Reuters UK Business

HAMBURG (Reuters) – Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany fell again in hot, dry weather this week and cargo vessels are sailing with reduced loads with transport prices rising, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Wednesday. Shallow water is hampering shipping on the entire river in Germany. Water at the chokepoint of …

Shipping prices rise as Rhine water in Germany falls again, vessels part loaded Read More »

(Reuters) -NortonLifeLock’s $8.6 billion purchase of rival Avast won provisional clearance from Britain on Wednesday, overcoming the final hurdle to creating a consumer security software giant and sending Avast shares to an all-time high. Shares in Avast rose as much as 43% to 683.2 pence and U.S-listed NortonLifeLock’s shares were up 3% before the bell, …

Avast shares hit record high after $8.6 billion NortonLifeLock deal gets UK nod Read More »

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone retail sales plunged more than expected in June as prices at factory gates continued to rise, data showed on Wednesday, signalling a weakness in consumer demand that could herald a recession in the second half of the year. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said the volume of retail sales …

Euro zone retail sales drop more than expected in June as prices rise Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) -The value of German exports jumped by 4.5% in June to hit a record level, though economists cautioned that much of the increase was likely due to soaring prices. Exports rose for a third month in a row, beating forecasts for a 1% increase and pushing Germany’s seasonally adjusted trade surplus to 6.4 …

German exports surge to record level in June, outlook still gloomy Read More »

By Julien Ponthus PARIS (Reuters) -A buoyant second quarter and new three-year targets helped to boost Societe Generale’s shares on Wednesday, as the French bank weathered a 3.3-billion-euro ($3.4 billion) hit from the sale of its Russia business. France’s third-biggest listed bank, which is seeking a new chief executive, reported a 1.48-billion-euro loss, while analysts …

Buoyant Q2 and new targets help SocGen weather Russia blow Read More »

By Victoria Waldersee BERLIN (Reuters) – BMW lowered its output forecast and warned of a highly volatile second half on Wednesday, pinpointing supplies of energy in Europe and chips worldwide as the two crucial factors to the carmaker hitting full-year earnings targets. The premium carmaker expects a solid sales increase in the second half but …

BMW sees full-year drop in output amid volatile second half Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government will have to amend its energy security law again in September as its gas levy cannot yet be imposed on all consumers, including those with fixed prices contracts, government and parliamentary sources told Reuters on Wednesday. A gas levy, which had been set to come into force from October, …

Exclusive-Germany’s gas levy cannot be implemented as planned, say sources Read More »

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar (Reuters) -European shares fell on Wednesday following a slew of mixed earnings from companies, while gloomy business activity data added to fears of an economic slowdown. The STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2% in morning trade. The pan-European index fell in the previous session on economic slowdown fears after weak factory data …

European shares slip on mixed earnings, gloomy economic data Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) – Siemens’ new supervisory board is committed to doing away with the portfolio policy of the past, said influential employee representatives on the board, who added that they were opposed to further splitting up the German industrial group. Siemens AG, Siemens Mobility, and the majority stake in Siemens Healthineers are “the core of …

Siemens supervisory board employee reps against further splitting-up Read More »

By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) – British services sector activity grew in July at the slowest pace since early 2021 when the country was under a coronavirus lockdown, although there was an easing of surging price pressures, a survey showed on Wednesday. The S&P Global/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 52.6, a …

UK services firms slow again, price pressures ease slightly – PMI Read More »