 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
German energy group Eon has agreed to buy UK household gas and electricity supplier Ovo, marking a major consolidation in the sector as the challenger company comes under pressure from tighter regulation. The deal was confirmed by the companies on Monday and will create a UK energy provider serving about 9.6mn customers, competing with Octopus Energy to be the country’s largest supplier. They did not disclose a price but the FT previously reported that a deal would be in the £550mn to £600mn range.
Au troisième et dernier jour de leur congrès à Montréal pour jeter les bases de la plateforme électorale, les quelques centaines de délégués du parti se sont prononcés dimanche sur des mesures en matière d’habitation. Ils ont majoritairement voté pour renforcer « drastiquement les lois contre les flips et les rénovictions, ainsi que les sanctions pour les propriétaires abusifs qui ne respectent pas les lois sur le logement ». Selon le député Andrés Fontecilla, le responsable du parti en matière d’habitation, « la majorité des propriétaires prennent soin de leurs logements et respectent leurs locataires ». Toutefois, « il y a une minorité qui abuse et continue leurs pratiques sans conséquences réelles », dit-il, évoquant du harcèlement envers des locataires, des reprises frauduleuses et des logements impropres à l’habitation.
The Canadian race to headquarter a new multilateral defence bank is heating up. Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto are vying to host the bank, which is expected to bring with it about 3,500 jobs. Canada was chosen as the host country for the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank on April 29 after three rounds of expedited negotiations held in Montreal, which involved 19 founding countries. The bank is expected to open by the end of this year and once established could include participants from as many as 40 countries, all NATO members and their allies. It will provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence projects undertaken by participating countries.
« Je viens de lire la réponse des soi-disant “représentants” de l’Iran. Je ne l’aime pas – C’EST TOTALEMENT INACCEPTABLE ! », a écrit le président américain dimanche soir dans un bref message sur son réseau Truth Social. La déclaration de Trump « renforce l’impression que les négociations restent piégées sur la même ligne de fracture inflexible », celle de la question du nucléaire et de l’enrichissement d’uranium, « qui a hanté toutes les tentatives précédentes de désescalade », constate Stephen Innes, analyste chez SPI AM. D’après le Wall Street Journal, qui cite des sources proches du dossier, outre une réouverture graduelle du détroit d’Ormuz et une levée simultanée du blocus des ports iraniens par la marine américaine, Téhéran serait seulement prêt à « diluer » une partie de son uranium enrichi et à envoyer le reste dans un « pays tiers ».
Hong-Kong-based activist investor Oasis Management has built its position in Capita to become the UK outsourcer’s largest investor, garnering more voting rights just two weeks before the London-listed company’s annual shareholder meeting. Oasis took an initial 5 per cent position in Capita in September last year and has steadily increased its exposure to 15 per cent via swaps. The hedge fund on Friday instructed a switch of its position into shares to increase its influence over the company’s direction, according to a person familiar with the situation. The timing of the move comes ahead of Capita’s full-year results and investor meeting on May 18. Capita’s shares have dropped by a quarter in the year to date, valuing the once FTSE 100 business at just £365.51mn.
It took months, countless transcontinental flights, a poison pill and more lawyers than either side wants to admit, but Sturm Ruger and its Chief Executive Todd Seyfert have a deal with Italian gun maker Beretta that ends their protracted proxy fight. Now the question is what exactly Ruger’s relatively new CEO does next. “The great news is we have time,” Seyfert said in an interview Thursday. “We’re early in the process.” Beretta walks away with a path to two board seats and an eventual shot at owning up to 25% of Ruger. Under the deal terms announced recently, Ruger gets a guaranteed floor price on the stock that Beretta will look to buy and a standstill that constrains what Beretta can do with those shares once it has them. For now, the quintessentially American company retains its independence, albeit with an Italian flair.
The Spanish unit of Renault said on Thursday it was suspending its plans to allocate new vehicles to be manufactured in Spain after not reaching an agreement with unions, opening the door to choosing other countries for its production. The suspension affects three new electric and hybrid vehicles that were planned to be manufactured from 2028 in the city of Palencia under a new manufacturing platform, and maintaining the production of two other hybrid models in a plant in Valladolid. About 6,000 people work in both factories. The French carmaker said in a statement it was its last offer to unions and that without an agreement it would lower the manufacturing capacity at its Spanish plants, would not allocate new vehicles nor guarantee maintaining the current number of workers.
One of Canada’s largest homegrown technology companies, PointClickCare Technologies Inc., has drawn up a contingency plan to relocate to the United States if the trade war between the two countries escalates to the point that it harms its business. The 31-year-company’s co-founders and leaders, chief executive officer Dave Wessinger and brother Mike, the executive chairman, are unabashed champions of Canada’s technology sector, overseeing a digital records software giant that sells to more than 30,000 nursing homes, retirement facilities and home health care agencies in the U.S. It’s one of the largest employers in Canadian technology, with roughly 1,500 people in Canada and another 1,000 in the U.S., and generates more than US$200-million in operating profit and US$900-million in revenue. PointClickCare generates tens of millions of dollars in corporate taxes.
