Bloomberg French grocer Auchan made a recent approach to acquire rival Carrefour SA for about $19 billion but talks to create the country’s market leader stalled over the terms, according to people familiar with the matter. Auchan had approached Carrefour about a combination that would have seen Auchan, which is owned by the Mulliez family, hold a majority stake in …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc said “the overwhelming majority” of employees required to get Covid-19 vaccines have received the shots. A “very small percentage” of the US headquarters and regional staff covered by the company mandate are partially inoculated or haven’t gotten the shots, Walmart said in an email without providing specific numbers. Employees who aren’t fully vaccinated can complete the process …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co pilots asked a court to temporarily block the company from carrying out federally mandated coronavirus vaccinations until an existing lawsuit over alleged US labour law violations is resolved. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s (SWAPA) filing also asked for an immediate hearing on the request before a federal court in Dallas, claiming the carrier has continued to …

Bloomberg Hong Kong said its coronavirus policy will become increasingly tethered to China’s, as the financial hub recorded its first local Covid-19 case since mid-August, raising the specter of an outbreak in one of the world’s densest cities. An airport worker has been infected, officials said at a briefing. His close contacts and some 400 people in his residential neighbourhood …

Bloomberg The number of empty storefronts is surging in midtown Manhattan, where an absence of tourists and office workers has hammered the retail industry during the pandemic. Nearly 30% of 311 storefronts were vacant in the retail corridors near Grand Central and Midtown East as of the end of September, roughly double the historical rate, according to a report from …

Bloomberg Levi Strauss & Co’s strong quarter is sending a clear message to the rest of the apparel industry: There’s value in spreading out manufacturing. Chief Executive Officer Chip Bergh said the denim maker sources less than 4% of its goods from Vietnam — which has faced factory shutdowns recent due to Covid-19 outbreaks — and tries not to have …

Bloomberg Reopening demand and marooned containers have caused bottlenecks across supply chains just as the holiday shopping season kicks off in North America. It’s also prompting downgrades across analysts estimates for the upcoming earnings season. Few expect the supply snarls to end this year as an energy crisis stokes inflation fears. Caution abounds in the semiconductor, retail and raw material …

Bloomberg Fumio Kishida’s first speech to parliament as Japan’s 100th prime minister was an impassioned performance compared to his staid predecessor, but it did little to relieve investor concerns that his talk of redistribution and higher taxes are bad news for stocks. Kishida’s “new form of Japanese capitalism” made up the bulk of his speech, in which he repeated campaign …

Bloomberg US crude futures topped $80 a barrel for the first time since November 2014 as a global energy crisis boosts demand at a time when Opec+ producers are keeping supplies tight. Futures in New York rise 1.3%, popping above the key, psychological level before pulling back. This week brought many indications that supplies will remain constrained: Saudi Aramco said …

Bloomberg US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met virtually to discuss trade issues between the US and China. They agreed “that the two sides would consult on certain outstanding issues,” according to a White House account of the meeting. “In addition, Ambassador Tai emphasized US concerns relating to China’s state-led, non-market policies and practices that …