Romania's Government Survives No-Confidence Vote Over Austerity
The motion filed by the country's far-right opposition fell well short of the 233 needed to topple Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's government, with 134 yes votes, according to the parliamentary speaker, Sorin Grindeanu. The vote took place as part of a fast-track approval of the fiscal plan, which raises taxes and cuts spending and is set to go into force from Aug. 1.
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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cocoa Prices Fall on Weak Malaysian Demand Report
September ICE NY cocoa (CCU25) today is down -449 (-5.42%), and September ICE London cocoa #7 (CAU25) is down -153 (-2.85%). Cocoa prices are trading lower on demand concerns, after the Malaysian Cocoa Board and Cocoa Manufacturers Group reported on Tuesday that cocoa bean processing in Q2 fell by -22% y/y. The market is looking ahead to the quarterly Q2 cocoa grinding reports that are expected on Thursday. Cocoa grindings reports for Q1 were weak. Q1 North American cocoa grindings fell -2.5% y/y to 110,278 MT, Q1 European cocoa grindings fell -3.7% y/y to 353,522 MT, and Q1 Asian cocoa grindings fell -3.4% y/y to 213,898 MT. Coffee Prices Surge on Dry Conditions in Brazil and Tariff Threats Coffee Prices Sharply Higher on Dry Weather in Brazil and Tariff Threats Grain Market Bears Seized the Moment Last Week. What That Means for Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat. Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. Monday's government data showed that Ivory Coast farmers shipped 1.73 MMT of cocoa to ports this marketing year from October 1 to July 13, up +6.8% from last year but down from the much larger +35% increase seen in December. There are reports that heavy rain in the Ivory Coast is keeping cocoa growers off their farms and is disrupting the ongoing mid-crop cocoa harvest. Demand concerns are weighing on cocoa prices after chocolate maker Barry Callebaut AG reduced its sales volume guidance last Thursday for a second time in three months, citing persistent cocoa price volatility. The company projects a decline in full-year sales volume and said it "saw its largest decline in a decade in the third quarter." Bigger cocoa supplies from Ghana are bearish for prices. On July 1, the Ghana Cocoa Board projected the 2025/26 Ghana cocoa crop would increase by +8.3% y/y to 650,000 from 600,000 MT in 2024/25. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa producer. In a bearish factor, ICE-monitored cocoa inventories held in US ports climbed to a 10-month high of 2,363,861 bags on June 18 and were modestly below that high at 2,338,724 bags as of Monday. Cocoa prices have support from quality concerns regarding the Ivory Coast's mid-crop cocoa, which is currently being harvested through September. Cocoa processors are complaining about the quality of the crop and have rejected truckloads of Ivory Coast cocoa beans. Processors reported that about 5% to 6% of the mid-crop cocoa in each truckload is of poor quality, compared with 1% during the main crop. According to Rabobank, the poor quality of the Ivory Coast's mid-crop is partly attributed to late-arriving rain in the region, which limited crop growth. The mid-crop is the smaller of the two annual cocoa harvests, which typically starts in April. The average estimate for this year's Ivory Coast mid-crop is 400,000 MT, down -9% from last year's 440,000 MT. Concern about consumer demand for cocoa and cocoa products is bearish for cocoa, driven by fears that tariffs will exacerbate already high cocoa prices. On April 10, Barry Callebaut AG, one of the world's largest chocolate makers, reduced its annual sales guidance due to high cocoa prices and tariff uncertainty. Also, chocolate maker Hershey Co. recently reported that Q1 sales fell by 14% and said it anticipated $15-$20 million in tariff costs in Q2, which will boost chocolate prices and further weigh on consumer demand. Mondelez International reported weaker-than-expected Q1 sales, stating that consumers are cutting back on snack purchases due to economic uncertainty and high chocolate prices. On May 30, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) revised its 2023/24 global cocoa deficit to -494,000 MT from a February estimate of -441,000 MT, the largest deficit in over 60 years. ICCO said 2023/24 cocoa production fell by 13.1% y/y to 4.380 MMT. ICCO said the 2023/24 global cocoa stocks/grindings ratio fell to a 46-year low of 27.0%. Looking ahead to 2024/25, ICCO on February 28 forecasted a global cocoa surplus of 142,000 MT for 2024/25, the first surplus in four years. ICCO also projected that 2024/25 global cocoa production will rise +7.8% y/y to 4.84 MMT. On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-Ferrero poised to revive WK Kellogg sales for health-conscious Americans
