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Tag: Financial Performance

  • Target to stop selling cereals with certified synthetic colors by end of May

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    NEW YORK — Target will stop selling its entire assortment of cereal with certified synthetic colors by the end of May.

    The move, announced Friday, underscores the acknowledgment that American consumers and the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are paying attention to what goes into packaged foods.

    The Minneapolis-based discounter said it had been phasing out synthetic colors in cereals for several years, and currently nearly 85% of its cereal sales already come from products made without certified synthetic dyes. Some of the artificial food dyes detailed by Target are being reviewed by U.S. Food and Drug Administration like Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6 and Blue No. 1.

    Target said that it has worked with national brands and its private brands to reformulate products as needed. Some cereals will have updated formulations, and many others already meet its new cereal assortment standard for no certified synthetic colors, the retailer said.

    “We know consumers are increasingly prioritizing healthier lifestyles, and we’re moving quickly to evolve our offerings to meet their needs,” said Cara Sylvester, Target’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, in a statement.

    Target said that reformulating its cereal line builds on the foundation Target established in 2019 with the launch of its store label food brand Good & Gather, which is made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors or high fructose corn syrup. The brand has more than 2,500 products across dairy, produce, ready made pastas meat as well as baby and toddler food.

    In recent months, major food companies such as Kraft Heinz, Nestle and Conagra Brands have pledged to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in coming years.

    General Mills also announced last year that it plans to remove artificial dyes from all of its U.S. cereals and all foods served in K-12 schools by the summer of 2026. It is also looking to eliminate the dyes from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.

    Last October,Walmart said it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027.

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  • Home Depot tops expectations in the fourth quarter, but customers pull back on spending

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    Home Depot’s fourth-quarter was muted by ongoing caution from American consumers in a weak housing market, but the home improvement retailer topped Wall Street expectations.

    The Atlanta company earned $2.57 billion, or $2.58 per share, for the three months ended Feb. 1. Stripping out one-time charges or benefits, earnings were $2.72 per share, topping analyst projections for per-share earnings of $2.53, according to FactSet.

    A year earlier it earned $3 billion, or $3.02 per share.

    An extra week in fiscal 2024 added approximately 30 cents per share to the year-ago quarter.

    Home Depot’s stock rose more than 3% before the market opened on Tuesday.

    Revenue totaled $38.2 billion, down from $39.7 billion a year earlier. The extra week in the prior-year period added about $2.5 billion of sales.

    Wall Street was looking for revenue of $38.09 billion.

    Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, edged up 0.4%. In the U.S., comparable store sales climbed 0.3%.

    Chair and CEO Ted Decker said in a statement that Home Depot’s quarterly results “were largely in-line with our expectations, reflecting the lack of storm activity in the third quarter and ongoing consumer uncertainty and pressure in housing. Adjusting for storms, underlying demand was relatively stable throughout the year.”

    Customer transactions dropped 1.6% in the quarter. The amount shoppers spent rose to $91.28 per average receipt from $89.11 a year earlier.

    Home Depot and other retailers have seen customers cut back on their spending amid concerns about inflation and economic uncertainty.

    U.S. consumer confidence declined sharply in January, hitting the lowest level since 2014 as Americans grow increasingly concerned about their financial prospects.

    The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index cratered 9.7 points to 84.5 in January, falling below even the lowest readings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    And sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell sharply in January as higher home prices and possibly harsh winter weather kept many prospective homebuyers on the sidelines despite easing mortgage rates.

    Existing home sales sank 8.4% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s the biggest monthly decline in nearly four years and the slowest annualized sales pace in more than two years.

    The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows that fueled a homebuying frenzy at the start of this decade.

    For fiscal 2026, Home Depot anticipates adjusted earnings to be approximately flat to up 4% from fiscal 2025’s $14.69 per share. The company foresees total sales growth of about 2.5% to 4.5% and comparable sales growth to be approximately flat to up 2%.

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  • Met Opera’s 2026-27 season has 17 productions, its fewest in at least 60 years

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    NEW YORK — Despite encouraging box office figures for the season’s first half, the financially strapped Metropolitan Opera scaled back its 2026-27 schedule with its fewest productions in at least 60 years.

