Oil rises over 1% on ouster of Syria’s Assad, Chinese monetary policy

By Arathy Somasekhar HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices climbed more than 1% on Monday on higher geopolitical risk after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and as top importer China flagged its first move towards a loosened monetary policy stance since 2010. Brent crude futures settled $1.02, or 1.4%, higher at $72.14 per barrel. U.S. …

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Ad giant Omnicom takes aim at Big Tech, AI era with $13 billion Interpublic deal

By Deborah Mary Sophia and Urvi Dugar (Reuters) – Omnicom Group has struck a $13.25 billion all-stock deal to buy rival Interpublic Group, creating the world’s largest advertising agency as traditional players look to better compete with Big Tech firms amid accelerating use of AI. The deal, announced on Monday, could attract regulatory scrutiny as …

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Dollar edges up as market looks to CPI data; Aussie, kiwi rise on China

By Hannah Lang NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar was up slightly in skittish trading on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data later this week, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars rallied after China pledged an “appropriately loose” monetary policy next year. While markets have priced in a quarter-point interest-rate cut by the U.S. …

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy boosts funding for drone deployment

(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had issued orders to increase funding for equipping the country’s brigades with new drones. Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said he had received a report from Pavlo Palisa, a former military commander and the president’s newly-appointed deputy chief of staff, to provide additional …

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Allianz wants to redistribute three quarters of profit to shareholders

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Germany’s Allianz said on Monday it plans to distribute at least three-quarters of its net profit to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks over the next three years. The Munich-based insurer said it would maintain its dividend policy of distributing 60% of the net profit after minority interests directly. Additionally, from …

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Colombia’s interior minister says proposed $2.73 billion fiscal reform not viable

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo on Monday said the government’s proposed 12 trillion peso ($2.73 billion) fiscal reform was “not viable,” but added that a smaller sum could be achieved. Colombia’s government presented its latest fiscal reform to Congress in September, which it hopes will finance spending in 2025 by increasing …

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OpenAI releases text-to-video model Sora for ChatGPT Plus and Pro users

(Reuters) – OpenAI said on Monday it has released its artificial intelligence model, which creates video from text, to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users, expanding its foray into multimodal AI technologies. The Microsoft-backed company, which kicked off a generative AI craze with the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022, aims to target similar …

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Blinken warns Islamic State will try to re-establish capabilities in Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that Islamic State will try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria, but said the United States is determined not to let that happen. Blinken said Syrians have to choose their future, adding that statements by rebel leaders toward building inclusive governance …

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