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☆ Gucci Owner Kering in Advanced Talks to Acquire Tom Ford, Sources Say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lauren Thomas | Dana Cimilluca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fashion from the Tom Ford collection was modeled during Fashion Week in New York. French luxury giant Kering SA is in advanced discussions to buy fashion brand Tom Ford, according to people familiar with the matter. Kering has been competing for closely held Tom Ford with rivals including Estée Lauder Cos., but the French company appears to be the front-runner now and a deal could be reached soon, according to the people.

☆ Gold ticks higher on dollar pullback; hawkish Powell caps upside
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Gold prices edged higher on Thursday, helped by a slight dip in the dollar, although U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks limited further gains in zero-yielding bullion. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,638.32 per ounce, as of 0118 GMT, after falling 0.8% on Wednesday. Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset. The European Central Bank "will need additional interest rate increases" to fight off inflation, policymaker Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Wednesday. Spot silver rose 0.3% to $19.33, platinum rose 0.6% to $935.98 and palladium edged 0.3% higher to $1,860.08.

☆ ECB's opinion on Spanish banking tax will be issued "very shortly", De Cos says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MADRID, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will issue its non-binding opinion on Spanish banking tax proposal "very shortly," policymaker Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Thursday. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month that the ECB was set to warn of the adverse impact on Spanish banks' solvency of a proposed tax on the sector and of a higher cost of credit in the upcoming non-binding opinion. Reporting by Emma Pinedo Editing by Jesus AguadoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China vows commitment to growth as investors bet on easier COVID policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Even though case numbers are rising and disruptive lockdowns continue with no clear exit strategy in sight, investors latched on to hope that China may ease its strict COVID policy in the coming months. Renewed COVID lockdowns are weighing heavily on China's business activity and consumer confidence. read moreOPEN-DOOR POLICYYi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. While other countries have been tightening policy to battle rising prices, China has implemented an accommodative monetary policy to shore up sputtering growth, raising concerns about capital flight. With China's zero-COVID policy expected to remain in place through at least the winter, or longer, its near-term growth outlook is bleak.

☆ China vows commitment to growth as pressure on economy mounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Renewed COVID lockdowns are weighing heavily on China's business activity, consumer confidence and financial markets, adding to a sharp downdraft on the global economy from surging inflation and rising interest rates. OPEN-DOOR POLICYYi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. With China's zero-COVID policy expected to remain in place through at least the winter, or longer, its near-term growth outlook is bleak. After surprisingly high gross domestic product growth of 3.9% in the third quarter, Nomura expects growth to drop again, with zero or even negative sequential growth from the previous quarter. "We maintain our GDP growth forecast of 2.8% year-on-year for the fourth quarter with a corresponding sequential growth forecast at 0.0%."

☆ Estee Lauder cuts forecasts on China curbs, tightening inventories
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The New York-based company's shares were down about 12% in premarket trade after the company also forecast second-quarter sales and profit below estimates. Sales growth of many U.S. companies such as Estee and Canada Goose have been impacted in China, with the country implementing a zero-COVID policy to fight rising infections. Estee generated about 31% of its sales from the Asia-Pacific region in fiscal 2022, according to a regulatory filing. However, European peers Kering (PRTP.PA) and cosmetics group L'Oreal (OREP.PA) had posted strong quarterly sales last month as robust demand in Europe and the United States helped them offset disruptions in China. Estee now expects 2023 net sales to decrease between 6% and 8%, compared with the prior forecast of a 3% to 5% growth.

☆ Kroger-Albertsons Merger Draws Questions From Politicians, Workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jaewon Kang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elected officials, independent grocers and union groups are airing concerns and in some cases pushing back on the proposed deal between Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. as antitrust officials are set to begin reviewing the supermarket megamerger. Kroger in October announced it would acquire Albertsons, saying that a deal would help them boost their scale and technology, and better compete with larger rivals. Antitrust attorneys expect the deal to face a lengthy regulatory review, and the companies plan to submit details of their merger plan to the Federal Trade Commission around Thursday, according to a letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal. It isn’t unusual for consumer groups, workers, lawmakers and competitors to voice questions about large mergers after they are proposed.

☆ Washington state sues to block Albertsons' $4 bln payout to shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block grocery chain Albertsons Cos Inc (ACI.N) from paying dividends to shareholders before closure of its proposed merger with supermarket operator Kroger Co (KR.N). The $4 billion payout to shareholders "risks severely undercutting the grocery giant's ability to compete during the lengthy time period government regulators — including Washington — will be scrutinizing the merger," according to a statement posted to the Washington Attorney General's website. "Paying out $4 billion before regulators can do their job and review the proposed merger will weaken Albertsons' ability to continue business operations and compete," Ferguson said. Kroger and Albertsons did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the AG's lawsuit. Late in October, District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine said that half-a-dozen state attorneys general are digging into Kroger planned acquisition of Albertsons.

