Global News Round-up: 30/01/23
Ria V Vaghela The economic picture in Europe has dimmed after the contraction of Germany (by 0.2%) and Sweden’s (by 0.6%) economies at the end of last year, and the surprising return of inflation in Spain (5.8% in Jan).
The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to raise its rate by 50 basis points, but officials are still deciding if it will be followed by another similar increase in March or a smaller one.
Abu Dhabi’s International Holding will invest $400 million in Adani Enterprises’ follow-on share sale, showing confidence in Gautam Adani’s business empire, despite the recent losses of $70 billion. However, Adani’s attempt to restore confidence in his business after fraud allegations has not worked, with investors still wary.
Philips plans to cut another 6,000 jobs, while Renault will reduce its stake in Nissan to address friction in their alliance.
LVMH and L’Oréal are among the luxury firms considering a stake in Aesop valued at $2 billion or more.
Audi has acquired a minority stake in the Formula 1 team Sauber and Brookfield is in talks to take over the private equity secondaries business of Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm.
In sports, Germany’s professional football body is preparing to resume talks with private equity firms about the sale of a package of media rights.
In the IPO scene, the Greek government-owned Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund has selected banks for an IPO of its 30% stake in Athens International Airport.
Elsewhere, Unilever has named Royal FrieslandCampina’s CEO as its next CEO, while Citigroup is hiring a top healthcare banker from JPMorgan to lead coverage of the sector in EMEA.
On the US market front, the tech-focused Nasdaq fell over 1% on Monday due to declining growth stocks and investors waiting for central bank meetings. The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Ria Vaghela
MSc Finance graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Ria V Vaghela is an M&A Executive at RSM UK and an MSc Finance graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She has worked at Jefferies, Dial Partners and 7i Capital prior to RSM UK gaining an experience of about 1.5 years. She has also worked as an Editor and Content Writer for The Representative Media. Apart from finance, she is interested in reading books on psychology and economics and also likes to paint and play lawn tennis
