La perte nette de Transat A.T., la société mère d’Air Transat, s’est creusée au premier trimestre, mais ses autres indicateurs, dont ses revenus, ont été au vert. L’entreprise montréalaise a rapporté jeudi une perte nette de 122,5 millions, ou 3,10 $ par action, pour son trimestre qui a pris fin le 31 janvier. Ce résultat se compare à une perte nette de 61,0 millions, ou 1,58 $ par action, pour la période correspondante de l’exercice précédent.

U.S. investment firm Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab will purchase a 40% stake in Indian real estate developer Kolte-Patil Developers (KOLT.NS), opens new tab in a deal worth 11.67 billion rupees ($134 million), the latter said on Thursday. Kolte-Patil will allot a Blackstone entity 14.3% preferential shares in a deal worth 4.17 billion rupees, while its controlling shareholders will sell another 25.7% to the U.S. firm for about 7.5 billion rupees. According to Indian market regulations, the sale will trigger a so-called open offer for Blackstone to buy up to 26% shares from existing shareholders.

The US Federal Trade Commission is moving ahead with a sprawling antitrust probe of Microsoft Corp. that was opened in the waning days of the Biden Administration, signaling that Donald Trump’s new FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson is going to prioritize scrutiny of tech giants. FTC staff in recent weeks have continued to work on the investigation, meeting with companies and other groups to gather information, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential investigation.

Mexico is delaying its response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as President Claudia Sheinbaum avoids retaliation while both countries negotiate to avert levies on a wide range of products and services.  Sheinbaum, whose cool-headed approach has become a model to many world leaders dealing with Donald Trump, said on Wednesday she’d rather wait until the US president decides whether or not to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican imports in general. Such levies, part of a US strategy to force its neighbors to combat illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, are currently on hold until April 2 for products covered by North America’s free trade agreement.

Belgian federal prosecutors said Thursday they have arrested several individuals as part of a corruption probe linked to the European Parliament amid reports in local media that Chinese company Huawei bribed EU lawmakers. Federal police officers carried out 21 searches in Brussels as well as in Flanders, Wallonia and in Portugal, the federal prosecutor’s office said.

Alimentation Couche-Tard will continue its friendly pursuit of Seven & i, executives said, even as they vented their frustrations over the slow progress in acquisition talks with the Japanese owner of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain. “We are continuing to pursue a friendly, mutually agreeable transaction” with Seven & i, Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard’s founder and executive chairman, said at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.

Vera Bradley guided for another drop in revenue and said it would sell its Pura Vida business as the company restructures. The quilted bags and accessories maker’s deal to divest Pura Vida, one of two brands in its portfolio, came after it posted a significantly wider loss and lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter.

Intel, le géant américain des semi-conducteurs mis en difficulté par son retard dans l’intelligence artificielle (IA), a annoncé mercredi avoir choisi Lip-Bu Tan, un ancien membre de son conseil d’administration, comme nouveau directeur général. L’année dernière, la société de Santa Clara, dans la Silicon Valley, a lancé un plan social pour licencier 15 % de son personnel, a perdu sa place au sein du célèbre indice Dow Jones (remplacée par sa concurrente Nvidia) et a congédié Pat Gelsinger, le patron qui avait lancé une vaste réorganisation en 2021.

Au lendemain de la faillite de Northvolt en Suède, l’ex-ministre de l’Économie Pierre Fitzgibbon, qui a joué un rôle clé dans l’arrivée de cette jeune pousse suédoise au Québec, devient conseiller stratégique d’une entreprise qui cherche à se tailler une place dans la filière québécoise des batteries. Promoteur d’un projet pour transformer un composé que l’on retrouve dans une famille des batteries lithium-ion, Arianne Phosphate pourra compter sur l’ancien politicien – l’un des principaux artisans de la stratégie du gouvernement Legault dans ce créneau – comme conseiller stratégique.

