News

Lindt holds back on Canada supply shift, boosts local stocks

(Reuters) -Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli said it is still working out how to deal with the escalating trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump and has temporarily increased stocks in Canada to cushion the impact of tariffs. The company said in March it would supply chocolate made in Europe to Canada to avoid tariffs imposed to counter higher U.S. customs duties. The spokesperson said that shifting sourcing of products sold in Canada to Europe was "one option that is being discussed", but the company has not yet decided how to proceed.

US AI boom under threat from tariffs, global economic turmoil

Corporate America's artificial intelligence investment frenzy has shrugged off fears of slow returns and doubts fueled by AI models built cheaply by China's DeepSeek. Upcoming earnings reports from tech giants including Alphabet and Microsoft, as well as utilities that power massive data centers such as Vistra and Constellation Energy, will show whether tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China are forcing businesses to rethink their ambitious infrastructure plans. Analysts said this could hit investments in AI tools and pointed to early signs of tech giants pulling back on data center leases.

World Economic Forum board backs launch of independent probe into founder Klaus Schwab

The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, says its board has given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab. The statement from the Geneva-based think tank and event organizer late Tuesday came after a report published by The Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Schwab, 87, and his wife, Hilde.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Reports Strong Q1, Stock Jumps 18.5%

Data center products and services company Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 24.2% year on year to $2.04 billion. On top of that, next quarter’s revenue guidance ($2.35 billion at the midpoint) was surprisingly good and 3.7% above what analysts were expecting. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.64 per share was 3.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.