Morning, I’m Louise Moon from Bloomberg UK’s breaking news team, bringing you up to speed on today’s top business stories. Tate & Lyle , Britain’s famed maker of sweet things, will be bought by US rival Ingredion for £2.7 billion . It adds to a list of stalwarts departing London’s stock market. Illinois-based Ingredion has offered up to 615 pence per share of value — made up of cash and dividends ...
Morning, I’m Louise Moon from Bloomberg UK’s breaking news team, bringing you up to speed on today’s top business stories. Tate & Lyle , Britain’s famed maker of sweet things, will be bought by US rival Ingredion for £2.7 billion . It adds to a list of stalwarts departing London’s stock market. Illinois-based Ingredion has offered up to 615 pence per share of value — made up of cash and dividends — marking a 60% premium to Tate & Lyle’s share price before news of a possible deal first broke last month. Since then, shares had shot up about 31%. Tate & Lyle is not just any another name leaving the London exchange (following the likes of Schroders), but one of Britain’s oldest large companies. Having started off as a sugar refiner in the late 1800s, it sold its iconic sugar business in 2010 in a pivot to sweeteners and, more recently, dietary fibres. Yet performance has taken a hit of late, partly down to softer demand in some key markets as well as supply chain disruption. Investors seem to think it’s a sweet deal: shares jumped 11% at open. What’s your take? Ping me on X , LinkedIn or drop me an email at lmoon13@bloomberg.net. Oh, and do subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted business journalism on the UK, and beyond. What We’re Watching British firms scaled back hiring at a faster pace last month , as war abroad and political turmoil at home dented confidence and increased costs, according to a poll watched by the Bank of England. Placements of permanent staff dropped the most in 10 months, as companies rely more on short-term hires. Keir Starmer to the rescue? In a speech today, the PM will promise AI tools to help people find work as opposed to being left behind by the tech. A new AI assistant for career development and job applications will be rolled out by the Department for Work and Pensions as a “job centre in your pocket” . Speaking of, US-listed and Amsterdam-based Nebius plans to invest about £1.7 billion to expand its AI infrastructure ...
SimonSkafar/E+ via Getty Images Investment Thesis iShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF ( VEGI ) warrants a hold rating due to mixed outlook factors for the fund. While the ETF may continue outperforming higher-fee competitor funds, its largest holdings face modest growth prospects, elevated valuations, and cyclical headwinds. As a result, VEGI offers niche diversification with limited upside com...
SimonSkafar/E+ via Getty Images Investment Thesis iShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF ( VEGI ) warrants a hold rating due to mixed outlook factors for the fund. While the ETF may continue outperforming higher-fee competitor funds, its largest holdings face modest growth prospects, elevated valuations, and cyclical headwinds. As a result, VEGI offers niche diversification with limited upside compared to the broader market. iShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF – Overview and Compared ETFs VEGI is a passive ETF that tracks an index providing exposure to global agricultural equipment and products. With its inception in 2012, the fund has 127 holdings and $163 million in AUM. By market sector, VEGI is comprised of industrials (36%), consumer staples (33%), and materials (31%). VEGI includes mostly U.S. holdings at 64% weight but also has exposure to various other countries, including Canada (7% weight), Norway (5% weight), and Japan (4% weight). For comparison purposes, other funds examined are VanEck Agribusiness ETF ( MOO ) and First Trust Indxx Global Agriculture ETF ( FTAG ). MOO captures a broad mix of agriculture companies, including seed production, fertilizers, and food equipment. FTAG seeks global holdings that specialize in farmland, irrigation equipment, and farm machinery. VEGI Compared: Performance, Expense Ratio, and Dividend Yield Over the past decade, VEGI and its peer funds have underperformed the broader market, predominantly due to their lack of tech and AI holdings. While VEGI has seen a solid 10-year average annual return of 9.44%, MOO and FTAG have further lagged with 10-year average annual returns of 7.04% and 5.36%, respectively. For reasons I will discuss in this article, I believe VEGI will continue to underperform the broader market going forward. 10-Year Total Return: VEGI and Compared Agriculture ETFs (Seeking Alpha) Beyond outperforming peer agricultural ETFs, another key advantage of VEGI is its relatively low fees. With a 0.39% expens...
Despite Trump’s calls for calm, IDF says it struck military targets in Iran in response to attacks by Tehran Israel strikes Iran despite Trump plea as Middle East crisis threatens to escalate The Israeli military said Monday that it had detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran, the sixth salvo since the latest flare-up in fighting began the previous day. “A short while ago, the IDF id...
Despite Trump’s calls for calm, IDF says it struck military targets in Iran in response to attacks by Tehran Israel strikes Iran despite Trump plea as Middle East crisis threatens to escalate The Israeli military said Monday that it had detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran, the sixth salvo since the latest flare-up in fighting began the previous day. “A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said. Continue reading...
The 117 Tower in Xiqing district, Tianjin on May 28, 2026. Photo: Ding Feng/Caixin China has restarted one of its most prominent abandoned private megaprojects as part of a state-led restructuring of distressed real estate assets. The 596-meter (1,955-foot) 117 Tower in Tianjin, once a symbol of private-sector debt excess, has resumed construction after a decade of stagnation. The restart followed...
The 117 Tower in Xiqing district, Tianjin on May 28, 2026. Photo: Ding Feng/Caixin China has restarted one of its most prominent abandoned private megaprojects as part of a state-led restructuring of distressed real estate assets. The 596-meter (1,955-foot) 117 Tower in Tianjin, once a symbol of private-sector debt excess, has resumed construction after a decade of stagnation. The restart followed a state-backed takeover of the project.