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☆ Squishmallow and Build-a-Bear head into legal battle over ‘knock-offs’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Build-a-Bear fired back with its own legal complaint, claiming “Skoosherz” is its own version of a popular toy style. The lawsuit claims Build-A-Bear has been trying to “trick” customers with such obvious knock-offs, stealing potential customers and sales from Squishmallows. Build-A-Bear claims it has sold pre-made stuffed animals on its site and on Amazon. It claims Skoosherz designs match its original stuffed animals, such as the Strawberry Cow and Spring Green Frog. “If each aspect of the claimed trade dress were in fact protected trade dress, it would be virtually impossible for competitors to create alternative designs,” the lawsuit claimed.

Persons: Bear, “, Jazwares, Kelly Toys, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Skoosherz, Kawaii, “ Squishmallows, Moez Organizations: New, New York CNN, Warren, Central, ‘, CNN Locations: New York, Squishmallow, U.S, Central District, California, Missouri, St, Louis

Kelly Toys and its Berkshire Hathaway -controlled parent company Jazwares have sued Build-A-Bear, saying its new “Skoosherz” toys copy the look and feel of their mega-popular Squishmallows products. Jazwares is seeking unspecified damages and for Build-A-Bear to stop selling Skoosherz products. It wants a declaratory judgement saying that the Squishmallow maker’s claimed trade dress rights are invalid and unenforceable. “If each aspect of the claimed trade dress were in fact protected trade dress, it would be virtually impossible for competitors to create alternative designs," Build-A-Bear added. It was the first time the plush products were offered to shareholders since Berkshire bought Alleghany in 2022 for $11.6 billion.

Persons: Kelly Toys, copycats, Moez, Kelly, Jazwares, Skoosherz, maker’s, Squishmallows, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, ” Skoosherz, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, Charlie Munger, Josh Funk Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway, Alleghany Corp, Berkshire, Associated Locations: Squishmallows, St, Louis, U.S, California, Missouri, Omaha , Nebraska, Berkshire’s, Alleghany

Five hedge funds shared five trading ideas on global property markets, adding that they cannot reveal trading positions for regulatory reasons. CM REITs are companies that own mortgages of multi-family residential homes as well as commercial real estate loans. Cell phone data Litt bought to research a REIT run by Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE.N), showed that buildings which that were supposed to be almost fully occupied were only half full. Alexandria Real Estate responded pointing to public filings which said that it was the advancement of science and related intellectual property in Alexandria’s Labspace buildings, and not employee foot traffic that drove its demand for space. But Litt believes that the shift away from office working will also hurt life and sciences real estate, generally.

Persons: Jonathan Mizrachi, CMBSs, David Amaryan, Ben Hunsaker, Hunsaker, Jonathan Litt, Litt, ANSON, Moez Kassam, Vistry, Kassam, Nell Mackenzie, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alison Williams Organizations: Property, Capital, Beach, Beach Point Capital Management, REITs, Alexandria Real, Reuters, Vistry, Thomson Locations: York, Russia, Russia's, Ukraine, Armenia, Beach Point, Alexandria, Alexandria’s, London, Carolina, New York

It leaves Kretinsky, who submitted a revised offer over the weekend proposing the equity injection, as the only bidder. The cash injection plan would lead to a 4.7 billion-euro reduction in overall debt, Casino said. Casino is saddled with net debt of 6.4 billion euros and is teetering on the brink of default. The board meeting followed a separate meeting between Casino's creditors and CIRI - France's finance ministry body that helps distressed companies and their creditors draw up restructuring plans. Kretinsky and Ladreit de Lacharriere would control the investment vehicle behind the 1.2 billion-euro equity injection, a source said.

Persons: Daniel Kretinsky, Kretinsky's, Xavier Niel, Jean, Charles Naouri, Kretinsky, Niel, Matthieu Pigasse, Moez, Alexandre Zouari, Casino, Marc Ladreit de, Ladreit, Mathieu Rosemain, Mike Harrison, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Casino, 3F, Attestor, French, Monde, Fnac, Metro, Forbes, Thomson Locations: Czech, PARIS, French, Paris, Casino, Britain, France, Germany

☆ Czech billionaire Kretinsky closes in on Casino after 3F abandons bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kretinsky has been vying to take control of Casino against the 3F Holding group, led by telecoms entrepreneur Xavier Niel, investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and businessman Moez-Alexandre Zouari. The group is saddled with net debt of 6.4 billion euros ($7.1 billion) and is teetering on the brink of default. "Today, after months of work, 3F has decided to not submit an offer," 3F said in a statement. Along with Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière’s Fimalac, he would inject 1.2 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in equity to take a 53% stake in France's sixth-largest retailer. The bidders would also convert 4.9 billion euros of debt into equity.