La première ministre Smith espère s’entendre avec Ottawa au cours des prochains jours sur certains points de l’entente de principe conclue en novembre qui devaient être finalisés le 1er avril, mais font toujours l’objet de négociations. Il s’agit de la tarification du carbone industriel et de la conclusion d’un accord trilatéral pour la mise en œuvre de la première phase du projet de captage et de stockage du carbone, Nouvelles voies. L’ex-ministre Steven Guilbeault avait fait pression sur son propre gouvernement dans une lettre ouverte publiée dans La Presse et le Toronto Star le mois dernier pour protéger ce qu’il reste de sa politique climatique.
Mark Carney will not allow senators to return to the Liberal caucus, a senior government official said Thursday, ending speculation on how the Prime Minister will handle the second chamber. His predecessor, Justin Trudeau, unilaterally expelled Liberal senators from the party’s caucus in 2014 in response to the Senate expense scandal. Once in government, Mr. Trudeau set up an arms-length advisory panel to recommend Senate appointments. The move was ostensibly intended to remove partisanship, but has been criticized by Conservatives for not living up to that goal. Mr. Carney has not appointed any senators since he formed government last spring. The delays have sparked speculation in Ottawa about whether he would break with the new regime brought in by Mr. Trudeau. But the senior government official said the Prime Minister does not intend to allow senators to sit in the Liberal caucus.
Intertek rejected an improved $12.1 billion takeover proposal from Swedish buyout group EQT, saying that it undervalues the company and that it remains committed to a strategic review which could see it spin out Intertek Energy & Infrastructure. The provider of testing, inspection and certification services rejected the revised bid made Tuesday of 58 pounds ($78.60) a share in cash that valued the company at 8.93 billion pounds ($12.10 billion). Last month, EQT proposed a bid of 54 pounds a share, up from a previous offer of 51.50 pounds a share. Intertek said Friday that the decision was made unanimously and unequivocally. The offer significantly undervalues the company and there is significant execution risk given its conditional nature, it said.
Canada's unemployment rate rose to a six-month high in April to 6.9% as the economy lost a net of 17,700 jobs in March, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, indicating a continued weakness in the labor market which has struggled in the face of U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted net job gains of 15,000 and an unemployment rate of 6.7%, almost mirroring the month of March when employment rose by 14,100 and the jobless rate was the same. The Bank of Canada said in its Monetary Policy Report last month that indicators such as the employment rate, hours worked and job vacancies suggest slack, or underutilized capacity, in the labor market, although layoffs remain modest.
Mattel investor Southeastern Asset Management has called on CEO Ynon Kreiz to explore strategic options for the toy maker to be taken private or bought out by rival Hasbro amid weak demand. The global asset manager holds about 4%, or $170 million of Mattel's common stock, and has been an investor in the company for more than eight years, it said in an open letter to Kreiz on Thursday. A deal between Mattel and rival Hasbro was possible at this moment, Southeastern said, as the two companies have been engaged in on-an-off talks for decades.
|
Le producteur de tomates et de fraises en serre Savoura annonce qu'il rachètera la majorité des actifs des Productions Horticoles Demers, qui avait enclenché en janvier un processus visant à se protéger de ses créanciers. Savoura a annoncé lundi par communiqué qu'elle avait conclu une entente de principe, au terme d'un processus de sollicitation d'investisseurs supervisé par la Cour. La transaction doit encore être approuvée par les autorités réglementaires et la Cour. Savoura dit qu'elle entamera dans les prochaines semaines une transition structurée et progressive.
Une autre grosse pointure est pressentie, dans la métropole cette fois : Michel Leblanc, qui a présidé la Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain pendant 16 ans. En Montérégie, le directeur général du collège Charles-Lemoyne, David Bowles, portera les couleurs du Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ) dans la circonscription de Laporte. Il vient de quitter la présidence de la Fédération des établissements d’enseignement privés après huit ans. Toujours selon nos informations, l’« équipe langue française » promise par Charles Milliard comptera dans ses rangs un autre nouveau candidat, Olivier Bertin-Mahieux, directeur général de la Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie, connue pour sa Dictée P.G.L.
Online fast-fashion platform Shein accused Temu of copyright infringement "on an industrial scale", while Temu countered that Shein is using litigation to stifle competition, as a trial opened at London's High Court on Monday. The case is part of a global legal battle between the fast-growing rivals, with potential implications for platform practices, supplier relationships and the enforcement of intellectual property rights across global e-commerce. Shein alleges Temu used thousands of its photos to advertise copies of Shein's own-brand clothing on its website, to "piggy-back" on a more established competitor.
Activist investor Aspex Management has raised its stake in German food delivery group Delivery Hero to about 15% after buying a 5% holding from Prosus for around 335 million euros ($393 million), increasing pressure on CEO Niklas Oestberg. Prosus' parent Naspers said on Monday the Hong Kong-based asset manager had paid 22 euros per share, a 10% premium to Delivery Hero's closing price on Friday and about 22% above the stock's 30-day volume-weighted average as of May 8. The sale reduces Prosus' stake in Delivery Hero to 16.8%. It is required by EU antitrust regulators to cut its holding to below 10% by late summer, as part of conditions tied to its takeover of Just Eat Takeaway.com. It previously sold a 4.5% Delivery Hero stake to Uber for 270 million euros.
