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The blue-chip index (.FTSE) fell 0.3%, down for the third straight session, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) shed 0.4% as of 0829 GMT. The FTSE 100 had a good run earlier this month, buoyed by strength in commodity stocks and defensives like pharmaceuticals. However, markets have taken to a wait-and-see mode as earnings kicked in, to assess the impact of monetary tightening on results. Oil and gas stocks (.FTNMX601010) rose 0.6% as crude prices gained on reports of falling U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories. Drax Group's shares (DRX.L) rose 3.8% after the power generator announced a 150 million pound ($187 mln) share buyback programme.

☆ Analysis: China rebound buoys hopes for stronger-than-expected US, Europe earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But recent data and upbeat comments from major companies like LVMH (LVMH.PA), Europe's most valuable listed company, about business in China have given investors some cause for optimism. Refinitiv I/B/E/S data points to a 2.5% decline in earnings growth in the first quarter for STOXX 600 (.STOXX) companies, down from a forecast for 5.4% growth prior to the banking chaos. Europe is headed for a recession too, the data shows, with a drop in earnings of 5.4% expected in the second quarter. But stubbornly high inflation means major central banks are expected to continue to hike rates, at least in May. European financials are expected to report first-quarter earnings growth of 31%, according to Refinitiv.

SummarySummary Companies Britain's house prices show weak rise in AprilBunelm gains on Stifel upgradeMedica Group surges on buyout dealFTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%April 24 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Monday as energy stocks and base metal miners lost ground on weak demand outlook, while caution set in ahead of a busy week of earnings. Oil giants BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L) lost 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively, as crude prices fell more than 1% on concerns about rising interest rates, global economic slowdown and fuel demand outlook. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.2%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was up 0.2%, as of 0821 GMT. Growth companies, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), are scheduled to report their earnings this week. The FTSE 100 logged its fifth consecutive weekly rise on Friday, marking its longest streak of weekly gains in more than a year, buoyed by commodity stocks, even as weak global economic growth outlook keeps investor sentiment subdued.

The Ukraine war made energy and other commodities even more expensive than they were during the pandemic, prompting a global cost-of-living crisis. What has that done to their market share as competitors may be pricing lower and gaining share?" Tineke Frikkee, a fund manager at Unilever and Reckitt investor Waverton Asset Management, said. "Price rises should gradually decelerate as input costs do the same," Frikkee said, adding that companies should instead be investing in product innovation. "It will be a delicate balance, with consumer disposable income stretched in many key markets for these firms," Jack Martin, a fund manager at Unilever investor Oberon Investments, said.

☆ Starbucks new CEO wants senior leaders to work in stores. Every leader should follow suit.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Former Walmart CEO Greg Foran used to visit stores every week to observe factors like customer service, inventory levels, in-stock levels, and assortment. Fewer retail CEOs got their start working in storesLowe's CEO Marvin Ellison started his retail career as a Target security guard. Others went through management-training programs operated by department stores. As department stores started facing stiff competition from specialty stores, they scrambled to cut costs. These days, finding a qualified retail CEO seems like one of the hardest jobs to fill, with many companies looking outside the retail industry.

☆ Starbucks' new CEO plans to spend time working at his company's coffee shops. Here's why every retail leader should take a shift on the sales floor.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Former Walmart CEO Greg Foran used to visit stores every week to observe factors like customer service, inventory levels, in-stock levels, and assortment. Fewer retail CEOs got their start working in storesLowe's CEO Marvin Ellison started his retail career as a Target security guard. David Swanson/ReutersOf course, times have changed — in the past, many retail CEOs got their start at the store level. As department stores started facing stiff competition from specialty stores, they scrambled to cut costs. These days, finding a qualified retail CEO seems like one of the hardest jobs to fill, with many companies looking outside the retail industry.

☆ Starbucks CEO says he'll work a shift at the company's cafes once a month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan told employees Thursday that he'll work a half day every month at one of the coffee giant's locations. Narasimhan took the helm on Monday and will lead the company's shareholder meeting Thursday. His pledge comes at a rocky time for the company's relationship with its baristas. As of Friday, more than 190 company-owned Starbucks locations have voted to unionize, according to National Labor Relations Board data. Before joining Starbucks, Narasimhan was chief executive of Reckitt, which owns brands like Lysol and Durex.

☆ Starbucks' new CEO will start life at the coffee giant with a pay packet that could be worth over $28 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Laxman Narasimhan just started as CEO of Starbucks, and he's set to take home a hefty paycheck. This includes annual equity awards with a target value of $13.6 million, SEC filings show. According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings from September, Narasimhan will start with a base salary of $1.3 million per year. Starbucks says he'll also be eligible for annual equity awards with a target value of $13.6 million. When Kevin Johnson resigned as Starbucks CEO in April 2022, former boss Howard Schultz was named as his interim replacement.

