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(Reuters) -Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) on Friday urged Tesla shareholders to vote against CEO Elon Musk's proposed $1 trillion performance award, citing concerns over excessive compensation and governance risks. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, Tesla's board proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk in what it described as the largest corporate pay package in history, setting ambitious performance targets and aiming to address his push for greater control over the company. The vote on Musk's pay package is scheduled for early November. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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(Reuters) -U.S. regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp reported a 14% jump in third-quarter profit on Friday on the back of robust fee income, but booked a $178 million loss related to the bankruptcy of auto dealer Tricolor.   Broad-based growth across Fifth Third's fee businesses lifted non-interest income to $781 million in the quarter, up 10% from a year earlier.   Wealth management and asset management fee revenue surged 11%, while mortgage banking fee revenue jumped 16%. Shares of the bank were up 1% in early afternoon trading. The stock had fallen 4.5% this year as of Thursday's close.    TRICOLOR LOSS While the broader U.S. economy has remained resilient, fears about credit quality at some regional banks, including Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance, triggered a fall in U.S. bank stocks on Thursday. Fifth Third had disclosed last month it gave a $200 million asset-backed finance loan to Tricolor, which filed for bankruptcy last month and moved to liquidate its business. "We decided to disclose the potential loss as quickly as possible", Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said in a phone interview. He said the bank is comfortable with its risk after a portfolio review and noted that profits increased even after the losses. Net charge-offs, or debts that are unlikely to be recovered, totaled $339 million in the quarter, including a $178 million loss related to the impairment of the loan to Tricolor.  INTEREST INCOME GROWTH Net interest income — the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay on deposits — rose 7% to $1.53 billion in the quarter, thanks to lower deposit costs and fixed-rate asset repricing. Earlier this month, Fifth Third struck a $10.9 billion all-stock deal to buy regional lender Comerica, the biggest U.S. bank transaction this year which will create the nation's ninth-largest lender. Fifth Third's profit jumped to $608 million, or 91 cents per share, in the three months ended September 30, compared with $532 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.  (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Cynthia Osterman)

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ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said on Friday he had spoken briefly to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the United States' 39% tariffs on Switzerland, but he gave no indication of progress on reducing the levies. Speaking to Swiss television, Parmelin said that contact between the Swiss and U.S. governments was ongoing on various levels and that he had spoken to Bessent for "a few minutes". "But that was very brief," Parmelin told Swiss national broadcaster SRF during a visit to Washington. "We're staying in contact, including at a technical level. The federal cabinet will communicate as soon as we have progress to report." Parmelin was also asked whether he believed his country could reach a deal with the United States by the end of this month. He responded by reiterating that contact was ongoing. "Again, it's not possible to say more today," he said. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision in August to impose the duties on Switzerland stunned the country, which eliminated its own industrial tariffs last year. Trump argued the tariffs were justified by the U.S. trade deficit with Switzerland. Since then, Switzerland's government has been working to lower the tariffs, assembling a package of measures aimed at cutting the U.S. deficit and increasing Swiss investment in the United States. But it has yet to strike a deal with Trump. (Reporting by Dave Graham and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Sarah Marsh)

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By Alun John, Ankur Banerjee, Manya Saini and Nupur Anand NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -U.S. bank stocks rebounded on Friday, clawing back some losses after fears over bad loans triggered a global selloff that swept through European and Asian markets earlier in the day. The weakness hit Wall Street, with main equities indexes seeing a mixed open before inching higher in choppy trading, as investors stayed on edge about banks. The concerns added to anxiety about escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and the global economic outlook. The U.S. KBW Regional Banking Index closed down 6.3% on Thursday. It was last up 1%, while an index tracking large-cap rivals was up marginally. Investors in bank stocks have grown jittery. After a string of credit scares and surprise writedowns since 2023, confidence has gotten another knock in recent weeks from auto bankruptcies and alleged fraud that triggered losses at some banks. "Markets have been gripped by a sense of fear and panic in the last couple of days," said Timothy Coffey, associate director of depository research at Janney Montgomery Scott. "There are different issues that are being conflated into one big issue about credit concerns." Pressure on bank stocks "is likely to continue, this panic is like a fever. Once it enters the system, it takes a while to leave." The credit issues have fanned investor unease over stretched valuations in global markets, leaving them alert to any signs of stress. Stocks have held up well, and the economy has remained resilient despite uncertainty surrounding some of President Donald Trump's policies, including tariffs. IDIOSYNCRATIC RISKS? Investors are assessing whether recent strains in U.S. credit markets could affect valuations across markets, after an overnight Wall Street selloff rippled through Asia and Europe and cast a spotlight on the AI-fueled stock rally that some fear may have inflated a bubble. