Couche-Tard pulls $47 billion takeover bid for Seven & i
The move ends a year-long attempt by Couche-Tard to create a global convenience store giant with about 20,000 locations by merging Circle K and 7-Eleven brands. It had also agreed to a store sale plan, in a bid to ease some regulatory hurdles.
"We have repeatedly sought a friendly dialogue with the Ito family but they have not been open to any conversation," Couche-Tard said in a letter to its board of directors.
Couche-Tard had raised its offer to $47 billion from $38.5 billion in October last year and in March offered to increase it further if the Japanese firm cooperated and revealed more financial information.
Its attempts at cementing the acquisition had gathered steam after a rival $58 billion white-knight bid from Seven & i Holdings' founding family ended after failing to get financing.
The companies had inked a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) earlier this year, but "the quantity and substance of the permitted due diligence, including at two tightly constrained management meetings, have been negligible," Couche-Tard said in the letter.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Trump's Aug 1 tariff deadline is fast approaching. Here's where the world stands
United States President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline is rapidly approaching. Set to take effect on Friday (Aug 1), time is running out for countries to make a trade deal with Washington. Trump in April unveiled sweeping import taxes on goods coming into the US from nearly every country, including heightened 'reciprocal' rates for certain countries. The implementation of levies has since been postponed twice. By early July, Trump began sending warning letters that higher tariffs would be imposed against dozens of countries from Aug 1. Since then, the US has announced more trade frameworks. But key details remain sparse. Here's what we know about the agreements so far. SOUTH KOREA Trump said on Wednesday the US will impose a 15 per cent tariff on imports from South Korea – a lower levy than the earlier threatened 25 per cent. As part of the deal, Trump added that South Korea had agreed to invest US$350 billion into the US and to purchase US$100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products. The US president also said South Korea would accept American products, including cars, trucks and agriculture into its markets and impose no import duties on them. JAPAN Japan will similarly face a 15 per cent levy on its exports to the US – also a lower rate than the previously threatened 25 per cent. Crucially, that reduction includes the tariffs on automobiles, an industry accounting for 30 per cent of the country's exports to the US last year. Trump said that Japan would also invest US$550 billion into the US and 'open' its economy to American autos and rice. CHINA US and Chinese officials on Tuesday agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce that is set to expire on Aug 12 – though Trump has yet to officially agree to the extension. At its peak, Trump's new tariffs on Chinese goods totalled 145 per cent and China's counter-tariffs on American products reached 125 per cent. The levies were eventually rolled back to 30 per cent and 10 per cent on May 12 following the agreed truce. In June, the two countries announced a trade agreement. As part of the deal, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China had agreed to make it easier for American firms to acquire Chinese magnets and rare earth minerals critical for manufacturing and microchip production. Meanwhile, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that the US would ' lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China". Other key details of the deal remain murky — including the timing of implementation for these terms. US trade policy expert William Reinsch said he thinks the US will extend the Aug 12 deadline by another 90 days. He noted that Trump's rhetoric on China has gotten less dramatic and that "he's not complained about Xi Jinping in particular". "I think he wants to have a one-on-one meeting with China's leader and does not want to do anything to rock the boat," he added. INDIA Trump on Wednesday said the US is still negotiating with India on trade, backtracking his announcement earlier in the day that the US would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India starting on Friday, The US president added that there would be an unspecific penalty on India. What the penalty would be was not clear. Trump indicated initially, in a post on the Truth Social website, that the penalty was a response to India buying Russian arms and oil and its "obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers". When asked about the penalty later at the White House, he said it was partly due to trade issues and partly because of India's involvement in the BRICS group of developing nations, which he described as hostile to the US. Reinsch said of the situation in India: 'We are seeing classic Trump tactics.' "When the negotiation is not going quickly enough for him or when he thinks it's not going to have an ending that he wants, he makes more threats," said Reinsch. "You turn up the pressure and hope they fold.' PAKISTAN Pakistan and Washington have struck a deal in which they will work together in developing the South Asian nation's oil reserves, Trump announced on Wednesday. He added they were in the process of choosing the oil company that would lead the partnership. No further details were provided. Pakistan confirmed a deal had been reached with the US, adding that the agreement would result in reduced tariffs on Pakistani exports to the US. It also said the trade deal is expected to spur increased US investment in the country's infrastructure and development projects. PHILIPPINES Earlier this month, Trump announced a 19 per cent tariff rate on goods from the Philippines – one percentage point lower than the previously threatened levy. In return, Trump said on Truth Social, the US would not pay tariffs on American goods it shipped to the Philippines. But additional details remained unclear. In the days that followed, the ambassador of the Philippines to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the country hoped to renegotiate its trade deal with Washington. INDONESIA Similarly, Indonesian exports to the US will also be taxed 19 per cent, Trump announced on Jul 22. This compares to the previously threatened levy of 32 per cent. According to Washington, nearly all US goods will be able to enter Indonesia tariff-free. Moreover, it said Jakarta had agreed to recognise US standards for car and pharmaceutical imports. Indonesia had already made other concessions earlier in July, pledging to buy more US oil and agro-industrial goods. