Ready to deal: The current wave of corporate takeovers and mergers is set to grow, with the appetite for deals among executives hitting a five-year high, thanks to a strong dollar and low oil prices, according to a global survey released this morning. As The Associated Press reports, a striking 56% of companies assessed say they intend to make acquisitions in the coming year, up from 40% in October, consulting firm EY says in its half-yearly report on corporate deal-making. That’s the first time since 2010 that more than half of executives say they plan to make an acquisition in the next 12 months. Read the full story.
Seeing black: Speculators increased bullish oil bets by the most in more than four years, wagering that the U.S. production boom is slowing. As Bloomberg reports, hedge funds boosted net-long positions on West Texas Intermediate crude by 30% in the seven days ended April 7, the biggest jump since October 2010, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Long bets rose to a nine-month high, while shorts tumbled 21%. U.S. crude output and inventories may peak this month amid a record drop in rigs exploring for oil, Goldman Sachs Group reports. Read the full story.
On the descent: Think flying is getting worse? The Associated Press reports a pair of university researchers who track the airline business say it’s a fact. More flights are late, more bags are getting lost, and customers are lodging more complaints about U.S. airlines, government data shows. Dean Headley, a marketing professor at Wichita State and one of the co-authors of the annual report being released this morning, says passengers already know that air travel is getting worse. “We just got the numbers to prove it,” he says. For the third straight year, Virgin America led the rankings. The niche airline with a limited route network was followed by Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Read the full story.
