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* Southern Cross shareholders to own 50.1% of merged group * Merger expected to save A$25-30 million annually * Deal requires 75% approval from Seven West shareholders (Updates share price in paragraph 2, adds investor comment in paragraph 7, Southern Cross response in paragraph 9) By Scott Murdoch SYDNEY, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Australia's Seven West Media said it would merge with Southern Cross Media to create a A$417 million ($273.97 million) metropolitan and regional media group to better compete with global streaming platforms. Seven West shares, controlled by mining and media billionaire Kerry Stokes, were up 7% on Tuesday to A$0.15, while Southern Cross stock was 6.6% higher. Stokes' Seven Group holds about 40% of Seven West. Under the deal, Seven West shareholders would receive 0.1552 Southern Cross Media shares for each share held. The offer values Seven West shares at A$0.13 each, slightly below the stock's A$0.14 closing price on Monday. The combined group will be worth A$417 million based on the current market capitalisations of both entities. Southern Cross owns major radio networks and podcast platforms across Australia, while Seven West holds metropolitan and regional television licences. Southern Cross announced the sale of its remaining regional television businesses to Seven West for up to A$24 million in May. MERGER COMBINES RADIO AND TV ASSETS Southern Cross shareholders will own 50.1% of the merged group while Seven West will hold 49.9%, the companies said. "Southern Cross is a much better business with an audio focus and going to buy old world media assets like television and print businesses" said Gabriel Radzyminski, founder of activist investor Sandon Capital which owns 11.2% of Southern Cross. "They are adding different businesses to the portfolio which from a Southern Cross perspective makes it worse." Sandon is trying to vote the Southern Cross board out at the company's annual meeting due in November. A Southern Cross spokesperson said the company would engage with all of its investors on the bid, which was backed by both groups' boards. Free-to-air television in Australia, like all major markets, has faced severe revenue and earnings pressure from streaming giants like Netflix, Paramount Skydance and Walt Disney. MERGER TO COUNTER STREAMING GIANTS "We have both (Southern Cross and Seven West) been on the record as being substantial advocates of consolidation," Southern Cross CEO John Kelly said. "It needs to happen, we need to take the mantle and really fight back against the global behemoths." The deal requires 75% support from Seven West shareholders at a meeting that will be held in the first quarter of 2026, the companies said, once the deal receives regulatory approvals. Communications and competition regulators, as well as the Australian Securities Exchange, must sign off on the transaction. Seven West said that the board unanimously recommended that its shareholders to vote in favour of the merger, with all directors also pledging to support the deal. Seven West's current CEO Jeff Howard will lead the combined entity, the broadcaster said. The company added that both boards expect to record annual pre-tax cost savings of A$25 million to A$30 million ($16.44 million to $19.73 million) in the next 18 to 24 months. ($1 = 1.5221 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; additional reporting Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona, Jamie Freed and Louise Heavens)