    The Met announced Thursday it will present 17 productions, its lowest total in a non-truncated season since the company moved to Lincoln Center in 1966. There are just five new stagings, and revivals of three popular operas account for 71 of the 187 individual opera performances (38%): Puccini’s “Tosca” and “La Bohème,” and Verdi’s “Aida.”

    “It makes more sense for us, and this is an experiment — to present these works in extended runs,” Met general manager Peter Gelb said. “And by double-casting them, it also is more economic in terms of how many different shows are playing in one week.”

    Ticket sales of 72% this season are up from 70% in the first half of 2024-25.

    “Basically, it’s back to pre-pandemic levels,” Gelb said. “We’re not grossing as much money because the average price per ticket is slightly less than it was, because we have a younger audience and more discounted tickets.”

    Mason Bates’ “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” which opened the current season in its world premiere, sold 84% of tickets in a success rate that prompted the Met to schedule an extra four performances this month.

    “One of my goals at the Met is to stimulate new audiences with new works,” Gelb said. “This one was one of the most successful we’ve presented so far.”

    “Kavalier” was followed by an English-language holiday time staging of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” (83%), Bellini’s “I Puritani” (82%), Puccini’s “Turandot” (77%), Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” (74%), “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” (73%), and Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” and “Bohème” (68% each).

    Lagging were Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and Strauss’ “Arabella” (64% each) and Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier” (57%).

    Next season opens on Sept. 22 with a new production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” starring soprano Lise Davidsen and directed by Louisa Proske.

    Composer Missy Mazzoli’s “Lincoln in the Bardo,” based on George Saunders’ novel, has its world premiere on Oct. 19 and stars Christine Goerke, Stephanie Blythe, Anthony Roth Costanzo and Peter Mattei in a staging directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.

    There are three new-to-the Met productions: Janáček’s “Jenůfa” starring Asmik Grigorian in a Claus Guth staging that debuted at London’s Royal Opera in 2021 (Nov. 16); Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” with Sondra Radvanovsky and SeokJong Baek in a Richard Jones staging that premiered at the English National Opera in 2014 (Dec. 31); and the company premiere of Kevin Puts’ “Silent Night” featuring Elza van den Heever and Rolando Villazon in a James Robinson staging first seen at the Houston Grand Opera last month (March 8, 2027).

    A gala with more than two dozen stars is scheduled for May 25, 2027, to mark the company’s 60th season at Lincoln Center.

    “We’re in a kind of golden age of opera singing,” Gelb said. “The only difference between today and 30 or 40 years ago is that 30 or 40 years ago opera was much more in the cultural mainstream.”

    “Lincoln” was not included among the eight simulcasts to move theaters due to a post-pandemic drop in audience.

    “A title that is unknown, even with whatever maximum efforts of marketing and publicity that are done, will underperform to a degree where it is not really financially viable for the movie theaters or for us,” Gelb said.

    A Simon McBurney staging of Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina” was postponed as part of budget tightening that included 22 layoffs and 4-15% temporary salary cuts.

    “Unfortunately, I have to wear two hats,” Gelb said. “I have to wear my artistic hat, and I have to wear my financial hat.”

    Next season will be Gelb’s 20th as general manager, and he says he intends to retire when his current contract expires in 2030.

    “That certainly is our current plan,” Gelb said.

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  • Wendy’s closes US restaurants and focuses on value to turn around falling sales

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    Wendy’s is closing several hundred U.S. restaurants and increasing its focus on value after a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter.

    The Dublin, Ohio-based company said Friday that its global same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 10% in the October-December period. That was worse than the 8.5% drop expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

    U.S. same-store sales fell even further in the fourth quarter. Wendy’s said late last year that it planned to close underperforming U.S. restaurants, but it gave more details about those closures Friday.

    Wendy’s said it already closed 28 restaurants in the fourth quarter and ended 2025 with 5,969 U.S. locations. It expects to close between 5% and 6% of its U.S. restaurants – or 298 to 358 locations – in the first half of this year.

