2023-11-24 18:17
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro's police said on Friday they have opened an investigation into the organizers of the Brazilian leg of Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" for the death of a 23-year-old fan who fell ill at the show last week. The police will investigate whether entertainment firm Time for Fun (T4F) (SHOW3.SA) committed the crime of endangering human life or health. Fans and concert-goers said they had been banned from entering the venue with bottles of water despite the extreme heat in the city which hit 59.3 degrees Celsius (138.7 degrees Fahrenheit) on the day of the event. Ana Clara Benevides fell ill last Friday, on the first night of Swift's Rio tour in Rio, and later died in hospital. The extreme weather led the U.S. pop star to postpone her concert the following day, just two hours before she was to go on stage. "The organizers of the event will be called to give evidence and further investigations are underway to ascertain the facts," Rio's civil police said in a statement. Police have also launched a separate investigation into the cause of Benevides' death, which has not yet been concluded. T4F said the company and its representatives were cooperating with the authorities and available for any clarifications. The firm's CEO Serafim Abreu acknowledged on Thursday that the concert organizers could have taken "alternative actions" to help fans cope with the extreme heat. Swift will conclude the Brazilian leg of her tour with three sold-out shows in Sao Paulo from Nov. 24 to 26, which are also organized by T4F. Weather forecasters say those days are set to be cloudy, rainy and have milder temperatures. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/rio-police-investigate-taylor-swift-concert-organizers-after-fans-death-2023-11-24/
2023-11-24 17:46
FRANKFURT, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Signa Real Estate Management Germany filed an official application for bankruptcy at the Berlin Charlottenburg district court, German magazine Spiegel reported on Friday, as the crisis at Rene Benko's property group deepens. The request affects a German subsidiary of Signa Prime Selection, where tycoon Benko has collected his valuable existing properties, the report stated. Separately, Austrian newspaper Der Standard said a bankruptcy filing for Signa Group could come next Tuesday, citing a source. Meetings of Signa employees are planned for the same day, when employees will be given information about the insolvency and further steps, the paper reported. Signa Group declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The court was not immediately available for comment. The Signa group has holdings of 27 billion euros ($28.8 billion) and 25 billion euros in development. Dozens of banks, insurance companies and pension funds over the years have financed and invested in Signa companies, bond sale prospectuses and a Signa presentation seen by Reuters show. The financial links are especially strong in Austria, where Signa was founded and is headquartered. Germany, Europe's largest economy, is in the middle of a property crisis after a sharp rise in interest rates and building costs forced some developers into insolvency and put deals and construction on hold. https://www.reuters.com/business/signa-unit-files-insolvency-crisis-benkos-empire-deepens-spiegel-2023-11-24/
2023-11-24 17:35
Nov 24 (Reuters) - China-based Zeekr Intelligent's revenue nearly doubled in the first nine months of the year, the electric car brand revealed in its updated paperwork filed with the U.S. securities regulator on Friday for its initial public offering. Zeekr, owned by Chinese automaker Geely Auto (0175.HK), had made its listing prospectus public earlier this month after confidentially filing in December to float its shares in New York. The company said its total revenue surged to 35.31 billion yuan ($4.90 billion) in the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared with 18.47 billion yuan a year earlier. However, its loss from operations widened to 5.23 billion yuan from 4.90 billion yuan. In February, Zeekr was valued at $13 billion after a $750 million funding round from investors including Amnon Shashua, CEO and founder of autonomous driving technology company Mobileye Global (MBLY.O), and the Guangzhou city municipal government's investment arm, Yuexiu Industrial Fund. Zeekr is yet to disclose the size and the proposed price range for its offering. ($1 = 7.2111 Chinese yuan renminbi) https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/chinas-zeekr-reveals-revenue-surge-updated-financials-ahead-us-ipo-2023-11-24/
2023-11-24 15:59
