Town Hall News

BERLIN (Reuters) -One person was killed and another injured as shots were fired in a Mercedes Benz manufacturing plant in southern Germany, the Bild newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a police spokesperson. One person was arrested and rescue workers were on the scene at the Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, which assembles the S-Class model, Bild said. “One person was killed, one seriously injured. The background is still unclear,” the police […]

By David Kirton and James Pomfret SHENZHEN/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Diplomats from several countries including the United States said on Thursday they were prevented from attending the subversion trial of rights activist and lawyer Guo Feixiong in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. Guo, 58, has gained international attention for his campaigns on issues including corruption and censorship and his allegations of mistreatment by Chinese authorities during more than a […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda Motor Co on Thursday forecast a 19.1% rise in operating profit for this business year, after it missed analysts’ estimates in the fourth quarter. Japan’s second-biggest automaker forecast full-year operating profit rising to 1.0 trillion yen ($7.40 billion) compared with a 985.62 billion yen average profit expected by 21 analysts. It said it expected higher sales volume and to benefit from a strengthening supply chain. […]

BERLIN (Reuters) -One person was killed and another injured as shots were fired in a Mercedes Benz manufacturing plant in southern Germany, the Bild newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a police spokesperson. One person was arrested and rescue workers were on the scene at the Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, which assembles the S-Class model, Bild said. “One person was killed, one seriously injured. The background is still unclear,” the police […]

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s railway union EVG on Thursday announced a new 50-hour strike to take place from Sunday to Tuesday as wage talks with state train operator Deutsche Bahn and around 50 other rail companies drag on without a resolution. The walkout – set to start at 2000 GMT on Sunday and end at 2200 GMT on Tuesday – will be the latest in a wave of industrial action […]

By Ludwig Burger FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Drug and pesticide maker Bayer said its 2023 results would likely come in at the lower bound of its target range, hurt by cost inflation and the reversal of last year’s price boost for its glyphosate-based weedkillers. Bayer saw herbicide sales jump 44% in 2022 after Hurricane Ida damaged rival producers and constrained Chinese suppliers failed to plug the gap. Prices have been dropping as […]

By Sam Nussey and Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp reported an annual net loss of 970 billion yen ($7.18 billion) for the year ended March 31, with the Vision Fund unit posting a quarterly investment loss due to weakness in tech valuations. CEO Masayoshi Son’s attempt to bestride the tech investing industry has suffered a series of high-profile reversals after outsized bets through SoftBank’s first Vision Fund […]

By Harry Robertson LONDON (Reuters) – Italian bonds face a rockier road in the coming months after a period of unusual calm, starting with credit ratings decisions over the next two weeks. Ratings agency Fitch will pronounce on Italy’s creditworthiness on Friday. Moody’s will follow suit on May 19, and there is a small risk it could downgrade the country to “junk” status. Such a downgrade – although not expected […]

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica said on Thursday its first-quarter net profit fell 58% from the same period a year earlier to 298 million euros ($328 million) on higher debt costs. The bottom line was affected by a 19% increase in debt costs to 667 million euros, Telefonica said, adding the company had booked a 200 million euro capital gain in the first quarter of 2022 on the sale […]