The owner of Johnnie Walker whisky and Tanqueray gin will pay 260 million euros, equivalent to $281 million, upfront for Don Papa, with a further potential consideration of up to EUR177.5 million through to 2028 subject to performance.
The Latest TikTok Star Is Canned Tuna
Makers of canned tuna and sardines are taking their products upscale, riding a wave of online popularity among young foodies.
U.S. sales of canned seafood rose 9.7% to $2.7 billion in 2022, according to data provider Euromonitor International, with industry executives crediting the increase to a surge in demand from younger shoppers seeking novel but still affordable foods.
Microsoft Expands Access to OpenAI's Tools to More Customers
Microsoft Corp. said Monday that it is allowing more customers access to the software behind popular artificial-intelligence tools made by OpenAI.
The startup has been the center of the tech industry's recent surge in excitement about AI, thanks to its futuristic products such as chatbot ChatGPT, which can answer questions and write essays and poems, and image generator Dall-E 2, which turns language prompts into novel images.
China Evergrande's Auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers Resigns
China Evergrande Group's auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers has resigned as it was unable to obtain information relating to certain significant matters of audit regarding the conglomerate.
"The company and PwC have not been able to agree on the timetable and the scope of work in respect of the assessment on the group's going concern basis and implications of the relevant disclosure, as well as the additional audit work and procedures required for the assets impairment assessment," Evergrande said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late Monday.
Bonds Over Stocks: The New 60-40 Portfolio
Investors big and small are betting on bonds, after debt funds in 2022 posted their worst performance on record.
The steep selloff in fixed income means that bonds now pay their highest yields in more than a decade. Fund giants such as BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group say that makes high-quality corporate and mortgage bonds attractive compared with stocks, which stand to extend their losses from last year if the U.S. economy enters recession.
Rising Interest Rates Hit Landlords Who Can't Afford Hedging Costs
The cost of insuring commercial real-estate loans against a rise in interest rates has exploded over the past year, raising the prospect of a market selloff since many property owners will no longer be able to afford these hedges.
Nearly half of all commercial property debt is floating rate, according to a 2019 report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Lenders usually require that these borrowers hedge against an increase in borrowing costs, through a derivatives contract known as an interest-rate cap that limits a borrower's exposure to rising interest rates.
Pressure Rises on Bank of Japan for Further Policy Shift
TOKYO-The Bank of Japan is under pressure to revise policy again at its meeting ending Wednesday after investors repeatedly attacked the central bank's new 0.5% cap for the 10-year government bond yield.
The battle between the BOJ and the markets has upended what are expected to be the final months of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's decade in the job. He has devoted his term to keeping interest rates ultralow, a policy that many market players believe is likely to end this year with inflation in Japan nearing 4%.
China's Economic Growth Fell to Near-Historic Lows as Covid Took a Bite
SINGAPORE-China's economy grew at one of its slowest rates in decades last year as repeated lockdowns hammered households and businesses, emphasizing the high cost of zero-tolerance Covid-19 policies that Beijing abruptly abandoned at the end of 2022.
China's economy expanded 3% in 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, a sharp slowdown from the 8.1% pace recorded in 2021. Aside from 2020, when the economy grew only 2.2%, last year marked the worst year for gross domestic product growth in China since 1976, the year that Mao Zedong's death ended the decade of strife known as the Cultural Revolution, according to World Bank data.
UK Unemployment Rate Stabilized in Quarter to November as Wage Growth Intensified
The U.K.'s unemployment rate steadied in the three months to November and wage growth continued to accelerate, a sign the labor market remained tight despite softening demand for labor.
The U.K.'s unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7% in the three months to November compared with the preceding three-month period, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the jobless rate to increase to 3.8%.
German Inflation Moderated in December, But Remained High
Germany's annual inflation rate moderated in December, driven by lower energy costs, the Federal Statistical Office, or Destatis, said Tuesday, confirming its preliminary data published earlier in January.
The consumer price index moderated to 8.6% in December from 10% in November, measured according to national standards, Destatis said. The consumer price index, measured according to EU-harmonized standards, rose by 9.6% on the year in December, a slower pace compared with November's 11.3% increase.
