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WPP drops as major client Unilever slashes ad costs

  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 ...

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Monsanto earnings beat estimates as US seed sales climb

  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. ...

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Kraft’s failed bid jolts Unilever chief into protective revamp

  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 ...

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GOP plays blame game as health deal prospects fade

  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 ...

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Michigan would take ‘hardest hit’ from border-tax plan

  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 ...

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Stocks markets fluctuate, dollar rises amid policy bets

  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 ...

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Dubai insurance rises on Q1 expectations, Gulf stocks mixed

  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 ...

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Fed’s quantitative tightening looms over Asia

  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 ...

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