When UBS Group AG ditched its biggest acquisition in more than two decades with no explanation, investors and everyone else were left to guess what happened. Wall Street analysts have presumed that $1.4 billion is now just too much to pay for Wealthfront, a US digital investment adviser that won’t make profits for years. Vertigo-inducing fintech valuations have returned rapidly ...

  Apparently unhappy with the current pace of business migration out of their state, California’s legislators have come up with a good way to accelerate it. They voted recently to create a council of political appointees to set wages in the fast-food industry. The so-called FAST Recovery Act awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature. He can’t squash this ill-conceived initiative quickly ...

  Are robots coming for jobs at central banks, too? Despite protestations to the contrary, the course of interest rates looks to be on autopilot in many economies. The highest inflation in a generation means officials are striding with deliberation toward a pronounced slowdown, if not global recession. If a slump is in the offing, it will be one that’s ...

  Bloomberg Retail sales growth slowed last month as shoppers tightened their purse strings in the face of Britain’s escalating cost-of-living crisis. Sales were just 1% higher than in August 2021, the British Retail Consortium and consultancy KPMG said in a report. Clothing sales were “sluggish” for the first time in recent months and parents curbed their back-to-school spending. With ...

  Bloomberg The Pentagon has halted deliveries of Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 after finding an alloy used in magnets for pumps on the fighter jet were made in China. The F-35 program office “temporarily paused the acceptance of new F-35 aircraft to ensure the F-35 program’s compliance” with defense regulations “pertaining to specialty metals,” Defense Department spokesman Russell Goemaere said ...

Bloomberg The expected post-Labour Day high-grade borrowing rush is underway, with Target Corp, Walmart Inc, McDonald’s Corp, Lowe’s Cos, and Nestle SA among the companies tapping the US investment-grade market. Eighteen issuers are selling new debt, with more deals possible. Companies are rushing into the market despite increasing volatility and higher borrowing costs over the last several weeks. Syndicate desks ...

  Dubai / Gulf Time Alpha Flight Services (Alpha), a leading UAE-based catering, retail, and hospitality services provider, has signed a 10-year concession agreement with Ras Al Khaimah International airport (RKT). The partnership will see Alpha Flight Services invest in infrastructure and provide in flight catering services to more than 10 airlines at the airport. In addition, it will operate ...

  Bloomberg Instacart Inc is acquiring Rosie Applications Inc, an online grocery startup focused on local retailers and wholesalers, as it moves to consolidate and expand its share of the online grocery delivery market ahead of an anticipated initial public offering (IPO) this year. Rosie is Instacart’s second acquisition this month, following its purchase of pricing and promotions platform Eversight ...

  Bloomberg The Biden administration published its strategy for subsidising US output of semiconductors, with the first phase of funding potentially being rolled out next spring, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. Smaller, simpler projects involving expansion of existing facilities will be the first to receive funds, followed by more complex projects for so-called leading-edge chips, which the US currently doesn’t ...

  Bloomberg UK house prices rebounded in August, led by the strongest growth in London in six years, one of the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders said. Halifax said its measure of property prices rise 0.4% last month after a 0.1% dip the month before, bringing the average cost of a home to a new record of £294,260. The increase defied ...