Baltimore's tragedy, Disney's Board Battle, Walgreens on VillageMD, BuzzFeed UK Acquisition, and diesel export ban by Russia

Baltimore bridge collapse likely to result in multibillion-dollar insurance claims -Lloyd's of London

• The collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge is likely to lead to a multi-billion dollar insurance loss, the chairperson of commercial insurance market Lloyd's of London said on Thursday.

• The massive Singapore-flagged container ship Dali sailing out of Baltimore Harbor bound for Sri Lanka reported losing power and the ability to maneuver before plowing into a support pylon of the bridge on Tuesday.

• The tragedy could lead to up to $4 billion in insurance claims, Morningstar DBRS said.

Battle for Disney board seats heats up as votes come in, Blackwells sues

• With less than a week to go before shareholders elect Walt Disney's board the race for votes heated up on Thursday as one institutional investor sided with CEO Bob Iger and the company's directors, while another backed hedge fund manager Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management.

• The New York City Retirement System, which owned $291 million worth of Disney stock at the end of last month, said the entertainment giant should get more time to achieve the strategic transformation it is working on under Iger, rejecting the nominees from Trian and Blackwells Capital, another activist fund that also wants seats.

• Also on Thursday, investment firm Neuberger Berman, another Disney shareholder, said it will vote to support Peltz and Trian's second candidate, former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, arguing the outsiders could play a critical role in finding a successor to Iger who has said he will leave at the end of 2026.

Walgreens takes $5.8 bln hit on VillageMD bet amid CEO focus on profit

• Walgreens Boots Alliance recorded a $5.8 billion impairment charge on its investment in clinic operator VillageMD on Thursday, hit by a cost-cutting drive to shut down unprofitable sites.

• VillageMD, a core part of Walgreens' push to expand beyond its legacy pharmacy operations, plans to shut over 160 clinics to focus on sites present in densely populated areas, to increase the number of patients treated by a single doctor.

• The company, which has invested over $6 billion

Britain's The Independent signs deal to take control of BuzzFeed UK

• British media group The Independent will take control of BuzzFeed's editorial and commercial operations in the UK and Ireland in a multi-year licensing deal, the companies announced on Thursday.

• Shares of BuzzFeed, which signed a similar deal with online media publisher Val Morgan Digital in Australia and New Zealand last year, jumped about 10% to 44 cents.

• Around 30 people will join The Independent from BuzzFeed, as part of the deal, a spokesperson for The Independent said in an emailed response to Reuters.

Russia's Novak says there's no need for diesel export ban

• There is no need for Russia to ban exports of diesel to tackle rising prices and possible shortages of the fuel after drone attacks reduced refining capacity, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.

• Speaking to reporters, Novak also said, without elaborating, that the Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2 project, which started tentative production in December, remains in talks about liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries as Western sanctions hinder the availability of tankers for the project.

• Refining capacity shut down by drone attacks has reached 14% of Russia's total oil refining capacity, according to Reuters calculations. The country's total daily offline primary oil refining capacity has jumped by around a third in March from February to 4.079 million metric tons.