Swatch is bracing for a showdown at its annual meeting on Tuesday after proxy advisers came out in support of investor Steven Wood, challenging the Hayek family's control as the watchmaker underperforms rivals. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended that investors support Wood for the seat representing bearer shareholders, rather than Swatch nominee Andreas Rickenbacher, a former Swiss politician and current director at BKW and Aebi Schmidt. The company has said Rickenbacher would bring valuable experience to strengthen oversight. "Our benchmark for success is going to be backing out the Hayek vote to see what most shareholders want," said Wood, whose GreenWood fund owns about 0.5% of Swatch, which makes Omega, Longines and Tissot watches.
La nouvelle première ministre allonge 21 millions sur trois ans pour déployer un projet pilote à Montréal, Québec et Gatineau : 1000 unités sont ajoutées au PSL dans un nouveau volet « de prévention ». En clair, une personne qui risque de perdre son logement pourra être admissible au programme et verser un loyer équivalent à 25 % de leur revenu. « Si on veut que notre nation se prenne en main, on doit permettre à plus de personnes en situation d’itinérance de se prendre en main », a lancé Christine Fréchette lors d’une annonce jeudi à Lauberivière, un refuge pour personnes en situation d’itinérance, à Québec.
La Caisse a affiché un rendement annuel de 9,3 % pour l’année 2025, un résultat qui se situe sous celui de son portefeuille de référence à 10,9 %, en raison des « tensions géopolitiques » et de l’« incertitude tarifaire persistante ». Son PDG, Charles Emond, a reçu un salaire de base de 550 000 $, auquel se sont ajoutées différentes primes totalisant 4,5 M$ et d’autres avantages sociaux. Il a donc gagné 5,13 M$ en 2025, alors qu’il avait eu droit à 4,95 M$ l’année précédente. Tous les membres de l’équipe de direction ont vu leur rémunération augmenter par rapport à l’année précédente, à l’exception de deux d’entre eux.
Avec la Russie, la Chine est l’une des principales alliées de l’Iran, dont elle absorbait avant la guerre 80 % des exportations pétrolières. Pékin n’a eu de cesse de condamner l’offensive israélo-américaine depuis le début des frappes contre l’Iran le 28 février. La visite de Donald Trump à Pékin aurait dû avoir lieu en mars, elle a été repoussée aux 14 et 15 mai suite à l’éclatement du conflit. Le président américain promettait à l’époque une opération rapidement bouclée, en quatre à six semaines. Mais loin d’arriver en vainqueur en Chine, le président américain apparaît déstabilisé, voire fragilisé. L’issue du conflit reste incertaine, et la stratégie du président, alternant menaces spectaculaires et promesses de résolution diplomatique, est difficilement lisible.
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Friday that he hopes current central bank Chair Jerome Powell will stay on as a governor only for a short period of time. “Transitions are important,” Miran said on Fox Business Network's program 'Mornings with Maria'. But, he said, “I think it's important to make sure that it's a transition period and that there's nothing sort of more nefarious” going on with Powell staying in his governor role when his term as chair ends on May 15. Kevin Warsh is on track to succeed Powell as Fed leader pending a vote in the Senate. Powell said last week in the wake of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting that after the conclusion of his leadership term, he would continue to serve for a time in his governor role that extends until 2028, while waiting to see if the Trump administration's legal attacks on the central bank, widely derided as political in nature, end.
A major Mexican trade mission kicked off Thursday in Canada as both countries look to deepen business ties ahead of the review of the North American free-trade pact – one that’s seen the two countries take different approaches in talks with the United States. The mission is Mexico’s largest to Canada in recent memory, bringing more than 240 companies to Toronto and Montreal over two days for more than 1,800 business-to-business meetings. Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, plans to meet with executives from major companies including Air Canada, Bombardier Inc., Brookfield Corp. and Canadian National Railway Co., among others. He is also slated to lead meetings between Mexican companies and Canadian investment funds, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the largest pension funds in the world.
U.S. oil and gas producer Devon Energy said on Thursday its board had approved a $8 billion share repurchase program, a week after activist investor Kimmeridge called for higher shareholder returns.
Last week, Kimmeridge, a well-known activist investor in the energy sector, urged Devon's incoming board to swiftly pursue asset sales, improve capital allocation and revamp executive pay to boost shareholder returns once its $58 billion merger with Coterra Energy closes.
Flexible office-space provider Workspace said on Friday its board has rejected investor Saba Capital's proposal to wind down the business over 12 months, calling the plan "not achievable" and unlikely to deliver the best value for shareholders. The company also said it received a shareholder request to change members of its board at its next annual meeting. Workspace has been under pressure as more companies adopt hybrid working, leading many businesses to reduce office budgets or delay signing leases.
|
