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☆ Ukraine is betting big on a bloody battle for a ruined town, but the gamble could break its ability to drive Russia back
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The bloody battle of Bakhmut continues to wage as Russia and Ukraine both face mounting losses. Ukrainian losses in Bakhmut could hinder a more strategically critical counteroffensive in the future. Yet, despite the resources committed to the battle from both sides, Bakhmut remains a minimally-important city, strategically speaking. "The best estimates we have are that the Russian military and Wagner Group are a spent force," D'Anieri said. A tank carrying Ukrainian soldiers who have returned from the frontline passes along a street in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine.

☆ Mary Hilton, Champion of Cloth Diapers, Dies at 85
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Around the time that Procter & Gamble Co. was introducing Pampers in the early 1960s, Mary Hilton and her husband, William Hilton , had a different idea: They decided to go into the business of laundering cloth diapers. For the next 40 years, Ms. Hilton fought a valiant rearguard action against P&G and other makers of disposable diapers. Based in Kalamazoo, Mich., her family-owned company at its peak in the mid-1990s had about 10,000 customers in three states and more than 150 employees. Ms. Hilton, who took charge of the company after her husband died in 1978, became one of the biggest operators in a mostly mom-and-pop business and a spokeswoman for diaper-cleaning trade groups.

[1/2] Customers shop at a mall ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Beijing, China January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File PhotoLONDON/MILAN/FRANKFURT/NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - The world's top consumer and luxury goods companies have seen sales of everything from cosmetics to condoms grow in China since Beijing ended strict COVID-19 curbs, another sign that the world's No. Tourism from China was helping sales in neighbouring Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Japan, he added. Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Nurofen tablets, cold remedy Lemsip and Durex, saw a pick-up in China after a decline in volumes because of lockdowns. U.S. retailer Walmart Inc (WMT.N), which operates nearly 400 retail and wholesale stores in China, reported strong traffic in its stores since reopening.

☆ Analysis: To raise prices or not? Consumer goods makers weigh bets on buyer strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But, there are small signs the pressure is easing, with U.S. consumer prices a month earlier declining for the first time in two-and-a-half years, due in part to gas prices. Price hikes - or halts - are set to take center stage at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York annual conference on Feb. 20 in Boca Raton, Florida. DIFFERENT PREDICTIONSAfter more than a year of consistent price hikes, some consumer goods makers such as Kraft Mac & Cheese manufacturer Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) are pressing pause as they weigh consumer demand for their items. Frozen pizza prices have risen about 14% in the last year, according to IRI data. "Retailers cannot truly push back on prices … if the company has an important brand," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said.

☆ Citi says buy 3 stocks tied to the consumer for the same reasons we own them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

What Citi thinks Analysts at Citi chose our three Club holdings among their top-rated picks — initiating coverage in U.S. beverages, household and personal care products. STZ YTD mountain Constellation Brands (STZ) YTD performance Citi also said it's time to buy Constellation Brands, the company behind Mexican beers Corona, Modelo and Pacifico. Analysts at Citi have a $265 price target on the stock, which fell slightly lower Friday to just under $227. EL YTD mountain Estee Lauder (EL) YTD performance Citi also estimates "strong topline/margin recovery" from Estee Lauder as China's economy continues to reopen. Buy Estee Lauder."

"Consumers are looking for convenient, filling, and nutritious meals, while at the same time paying more attention to the price tag," Kraft's chief executive Miguel Patricio said, adding the company would halt fresh price hikes in North America, Europe, Latin America and most of Asia. Retailers have also been increasingly opposing food manufacturers' price hikes. Last year, Kraft briefly stopped supplying some products to Tesco (TSCO.L) due to pricing disagreements with the British supermarket chain. It said average selling prices rose 15.2 percentage points in the fourth quarter, while sales volumes declined 4.8 percentage points. Net sales rose 10% to $7.38 billion, beating the estimate of $7.27 billion.

