
Italian publisher Class Editori says won't sell majority stake
ROME, June 20 (Reuters) - Paolo Panerai, the founder and main shareholder of Italian publisher Class Editori (CLED.MI), opens new tab said on Friday he had no intention of selling his majority stake in the company.
A Milan bourse filing on Thursday showed that Italian businessman Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, who has been investing in the publisher, had accumulated a stake of more than 5%.
Panerai told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Milan on Friday that he saw no risk of a takeover of the company and replied "you must be joking", when asked if he intended to give up control.

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Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
Walmart to pay $10 million to settle US FTC lawsuit over money transfer fraud
June 20 (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a U.S. Federal Trade Commission civil lawsuit accusing the world's largest retailer of ignoring warning signs that fraudsters used its money transfer services to fleece consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. The settlement was filed on Friday in Chicago federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Manish Shah. Walmart also agreed not to process money transfers it suspects are fraudulent, or help sellers and telemarketers it believes are using its services to commit fraud. "Electronic money transfers are one of the most common ways that scammers tell consumers to send them money, because once it's sent, it's gone for good," said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC consumer protection bureau. "Companies that provide these services must train their employees to comply with the law and work to protect consumers." The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. Walmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In its June 2022 complaint, the FTC accused Walmart of turning a blind eye to fraudsters who used its money transfer services to cash out at its stores. Walmart acts as an agent for money transfers by companies such as MoneyGram, Ria (EEFT.O), opens new tab and Western Union (WU.N), opens new tab. Money can be hard to trace once delivered. The FTC said fraudsters used many schemes that included impersonating Internal Revenue Service agents, impersonating family members who needed money from grandparents to avoid jail, and telling victims they won lotteries or sweepstakes but owed fees to collect their winnings. Shah dismissed part of the FTC case last July but let the regulator pursue the remainder. Walmart appealed from that decision. Friday's settlement would end the appeal. The case is Federal Trade Commission v Walmart Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 22-03372.


Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
TRADING DAY On weekend war-watch again
ORLANDO, Florida, June 20 (Reuters) - - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at opens new tab. You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Cautious optimism around a possible de-escalation in the week-long war between Israel and Iran helped foster a relatively positive tone across world markets on Friday, lifting most stock markets and sealing oil's biggest decline in over a month. You'll note a high degree of equivocation there. President Donald Trump taking up to two weeks to decide on America's involvement offers no immediate clarity, even if he is open to direct talks, and negotiations between Iran's foreign minister and his European counterparts in Geneva are at the early stage. However, Wall Street didn't feel much of the earlier optimism on Friday. Tehran insists it will not talk directly to Washington about a new nuclear deal until Israel ceases its attacks. The bombing and retaliatory strikes continue. It's a fluid and fragile situation, but compared to a week ago when the conflict started, it's perhaps less bleak, which explains why many markets have regained their footing. It's worth remembering that Wall Street and world stocks earlier this week were a whisker away from their record highs. Developments in the war and on the diplomatic field over the weekend will go a long way to setting the tone for markets on Monday. And investors will continue to digest what was, in many ways, a pretty monumental week for central banks. To recap, the Federal Reserve took a hawkish turn in its projected interest rate path even though Chair Jerome Powell signaled policymakers are flying blind, while the Bank of Japan took a dovish turn in its balance sheet reduction plans. The Swiss National Bank cut rates to zero and admitted, albeit reluctantly, that rates could go negative, Norway's central bank delivered a surprise rate cut, and Brazil's central bank defied expectations by raising rates to the highest since 2006 and signaling it could tighten policy further. A raft of Fed officials are on the stump next week, and investors will be looking through the blizzard of headlines to see how the consensus stacks up against the new, less dovish 'dot plots'. Top of the bill will be Powell's semi-annual testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fed Governor Christopher Waller told CNBC on Friday that a rate cut should be on the table next month because inflation is tame and unlikely to be boosted on a lasting basis by import tariffs. But Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin told Reuters in an interview there's no rush to cut rates because tariffs could indeed fuel inflation. What's more, the economy and labor market are holding up well right now. It's gone pretty quiet on the trade front, an indication that the Trump administration is finding it harder than it imagined to secure the dozens of trade deals it promised - Trump himself has said that China and Japan are "tough" in their negotiations. China is not blinking, and why should it? As CIBC economists point out, China holds all the cards when it comes to global rare earths and pharmaceuticals supply, the U.S. is a much smaller market for its exports than it used to be, and Beijing has a wider array of retaliatory tools at its disposal than it did in 2018. Last but not least, "the tolerance to pain in autocratic China is notably higher than in the (still) democratic US," they note. The next few weeks will be pivotal for markets as investors eye the half-year point, the July 9 expiry of Trump's pause on 'reciprocal' tariffs, and Trump's two-week window to decide on the level of U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel war. This Week's Key Market Moves Chart of the Week Two charts again, and they are related. The first is from Goldman Sachs and shows wage pressures in the developed G10 countries noticeably cooling (admittedly from elevated levels). This helps explain the second, from economist Phil Suttle, which shows developed and emerging market interest rate paths are diverging sharply - interest rates are coming down in DM, not so in EM. How long will that divergence last? Here are some of the best things I read this week: What could move markets on Monday? Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.


North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Mike Lynch's sunken yacht glimpsed above surface ahead of being fully raised
Seven people died when the Bayesian sank off the coast of the Italian island on August 19, including billionaire Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18. The 56-metre (184ft) yacht is set to be lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello over the weekend before being taken to nearby Termini Imerese — where Italian prosecutors investigating the sinking are based. On Friday, parts of the accommodation areas above deck and the hull were seen above the surface as teams worked to install additional lifting straps before the yacht was lowered back under the waterline ahead of being fully raised at the weekend. Investigators in the UK and Italy say raising the vessel is crucial to fully understanding what happened. Last week, salvage teams expected the boat to be raised later in June, but thanks to 'accelerated progress', the timeline was brought forward. The yacht's 72-metre (236ft) mast was cut off on Tuesday using a remote-controlled tool and rested on the seabed to be picked up later. Over the last few days, salvage teams worked to ease the hull into an upright position and give access to the yacht's right side, which had previously been lying flat on the seabed 50 metres below the surface. The yacht is currently supported by strong steel straps attached to Hebo Lift 10 — one of Europe's most powerful sea cranes. If all goes to plan, sea water will be pumped out of the hull as the boat is raised to the surface before being carried to Termini Imerese on Monday, where it will be lifted onto a specially made steel cradle on the quayside. Marcus Cave of British firm TMC Marine, which is overseeing the salvage efforts, said: 'The salvage team has made very substantive progress in the last 10 days. 'They are now preparing for the final, complex and delicate lifting operation, to bring Bayesian to the surface and ultimately into port.' The vessel was originally expected to be raised last month but salvage efforts were delayed after a diver died during underwater work on May 9, prompting greater use of remote-controlled equipment. About 70 specialist personnel had been mobilised to the fishing village of Porticello from across Europe to work on the recovery operation, which began last month. Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals. Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) investigators said in an interim report that the Bayesian was knocked over by 'extreme wind'. The yacht had a vulnerability to winds but the owner and crew would not have known, the report said. US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel, also died in the sinking. Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued. Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks in Kent. The tycoon founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June last year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.