Brown & Brown, an insurance company with more than 450 locations around the world, will pay $9.83 billion in cash and stock for Accession Risk Management Group.
Category: 17 June 2025
SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFFS, THE UPS AND DOWNS, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE
On 12 June, the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest value since March 2022. The buck lost ground after Donald Trump told reporters he will send letters shortly to trading partners assigning them tariff rates when the 90-day pause on the new “Liberation Day” rates runs out in early July.
SPECIAL REPORT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EATS THE AD INDUSTRY
As Amazon, Meta, and other tech giants automate advertising using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, advertising agencies wonder if they have a future.
SPOTLIGHT: DRESSING DOWN AND DRESSING OUT
Inditex, owner of fast-fashion brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Bershka, reported sales growth in the most recent quarter of 4.2 percent, compared to 10.5 percent in the period ending 31 January.
WORLD BANK WILL RESUME FUNDING NUCLEAR ENERGY PROJECTS
The World Bank will “re-enter the nuclear space” and “support efforts to extend the life of reactors in countries that already have them and help support grid upgrades and related infrastructure,” bank president Ajay Banga e-mailed staff on 13 June.
ECB SAYS LATEST RATE CUT WILL HOLD INFLATION AT THE RIGHT LEVEL
The European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) 5 June quarter-point interest rate cut brings its policy rate to a flat 2 percent. The reduction will ensure that inflation does not slip below the bank’s target rate of 2 percent, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said in a speech at a financial conference last week.
TRUMP CALLS FED CHAIR POWELL “NUMSKULL”
Donald Trump again insulted Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, calling him a “numskull” because the central bank has not lowered its key interest rate as Trump has been demanding.
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS TRENDS
The economic landscape has presented an array of challenges that will profoundly affect the business community this year.
CITI RAISES LOAN LOSS RESERVE AMID POSITIVE ECONOMIC SIGNS
In the current quarter, Citi will raise its cash reserve against bad loans by “a few hundred million dollars…given the macro environment and [interest rates] compared to the last quarter,” Viswas Raghavan, the company’s executive vice-chair and head of banking, told a Morgan Stanley financial conference on 10 June.
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS, JOBS GO WITH IT
Job growth slowed for the second month in a row at private-sector firms according to employment estimates released by payroll company ADP. The company noted the private sector companies are hesitant to hire due to economic uncertainty.