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Evotec said on Tuesday it would continue a dialogue with investor MAK Capital, which has published a list of changes it wants the German biotech firm to make. "We have maintained a constructive dialogue with MAK Capital for some time and we look forward to continuing our engagement with them as well as with other investors," it said in a statement on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, the biotech firm said the former head of Bayer's pharmaceutical unit, Dieter Weinand, had been proposed by its supervisory board for election as chairman. MAK on Monday called on Hamburg-based Evotec to carve out and list its contract development and manufacturing division Just Evotec Biologics, among other demands in an open letter to management. MAK Capital holds around 7% of Evotec shares.
Gilead said on Tuesday it would acquire private Germany-based Tubulis GmbH for up to $5 billion, as the U.S. drugmaker looks to boost its pipeline with a lucrative class of experimental cancer drugs referred to as "guided missiles". This marks the latest in Gilead's acquisition spree. The company has been expanding beyond its key areas for growth amid looming patent expiries and declining sales of its COVID-19 treatment. In February, the drugmaker bought partner Arcellx for up to $7.8 billion, its biggest deal since 2020, to strengthen its lineup of cancer treatments. Last month, it agreed to acquire privately held biotech firm Ouro Medicines in a deal worth more than $2 billion to expand its pipeline of immune disorder drugs. With the latest deal, Gilead will get access to Tubulis' drugs, which belong to the class called antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), popularly known as "guided missiles", that deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells while minimizing harm to healthy tissue.
Italy is likely to replace Roberto Cingolani as chief executive of defence group Leonardo, two sources close to the matter told Reuters, in what would be a major change in a round of appointments at state-controlled companies. The replacement would come at a sensitive time for Leonardo as it competes for growing business in the defence and aerospace sector as governments worldwide increase military spending against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and escalating conflict in the Middle East. Italy, which owns a little more than 30% of Leonardo through the Economy Ministry, must file a slate of board candidates by April 13. Shares in Leonardo have soared by 780% since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is now pushing for a leadership change at the company, one of the sources said without providing further details.
Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google have each recently abandoned construction of multibillion-dollar data centres over community opposition and now the companies are coming under shareholder pressure over the environmental impact of their projects. More than a dozen investors are cranking up the heat on companies ahead of annual shareholder meetings this spring, seeking more data on the tech giants’ water usage and conservation efforts as they seek to expand their computing power, according to interviews with Reuters. Trillium Asset Management, a Boston-based firm with more than US$4 billion in assets under management, filed a resolution with Alphabet in December seeking clarity on how it will meet existing climate goals given the surging energy needs of its data centres, Andrea Ranger, director of shareholder advocacy, said in an interview.
La présidente-directrice générale du Port de Montréal, Julie Gascon, a « cessé d’occuper [ses] fonctions », a annoncé vendredi l'Administration portuaire de Montréal (APM). La nouvelle a été diffusée par l'organisation vendredi, indiquant qu'un comité formé de membres du conseil d’administration assurera la direction par intérim durant le processus de recrutement pour pourvoir le poste. Aucune information ne sera transmise sur les raisons de la décision, mais l'organisation refuse de parler d'un congédiement, ces détails relevant de la relation contractuelle privée entre le conseil d'administration et Mme Gascon, a déclaré Julien Baudry, vice-président aux communications au Port de Montréal, dans une réponse à Radio-Canada. Ce dernier précise que les prochaines étapes sur le processus de sélection d'un nouveau PDG et sur l'intérim seront annoncées en temps et lieu.
New polling suggests a majority of Canadians think Canada should explore joining the European Union at a fraught time for geopolitical relations. A survey of 4,000 people conducted by Spark Advocacy’s polling arm in March found that one in four respondents thought it would be a good idea for Canada to formally join the economic and political bloc of European nations. A further 58 per cent indicated it was a proposal worth considering further, while the remainder said it was a bad idea. The Spark poll cannot be assigned a margin of error because it was conducted online. Spark’s chief strategy officer Bruce Anderson said the survey suggests Canadians are increasingly open to finding ways to buck Canada’s reliance on the United States after more than a year of tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second administration.