By Savyata Mishra (Reuters) - Nutella spread maker Ferrero, armed with experience in health-regulated European markets and a track record of revamping struggling brands like Keebler cookies, has a good chance of reviving WK Kellogg's legacy cereal brands with its $3.1 billion take-private deal announced last week. Ferrero, which makes sugary treats like Kinder chocolate eggs, Ferrero Rocher, and Tic Tac, has pursued an aggressive global expansion to boost revenue and diversify its portfolio beyond sweets into snacks, baked goods, and now breakfast cereals. Under Chairman Giovanni Ferrero, the company has invested heavily in product innovation, reformulation and packaging redesign to turn around some challenged brands it previously acquired such as Keebler from Kellogg. Meanwhile, demand has fallen for products made by WK Kellogg, whose cereals include Special K, Corn Flakes and sweetened offerings such as Froot Loops, Honey Smacks and Frosted Flakes. Consumers have traded down from its pricier cereals even as Kellogg has come under scrutiny for using artificial food dyes. "Ferrero's creativity can help jump-start sales in a sleepy (albeit higher margin) category," said Hank Cardello, executive-in-residence at the Business for Impact center at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. Ferrero's expertise in cookies and confectionery could help create distinct new versions of cereal products, he added. Ferrero could reinvigorate WK Kellogg's portfolio which also contains healthier options such as Special K and Raisin Bran, touted for their high fiber content, as well as nutrient-rich cereals, granola and waffles under its Kashi brand. "I expect that (Ferrero) will preserve Kellogg brand recognition without too much dilution while also marketing a healthier and more consumer-friendly and appealing product line," Amrita Bhasin, CEO of logistics food and beverage company Sotira, said. In 2018, Ferrero bought Nestle's confectionery business for $2.8 billion, adding brands such as candy bars Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, and 100 Grand to its portfolio. In just a few years, Ferrero relaunched Butterfinger with higher-quality ingredients including peanuts, cocoa and milk and revamped packaging. The steps helped grow demand for the salted caramel bars. In 2019, Ferrero made a $1.3 billion acquisition of Kellogg's cookies, snacks and ice cream business. The Italian company revitalized these products by investing in new packaging and more marketing. In 2023, it also bought Fresystem Group and used the acquisition to grow its frozen food business and launch Nutella muffins and other baked goods. Ferrero declined to comment on the strategy for WK Kellogg. In April, WK Kellogg said it was reformulating its cereals served in schools to not include artificial dyes. Other packaged food makers such as PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Hershey have also started working to remove synthetic food dyes from their products, under pressure from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA campaign. Analysts and industry experts noted that Ferrero has spent decades dealing with European regulators that have pushed back on additives, coloring and sugar. This could give the confectionery giant an edge dealing with Kennedy's MAHA campaign, they said. "Ferrero has been a pioneer in marketing smaller portions, which would fit in well with MAHA," Cardello said. For instance, as a founding member of the Always a Treat initiative in 2017, Ferrero committed to ensuring that half of its single-serve packs contain 200 calories or less to help consumers manage their sugar intake. As a private family-owned company, Ferrero is insulated from the pressures of quarterly earnings, giving it more flexibility to invest in long-term brand building and product innovation. Analysts said this could be critical in reshaping WK Kellogg's product lineup over the next few years. Still, MAHA could boost costs for Ferrero as it makes its expansion push in North America. "Ferrero will have to grapple with MAHA requirements across the company, not just in cereal, since much of its business is based on candy and sugary snack foods," said Sky Canaves, an analyst with market research firm Emarketer.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Oracle Drops $3 Billion Bombshell in Europe's AI Cloud War
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) is stepping deeper into Europe's AI arms race. The company just announced a $3 billion investment over the next five years to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in Germany and the Netherlands. $2 billion will be poured into the Frankfurt region, beefing up Oracle's cloud backbone and AI capabilities. Another $1 billion is headed to the Netherlands to boost infrastructure in Amsterdam. Oracle says this could help it serve more public and private sector clients that are shifting workloads to the cloudand looking to AI to cut repetitive work. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Sign with MSFT. This move adds Oracle to the fast-growing club of U.S. giants deploying serious capital across Europe. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) plans to spend about $4.75 billion in Italy on cloud and AI. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has mapped out a 17.8 billion ($20.77 billion) commitment to Germany through 2040and another 15.7 billion earmarked for Spain's cloud ecosystem. Meanwhile, Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) is backing a nearly $10 billion AI data center project in Sweden. Everyone's placing their chipsand Europe's digital infrastructure is the table. Why now? It's a mix of regulation, rising demand, and regional pressure to localize AI infrastructure. Oracle's bet suggests the company sees AI and cloud migration in Europe not as a trend, but a long runway. With hyperscalers racing to build out next-gen capacity, this wave of investment could reshape not just Oracle's European footprintbut who controls the pipes powering the next decade of enterprise AI. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
