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Small earthquake hits Alaska’s Prince William Sound region

The Alaska Earthquake Center reports that a small earthquake has hit the Prince William Sound region of Alaska.

The Fairbanks-based center says a magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck at 11:48 a.m. Sunday about 24 miles (39 kilometers) northwest of Valdez, which has about 3,900 residents. The center adds that residents of Valdez felt it.

The earthquake had a depth of 11 miles (18 kilometers.)

Source: Fox News National

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Several Deutsche Bank exchange-traded-notes to cease trading Thursday

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank's office buildings in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank's office buildings in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

April 9, 2019

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A dozen of Deutsche Bank’s exchange-traded notes that provide exposure to oil, metals and other commodities are set to stop trading on Thursday, according to a recent filing by the bank.

Exchange-traded notes, including the DB FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN, the DB Crude Oil Long ETN and the Elements Dogs of the DOW Dow Jones High Yield Select 10 Total Return ETN, will be delisted at the close of trading on Thursday, according to an April 2 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

ETNs are issued by a bank and are similar to exchange-traded funds in that they trade on stock exchanges and track benchmark indexes. But they differ from ETFs in that they are debt instruments with a set maturity date and expose investors to the issuer’s credit risk.

The Deutsche Bank ETNs being delisted are relatively small, with assets under management ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to a few million dollars, with most set to mature in 2038.

When ETNs stop trading publicly, they leave investors who hold them to find a buyer “over-the-counter,” where investors are not guaranteed anything close to what the notes are worth.

After the delisting, the secondary market for these ETNs may experience a significant drop in liquidity, Deutsche Bank warned in a statement in March.

Banks, under regulatory pressure to cut risk since the financial crisis, have been issuing fewer ETNs and delisting existing ones to focus on their core businesses.

In December 2016, Credit Suisse Group AG shuttered its $1.1 billion VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil ETN, making it the largest-ever note to be delisted from U.S. exchanges. (https://reut.rs/2uWnUCA)

(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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UK consumers slow pace of borrowing growth, mortgages fall as Brexit nears

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds an umbrella as she walks past the window of an estate agents office in Manchester
FILE PHOTO: A woman holds an umbrella as she walks past the window of an estate agents office in Manchester, northern England June 7, 2011. REUTERS/Phil Noble

March 29, 2019

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) – Lending to British consumers grew at its slowest annual pace in four-and-a-half years in February and banks approved fewer mortgages as Brexit approached, Bank of England data showed on Friday.

The annual growth rate in unsecured consumer lending slowed to 6.3 percent from 6.5 percent in January, its weakest rise since September 2014, the BoE figures showed.

British consumers reined in their spending in late 2018 and have remained in a cautious mood in early 2019, faced with the possibility of the country leaving the European Union without a deal to smooth the economic shock.

However, there were some signs that consumers are not reining in their spending sharply.

Figures for unsecured lending in February alone showed a 1.145 billion-pound increase, higher than economists’ forecasts of a rise of 900 million pounds.

The BoE said the number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to 64,337 in February from 66,696 in January, compared with a median forecast of 65,000 in a Reuters poll of economists.

Britain’s housing market has weakened in the run-up to Brexit with price growth at around five-year lows.

Earlier on Friday, lender Nationwide said house prices rose by an annual 0.7 percent in the 12 months to March. While picking up slightly from a month earlier, it compared with increases of about 5 percent a year at the time of the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The BoE data showed net mortgage lending, which tends to lag behind approvals, at 3.457 billion pounds in February, down from 3.587 billion pounds in January. Economists taking part in the Reuters poll had expected a rise to 3.7 billion pounds.

Net credit card lending rose to 442 million pounds, picking up from 384 million pounds in January.

The BoE also said net gilt sales by foreign investors totaled 8.281 billion pounds in February compared with net sales of 9.545 billion pounds January.

(Reporting by William Schomberg and Rachel Cordery; uk.economics@reuters.com, +44 20 7542 7778)

Source: OANN

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German mobile challenger Drillisch would sacrifice dividend for 5G bid

United Internet CEO Dommermuth attends a news conference to present a joint initiative for encrypted email with Deutsche Telekom in Berlin
FILE PHOTO: United Internet CEO Ralf Dommermuth attends a news conference to present a joint initiative for encrypted email with Deutsche Telekom in Berlin August 9, 2013. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

March 28, 2019

By Douglas Busvine

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Internet billionaire Ralf Dommermuth said on Thursday he wanted to seize the chance to become Germany’s fourth mobile network operator, but was prepared to walk away if the cost turns out to be prohibitive.