Cuban activists paraded on Thursday on bikes and electric tricycles along Havana's waterfront Malecon boulevard, accompanied by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, in a show of defiance amid U.S. efforts to starve the island of fuel. Participants in the government-organized caravan rode past the U.S. Embassy in the Cuban capital, their electric and pedal-powered vehicles displaying flags and banners attacking the sanctions imposed on the country by President Donald Trump's administration. The rally came a day after Cuba's top diplomat in Washington publicly invited the U.S. government to help overhaul Cuba's crippled economy as part of ongoing negotiations that have yet to yield results. Participants in the rally said they favored talks with the United States but demanded respect for Cuba.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised the price of its oil grades to record premiums, as the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked off supplies out of the Persian Gulf and roiled global energy markets. State oil producer Saudi Aramco on Monday set the official selling price for May loadings of its Arab Light crude to Asia—the largest destination for Middle Eastern crude—at $19.50 above the Oman/Dubai regional benchmarks, up from a premium of $2.50 a barrel in April. Saudi’s monthly crude pricing is closely watched by traders as a key indicator of the kingdom’s outlook on regional demand. With shipping through Hormuz severely constrained, the country is rerouting crude exports via its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
La juge Jane Dietrich a approuvé mercredi une procédure qui permettra au détaillant en difficulté de solliciter des investissements dans l’entreprise ou de choisir un ou plusieurs acquéreurs pour l’entreprise ou ses actifs d’ici juin. Le détaillant n’a pas précisé ce qu’il mettait en vente, mais a indiqué dans les documents judiciaires que ses actifs étaient évalués à 126,8 millions. L’entreprise comptera au maximum 18 magasins d’ici la conclusion d’une éventuelle vente, et une base de données gouvernementale indique qu’elle détient 162 marques déposées. Il est possible qu’un acheteur rachète l’ensemble de l’entreprise ou que plusieurs acquéreurs en rachètent des parties.
A governance expert has warned that the current AGM season could still see shareholder dissent over chief executive pay despite City figures declaring attitudes have changed towards bumper remuneration deals. Bernadette Young, director of Indigo Independent Governance, warns boards that higher pay levels will require a convincing explanation if they are to avoid 2025’s big increase in shareholder revolts
BP named Carol Howle as deputy chief executive on Thursday and said she would oversee the company's ongoing portfolio review and strategy development. Howle, who served as interim chief executive before Meg O'Neill started the top job on Wednesday, will also return to her former role as head of supply, trading and shipping. BP is undergoing a major strategy shift after pivoting back to a focus on oil and gas a year ago following an ill-fated foray into renewables. It has cut billions of dollars from planned renewable energy projects, pledged to divest $20 billion of assets by 2027, and to reduce debt and costs. Net debt fell to $22 billion from $26 billion in the fourth quarter last year, and BP reiterated its target range of $14 billion-$18 billion by end-2027. BP's Chair Albert Manifold, who took the role in October before Murray Auchincloss abruptly exited as CEO in December, has said BP holds assets that may be more valuable to others. Howle will oversee long-term strategy development beyond BP's 2027 targets, O'Neill said in a statement. BP's strategy and sustainability team will report to Howle, who has spent 25 years with BP.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is one step closer to staging what could be the largest initial public offering of all time. The satellite builder and rocket operator has confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. SpaceX is aiming for an IPO that could raise between $40 billion and $80 billion, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The filing puts the company on track to potentially list shares by July, as Musk has told people is his goal. SpaceX would be the first of three mega-IPOs that could go in 2026: Artificial-intelligence companies OpenAI and Anthropic are both waiting in the wings for potential offerings before year-end. Many smaller technology-company IPOs have been pushed off in 2026, as fears about how AI will upend the software industry have sent investors running.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is strongly considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European allies and exposing a wider rift in the transatlantic alliance — this time over America’s war alongside Israel against Iran. While Trump’s talk of a possible NATO pullout dates back years, the comments to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper, published Wednesday, were among the clearest and most disparaging yet — suggesting the fracture has deepened perhaps to a point of no return. Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership in the alliance after the war on Iran ends, Trump replied: “Oh yes, I would say (it’s) beyond reconsideration.” Contacted by The Associated Press, NATO did not provide an immediate comment.
