(RTTNews) - Marriott International Inc.(MAR) and the Leali family, founders of Lefay, unveiled their plans on Tuesday to start a joint venture to bring the luxury wellness hospitality brand Lefay into the Marriott portfolio.
(RTTNews) - Marriott International Inc.(MAR) and the Leali family, founders of Lefay, unveiled their plans on Tuesday to start a joint venture to bring the luxury wellness hospitality brand Lefay into the Marriott portfolio.
South Korean stocks slumped as rising Middle East tensions drove oil prices higher, fueling inflation concerns and damping risk appetite in the tech-heavy market. The Kospi Index closed 4.3% lower on Tuesday, extending its decline from a record high in late February to nearly 20%, the threshold typically considered a bear market. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. , the country’s two most v...
South Korean stocks slumped as rising Middle East tensions drove oil prices higher, fueling inflation concerns and damping risk appetite in the tech-heavy market. The Kospi Index closed 4.3% lower on Tuesday, extending its decline from a record high in late February to nearly 20%, the threshold typically considered a bear market. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. , the country’s two most valuable stocks, were the biggest drags, dropping more than 5% each. The retreat underscores how quickly sentiment can turn in a market closely tied to AI-driven spending. By far the world’s best-performing market until the Iran war, Korean equities have been among the hardest hit in March as fears of quicker inflation and higher interest rates led to doubts about the durability of the AI boom. Read More: Iran War Turns Once-Hot Korean Stock Trade Into Poor Bet “Everyone’s attention is stuck on this war in the Middle East,” said Gerald Gan , chief investment officer at Reed Capital Partners in Singapore. “As long as there are no meaningful signs of both sides wanting to back down, more weakness will be reflected in the equity market, and that includes the big tech names in the Kospi.” The pullback also brought the Kospi close to the 5,000 level, a milestone championed by President Lee Jae Myung reached in late January. Beyond geopolitics, investor unease has been compounded by Google’s new technology, which the company said can sharply reduce the amount of memory needed to train large language models — a development that may erode the pricing power of Korean chipmakers if hyperscalers require fewer high‑end components. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have seen multi-day selloffs. Read: High-Flying Chip Stocks Bear Brunt of Iran War Risk-Off Trade “Investors are also worried about how the recent developments in Google’s TurboQuant could affect demand for memory chips, a core product of South Korea’s semiconductor industry,” said Gary Ng , senior economist at Natixis. “Invest...
Massive investments in artificial intelligence that underpinned record runs in equities face a major hurdle as the Middle East crisis clouds prospects for growth and energy costs, said Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global Visible Alpha. Before the Iran war broke out, tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta planned to spend about $635 billion on data centres, chips, and other AI...
Massive investments in artificial intelligence that underpinned record runs in equities face a major hurdle as the Middle East crisis clouds prospects for growth and energy costs, said Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global Visible Alpha. Before the Iran war broke out, tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta planned to spend about $635 billion on data centres, chips, and other AI infrastructure in 2026, S&P Global has said. Although tech companies have yet to signal cutbacks in those capital investments, persistently high oil prices could force spending revisions in the first and second quarters, bringing a "really meaningful correction in all equity markets," Otto said.
The U.S. tech giant said it plans to invest more than $1 billion in Thailand over the next two years, as demand for AI computing continues to grow in the region.
The U.S. tech giant said it plans to invest more than $1 billion in Thailand over the next two years, as demand for AI computing continues to grow in the region.
Unilever Plc said talks to sell most of its food business to McCormick & Co. are advanced and a final deal could be announced later on Tuesday in an historic move that will transform both companies. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise will offload most of its food unit, excluding some parts like its operations in India, for $15.7 billion cash upfront and the rest in McCormick equity, ac...
Unilever Plc said talks to sell most of its food business to McCormick & Co. are advanced and a final deal could be announced later on Tuesday in an historic move that will transform both companies. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise will offload most of its food unit, excluding some parts like its operations in India, for $15.7 billion cash upfront and the rest in McCormick equity, according to a statement Tuesday. Unilever did not provide further details on the equity component. When completed Unilever and its shareholders will have 65% of the combined company. The transaction will be carried out through a so-called Reverse Morris Trust, a type of merger that’s designed to be tax-free. For both companies the deal is the biggest in their histories and will help recast Unilever as a global leader in beauty, personal and home care while catapulting McCormick into a global spice, seasonings and condiments giant. Unilever has been selling food for nearly 100 years and owns power brands like Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr stock cubes as well as smaller regional products like Maille dijon mustard and Marmite spread. Acquiring the food business is a highly ambitious move by McCormick, which is best known for its red and white tins of spices and condiments like French’s mustard and Frank’s RedHot brands. McCormick is a much smaller company whose entire business only generates half the sales of Unilever’s food arm. Read More: McCormick to Go All In on Mayo With Potential Unilever Deal Big food businesses like Unilever have been struggling in recent years as less wealthy consumers pull back on spending or choose cheaper store brands. The popularity of GLP-1 weight loss drugs also mean users are eating less or choosing fresher food. Unilever Chief Executive Officer Fernando Fernandez has made it clear that going forward he sees beauty, personal care and wellbeing as the keys to future growth and not food.
Treasuries extended a nascent rally Tuesday, boosting speculation that investors are starting to view the Iran war as a positive for the securities, rather than a simple negative. US sovereign debt gained on the perception that the Middle-East conflict will lead to slower global growth, reviving demand for Treasuries as a haven. That’s starting to replace the earlier view that the higher oil price...
Treasuries extended a nascent rally Tuesday, boosting speculation that investors are starting to view the Iran war as a positive for the securities, rather than a simple negative. US sovereign debt gained on the perception that the Middle-East conflict will lead to slower global growth, reviving demand for Treasuries as a haven. That’s starting to replace the earlier view that the higher oil prices from the war would fuel inflation and sap the purchasing power of fixed-income assets. US two-year yields slipped one basis point to 3.82%, after falling eight basis points on Monday. However, they are still up more than 40 basis points since the war began and headed for the biggest monthly jump since October 2024. Their 10-year peers dropped two basis points to 4.33%, down from an eight-month high of 4.48% last week. “We’ve been seeing a shift in market thinking over the past few days,” said Andrew Ticehurst , a senior-strategist at Nomura Australia in Sydney. “Initially the focus was on the inflationary impacts of the Middle-East conflict, but I think now that markets are starting to think more about downside risks to growth.” Oil prices whipsawed Tuesday, initially rising on news that an Iranian drone hit a fully laden Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai. They pared gains following a Wall Street Journal report President Donald Trump has told aides he’s willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. Traders are betting the Fed will hold rates steady in a 3.5% to 3.75% range this year, with a small chance of a quarter-point cut by the middle of 2027. European bonds largely followed US peers higher, helped by data for the bloc that showed inflation rose 2.5% from a year ago in March, faster than the previous month’s pace but slower than expected among analysts polled by Bloomberg. German 10-year bond yields fell one basis point to 3.03%. The equivalent UK yield dropped one basis point to 4.92%. Swaps tied to policy-meeting ...