The 55-year-old tycoon who owns 40 percent of United Internet is, through its 1&1 Drillisch unit, taking on the three existing operators in a 5G spectrum auction where bids so far have topped 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).

The prospect that Drillisch could abandon its profitable existence as an asset-light virtual mobile operator has spooked some investors, sending shares in both companies down by more than a third over the past 12 months.

A revenue and profits outlook short of market expectations, as well as guidance that Drillisch would slash its dividend if it prevails in the 5G auction, sent its shares down by as much as 14.5 percent to their lowest since July 2016 on Thursday.

Dommermuth, in an interview, said he had his eye on the long-term returns from building and owning a network rather than renting – as Drillisch does now. Axing its dividend would ensure that it has the money to back that ambition, he said.

“There’s a difference between being a tenant and an owner,” he told Reuters.

“If I’m a tenant, then I pay rent every month. If I’m an owner, then I must invest. If I invest, I can borrow but I also need to put in my own money.”

Drillisch would propose a dividend of 5 euro cents should it buy 5G spectrum. If it fails to do so, it would pay out 1.80 euros, up 20 cents on last year. United Internet, which owns 73 percent of Drillisch, would make a similar binary proposal.

Axing the Drillisch dividend would save 310 million euros, analysts at Citi said in a note that described the move as a reset that may clear the deck but not the uncertainty.

Drillisch earlier forecast that revenues would rise by 4 percent this year, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization would gain by 10 percent – short of market expectations.

AUCTION POKER

Drillisch is vying with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica Deutschland in the 5G auction, proceeds of which analysts expect to reach 3 billion euros or more.

Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges warned on Thursday that auction costs could spiral because, in his view, the network regulator had not made enough spectrum available.

“We don’t know how the frequency auction will end. That’s why we are saying we only want to pay a statutory minimum dividend, if we are able to acquire spectrum and build up an own network,” said Dommermuth.

Drillisch has lined up 2.8 billion euros in bank financing to support its 5G ambitions.

Dommermuth also has a fallback option in the form of guaranteed access to 30 percent of Telefonica’s network capacity – a remedy required by European Union regulators to approve the Spanish-owned operator’s 2014 takeover of E-Plus.

This could be extended for up to 10 years and would cover national roaming under 5G, said Dommermuth.

“We will only bid if it makes sense for us,” he said. “We aren’t under pressure to do anything.”

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Source: OANN

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U.S. watchdog proposes ‘testing waters’ before public offerings

To match Special Report SEC/INVESTIGATIONS
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hangs on the wall at SEC headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

February 19, 2019

By Katanga Johnson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed on Tuesday to expand a rule that allows companies to sound prospective investors out privately before going public.

The move forms part of a broader push by SEC chairman Jay Clayton to make it easier for companies to go public by relaxing rules, amid worries that a 50 percent decline in U.S. listings over the past two decades is hurting investors.

The so-called “testing-the-waters” proposal, currently restricted to smaller firms preparing to go public, would be extended to all prospective issuers hoping to gauge broader market interest before filing registration statements for initial public offerings (IPOs), the SEC said.

Clayton said in a statement that the proposal, which is subject to consultation and a final vote by the agency’s commissioners, would allow companies to better identify information that is important to investors in advance of a public offering.

Clayton has floated other proposed changes to make life easier for public companies, including overhauling rules governing shareholder voting.

Tuesday’s proposal would expand a provision first introduced by the 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) that currently applies only to small growth companies.

“This will benefit issuers as it provides a realistic window into the level of investor interest in an IPO as well as more accurately priced IPOs. Currently, the process is somewhat opaque,” said Dina Ellis Rochkind, a lawyer with Paul Hastings LLP who helped draft the JOBS Act when she worked on Capitol Hill.

“Expanding these provisions to all potential issuers is another step in the right direction.”

(Reporting by Katanga Johnson; Editing by Michelle Price and Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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Bloomberg mocks apologizing Dems while explaining why he passed on 2020

In some of his most revealing comments on why he decided against running for president, moderate former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg cited his age -- but also took aim at the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

"To start a four-year job, or maybe an eight-year job, at age 79 may not be the smartest thing to do. But if I think if I thought I could win, I would have,” the 77-year-old billionaire media mogul explained.

