FILE PHOTO: Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith speaks during the Thomson Reuters Corp. annual general meeting for shareholders in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo
February 26, 2019
TORONTO (Reuters) – Thomson Reuters on Tuesday reported a 9 percent rise in quarterly revenue, stripping out the impact of currency, helped by higher sales at its Legal and Tax & Accounting businesses.
The news and information provider reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.52 billion, compared with $1.41 billion a year ago. Earnings excluding special items were 20 cents per share, down from 22 cents per share a year ago.
(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
FILE PHOTO: Iron workers install steel beams during a hot summer day in New York, July 17, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
February 26, 2019
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department is set to announce Tuesday it will open a new anti-dumping probe to determine whether fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico is being sold at below fair value, a person briefed on the matter said.
The investigation comes as some U.S. lawmakers, car companies and Canada and Mexico have strongly urged the Trump administration to drop U.S. national security tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in the wake of a deal announced last year to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The fabricated structural steel under investigation is used major building projects, including commercial, office and residential buildings, arenas, convention centers, parking decks and ports.
The Commerce Department told lawmakers Tuesday the new probe is based on a petition filed earlier this month by a U.S. steel trade group.
In 2017, imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China, and Mexico were valued at an estimated $658.3 million, $841.7 million, and $406.6 million, respectively. A preliminary determination on the issue is due from the International Trade Commission by March 21.
The Commerce Department alleges there are 44 subsidy programs for Canadian fabricated structural steel, including tax programs, grant programs, loan programs, export insurance programs, and equity programs. There are also 26 subsidy programs for China and 19 subsidy programs for Mexico, according to the agency.
Earlier this month, a Canadian steel industry group said it would strongly oppose a petition urging anti-dumping duty on certain steel imports from Canada.
The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction said the allegations by the U.S. group “that these products from Canada are unfairly traded and cause injury to U.S. producers of fabricated steel products are baseless.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Evangelical Pastor Ramón Rigal and his wife Ayda Expósito were both sentenced to prison after engaging in and promoting homeschooling in the communist country of Cuba.
“Homeschooling is illegal in Cuba, as it is considered a “capitalist” practice and prevents the state from indoctrinating children in Marxist atheism in public schools. Rigal has been homeschooling his children for years, forcing him into consistent confrontations with the Castro regime, and began helping other Christian families homeschool following his arrest in 2017.”
Rigal and Expósito, who are from Guatemala, were detained last week over their refusal to send their children to government-run schools.
In two previous cases against the couple, journalist Yoe Suarez reported, “the prosecutor indicated that education at home is ‘not permitted in Cuba because it has a capitalist foundation’ and that only [the government] teachers are prepared ‘to instill socialist values’.”
On Monday, the judge presiding over their cases found them guilty of “illicit assembly and incitement to delinquency” for helping other families interested in homeschooling.
Cuban state security wouldn’t let friends or family attend the sentencing and they got violent with attorney and journalist Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces.
“They punched me in the mouth, my shirt is bloody, and I am detained here now, I don’t know why,” Quiñones told a Cuban reporter.
Before the couple was arrested, they were planning on leaving the country for a nation that respects their right to freely educate their children.
Watch Rigal explain his situation in the video below that was released days before his arrest.
The case took place amid rising tension in Cuba after the country adopted a new constitution earlier this year that was met with opposition from religious leaders who say it weakens protections for freedom of religion.
A Senegalese migrant has been charged with attempted murder after brutally attacking two police officers in Turin, Italy, while yelling "Allahu akbar," according to local media.
The suspect, identified as Ndiaye Migui, 26, has two outstanding deportation orders against him as well as a history of assaulting officers.
"He shouted 'Allah Akbar,' the exclamation used by Islamic terrorists before carrying out an attack," Il Giornale reports. "Then, brandishing an iron bar, he ran at two policemen who were in the area, and attacked them."
One officer was hospitalized with head wounds, while the other suffered injuries to their hand.
Migui had reportedly assaulted other officers on March 29, but never faced trial because a prosecutor placed a phone call ordering his release, "even though he was unable to trace the identity and the legal status of the person in question," Il Giornale reports, citing minutes from a police report about the incident.
Migui is known to live in a makeshift shack in Turin, and officers attempting to confront him have been subjected to violence as well, leading to deportation orders being filed against him by top law enforcement officials on two occasions.
"The fact is he shows indications of an absolute lack of fear and respect for the police," said police union spokesman Pietro Di Lorenzo.
Migui reportedly attempted to assault staff at the police station during his latest arrest, while yelling condemnations of Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
"There will be no tolerance for thugs and violent people who attack the police," Salvini said in response.
Alarm regarding security and safety in Turin is growing, according to Il Giornale, which notes that, "Not a day goes by, in fact, that there are no episodes of violence."
Authorities recently began clearing out one of Italy's most infamous migrant settlements at the former Olympic Village in Turin, removing hundreds of squatters from multiple buildings under orders from Salvini.