☆ Water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The latest is research published last Thursday by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. The sum, though, is just $140 million, and the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation is pouring in three-quarter of the proceeds. But there is a decent investment case for water without state or supranational support. Without them, water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe United Nations 2023 Water Conference starts on March 22, World Water Day, in New York.

☆ New Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan takes over nearly two weeks earlier than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Starbucks on Monday said that Laxman Narasimhan has officially become CEO, nearly two weeks earlier than expected. After being named incoming CEO in September, Narasimhan has spent months learning about Starbucks' business, including training as a barista. Schultz returned nearly a year ago after former CEO Kevin Johnson surprised investors by announcing his retirement. Since Schultz returned April 4, Starbucks stock has risen nearly 8%, bringing its market value to $113 billion. In September, Schultz told CNBC that he's never planning on coming back as Starbucks' chief executive again.

☆ Club meeting recap: Buying this oversold market, looking ahead to Nvidia's big week
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. Watch Nvidia Club holding Nvidia (NVDA) got a series of positive Wall Street calls Monday ahead of the company's GTC developer's conference this week. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

☆ Meet Laxman Narasimhan, a coffee industry outsider who just took over as CEO of Starbucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Laxman Narasimhan officially took over as Starbucks CEO, replacing Howard Schultz. Narasimhan is new to the coffee industry, having started his career in the consulting world before joining PepsiCo, and, later, British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser. Narasimhan built his career in the beverage and consumer-goods industriesLaxman Narasimhan at Starbucks Investor Day in September 2022. Starbucks said at the time that Narasimhan would begin as CEO on April 1, taking over for interim CEO Schultz. Of the 365 Starbucks stores that have held votes to unionize, 292 have voted to form a union.

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Haleon (HLN.L), the world's biggest standalone consumer health business with brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkillers, reported its first full-year results on Thursday which analysts said were in line with expectations. Analysts said on Thursday that Haleon has had a strong start to 2023, and its full-year revenue growth forecast of 4% to 6% was in line or just ahead of consensus estimates. Rivals with consumer health operations, such as Bayer (BAYGn.DE) and Reckitt (RKT.L), have charged higher prices to partly offset broader falls in sales volumes. "Our organic (full-year) revenue growth ... was well balanced between volume and price, with two thirds of the business gaining or holding share," McNamara said. Haleon, which is made up of assets previously owned by GSK and Pfizer (PFE.N) reported organic revenue growth of 9% last year, just ahead of the 8-8.5% increase it predicted for 2022.

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L), maker of Dettol and Lysol cleaning products, on Wednesday marginally beat full-year like-for-like net revenue expectations, helped by higher prices and its nutrition and health businesses. The company said it would target like-for-like net revenue growth of mid-single digits for 2023, excluding the substantial boost its 2022 sales received from the recall of a rival's infant formula. Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) early last year recalled dozens of infant nutrition products in the United States after customers complained of infants contracting bacterial infections. Reckitt, its biggest rival at the time, ramped up production to fill the supply gap left by Abbott, helping to drive full-year like-for-like net sales growth of about 23% in its nutrition business. The company said full-year like-for-like net revenue increased by 7.6%, edging ahead of analysts' expectations of a 7.5% rise, according to a company-provided consensus.

[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.

☆ Reckitt sales marginally beat full-year estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Britain's Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L), maker of Dettol and Lysol cleaning products, on Wednesday marginally beat full-year like-for-like net revenue expectations, helped by its nutrition and health businesses. The company said it would target like-for-like net revenue growth of mid-single digits for 2023. Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) early last year recalled dozens of infant nutrition products in the United States after customers complained of infants contracting bacterial infections. Reckitt, its biggest rival at the time, ramped up production to fill the supply gap left by Abbott, helping drive full-year like-for-like net sales growth of about 23% in its nutrition business. Reckitt's own 2022 like-for-like net revenue growth target was 6% to 8%.

☆ Starbucks' Schultz highlights the Club case for investing in the coffeemaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Our business is quite strong," Schultz said Tuesday. But Schultz, who rejoined Starbucks as interim CEO in April 2022, will remain on the company's board. The Club take We were encouraged to hear upbeat comments from Schultz around inflation, demand and renewed momentum in China. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz speaks at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Seattle, Washington on March 22, 2017.

