Starbucks, the world's largest café chain, surprised markets by replacing its current boss, Laxman Narasimhan, with Brian Niccol, who has led Chipotle, the burrito chain, since 2018. Mr Niccol will be the fourth person to take the helm of the struggling flat-white maker in two years. Starbucks agreed to give Mr Niccol $85m worth of cash and equity to coax him away from his current job. The company's share price surged.
Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's investment conglomerate, sold half its Apple stock in the second quarter. Mr Buffett shifted his portfolio towards short-term bonds instead. Apple reported a solid quarterly revenue and profit increase, though its sales in China declined again.
Chocolate maker Mars agreed to buy Kellanova, a cereal company, for $36bn. It will be one of the largest-ever acquisitions in the snack industry. Mars is a privately held company that owns popular brands like M&M's and Snickers, while Kellanova was spun off from Kellogg's last year and makes cer…