The U.K. asset manager and insurer said it is confident of its ability to continue generating surplus cash and expects to pay out around £915M (£1 = $1.1848) this year and will aim for “low to mid-single-digit growth” in the dividend thereafter. “We are making excellent progress at Aviva,” chief executive Amanda Blanc said in
READ MOREMost Asian stocks edged lower on Thursday as weaker-than-expected Chinese inflation data pointed to a sluggish economic recovery in the country, while fears of a more hawkish Federal Reserve continued to chip away at sentiment. China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 0.3% each after data showed consumer inflation grew substantially less
READ MOREGuyana’s coming auction of offshore oil exploration blocks has lured at least 10 companies including Shell (LON:RDSa), Petrobras and Chevron , to consider the decade’s hottest oil region, people close to the matter said. The South American country is offering 14 offshore blocks, a move to speed economic development and reduce an Exxon Mobil-led consortium’s
READ MOREGold prices were mixed on Monday amid some uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy, while copper prices retreated sharply as major importer China set a weaker-than-expected GDP target for 2023, undermining expectations of a strong recovery in demand. Bullion prices were aided by a drop in the dollar last week, breaking a five-week losing spree as
READ MOREOil prices fell slightly on Friday as traders weighed the prospect of more economic headwinds from rising interest rates, although renewed optimism over a rebound in Chinese demand put prices on course for strong weekly gains. Crude markets logged wild swings in recent sessions amid a series of mixed cues. While better-than-expected Chinese business activity
READ MOREMost Asian currencies were muted on Friday amid growing concerns over the path of U.S. monetary policy, while the Chinese yuan was among the best performers this week on a string of strong economic readings. The yuan rose 0.1%, and was set to close the week nearly 0.8% higher. A private survey showed on Friday
READ MOREGermany’s Merck KGaA on Thursday predicted 2023 earnings would slip due to a decline at its electronic chemicals unit and a drop in COVID-related demand for its lab supplies from drug and vaccine makers. For 2023 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for one-offs, the company “assumes a moderate decline to an
READ MOREElon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX was ready to try again at sending NASA’s next long-duration crew of the International Space Station to orbit on Thursday, about 72 hours after a first attempt was scrubbed due to a clogged filter in the launch system. Two NASA astronauts will be joined by a Russian cosmonaut and an
READ MOREWhen Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November, Andrii Povod returned to find his grain farm in ruins. Two tractors were missing, most of the wheat was gone and all 11 buildings used to store crops and machinery had been bombed and burned. The farm bears the scars of Russian shelling and unexploded ordnance riddles the fields
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