The news at a glance

Anheuser-Busch: Bracing for a takeover fight

InBev, the Belgium-based brewer of beers such as Amstel and Beck’s, said last week that it was seriously contemplating a $46 billion bid for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch, said Matthew Karnitschnig and David Kesmodel in The Wall Street Journal. Although a merger would be “fraught with complications,” including an extensive review by regulators on two continents, “now may be the time to strike, given how the depreciating dollar makes U.S. corporate assets cheaper for foreign buyers.” If combined, the two companies “would control 300 brands on six continents.” Their annual output tops 10 billion gallons of beer.

InBev has long been inter­ested in Anheuser-Busch, with its dominant share of the coveted U.S. beer market, said Julie Macintosh and Neil Hume in the Financial Times. But Anheuser’s board has consistently rebuffed InBev’s approaches. This time, InBev is contemplating taking its offer straight to Anheuser CEO August Busch IV. “If InBev’s foray did not convince Anheuser to begin friendly talks,” InBev would likely try a direct appeal to shareholders. InBev’s “Plan B” is a bid for trans-Atlantic brewing giant SAB/Miller.

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Autos: Slumping SUV sales stall Ford’s profits

With gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, sales of SUVs and light trucks have plummeted in recent weeks, said Sarah A. Webster in the Detroit Free Press. That’s making it “extremely unlikely” that Ford Motor will meet its goal of turning a profit in 2009. “Despite a massive companywide restructuring plan that already has cut 47,000 jobs and closed 11 plants since 2005,” Ford acknowledged that deeper cuts will now be needed. The company expects another round of layoffs to begin by August.

Labor: A global union for a global economy

The United Steelworkers and Unite, Britain’s largest labor union, announced this week that they would merge, creating the first trans-Atlantic union, said the Associated Press. Unite represents about 2 million energy, transportation, and public sector workers, while the Steelworkers union has about 850,000 members in North America. “The unions have joined forces because both have been left behind by globalization.” As long as big business is global, “and labor is national,” said Unite spokesman Andrew Murray, “we’re going to be at a disadvantage.”

Banking: Sloppy management enabled fraud

Chaotic conditions at French bank Société Général created a fertile environment for the fraudulent trading scheme carried out by junior trader Jérôme Kerviel, said Scheherazade Daneshku in the Financial Times. A report issued last week by Société Général’s internal and outside auditors blamed the bank’s freewheeling “entrepreneurial culture” and inattentive line management for giving Kerviel the latitude to carry out billions of dollars in unauthorized stock trades. The report also found evidence that Kerviel may have had an accomplice inside the bank. His actions cost SocGen $7.2 billion in losses and triggered calls for Chairman Daniel Bouton’s resignation.

Economy: Buffett says it’s a recession

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has spoken: The U.S. is in a recession, said the Associated Press. In an interview published this week by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, the much-admired investment guru answered a question about a possible U.S. recession by saying “that as far as the average person is concerned, it’s already here.” The 77-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway added that “it will be deeper and longer than what many think.” Buffett was in Europe on a “deferred shopping trip” to scout acquisition candidates.