Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - France won't change its fiscal policy, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said as his government looked set to face two new no-confidence motions in parliament on Monday after one of the main credit agencies cut its rating of the country's debt.

"We won't raise taxes, we already have too much taxes in France," Attal told franceinfo radio.

Days ahead of a June 9 EU parliamentary election, S&P cut France's long-term sovereign... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - Blackstone on Monday raised its offer for Hipgnosis Songs Fund by a cent to $1.31 per share, valuing the music rights owner of artists such as Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers at $1.58 billion.

The revised offer in part reflects "Hipgnosis incurring lower adviser fees in respect of the transaction than previously expected", the private equity fund said in a statement.

Blackstone, which won Hipgnosis's board backing for the... (continue reading...)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Microsoft will invest 33.7 billion Swedish crowns ($3.21 billion) to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Sweden over a two-year period, the U.S. tech group said on Monday.

The investment, Microsoft's biggest to date in Sweden, includes a pledge to help train some 250,000 people with AI skills, corresponding to 2.4% of the population that will help boost the Nordic country's competitiveness, it added.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's consumer price index (CPI) in May rose 11.8% from a year earlier, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, the lowest reading in 30 months and below the finance ministry's projections.

The lowest reading comes a week before the central bank meets to review the key rate which has remained at a historic high of 22% for seven straight policy meetings.

Pakistan has been beset by inflation... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) -Thai entertainment platform GMM Music on Monday said Tencent and Tencent Music Entertainment will acquire a 10% stake in the company for $70 million, solidifying its spin-off plan.

Tencent and its controlled entity Tencent Music will buy the stake through a combination of cash and a minority stake in music streaming app JOOX Thailand, valuing GMM Music at $700 million.

In July 2023, GMM Music's parent company GMM Grammy... (continue reading...)