings" in its internal controls, has steadily increased its profits over the past year. On Thursday, it posted a 340% increase in first quarter net profit from a year earlier. Its shares surged 22% in late Friday trade. Guido Moellering, director and chair of the Reinhard Mohn Institute of Management, said that the deep entanglements of board members and executives in the country, known as Germany Inc., has kept such "conflicts out of the public eye". Niehage's jab is "retaliation" for public criticism from Foertsch, a publishing entrepreneur who "may not have internalised the behind-closed-door-culture," Meollering added. Foertsch, in last month's interview with WirtschaftsWoche, criticised FlatexDegiro for not offering cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin directly through its platform. Niehage had in the past expressed scepticism about such offerings, saying in October: "We are still in a crypto winter". Stephan Simmang, one of FlatexDegiro's two interim CEOs, told journalists on Friday that Niehage "had an opinion on crypto that many of us didn't agree with". Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/rare-german-boardroom-fight-broker-ceo-exits-with-jab-founder-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 14:11

BRASILIA, April 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank chief said on Friday that the environment of greater uncertainties does not have a mechanical relationship with the conduct of monetary policy, emphasizing that U.S. interest rates are currently a major beacon. Speaking at an event hosted by the Young President's Organization (YPO), he said all eyes are focused on the inflation of the world's largest economy, which has stopped falling. The topic is highly relevant for global liquidity and the central bank is discussing the external environment more than usual "because it's very relevant to us right now". If interest rates in the U.S. remain higher for longer, extra liquidity will be drawn to the developed world, which will impact both emerging markets and corporate debts, said Campos Neto, adding that this outlook probably implies a trend of a stronger U.S. dollar for a longer period. "The increase in uncertainty doesn't mean ... that there is a mechanical relationship (with monetary policy). It means that there is a concern that we thought could happen, it is happening, and it is happening faster than we thought." On Monday, Campos Neto highlighted that policymakers "couldn't provide guidance due to significant uncertainty," indicating they were no longer committed to a future 50 basis-point cut. The central bank revised its monetary policy guidance in March, anticipating a new 50 basis-point reduction at its next meeting in May and departing from its previous pattern of signaling same-size cuts for "upcoming meetings". Since the beginning of the monetary easing cycle in August, borrowing cuts have been cut by 300 basis points to 10.75%. Campos Neto also said that it is currently very difficult for the political class in the world to embrace any kind of fiscal tightening. "What will happen is that central banks' lives will become more difficult with expansionary fiscal policies," he said. After inflation data in Brazil showed an annual advance of 3.77% to mid-April, slowing down from 4.14% in the 12 months to mid-March, Campos Neto said that the reading seemed to have improved, but he needed to examine the details. He stressed that inflation expectations in the country have been ticking up, and that policymakers are trying to understand the reasons for that, which could include higher oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-central-bank-chief-says-no-mechanical-relationship-between-uncertainties-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 14:07

SAO PAULO, April 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's consumer prices rose slightly less than expected in the mid-April reading, data from statistics agency IBGE showed on Friday. Prices in Latin America's largest economy rose 0.21% in the month to mid-March, below the 0.29% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters. This took the inflation of the previous 12 months to 3.77%, slowing down from 4.14% in the 12 months to mid-March and also below expectations of a 3.86% increase. The reading marked the first time since July last year the figure came in below 4%. "All told, the inflation picture continues to improve in Brazil, thanks to favorable base effects, the lagged effect of high-interest rates and softening domestic demand," said Andres Abadia, Chief Latam Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. This adds to the view that interest rate cuts will continue in the near term, he wrote in a note to clients. Brazil's central bank delivered 50-basis-point interest rate cuts at each of its last six meetings, but Governor Roberto Campos Neto has opened the door for that easing pace to be reduced. Given the recent sell-off of the Brazilian real and a more cautious instance from the monetary authority committee, "the most probable scenario is a 25 basis-point cut" on the May meeting, Abadia added. The group comprised of food and beverages reported the greatest price hike in the period, growing 0.61%, which accounted for 0.13 percentage points of the total increase. The transportation group, on the other hand, was the only one to report disinflation, as airfare prices fell 12.2%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-inflation-slows-021-mid-april-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 13:36

