The economy is weakening, and so is demand for advertising — at least, that’s how Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc justified its first-ever quarterly decline in revenue last week. Social-media rivals Snap Inc and Twitter Inc echoed the gloom, worsening this year’s share-price slump in the sector. Strange, then, that some of advertising’s more old-school players in Europe, from “Mad ...

  As quickly as it blew up, the food crisis of 2022 appears to be receding. Indonesia halted exports of palm oil in April in the face of a price spike. Prices are now down more than 40% from the peak. Corn prices fell by nearly a quarter since the start of May. Sugar and coffee beans have hit respective ...

  HSBC Holdings Plc is hoping to buy off dissenting investors with a boost to dividends and a forecast for higher returns. The promises made at the half-year results sent the bank’s stock sharply higher, but the shareholders agitating for big changes are likely to want more — and soon. The London- and Hong Kong-based bank is facing breakup calls ...