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said earlier this week about credit markets, "When you see one cockroach, there are probably more, and so everyone should be forewarned." Market participants have taken note of Dimon's comment, pausing to wonder if sees signs of broader trouble that are not visible to others, one industry executive said. "There is a nervousness now after the First Brands and Tricolor bankruptcies, then a third issue seems to confirm fears that there are a lot of subprime assets," said Brian Mulberry, senior client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management. "It appears that these are isolated cases of fraud where assets were being double booked as collateral for multiple debt structures." White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday that banks have ample reserves and that he was optimistic that credit markets could stay ahead of the curve. He added in an interview with Fox Business Network that Trump administration officials led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve's Michelle Bowman are "cleaning things up right now," without providing further details.     Meanwhile, another senior industry executive said that credit problems do not appear to be widespread, and recent concerns stem from a series of fraud cases. The banking sector's exposure to two recent U.S. auto bankruptcies has rekindled concerns about lending standards more than two years after Silicon Valley Bank's failure triggered broader turmoil.  "In the post SVB world, regulators have been asking banks about their commercial real estate exposure, the percentage of their uninsured deposits, deposit strategy, how they are set up at the discount window and those conversations have not changed," said Dan Hartman, a lawyer at Nutter. REGIONAL U.S. BANKS REBOUND Strong earnings from Truist Financial, Regions Financial, and Fifth Third bolstered investor sentiment, sending most U.S. regional banks higher. "The few recent corporate bankruptcies appear to be isolated cases, with the raft of bank earnings reports this week actually noting overall improving credit quality in the third quarter," said Stephen Biggar, director of financial research at Argus Research. Zions Bancorp, at the heart of the investor scrutiny, recovered 4%, after closing down 13%. Western Alliance was up 1.5% after losing roughly 11% on Thursday.  Jefferies shares jumped 5% following a steep drop in the previous session. The latest selloff came after Zions said it would take a $50 million loss on two commercial and industrial loans, while Western Alliance disclosed it had initiated a lawsuit alleging a borrower. BROADER MARKET IMPACT  European banks fell almost 3%, with Deutsche Bank and Barclays sliding around 6%, and Societe Generale down 4.6%, after financial firms in Asia, especially Japanese banks and insurers sank. "What we see in the banks selling off overnight in the U.S., Asia wakes up to it, Europe wakes up to it, and so it spreads," said TD Securities head of global macro strategy James Rossiter.    U.S. banks borrowed nearly $15 billion from the Federal Reserve's Standing Repo Facility (SRF) on Wednesday and Thursday, the largest borrowing over a two-day period since the Covid-19 pandemic. On Friday morning, however, banks did not tap the repo facility, although they get another chance to do so in the afternoon. The SRF acts as a liquidity backstop for potential funding shortfalls. Introduced in July 2021 in response to the pandemic, the Fed's facility provides twice-daily overnight cash loans in exchange for eligible collateral such as U.S. Treasuries. "The market is clearly priced for perfection," said Bo Pei, analyst at US Tiger Securities. "This leaves sentiment vulnerable, so even isolated negative headlines can trigger outsized reactions."  (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore and Alun John in London and Manya Saini in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Kevin Buckland, Stella Qiu, Dhara Ranasinghe, Jose Joel, Pritam Biswas and Medha Singh. Editing by Mark Heinrich, Mark Potter, Lananh Nguyen and Nick Zieminski)

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ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said on Friday he had spoken briefly to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the United States' 39% tariffs on Switzerland, but he gave no indication of progress on reducing the levies. Speaking to Swiss television, Parmelin said that contact between the Swiss and U.S. governments was ongoing on various levels and that he had spoken to Bessent for "a few minutes". "But that was very brief," Parmelin told Swiss national broadcaster SRF during a visit to Washington. "We're staying in contact, including at a technical level. The federal cabinet will communicate as soon as we have progress to report." Parmelin was also asked whether he believed that a deal could be reached with Switzerland by the end of this month. He responded by reiterating that contact was ongoing. "Again, it's not possible to say more today," he said. Trump's decision in August to impose the tariffs on Switzerland stunned the country. He argued the tariffs were justified by the U.S. trade deficit with Switzerland. Since then, the Swiss government has been working to cut the tariffs, but has yet to strike a deal with Trump. (Reporting by Dave Graham and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Sarah Marsh)