☆ EMA's safety committee starts review of cold medicines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - A European Medicines Agency (EMA) committee said on Friday it has started a review of decongestant medicines for cold and flu that contain the ingredient pseudoephedrine following safety concerns. The EMA said the review was due to reports of conditions affecting blood vessels in the brain in some patients who took pseudoephedrine-containing medicines. Pseudoephedrine is a drug that is used alone or in combination with other medicines to treat a blocked nose due to cold, flu or allergy. Makers of pseudoephedrine-containing drugs include Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L), McNeil Products Ltd and Organon & Co (OGN.N). Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bayer’s rude health lays better path for breakup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Activists like Jeff Ubben’s Inclusive Capital Partners may now, however, be in a better position to push for a breakup. Smaller peer Bluebell Capital Partners has also bought in recently. Using UBS forecasts, they would be worth 50 billion euros and 88 billion euros respectively. Its smaller consumer drugs division might fetch another 18 billion euros, using peer Reckitt Benckiser’s (RKT.L) 12 times multiple. Add them up, take off debt, pension liabilities and a further 6 billion euros of future Roundup litigation costs, and Bayer’s equity could be worth nearly 110 billion euros.

☆ Baby formula imports to face tariffs again in 2023 - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Imported baby formula would be subject to tariffs again in the new year after the expiration of exemptions implemented amid a nationwide shortage, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. According to the WSJ report, a White House spokesman said the tariff waivers doubled the number of manufacturers selling baby formula in the United States. In August, two big U.S. retailers Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and Target Corp (TGT.N) said supplies of baby formula were improving. Still, Target had purchase restrictions on baby formula products both at its stores and online. However, Reckitt in early December said it expects the U.S. infant formula shortage to "persist" until spring.

[1/3] Mead Johnson's product Enfamil baby formula are displayed on a store shelf in New York City, U.S., February 10, 2017. Panicked parents had earlier this year emptied the baby formula aisles at supermarkets after former top U.S. manufacturer Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) in February recalled dozens of types of its Similac, Alimentum and EleCare formulas. Since the Abbott recall, share of Reckitt in the infant formula market has skyrocketed, making it the No.1 supplier in the United States. Companies normally bid for state contracts to be the sole provider of baby formula for low-income families under the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) programme. Reckitt has said its formula factories are operating 24/7, and it was feeding more than 40% of all low-income WIC infants.

☆ Here are the 10 stocks we consider our core holdings in the Club portfolio — and why
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

At the Investing Club, we generally try to keep our portfolio to around 30 stocks, give or take a few. In light of Thursday's "Monthly Meeting," we wanted to identify what we consider our 10 core holdings of the 32. We may consider a stock a core holding today but that could change three months from now. Management sees its post-separation core business growing revenues at a high single-digit clip and earnings-per-share increasing in the double digits. The stock provides a stellar dividend yield of nearly 3.5%, and the bank has plenty of excess capital to repurchase stock quarter after quarter, while other banks have paused their buybacks.

☆ Baby formula maker Perrigo buying Nestle's Good Start brand, Wisconsin plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | 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

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Infant formula manufacturer Perrigo Company Plc (PRGO.N) said on Tuesday it is buying the Good Start brand and a Wisconsin plant that makes the product from Nestle SA (NESN.S), as U.S. retailers recover from shortages of the good. The deal is part of a $170 million investment that Perrigo is making in its U.S. infant formula manufacturing. The investment includes $60 million to expand the plant's capacity by roughly 100 million eight-ounce bottles each year. Nestle has sent cans of specialized Alfamino formula and NAN from Europe to help try to alleviate the shortage earlier this year. Perrigo will supply Nestle with Good Start formula so the company can fulfill its contracts with the Women, Infants and Children program, which helps poor families afford the item.

☆ Analysis: European retailers are on investors' naughty lists this Christmas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

On stock markets, the European retail sector (.SXRP) has lost 40% of its value so far this year, more than twice the hit on the broader regional share index (.STOXX). Yet, JPMorgan and other strategists say the worst is yet to come for consumers and retailers alike. European retailersSURGING COSTSHigher energy bills and wages and elevated freight and fabric prices have pushed up costs for euro zone companies by more than 40% this year, according to Eurostat data. "A lot of these retailers are running with elevated inventory levels, in order to clear that you'd expect a lot more promotions and discounting. "Our exposure to retailers has remained highly selective all year," he said, adding that he prefers discount retailers, which could benefit from consumers trading down.

☆ ECB policymakers stick with hike plans even as recession looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. But policymakers on Friday appeared to be on message that rates will keep going up. Investors now see ECB rates peaking at around 2.75%, above levels near 2.5% seen on Thursday after the ECB's rate hike and language tweaks. RECESSIONThe policymakers' reinforcement of the rate hike message comes as a recession now looks almost certain, and will likely prompt a barrage of further criticism from European leaders. But ECB chief Christine Lagarde pushed back on the criticism on Thursday, arguing that breaking inflation was the ECB's chief mission and governments could help by providing targeted support for the most vulnerable.

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