published May 11th 2016, 8:04 am, by Matt Levine (Bloomberg View) — Merger advice. Well: In 2015, the buyers in public-company deals valued at more than $1 billion didn’t use financial advisers in 70 instances, or 26% of the time, according to Dealogic. That is the second-highest total on record

published May 11th 2016, 4:33 pm, by Lindsey Rupp (Bloomberg) — A glum outlook from Macy’s Inc. renewed concerns about the broader retail industry, contributing to a stock rout for consumer companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., Ralph Lauren Corp. and Ross Stores Inc. on Wednesday.

published May 11th 2016, 8:49 pm, by Kevin Cirilli and Jennifer Jacobs (Bloomberg) —Donald Trump has discussed in recent days the possibility of selecting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as his vice presidential running mate, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been

published May 10th 2016, 3:51 pm, by Steven T. Dennis (Bloomberg) —Texas Senator Ted Cruz returned to the Senate Tuesday, where he shouldn’t expect a warm embrace from one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. But to get much of anything done, they’re going to need him. The freshman Texas

published May 10th 2016, 7:12 pm, by Yuko Takeo and Toshiro Hasegawa (Bloomberg) —Japanese shares rallied for a third day, tracking a global equity rebound following a recovery in commodity prices. The yen held declines against the dollar, sending exporters higher. The Topix index climbed 1.1 percent to 1,348.97 at

published May 10th 2016, 6:55 pm, by Joe Ryan (Bloomberg) — Big oil is dipping a few more toes into clean energy. Exxon Mobil Corp. is partnering with a company to capture carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants. Total SA, the French oil supermajor, announced a $1.1 billion deal Monday to

published May 9th 2016, 8:00 am, by Polly Mosendz (Bloomberg) — Parents coo and cheer as kids take their first steps, speak their first words, and eventually gambol through those schoolhouse doors. Lurking in the background though is a slowly building dread that culminates with another first: the college application,

published May 9th 2016, 11:28 am, by Justin Fox (Bloomberg View) — The current issue of Bloomberg Businessweek has a cover story on Nestle’s big effort to transform itself from a maker of often-junky foods to a “nutrition, health, and wellness company.” Early on, a reader encounters this passage about

published May 9th 2016, 6:30 pm, by Kendall Breitman (Bloomberg) — Hillary Clinton’s allies have already begun to prepare for the coming general election war with Donald Trump even though Democrats haven’t officially selected a candidate yet. Guy Cecil, the head of a pro-Clinton super-political action committee, said Monday that

published May 8th 2016, 6:01 pm, by Suzi Ring (Bloomberg) — A survey of board-level executives found that 80 percent have seen bribery and corruption at their companies, a sign that anti-bribery laws aren’t having enough of an effect. In a survey of 500 executives from companies located in 12