Nov 24 (Reuters) - ARK Investment Management led by Cathie Wood, and Swiss cryptocurrency manager 21Shares, plan to charge a fee of 0.80% on their proposed ARK 21Shares Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) if cleared by regulators, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Since 2021, the SEC has rejected multiple applications to issue spot bitcoin ETFs, arguing that the cryptocurrency market is vulnerable to manipulation. However, expectations that regulators might change their stance have grown in recent months. In August, a federal court ruled that the SEC wrongly rejected Grayscale Investments' application to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. It ordered the SEC to review the filing. SEC chair Gary Gensler said last month that the SEC is evaluating as many as 10 spot bitcoin ETF proposals. Gensler didn't offer any thoughts on timing, but over the last two weeks the SEC has delayed making decisions on a series of those spot bitcoin ETFs. Regulators must deliver a final ruling on the ARK 21Shares ETF on or before January 10, 2024. The average fee levied on U.S. ETFs currently hovers around 0.54%, but Ark's proposed fee of 0.80% is significantly lower than the 2% that Grayscale currently charges investors on its spot bitcoin trust. It's also slightly lower than the fees some issuers levy on cryptocurrency ETFs tied to futures contracts. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF , for example, carries a 0.95% fee. If the SEC does approve some or all of the pending spot bitcoin ETF applications in early January, industry participants and analysts expect a fierce battle for market share to follow. https://www.reuters.com/technology/ark-investments-sets-080-fee-proposed-spot-bitcoin-etf-2023-11-24/
2023-11-24 15:53
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The South African rand weakened on Friday, giving back some gains from the previous session, when the central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged. At 1544 GMT, the rand traded at 18.8550 against the dollar , 0.19% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded around 0.4% weaker against a basket of global currencies. South Africa's central bank stuck to its previous hawkish tone on Thursday as it kept its main lending rate unchanged for the third meeting in a row, boosting the rand, despite inflation quickening in October. "It remains difficult to turn overly optimistic on the rand over the longer term while South Africa continuously faces the destruction of economic activity and efficient infrastructure," ETM Analytics said in a morning note. Soaring interest rates and steep rises in food, transport and health costs force South Africans to prioritise essentials over luxury at this year's Black Friday sales. Next week investors will turn their attention to supply-side inflation when producer price index data is released. On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 (.JTOPI) index closed around 0.5% higher. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in late deals, with the yield up 7 basis point to 10.195%. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-extends-gains-after-key-rate-left-unchanged-2023-11-24/
2023-11-24 15:06
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Johannesburg's Mall of Africa was buzzing on Friday with bargain hunters pushing trolleys laden with groceries such as cooking oil, boxes of milk and multi-packs of diapers, along with household items such as pillows and detergent. This year's Black Friday sales come as South Africans grapple with soaring interest rates and steep rises in food, transport and health costs, leading them to spend strategically on products they need the most amid a cost-of-living crisis. "There is no money for electronics this year. We're basically just working for food now," Trevor Abrahams, 42, told Reuters while queuing to pay for his groceries at Shoprite's Checkers supermarket at the mall. Black Friday has rapidly gone from being a novelty American event to a significant generator of sales in South Africa, where data from the Bureau of Market Research (BMR) shows shoppers are expected to spend around 7 billion rand ($381 million) more this year compared to 2022 when spending totalled 26.6 billion rand. However, unlike the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the morning crowds were thin across malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with no queues outside stores. Retailers from supermarket giant Shoprite (SHPJ.J), rivals Pick n Pay (PIKJ.J) and Woolworths (WHLJ.J) to Walmart-owned (WMT.N) general merchandiser Massmart and fashion and homeware group TFG (TFGJ.J) told Reuters that consumers will likely prioritise essentials over luxury, while also searching for greater discounts for clothes and electronics. On the other side of the Mall of Africa at Walmart-owned general merchandise retailer Game, Getrude Tladi, 57, and her co-worker Granny Mongalo, 42, snapped up pillows, juice and cereal amongst other grocery items ahead of school holidays. "Since February we've been saving every month for Black Friday," said Mongalo, who works for a mining company. "We're especially buying groceries because our children are closing (school) and will be sitting at home, eating everything in the fridge," Mongalo added. At the same store, a couple of shoppers bought big-screen televisions and audio systems. Clothing shops were also busy as parents bought their kids clothes for holiday adventures. ($1 = 18.3689 rand) https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/south-africans-seek-out-black-friday-essentials-crunch-continues-2023-11-24/
