Reuters UK Business

By Dominique Patton and Emma Rumney PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) -Pernod Ricard and Carlsberg warned on Thursday they see few signs of a pick-up in consumer demand in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, adding to a gloomy outlook for 2025 as executives try to navigate growing global trade tensions. Weak consumer spending in China, which is grappling …

Big companies see no China recovery soon, adding to trade tensions gloom Read More »

By Dominique Patton PARIS (Reuters) – French cosmetics group L’Oreal reported on Thursday the slowest quarterly rise in growth since the height of the pandemic, missing expectations, as Chinese demand stayed weak and growth in North America slowed. The figures conclude a challenging year as the Chinese economy failed to gain traction and inflation in …

L’Oreal quarterly sales grow at slowest since the pandemic Read More »

By Nell Mackenzie and Carolina Mandl LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Hedge funds started 2025 buoyed by choppier markets driven by uncertainty over new U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and a tumble in tech-darling Nvidia as Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek emerged, sources told Reuters. Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, posted gains of …

DeepSeek and Trump: How hedge funds navigated a turbulent start to 2025 Read More »

By David Milliken and Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) -The Bank of England cut interest rates by a quarter-point and some policymakers wanted a bigger move to offset a slowdown, but the BoE said it would be careful about further moves in the face of an expected inflation spike and global economic uncertainty. The BoE halved …

Bank of England cuts rates and growth outlook, sees inflation ‘bump’ Read More »

(Reuters) -Canada’s BCI, one of the country’s largest asset managers, will buy BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. in a deal valuing the Luxembourg-based investment firm at 1.06 billion pounds ($1.32 billion), the companies said on Thursday. BCI’s offer for BBGI of 147.5 pence per share in cash, represents a premium of 21% to the London-listed stock’s …

Canada’s BCI to buy BBGI infrastructure fund in $1.32 billion deal Read More »

By Tassilo Hummel PARIS (Reuters) -Gucci design chief Sabato De Sarno is leaving the Italian flagship label after less than two years in the job, owner Kering said on Thursday, as the brand strives to attract wealthier shoppers and reverse its weak sales. De Sarno, a 42-year-old Italian minimalist, took over as Gucci’s chief designer …

Design chief De Sarno leaves Gucci as brand seeks revival Read More »

By Valentina Za MILAN (Reuters) -Monte dei Paschi CEO Luigi Lovaglio said initial meetings with investors to explain the reasons behind its surprise bid for Mediobanca had helped address some of the markets’ doubts about the deal. State-backed MPS last month shocked Italy’s financial world by launching a hostile all-share bid for Mediobanca, seven-and-a-half years …

Mediobanca suitor MPS says investors starting to understand deal Read More »

By Gianluca Semeraro and Elvira Pollina MILAN (Reuters) – One of Generali’s biggest investors is considering challenging the reappointment of longstanding CEO Philippe Donnet in May and is weighing potential alternative candidates to lead Italy’s biggest insurer, four sources close to the matter said. Three years ago Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, an Italian construction and publishing …

Exclusive-Billionaire Generali investor weighs candidates for CEO challenge Read More »

By Nikhil Sharma and Johann M Cherian (Reuters) – European shares closed at an all-time high on Thursday, with mining companies in the lead following a raft of upbeat earnings reports, while investors weighed the likelihood of a Ukraine peace plan. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 1.2%, with benchmark indexes in Germany, France, …

STOXX 600 hits record high on robust earnings, focus on talk of Ukraine peace plan Read More »