Alimentation Couche-Tard must divest 35 gas stations to advance Giant Eagle deal, FTC says
TORONTO, June 26 (Reuters) - Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO), opens new tab will be required to divest 35 gas stations in order to move forward with its proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 retail fuel outlets from grocery store chain Giant Eagle, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.
The proposed consent order would settle FTC charges that the deal was anticompetitive and would have likely led to higher fuel costs for consumers across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the commission said in a statement.
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Keir Starmer says he was ‘distracted' by Middle East and Nato during welfare rebellion
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his focus was on matters involving Nato and the Middle East while a rebellion over welfare cuts took hold of his party at home. The prime minister has faced a growing backbench rebellion over proposed disability benefits cuts. Some 126 Labour backbenchers have signed an amendment that would halt the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill in its tracks when it faces its first Commons hurdle on 1 July. Responding to questions about what went wrong during the difficult week, Sir Keir claimed full responsibility for the welfare U-turn. 'All these decisions are my decisions and I take ownership of them,' he told The Sunday Times. 'My rule of leadership is, when things go well you get the plaudits; when things don't go well you carry the can. I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this government. I do not talk about staff and I'd much prefer it if everybody else didn't.' He continued that this was due to his heavy concentration on foreign affairs instead of domestic matters, first at the G7 meeting in Canada and then a Nato summit in the Netherlands. He also had to deal with the US's strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. 'I'm putting this as context rather than excuse: I was heavily focused on what was happening with Nato and the Middle East all weekend,' he said. 'I turned my attention fully to it [the welfare bill] when I got back from Nato on Wednesday night. Obviously in the course of the early part of this week we were busy trying to make sure Nato was a success.' He added: 'From the moment I got back from the G7, I went straight into a Cobra meeting. My full attention really bore down on this on Thursday. At that point we were able to move relatively quickly.' The government's original package restricted PIP eligibility, the main disability payment in England, and cut the health-related element of Universal Credit in a bid to save £5bn a year by 2030. The government has offered Labour rebels a series of concessions in an effort to head off the prime minister's first major Commons defeat since coming to power, as discontent bubbles among backbenchers surrounding welfare cuts, but campaigners have warned that these concessions could continue to cause problems Instead, the PIP eligibility changes will be implemented in November 2026, applying to new claimants only, while the existing recipients of the health elements of Universal Credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. While lead rebel Dame Meg Hillier has accepted the prime minister's £1.5bn U-turn as a 'positive outcome', Sir Keir has been warned that his decision to protect existing benefits claimants from upcoming welfare cuts would only create a 'generational divide' as hundreds of charities and campaigners urged MPs to continue their opposition to the proposed cuts. Disability charity Mencap warned that the changes will create a 'generational divide in the quality of life for people with a learning disability'. Think tank the Resolution Foundation warned earlier this week that the prime minister's U-turns on benefit cuts and winter fuel payments have blown a £4.5bn hole in the public finances that will 'very likely' be filled by tax rises in the autumn Budget.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Canada brutally hits back at Trump's tariffs ultimatum with huge hike that could cripple struggling US industry
After President Donald Trump shut down all trade talks with Canada, the country retaliated by hiking duties on American steel imports. Canada imposed an import quota late Friday and if it is exceeded, certain American steel sent to the country will face a new 50 percent surcharge. Canada's Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said the government was acting to protect domestic industry from 'unjust US tariffs,' NBC News reported. The response came hours after Trump posted on Truth Social about how Canada is a 'very difficult country to trade with.' His reason for suspending trade negotiations came down to a tax Canada is set to impose on major tech companies starting Monday. 