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Major proxy advisor Glass Lewis has recommended BP shareholders vote against chair Albert Manifold over the company's decision to block a climate-related resolution from its annual general meeting, according to a note seen by Reuters. Shareholder advisory firms rarely recommend investors to vote against a chairperson or a board's wishes. Glass Lewis said Manifold, who became BP chair in October, was ultimately accountable for BP's decision to exclude a resolution filed by climate activist group Follow This from its April 23 AGM. The resolution called on BP to disclose how its strategy would perform under scenarios of declining demand for oil and gas.
Oracle on Monday appointed Hilary Maxson as chief financial officer, tapping an executive with experience in infrastructure and energy to steer its efforts to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and cloud services. The appointment, which reinstates a crucial position after Safra Catz became co-CEO and principal financial officer in 2014, comes when the technology company has been taking on a heavy debt load to fund its massive AI infrastructure spending. Maxson, whose appointment is effective immediately, had served as group CFO at Schneider Electric, a French industrial group with more than US$45 billion in annual revenue.
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital said it had made an offer to buy Universal Music Group in a deal that values the company at around $60 billion, the latest attempt by the activist investor to land the world’s largest record label. The deal for the label behind Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift and the Beatles, if approved, would close by the end of the year and would involve Universal merging with Pershing Square Sparc Holdings, a specially-created acquisition vehicle. The new entity would be based in Nevada and would shift its stock listing from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange, Pershing said. “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business and importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction,” Pershing’s Chief Executive Bill Ackman said Tuesday.
La présidente-directrice générale du Port de Montréal, Julie Gascon, a « cessé d’occuper [ses] fonctions », a annoncé vendredi l'Administration portuaire de Montréal (APM). La nouvelle a été diffusée par l'organisation vendredi, indiquant qu'un comité formé de membres du conseil d’administration assurera la direction par intérim durant le processus de recrutement pour pourvoir le poste. Aucune information ne sera transmise sur les raisons de la décision, mais l'organisation refuse de parler d'un congédiement, ces détails relevant de la relation contractuelle privée entre le conseil d'administration et Mme Gascon, a déclaré Julien Baudry, vice-président aux communications au Port de Montréal, dans une réponse à Radio-Canada. Ce dernier précise que les prochaines étapes sur le processus de sélection d'un nouveau PDG et sur l'intérim seront annoncées en temps et lieu.
Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery shortened the amount of time Elections Alberta has to penalize political finance violations while his friend and relative Sam Mraiche was under investigation by the regulator, a Globe and Mail investigation has found. In May, 2025, Mr. Amery pushed through a series of amendments he said would “strengthen public trust” in the integrity of the province’s elections. Among the changes, Elections Alberta now has a one-year deadline to pursue sanctions arising from political finance complaints, instead of three. At the time, Elections Alberta was investigating Mr. Mraiche after receiving a complaint the Edmonton businessman had allegedly made illegal donations to the province’s United Conservative Party and New Democratic Party. Mr. Mraiche denies the allegations.
Alors que les répercussions des droits de douane américains continuent de se faire sentir sur plusieurs industries au pays et leurs travailleurs, Ottawa a annoncé la prolongation de certaines mesures temporaires bonifiant l’assurance-emploi qui devaient arriver à échéance à la fin de cette semaine. Cette prolongation est de façon générale bien reçue par le Conseil national des chômeurs et chômeuses. Mais une des mesures prolongées le laisse toutefois perplexe. Une des bonifications bien reçues a trait à la suppression de la « semaine de carence ». Cette période d’attente est annulée ; un travailleur qui demande des prestations d’assurance-emploi peut donc toucher des prestations dès la première semaine. Le gouvernement fédéral estime que 632 000 demandeurs supplémentaires devraient bénéficier de cette mesure.
