Reuters - Before the Bell

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Monday, July 24, 2017

Blackstone in talks to buy 40 pct of Israel cyber firm NSO -report

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Blackstone Group is in advanced talks to pay $400 million for 40 percent of privately held Israeli firm NSO Group, a maker of spyware for mobile devices, Israel's Calcalist business newspaper reported on Sunday.

KKR to buy WebMD in $2.8 billion deal

(Reuters) - Online health publisher WebMD Health Corp said on Monday it agreed to be bought by private equity firm KKR & Co in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion.

Oil rises after Saudi vows to cap crude exports next month

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rallied on Monday, erasing early losses after leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia pledged to cut its exports to help speed up the rebalancing of global supply and demand.

Hedge fund Elliott wants 'urgent' Akzo response over CEO concerns

LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm Elliott Management on Monday asked the board of Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel to urgently respond to its concerns about the nomination of a new chief executive.

Exclusive: Spotify, Warner hope to clinch royalty deal by September - sources

LONDON (Reuters) - Music streaming company Spotify is close to agreeing a new licensing pact with Warner Music Inc, the last big music royalty deal it needs before pushing ahead with a U.S. stock market listing, four sources familiar with the situation said.

VEON names former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns as chairwoman

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - VEON named former Xerox chief Ursula Burns as its chairwoman on Monday, as the telecoms operator undertakes corporate governance reforms and a makeover as a global online services company.

VW calls crisis meeting to discuss EU cartel probe: source

BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen will hold a special supervisory board meeting on Wednesday to discuss allegations that German carmakers operated a wide-ranging cartel, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Direct lending funds' fading all-weather appeal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Miami-area money manager Bob Press appears to offer the ultimate all-weather investment: a "direct lending" hedge fund that does not require a long-term commitment and has produced nearly 90 straight months of positive returns not correlated to other markets.

Samsung takes aim at TSMC with plans to triple chip foundry market share

YONGIN, SOUTH KOREA (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics plans to triple the market share of its contract chip manufacturing business within the next five years by aggressively adding clients, a senior company executive said, as it targets new growth drivers for the chips business.

Democrats take aim at big companies in economic blueprint

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrats are unveiling an economic platform on Monday that they call "A Better Deal" for working Americans by announcing plans to address unfair market competition, rising pharmaceutical costs and stagnant wages.