Sabadell agreed last month to sell TSB to Santander for an initial 2.65 billion pounds ($3.64 billion) in an all-cash deal

International News via Reuters:

Sabadell shareholders on Wednesday unanimously approved the sale of its British unit TSB to Santander, which analysts said was a defensive move to try to stop BBVA’s around 15 billion euro ($17.36 billion) hostile takeover bid.

Sabadell agreed last month to sell TSB to Santander for an initial 2.65 billion pounds ($3.64 billion) in an all-cash deal.

The sale would allow Sabadell to focus on the Spanish market, “where the bank has a greater growth capacity”, Chairman Josep Oliu told shareholders before the vote.

In Spain, legislation requires the governing bodies of a company targeted in a takeover bid to request shareholder approval before promoting or taking any action that might prevent an acquisition from succeeding.

BBVA last year made a hostile takeover bid for Sabadell in shares that originally valued Sabadell at 12 billion euros. That value has increased to about 15 billion euros as the banks’ share prices have diverged since the offer was first made.

While Sabadell’s management opposed the deal from the beginning, Spain’s anti-trust regulator approved the deal with some minor remedies and the government imposed as a condition that the two banks had to remain separate for at least three years.

Oliu said the government’s condition would prevent synergies from being generated and told shareholders to consider risks arising from the integration process when deciding whether to accept BBVA’s bid.

Sabadell plans to hand most of the cash it will get from the TSB sale to its shareholders as a special 2.5 billion euro dividend, which will be submitted to shareholders in another vote later on Wednesday.

Sabadell had bought TSB in 2015 for 1.7 billion pounds ($2.26 billion), Oliu told the assembly.

Responding to questions from shareholders, Sabadell CEO Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno said BBVA’s future prospectus needed to be transparent and to make clear whether Sabadell shareholders will receive 25% of the bank’s stock market value over the next 12 months or 40% over three years.

($1 = 0.8639 euros)

($1 = 0.7528 pounds)

Reporting by Jesus Aguado and Inti Landauro; Editing by David Latona

Coca-Cola HBC forecast annual organic or self-generated revenue growth at the top end of its 6%-8% guidance range

International News via Reuters:

London-listed shares of bottlers Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners dropped sharply on Wednesday, as weak consumer sentiment and concerns over the impact of trade tensions weighed on their annual revenue forecasts.

Coca-Cola HBC, which bottles drinks in 29 counties including Italy, Russia and Nigeria, forecast annual organic or self-generated revenue growth at the top end of its 6%-8% guidance range, but fell short of average market estimates of 8.8%.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), which operates in 31 countries in Western Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia, guided investors to expect revenue growth between 3% and 4%, down from an earlier forecast of about 4%.

Shares in the companies dropped roughly 10% in early London trading, both underperforming the wider FTSE 100 index which was up 0.2%.

In addition to global concerns that U.S. tariffs are weighing on consumer and business sentiment, the bottlers have over the past year faced backlashes from consumers in Indonesia, where CCEP operates, and Egypt, where Coca-Cola HBC operates, as consumers shied away from U.S. brands due to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The companies, which bottle Coca-Cola and other drinks in different regions, have been raising prices to shield margins from elevated costs and lower spending.

Last month, Coca-Cola Co, which holds stakes in both the bottlers, said cost pressures stemming from global trade dynamics remained manageable, but added it would consider switching to cheaper packaging options, such as plastic bottles, after the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on aluminium imports.

Coca-Cola HBC CEO Zoran Bogdanovic told Reuters the company was monitoring U.S. trade policies, but noted that its localized sourcing and production model limits direct exposure to U.S. tariffs.

Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Writing by Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Rashmi Aich and David Holmes

Leo’s appeal on Wednesday came hours after representatives from 120 countries

International News via Reuters:

Pope Leo on Wednesday criticised the “illusory security” of the global nuclear deterrence system, in an appeal on the 80th anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War.

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, said in his weekly audience that the destruction in Hiroshima, which killed about 78,000 people instantly, should serve “as a universal warning against the devastation caused … by nuclear weapons.”

“I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction will give way to … the practice of dialogue,” said the pontiff.

While the Catholic Church for decades gave tacit acceptance to the system of nuclear deterrence that developed in the Cold War, Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis changed the Church’s teaching to condemn the possession of nuclear arms.

Francis, who died in April after a 12-year papacy, also strongly backed the U.N. treaty to ban nuclear weapons, which formally went into force in 2021 but has not gained support from any of the nuclear-armed nations.

Leo’s appeal on Wednesday came hours after representatives from 120 countries, including the U.S., attended an annual ceremony in Hiroshima to mark the atomic bombing.

Among those attending the ceremony was a delegation of Catholic bishops from Japan, South Korea and the U.S. including Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C.

“We strongly condemn all wars and conflicts, the use and possession of nuclear weapons and the threat to use nuclear weapons,” the bishops said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Reporting by Joshua McElwee, Editing by Alvise Armellini.

Brent crude futures gained 90 cents, or 1.3%, to $68.54 a barrel by 0936 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 92 cents, or 1.4%, at $66.08 a barrel

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, rebounding from a five-week low the previous day, as traders focused on U.S. President Donald Trump threatening India with higher tariffs over its Russian crude purchases and a larger-than-expected U.S. crude draw.

Brent crude futures gained 90 cents, or 1.3%, to $68.54 a barrel by 0936 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 92 cents, or 1.4%, at $66.08 a barrel.

Both oil contracts fell by more than $1 on Tuesday to settle at their lowest in five weeks, marking a fourth session of losses.

“Oil prices are higher today as traders look to India and China’s response to the threat of secondary sanctions,” said Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum.

“Expectations appear that India may reduce its buying of Russian crude, but I can’t see them doing so entirely as they have been making supernormal profits on buying cheap Russian crude.”

Trump’s renewed threats on Tuesday of higher tariffs on India for buying Russian energy supported the market. India, along with China, is a huge buyer of Russian oil.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions.

“Overall, the outlook for the Russia-Ukraine war remains uncertain but the ongoing conflict and the threat of escalating tariffs is likely to keep oil prices supported in the near term until there is more clarity on the potential impact of tariffs on oil exports,” analysts at Roth Capital Markets said in a note late on Tuesday.

“We expect minimal disruption to Russian oil exports as we think that China can import the vast majority of Russian crude.”

The market was also seeing some support from U.S. crude inventories falling last week, analysts said, as sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures said on Tuesday that stockpiles had fallen by 4.2 million barrels.

That compares with a Reuters poll estimate of a 600,000 barrels draw for the week to August 1. [API/S][EIA/S]

“The API data showing a U.S. crude draw yesterday was price supportive,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS, adding that concerns over supply disruptions from the U.S.-India spat were priced in.

Reporting by Seher Dareen in London, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Stephen Coates, Jane Merriman and Kate Mayberry