Kraft foods, Hutchison buys O2 and the economics of busking

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Philadelphia cream cheese and Cadbury chocolate is on the menu for 3G. The Brazilian private equity group controls Burger King and Heinz, and is in advanced talks to buy Kraft Foods Group – a deal that could be worth as much as $40bn. At that size, a partner could be brought on board; another possibility is a merger with Heinz. (FT)

3G is headed by Jorge Paulo Lemann, a former tennis champion known as something of aBrazilian Warren Buffett for his skill in pulling off grand M&A deals. 3G has already teamed up with Berkshire Hathaway to help underwrite Burger King’s $11.4bn acquisition of Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons. The two also joined forces to buy ketchup-maker Heinz for $23.2bn. (FT)

In the news

The 10-minute trade An analysis of Hanergy’s Hong Kong stock reveals a mysterious late-day share price surge in China’s biggest solar group. (FT)

Greek government raids public services The national health service and state-owned corporations have been asked to hand over cash to keep the government afloat. Athens has a EUR1.7bn bill for wages and pensions due at the end of the month and a EUR450m loan payment for the IMF to pay on April 9. (FT)

Hutchison Whampoa buys O2 for £10.3bn Li Ka-shing added to his growing British portfolio by agreeing to buy the mobile network from Telefonica. Hutchison will combine O2 with its Three mobile group to create the largest UK mobile network with 31m customers – 41 per cent of the country’s wireless market. (FT)

Black box found in French Alps crash Investigators are examining a black box flight recorder recovered from the mountains where the German airliner crashed, killing all 150 people on board. The Airbus A320 jet operated by Lufthansa’s budget airline was en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it crashed into the southern French Alps. (FT)

HSBC moves UK HQ to Birmingham UK regulators are forcing the bank to ringfence its retail and business banking operations so it will up sticks and move the whole lot 100 miles away to Birmingham. There has been speculation that the increase in the bank levy announced in this month’s budget could push the group to move its main domicile to Hong Kong where most of its profits are made. (FT)

LHC short circuit The Large Hadron Collider, which was going to be restarted this week, faces delays of days or even weeks after a short circuit was detected in one of its electromagnets. (Wired)

It’s a big day for

Amanda Knox Italy’s highest court will decide whether to uphold her conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007. If it is upheld, there could be an extradition battle with the US as Knox has said she would not willingly return to Italy. (Reuters)

German business The Ifo survey, out today, is expected to show a modest improvement in the country’s business climate after the positive signs from the eurozone PMI figures yesterday. (FT)

Food for thought

California dreamin’ What’s the allure of Silicon Valley for Wall Streeters? Katie Benner thinks they get a combination of prestige and money in Silicon Valley, while finance is now less profitable and less glamorous than 10 years ago. Lex, however, isn’t convinced: “it is a bit hard to describe Google, where Morgan Stanley finance chief Ruth Porat is headed, as a rocket ship.” (Bloomberg, FT)

The economics of busking Timing is of the essence – and that’s when you play, not just keeping to the beat. Mark Sandusky says 5pm to 10pm on evenings before weekends and holidays are likely to be the most fruitful. “Our understanding is that money drops best when people are feeling tipsy but before they’re actually drunk.” (Priceonomics, via Marginal Revolution)

Dictatorship ain’t what it used to be New forms of authoritarianism based on manipulating information rather than mass violence have emerged – they are better adapted to open borders, global media and knowledge-based economies. VoxEU explores the trade-offs and techniques of the modern dictator.

Video of the day

Structural reform in Indonesia Bambang Brodjonegoro, the minister of finance, discusses the country’s finance, the weak rupiah and the low level of tax receipts. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A man walks past buildings at the central business district of Singapore. REUTERS/Nicky Loh.