April 26 (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O) New Tab, opens new tab breached the $2 trillion market value mark for the first time since November 2021 on Friday, as investors cheered the Google parent announcing its first-ever dividend and a $70 billion stock buyback. The stock was last trading up 11.7% at $173.55, after hitting a record high moments after the market opened. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-parent-alphabet-reclaims-spot-2-trillion-valuation-club-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 12:49

April 26 (Reuters) - Additional tests of milk showed that pasteurization killed the bird flu virus, federal health officials said on Friday, as Colorado became the ninth U.S. state to report an infected dairy herd. Federal lawmakers urged the Biden administration to further contain the virus' spread as tests showed one in five U.S. commercial milk samples contained remnants of the virus, suggesting the outbreak is more widespread than previously thought. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late on Friday said preliminary results from gold-standard PCR testing showed pasteurization killed the virus in milk and baby formula. It did not say how many milk products it had tested but added that it plans to do more testing on 297 products from 38 states. One person, a Texas farm worker, has been confirmed to have bird flu and suffered conjunctivitis in the current outbreak following exposure to dairy cows. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization said on Friday the current overall public health risk is low, but is higher for those with exposure to infected animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed milking cows in Colorado tested positive, following earlier infections in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, New Mexico, North Carolina and South Dakota. Congress members' push for a stronger response added pressure on federal agriculture and health authorities still seeking to confirm how the H5N1 virus is spreading and its potential risks to people, one month after the first detection in a Texas dairy herd. An analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture data by a University of Arizona scientist offers new evidence that the first known H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle is more far-reaching than the 34 herds in nine states that have officially tested positive. "Containing this before it spreads among humans is critical. Given lessons learned from COVID, this federal response is insufficient," Republican U.S. Senator Mitt Romney said in a post on X. Some lawmakers, including Romney, have made a bipartisan push to reauthorize legislation known as the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act that lapsed last year and is aimed at bolstering the nation's response to pandemics and other public health threats. The recent spread of bird flu and the detection of H5N1 genetic materials in milk have increased some calls for action. The virus in the human case is significantly different from the bird flu virus samples taken from infected cattle that were made public by government officials last weekend, said Dr. Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Arizona. The difference between the genetic sequences of the worker's virus and the 239 other samples provided indicate that "this was a very longstanding, widespread epidemic," he told Reuters. The Texas Animal Health Commission said it did not receive the location of the worker's farm or obtain samples of that herd to test because of the person's confidentiality. "I think the sequences out there probably aren't representative of everything that's circulating," said Dr. Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. A CDC spokesperson said in an email "there are always some subtle changes in genetic sequences when flu viruses move from host-to-host," but said data points to the virus emerging from birds to infect cows and then transmission to the human. BIRD FLU TRACES FOUND IN US MILK One in five commercial milk samples tested in a nationwide survey contained particles of the H5N1 virus, the FDA said late on Thursday. The agency said there is no reason to believe the virus found in milk poses a risk to human health and on Friday described results of the new tests. "This says this virus has largely saturated dairy cattle throughout the country," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota. Many infectious disease experts and government officials have said they believe the pasteurization process will inactivate the virus, also known as avian influenza. "I'm not worried about the milk itself," said Samuel Alcaine, associate professor, of food science at Cornell University. "It does indicate that the virus is more widespread among dairies than we had previously thought." Osterholm said the U.S. should be doing much more sampling, in both dairy and beef cattle, as well as pigs. Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, a significant dairy state with no reported cases, has urged the USDA to "quickly deploy additional resources in states that have the opportunity to prevent the disease from entering herds." The White House has said that it is monitoring the avian flu situation, launching an "immediate response team" to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply, monitor trends to mitigate risk and prevent the virus' spread. Starting on Monday, the USDA will require dairy cows to test negative for bird flu before they are moved across state lines. In Indiana, officials are weighing their own potential restrictions, such as testing within the state, though it has no confirmed cases, said Bret Marsh, the state veterinarian. "We're taking a look here at the state level to see what we may need to do," he said on a conference call. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fda-says-about-1-5-commercial-milk-samples-tested-positive-bird-flu-traces-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 12:39

HOUSTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab on Friday missed analysts' estimates with a 28% year-on-year drop in first quarter profits as weaker refining margins and lower natural gas prices offset volume gains. Latest results from oil and gas companies including Chevron (CVX.N) New Tab, opens new tab and TotalEnergies(TTEF.PA) New Tab, opens new tab reflect a sharp downturn in natural gas prices after a warmer than usual Northern Hemisphere winter cut demand and pushed up inventories. Exxon, which is in the process of closing a $60 billion deal for top shale oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N) New Tab, opens new tab, posted lower first-quarter earnings of $8.22 billion, down from an $11.43 billion net profit a year ago. The stock was down 1.8% in pre-market trading at $119.25 after reporting a profit per share of $2.06, 6% shy of Wall Street analysts' consensus for $2.20 per share, LSEG estimates showed. Earnings from oil and gas production fell 14% on lower natural gas prices and refining tumbled 67% on weaker fuel margins, mark-to-market derivatives, and higher maintenance costs. Its chemicals business, however, was a standout, with earnings more than doubling on lower input costs and higher margins, the company said. Earnings of $8.22 billion for the first quarter ended March 31 were off 29% compared to adjusted profit of $11.62 billion a year earlier. But the results were the second highest for a first quarter in the past decade, behind the year-ago period, said Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells. The miss was due in part to tax and inventory balance sheet adjustments, she said. "Every quarter, we have some pluses and minuses associated with these one-off items", she said. "Sometimes they are favorable, this time they were unfavorable." Global oil prices were largely flat against a year ago while the company received a price for its natural gas that was 32% less than a year ago, the company said. Oil and gas results were boosted by lower costs and higher volumes from Exxon's Guyana operations, where the latest production vessel hit full production earlier than expected. Hess, (HES.N) New Tab, opens new tab one of Exxon's partners in the South American country, earlier flagged the increase with a 70% year-over-year output gain. "Oil volumes outpaced the street, driven by surging production in Guyana, where gross production reached a record 600,000 barrels per day," said Peter McNalley, an analyst at Third Bridge. Exxon's capital spending last quarter was the lowest in seven quarters and its streamlining of operations expanded what it calls structural cost savings by $400 million. It added $1.7 billion in cash last quarter to end the period with $33.3 billion. DEAL CLOSING Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer is expected to wrap up in coming weeks. Exxon has started the integration process with a team working separately from the business, Mikells said. "We are feeling really good about our interactions with the Pioneer people and making sure that we put our best foot forward as we close this transaction," she said. The all-stock deal for Pioneer would make Exxon the largest oil and gas producer in the top U.S. shale field, doubling output there to more than 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Exxon forecasts the combination will allow it to reach 2 million barrels per day in 2027. That deal was the largest among a series of blockbuster combinations in recent years, as wildcatters including Pioneer, Endeavor Energy and CrownRock were acquired by bigger companies which sought to lock in years of future production and achieve economies of scale from expanded operations. Pioneer’s shares this week traded at $275 apiece, a 9% increase to their October deal value. HESS ARBITRATION Exxon is in a dispute with Chevron and Hess over assets in Guyana, home to the biggest oil finds in the past two decades. In face of Chevron's $53 billion offer for Hess, Exxon has claimed preemption rights over Hess' Guyana assets. That claim is being considered by an international arbitration panel. Hess' 30% stake in the Guyana joint venture is the prize in Chevron's proposed takeover. Mikells said Exxon and partner CNOOC Ltd will "evaluate our options" if the arbitration panel agrees that they have the first of first refusal to a sale. "It is all about clarifying our contractual rights, period," she said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/exxon-misses-q1-profit-despite-big-gains-guyana-2024-04-26/