Fixed farmgate price hike for Ghana’s cocoa farmers
Accra — Ghana, the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer, on Monday raised the fixed farmgate price paid to cocoa farmers by more than 4% for the 2025/26 crop season starting on August 7.
Finance minister Cassiel ATO Forson told a press briefing in Accra that cocoa farmers would receive 51,660 cedis (about $5,040) a metric ton, compared with 49,600 cedis now.
Ivory Coast’s state-guaranteed price paid to farmers for the 2024/2025 mid-crop is 2,200 CFA francs ($3.90) a kilogram. Reuters
Also read: Ivory Coast vows to find new buyers for its cocoa as 15% Trump tariff looms
Lummus files for IPO amid rebounding US market
Bengaluru — Petrochemical company Lummus Technology said on Monday it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the US.
US IPO market activity, which began the year sluggishly, is showing signs of a steady rebound after recent new listings attracted strong investor demand.
The terms of the offering were not disclosed.
Lummus provides process technology and licences to the energy and petrochemical industries, including renewables, polymers and gas processing. Reuters
Price of Spotify premium subs to rise in September
Bengaluru — Spotify said on Monday it would increase the monthly price of its premium individual subscription in select markets from September, as the Swedish streaming giant looks to improve margins.
The subscription price will rise to €11.99 a month from €10.99 in markets including South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Over the next month, subscribers will receive an email explaining the price increase.
Shares of Spotify rose about 3% in premarket trading. Reuters
Japan’s labour ministry proposes 6% wage hike
Tokyo — A Japanese labour ministry panel has proposed a 6% increase in the national average minimum wage for this fiscal year, the biggest such jump since at least 2002, the Nikkei business newspaper reported on Monday.
Achieving real wage growth has become a top policy priority for Japan, as persistent inflation continues to squeeze households. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election in July, highlighting growing frustration with the government's response.
The proposed hike would raise the average minimum wage to ¥1,118 yen an hour, surpassing last year's 5% increase and marking the largest rise since the current system was introduced 23 years ago, Nikkei said. It did not specify a source for the information. Reuters
Joby Aviation to buy Blade Air Mobility for $125m
Santa Cruz — Joby Aviation will acquire helicopter rideshare company Blade Air Mobility’s passenger business for up to $125m, it said on Monday, as it works to speed the deployment of electric air taxis for commercial passenger services.
Blade’s Medical division is not part of the deal and will remain a separate public company rebranded as Strata Critical Medical but will partner with Joby on medical transportation.
The acquisition includes all of Blade’s passenger business, including US and European operations. Under the agreement, Joby will pay Blade up to $125m, including $35m tied to certain performance milestones and retention of certain key employees. Reuters
Carlyle raises $9bn for latest US real estate fund
New York — Carlyle has raised $9bn for its latest US real estate fund, the investment group told Reuters on Monday, giving it a record fundraising haul to deploy into land and buildings amid tentative signs of recovery in parts of the sector.
Many asset managers have struggled to coax their backers, which include pension funds and other large financial institutions, to put up cash for real estate investments in recent years, as the market digested factors including slumping demand for commercial real estate and offices in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The amount of private capital raised globally for real estate investments sagged in 2024 to $131bn, its lowest since 2012, but has started to rebound this year, mainly driven by a few very large fundraising rounds, according to data from PEI Group. Reuters
Foxconn agrees to offload former Ohio car factory
Taipei — Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Monday it had struck a deal to sell the Lordstown former car factory in Ohio for $375m, including its machinery, but said it would continue to use the site to make a broader range of products aligned with its strategic priorities.
Foxconn, which makes data centre products for Nvidia and assembles iPhones for Apple, did not elaborate on products to be manufactured at the plant, but said the cloud and networking product business in particularly showed “significant growth”.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter said the Ohio site would support AI data centres, without specifying details. Reuters
Higher oil production to boost Nigeria revenue
Lagos — Nigeria’s oil production surpassed 1.8-million barrels per day (bpd) last month, with an average output at 1.78-million bpd, Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, said at a conference on Monday.
The West African country, Africa's largest oil producer, relies on crude oil for nearly two-thirds of government revenue and more than 80% of foreign currency earnings, making production gains critical for stabilising its economy.
However, widespread oil theft and years of underinvestment have curtailed output and strained public finances in recent years. Reuters
Swatch upbeat Switzerland can strike US tariff deal
Zurich — Flagship Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group is hopeful that the Swiss government can quickly strike a deal to avert a threatened 39% US import tariff on Swiss goods, while its high inventories in the US offer it a short-term buffer.
CEO Nick Hayek said on Monday that the owner of the Omega, Tissot and Longines brands was well positioned to ride out trade tensions but called for urgent talks after the higher tariff rate was revealed last week.
The 39% rate — one of the highest tariffs in US President Donald Trump’s global trade reset — is due to be implemented from Thursday. Reuters
Lab equipment maker Waters lifts profit forecast
Bengaluru — Lab equipment maker Waters raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast on Monday after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results on improved demand from biotech clients for its tools used in drug development and research.
Shares of the Milford, Massachusetts-based company were up 3.7% premarket in low trading volumes.
The company supplies lab equipment and technology across the world, with the majority of its revenue coming from biopharma clients who use its tools for research and drug development.
Waters forecast annual adjusted profit per share in the range of $12.95-$13.05, compared with previously projected adjusted profit of $12.75-$13.05. Reuters
PostNL goes to court over state financial support
Bengaluru — PostNL launched an appeal on Monday against the Dutch government’s decision to reject the postal operator’s request for financial aid, asking for a $35m prepayment to help it provide public postal services this year.
PostNL said it had filed for preliminary legal proceedings, hoping to get a day in court in August, as it faces mounting pressure to ensure the financial sustainability of those service obligations.
“According to European legislation, a provider of a public service is entitled to compensation if the obligations impose a disproportionate financial burden,” CEO Pim Berendsen said in an earnings statement.
PostNL had previously asked the state for a temporary financial contribution to cover costs of €30m in 2025 and €38m in 2026. It confirmed on Monday it was still seeking those numbers. Reuters
Harley-Davidson names successor to CEO Zeitz
Bengaluru — Harley-Davidson on Monday named Arthur Starrs as its next CEO, effective October 1, ending a prolonged search for a candidate to succeed incumbent Jochen Zeitz.
Starrs serves as the CEO of Topgolf International, a sports entertainment company and unit of Topgolf Callaway Brands.
Before Topgolf, Starrs was the CEO of Pizza Hut, a global restaurant chain and division of Yum! Brands.
Harley in April said Zeitz planned to step down from his role this year, to end a five-year tenure marked by efforts to revive the American motorcycle maker struggling with plummeting demand. Reuters
Read more: Topgolf’s Arthur Starrs made new CEO of Harley-Davidson
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