Dan Lyman joins Owen Shroyer from Europe to report on the Yellow Vest protesters' reaction to the highly suspicious fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
President Donald Trump said Friday that he will nominate Stephen Moore, a conservative economic analyst and frequent critic of the Federal Reserve, to fill a vacancy on the Fed's seven-member board.
A well-known and often polarizing figure in Washington political circles is being nominated to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve’s seven-member board, President Trump announced Friday.
Stephen Moore, a conservative economic analyst and frequent critic of the Fed, served as an adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign. In that role, the loyalist helped draft Trump’s tax cut plan.
Trump can score points with his core supporters — and with the majority Republicans in the Senate — by embracing a conservative activist for a Fed role that would make him a watchdog over the economy.
“FreedomWorks is proud to see President Trump offer such a prestigious position to one of our own,” said Adam Brandon, president of that conservative advocacy group. “I have no doubt that Stephen Moore would make an excellent member of the Federal Reserve Board.”
A fervent advocate of tax cuts, Moore is close to Larry Kudlow, head of the White House National Economic Council. The two collaborated in shaping the tax overhaul that Trump signed into law at the end of 2017, leading to changes that largely favored tax cuts for corporations and wealthier individuals with the idea of spurring investment and growth.
Trump has been harshly critical of the Fed’s rate increases even after the central bank announced this week that it foresees no hikes this year. Moore, formerly chief economist for the conservative Heritage Foundation, also has been critical of the policies of Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Senate must confirm Moore’s nomination. Given his sharply partisan reputation, Moore could spark opposition among Democrats in the Senate.
Trump in his first two years in office has been able to reshape the central bank. He nominated four of the current five members. And he tapped Powell, who had been chosen for the Fed board by President Barack Obama, to succeed Janet Yellen as chairman. If confirmed by the Senate, Moore would fill one of two vacancies on the board.
The selection of Moore marks a deviation from Trump’s previous choices for the board, toward a more public figure who long has pushed conservative economic and political ideology.
With Trump as president, Moore became a sharp critic of Fed policies to shrink its balance sheet and return rates to what the central bank sees as a neutral level — neither stimulating nor hindering growth. He went so far as to suggest that Trump might consider trying to fire Powell for the rate hikes under his watch.
Moore frequently has praised the administration, and he co-wrote the 2018 book “Trumponomics.” His partner on that book was Art Laffer, who pioneered the Republican doctrine that lower tax rates would accelerate economic growth in ways that could minimize debt.
But federal debt has jumped since Trump’s overhaul to the tax code, surging nearly 77 percent through the first four months of fiscal 2019 compared with the previous year.
Apr 12, 2019; Seattle, WA, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) hits a grand slam against the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
April 13, 2019
Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel hit grand slams as the Houston Astros defeated the host Seattle Mariners 10-6 Friday night.
It was the fourth consecutive game in which Altuve has gone deep, and he has five home runs over that span.
George Springer also homered for the Astros, who extended their winning streak to seven games. The Mariners had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Tom Murphy hit a solo homer in the ninth inning to extend the Mariners’ major league record of consecutive games with a home run to start a season to 16.
Mets 6, Braves 2
Brandon Nimmo belted a two-run homer to highlight his three-hit performance as visiting New York won at Atlanta. The Mets matched a franchise record by scoring at least six runs in their sixth straight game.
Jeff McNeil ripped a two-run double and Robinson Cano and Michael Conforto each had an RBI double for the Mets, who also scored at least six runs in six straight games in 1997, 1998 and twice in 2007.
Georgia native Zack Wheeler (1-1) allowed two runs on six hits and struck out eight to improve to 6-3 in 11 career starts versus the Braves.
Red Sox 6, Orioles 4
Eduardo Rodriguez became the first Red Sox starter to win a game this season as Boston held off visiting Baltimore in the opener of a four-game series.
Rodriguez, who entered the seventh having allowed just one hit, gave up a two-run home run to Dwight Smith Jr. with two outs in the inning, ending his night. He yielded the two runs on three hits, striking out eight and walking none. Entering the game, Boston starters had been 0-8 with a league-worst 8.79 ERA this year.
The Orioles dropped their fourth straight game and have lost eight of their past nine following a 4-1 start.
Phillies 9, Marlins 1
Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer as Philadelphia routed host Miami. Jean Segura also had three hits, and J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper each had two hits and one RBI as the Phillies snapped a two-game losing streak.
This was Realmuto’s first game against the Marlins, the team that drafted him. Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro — who arrived from the Phillies in the Realmuto trade this spring — went 2-for-3 with a run.
Jake Arrieta (2-1) struck out eight batters in seven innings to earn the win. He allowed five hits, one walk and one run.
