Gulf Time / London While 2022 started with Covid-19 raging in some parts of the world, new problems have emerged that again challenge retail buyers of consumer-packaged goods. Supply chain issues were the focus of the second quarter, along with the emergence of inflationary pressures. Health and healthier food categories sit beside convenience foods on the most searched lists …

  Bloomberg US futures rise with stocks on Thursday as investors shrugged off growth warnings from the bond market. Oil bounced back from the lowest level in almost six months. Contracts on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 pushed higher, suggesting the tech-heavy Nasdaq will extend an advance of 19% from its June 16 low. Gains in the …

  Bloomberg The recent brisk rebound in equity markets won’t last as the macroeconomic data continue to deteriorate and earnings forecasts are being slashed, strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Sanford C Bernstein warn. “Without clear signs of a positive shift in macro momentum, temporary re-risking could actually increase risks of another leg lower in the market rather than …

  ABU DHABI / WAM The global media and entertainment services sector is seeing a growing dependence on innovation and artificial intelligence (AI). The value of the sector is estimated to grow to $2.4 trillion next year, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% since 2015, according to figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The PwC report expects the sector …

  Bloomberg For almost a decade, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd embodied China’s economic miracle, sustaining a dizzying pace of growth and approaching trillion-dollar valuations with splashy forays into every corner of the internet. That spectacular run could officially end on Thursday, when the e-commerce powerhouse that Jack Ma founded is expected to record its first-ever decline …

  Bloomberg US stock futures climbed on Wednesday as some of the investor anxiety over tense US-China ties eased, while Treasuries extended a slide sparked by hawkish Federal Reserve comments. S&P 500 futures and contracts on the Nasdaq 100 both rise by about 0.4%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 was little changed as investors assessed signs of resilience in the latest company …

  Bloomberg Eni SpA is planning a second liquefied natural gas production vessel offshore Mozambique that could be built in less than four years to help Europe diversify supplies of the fuel, according to a company executive. The Italian oil and gas producer’s potential project would complement its $7-billion Coral-Sul FLNG platform moored off Mozambique’s northern coast that’s scheduled to …

  Bloomberg Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trading company, posted a record profit of $4.2 billion last year as it benefited from soaring energy prices. Those earnings allowed it to hand a record $3 billion to its executives and senior staff through share buybacks during the course of the year, according to the company’s audited annual accounts, seen …

  Bloomberg Bangladesh’s garment industry, the world’s No. 2 exporter after China, is facing a double whammy from slowing global demand and an energy crisis at home that’s threatening to thwart the nation’s pandemic recovery. Plummy Fashions Ltd, a supplier to PVH Corp, the parent company of fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger, and Inditex SA’s Zara, saw new orders in July …

  Bloomberg PepsiCo Inc will pay $550 million for a stake in fitness-energy drink maker Celsius Holdings Inc as part of a long-term strategic distribution agreement. PepsiCo is getting convertible preferred stock equating to 8.5% ownership in Celsius, the companies said in a statement. The soft drink giant will become the preferred distribution partner globally for Celsius and will also …