Euro zone inflation steady in April, reinforcing ECB rate cut case FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation held steady as expected in April but a crucial indicator on underlying price pressures slowed, solidifying an already strong case for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates in June. The ECB all but promised a rate cut on June 6, provided there is no nasty surprise in wage or price developments, and Tuesday’s data remain consistent with the path the bank saw in its last round of projections in March. Inflation in the 20 countries sharing the euro currency was 2.4% in April, the ..read more

Global banking regulators target mismanagement in handling risks from clients By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Global banking regulators on Tuesday proposed stricter standards for banks when assessing risks from customers to avoid the mismanagement highlighted by the collapse of Archegos, and episodes of volatility in commodities and Britain’s government bond market. The Basel Committee, made up of banking regulators from the G20 economies and elsewhere, said banks needed to improve how they manage counterparty credit risks (CCR) presented by clients. It is the latest sign of how regulators are ..read more

Bank of England tweaks lifetime loss estimate for QE programme By Andy Bruce (Reuters) – The Bank of England on Tuesday tweaked its estimates for the overall losses made by its quantitative easing bond purchase programme that will fully crystallise over the next 10 years. BY THE NUMBERS The estimates assume the BoE will unwind its government bond portfolio at the current pace of 100 billion pounds ($125 billion) per year. Based on the market path for interest rates as of late March, the QE programme looks set to generate a net loss of 85 billion pounds by 2034, compared with an estimate in Feb ..read more

Coca-Cola bets on pricey sodas, international demand to lift annual sales forecast By Ananya Mariam Rajesh (Reuters) -Coca-Cola raised its annual organic sales forecast on Tuesday after topping first-quarter results as customers in the U.S. and international markets shell out more money for its pricey sodas and juices. The soda giant is seeing demand in the U.S. surge mainly in the away-from-home category as consumers venturing out for movies and dining are willing to spend on its Coke sodas and Minute Maid juices. Coca-Cola, similar to PepsiCo which also beat its first-quarter results, is enj ..read more

Analysts cut EU carbon price forecasts on 2023 emission slump By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) – Analysts have cut price forecasts for European Union carbon permits for 2024 to 2026 following record low figures last year for emissions covered by Europe’s carbon market. EU Allowances (EUAs) are forecast on average at 63.96 euros a metric ton this year and 74.00 euros in 2025, a Reuters survey of eight analysts showed, down 13.7% and 11.2% respectively from forecasts made in January. The average forecast for the second quarter of this year was 62.30 euros a ton, down 18.8% from the January fo ..read more

Oil down on Middle East talks while investors await Fed meeting By Noah Browning and Deep Kaushik Vakil LONDON (Reuters) -Oil edged lower on Tuesday after U.S. data showed healthy crude output and exports, extending losses prompted on Monday by hopes of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, while investors await signals on U.S. interest rates from the Federal Reserve meeting this week. Brent crude futures for June, which expire on Tuesday, were down 35 cents, or 0.4%, at $88.05 a barrel by 1327 GMT. The more active July contract fell 49 cents, or 0.6%, to $86.71. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude future ..read more

Smiling King Charles visits cancer centre on his return to public duties LONDON (Reuters) -A smiling and healthy-looking King Charles returned to public duties on Tuesday for the first time since he was diagnosed in February with cancer, paying a visit to a treatment centre for the disease in London. Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that doctors were sufficiently pleased with the 75-year-old king’s response to treatment for the unspecified form of cancer that he would be able to resume some public-facing engagements. The first of these saw the king and his wife Queen Camilla visit the Uni ..read more

Satellite firm SES to buy Intelsat for $3.1 billion, debt concerns sink shares By Olivier Sorgho (Reuters) – Satellite company SES has agreed to buy Intelsat Holdings for $3.1 billion in a deal that would create a major European player but raised investor concerns around debt, sending the buyer’s shares to a record low. European satellite companies have been looking to consolidate to better compete with the likes of Elon Musk’s Space X-owned Starlink, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper. While a move to gain scale was welcomed by analysts, concerns it might not do much to close the gap with U.S. rival ..read more

Cryptoverse: TON takes off on Telegram tie-up By Elizabeth Howcroft (Reuters) – A coin called TON has leapt in value in recent months, with investors betting its integration with messenger service Telegram could bring the cryptocurrency to the app’s estimated 900 million users. Telegram endorsed TON in September last year, saying the blockchain and associated token would be its “official Web3 infrastructure”. Earlier this month, TON said that Tether tokens could also be issued on its blockchain, allowing Telegram users to send the stablecoin to each other within the app. The TON token has surg ..read more

Quotes: HSBC Chief Executive Quinn announces surprise retirement (Reuters) – HSBC said on Tuesday its Chief Executive Noel Quinn will retire – a surprise departure by its hard-nosed leader of five years who has overseen a sweeping series of asset sales across the globe. Following are the reactions to the retirement: SIMON YUEN, FOUNDER, SURICH ASSET MANAGEMENT, HONG KONG “Noel had done his best in driving the strategy for the HSBC group. I think shrinking businesses in Western markets such as the U.S., Canada and Europe has been a good move for HSBC at the same time as boosting the group’s Asi ..read more