☆ Olaplex customers just filed a lawsuit alleging hair loss. See how other consumer suits have played out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Olaplex has been sued by customers who alleged its products damaged their hair and scalp. Companies like Thinx, P&G, and Unilever have set aside millions of dollars to settle consumer suits. The suit's allegations follow a pattern familiar in other consumer lawsuits, which have also targeted companies' advertising and the ingredients in their products. In that case, customers said Devacurl's curly hair products contained ingredients that released formaldehyde and caused skin irritation, and said the company had quietly changed ingredients and formed a committee to handle negative publicity. Devacurl has said on its settlement website that it "vigorously denies" claims of health problems like hair loss and scalp problems.

☆ Newell Brands CEO Saligram to retire; forecasts 2023 results below estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Newell Brands Inc (NWL.O) said its top boss Ravi Saligram will retire effective May 16 and forecast annual results below analysts' estimates, sending the Sharpie maker's shares down 11% in premarket trading. Newell's fourth-quarter results beat estimates, but the company projected fiscal 2023 net sales between $8.4 billion and $8.6 billion. Analysts had expected full-year net sales of $9.08 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. The company forecast an annual profit per share of 95 cents to $1.08, compared with estimates of $1.42. Newell also expects a first-quarter loss between 3 cents per share and 6 cents per share, compared with estimates of a profit of 23 cents.

☆ Sustainable Packaging Is Sometimes Doubling as Easier-to-Open Packaging
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Sarah Ryan Hudson found the Barbie’s Dr. Jane Goodall packaging to be a welcome departure from the hard-to-open versions of her youth. The costs involved in overhauling packaging systems also made them reluctant to change for the benefit of a less-finicky opening experience. To be sure, shifts toward more sustainable materials haven’t made packaging easier to use across the board, and campaigners for widely accessible packaging say companies aren’t moving to provide it quickly enough. The company’s Gillette razor brand in 2021 began selling some razors in cardboard packaging with a pulp tray, rather than in plastic blister packs and trays. Colgate-Palmolive Co. in 2019 introduced a recyclable Colgate toothpaste tube, using a high-density polyethylene material without aluminum, said Greg Corra, Colgate-Palmolive’s worldwide director of global packaging and sustainability.

☆ Peltz's Trian seeks to rally Disney shareholders against board director Froman
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Fred ProuserNEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Activist investor Nelson Peltz's hedge fund Trian Fund Management wrote to Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) shareholders on Thursday to make the case for replacing the media and entertainment conglomerate's board director Michael Froman. Trian, which owns a roughly $1 billion stake in the home of Mickey Mouse, has asked Disney shareholders to drop Froman — a former U.S. Trade Representative — from the company's 12-member board and elect Peltz instead. Trian did not spell out in the letter why it had picked Froman to target among the Disney directors, but suggested that Peltz was more qualified to serve. In the letter, Trian also directed its criticism at the full Disney board, blaming it for a 44% drop in Disney's stock last year. A shareholder vote to decide on the composition of Disney's board has not yet been set but is expected in the spring.

☆ Why buzzy cases like the $5 million Thinx settlement don't often result in customers getting much money back
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Thinx customers can now seek recoveries as part of a settlement by the period underwear brand. The news may have some customers wondering: Can I, too, recoup money spent on a product that let me down? Instead, these cases — which can take years — may recoup only a portion of customers' spending on the products in question. The Thinx settlement includes a $4 million pot to pay customers and legal fees, and as much as another $1 million for any required "valid claims," according to the settlement. Unilever agreed to the settlement while "denying wrongdoing of any nature and without admitting liability," according to the settlement agreement.

☆ P&G Earnings Slip as Higher Prices Sap Sales Volumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sharon Terlep | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After lifting prices to new heights, Procter & Gamble Co. reported lower quarterly profit and declining sales volumes as the rising costs of Tide detergent and other staples prompted consumers to cut back on purchases at the end of 2022. Sales volumes fell 6% at P&G —the biggest quarterly drop in years—with declines at each of the company’s five major business units in the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with a year earlier. P&G increased prices by 10% in the period, helping the company report a 5% boost in organic sales, which exclude currency swings and acquisitions.

