Happy Wednesday and welcome to your morning wrap of the key business and political headlines from around the world.
First up, new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has met with US President Donald Trump for the first time at the White House, telling him that Canada is “not for sale”.
His comments came after Trump said he still believes Canada should become the 51st state in the US because of the benefits to Canadian citizens, CNN reports.
Carney pushed back, saying: “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney said. “Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign, last several months — It’s not for sale. It won’t be for sale, ever.”
Trump later quipped: “Never say never”.
The US President also said there was nothing Carney could say to make him lift tariffs on Canada.
Mark Carney.
Staying with Trump, Reuters reports that he has announced the US will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen, saying the Iran-aligned group has agreed to stop disrupting key shipping lanes in the Middle East.
The Houthis have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7.
The US stepped up its offensive earlier this year, prompting concerns from human rights activists about civilian casualties. Trump said this morning the Houthis no longer want to fight and he would “accept their word”.
In trade news, the United Kingdom and India have struck a bilateral trade agreement which will lower tariffs on key exports such as UK whisky and cars, CNBC reports.
The deal would see India gradually lower taxes on imports from the UK, with the vast majority of goods becoming “fully tariff-free within a decade,” according to the British government.
“Today we have agreed a landmark deal with India – one of the fastest growing economies in the world, which will grow the economy and deliver for British people and business,” British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X saying the deal would “deepen” the relationship between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the UK will remove tariffs on 99.1% of imports such as clothing and footwear, and Indian employees working in the UK will be exempt from paying national insurance for up to three years.
The UK government said the deal will increase trade by £25.5 billion.
Narendra Modi.
In business news, Nasdaq-listed DoorDash will buy British rival Deliveroo in a $3.9b deal.
According to CNBC, Deliveroo, which lets users of its mobile app order hot meals and groceries, said its board agreed to DoorDash’s offer to acquire all issued and to be issued shares in the company for 180 pence per share – which is a 44% premium on Deliveroo’s closing price on April 4, when it received the offer.
“I could not be more excited by the prospect of what DoorDash and Deliveroo will be able to accomplish together,” DoorDash co-founder and chief executive Tony Xu said.
Deliveroo has had a rough ride as a public company. It listed in 2021 at £3.90 a share when the UK was still feeling the impacts of Covid-19 lockdowns, which lifted the prospects of many food delivery companies.
Since then, its shares have fallen more than 50% as demand eased and competition has intensified.
Deliveroo founder and chief executive Will Shoo told Reuters comparing the sale price with the IPO price was not necessarily fair.
"That was a different time, (and) a different interest rate environment," he said, adding that the deal would allow Deliveroo to “truly win”.
Analysts have long suggested that the sector was ripe for consolidation due to the number of participants.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Finally, Burger King must face a lawsuit claiming it mislead its customers with advertisements that make its Whopper burger and other products appear larger than they actually are, Reuters reports.
Less than 20 customers from 13 states have accused the fast-food chain of materially overstating the size of nearly all menu items in its in-store and online ads.
They cited the alleged portrayal of burgers that “overflow” the buns, with the Whopper appearing 35% larger than the actual burger and containing more than double the meat.
Burger King acknowledged its burgers were “styled” in photos but said reasonable consumers would realise the point of menu board photos was to make items look as appetising as possible.
In a decision this week, US District Judge Roy Altman in Miami found it plausible that some reasonable consumers in the class action could be deceived by the ads as they “go beyond mere exaggeration and puffery”.
In a statement, Burger King said the plaintiffs’ “claims are false”.