    Those actions come on top of the closure of 240 U.S. Wendy’s locations in 2024. At the time, the 57-year-old chain said many of its locations are simply out of date.

    Like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other rivals, Wendy’s also plans to emphasize value as it tries to win back inflation-weary customers.

    “One learning from 2025 around value, we swung the pendulum too far towards limited-time price promotions instead of everyday value,” said Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO and chief financial officer, in a conference call with investors.

    In January, Wendy’s introduced a permanent “Biggie Deals” value menu with three price tiers: $4 Biggie Bites, $6 Biggie Bags and an $8 Biggie Bundle. Cook said Wendy’s also has new products coming this year, including a new chicken sandwich.

    Wendy’s said its revenue fell 5.5% in the fourth quarter to $543 million. That was higher than the $537 million analysts had forecast.

    Wendy’s expressed confidence that its U.S. turnaround plans and international growth will help arrest its sales slide this year. The company said it expects global systemwide sales — which includes sales at both company-owned and franchised restaurants — will be flat this year. Systemwide sales fell 3.5% last year.

    Wendy’s shares rose nearly 5% in mid-day trading Friday.

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  • McDonald’s says focus on value is bringing back customers

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    McDonald’s focus on value is paying off.

    The fast food giant said Wednesday that its global same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — jumped 5.7% in the October-December period. That’s better than the 3.9% Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

    Chicago-based McDonald’s fourth quarter revenue and earnings also beat analysts’ expectations.

    McDonald’s cut prices on some U.S. combo meals in September. Those Extra Value Meal promotions came on top of discounts that began earlier in 2025, including the McValue menu. McDonald’s popular Snack Wraps, which returned to menus in July for $2.99, also helped improve value perceptions.

    The price cuts came after years of steady declines in visits from customers with annual household incomes of $45,000 or less. In a conference call with investors last summer, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski warned that those consumers, in particular, no longer saw McDonald’s as a good value.

    The company also boosted U.S. traffic in the fourth quarter with limited-time offers, including the return of its Monopoly game in October and a Grinch-themed meal in December. McDonald’s said its same-store sales rose 6.8% in the U.S. in the October-December period.

    The playbook has been similar in international markets. In Australia, for example, McDonald’s saw higher store traffic after it locked in pricing on its value items for 12 months starting in July.

    McDonald’s revenue rose 10% to $7.01 billion in the fourth quarter. That beat Wall Street’s forecast of $6.84 billion.

    Net income rose 7% to $2.16 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, including restructuring charges, McDonald’s earned $3.12 per share. That also beat analysts’ forecast of a $3.05 per share profit.

    Other chains have also been focused on their value message over the last year. Taco Bell, which expanded its value menu in January 2025, said last week that its same-store sales jumped 7% in the October-December period.

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  • Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores as parent company considers selling the brand

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    Pizza Hut plans to close 250 U.S. restaurants in the first half of this year as its parent company considers a sale of the chain.

    Yum Brands said Wednesday it’s targeting underperforming Pizza Hut restaurants in its system. Pizza Hut has more than 6,000 locations in the U.S.

    Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands said in November it was conducting a formal review of options for Pizza Hut, which has struggled with outdated stores and growing competition. The chain’s U.S. same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 5% last year, Yum said.

    Rival Domino’s, the world’s largest pizza company, hasn’t yet released its full-year earnings, but its U.S. same-store sales were up 2.7% in the first nine months of last year.

    Internationally, Pizza Hut’s results have been stronger. International same-store sales were up 1% last year, with growth in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, Yum said. China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market outside the U.S., accounting for 19% of sales.

    Yum CEO Chris Turner said Wednesday that the company plans to complete its review of options for Pizza Hut this year. He declined to share further updates on the process.

    Pizza Hut ended 2025 with 19,974 stores globally, which was 251 fewer than it had the previous year. Pizza Hut opened nearly 1,200 stores across 65 countries last year, but closures outpaced that. Yum said Wednesday that Pizza Hut plans more global openings in 2026 but it didn’t give details.

    Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. PepsiCo acquired the chain in 1977 but spun off its restaurant division — which became Yum Brands — in 1997. Yum Brands also owns KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill.

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  • Kenya unveils tax breaks for EV parts and charging stations

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    NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya plans to roll out new tax incentives to speed up adoption of electric vehicles, betting that lower costs for vehicle parts and charging stations will attract investors and accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels.

    Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the measures are part of a newly launched National Electric Mobility Policy, which now aligns the transport sector with Kenya’s climate commitments.

    “Electric mobility is crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing reliance on imported fossil fuels, and fostering economic growth through local manufacturing and job creation,” Chirchir said.

    Kenya has in recent years introduced targeted incentives, including a zero value added tax on electric buses, bicycles, motorcycles and lithium-ion batteries, and lower excise duties on selected EVs. The new incentives include exemptions for value-added taxes and excise duties beginning in July. The stamp tax for charging stations will be reduced in 2027.

    The government has a target for 3,000 EVs for its ministries by the end of next year.

    Kenya has committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030 under the Paris Agreement treaty on climate change, with electric mobility identified as vital since transport is a major contributor to carbon emissions.

    The market is growing quickly, with the number of registered EVs rising to 24,754 in 2025 from 796 in 2022, largely driven by increased use of electric motorcycles, buses and fleet vehicles in urban areas.

    Sales of electric vehicles, including motorcycles, buses and private cars, are forecast to match those of gas and diesel-fueled vehicles by 2042, marking a structural shift in Kenya’s transport system.

    “We have now laid the foundation for a cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable transport system that fully aligns with our climate commitments,” said Mohammed Daghar, principal secretary for transport. “With transport a major contributor to emissions, accelerating electric mobility is essential to achieving our target.”

    Electric mobility policies in most African countries are still evolving, with interest growing in use of electrics for public and private transport. Rwanda and Egypt have introduced a mix of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to encourage use of EVs. Companies involved in EV manufacturing and assembly also benefit from corporate income tax relief and tax holidays.

    Still, for many countries the focus is on electric buses and two-wheelers. Policies include tax exemptions on EV imports and investments in charging infrastructure, and pilot projects for electric public transport.

    The transition carries risks. Kenya relies heavily on fuel taxes to fund road maintenance and other transport-related services. The policy estimates that as electrics displace gas and diesel engines, there will be a $693 million shortfall in fuel tax collections by 2043, up from a $16.9 million gap in 2025.

    Chirchir said the government is studying alternatives, including road-use charges and possible electricity-based levies linked to charging stations to offset the decline.

    ___

    Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in November

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    NEW YORK — Shoppers increased their spending in November from October as holiday shopping kicked into full gear.

    Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in November, following a revised 0.1% decline October, according to the Commerce Department. The report was delayed more than a month because of the 43-day government shutdown.

    Retail sales rose 0.1% increase in September, but jumped 0.6% in July and August and 1% in June.

    The federal government is gradually catching up on economic reports that were postponed by the shutdown.

    Sales at clothing and accessories stores rose 0.9%, while online businesses had a 0.4% increase. Business at sporting goods and hobby stores was up 1.9%.

    The snapshot offers only a partial look at consumer spending and doesn’t include many services, including travel and hotel lodges. But the lone services category – restaurants – registered an uptick of 0.6%.

    The report comes as 41,000 attendees from retailers, brands and technology companies gathered for the annual three-day National Retail Federation convention. With shoppers growing anxious about high prices and impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as well as a souring job market, the outlook for shopping for this year was a key issue that dominated discussions.

    The industry wrapped up a solid holiday shopping season, based on early data, but many consumers, particularly from the lower income households, remain financially strained.

    Hiring has generally been weak, which could hurt consumer spending and the broader economy for 2026.

    Inflation cooled a bit last month as prices for gas and used cars fell, a sign that stubbornly elevated cost pressures are slowly easing, according to a report from the Labor Department Tuesday.

    Consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from the prior month, the same as in November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 0.2%, also matching November’s figure. Increases at that pace, over time, would bring inflation closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

    Many economists had predicted inflation to jump last month as the government resumed normal data collection after the six-week shutdown last fall, so the modest increases that matched the November figures came as a relief. The price of manufactured goods was flat in December, a sign that the impact of tariffs may be starting to fade.

    The National Retail Federation is predicting retail sales in November and December grew between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2024. That translates to total spending between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion. By comparison, holiday sales for 2024 rose 4.3% over 2023 to reach $976.1 billion.

    The trade group will not be coming out with official sales results for the November and December period until next month when the government reports December retail figures.

    Lululemon Athletica said on Monday that it anticipates fourth-quarter profit and revenue to come in at the high end of its previously released outlook, helped by a solid holiday shopping season. And Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said on Monday that both its Hollister and Abercrombie fared well during the holiday season.

    A better picture of holiday spending will come next month when Walmart, Target and other major retailers report results.

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  • Visa: Sales are up 4.2% for first 7 weeks of the holiday period; pace lags last year

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    NEW YORK — Consumers stepped up their spending, particularly on items like gadgets and clothing, for the first seven weeks of the holiday shopping period. But the pace was slower than a year ago amid worries about higher prices and other economic concerns, according to new data from Visa released Tuesday.

    From Nov. 1 through Sunday, holiday sales rose 4.2%, a slower clip from the 4.8% increase during the same period a year ago, according to the company’s Visa Consulting & Analytics division, which analyzed a subset of Visa payments network data in the U.S.

    The figure includes all methods of payment including cash and card.

    The data, which exclude sales from auto dealerships, gas stations, and restaurants, are not adjusted for inflation including the impact from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

    When adjusted, retail sales rose a more modest 2.2% for that time frame, according to Visa’s principal U.S. economist Michael Brown. That compares to the inflation-adjusted 3% sales gain last year.

    “It’s certainly not a spectacular season,” Brown told The Associated Press. “It’s sort of an average holiday season given concerns about macro economic growth, inflation. There’s still a lot of uncertainty among the consumer population.”

    Retailers have described shoppers as being selective when making holiday purchases, choosing to focus on gifts for under the tree instead of holiday decor like ornaments for the tree, for example. Many households are struggling with higher prices in groceries, rent and imported goods hit by tariffs. The latest job report, released by the Labor Department last week, also shows a souring employment picture.

    As a result, consumers’ mood has been gloomy, though it improved last month as worries about inflation eased a bit, according to the University of Michigan.

    When all the numbers are in, Visa expects holiday sales data will more or less be in line with its prediction of a 4.6% sales increase for the November and December period combined.

    Still to come are several of the holiday shopping season’s top 10 busiest days including Tuesday, the day after Christmas and the Saturday after Christmas, according to Sensormatic, which tracks retail foot traffic.

    The Visa data is in line with the forecast from the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail industry trade group. It expects sales over November and December of between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion. That would be up 3.7% to 4.2% over last year.

    Predicting the shopping season has been challenging as the 43-day federal government shutdown delayed economic reports including those covering monthly retail sales figures. The federal government is gradually catching up.

    Last week, the Commerce Department reported that sales at U.S. retailers and restaurants were unchanged in October from September in a report delayed by more than a month. A big drag on October data was a drop in sales at motor vehicles and auto parts dealerships, hurt by the expiration of federal government subsidies that sliced demand for battery-powered electric cars.

    According to Visa, e-commerce sales rose 7.8% for the first seven weeks of the period, fueled by promotions that started early in the season.

    Still, shopping at physical stores dominates — 73% of holiday payment volume was in physical stores, while 27% of retail spending happened online, Visa said.

    Sales at general merchandise stores, or big discounters like Target and Walmart that sell all types of merchandise, rose 3.7%, Visa said.

    Electronics have emerged as the hottest category, with sales rising 5.8% during this time frame, fueled in part by devices, powered by artificial intelligence, Visa said.

    Tariffs played a key role in how shoppers bought, Brown said.

    Clothing and accessories sales accelerated at a 5.3% pace from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21 from a 4.1% increase last year. The category wasn’t as affected by tariffs as other areas like holiday home decor, which is predominantly made in China, Brown said. That category saw a slim 0.8% sales gain.