Une sanction complètement à contre-courant de la période et surtout injuste au regard des énormes besoins de défense des pays pour sécuriser le monde... En raison de nouveaux critères pris en compte par un nouveau prestataire (le cabinet de conseil américain Institutional Shareholder Services), Euronext a décidé de sortir Airbus, Safran et Thales de son indice boursier plus vertueux, le CAC 40 ESG, selon des sources concordantes. Les trois groupes ont été informés mercredi de cette décision par Euronext qui devrait officialiser la nouvelle composition de l'indice ce jeudi. Lancé en 2021 sur la vague de l'ESG, cet indice permet de privilégier davantage les investissements responsables.

Canada’s biggest auto parts names are buckling under the weight of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats as the chances the North American car manufacturing industry will stall grow. That’s sending stock prices hurtling back down toward levels last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shares of Martinrea International Inc. fell 1.1% on Wednesday, closing at their lowest since 2020 after the U.S. put in place 25% tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, both of which are key inputs for auto parts. Trump further fueled investors’ agita when he told reporters in the Oval Office that there would be very little flexibility on tariffs by April 2 — the day automotive levies against Canada are expected to take effect.

French antitrust authority said on Thursday it had approved the acquisition by Carrefour, opens new tab of the French business of Belgian retailer Louis Delhaize on the condition that eight stores would be sold to competitors. Carrefour said in a separate statement it would start talks with potential buyers with the goal to sell the eight stores -- five hypermarkets and three supermarkets with total sales slightly above 300 million euros, by end 2025.

La Commission fédérale du commerce des États-Unis poursuit une vaste enquête antitrust sur Microsoft Corp. qui a été ouverte dans les derniers jours de l'administration Biden, signalant que le nouveau président de la FTC de Donald Trump, Andrew Ferguson, va donner la priorité à l'examen des géants de la technologie. Ces dernières semaines, le personnel de la FTC a continué à travailler sur l'enquête, rencontrant des entreprises et d'autres groupes pour recueillir des informations, selon des personnes proches du dossier, qui ont demandé à ne pas être nommées pour discuter d'une enquête confidentielle.

A consortium consisting of Warburg Pincus and KKR & Co. are in talks to acquire Gerresheimer AG, the German maker of packaging for drugs and cosmetics, according to people familiar with the matter. The private equity firms emerged as the frontrunner after they teamed up and other potential bidders including Bain Capital dropped, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Shares of Gerresheimer fell about 1% as of 10:00 a.m. in Frankfurt after gaining as much as 2% earlier on Thursday. The stock has risen around 11% this year, giving the company a market value of roughly €2.7 billion ($2.9 billion).

Public Sector Pension Investment Board is making its largest-ever investment in Canada with a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire a piece of Ontario’s 407 ETR toll road. In a series of transactions announced Thursday morning, Montreal-based engineering giant AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. said it was divesting its 6.76-per-cent stake in the toll road for nearly $2.8-billion. Spanish construction giant Ferrovial will buy most of that stake – 5.06 per cent – for $2.1-billion and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will acquire AtkinsRéalis’s remaining stake for $700-million.

Drugmaker Mallinckrodt struck a deal to buy Endo in an effort to build a diversified pharmaceuticals company with a hefty U.S. footprint. The companies said Thursday they reached a definitive agreement to bring together their generic pharmaceuticals businesses and Endo’s sterile injectables business, which they aim to separate from the combined company at a later date.

LVMH named Frédéric Arnault, son of chairman Bernard Arnault, as the new head of Italian fashion house Loro Piana, a move that bolsters the 30-year-old’s credentials as a contender to one day succeed his father at the helm of the luxury conglomerate.The move is a significant step for the younger Arnault, who has worked in LVMH’s watch division since 2017, most recently overseeing a stable of brands that includes TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith.

Donald Trump a menacé jeudi la France et l’Union européenne (UE) d’imposer des droits de douane à 200 % sur leurs champagnes, vins et autres alcools si les tarifs douaniers de l’UE à venir de 50 % sur le whisky américain ne sont pas retirés. L’UE a annoncé mercredi des droits de douane sur une série de produits américains, dont le bourbon, les motos ou les bateaux, en représailles aux surtaxes de 25 % entrées en vigueur le jour même sur l’acier et l’aluminium.