By Thomas BIANCATO
Published on Mon, 14.Jul.2025
Kraft Heinz is preparing to break itself up, a decade after an infamous merger of two of the biggest names in packaged foods that was orchestrated by Warren Buffett and Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital Partners. The company is planning to spin off a large chunk of its grocery business, including many Kraft products, into a new entity that could be valued at as much as $20 billion on its own, according to people familiar with the matter. That would leave a company housing goods such as sauces and spreads like Heinz’s namesake ketchup and Dijon mustard brand Grey Poupon. The company has given priority to its faster-growing offerings like hot sauces, dressings and condiments, which are more in line with consumer preferences than processed lunch meats and cheeses. It hopes the two separate units would be in total worth more than Kraft Heinz’s roughly $31 billion market value. A split could be finalized in the coming weeks, the people said. However, Kraft Heinz has discussed other scenarios with its advisers and its board hasn’t signed off on a final decision, they cautioned. The company is also still working through exactly which brands would be part of the spun-out entity, the people said.
The Switzerland market closed weak on Friday, tracking weak global cues after U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff moves raised fears of a global trade war. The benchmark SMI ended down 194.52 points or 1.6% at 11,937.42, slightly off the day's low of 11,922.85. Straumann Holding ended down 3.38%. Novartis and Adecco, both closed down 3%. Novartis fell as it failed to block India-based MSN Pharmaceuticals from launching a generic version of its blockbuster heart-failure drug Entresto Sika and Roche Holding ended lower by 2.46% and 2.36%, respectively. Sonova, Alcon, Richemont, Givaudan, Partners Group, VAT Group and SIG Group finished lower by 1.5 to 2%. Logitech International, UBS Group, Geberit and Nestle also ended notably lower. Lindt & Spruengli gained nearly 1%. Swiss Life Holding and Julius Baer posted modest gains. In economic news, Swiss consumers remained less pessimistic in June as the confidence index rose further from May, monthly survey results from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed. The consumer sentiment index rose to -32.0 in June from -36.5 in the previous month. Similarly, the index improved from the previous year's reading of -36.0.
Europe
European stocks closed lower on Friday as trade war fears resurfaced after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, effective August 1, 2025, and warned of a blanket tariff of 15-20% on most trading partners. Weak GDP data weighed on the British market. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.01%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down 0.38%, Germany's DAX lost 0.82% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.92% down, while Switzerland's SMI tumbled 1.6%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate gains. Norway and Portugal posted modest gains. Poland and Turkiye closed higher, while Iceland ended flat. In the UK market, JD Sports Fashion, GSK, WPP, Smith & Nephew, Croda International, Spirax Group, Diageo, Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Natwest Group, Reckitt Benckiser and AstraZeneca closed down 1.4 to 3.2%. Fresnillo gained about 3.5%. BP climbed nearly 3.5% after the oil and gas giant said it expects higher oil output and strong trading performance in the second quarter. Endeavour Mining, British American Tobacco, Aviva, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems and Phoenix Group Holdings gained 1 to 2.7%. In the German market, Puma ended nearly 4% down. Siemens Healthineers closed lower by about 3.7%. Brenntag, Sartorius, Qiagen, Daimler Truck Holding, Commerzbank, Adidas, BASF, SAP, Siemens, Henkel, Bayer and Beiersdorf lost 1.4 to 2.5%. Siemens Energy climbed nearly 2%. RWE, MTU Aero Engines and E.ON posted moderate gains.
United States
After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday but still closed modestly lower. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back off Thursday's record closing highs. The Dow slid 279.13 points or 0.6 percent to 44,371.51, the Nasdaq slipped 45.14 points or 0.2 percent to 20,585.53 and the S&P 500 fell 20.71 points or 0.3 percent to 6,259.75. The weakness on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about President Donald Trump's escalating trade battles. In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on Truth Social, Trump announced a 35 percent tariff on Canadian imports effective August 1st. Trump said the tariffs were partly due to Canada's failure to stop fentanyl from 'pouring' into the U.S. and threatened to raise tariffs further if Canada retaliates. 'If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,' Trump said. Airline stocks pulled back sharply after soaring in the previous session, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.7 percent. The index ended Thursday's trading at a four-month closing high. Considerable weakness was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Networking, housing and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable weakness, while gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside along with the price of the precious metal.
Asia
The stock markets in East Asia and Australia reacted rather cautiously to the latest tariff announcements by the USA. Surprisingly good Chinese trade data, on the other hand, is providing slightly positive signs on the stock markets in Shanghai (+0.4 per cent) and Hong Kong (+0.1 per cent). Exports rose by 5.8 per cent in June compared to the previous year, while economists had only expected an increase of 4.0 per cent.
Bonds
In the U.S bond market, treasuries came under pressure after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 7.7 basis points 4.423 percent.
Analysis
HSBC raises the Eni target to EUR 15.80 (15.10) – Buy
Deutsche Bank lowers Gerresheimer target to EUR 55 (58) – Hold
Deutsche Bank lowers Deutsche Börse target to EUR 298 (302) – Buy