Shopper Rebellion Against Higher Prices Helps Slow Inflation
After pushing prices to new heights last year, some companies are starting to pull back. It could be another sign that inflation is starting to turn a corner.
Conagra Brands Inc., which makes Hunt's ketchup and Slim Jim meat sticks, raised prices 17% in its latest quarter, on top of two previous quarters, when it increased prices more than 10%.
China's Population Declined in 2022 for First Time in Decades
China has hit a historic turning point as its population begins to shrink after years of falling birthrates, a new reality for a country that for a long time has been the world's most populous.
The National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday that China's population dropped to 1.412 billion in 2022, from 1.413 billion in 2021. It was the first decline since the early 1960s, when the country was devastated by famine after Mao Zedong launched his "Great Leap Forward."
Scottish Law on Gender Recognition Blocked by U.K. Government
The U.K. government on Monday blocked a law voted by Scotland's parliament on gender recognition, the first time that the London-based government has stopped a Scottish law from passing, in a move that will deepen divisions between Scottish nationalists and the U.K.
The controversial Scottish law, passed in November, makes it easier for transgender people to get official government recognition of their acquired gender by removing any need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and lowering the age from 18 to 16.
Losing New Mexico Candidate Arrested Over Shootings at Democrats' Homes
A former Republican candidate for the New Mexico state legislature was arrested Monday for his suspected involvement in a string of recent drive-by shootings at the homes of several Democratic elected officials.
Solomon Peña, 39, who lost his race for state representative to his Democratic opponent in November, helped orchestrate the shootings and participated in at least one of them, Albuquerque police said. The homes of two county officials and two state legislators, including the New Mexico House speaker, were hit in the drive-by shootings, according to police. Nobody was hurt in the incidents, which took place over the past several weeks, though the homes sustained damage.
Write to ina.kreutz@wsj.com TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Nothing major scheduled
Economic Events (ET):
0815 Dec Housing Starts
0830 Dec CPI
0830 Nov International transactions in securities
Stocks to Watch:
Centerra Gold Reports Full Yr 2022 Gold Production of 243,868 Oz; Copper Production at 16.9M Pounds in 4Q, 73.9M Pounds for 2022; Had Seen 2022 Gold Production at Around 245,000 Oz-265,000 Oz; Had Seen 2022 Copper Production at 70M-80M Pounds; Expects 2023 Production at Mount Milligan Mine of 160,000 Oz-170,000 Oz Gold, 60M-70M Pounds Copper; Expects to Finish Building Mercury Abatement System at Oksut Mine in Late Jan to Allow Gold Bar Production to Resume
Pulse Seismic Enters C$4.0M Seismic Data Licensing Agreement; Preliminary 2022 Rev Estimate About C$9.6M
Other News:
Business confidence in Canada fell in the fourth quarter to its lowest level in over two years, with nearly a third of companies anticipating sales to decline over the next 12 months, according to a Bank of Canada quarterly survey.
Read more here
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
04:30/JPN: Nov Tertiary Industry Index
04:30/JPN: Nov Revised Retail Sales
07:00/UK: Dec UK monthly unemployment figures
07:00/GER: Dec CPI
09:00/ITA: Dec CPI
10:00/GER: Jan ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment
13:15/CAN: Dec Housing Starts
13:30/CAN: Nov International transactions in securities
13:30/US: Jan Empire State Manufacturing Survey
13:30/CAN: Dec CPI
23:50/JPN: Nov Orders Received for Machinery
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Tuesday
AMCON Distributing Co (DIT) is expected to report for 1Q.
Bank First Corp (BFC) is expected to report $1.71 for 4Q.
Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.T,GOLD) is expected to report for 4Q.
California First Leasing Corp (CFNB) is expected to report for 1Q.
Cenntro Electric Group Ltd (CENN) is expected to report for 3Q.
Citizens Financial Group (CFG) is expected to report $1.31 for 4Q.
FB Financial Corp (FBK) is expected to report $0.83 for 4Q.
FTI Consulting (FCN) is expected to report $1.32 for 4Q.
Fulton Financial Corp (FULT) is expected to report $0.50 for 4Q.
Goldman Sachs Group (GS) is expected to report $7.37 for 4Q.
Guaranty Bancshares Inc (GNTY) is expected to report for 4Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
01-17-23 0611ET