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he will continue to negotiate with Trump, in hopes of further lowering the coming US tariffs. VIETNAM Vietnam saw tariffs on its exports more than halve to 20 per cent from the previously threatened 46 per cent in April. But a 40 per cent tariff will be imposed on goods manufactured in third countries that use Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers. US goods will also not face any tariffs entering Vietnam. UNITED KINGDOM On May 8, Trump agreed to cut tariffs on British autos, steel and aluminium, among other trade pledges — while the UK promised to reduce levies on US products like olive oil, wine and sports equipment. Levies on UK autos dropped to 10 per cent for the first 100,000 vehicles per year, down from the earlier threatened 27.5 per cent. British steel and aliuminium exports to the US are subject to 25 per cent levies. It is the only country spared from Trump's 50 per cent levies on the metals. The rest of Britain's products are subject to the 10 per cent base rate. EUROPEAN UNION The EU and Washington announced a trade framework that includes a baseline US tariff of 15 per cent that will apply to 70 per cent of European goods brought into the US. The rate will apply to pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and car and car parts. The remaining 30 per cent of those imports is still open for negotiations. That is lower than the blanket 30 per cent tariffs Trump had threatened to impose, but significantly higher than the duties in place to date. As part of the deal, the 27-nation EU has agreed to purchase energy worth US$750 billion from the US and make US$600 billion in additional investments, according to Trump. The two sides have agreed to bilateral tariff exemptions on a number of "strategic products", notably aircraft, certain chemicals, some agricultural products and critical raw materials. BRAZIL Trump on Wednesday slapped a 50 per cent tariff on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from the heavier levies. The new tariffs will go into effect on Aug 6, not Aug 1 as Trump announced originally. SECTORAL TARIFFS A 50 per cent tariff on copper pipes and wiring will kick in on Friday, Trump announced on Wednesday. Details of the levy, though, fell short of the sweeping restrictions expected and left out copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes. Steel and aluminium imports are also subject to a 50 per cent levy. WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE NOT STRUCK DEALS? Earlier this month, Trump sent letters to some countries warning of steeper tariffs if no deals were made with the US by Aug 1. Some of these countries have yet to announce agreements with Washington. In Asia, Myanmar, Laos, Brunei, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have not struck deals with the US yet. On Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had spoken with Trump, and that US tariff rates on Malaysia would be announced on Friday. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday the US had made trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand. No further details were provided. WEAPONISING TRADE Trump is not the first person to weaponise trade for political objectives, Reinsch said, adding that "the Chinese have been doing it for years'. 'It's not a new thing,' he said. 'But it's a very worrisome thing because it's very hard to negotiate that.' "What he's telling the Indians is you need to change your foreign policy – and that's a big ask. That's different from saying you need to lower your tariffs," Reinsch said. Trump is also "really intervening in the sovereignty" of Brazil with his demand and it is very hard to have a negotiation about that, he added. The US president said tariffs on Brazil were to fight what he has called a witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro. Trump's administration also unveiled sanctions on the Brazilian supreme court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial on charges of plotting a coup. "I'm very worried this is going to become a common tactic and I don't know how we're gonna deal with it," said Reinsch.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Consumer companies confront tariff pricing dilemma
From toys to sneakers and diapers, consumer goods are the focus of a range of company strategies to blunt the impact of U.S. tariffs - depending on the size of their customers' wallets. Adidas said it could launch new products at higher prices in the U.S., Levi Strauss will cut back on promotions, and packaging giant Proctor & Gamble is introducing price hikes from next week. Some of the world's biggest companies have warned for months, since U.S. Donald Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" tariff announcements, that they would be squeezed by hefty duties. Now, they are outlining how they are changing their businesses to try to cushion the blow of rising costs, uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, and waning consumer confidence. Their different approaches reflect a growing divide about how much they calculate they can pass on to their customers without hurting sales. Shoppers, particularly those already grappling with tighter budgets amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty, may baulk at paying more for everyday items, while middle- and higher-income consumers may be willing to splash more cash