Bloomberg WPP Plc fell the most in a month after one of the advertising company’s biggest clients, consumer-product giant Unilever, said it would cut back on its marketing spending, fueling concerns about a broader ad-industry slowdown. Unilever, which sells Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, will produce 30 percent fewer ads as part of a cost-cutting drive, Chief Financial Officer ...

  Bloomberg Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, reported record fiscal second-quarter earnings amid signs that US farmers are preparing to sow record acreage with soybeans this year. Profit excluding one-time items was $3.19 a share in the three months through February, St. Louis-based Monsanto said in a statement, beating the highest of 16 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. ...

  Bloomberg Unilever Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman is channeling an aborted takeover coup by Kraft Heinz Co. into some shock therapy of his own. Acknowledging that the failed $143 billion bid had energized his company, Polman announced his most sweeping overhaul of the consumer-goods giant in a bid to protect its independence after being caught off guard by the ...

  Bloomberg Seven & i Holdings Co. agreed to pay $3.3 billion for some Sunoco LP shops and gasoline retailers in an ambitious push by the 7-Eleven convenience chain owner to expand its US footprint with its largest deal on record. The purchase by the Japanese retailer’s 7-Eleven Inc. unit will add 1,108 gas stations and convenience stores in Texas ...

  Bloomberg Let the blame game begin — again — with House Republicans saying they still can’t reach a deal on reviving their health-care bill, likely delaying any chance of action until at least May. “And this time, we’ll have two weeks to let this all fester,” said Representative Dennis Ross of Florida, referring to the two-week recess that starts ...

  Bloomberg Michigan, a state critical to Donald Trump’s presidential win, would be the hardest hit by a proposed 20 percent tax on US companies’ domestic sales and imports, according to a study released by conservative groups associated with billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. The report, which used federal tax, labor and census data, was commissioned by Freedom Partners ...

  Bloomberg A home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side sold for $79.5 million, according to property records made public, making it the highest price ever paid for a townhouse in the borough. The 20,500-square-foot property, at 19 E. 64th St., had been owned by the Wildenstein family, billionaire art dealers whose gallery was located at the site for more than ...

  Bloomberg Investors turned attention to Washington to gauge the prospects for sweeping policy changes a day after the Federal Reserve roiled markets with talk of shrinking its balance sheet. The S&P 500 Index fluctuated as a rally in crude boosted energy shares, while banks stumbled after White House economic adviser Gary Cohn was said to support separating their business ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Gulf shares were marginally lower on Thursday amid caution from investors ahead of companies reporting first quarter results. Dubai insurance companies made strong gains by the close, lifted by investor bets on good results from the sector and market speculation on consolidation. Dar Al Takaful Insurance jumped 14.84 percent at the closing bell, while Dubai Islamic ...

  Bloomberg Asian emerging markets were among the biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s massive balance-sheet build-up over the past decade. So it’s tempting to conclude the Fed’s coming asset wind-down bodes ill for bonds and equities from South Korea to Taiwan. The key gauge to watch may not be the pace at which the US central bank’s balance-sheet contracts ...