Pirates 6, Nationals 3 (10 innings)
Pinch hitter Colin Moran hit a three-run homer in the top of the 10th off Justin Miller on an 0-2 pitch as Pittsburgh prevailed in a back-and-forth contest with Washington.
Miller has now allowed four homers this year in seven outings. Moran was batting for Jung Ho Kang after Melky Cabrera and Adam Frazier got on base against Matt Grace (0-1).
The winner was Nick Burdi (1-1), who allowed a double by Howie Kendrick in the ninth but didn’t give up a run. Former Nationals pitcher Felipe Vazquez pitched the last of the 10th for the Pirates to earn his fourth save of the season.
Rays 11, Jays 7
Austin Meadows and Brandon Lowe each homered twice — including one each into the 500 level — and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Toronto.
The blasts were the 21st and 22nd home runs hit to the 500 level of Rogers Centre since it opened in 1989. Willy Adames added a two-run homer for the Rays.
Luke Maile homered for the Blue Jays, who rallied from an 8-0 deficit to draw within one run before the Rays scored three in the ninth.
Athletics 8, Rangers 6
Khris Davis continued his slugging ways with an eighth-inning solo homer that completed visiting Oakland’s rally from a five-run deficit for a win in Arlington, Texas.
It was Davis’ fifth home run in his last three games and his 10th of the season. His grounder to third base in the sixth inning scored Mark Canha as part of a four-run rally that included an RBI double from Stephen Piscotty that shrunk a 6-1 Rangers lead to 6-5.
In his first game against his former team, A’s second baseman Jurickson Profar had two hits, drove in Oakland’s first run and scored the A’s final run, an insurance run in the ninth.
Padres 2, Diamondbacks 1
Four San Diego pitchers retired the final 19 batters, Fernando Tatis Jr. doubled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning, and the Padres beat Arizona in Phoenix.
Padres rookie Chris Paddack allowed three hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings. He was pulled after 88 pitches despite retiring eight consecutive batters following an RBI single by David Peralta in the third inning. Paddack struck out five and walked one in outdueling Arizona’s Luke Weaver (0-1).
Gerardo Reyes, called up from Triple-A El Paso earlier Friday, retired both batters he faced to end the sixth inning and get a win in his major league debut. Adam Warren worked two perfect innings before giving way to Kirby Yates, who earned his eighth save.
Royals 8, Indians 1
Kansas City hit for the cycle its first time through the order and grabbed its biggest lead of the season in a six-run first inning en route to a victory over visiting Cleveland. The Royals snapped a 10-game losing streak.
Brad Keller (2-1) gave up one run on three hits and five walks over 6 2/3 innings, with a career-high 10 strikeouts. He has now pitched at least six innings in nine straight starts, the longest active streak in the majors.
Alex Gordon had four hits, including three extra-base hits, and three RBIs for the Royals.
White Sox 9, Yankees 6 (7 innings)
Eloy Jimenez snapped a tie with his first career home run, a two-run shot in the fifth inning, then homered in his next at-bat in the seventh as Chicago halted a five-game losing streak with a rain-shortened victory over host New York.
In his 46th career at-bat, the rookie left fielder gave the White Sox a 7-5 lead by leaving no doubt about his milestone. Jimenez slugged a 2-1 four-seam fastball by Jonathan Holder over the center field fence and on to the netting above Monument Park.
The game was halted after a delay in the top of the seventh inning.
Brewers 8, Dodgers 5
Yasmani Grandal had three hits, including a two-run home run that gave visiting Milwaukee the lead for good against Los Angeles.
Hernan Perez also hit a two-run homer for the Brewers to erase an early one-run deficit in the opener of the three-game series. Matt Albers (1-0) got the win in relief.
The Dodgers received home runs from Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson.
Cubs 5, Angels 1
Willson Contreras had three hits, including two solo home runs, and Chicago won the opener of the three-game series against visiting Los Angeles, which had its six-game winning streak halted.
Cole Hamels (2-0) gave up one run and four hits over eight innings, striking out six without walking a batter. Hamels improved to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.63 in his career against the Angels.
Anthony Rizzo and David Bote also homered for the Cubs, who have won two straight for the first time this season.
Tigers at Twins, ppd
The game between Minnesota and Detroit at Target Field was postponed due to a snow storm. The contest will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on May 11.
Labourers work at a garment factory in Bangkok, Thailand, May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
March 25, 2019
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s annual manufacturing output in February is expected to have risen at a slightly faster pace than in the previous month, a Reuters poll showed.
The median forecast of eight economists was for the manufacturing production index (MPI) to rise 0.52 percent in February from the same period last year, after January’s 0.18 percent increase.
Industrial goods account for about 80 percent of Thailand’s total exports, a key economic driver.
(Reporting by Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – 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.
LONDON – 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.”
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)
JOHANNESBURG – 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.
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)
Click below to consent to the use of the cookie technology provided by vi (video intelligence AG) to personalize content and advertising. For more info please access vi's website.