    And a still weak housing market hurt sales of home improvement items like building materials and garden accessories, which recorded a 1% sales increase, Visa said.

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  • Vanke’s Bid to Delay Bond Payment Sparks Selloff in Chinese Developers

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    China Vanke’s 000002 -5.60%decrease; red down pointing triangle proposal to delay repayment of an onshore bond led to trading halts in three other local notes and triggered a selloff in shares of Chinese property developers, ratcheting up fears about the country’s drawn-out real estate crisis.

    Vanke, one of China’s biggest real-estate companies, was once regarded as one of the country’s most solid developers. It is among the few major Chinese developers that have yet to default amid the country’s massive property bust.

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    Jiahui Huang

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  • U.K. Treasury Chief Says Budget Measures Will Tackle Debt, Inflation

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    The U.K. government’s treasury chief said measures outlined in her latest budget aim to halt a rise in debt while helping to cool inflation.

    Speaking to lawmakers, Rachel Reeves said Wednesday that her budget measures would ensure that the government doesn’t breach its fiscal rules and bring down price pressures.

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    Paul Hannon

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  • Rheinmetall Turns to Former Auto Workers to Fuel Hiring Spree

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    Germany’s largest arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall RHM -3.85%decrease; red down pointing triangle, expects its sales will be five times as much as they were last year by the end of the decade. A big factor underpinning its confidence—it is being flooded by job applications.

    The company is now looking to draw from a pool of workers laid off by the car industry and other big employers to fill the roles needed for its expansion plans, its head of human resources operations said.

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    Cristina Gallardo

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  • Dassault Aviation Rises After Ukraine Agrees to Buy 100 Rafale Fighter Jets

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    Ukraine agreed to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets as part of a larger military equipment deal that triggered a jump in the share price of the French aerospace and defense manufacturer Dassault Aviation AM 7.44%increase; green up pointing triangle.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he had signed a letter of intent to acquire 100 Rafale F4 fighter jets by 2035, SAMP/T air defense systems, radars, air-to-air-missiles and aerial bombs from France.

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    Cristina Gallardo

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  • China Registers Worst Investment Decline in Years as Slowdown Continues

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    SHANGHAI—Signs of weakness in China’s economy stretched into October, with one measure of investment notching the sharpest slowdown in years.

    The numbers

    Momentum in retail sales and industrial production slowed, while investment and the property market continued to struggle, according to data released Friday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

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    Hannah Miao

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  • Opinion | Escape From Zohran Mamdani’s New York

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    Arnold Toynbee’s “Cities on the Move” (1970) documents the history of big cities around the world becoming impoverished and insolvent—some never to recover. Many of the patterns he describes apply to New York now.

    Real estate contributed roughly $35 billion of the $80 billion in city tax receipts in fiscal 2025, and personal taxes another $18 billion. The financial sector, real estate, construction, tourism and retail trade sectors are the major contributors to these revenues.

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    Reuven Brenner

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  • The Gaza War Has Been Big Business for U.S. Companies

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    Two years on, Israel’s war in Gaza might be finally drawing to a close. The conflict built an unprecedented arms pipeline from the U.S. to Israel that continues to flow, generating substantial business for big U.S. companies—including Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Caterpillar.

    Sales of U.S. weapons to Israel have surged since October 2023, with Washington approving more than $32 billion in armaments, ammunition and other equipment to the Israeli military over that time, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of State Department disclosures.

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    Benoit Faucon

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  • Eurozone Retail Sales Edge Lower Despite Improving Sentiment

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    Retail sales in the eurozone unexpectedly inched lower in September, contrasting with some of the rosier sentiment among consumers in recent months.

    Volumes fell back 0.1%, the same rate as in August, statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had instead expected a 0.2% increase.

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    Ed Frankl

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  • McDonald’s boosts 3Q sales by emphasizing value, warns customers remain pressured

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    McDonald’s sales got a lift from Snack Wraps and other value-oriented products in the third quarter.