☆ Futures fall as weak data fuel recession worries, Fed comments on tap
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures down: Dow 0.52%, S&P 0.54%, Nasdaq 0.61%Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday after weak economic data fueled recession worries, while investors await comments from more Federal Reserve officials for clues on the central bank's path of monetary tightening. "For once bad news really was bad news because of the implications it might have for interest rates. Weak retail sales suggested consumers' resilience may have been pushed beyond breaking point," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. Analysts now expect year-over-year earnings from S&P 500 companies to decline 2.6% for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data, compared with a 1.6% decline in the beginning of the year. ET, Dow e-minis were down 173 points, or 0.52%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 21.25 points, or 0.54%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 69.5 points, or 0.61%.

☆ P&G raises sales forecast on price hikes, sees volumes fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Tide detergent maker Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) raised its full-year sales forecast on Thursday and said it plans to continue raising prices despite a drop in sales volumes, warning that high commodity costs were pressuring profits. While the price hikes have been met with less pushback compared to discretionary products, customers have still bought fewer of its products. P&G said organic sales in China, its second largest market, were down 7% due to COVID lockdowns and weaker consumer confidence. P&G said net sales fell 1% to $20.77 billion in the quarter, hurt by the impact of a stronger dollar on overseas revenue but beating Wall Street expectations. It's the first fall in quarterly net sales in a little over five years, according to Refinitiv data.

The Labor Department's report showed a surprise fall in U.S. weekly jobless claims, highlighting labor market resilience in a higher interest rate environment. "There's virtually no signs of any weakness in the labor market and that's one of the things the Fed's been leaning against to keep rates higher for longer." The S&P 500 (.SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) are now headed for their third straight day of declines. Shares of both the companies fell around 2%, and were among the top drags to the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq (.IXIC) indexes. Industrial (.SPLRCI) and consumer discretionary stocks (.SPLRCD) were among the leading decliners on the S&P 500, down 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively.

☆ Ulta Beauty Hires New Marketing Chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Beauty retailer Ulta Beauty Inc. has tapped Michelle Crossan-Matos, a former Samsung Electronics America marketing leader, as its new chief marketing officer. The chief marketing officer role was previously held by Shelley Haus, who died of cancer last June. Most recently, Ms. Crossan-Matos was chief marketing, citizenship and communications officer at Samsung Electronics America. “I think beauty care is probably going to be one of the most resilient categories, and then I think Ulta Beauty will be even more resilient, just because of the portfolio that Ulta Beauty has and the type of guests that come in—they tend to be much more resilient,” Ms. Crossan-Matos said. Ulta will stay focused on social media, video, beauty tutorials and experience-based marketing in the year ahead, said Ms. Crossan-Matos.

[1/3] The logo of the Times Square Disney store is seen in Times Square, New York City, U.S. December 5, 2019. Peltz, a billionaire activist who operates via his Trian Partners hedge fund, called for Disney to cut costs and turn a profit at its Disney+ streaming business, which has been losing money despite expanding at a fast clip. Its shares sank last year as losses deepened in its streaming business, and the price is now less than half the stock's 2021 high. Disney, Trian said, had overpaid for the assets of 21st Century Fox and bid aggressively for pay-TV giant Sky PLC. Disney said Trian would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to elect Peltz for a board seat in opposition to the company's nominees.