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,' Trump wrote, adding that the levy 'is a direct and blatant attack on our Country.' Last week, the finance minister said he would not delay the implementation of the digital services tax, which applies to any firm making more than $15 million from Canadian internet users. The three percent tax will strike at the heart of American companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb. Canada's response came hours after President Donald Trump made this post criticizing the country for levying a usage tax on American tech companies And because the tax is retroactive back to 2022, one tech lobbying group said American firms will soon have to pay up to $3 billion directly into Canada's treasury. Canada has not ruled out further action to strike back at Trump for ending negotiations, with the government saying it 'remains prepared to take additional steps as needed.' How Canada's hike on US steel imports will affect the industry, which has been struggling for years, is yet to be seen. US Steel Corporation, once one of the most valuable companies in the world, just merged with Japan's Nippon Steel earlier this month after years of declining sales. Canada remains the second largest trading partner of the US, despite all the trade turmoil. Right now, the US has 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports that aren't covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trade deal Trump signed in his first term. Canadian energy is exempt from the 25 percent rate but is still tariffed at 10 percent, as are most products that have entered the US since early April. Canada is also hugely impacted by Trump's 50 percent tax on steel and aluminum imports, as the country is largest foreign supplier of those materials to the US. Canada's steel industry has laid off a staggering 1,000 workers since the first US tariffs in March, Reuters reported. It has also been impacted by the 25 percent duties Trump has levied on foreign-made vehicles and parts. This comes as the US rapidly approaches Trump's July 9 deadline to renegotiate trade with countries around the world so they can avoid so-called reciprocal tariffs. Trump first announced the reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which he dubbed 'Liberation Day.' More than 60 countries were hit with import charges of as much as 50 percent. The announcement from the White House led to widespread market panic and falling bond values, which led to Trump enacting a 90-day pause on April 9. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said early Friday that the pause could be extended to Labor Day - and that country-by-country tariffs could be negotiated down in that time. Hours later, Trump echoed a similar sentiment. He said the initial July 9 deadline was not set in stone and could shortened or extended.
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
Starmer urged to act after Trump threatens Commonwealth ally Canada
Keir Starner is facing calls to act after Donald Trump cut off talks with Canada and threatened the Commonwealth country with more trade tariffs. Just weeks before president Trump is due to meet King Charles, Canada's official head of state, on a visit to the UK, he claimed he had 'such power' over the country but added 'I'd rather not use it.' In a move that caused market turmoil amid fears of a renewal of Trump's trade war, he said he would tell Canada the levies they will have to pay on goods entering the US '....within the next seven day period.' The call for Starmer to intervene comes after a similar diplomatic row exploded earlier this year when the PM declined to back Canada against Trump's ambitions to turn it into the 51st state of the USA. A Conservative MP in Canada and a former ambassador were among those to criticise the UK prime minister for failing to stand up for their country. The latest attack on Canada comes at a a difficult time for the Labour leader. He is hoping to woo President Trump on a historic second state visit to the UK in September, when he will meet the King, a keen champion of the Commonwealth. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: "Once again, Donald Trump has shown contempt for his allies by continuing his damaging war on trade. With such an unreliable partner in the White House, the government needs to strengthen our economy, by establishing a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union, and work closer with our European and Commonwealth allies to create a coalition of the willing to end Trump's trade war." SNP MP Stephen Gethins said: 'The Trump project, just like Brexit, is about throwing up barriers to trade with our partners that will cost jobs and damage public finances. The UK needs to be building bridges with states like Canada and the EU that will help deliver sustainable economic growth. There have to be serious questions around the Labour government's judgement over the offer of a state visit to Trump.' The latest row erupted over Canada's plans for a digital services tax. In a post on Truth Social, the president complained that he had 'just been informed' of the move, which could leave some American technology companies with large bills. Trump called the plans 'a direct and blatant attack on our Country.' 'They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also,' he wrote, added that as a result the US was 'hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately.' Trump later claimed the US has 'a great relationship with the people of Canada' but that its government, headed by the former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, had made things 'very difficult'. He added: 'We don't want to do anything bad, but ... economically ... we have such power over Canada. I'd rather not use it, but they did something with our tech companies today, trying to copy Europe.'
