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☆ Brookfield gets some M&A help from Gulf friends
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) has won its payments race. The Canadian investment group’s 2.2 billion pound bid for London-listed payments provider Network International (NETW.L) was enough to see off a rival pitch from CVC and Francisco Partners. They’ve also endorsed a plan to merge Dubai-based Network International with domestic peer Magnati, a former unit of FAB. If Network International alone can grow revenues at a 15% annual clip and reach a margin of 44% from the current 41%, EBITDA could hit $388 million by 2028. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Brookfield, They’ve, EBITDA, Pamela Barbaglia, Xavier Niel, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Brookfield Asset Management, London, Network, Francisco Partners, Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, FAB, ACI, Brookfield, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Dubai

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday gave a boost to whistleblowers in their bid to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs at taxpayers' expense. Whistleblower advocacy groups as well as a number of states had said a Supreme Court ruling against the whistleblowers would make it easier for fraudsters to evade accountability for filing false claims to the government and risked undermining state-administered Medicaid programs. They also said both companies knew they were defrauding the government and worked to conceal their pricing practices. President Joe Biden's administration backed the whistleblowers in their appeal to the Supreme Court. Lawyers for the administration urged the justices to reverse the 7th Circuit, saying the ruling undermined the False Claims Act.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thomas Proctor, Tracy Schutte, Michael Yarberry, SuperValu, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Safeway Inc, Albertsons Companies Inc, SuperValu Inc, United Natural Foods Inc, Government, Conservative, Safeway, Circuit, Lawyers, Thomson Locations: Chicago

Lawyers for Kroger said in a filing in California federal court that the grocery store shoppers who sued over the deal have failed to define the relevant market necessary to evaluate grocery store competition and to identify how the acquisition would hurt consumers. The attorneys said the lawsuit was lacking "real-world facts." U.S. competition law "does not turn every grocery store consumer in the country into a roving antitrust enforcer," lawyers for Kroger told U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. State antitrust enforcers also are looking at the deal. The case is Whalen v The Kroger Co, Albertsons Companies Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

April 11 (Reuters) - Mark Shafir, one of Citigroup Inc's (C.N) top dealmakers, is retiring after a career spanning over three decades during which he advised some of the world's largest corporations on several landmark deals. Shafir, who has led Citi's global mergers and acquisitions unit since joining the bank in 2008, will stay on till mid-May to help with the transition, according to an internal memo sent on Tuesday by Tyler Dickson and Manuel Falco, Citi's global co-heads of banking, capital Markets and advisory. Cary Kochman, who has served as co-head of global M&A at Citi alongside Shafir since 2017, will continue to lead the franchise. "(Mark) has been one of the lead drivers of our M&A business and has played a central role developing the franchise, which grew significantly under his leadership," Dickson and Falco said in the memo. Shafir was instrumental in shaping Citi's M&A franchise during his tenure and advised on several landmark transactions.

☆ These are the top 10 busiest airports in the world—5 of them are in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Airports Council International , the trade association of the world's airports, recently released its annual ranking of the busiest airports in the world. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Denver International Airport (DEN) Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) Dubai International Airport (DXB) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Istanbul Airport (IST) Heathrow Airport (LHR) Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport topped the list as the world's busiest airport for the second year in a row. The only year that Atlanta hasn't been the busiest airport in the last four years was 2020 when ATL came in second behind Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China. DFW is the second-largest airport by land area in the United States after Denver International Airport, according to the Department of Transportation. Denver International Airport has also been among the top 20 busiest airports in the world every year since 2000, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

☆ Wall Street says bad news is no longer good news. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —There’s been a seismic shift in investor perspective: Bad news is no longer good news. Markets teetered after a slew of economic reports signaled that the red-hot labor market is finally cooling (more on that later), flashing warning signals across Wall Street. Now that Wall Street is in “bad news is bad news and good news is good news” mode, it will be looking for signs that the economy remains resilient. President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday that the March data is “a good jobs report for hard-working Americans.”The March jobs report revealed that US employers added a lower-than-expected 236,000 jobs last month. The jobs report was also the first one in 12 months that came in below expectations.

☆ 3 reasons big bank earnings are super important to the stock market in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

There are two big watchers on our list for the week ahead, and one of them — believe it or not — is not an inflation reading. The consumer price report (CPI), which calculates the average change over time in prices shoppers pay for goods and services, comes out Wednesday before the opening bell. Other data next week includes the producer price index report on Thursday and the retail sales report on Friday. ET: Consumer Price Index 2:00 p.m. The most important macroeconomic update of the week came on Friday while the market was closed for Good Friday.