☆ Environmentalists ask SEC to examine P&G's wood pulp supply chain claims
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The advocacy group wrote that P&G's claims could be materially misleading to investors because the company sources from pristine forests and from areas that are habitats for caribou. P&G annually purchases more than one million metric tons of wood pulp, which comes from trees, to makes Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towels and Puffs tissues. NRDC wants the SEC, the main U.S. markets regulator, to consider appropriate enforcement action or require P&G to update its statements to investors. The environmental group also said that P&G's claims are concerning because some investors take into consideration how the company ranks compared to its peers on its environment-related actions. NRDC also said that P&G is overly reliant on third-party certifications for the sustainability of its wood pulp supply chain.

☆ The Disney CFO Who Raised Concerns About Bob Chapek Has Respect on the Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Nina Trentmann | Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Christine McCarthy, Walt Disney Co. ’s longtime finance chief, took an unusual step when she expressed a lack of confidence in the chief executive to directors of the entertainment giant. But Ms. McCarthy had raised concerns to Disney directors, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. Following the leadership shake-up, Disney faces a challenge to regain trust from the street and Ms. McCarthy needs to realign with her old and new chief executive Mr. Iger, analysts said. Age 67, Ms. McCarthy is likely to stay on while Mr. Iger reviews Disney’s strategy and searches for another successor to himself, analysts said.

☆ 'Boomerang CEOs' don't always work out; Disney hopes this one bucks trend
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Can Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) bank on another hit sequel? That appears to be the hope behind the company's surprise decision to bring back former chief executive Bob Iger to replace Bob Chapek. During his first tenure from 2005 to 2020, Disney's annualised shareholder returns were more than 14%, well above its rival Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and the broader stock market, and in total in that period the stock rose more than 400%. Yet there are reasons to think that Disney may have made the right decision in bringing back Iger, Bingham said. “I think this is a game-changer," said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors, about Disney.

☆ Australia's Crown Resorts fined $77 million by regulators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Australian casino operator Crown Resorts has been fined A$120 million ($77.3 million) for serious misconduct, regulators of the state of Victoria said on Monday. Some of the breaches included failing to prevent gambling harm by allowing players to gamble continuously for 12 hours or more without observation or interaction, with some customers allowed to gamble continuously for well over 24 hours, it said. The casino operation also allowed large numbers of customers in the problem gambling category to escape attention, the report added. Australia's gambling industry has been in the spotlight in recent years, with public inquiries lashing its biggest casino operators due to lapses in money laundering protections. read more($1 = 1.5533 Australian dollars)Reporting by Praveen Menon and Byron Kaye; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Unilever CFO Struggles With Forecasting Accuracy Amid High Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Unilever on Thursday said its expected net inflation from materials is €4.5 billion—equivalent to $4.5 billion—for 2022, up from €1.3 billion the previous year. Materials inflation generally ranged from €100 million to €300 million during the years before 2021, Mr. Pitkethly said. “Our forecasting accuracy has been a lot worse over the last year or so since this period of inflation hit,” he said. Graeme Pitkethly, chief financial officer at Unilever. Further hiking prices in the fourth quarter is a “distinct possibility,” Mr. Pitkethly said, adding he doesn’t expect the increases to deter consumer demand.

Along with other consumer goods companies, Unilever has faced a surge in labor, freight and ingredients costs. Billionaire Peltz in recent weeks met two possible contenders to replace Jope, one of the sources said. FLORIDA TALKSEven before Jope announced his departure, Peltz met with a former consumer goods CEO in Florida, one of the sources said. In the last month, Peltz and his team also approached another former consumer packaged goods CEO about the Unilever job, the source said. Peltz supports Unilever's sustainability strategy, including a plan to decarbonize the company's business units, Unilever has said.

☆ Wall St rises as upbeat corporate forecasts trump UK political shock
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The New York Stock Exchange building is seen from Broad Street in Lower Manhattan in New York, January 20, 2016. Fellow blue-chip stock Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) rose 2.3% after peer AT&T Inc (T.N) jumped 9.9% upon raising its annual profit forecast. However, the estimate is still sharply lower than an 11.1% increase that was forecast at the start of July. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.09-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and 10 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 17 new highs and 104 new lows.

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