2024-07-09 15:17

NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - Sentencing hearings have been scheduled for two former executives of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX who testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried, court records showed on Tuesday. Nishad Singh will be sentenced on Oct. 30 and Gary Wang will be sentenced on Nov. 20 in Manhattan federal court. Each pleaded guilty to fraud. Bankman-Fried in March was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted last year of stealing $8 billion from FTX customers, in what prosecutors called one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history. Prosecutors are expected to ask U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to take Singh’s and Wang’s cooperation into account when determining their punishments. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/ex-ftx-executives-who-testified-against-bankman-fried-be-sentenced-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 15:03

July 9 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N) New Tab, opens new tab said on Tuesday it delivered more commercial jets in June than in any other month this year, but the total of 44 planes represented a 27% drop on an annual basis amid a whirlwind of legal and production challenges. The company has pledged to expand production by the end of the year, after wrestling with supply chain snags and operating a slower assembly line since a Jan. 5 mid-air blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 jet that heightened regulatory scrutiny. On Sunday, the U.S. Justice Department said Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge linked to two 737 MAX fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, raising questions about the planemaker's ability to secure government contracts. The company handed over five 777 freighters, including two of the jets to Air China, confirming Reuters reports that widebody deliveries to China have resumed after being halted this spring due to a Chinese regulatory review. Boeing also reported 11 orders in June for 777 freighters, the third-highest month ever for the model, out of a total of 14 gross orders for the month. After adjustments to reflect the backlog, Boeing reported adjusted net orders for the month of a negative 104. The planemaker did not give a specific explanation. That brought Boeing's gross order total so far this year to 156. After removing cancellations and conversions, Boeing posted a net total of 115 orders since the start of 2024. Following further accounting adjustments, Boeing reported adjusted net orders of 26 airplanes so far this year. Boeing delivered 175 planes in the year to date, trailing its European rival Airbus (AIR.PA) New Tab, opens new tab which delivered 323 airplanes in the first half. The world's largest planemaker also said this week that it had won 327 gross orders in the first six months of 2024, or a net total of 310 after cancellations. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-deliveries-drop-27-june-year-on-year-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 14:42

'Terrace' trend, Nike's weakness seen helping growth Newer brands gain ground in running, niche categories Euro 2024 soccer tournament also seen boosting demand July 9 (Reuters) - The success of Adidas' (ADSGn.DE) New Tab, opens new tab low-rise multi-coloured Samba and Gazelle sneakers, along with weaker sales at rival Nike, should help the German sportswear brand deliver strong second-quarter sales and its biggest profit margin in three years. Nike (NKE.N) New Tab, opens new tab forecast a surprise drop in annual sales at the end of June, adding to investor worries about the sportswear giant falling behind established peers and newer rivals alike. Nike shares fell as much as 20% on the news, but shares in Adidas - which usually track the U.S. company's moves - barely reacted, suggesting investors see Nike's weakness as an opportunity for Adidas. "Nike, in terms of product and message, is very much off its game and Adidas is having a bit of a moment," said Simon Irwin, retail and sporting goods analyst at Tanyard Advisory. Nike is less innovative than in the past and competition has increased, providing retailers with a wider range of brands to choose from, said Cedric Rossi, next-gen consumer analyst at Bryan Garnier. "There is really a huge contrast between what's going on at Nike and the rest of the industry," he added. Nike said in late June it would roll out new $100-and-under sneakers around the world as it aims to get sales back on track. Meanwhile, Adidas has been fuelling a trend for its three-striped shoes like the Samba and Gazelle, bringing out new colours and limited editions to keep shoppers interested. Online searches for "Adidas Samba" have surged worldwide in the past twelve months, surpassing searches for "Nike Air Force 1" last December and hitting a peak at the beginning of April, Google Trends data shows. Analysts expect Adidas to report a profit margin of 51.4% for the second quarter, according to LSEG data. That would be its highest in three years. Quarterly revenue is tipped to rise 4.5% from a year earlier to 5.6 billion euros ($6.1 billion). "The market is clearly expecting upgrades," Irwin said. But he warned against assuming the "golden days of very high margins" are coming back anytime soon, given weaker demand in China and higher competition. Adidas still has to be on its toes as smaller brands are gaining ground, especially in running and outerwear. Emerging sportswear brands such as Hoka, Lululemon, New Balance and On Running had a global market share of 35% in 2023, up from 20% over the 2013-2020 period, according to research by RBC published last month. "Fragmentation (in the industry) was always going to happen and Nike has fed into that," by walking away from some of its wholesale partners to focus on direct-to-consumer sales, thus "opening the gates" for smaller brands, Irwin said. This strategy stands in contrast with Adidas' efforts to strengthen relationships with wholesalers under CEO Bjorn Gulden. Some Wall Street analysts have raised the possibility of a management shake-up at Nike ahead of its investor day this fall. The Euros soccer championship is also likely to boost demand for sportswear in Europe, analysts and investors say. "What Gulden brought back is the focus on sport," said Simon Jaeger, investment manager at Flossbach von Storch, which holds Adidas shares. ($1 = 0.9241 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/adidas-set-benefit-nike-struggles-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 14:24