Strikes have rolled through France, Portugal, Britain and Germany in recent weeks and could cause air travel disruption in parts of Europe through the Easter holidays, officials at airlines, airports and air traffic authorities told Reuters. There's no doubt about it," said Steven Moore, who is in charge of air traffic management operations at Eurocontrol. Airlines say they have to pay compensation without themselves getting compensated for air traffic delays. Consumer groups say air traffic control strikes are not new and airlines should be quicker to react and pay compensation. He called last week on the European Commission to do more to stop such strikes hitting overflights, by introducing minimum service rules, though industry experts say strikes are a national issue.

☆ EU agrees on retaliation to counter economic coercion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Representatives of the European Parliament and the Council, the grouping of EU countries, reached a provisional deal on the anti-coercion instrument (ACI) early on Tuesday. EU members have accused the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and China of using trade as a political tool. Under the ACI, EU governments would vote on whether a third country's economic measure amounted to coercion. If dialogue failed, the bloc could impose restrictions, such as higher import tariffs or limited access to EU public tenders. Some EU countries had been sceptical about the measure over concerns it could be protectionist and spark trade wars.

☆ Yes, You Can Put Your Taxes on a Credit Card. Here’s How to Make It Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +14 min

Sign-up bonusesA much better strategy, according to credit card experts, is to use a hefty tax payment to help you qualify for a generous sign-up bonus on a new credit card. Downsides of paying taxes with a credit cardIn addition to fees, paying your taxes with a credit card isn’t without downsides. Most credit card issuers report your credit card balances and the amount of available credit to all three major credit bureaus monthly. Although having a large balance on a credit card can impact your credit score, the effects aren’t permanent. How to pay federal taxes with a credit cardThe IRS does not directly accept tax payments via credit card.

☆ Checkout.com turns to Mastercard to support faster payments in APAC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The news: Checkout.com started using Mastercard Send to enable faster payments for consumers and businesses in Singapore, per a press release. Mastercard Send is Mastercard’s faster payments network . It lets businesses send payments to more than 1.5 billion debit, credit, and prepaid cards. The bigger picture: Real-time payments are gaining steam across Asia-Pacific thanks to factors like new technologies, regulatory pressures, and merchant and customer expectations, per Global Payments. In the long term, expanding faster payments use cases will require collaboration between governments, banks, and fintechs.

☆ Albertsons, Kroger reiterate store divestiture plan ahead of merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) reiterated in a filing on Tuesday it would divest some stores owned by the company and Kroger Co (KR.N) to obtain the regulatory clearance needed to go ahead with the merger of the two firms. Last month, Reuters reported citing sources that the supermarket operators were advancing plans to sell between 250 and 300 stores, which they hope would alleviate U.S. antitrust concerns over their combination. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is reviewing Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, is under pressure from some U.S. lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups to block the deal on concerns it may lead to higher grocery prices. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Albertsons, Kroger to divest some stores ahead of merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) said on Tuesday it would divest some stores owned by the company and Kroger Co (KR.N) to obtain the regulatory clearance needed to go ahead with the merger of the two firms. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kroger sees annual profit above estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Kroger Co (KR.N) forecast annual profit above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as the supermarket chain benefits from higher prices, easing cost pressures and steady demand for its groceries and other essentials. Shares of Kroger, which has inked a $25 billion deal to buy smaller rival Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N), climbed about 3% in premarket trading. Kroger forecast adjusted earnings per share of between $4.45 and $4.60 for fiscal 2023, while analysts on average expected a profit of $4.20 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Still, the company projected same-store sales growth, excluding fuel, of 1% to 2% in fiscal 2023, below analysts' estimate of a 2.23% increase. Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The city of Phoenix's aviation department, which runs the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, has launched a childcare program for airport workers and plans to build a childcare facility on airport property. Since its launch, 37 airport workers have joined the program, which covers daycare costs partially. At Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, construction is underway for a daycare primarily for children of employees who work on airport property. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is similarly weighing offering childcare on-site or nearby in a bid to offer attractive benefits to workers, said airport spokesperson Mindy Kershner. And then there are others - like Jared Barker, a 33-year-old baggage handler at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport who quit and left the industry altogether last year after mass departures during the pandemic led to a heavier workload.

LONDON/MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Central Asian airlines are seizing opportunities from Russia's closed airspace, with airline traffic into the region booming in the year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, executives and analysts said. "The Russian airlines themselves are severely constrained in what they can do because of equipment shortages, they can't maintain the aircraft to sufficient standards," said James Halstead, an aviation analyst and managing partner at Aviation Strategy. It will grow since the restrictions are lifted," one Russian airlines industry source said. If the war drags on in Ukraine, there could also be further opportunities for tourism in central Asia as Russian tourists look for alternatives to Europe for their holidays. The main tourist destinations were Turkey, with 5.2 million trips or about 25% less than in 2019, the United Arab Emirates, with 1.2 million trips or 21.2% more than in 2019, Egypt and Thailand.