The U.S. military bombed Iran’s most strategic economic asset, Kharg Island, for the second time on April 7. The tiny spot of land in the northern Persian Gulf is the launch point for 90% of the country’s oil exports. President Trump ordered the attack as his latest deadline approached for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. As was the case in a previous attack in March, the U.S. spared oil facilities in the bombardment, which went after military targets only. The U.S. military said in March it had hit more than 90 military targets, including mine and missile-storage sites, and shared video of a strike on a runway. The April 7 attack hit more than 50 targets.
Scott Hoffman resigned from Two Sigma Investments after less than two years as its co-chief executive officer, the latest fallout from years of infighting at the $70 billion hedge fund. Hoffman cited “ongoing governance challenges” since one of the founders, John Overdeck, returned to Two Sigma’s management committee, according to a March 31 filing.
Canada’s merchandise trade deficit widened by a big margin in February, data showed on Thursday, as higher gold imports took the total imports to a record high, while exports could not match up even though it also rose sharply. It was also the first time that Canada’s share of exports to the U.S. dropped to its lowest level of just over 66 per cent, from 68 per cent a month ago and over 79 per cent a year ago when companies were front-loading goods due to incoming U.S. tariffs. The trade deficit for February was at $5.74-billion, following an upwardly revised $4.18-billion in the prior month, Statistics Canada said.
Le trajet pour revenir à l’équilibre budgétaire au Québec est périlleux. Il faudra passer par la case « austérité » pour y arriver, à moins d’une hausse miracle des revenus… ou d’une hausse des impôts. Le temps est venu de tenir un grand débat national sur l’avenir du modèle québécois, estime l'Institut du Québec (IDQ). Il nous faut une conversation transparente sur les choix à venir sur les finances publiques en amont d’une campagne électorale, a déclaré mercredi à Zone info la PDG de ce groupe de recherche indépendant, Emna Braham, qui dévoilait plus tôt dans la journée une étude sur le sujet (nouvelle fenêtre). Québec prévoit une hausse des dépenses de portefeuilles de 1,5 % par année. Or, durant les années qui ont été décrites comme celles de l’« austérité » sous le gouvernement de Philippe Couillard, de 2014 à 2018, ce taux de croissance était de 3,2 %. Et durant les années Legault, de 2018 à 2025, la hausse moyenne annuelle des dépenses gouvernementales s’est élevée à 7 %
Goldman Sachs said on Thursday it has completed the acquisition of active exchange-traded fund provider Innovator Capital Management, expanding the Wall Street bank's presence in the fast-growing active ETF segment. Active ETFs are among the fastest-growing areas of asset management, attracting investors with lower costs and flexible strategies at a time when returns from some passive index products have lagged. The bank said in December that it would acquire Innovator Capital, which managed 171 ETFs with about $31 billion in assets, in a deal worth about $2 billion. With this acquisition, we have taken a transformative step in our commitment to provide sophisticated investment solutions that are designed to deliver specific outcomes for investors through market cycles," Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said. Following the deal, Innovator's co-founders Bruce Bond and John Southard will join Goldman Sachs as advisory directors, the firm said, while Chief Investment Officer Graham Day and Head of Distribution Trevor Terrell will join as partners.
This week Unilever sealed a deal with U.S. spicemaker McCormick (MKC.N), opens new tab to hive off its food business to make a $65 billion sauces-to-spices food giant. Unilever will retain a near 10% stake, with its shareholders having another 55%. The recent spin-offs leave the firm a far leaner beast focused on beauty, personal care and home care, areas where Fernandez spent most of his 38-year career at Unilever selling products from Dove soap to Surf laundry detergent. This is the right step at the right time to build a simpler, sharper, higher-growth Unilever," Fernandez told analysts on a call after sealing the McCormick deal.
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