on higher-priced discretionary items. "Tariffs will act as a regressive tax on household consumption, weighing proportionately more on low- and middle-income household spending than upper-income households," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note. French cosmetics group L'Oreal has not tweaked its prices to adjust for tariffs, but CEO Nicolas Hieronimus is scanning his vast portfolio of goods from Valentino perfume to La Roche-Posay face cream to check what increases customers may tolerate. "We're still assessing all the options, and we're also waiting for the dust to settle," Hieronimus told Reuters on Tuesday. "There is some pricing power on fragrances, but we have to also consider the elasticity of the demand, so we'll see how we manage it." Reuters' global tariff tracker shows at least 92 out of nearly 300 companies monitored by the tracker have announced price hikes in response to the trade war, with about a third of them from the consumer sectors. Some luxury firms may have a little more power than others. Birkin bag maker Hermes raised prices by 7 per cent globally, with an additional 5 per cent hike specifically in the U.S., where the company flagged it would fully pass on the effects of tariffs to clients. Porsche and Aston Martin on Wednesday disclosed small price increases in the U.S., but the news came as they issued profit warnings, underscoring the fragility of the market. "This is not a storm that will pass," Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said. AS LOW AS POSSIBLE Toymaker Mattel Inc announced in May it would raise prices on some U.S. products. Last week, CFO Paul Ruh said the company has now implemented those price increases and does not expect further hikes this year. "Our goal is to keep prices as low as possible for consumers," he said. Adidas, whose Samba sneaker line starts at $100 on its U.S. website, will review its pricing and decide which products it could hike prices on in the U.S. once tariffs are finalised, CEO Bjorn Gulden said on Wednesday. He declined to say how much prices might increase. "New product that no one has seen is easier to increase than products that already exist," he told analysts on a call. But he warned of the risks of going too far with price increases given the uncertainty over trade and a consumer he described as "a little bit depressed in many areas". Adidas shares fell more than 11 per cent to February 2024 lows on Wednesday as investors fretted about the strategy at a time of fragile consumer confidence and sensitivity to prices. "I think it is very, very important that you don't run away from the lower price points and believe you can just raise prices and do less volume," he told analysts.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Bank of Japan offers cautiously upbeat view, keeps rates steady
[TOKYO] The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Thursday and offered a cautiously optimistic view on the economic outlook, after Tokyo's trade deal with Washington cleared some uncertainty surrounding its fragile recovery. The central bank also revised up its inflation forecasts and said risks to the price outlook were 'roughly balanced,' a sign of its increasing conviction Japan will make progress towards meeting the prerequisite for further interest rate hikes. Markets are focusing on any hints Governor Kazuo Ueda may offer on the likelihood of another rate hike this year, as the central bank weighs lingering tariff-induced risks to growth and mounting inflationary pressure from higher food costs. As widely expected, the BOJ kept short-term interest rates steady at 0.5 per cent in a unanimous vote. 'It remains highly uncertain how trade policies will evolve and affect overseas economic and price activities,' the BOJ said in a quarterly outlook report. The assessment was less gloomy than the previous report released in May, which warned of 'extremely high uncertainty' over the fallout from US trade policy. In the report, the BOJ revised up this fiscal year's core consumer inflation forecast to 2.7 per cent from 2.2 per cent projected three months ago. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up It expects inflation to hit 1.8 per cent in fiscal 2026 and 2.0 per cent in fiscal 2027. The projections are higher than those made on May 1 for inflation to hit 1.7 per cent in 2026 and 1.9 per cent in 2027. The BOJ's decision followed that of the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday to hold rates steady and chair Jerome Powell's comments reducing market bets of a September cut. Japan's trade deal struck with President Donald Trump this month lowers US tariffs for imports of goods including its mainstay automobiles, easing the pain for the export-reliant economy and clearing a key hurdle for further BOJ rate hikes. The positive development contrasted with the gloom that surrounded the economy when the BOJ produced previous quarterly estimates in early May, when market turmoil was at its peak due to Trump's April announcement of sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs. Data released on Thursday showed factory output rose 1.7 per cent in June, confounding market expectations for a 0.6 per cent fall in a sign the economy was weathering the hit from US tariffs. The BOJ exited its decade-long, massive monetary stimulus last year and raised its short-term policy rate to 0.5 per cent in January on the view Japan was progressing towards durably achieving its price goal. While Governor Ueda has signalled a pause in rate hikes after Trump's April 2 announcement of 'reciprocal' tariffs, Japan's trade deal with the US has revived market expectations of an increase in its short-term policy rate to 0.75 per cent by year-end. A Reuters poll, taken before the Japan-US trade deal announcement earlier this month, showed a majority of economists expect the BOJ to raise rates again by year-end. Some hawkish BOJ board members have stressed the need to pay more attention to upside risks to prices with stubbornly high food costs keeping core inflation above the bank's 2 per cent target for well over three years. AFP
