June 13 Reuters Accenture said on Tuesday it will invest 3 billion over three years into its data and AI practice, doubling the number of employees that are working with the cuttingedge technology at the IT consulting firm. The company, which consults and services various clients on generative AI projects, said it will have 80,000 […]

PARIS, June 14 Reuters French business leaders Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and MoezAlexandre Zouari have expressed an interest in bidding up to 1.1 billion euros 1.2 billion for Casino, potentially offering an alternative lifeline for the indebted French supermarket group. The trio had signalled last week they were readying an offer for Casino after tieup talks […]

LONDONHONG KONG, June 14 Reuters Vodafone and CK Hutchison finally unveiled the merger of their British operations on Wednesday, pledging to create the country39;s largest mobile operator to boost competition and invest 14 billion in the country. The details came in a longawaited announcement after the two companies publicly revealed they were in talks in October. Vodafone will own […]

LONDON, June 13 Reuters Asda, Britain39;s third largest supermarket group, has frozen the prices of over 500 products until the end of August, it said on Tuesday, adding to signs that a surge in food inflation is set to abate and even reverse in the coming months. The retailer, which trails market leader Tesco and No. […]

LONDON, June 13 Reuters Britain39;s competition watchdog has secured pledges from supermarket groups Sainsbury39;s and Asda to cease using unlawful land agreements after it uncovered 32 anticompetitive deals, it said on Tuesday. The Competition and Markets Authority CMA said both grocers had breached legislation which was introduced to stop supermarkets imposing new restrictions that prevent rivals […]

BUCHAREST, June 13 Reuters Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom, majoritycontrolled by Austria39;s OMV, said on Tuesday it discovered new crude oil and natural gas deposits equal to about three quarters of its overall 2022 production. The deposits are the largest crude oil discovery OMV Petrom has made in decades, it said, and were […]

COPENHAGEN, June 13 Reuters Finnair on Tuesday raised its fullyear 2023 operating profit target and said it expects travel demand to exceed expectations, sending its shares up 3. The company now estimates that its comparable operating profit this year will reach or even exceed 201939;s prepandemic level of 162.8 million euros 175.91 million, it said. As […]

TOKYO, June 13 Reuters Toyota Motor said it will introduce highperformance, solidstate batteries and other technologies to improve the range and performance and to cut costs of its electric vehicles. The Japanese carmaker said it aims to launch nextgeneration batteries from 2026, seeking to win over consumers with vehicles that offer longer driving ranges and quicker […]

SINGAPORE, June 12 Reuters Singapore lender DBS Group is stepping up its focus on the business of family offices, where its assets have surged in the last two years. Southeast Asia39;s largest bank by assets is introducing a new investment platform tailored towards the needs of family offices, which are onestop firms that manage the portfolios […]

June 12 Reuters Novartis said it has agreed to acquire U.S. biotech firm Chinook Therapeutics for up to 3.5 billion to boost its latestage drug development lineup, raising the stakes in the race for a rare kidney disease treatment. Seattlebased Chinook39;s shareholders will receive 3.2 billion, or 40 per share, in cash under the agreed deal, plus […]