    But McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski warned Wednesday that consumers in the U.S. and other top international markets remain under economic pressure, a problem he thinks will persist well into 2026. Concern about SNAP food aid benefits and whether the U.S. government will pay them during the shutdown is exacerbating those worries, he said.

    Kempczinski said visits to its restaurants by lower-income consumers fell again in the July-September period, a trend that has persisted for nearly two years. And while higher-income customers are continuing to dine out, they’re also looking for deals.

    “I think sometimes there’s this idea that value only matters to low-income (customers). But value matters to everybody,” Kempczinski said on a conference call with investors. “Feeling like you’re getting good value for your dollar is important.”

    As a result, McDonald’s is leaning heavily into discounts. It launched Extra Value Meals in the U.S. in early September, piling those on top of other deals, including its McValue menu, which was introduced in January. In Australia, McDonald’s said it locked in pricing on its value items for 12 months starting in July, which lifted store traffic.

    U.S. restaurant sales got a boost in July when Snack Wraps returned after a nine-year absence. McDonald’s said Snack Wraps were the most popular new chicken product in recent U.S. history, with 20% of customers buying one in the first month they were on sale. The $2.99 Snack Wraps also appealed to value-conscious consumers, Kempczinski said.

    McDonald’s global same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, rose 3.6% for the July-September period. That was slightly ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of 3.5%, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

    Same-store sales rose 2.4% in the U.S. in the third quarter.

    The deals are costly for McDonald’s. Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said the company agreed to pay its U.S. franchisees half the cost of the price reduction in Extra Value Meals, which cost $15 million in September and will amount to $75 million in the fourth quarter. McDonald’s also kicked in $40 million to support marketing of the Extra Value Meals.

    That’s cutting into its profit. McDonald’s net income rose 1% to $2.28 billion in the third quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, including $39 million in restructuring charges, McDonald’s earned $3.22 per share. That was lower than the $3.33 analysts forecast.

    Third quarter revenue rose 3% to $7.08 billion, the Chicago company said. That was in line with Wall Street’s expectations.

    McDonald’s shares were up 3% in early trading Wednesday.

    Kempczinski said he doesn’t see demand from households making less than $45,000 per year returning unless those consumers start to feel some relief in the cost of nondiscretionary items like food prices, child care and rent.

    “There’s some significant inflation there that the low-income consumers are having to absorb, and I think that’s affecting their outlook and their sentiment,” he said.

    Value perception appeared to be a critical for U.S. restaurants in the third quarter. Higher-priced fast casual chains Cava and Chipotle both reported weaker-than-expected results.

    Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said young adults, in particular, are facing multiple headwinds, including unemployment, increased student loan repayment, and slower real wage growth. Boatwright said Chipotle plans a new ad campaign to spotlight its fresh ingredients and portions at a reasonable price.

    “Despite our extraordinary value proposition, we are seeing examples where this is not reflected in consumer perception,” Boatwright said last week in a conference call with investors.

    Value-oriented Taco Bell bucked that trend. Taco Bell parent Yum Brands said Tuesday that Taco Bell’s same-store sales rose 7% in the third quarter, driven by value items like its $3 Grilled Steak Burrito.

    “We’re not seeing consumer pullback in the Taco Bell business. We do think the consumer in the U.S. is cautious but incredibly resilient,” Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner said. Turner said the brand saw more younger consumers and more families coming in to its stores in the third quarter.

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  • Exclusive | Trump Officials Torpedoed Nvidia’s Push to Export AI Chips to China

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    Shortly before President Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, an urgent issue emerged. Trump wanted to discuss a request by Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang to allow sales of a new generation of artificial-intelligence chips to China, current and former administration officials said.

    Greenlighting the export of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips would be a seismic policy shift potentially giving China, the U.S.’s biggest geopolitical competitor, a technological accelerant. Huang—who speaks to Trump often—has lobbied relentlessly to maintain access to the Chinese market.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Lingling Wei

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  • Why investors are no longer rewarding earnings beats, according to Goldman Sachs

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    Why investors are no longer rewarding earnings beats, according to Goldman Sachs

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