Reuters

(Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Group posted a 32% drop in its full-year profit on Friday due to weaker performance across its commodities, global markets and asset management businesses.

The financial conglomerate's profit attributable for the year ended March 31 came in at A$3.52 billion ($2.31 billion), compared with A$5.18 billion a year ago. That was largely in line with a Visible Alpha consensus of A$3.51 billion, according to UBS.

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Journalists who report on environmental issues face increasing violence around the world from both state and private actors, UNESCO said on Thursday, highlighting that 44 of these journalists have been murdered between 2009 and 2023.

More than 70% of the 905 journalists the agency surveyed in 129 countries said they had been attacked, threatened or pressured, and that the violence against... (continue reading...)

By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's foreign minister on Friday described the country's relationship with China as "complex," and called out the hardening rhetoric across the Taiwan Strait, human rights violations in Hong Kong and "increased engagement in Pacific security sectors."

Winston Peters said in the speech to the New Zealand China Council in Auckland that China was a vital economic partner to New Zealand, with... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - Pioneer Natural Resources on Thursday reported a lower first-quarter profit, weighed down by higher production costs and weak natural gas prices.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission gave the go-ahead to Exxon Mobil's $60 billion purchase of the company, but barred Pioneer's former CEO, Scott Sheffield, from joining Exxon's board on allegations he attempted to collude with OPEC to raise oil prices.

Sheffield... (continue reading...)

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said Congress doubled to $6 billion its funding request for buying and building 155 millimeter artillery rounds to replace stocks depleted by shipments to Ukraine and now Israel, an Army official said on Thursday.

Demand for 155 mm artillery rounds has soared since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Allies' supplies for their own defense have been run down as they have rushed shells... (continue reading...)