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1. Arçelik ups SA investment

Defy, owned by Turkey’s Arçelik Global, has invested more than R1bn in upgrading three local production centres. Arçelik, which is extending its global research & development network by creating partnerships with key universities, also signed an agreement with Wits University to start a collaboration for joint venture engineering studies, focusing on developing new technologies for some of its products.

2. Coffee boosts Nestlé

Sales at Nestlé have climbed, boosted by recent acquisitions including the right to market Starbucks coffee products in supermarkets around the world. Nestlé reported a 4.3% rise in sales in the first quarter of this year to $22bn. This despite the overall climate of stagnant consumer spending in industrialised countries and a slowdown in growth in emerging markets. Recent acquisitions accounted for 1.2 percentage points of that increase.

3. Job cuts at Post-it maker

US manufacturing conglomerate 3M said it will lay off 2,000 workers globally. The group, which makes Post-it notes and Scotch tape, reported a widely lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its 2019 earnings forecast due to worsening performance in key markets.

4. Pernod buys Malfy gin

Pernod Ricard has signed an agreement with family-owned spirits supplier

Biggar & Leith for the acquisition of the Italian premium gin brand Malfy for an undisclosed sum. Malfy is distilled by the Vergnano family in the Italian region of Moncalieri. The Malfy collection is made using ingredients like lemons from Amalfi, Sicilian blood oranges and pink grapefruits.