SCHULTZ SAYS NO ROOM FOR CENTRISTS IN EITHER MAJOR PARTY

“I just couldn't see a path to where I could get the nomination,” Bloomberg said Thursday while speaking at the Bermuda Executive Forum in New York City. “It's just not going to happen on a national level for somebody like me starting where I am unless I was willing to change all my views and go on what CNN called 'an apology tour.'”

While he’s poured millions of his own money into combating climate change and battling gun violence, the Democrat turned Republican turned independent who last year re-registered as a Democrat suggested that he was simply more moderate than the ever-growing field of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, many of whom are increasingly moving to the left.

Pointing to 76-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden, who’s likely to jump into the White House race next month, Bloomberg said, "Joe Biden went out and apologized for being male, over 50, white.”

“He apologized for the one piece of legislation which is actually a pretty good anti-crime bill, which if the liberals ever read it, most of the things they like would be in that bill. They should have loved that. But they didn't even bother to read it. You're anti-crime, you must be anti-populist,” Bloomberg added as he took a shot at progressives.

IT'S BIDEN, SANDERS, HARRIS, AND O'ROURKE IN 2020 POLL

And he also jabbed at former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who last week declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination and quickly raised an eye-popping $6.1 million in his first 24 hours as a candidate.

"And so everybody else, Beto, whatever his name is, he's apologized for being born,” said Bloomberg, which brought laughter from the audience. “I mean, I don't mean to be unkind. And a lot of people love him and say he's a smart guy, and some day if he wins I'd certainly support him."

O'Rourke has recently apologized for joking that his wife raised their kids "sometimes with my help," and also has accepted criticism that he's enjoyed white privilege.

Bloomberg seriously considered launching a presidential bid, and earlier this year he made campaign-style swings through the early voting primary and caucus states. But he announced on March 5 that he would not run for the White House.

Source: Fox News Politics

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VP Mike Pence to meet in DC with families of 6 Citgo execs detained in Venezuela

Vice President Mike Pence is set to meet Tuesday with the families of six Citgo executives being detained in Venezuela. Five of the detainees are U.S. citizens.

Pence will demand the release of the "wrongfully detained American citizens," White House officials said, according to the McClatchy D.C. Bureau. The vice president also will call on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to release all political prisoners "immediately and unconditionally," the report said, citing the officials.

“The vice president will make it clear once again: Maduro must go!” a White House official said. “The Trump administration stands with the people of Venezuela, and will continue to take decisive actions targeting the Maduro regime until democracy, freedom and human rights are restored in Venezuela.”

“The Trump administration stands with the people of Venezuela, and will continue to take decisive actions targeting the Maduro regime until democracy, freedom and human rights are restored in Venezuela.”

— White House official

The executives from Citgo Petroleum have been jailed in Venezuela since 2017, Reuters reported. They were arrested in Caracas during corporate meetings of Citgo.

AMERICANS WILL RETURN TO MOON BY 2024 -- WITH OR WITHOUT NASA, PENCE SAYS

The family members will also meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the report said, citing the White House.

The six executives include Citgo President Jose Pereira, Tomeu Vadell, Jorge Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano and Gustavo Cardenas, whom Venezuelan authorities have charged with embezzlement, contract malfeasance and money laundering, according to McClatchy.

The White House did not provide specific details about which family members will meet with Pence or whether children will attend, the report said.

Pence on Friday will visit Houston to give a speech on the political turmoil and economic crisis in Venezuela. The White House says in a statement that Pence will address students and members of the local Venezuelan community at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Houston is home to a large Venezuelan immigrant community, as well as the corporate headquarters of Citgo.

VENEZUELA'S RIVAL FACTIONS RALLY AS POWER STRUGGLE PERSISTS

Last Wednesday, Fabiana Rosales, wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, was welcomed at the White House. President Trump and Vice President Pence met with and praised Rosales.

Rosales is rallying international support of the ouster of Maduro, and has emerged as a prominent figure in her husband's campaign to bring change to the country wrought with crisis.

"We are with Venezuela," the president said at the start of a meeting with Rosales and other opposition figures. "What's happening there should not be happening."

The United States was the first nation to recognize Guaido as interim president, asserting that Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate, and has stepped up sanctions and other diplomatic measures in hopes of forcing him to give up power.

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Pence called on governments around the world to stop supporting the Maduro government, singling out Russia for its deployment of military forces to the country over the weekend.

"The United States views Russia's arrival of military planes this weekend as an unwelcome provocation and calls on Russia today to cease all support for the Maduro regime," the vice president said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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