Oil prices hit four year high: Latest news on the Middle East conflict on 9 March
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $...
Drugmaker Pfizer has sold its entire stake in consumer healthcare firm Haleon for approximately 2.5 billion pounds (roughly $3.24 billion), according to sources involved in the transaction.
The deal was executed at a price of 385 pence per share, with institutional investors and Haleon purchasing the shares.
Under the agreement, Haleon – known for brands such as Sensodyne, Panadol, and Advil – will buy back 44 million shares from Pfizer, which was its largest shareholder, while 618 million shares are being sold to institutional investors. This sale represents 7.3% of Haleon’s issued share capital. Haleon was established following the merger of GSK and Pfizer's consumer healthcare businesses in 2019 and was spun off from the British drugmaker in 2022.
Following Pfizer’s divestiture, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, a unit of BlackRock, is set to become Haleon’s largest shareholder, holding more than a 5% stake, according to data compiled by LSEG. The deal was coordinated by a team that includes BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, and Goldman Sachs International as joint global coordinators, with Barclays and Deutsche Numis acting as joint bookrunners.
Earlier, GSK – which initially held nearly a 13% stake in Haleon – completed its full exit in May 2024. Haleon, which also manufactures popular painkillers, indicated in February that its revenue and profit growth in 2025 would be weighted towards the second half of the year.
The divestiture underscores Pfizer's strategic decision to refocus its portfolio while enabling Haleon to consolidate its shareholder base as it continues to drive growth in the competitive consumer healthcare market.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
Global financial markets remained on edge on Friday as the escalating war involving the United States, Israel and Iran continued to rattle investors, fuelling volatility in stocks and sending energy prices sharply higher.
China’s top leadership has unveiled a new push to turn advanced technologies into large-scale industrial priorities as part of the country’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, which will guide economic and social development from 2026 to 2030.
The European Commission sees no immediate impact on the European Union's security of oil supply from the escalating conflict in the Middle East, it said in an email to EU governments, seen by Reuters on Monday (2 March).
Paramount Skydance emerged as the winner in a months-long battle to acquire Warner Bros Discovery after streaming giant Netflix on Thursday refused to raise its bid for the storied Hollywood studio.
Global debt surged to a record $348.3 trillion at the end of 2025, after nearly $29 trillion was added over the year, marking the fastest annual increase since the pandemic, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF) report released on Wednesday.
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