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By Rachel More BERLIN (Reuters) -Porsche lined up ex-McLaren boss Michael Leiters as its new CEO on Friday, in a bid to revive the German luxury sports car maker's fortunes and end a dual role for Oliver Blume that had rankled with some investors. Blume, who took the wheel at Porsche a decade ago, has for the past three years also run its parent Volkswagen, during which time both companies have struggled. "I am delighted that Michael Leiters, an experienced professional in the sports car business, is taking on this role," Blume said in a statement. Volkswagen gave Blume a vote of confidence, saying it would extend his contract as CEO of that company by five years until the end of 2030. INVESTOR SAYS COMPANY LISTENING The Porsche supervisory board has approved a January 1 start date for Leiters. Hiring a new CEO is a bid by Porsche to improve its performance as it faces global tariffs, falling Chinese demand and a costly reversal back to combustion engines from electric. Only three years ago, Porsche's market value was the second highest in German history and the carmaker was Europe's most valuable, worth 83 billion euros ($97 billion).  Once a cash-cow for Volkswagen, Porsche's profit margin has shrivelled, its share price has fallen by more than half and it tumbled out of the blue-chip DAX index last month. Meanwhile, Volkswagen's share price is down more than a third. Porsche shareholder DWS welcomed the apparent early end of Blume's dual role as an important signal to the markets. "It shows that repeated criticism has finally been heard," said Hendrik Schmidt, Head of Stewardship and Governance at DWS, which holds about $34 million in Porsche stock. "However, it is clear that even with new leadership, the old challenges must be tackled: Porsche must now deliver on the e-mobility track and the sales situation in China must also improve," Schmidt added. Porsche shares were up 1.6% after the company named Leiters as Blume's potential successor. Shares in Volkswagen were up 1.7%. Leiters, who left McLaren in April after its merger with EV start-up Forseven, was previously chief technology officer for Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari between 2014 and 2019. Before that at Porsche he was instrumental in developing the successful Cayenne model during a 13-year stint as SUV director. "His background appears well aligned with Porsche's sports car and SUV DNA," said Metzler analyst Pal Skirta. PORSCHE, VOLKSWAGEN STRUGGLE IN CHINA Porsche's fortunes have reflected a wider malaise in Germany's once dominant car industry and its broader economy, which has struggled to grow and battled high costs, tariffs and fierce foreign competition. Porsche has toiled particularly in China and Blume recently announced a costly strategy reversal away from EVs and back to the combustion engine models that made it famous. Porsche's sales in China have slumped by nearly a third since hitting a record of 95,671 in 2021. Its China sales were down 26% in the first three quarters of this year from the same period in 2024 and accounted for just 15% of its total, as consumers rejected Porsche's electric vehicles in favour of Chinese futuristic sporty alternatives. Volkswagen has also suffered in China, where its sales fell to 2.8 million cars in 2024, from nearly 3.7 million in 2020. For years, Volkswagen was China's No. 1 automaker, but was overtaken by local rival BYD in 2024. At its current rate of growth, China's Geely appears set to knock Volkswagen into third place in 2025. "This step has come far too late and a lot of time has been wasted," said Ingo Speich of German mutual fund firm Deka Investment, which holds about $48 million of Porsche stock. "Blume must win back the trust of the capital market. He must push ahead with the restructuring and deliver on the announced models and targets," Speich added. Blume, who is seen as close to the Porsche/Piech dynasty that controls Volkswagen via the Porsche SE holding company, told Germany's OMR business podcast last month that he works around 70 hours a week to manage both Porsche and Volkswagen. ($1 = 0.8554 euros)  (Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Mark Potter and Alexander Smith)

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By Enes Tunagur and Jonathan Saul LONDON -A majority of countries at the U.N. shipping agency voted on Friday to postpone by a year a decision on a global carbon price on international shipping, after failing to reach consensus on the emissions reduction measure amid U.S. pressure. The decision to delay the deal is a blow to the European Union and other countries including Brazil which have been pushing for the global shipping industry to go greener and set out a price mechanism for decarbonisation.  Washington and Riyadh, the world's two largest oil producers, have strongly opposed a carbon price on shipping during talks in London at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Trump administration is looking to boost U.S. economic might, including by taking a bigger role in global shipping, and has used tariffs as a weapon to extract better terms from Washington’s trade partners. After days of disagreements, Saudi Arabia tabled a motion on Friday to defer discussions for one year, which was passed by a simple majority of 57 countries with 49 opposed who sought to continue with a deal. U.S. President Donald Trump called on IMO member states on Thursday to vote no, saying on his Truth Social platform that Washington would "not stand for this global green new scam tax on shipping and will not adhere to it in any way, shape or form". "The delay leaves the shipping sector drifting in uncertainty," said Faig Abbasov, director of shipping with environmental group Transport & Environment. The IMO struck a preliminary deal to charge the global shipping industry for emissions in April after the U.S. pulled out of associated talks, prompting