The stores that Kroger and Albertsons may sell could be worth more than $1 billion, the sources said. Kroger and Albertsons will choose to proceed with the spin-off if they are unable to strike a deal with a potential buyer. Kroger, Albertsons and the FTC declined to comment. Haggen filed for bankruptcy months later and blamed the deal with Albertsons for its demise. Albertsons then agreed to buy many of the Haggen stores back for $300 million.

☆ Grocery consumers sue to block Kroger’s $25 bln buy of Albertsons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kroger is the biggest grocer in the U.S. by revenue, and Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket chain. Nearly 5,000 grocery stores would be under one corporate umbrella if the deal, announced in October, goes through. A representative for Albertsons declined to comment on Friday, and a Kroger spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Kroger operates stores under banners including Harris Teeter, Pay Less and King Soopers. U.S. antitrust law lets private consumers sue over proposed mergers and acquisitions, apart from any enforcement action brought by a state or federal agency policing competition laws.

Paying taxes with a credit card to earn a big sign-up bonus or reward points only makes sense if the value exceeds the credit card fee you will be charged. Paying TurboTax convenience fee with a credit cardYou can also pay taxes with a credit card using tax-preparation tools like TurboTax Tax Software. In that case, you won't have the option to pay by credit card through TurboTax; just select "pay by check" and proceed to your preferred IRS-approved payment processor to pay your taxes by credit card. Quick tip: When you pay taxes with a credit card, the transaction is processed as a purchase, not a cash advance — so you'll still earn credit card rewards. How to pay taxes with a credit cardPaying your taxes with a credit card is easy and only takes a few minutes.

☆ Washington court paves way for Albertsons' $4 bln dividend, declines to review case
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Washington Supreme Court made the decision after a lower court judge refused last month to issue a preliminary injunction against the dividend. The Washington attorney general's office in November sued to block the dividend, arguing that it would weaken Albertsons before Kroger's $25 billion purchase. The merger proposal will be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, which polices merger and acquisition activity for compliance with antitrust law. In a statement, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said his office was "surprised and disappointed the Supreme Court decided not to hear this case." Chief executives of the two grocers in November defended the $25 billion proposed tie-up at a hearing before a U.S. congressional committee.

Although international travel may not return immediately to pre-pandemic levels, companies, industries and countries that rely on Chinese tourists will get a boost in 2023, according to analysts. Elsewhere in the world, Cambodia, Mauritius, Malaysia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Philippines are also likely to benefit from the return of Chinese tourists, according to research by Capital Economics. Saxon said he expected China’s outbound international travel to fully recover by the year end. “Generally, individuals are pragmatic and countries will welcome Chinese tourists due to their spending power,” he said, adding that countries may remove restrictions quickly when the Covid situation improves in China. “It will take time for international tourism to get going, but it will come rushing back, when it happens.”

☆ Markets rally on signs inflation is abating, as investors look to next week's consumer price data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Later in the day, markets were also buoyed by the ISM's nonmanufacturing purchasing managers' index, which said the services industry contracted last month. The next big test will be December's consumer price index report, to be released Thursday. Meanwhile, the fourth-quarter earnings season kicks off next Friday, when the banks – including Club holding Wells Fargo (WFC) – are set to report. On Thursday, the December ADP employment report was released, showing an additional 235,000 jobs, well above the 153,000 expected by analysts. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Payments provider ACI Worldwide considers sale, shares surge - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Payments technology provider ACI Worldwide Inc (ACIW.O) is in talks with private equity firms for a potential sale of the company, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report added that there was no certainty ACI would reach a deal, given the rocky state of the leveraged financing markets. Shares of the Naples, Florida-based company rose nearly 13% to close at $26.11, its highest point since August 2022, to attain a market capitalization of nearly $2.9 billion. The company had explored a sale two years ago as well, with Starboard Value pushing the move after acquiring a stake. Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 10 money managers who quietly control the vast fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, the Waltons, and other big-name billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Many über-rich people don't outsource their wealth — they hire their own chief investment officers. He left SAC in 2005 for Dune Capital Management, but stayed in touch with Steve during his five-year term at the investment firm. Andrew oversees CPV's portfolio, which primarily comprises direct private investments such as Collectors Universe, a collectibles-authentication company, and the New York Mets. In 2011, Wildcat Capital Management was launched with Potter as president and chief investment officer. Since November 2021, Carland has also served as the interim chief investment officer for Builders Vision's asset arm.

This is why we have seen less activity," said Dirk Albersmeier, co-head of global M&A at JPMorgan. In the fourth quarter, there has been a 56% contraction in global M&A to $641.2 billion, partly caused by a 66% drop in private equity activity. Top rainmakers expect a pickup in cross-border M&A activity. Going forward, private equity funds are expected to kickstart the recovery as they seek assets at a discount. We were probably more optimistic a year ago," said David DeNunzio, global head of M&A at Wells Fargo.

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