London — Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Wednesday it had targeted eight premises in London suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading.
“The FCA issued cease and desist letters at each site, notifying traders to stop illegal activity immediately. Evidence obtained during the on-site inspections is supporting a number of ongoing criminal investigations,” the regulator said in a statement. Reuters
German potash and salt miner K+S upbeat on outlook
Bengaluru — German potash and salt miner K+S raised its 2026 outlook on Wednesday after higher-than-anticipated agricultural prices drove a strong beat on first-quarter core earnings.
Prices of potassium chloride, or potash, climbed to above $380 a tonne by the end of the quarter. That compares to historic lows of below $280 seen in late 2024.
The Hessian-based group targets annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of €630m-€730m compared with a previous range of €600m-€700m. It, however, warned that the effects of the Middle East conflict could only be predicted to a limited extent. Reuters
Elevance Health lifts annual profit forecast
Bengaluru — Elevance Health raised its annual profit forecast on Wednesday, as it looks to keep medical costs in check.
Health insurers have been grappling with high medical costs, driven by rising demand for behavioural health services and specialty drugs across government-backed plans in recent years.
Elevance said it has made deliberate changes to its healthcare plans and exited select locations to manage sustained pressure in its Medicaid plans for low-income people. Reuters
Electrolux to close refrigeration plant in Hungary
Stockholm — Swedish appliance maker Electrolux will close its factory in Jaszbereny, Hungary, by the end of the year, affecting around 600 employees, the company said on Wednesday.
Electrolux said in a statement the closure of the plant, which manufactures built-in and freestanding refrigeration products, is part of efforts to lower costs in the face of competition and sluggish demand.
“This is driven by the current competitive environment, which is impacted by stagnant market demand, price pressure, and increasing constraints on cost competitiveness,” it said. Reuters
ASML pledges to end bottlenecks in chip supplies
Amsterdam — Top computer chip equipment maker ASML won’t be a bottleneck for the industry as it was early in the decade, thanks to recent investments in capacity and productivity improvements, its CEO said on Wednesday.
Being a bottleneck “is something we will avoid by all possible means; it is essential to maintaining our current position,” Christophe Fouquet told investors at the company’s annual meeting in the Dutch city of Veldhoven.
His comments came after ASML’s first-quarter results last week show the company is continuing to benefit from surging demand for AI chips and related memory chip shortages. That has prompted top customers including TSMC, which manufactures Nvidia’s chips, to expand capacity. Reuters
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