Persons: Daniel Kretinsky, Kretinsky, Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse, Moez, Alexandre Zouari, 3F's, Marc Ladreit de, Fimalac, Casino, John Irish, David Holmes, Emelia Organizations: Casino, 3F, Attestor, Financial, Global Commerce, Financial Times, Thomson Locations: Czech, France's, Casino

☆ Kretinsky to install former Metro and Lactalis exec at Casino if offer succeeds, Les Echos reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, July 9 (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky and his partners are prepared to hire former Metro (B4B.DE) and Lactalis executive Philippe Palazzi as the new boss of French supermarket chain Casino (CASP.PA), should their refinancing offer for the debt-laden company succeed, Les Echos reported on Sunday. Kretinsky could not immediately be reached for comment outside working hours. Kretinsky's offer is valid until Monday. It faces a rivalling offer led by telecoms maverick Xavier Niel, investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and businessman Moez-Alexandre Zouari, which Casino said had also been extended to the same day. Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Daniel Kretinsky, Philippe Palazzi, Les Echos, Kretinsky, Palazzi, Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse, Moez, Alexandre Zouari, Tassilo Hummel, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Metro, LinkedIn, Thomson Locations: Czech

The group will study this expression of interest and keep the market informed," Casino said in a statement on Wednesday. And the holding company through which Naouri controls Casino is also heavily indebted. Niel, Pigasse and Zouari said they would invest 200 million to 300 million euros themselves, with the rest coming from unspecified partners, including Casino creditors. The trio's proposal comes after Kretinsky, Casino's second-largest shareholder, offered in April to take control of the group through a 1.1 billion euro capital increase. A Casino spokesperson declined to comment beyond its statement on Wednesday or on behalf of Naouri.

Persons: Jean, Charles Naouri, Xavier Niel, Daniel Kretinsky, Casino, Kretinsky, Niel, Matthieu Pigasse, Moez, Alexandre Zouari, Clement Genelot, Garnier, Pigasse, Zouari, Casino's, Mathieu Rosemain, Chiara Elisei, Laura Lenkiewicz, Sudip Kar, Silvia Aloisi, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith Organizations: Casino, Monoprix, BNP, Credit Agricole, Carrefour, Reuters, France's, Naouri, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Czech, Natixis, Casino

☆ Tunisia synagogue attack toll up to 6, local media says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Members of the security forces stand near the entrance of Ghriba synagogue, following an attack, in Djerba, Tunisia May 10, 2023. REUTERS/StringerTUNIS, May 10 (Reuters) - A Tunisian security officer who was wounded in Tuesday's shooting attack outside a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba has died, hospital sources said, bringing the death toll to six including the shooter. Israel's Foreign Ministry described the attack as a "lethal shooting incident", with a spokesperson saying it was still under investigation. The United States and France said Tunisian security forces had responded quickly. The pilgrimage has had tight security since al Qaeda militants attacked the synagogue in 2002 with a truck bomb, killing 21 Western tourists.

For most of the day, stocks struggled for direction amid disappointing earnings from Tyson Foods and Catalent and a short-lived rebound in regional banks. The struggle for a clearer direction comes after a rally on Friday, when U.S. jobs data pointed to a resilient labor market. Producer prices, weekly jobless claims and consumer sentiment data are all lined up for the week. Shares of regional banks tumbled for much of last week on worries tied to the collapse of First Republic Bank. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc's Class B shares rose after posting a $35.5 billion first-quarter profit, boosted by gains from stocks such as Apple.

The struggle for a clearer direction comes after a rally on Friday, when U.S. jobs data pointed to a resilient labor market. Producer prices, weekly jobless claims and consumer sentiment data are all lined up for the week. A rally in regional banks' shares proved short-lived, with PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) rising 5.6% after gaining as much as about 30% earlier in the session after the lender sharply cut its quarterly dividend to boost capital. Shares of regional banks tumbled for much of last week on worries tied to the collapse of First Republic Bank. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc's Class B shares rose 0.9% after posting a $35.5 billion first-quarter profit, boosted by gains from stocks such as Apple.

That works out to a 31.2% return on total average short interest of $973.6 billion throughout the year, according to S3 Partners. Stanphyl Capital portfolio manager Mark Spiegel, who has been short Tesla "constantly, in varying size" since 2014, said a bet against Tesla was his fund's most profitable individual short position this year. While higher interest rates have punished growth stocks, some investors believe Tesla CEO Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter is diverting his time running the electric car company. Long-short hedge funds, which bet on stock prices rising or falling, posted a 9.7% loss through November, according to data provider HFR. Charles Lemonides, portfolio manager at $226 billion hedge fund ValueWorks LLC, believes tight monetary policy will weigh on risk appetite next year.

A "substantial majority" of policymakers agreed it would "likely soon be appropriate" to slow the pace of interest rate hikes, the minutes showed. Since the Fed's last meeting on Nov. 1-2, investors have been more optimistic that price pressures have started to ease, meaning smaller rate hikes could curtail inflation. Heavyweight stocks, including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), rose 1.00% and 0.72%, respectively. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.97-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.61-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 97 new highs and 126 new lows.

☆ Analysis: IMF plugs financing gaps as riskier emerging markets face squeeze
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia and Malawi are all in talks on some type of IMF financing. Countries' debt burdens have risen. Turning to the IMF for financing has been the traditional playbook for smaller, strained countries in times of crisis. A set of new IMF tools should also help funnel more funds to such countries in the short-term. "But IMF does act as an anchor and allows access to a broader set of funding, even if not from the market," said Alexandru-Chidesciuc.

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