2024-03-05 12:43

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) , opens new tab is set to secure unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $28 billion bid for cybersecurity firm Splunk (SPLK.O) , opens new tab, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. The deal announced last year and Cisco's biggest ever will boost its software business amid a boom in artificial intelligence and also help offset a post-pandemic slowdown in demand. The European Commission is set to clear the deal after its preliminary review ends on March 13 after finding no anti-competitive issues, the people said. The EU competition enforcer declined to comment. Cisco and Splunk did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Last month, San Francisco, California-based Splunk said it expects the deal to close towards the end of the current quarter or early in the second quarter of 2024. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/ciscos-splunk-deal-set-win-unconditional-eu-antitrust-ok-sources-say-2024-03-05/

2024-03-05 12:33

BERLIN, March 5 (Reuters) - A letter claiming the suspected arson attack on Tesla's car factory outside Berlin in the name of a far-left militant group calling itself the "Volcano Group" surfaced on an alternative media website on Tuesday. "We sabotaged Tesla," read the letter, posted on website kontrapolis.info, describing the attack as a gift marking March 8 - International Women's Day. "Tesla consumes earth, resources, people, workers and in return spits out 6,000 SUVs, killer cars and monster trucks each week." Police said they were aware of the letter, which was signed "Agua De Pau", the name of a volcanic mountain in the Azores, and said they were checking its authenticity. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/letter-claims-tesla-fire-name-militant-leftist-group-2024-03-05/

2024-03-05 12:27

MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Russia and China are considering putting a nuclear power unit on the Moon around 2033-35, Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday, the RIA state news agency reported. https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/russia-china-are-considering-putting-nuclear-power-unit-moon-ria-2024-03-05/

2024-03-05 11:50

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia's biodiesel production could rise to 1.8 million metric tons in 2024 if the government expands its 20% biodiesel mandatory programme to more areas in the country, the Malaysian Biodiesel Association (MBA) said on Tuesday. Malaysia has rolled out a B20 programme, where diesel for transportation must be blended with 20% palm-based biodiesel, in phases with most areas in the nation currently implementing 10% blending or a B10 programme for the transportation sector. "We can get (several blending) facilities up and running faster, then we obviously can go into B20 then," MBA president U.R. Unnithan told Reuters in an interview, adding that nationwide implementation would take more time and cost. Unnithan said the group has submitted the recommendation to the government and hope expansion of the programme could be done in the second half of this year, however further discussions with other stakeholders is needed before a decision is made. Malaysia launched a nationwide mandatory 20% palm-based biodiesel blending for the transportation sector in 2020, however the programme has only been implemented in some areas as the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple changes of government in recent years hampered progress. The government has considered expanding its B10 biodiesel programme, which requires the mandatory use of 10% palm oil, to the industrial sector and has a mandate to use biodiesel with 30% palm oil by 2025. The Southeast Asian country exported nearly 300,000 tons of biodiesel last year, while around 1.1 million tons was consumed domestically. Unnithan, however, cautioned that the government's intention to review price controls and fuel subsidies could hurt domestic demand for biodiesel. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/malaysian-2024-biofuel-output-seen-rising-if-b20-biodiesel-usage-expanded-2024-03-05/

2024-03-05 11:46

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - The pound traded listlessly on Tuesday as currency markets remained sluggish, with sterling traders looking towards Wednesday's spring budget as a potential catalyst for volatility. Sterling was last up 0.07% at $1.2682, sticking to the $1.28 to $1.25 range it has traded in since November. The euro was also little changed against the pound at 85.55 pence. The main event for investors in the UK this week is the government's budget in which Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will do his utmost to cut taxes while avoiding the ire of bond markets, which saw off his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng in 2022. "While it is normal for the budget to not induce any real currency volatility, the muscle memory of the (Liz) Truss/Kwarteng horror show could still create a twitch," said Joe Tuckey, head of FX analysis at broker Argentex. "If the gilt market (British government bonds) gets a sniff of any tax cut pledge being unworkable, we could see sterling trade nervously." Survey data on Tuesday showed that British companies had their strongest month in February since May last year, suggesting the economy is out of a short recession. The S&P Global composite Purchasing Managers Index, spanning Britain' services and manufacturing sectors, edged up to 53.0 from 52.9 in January. A reading above 50 indicates that the private sector is growing. Measures of currency volatility have slumped to two-year lows, with analysts pointing to the fact that global bonds are moving in lock-step, limiting the movements between borrowing costs that typically drive FX markets. The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, edged very slightly higher to 103.87. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-static-waiting-possible-budget-jolt-2024-03-05/

2024-03-05 11:42

PRAGUE, March 5 (Reuters) - The drop in Czech inflation reflects a return to price stability although there are still risks that mean policy easing should be gradual and cautious, central bank board member Tomas Holub said in an interview with Czech media. "From this view, monetary policy does not have to be as strict as when there was double-digit inflation, but its easing must be gradual and relatively cautious," Holub said in an interview with the Roklen24 news website published on Tuesday. Inflation fell back to near the central bank's 2% target in January, reaching a rate of 2.3% year-on-year, after hitting double-digit peaks in 2022 and 2023. Holub said that the January figure was closer to target than the bank expected, but caution was warranted as some price segments, such as services, were not back to normal. There was also the risk that some segments that had helped lower inflation could turn, along with concerns over global shipping disruptions or a weakening crown currency, Holub said in the interview. These risks were likely not a threat to price stability, he said, but could keep inflation more in the upper half of the bank's 1-3% tolerance band. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/czech-central-banks-holub-says-easing-should-be-gradual-2024-03-05/