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(Corrects paragraph 6 spelling of company name to "Cloudflare", not "Cloudfare", drops extraneous word in paragraph 7) KABUL, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Internet and mobile telephone services were down across Afghanistan on Tuesday, residents and monitoring services said, but the Taliban administration offered no immediate explanation. In the past, the Taliban have voiced concern about online pornography, and authorities cut fibre-optic links to some provinces in recent weeks, with officials citing morality concerns. Internet connectivity in Afghanistan was flatlining around the 1% mark, said NetBlocks, an international internet access monitoring organisation. Connectivity was cut in phases on Monday, with the final stage affecting telephone services, which share infrastructure with the Internet, NetBlocks said in an email to Reuters. Private channel Tolo News, which warned viewers of a disruption to its services, said authorities had set a one-week deadline for the shutdown of 3G and 4G internet services for cell phones, leaving only the older 2G standard active. Cloudflare Radar, a global internet traffic monitor, said that Kabul, the capital, suffered the sharpest drop in internet connectivity, followed by the western city of Herat and Kandahar in the south. Strictures ordered by the Taliban leadership, based in Kandahar, have grown increasingly hardline. This month, authorities stopped women working for the United Nations from entering its offices. Earlier, women were banned from many lines of employment and girls from attending high school. The Taliban have said they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law. Women's rights activist Sanam Kabiri said the Taliban had already closed schools, universities, recreation, and sports facilities for women. "The Taliban are using every tool at their disposal to suppress the people," Kabiri, who is based outside of Afghanistan, told journalists in a video posting. "What else do these ignorant men of another century want from our oppressed people?" Women faced with curbs on leaving their homes to work had turned to the internet for an economic lifeline that allowed some to work from home. In recent weeks, however, the Taliban have engaged with U.S. officials, especially regarding American citizens detained in Afghanistan, one of whom they released on Sunday. (Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; additional reporting by Hritam Mukherjee; Writing by Saeed Shah; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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GERMAN FEDERAL COURT HAS DECLARED THE RESOLUTION OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF VOLKSWAGEN AG ON THE APPROVAL OF A COVERAGE SETTLEMENT WITH D&O INSURERS IN DIESEL CASE NULL AND VOID

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GERMAN FEDERAL COURT SAYS LOWER COURT WILL HAVE TO HEAR AND DECIDE OVER THE VOLKSWAGEN D&O INSURANCE SETTLEMENT CASE AGAIN

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(.) * Manila stocks fall for seven straight days * Taiwan shares break three straight days of losses * Bangkok equities fall 0.9% By Rishav Chatterjee Sept 30 (Reuters) – Most emerging equity markets in Asia fell on Tuesday, with stocks in Manila and Bangkok leading the losses, as investors fretted over a potential U.S. government shutdown and its impact on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory. In FX markets, the MSCI index of emerging market currencies remained flat for the day. The equity benchmark in the Philippines finished down 0.4%, its seventh-straight session in the red, its longest losing streak since mid-December 2024, losing lost more than 5% during this period. The peso was set for a monthly loss of nearly 1.7%. Local sentiment remains subdued amid rising political and corruption concerns, which could slow infrastructure and government spending, while recent storms pose additional risks to economic growth and inflation, said Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at RCBC. Meanwhile, Thai equities saw another month of foreign outflows worth 200 million baht ($6.19 million), though far below August’s 3.95 billion baht exodus. The benchmark dropped 0.9% on Tuesday. "More broadly, markets are trading range-bound in anticipating of US data and looming shutdown risks," said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC. Traders may turn to proxy plays such as gold and the Japanese yen if the U.S. shutdown drags on, potentially dampening risk appetite and impacting economic activity, added Wong. The potential U.S. government shutdown has traders concerned that a delay in key jobs data could leave the Federal Reserve flying blind ahead of its October 29 policy meeting. Investors have scaled back bets on rate cuts, especially after Chair Jerome Powell signalled a cautious approach, now pricing in 42 basis points of easing by December and 104 bps by end-2026 — roughly 25 bps lower than mid-September levels. The Indian rupee was flat while the Japanese yen gained 0.4%. Meanwhile, South Korean shares retreated after gaining more than 1% in the previous session. By contrast, China's Shanghai Composite and Malaysian stocks rose 0.5% each. Taipei shares broke a three-day losing streak, lifted by Wall Street's rally as investors piled into tech stocks on optimism over AI and prospects of U.S. rate cuts. Elsewhere, Indonesian stocks declined, with September set to be the weakest month for foreign inflows into Jakarta stocks since 2011, according to LSEG data as of Monday. The Indonesian rupiah and South Korean won fell 0.2% each while the Taiwan dollar gained 0.2%. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark ticks higher to 6.361% ** Typhoon Bualoi death toll rises to 19 in Vietnam Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0709 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS STOCKS % DAILY YTD % % Japan +0.36 +6.17 -0.25 14.31 China India -0.03 -3.58 0.14 4.33 Indonesi -0.18 -3.62 -0.55 14.11 a Malaysia -0.02 +6.05 0.40 -1.52 Philippi -0.38 -0.25 -0.74 -8.81 nes S.Korea Singapor -0.04 +5.84 0.57 13.38 e Taiwan +0.21 +7.55 0.94 12.09 Thailand -0.46 +6.06 -0.87 -8.81 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Harikrishnan Nair)

