Eni unit resumes exploration drilling off Libya
Tripoli — The North African branch of Italian energy company Eni has resumed its exploration drilling in an offshore area northwest of Libya after a five-year hiatus, the Libyan state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Sunday.
In 2024, Eni and British oil giant BP resumed exploration in Libya after onshore drilling was halted in 2014, the year when the North African country's civil war erupted and divided the country between two administrations.
Eni resumed operations in a well where drilling operations were halted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, NOC said. Reuters
Drugmaker AbbVie expects lower annual profit
Bengaluru — Drugmaker AbbVie said on Friday it has lowered its annual profit forecast, after flagging an expected $2.7bn charge related to in-process research & development (IPR&D) expenses in the third quarter.
The Chicago-based company said in a regulatory filing that such expenses may arise from collaborations, licensing deals or asset buys, but are not forecast due to uncertainty around timing and occurrence. It did not specify how the expense was incurred.
Including the third-quarter charge, AbbVie now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share at $10.38-$10.58, compared with the previous range of $11.88-$12.08.
Analysts were expecting full-year adjusted earnings per share to be $12.02, according to data compiled by LSEG. Reuters
American International chief to step down
Bengaluru — American International Group said on Friday that Don Bailey, its executive vice-president and CEO for North America Commercial Insurance, will retire at year-end for health reasons and announced leadership changes at its US commercial unit.
Bailey, a four-decade insurance veteran, joined AIG in 2023 as global head of distribution, field operations. AIG will adopt a new leadership structure effective January 1, elevating three executives in its North America commercial arm.
Allison Cooper and Barbara Luck will become co-presidents, retail, while Lou Levinson will be named president of wholesale.
The new executives will report to John Neal, who will assume the role of president. Reuters
Cerebras Systems withdraws US listing plan
Bengaluruu — AI chip start-up Cerebras Systems, which competes with industry leader Nvidia in the booming AI chip market, on Friday filed to withdraw its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, effective immediately.
Its withdrawal comes as US IPO activity picks up in recent months, reversing an earlier slowdown caused by trade policy uncertainty, with recent listings, such as that of data centre real estate investment trust Fermi getting warm receptions amid surging investor enthusiasm for AI-related stocks.
“Given that Cerebras just very recently completed a sizeable fund raise, it is of no surprise that they are holding off to pursue the IPO at this time,” said Josef Schuster, CEO of IPO research firm IPOX.
Cerebras had on Tuesday said it raised $1.1bn in a funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research and Atreides Management, valuing the company at $8.1bn.
But CEO Andrew Feldman said at the time the company still plans to hold a public offering. Reuters
OpenAI CEO embarks on global fundraising drive
Bengaluru — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has embarked on a global fundraising initiative spanning East Asia and the Middle East, seeking financing and manufacturing partners to meet the company’s demand for its computing capacity, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the meetings.
Altman has held discussions since late September in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan with major suppliers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Foxconn, Samsung and SK Hynix to boost AI chip production and secure top-priority orders for OpenAI, the report said.
Altman was pushing these companies to increase production capacity and give priority to OpenAI’s orders, the newspaper said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Microsoft, TSMC, Foxconn, Samsung and SK Hynix could not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. Reuters
Stellantis mulls $10bn US investment amid tariff hit
Bengaluru — French-Italian-American automaker Stellantis is planning to invest about $10bn in the US, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the situation.
Stellantis may announce in the coming weeks about $5bn in fresh investment on top of a similar amount earmarked earlier in the year, the report said.
The report added that the investments over several years could be funnelled into plants — including reopenings, hiring and new- vehicle models — in states such as Illinois and Michigan. In July, Stellantis had warned of a €1.5bn hit from US tariffs this year, but pledged new vehicle launches to reconnect with customers as new CEO Antonio Filosa tries to get the automaker back on track after a dismal 2024. Filosa became CEO in June.
Stellantis is reintroducing models, including the Jeep Cherokee and 8-cylinder RAM trucks, after dropping them proved to be one of the causes of the group’s declining sales since 2024, Filosa said in September. Reuters
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