
The Daily Chase: Couche-Tard to buy TotalEnergies; Empire earnings dragged down by cyberattack
BNN Bloomberg
It’s shaping up to be another volatile day in the equity markets after yesterday’s eventful session.
COUCHE-TARD GOES ON EUROPEAN SHOPPING SPREE
Convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is making a big splash across the pond, striking a deal to buy almost 2,200 gas stations from TotalEnergies for €3.1B in cash. The deal nets Couche-Tard 100 per cent of TotalEnergies retail assets in Germany and the Netherlands, along with a 60 per cent controlling interest in Total’s Belgium and Luxembourg units. Now, this is old hat for Couche-Tard, which operates about 2,800 locations in Europe already (mostly in Scandinavia and the Baltics.) It’s also the company’s first big swing at a deal on the continent after its failed pursuit of French retailer Carrefour two years ago.
CYBERATTACK WEIGHS ON EMPIRE'S Q3

A key question hangs over the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that ends Wednesday: Will central bank policymakers still reduce short-term interest rates this year, now that the Iran war has sent oil prices higher and gas prices spiking? Or will they have to stand pat for months to see how the conflict plays out?

Oil tankers are crossing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s actions to choke traffic through the shipping route have not hurt the U.S. economy, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Tuesday, reiterating the Trump administration’s position that the war should be over in weeks, not months.