This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine MOSCOW, July 9 (Reuters) - Russia and India agreed to increase cooperation in sectors ranging from nuclear power to shipbuilding and discussed how to fix payments problems as their leaders met in Moscow on Tuesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Moscow and met Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event that also saw state-owned Russian enterprises announce deals and tout plans for projects involving India. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said it was discussing building six more nuclear power units in India; the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) inked pharma, shipbuilding and education agreements; and Russia's second-largest bank spoke of efforts to ease payment flows as trade between the two nations increases. Under a barrage of Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has pivoted away from European countries to what it calls "friendly" nations such as India and China to diversify and reorient trade flows. Putin, joining Russian businesses in the charm offensive, bestowed on Modi the Order of St Andrew, Russia's highest honour. Construction of the first two units of India's Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, which uses Soviet-designed VVER-1000 reactors, began nearly two decades ago in the southern state of Tamil Nadu as part of a project signed by both countries. Rosatom said new areas of cooperation were being discussed - the construction of six more high-power units of Russian design at a new site and some Russian-designed small nuclear power plants. Rosatom and Indian partners were also discussing developing the transit potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska, particularly concerning supplies of Russian oil, coal and liquefied natural gas, Rosatom said. Russia hopes the NSR will transport 150 million metric tons in 2030, up from 80 million tons this year. SHIPBUILDING, PHARMA, PAYMENTS The RDIF and India's Enso Group agreed on a partnership for joint investments worth up to 20 billion roubles ($227 million) in infrastructure development for shipbuilding, Russian agencies reported. Many Russian companies see huge potential in India, RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev told reporters on the sidelines of the Putin-Modi meeting. Other deals in education and pharma were agreed, he said. A major stumbling block to trade has been payment flows. VTB Bank (VTBR.MM) New Tab, opens new tab CEO Andrei Kostin said there was constructive dialogue on the issue but acknowledged lingering problems. "There are, of course, problems linked to sanctions, there are problems related to the incomplete convertibility of the rupee, there are problems related to ... a wide range of trade and economic relations, there is unbalanced trade," Kostin told reporters. ($1 = 88.2455 roubles) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-talks-up-business-with-india-modi-visits-moscow-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 12:56

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - The BlackRock Investment Institute (BII) said on Tuesday that recent parliamentary elections in Britain had made valuation of UK equities attractive, while Japan stocks remained its favoured equity investment play. The British Conservative Party suffered a historic election defeat last week with a record number of cabinet ministers losing their seats. "Valuation is very compelling ... and given the perceived political stability leading to better sentiment, we think there's a tactical opportunity for UK equities," Wei Li, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock, said on Tuesday. BII, an arm of U.S.-based investment firm BlackRock that provides proprietary investment research, said in a mid-year outlook report that the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates made inflation-linked bonds attractive. On a country level, Mexico and India should "benefit from rewiring supply chains in the long term," BII added. BII is bullish on U.S. stocks and artificial intelligence, the report said. "(Japanese equities are) our highest conviction equity view thanks to support from the return of mild inflation, shareholder-friendly corporate reforms and a Bank of Japan that is cautiously normalizing policy, rather than tightening," it said. With regards to U.S. government debt ahead of the presidential election, long-term debt prices are not sufficiently reflective of the prospect of widening U.S. fiscal deficits, prompting BlackRock's preference for short- to medium-dated Treasuries, said Li. Both U.S. presidential election front-runners, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, are not prioritising a reduction in government spending, which could lead to wider term premiums, she said, referring to the compensation investors require for holding long-term debt. "Both of these candidates are not really talking about plans that bring down fiscal deficits. They spend in different ways but they're both looking to spend," she said. "We prefer the front end of the curve, the belly of the curve, over the long end ... because the U.S. term premium in particular does not reflect that fiscal trajectory," she added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/japan-stocks-are-blackrocks-favourite-equity-play-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 12:46

ROME, July 9 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank can continue to gradually reduce interest rates without jeopardising a current fall in inflation, governing council member Fabio Panetta said on Tuesday. The ECB cut rates for the first time in June from their record highs, but has made no explicit commitment on a follow-up move. "The reduction of official rates can proceed gradually, accompanying the return of inflation towards the objective, if macroeconomic trends remain in line with the ECB's expectations," Panetta, who is governor of the Bank of Italy, told bankers at a conference in Rome. Panetta is widely considered a monetary policy dove. He played down concerns over persistently high service sector prices, saying it was normal their decline should lag that of goods prices, and said wage growth can also be expected to moderate. "Past interest rate hikes are still dampening demand, output and inflation and will continue to do so in the months to come," Panetta said. At the same conference, Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti reiterated his call for an acceleration of interest rate cuts. "A further contraction in demand could prove unsustainable and in any case difficult to bear for economies like Italy's that need to breathe," Giorgetti said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ecb-can-continue-gradually-lower-rates-panetta-says-2024-07-09/