☆ ECB will need more rate hikes to fight off inflation, De Cos Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank "will need additional interest rate increases" to fight off inflation even considering the growing likelihood of a euro zone recession, policymaker Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Wednesday. "But to what level and how fast will depend on the inflation outlook, which, in turn, depends on the growth outlook and therefore includes the higher probability of recession that we are now estimating," De Cos, who also heads the Bank of Spain, said in a statement. While the bank last week dropped the reference in its policy statement to likely rate hikes at "several" more meetings, ECB President Christine Lagarde appeared to revert back to this terminology after raising the deposit rate on Oct. 27 by 75 basis points to 1.5%, its highest level since 2009. Inflation in the euro zone accelerated to 10.7% in October and is expected to stay above the ECB's 2% target through 2024. Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden to ask Congress to act if oil cos don't lower costs, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday will call on oil and gas companies to invest some of their record profits in lowering costs for American families, a White House official said. "And if they don’t, he will call on Congress to consider requiring oil companies to pay tax penalties and face other restrictions," the official said on condition of anonymity. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Susan HeaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Marketers’ Continued Spending Makes WPP Latest Ad Giant to Boost Guidance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

PREVIEWLike-for-like revenue less pass-through costs compares net sales at constant currencies and excludes acquisitions, disposals and costs such as expenses billed to clients. The company saw like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increase 3.8% in the third quarter, compared with the period a year earlier. WPP Chief Executive Mark Read said the company’s clients’ appear to be continuing their spending in the fourth quarter. “We’re not expecting a slowdown in the fourth quarter,” Mr. Read said. In September, Interpublic Group of Cos.’s Magna unit clipped its U.S. advertising growth forecast for 2023, saying a weaker economic environment is likely to cut into spending.

☆ Canadian watchdog to study impact of competition on soaring food prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Canada's competition watchdog said on Monday it would examine factors impacting soaring food prices and whether more competition in the grocery stores sector could help lower costs for Canadians. This is especially true when buying groceries," the Competition Bureau Canada said in a statement. Last week, the Canadian parliament supported an NDP proposal asking the government to make grocery store operators more accountable, tougher penalties for price-fixing and stronger competition laws. The Competition Bureau said it would study whether competition factors were impacting the price of food on top of other factors including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supply chain disruptions, but it was not investigating specific allegations of wrongdoing. ($1 = 1.3705 Canadian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Albertsons Shareholders Set to Receive $4 Billion Dividend
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Jaewon Kang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Albertsons has said the dividend isn’t conditioned on a merger with rival Kroger. Albertsons Cos. is set to pay a $4 billion dividend to its shareholders after fighting opposition for months from attorneys general who tried to block it, as the supermarket operator works to seal a merger with rival Kroger Co.Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons said the dividend would be paid Friday to shareholders who held the stock at the close of business on Oct. 24, 2022.

☆ BOJ, BoJo, Beijing and bond bounce
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A surge in Japan's ailing yen from 32-year lows later on Friday, amid reports of out-of-hours Bank of Japan intervention in New York, saw a peak-to-trough drop in dollar/yen of almost 4%. There were wild swings again on Monday amid suspicion of further BoJ sales, even though officials refused to confirm the action. A weekend of political twists from Beijing to London only added to edgy market on Monday. China leadership China's Xi Jinping secured a precedent-breaking third leadership term on Sunday and introduced a top governing body stacked with loyalists. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (.HSI) has now underperformed MSCI's broadest global stock index by almost 50% over two years.

☆ Kushner Cos. Offers to Buy Rival Real Estate Company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Peter Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kushner Cos. is making an unsolicited bid for Veris Residential Inc., an owner primarily of New Jersey rental apartments, in a deal that would value Veris at about $4.3 billion including debt, according to a person familiar with the matter. Kushner, best known as Jared Kushner ’s family real-estate company, offered $16 a share for the real-estate investment trust, the person said. The shares of the company, formerly known as Mack-Cali Realty Corp., closed up 0.81% to $12.42 on Thursday.

☆ IPG Joins Ad Holding Companies in Raising 2022 Organic-Growth Forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Organic revenue growth, which removes the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and disposals, was at 5.6%. Mr. Krakowsky told investors that the media planning-and-buying group IPG Mediabrands had seen double-digit organic growth. IPG’s more traditional advertising business, which includes its healthcare marketing agency IPG Health, fared better with organic growth of 6.7%. Its communications and experiential businesses, including agencies Weber Shandwick and Golin, posted organic growth of 7.8%. IPG’s organic growth was the weakest in the U.S., the company’s largest market, where it reached 4.4%.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: American Express, Verizon, Snap and others
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Peter Schacknow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

