France’s Alstom is in talks to buy the high-speed train unit of Canada’s Bombardier. The reported $7 bln price tag looks high given the division’s weak profitability. And Europe’s competition watchdog may also withhold the green light, Ed Cropley says….
The U.S. airline plans to go carbon neutral. Less clear is how, and whether the $1 billion boss Ed Bastian wants to spend will amount to a hill of beans. The market is skeptical, but that might say more about investors’ own lack of climate-change prepa…
The UK state-owned bank has a new boss, Alison Rose. She’s changing the lender’s name but can do little to alter its miserable prospects. As Liam Proud explains, that reduces the likelihood of a government selldown under Britain’s new finance minister….
Brookfield Asset Management, a Canadian firm known for real-estate investments, reported a hefty increase in fee-generating assets. Central banks are partly responsible. Low interest rates will continue to push yield-starved investors to alternatives, …
After decent 2019 results and $15 bln of disposals, the Swiss food giant is going shopping. Money is no object: CEO Mark Schneider can sell down the L’Oreal stake, raise debt or dip into $20 bln of planned buybacks. Still, finding bargains may be trick…
The Canadian software firm worth some $65 bln sits in a sweet spot, selling picks and shovels to online retailers. It’s a great business, explains Robert Cyran, but with the stock valued at 31 times estimated revenue, investors are counting on everythi…
Jean-Francois van Boxmeer will be replaced by Dolf van den Brink as chief executive in June. He leaves on a high – the brewer beat analyst forecasts for 2019 sales growth. But his successor faces challenges in the key markets of Mexico and Vietnam, say…
A federal judge approved the T-Mobile US takeover of Sprint partly because the SoftBank-backed telecom firm might fail without the deal. That’s a sound argument for the courtroom. But it gives T-Mobile the upper hand when renegotiating the terms, expla…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s protégé Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer will step down as boss of the Christian Democrats. Her decision highlights the deep divisions in the party. Liam Proud examines why a probable shift to the right would make it harder …
Two U.S. shopping center owners are getting together. Simon Property is acquiring most of Taubman Centers for $3.6 bln. Nearly 20 years ago, the families behind the firms were at odds. But now the deal is an attempt to reshape the retail landscape, exp…