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Sept 30 (Reuters) – Telespazio SpA, ispace Inc: * TELESPAZIO, ISPACE SIGN LETTER OF INTENT TO INITIATE COLLABORATION AIMED AT SUPPORTING GROWTH OF LUNAR ECONOMY, EXPLOITING CAPABILITIES OF MOONLIGHT COMMUNICATION, NAVIGATION SERVICES * COLLABORATION AIMS TO EVALUATE POSSIBILITY OF ISPACE’S TECHNOLOGIES BEING USED TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR MOONLIGHT SATELLITES INTO LUNAR ORBIT * COLLABORATION INCLUDES EXPLORING POTENTIAL SERVICES IN CONNECTIVITY, NAVIGATION, LUNAR DATA UTILISATION Further company coverage: (Gdansk Newsroom)

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(Adds detail on Rogers' move, salary and context throughout) Sept 30 (Reuters) – Smith+Nephew said on Tuesday its chief financial officer, John Rogers, will relocate to the United States from the UK, citing operational efficiency as more than half of the medical products maker's revenue comes from the U.S. The British group, which makes orthopaedic implants, wound dressings and other surgical aids, has been cutting costs and launching products in a recovery led by elective surgeries in the U.S., offsetting a difficult Chinese market. Moving Rogers, a British national, would "enhance executive leadership and oversight of operations" in the U.S, the company said on Tuesday, adding that it would also help execute Smith+Nephew's business strategy alongside senior U.S.-based leaders. The U.S., which accounted for nearly 54% of company revenue in 2024, is key to its operations and growth strategy. Most of Smith+Nephew's manufacturing bases are also in the U.S., accounting for about two thirds of products sold by it there. Rogers' relocation comes after the U.S. Commerce Department last week said that it had opened new national security probes into the import of medical equipment, among other goods, under the so-called "Section 232" investigations. Smith+Nephew has not commented on the latest probe, but it had previously said that it expects to see the bulk of tariff impact in the second half of the year. To mitigate the impact, its plans involve adjusting the product flow within its manufacturing network. The company on Tuesday also said renumeration for Rogers, 57, will be adjusted to align with U.S. market practices. His base salary will be reduced to $875,000 from $1.01 million, at current exchange rates. It was unclear if changes to the U.S. H1B visa process, which introduced a $100,000 one-time fee for new H-1B visa petitions, would affect Roger's move. Smith+Nephew did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Nithyashree R B and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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(Updates with comment from JD Vance in paragraph 6) * Oct 3 release of US employment data set for delay in a shutdown * Other data, including CPI, could be at risk depending on length of any shutdown * Fed widely expected to cut rates at end-October meeting By Laura Matthews, Lewis Krauskopf and Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Wall Street is preparing for disruption to economic data if a looming U.S. government shutdown goes ahead, which could cause investors to rely more on alternative data or take on more defensive positions as they anticipate volatility in asset prices. The U.S. Labor Department said on Monday that economic data releases would pause in a government shutdown, amplifying investor concerns that Friday's monthly employment report would not be published as scheduled. Such a delay to the closely watched report could cause confusion for investors, including how to assess the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions. "A shutdown is an expected event…like the slow car crash that we're all watching happen," said Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management. "There are ways to hedge this and I'm sure affected investors are already thinking about that." The Fed relies on a range of data including regular government releases to make monetary policy decisions as it seeks to balance its key economic goals of price stability and maximum employment. Markets are pricing in a quarter-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its Oct 28-29 meeting. The central bank made such a cut earlier in September following weak employment reports. WILL THE SHUTDOWN CASCADE THROUGH MARKETS? U.S. Vice President JD Vance said late Monday he thought the government was headed for a shutdown. "If a shutdown happens and it lasts any significant amount of time… you could see a cascade effect where data really just gets pushed back and pushed back," said Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities. "For markets, that's a difficult thing given just the sheer amount of data dependence that the Fed is leaning on." With U.S. government funding due to expire at midnight on Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are showing no signs they will agree to a temporary spending fix that would avert a shutdown. Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at NatAlliance, said a delay in the jobs report could cause traders with Treasury derivatives positions put on ahead of the labor data to close or hedge their exposure, spurring more volatility in the market. Strategists are recommending clients prepare for both protection and opportunities as they navigate this period of uncertainty. Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic, said clients should think about increasing their fixed income allocation, buying the belly of the U.S. Treasury yield curve, hedging portfolios to mitigate volatility, and pivoting towards companies that could benefit when the impasse is resolved. "Keep a level of cash in the portfolio, five to ten percent short-term investments, that can be dry powder when" the shutdown is resolved, Blancato said. LACK OF DATA COULD CLOUD FED'S VIEW The labor market data due on Friday stand to be among the first impacted, while depending on length of a shutdown, other releases could be delayed, including the Consumer Price Index due Oct 15. During a 16-day shutdown in 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published the report originally scheduled for Oct 3, on Oct 22, the fourth business day after the government’s reopening, according to economists at Nomura in a note. Once any shutdown ends, the BLS could likely publish data relatively quickly as it will likely have nearly completed the employment report by the end of September, the Nomura economists wrote last week. DATA DELAY WILL RIPPLE THROUGH WALL STREET Department of Labor spokesperson Courtney Parella said in a statement to Reuters that concerns about potential delays should be directed to Democrats in Congress, who she said are refusing to pass a "clean" continuing resolution to keep the government open. A spokesperson for Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not respond to a request for comment. Without data, investors will focus more on Fed officials' comments, said Adam Vos, global head of BNY Markets. "There’s a diverse set of views across the Fed, and so that could be, I guess, tricky to get a handle on exactly where that will land," Vos said. Fed Funds futures are pricing in nearly 90% odds of a quarter-point cut at the upcoming meeting, LSEG data showed. "Fewer pieces of data can cloud the Fed's view in that meeting," Cox said. "Generally, less transparency in data affects everyone in markets from the bigwigs on Wall Street to the policymakers to the average investor." Others argue it would be tougher for the Fed to justify veering from its "dot plot" of rate projections, making such a cut in October more likely. "If no data comes out, they won't really have any information to deviate in either direction from that baseline," said David Seif, chief economist for developed markets at Nomura. (Reporting by Laura Matthews, Davide Barbuscia and Lewis Krauskopf; additional reporting by Karen Brettell, Sinéad Carew, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; editing by Megan Davies, Anna Driver and Timothy Heritage)

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Sept 30 (Reuters) – N Varveris Moda Bagno SA: * H1 NET PROFIT EUR 0.1 MILLION VERSUS EUR 0.1 MILLION YEAR AGO * H1 EBITDA EUR 1.9 MILLION VERSUS EUR 2.3 MILLION YEAR AGO * H1 TURNOVER EUR 13.3 MILLION VERSUS EUR 12.2 MILLION YEAR AGO Further company coverage: (Gdansk Newsroom)

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LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Britain will not impose sales tax on private health care, its health minister said on Tuesday, amid media reports that it was one option being considered by the government ahead of a November 26 budget. "It's not happening," health minister Wes Streeting told the BBC. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is widely expected to hike taxes at the November budget to fill a fiscal hole which economists forecast at tens of billions of pounds, prompting speculation as to where the axe might fall. Reeves said on Monday she was sticking to the Labour Party's manifesto commitments not to raise sales tax, known as value added tax (VAT), national insurance contributions or the rates of income tax. But she also said there would be hard choices to make in November. (Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli, Editing by Paul Sandle)

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