Washington to threaten to use visa restrictions and sanctions on countries that voted in favour. The IMO, which comprises 176 member countries, is responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution. "Let’s not celebrate. There are concerns we need to address," IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told delegates in closing remarks. Global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions. About 90% of the world's trade is conducted by sea, and emissions are set to soar without an agreed mechanism. (Reporting by Enes Tunagur and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Peter Graff and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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By Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit (Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes nudged higher in volatile trading on Friday as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's latest remarks on China, while a fresh round of earnings temporarily eased concerns over credit risks at regional banks. Trump said he would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in two weeks in South Korea, adding that his proposed 100% tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable. "The market doesn't really know what to take when Donald Trump speaks," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. "There's just a lot of back and forth comments with regards to China and trade tariffs and pretty much everything else. It's very difficult to have a solid understanding and to get confidence when the president speaks about anything." Meanwhile, most regional bank stocks stabilized from a brutal selloff that had extended from the previous session when Zions Bancorporation disclosed losses tied to two commercial and industrial loans and Western Alliance revealed it had initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by Cantor Group V, LLC. The selloff brought back concerns over lax lending standards in a sector already grappling with two auto bankruptcies, more than two years after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The KBW regional banks index was up 1.2%, rebounding from Thursday's drop of 6.3%, its biggest since early April. The broader S&P financial index ticked up 0.8%. Truist Financial shares gained 4%, after the bank reported higher third-quarter profit. Fifth Third Bancorp rose 1.7%. Zions shares added 3.8%, while Western Alliance advanced 2.4%. Robust earnings from big U.S. banks this week have set an upbeat tone for the start of the third-quarter reporting season. But with elevated equity valuations, investors are treading cautiously. At 12:07 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 239.04 points, or 0.52%, to 46,191.28. The S&P 500 gained 22.37 points, or 0.34%, to 6,651.44, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 51.84 points, or 0.23%, to 22,614.37. The main U.S. indexes were on track to register weekly gains, if current levels hold. The CBOE volatility index, investors' fear gauge, dropped to 23.3 points, after hitting its highest in nearly six months at 28.99 earlier in the day. AI-related tech stocks, which were among the biggest contributors in propelling equities to record highs this year, slipped in the day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index dropped 0.6%, with Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices down 2% and 1%, respectively. The S&P 500 consumer staples index gained 1.2%. Eli Lilly fell 3.1% after Trump said he would bring down prices of weight-loss drugs. State Street dropped 3.2% after the bank's third-quarter net interest income missed estimates. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.59-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 23 new highs and 91 new lows. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta, Medha Singh and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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By Tanay Dhumal (Reuters) -SLB does not expect to see a significant pickup in North American drilling activity due to high production costs at some shale basins, its top boss said on Friday, although the region contributed to its third-quarter profit beat. CEO Olivier Le Peuch's cautious tone comes as the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts oil prices to average $62 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $52 in early 2026 amid rising inventories. The CEO, however, said the quarter was "resilient" despite an oversupplied oil market and geopolitical uncertainty. He also expects international markets to lead the next rebound once supply and demand rebalance. That recovery would be driven by sustained investment in oil capacity, gas expansion projects and a constructive outlook for deepwater developments, Le Peuch added. Shares of the world's largest oilfield services provider fell 3% in midday trading. SLB's international revenue, which makes up about 80% of its total, fell 7% to $6.92 billion in the third quarter, weighed down by disruptions in Ecuador. North America revenue rose 14% to $1.93 billion due to the inclusion of ChampionX's contributions to its earnings. The $7.75 billion acquisition of ChampionX helped offset softer oilfield activity across several other regions. Excluding the deal's impact, global revenue declined 9% from a year earlier. Wall Street analysts expect fourth-quarter revenue to rise, driven by ChampionX, international markets and continued strength in the newly disclosed digital segment, though underlying global upstream activity remains soft. SLB said it did not plan further consolidation beyond recent strategic add-ons. The company reported an adjusted profit of 69 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimate of 66 cents. (Reporting by Tanay Dhumal and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Arun Koyyur)

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