The daily business briefing: July 26, 2016
InBev sweetens its offer for SABMiller to $103 billion, the Fed mulls its next move on rates, and more
1. AB InBev raises bid for SABMiller to $103 billion
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, raised its offer for British brewer SABMiller to $103 billion on Tuesday. The move came after several funds, including Elliott Management and Davidson Kempner Capital Management, warned SABMiller shareholders that the proposed merger had become less attractive after the U.K.'s June vote to exit the European Union sparked a plunge in the value of the British pound. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Duncan Fox said "the raised offer shows how much ABI wants to complete the deal."
Bloomberg The Wall Street Journal
2. Fed starts meeting with no rate hike expected
Federal Reserve policy makers start a two-day meeting on Tuesday, with most analysts and investors expecting no change in interest rates as the Fed waits to see how the economy does in the wake of June's strong jobs report and the U.K.'s vote to exit the European Union. Most economists believe the Fed will avoid sending clear signals on when it plans to resume slowly raising rates after the slowdown in economic growth early this year. One economist said there's "too much volatility" to hike rates now, but the data should be more clear by September.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Fed prepares enforcement action against Goldman Sachs
The Federal Reserve is preparing enforcement action against Goldman Sachs over the 2014 leak of confidential documents to the bank by a Fed employee, The New York Times reported on Monday. Both the Fed employee and the banker already have pleaded guilty to charges of stealing government property. Goldman Sachs has paid a $50 million penalty to New York regulators for failing to "effectively supervise" its employee. Now the investment bank is expected to pay another penalty to settle the case with the federal regulators.
4. Low oil prices drag BP profits below estimates
BP on Tuesday posted a 45 percent drop in quarterly earnings due to low crude oil prices. The British energy giant, the first major oil company to release its results for the second quarter, said its adjusted profit had dropped to $720 million from $1.3 billion, falling short of analysts' expectations. Oil prices have rebounded somewhat from their early 2016 lows, but the industry faces looming troubles as the rally fades due to weakening demand and the resumption of production in Canada and Nigeria after partial disruptions.
5. Solar Impulse 2 completes last leg of trip around the world
Solar Impulse 2 landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday, marking a win for clean energy by becoming the first fuel-free plane to fly around the world. Pilot Bertrand Piccard flew the last of the trip's 17 legs, after taking turns with fellow flyer André Borschberg since the solar-powered aircraft left from the same city in March 2015. With a 236-foot wingspan, Solar Impulse 2 is wider than a Boeing 747, but it is made with carbon fiber and weighs just 5,000 pounds. Solar cells built into its wings power four motors. With a top speed of 90 miles per hour, the plane traveled 26,744 miles in 558 hours of flight time on the journey.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
7 restaurants that beat winter at its own chilly game
The Week Recommends Classic, new and certain to feed you well
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: December 24, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 24, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published