American Express also raised its full-year forecast, amid a surge in customer spending, and increased the amount in reserve for potential defaults. Verizon (VZ) – Verizon earned an adjusted $1.32 for the third quarter, beating the consensus estimate by 3 cents, with revenue also better than expected. Snap (SNAP) – The Snapchat parent's stock tumbled 28.2% in the premarket after forecasting no revenue growth for the current quarter. Whirlpool (WHR) – The appliance maker's profit and revenue for the latest quarter came in below Wall Street forecasts. Under Armour (UAA) – The athletic apparel maker's stock lost 2.6% in the premarket after Telsey Advisory Group downgraded it to market perform from outperform.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Snap, American Express, Verizon, Twitter and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Snap — Shares of the Snapchat parent company cratered 30% after missing revenue estimates and sharing its slowest sales growth since going public as advertising spending slows. The results from Snap hit other ad-reliant stocks, sending shares of Pinterest and Meta Platforms down about 7.7% and 2.6%, respectively. Twitter — The social media stock sank more than 4% Friday amid a slew of media reports surrounding Twitter and Elon Musk. American Express – Shares of American Express fell about 3.5% even after the bank reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations. Huntington Bancshares — Shares gained 8% after the bank operator topped earnings estimates for the third quarter and upped its net interest income outlook for 2022.

☆ Tesla and Truss, 5% and 150
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A Tesla model 3 car is seen in their showroom in Singapore October 22, 2021. read more The latest European tech sector earnings on Thursday were downbeat, too. Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said the BoE would respond to changes in Truss's tax and spending policies. read moreKey developments that should provide more direction to U.S. markets later on Thursday:* European Union summit in Brussels* U.S. Oct Philadelphia business index. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Gold rush: Lawyers are flocking to Arizona to take advantage of new rules resulting in a flood of outside investments in law firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

In 2021, Arizona changed its rules to let non-lawyers co-own law firms, many of which are highly profitable: They collectively made an estimated $320 billion in the US last year. Today, 47 states — all but Arizona, Utah, and Washington — ban anyone but lawyers from owning law firms. Some of the firms Arizona has approved have said they plan to advertise nationwide, and refer cases to other law firms that will actually do the work. Pre-settlement funding, which is one of the riskier kinds of loan for plaintiffs' law firms, often has interest rates of 12 to 20 percent, Ziser said. The UK has allowed outside investment in law firms since 2007 without major scandal, he said, but it also takes a loser-pays approach to lawsuits that can cut down on frivolous claims.

The announcement by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee antitrust panel, and Republican Senator Mike Lee confirmed a previous report by Reuters. A Kroger spokesperson said the company looked forward to the hearing. "We welcome the opportunity to outline how this transaction will benefit America’s consumers by expanding access to fresh, affordable food," the company said in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSeparately, Klobuchar and fellow Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker released a letter expressing concern about the deal. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by David Shepardson and Diane Bartz; Editing by Franklin Paul, Josie Kao and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The spin-out structure would make it easier and faster for Kroger and Albertsons to divest stores if they cannot easily sell them outright, people familiar with the arrangement said. The companies may struggle to find many buyers because Albertsons' stores are unionized, making them less attractive to potential bidders such as private equity firms. Kroger and Albertsons are likely to shed their least profitable stores and keep the best ones to themselves, analysts said. That region contains the most store-overlap between Kroger and Albertsons and is where divestitures are most likely, according to analysts. They intend for the spun-off company to not carry any debt, the sources added.

☆ Top Republican on Senate antitrust panel promises oversight of grocery deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The top Republican on a U.S. Senate antitrust panel, Senator Mike Lee, promised on Friday that there would be significant oversight of a plan by Kroger Co (KR.N) to buy rival Albertsons Cos Inc (ACI.N). "Utahns, like all Americans, are suffering from skyrocketing food prices," Lee said in a statement. "I will do everything in my power to ensure our antitrust laws are robustly enforced to protect consumers from anticompetitive mergers that could further exacerbate the financial strain we already feel in the grocery store checkout aisle." The $24.6 billion deal was announced Friday. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Diane BartzOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The companies said Kroger agreed to buy Albertsons for $34.10 a share in a deal valued at $24.6 billion. The tie-up comes during a challenging time in the grocery industry. The grocery industry is highly fragmented. Albertsons’ share was about 5%. Consolidation in the grocery industry has not historically paid off in the form of higher profits, he said.

☆ Kroger-Albertsons Merger Would Create a Big Player in Retail Advertising
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

It also would create a big player in so-called retail media, one of advertising’s fastest-growing sectors. Kroger and Albertsons entered the retail advertising market in 2015 and 2021, respectively. Kroger and Albertsons don’t break out the ad revenue generated by their Kroger Precision Marketing and Albertsons Media Collective divisions. The merger of Kroger and Albertsons would create a fourth market leader at more than 13% market share, Mr. Lipsman said. For marketers, that would help simplify the retail ad market for consumer-goods brands and other advertisers who currently confront a rapidly increasing number of offerings.

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