Disruptive technological innovation, a retreat from globalization, lower interest rates, and a lighter regulatory touch in the U.S. will enable activity in mergers and acquisitions to grow robustly this year after 2024, when dealmaking began to revive after more than two years of stagnation, Bain & Co. reported in its annual analysis of the M&A market.
Category: 11 February 2025
TOP TREND 2024: EV GO FU
As sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have slowed, Porsche has announced it will invest €800 million in additional development of internal combustion cars and plug-in hybrids.
OPTIONS TRADERS STILL BETTING BIG ON TECH STOCKS’ SUNNY FUTURE
Despite artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s revolutionary claims about its software that sparked a short-lived tech bloodbath on Wall Street last month, options traders are eagerly wagering that Amazon, Apple, and other megatech companies will see their share prices keep rising into the future.
SPOTLIGHT: TROUBLES CONTINUE IN THE LUXURY BUSINESS
Luxury icon Gucci has fired Sabato De Sarno, its lead designer, after just two years on the job. He was judged to have failed in his assignment to rekindle excitement for the brand.
INDIA CUTS TAXES, INTEREST RATES TO REVIVE STAGNATING ECONOMY
India’s government is cutting taxes and the central bank is lowering its key interest rate for the first time since 2020 in an attempt to revive the country’s sluggish economy.
BANK OF ENGLAND CUTS INTEREST RATE, ALSO GROWTH FORECAST
The Bank of England (BoE) has cut its 2025 growth forecast in half, projecting a 0.75-percent expansion of the U.K.’s GDP this year, not the 1.5 percent it had forecast earlier.
CANADIAN BANKRUPTCIES HIGHEST SINCE 2009
In 2024, bankruptcies in Canada jumped 12.1 percent from their 2023 number to reach their highest in 15 years, data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy shows.
ISRAEL RAMPS UP RAIDS, CHECKPOINTS IN THE WEST BANK
Israel has intensified its crackdown in the West Bank that has resulted in the displacement of at least 26,000 Palestinians—claiming that these operations have targeted terror cells within the territory.
TRUMP RECEIVED GAZA REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FROM PROFESSOR MONTHS AGO: REPORT
U.S. President Donald Trump has angered Arabs and even some allies with his recent proposals to force Gazans out of the wrecked enclave to make way for a major development project built on the remains of the Palestinians killed by Israel’s 15-month-long genocide.
NETANYAHU WARNS INTENSE FIGHTING WOULD RESUME IN GAZA IF HOSTAGES NOT RETURNED
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Tuesday that Israel will resume intense fighting in Gaza if the hostages are not returned by noon Saturday—just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said “all hell is going to break loose in the enclave” if the Israelis are not returned.