4/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | SEP 4, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

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AI ‘revolutionises’ stroke treatment in England LONDON: An artificial intelligence tool which quickly analyses brain scans of stroke patients has helped boost chances of full recovery since being launched across England, the public health service said on Tuesday. The technology analyses brain scans to diagnose the type and severity of the stroke and “helps doctors make faster decisions about the right course of treatment”, National Health Service (NHS) England said in a press release. It was rolled out in over 100 NHS stroke centres last year and has “potentially helped thousands of patients fully recover from a stroke since”. The AI technology can crucially reduce the time between a patient being admitted to hospital to receiving life-saving treatment by 60 minutes, according to early-stage analysis. It has also been shown to triple the likelihood of recovery without disability, from 16% to 48%, according to the health service. “This AI decision support technology is revolutionising how we help people who have been affected by a stroke,” said NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Stroke, David Hargroves. “It is estimated a patient loses around two million brain cells a minute at the start of a stroke, which is why rapid diagnosis and treatment is so critical,” Hargroves added. With around 38,000 stroke-related deaths a year, the medical condition is the fourth leading cause of death in the UK. According to the government, in June the UK co-founded an international network of health regulators focusing on AI-use, with the hope of getting “trusted AI tools safely into clinics faster”. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government hopes the technology can help it deliver on election promises to overhaul the ailing public healthcare system and cut patient waiting lists. – AFP The fraud scheme mainly involved false declarations of farmland or livestock herds, the minister said. “We must not tolerate certain people coveting precious public resources,” he told a news conference. “These funds were intended to support the Greek agriculture sector, not to make a few people rich, illegally and unjustifiably.” The findings come after EU investigators raided the Athens offices of the Greek government agency that handled the payments, OPEKEPE. The EU probe has shown widespread abuse of funds at now shuttered OPEKEPE, which according to the government annually disbursed more than €3 billion to 680,000 farmers. The period under investigation is mostly under the current government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who came to power in July 2019. – AFP

Kraft BBQ sauce products sit on a supermarket shelf in New York. – REUTERSPIC

Kraft Heinz to split into two companies

FRANKFURT: Berlin is probing whether Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s bid to take over a major German electronics retail group presents a risk to the country’s security, government sources said on Tuesday. It is the latest case of an attempted Chinese investment in Europe’s top economy facing official scrutiny. Some deals have been watered down or blocked in recent years on national security grounds. JD.com announced in July that it had signed a deal to acquire Ceconomy, the parent company of two major retailers, MediaMarkt and Saturn, valuing the German group at €2.2 billion (RM9.3 billion). The agreement was not yet finalised, but Ceconomy’s NEW YORK: Packaged-food giant Kraft Heinz said on Tuesday that it will separate into two firms, dividing up famous brands including Philadelphia cream cheese and cold-cut brand Oscar Mayer. The company, which was born in a 2015 merger between two longstanding American food brands, said splitting in two will allow better targeted investments to maximise brand value, according to a Kraft Heinz press release. “By separating into two companies, we can allocate the right level of attention and resources to unlock the potential of each brand to drive better performance,” said Miguel Patricio, executive chairman of the board for Kraft Heinz. But shares of the food company fell sharply after major holder Berkshire Hathaway signalled its disagreement with the announcement. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett said he was “disappointed” by the decision to split up the companies, pointing to US$300 million (RM1.3 billion) in transaction costs and questioning the rationale of

o Food giant says break-up will allow better targeted investments to maximise brand value

ATHENS: Greek authorities estimate at least €23 million (RM110 million) in EU farm subsidies to the country have gone to fraudulent claimants, a government minister said on Tuesday. The European Union is currently investigating allegations of massive graft targeting its agricultural subsidies to Greece, after accusations that aid was illegally paid to unqualified recipients. Greek authorities, who launched their own probe after the scandal erupted, examined 6,354 aid recipients, of whom 1,036 were determined to have received illegal payments totalling €23 million, said Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis. The findings have been referred to the courts, which can now authorise “the confiscation of assets from those who wrongfully received these subsidies”, he said. Kraft Singles and Lunchables. The board is working with a global executive search firm to identify CEO candidates for the Global Taste Elevation Co, which will include the brands Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kraft Heinz said in the press release. The company said it expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026. That timeframe anticipates the receipt of a tax opinion attesting that the transaction will be tax-free. Brands in North American Grocery Co. had 2024 sales of $10.4 billion, while Global Taste Elevation Co, had sales of US$15.4 billion last year. – AFP

In May, Berkshire Hathaway representatives stepped down from the Kraft Heinz board. Berkshire, which holds 27.5% of Kraft Heinz shares, also accounted for an US$3.8 billion writedown of its investment in Kraft Heinz. Under the plan announced on Tuesday, Kraft Heinz chief executive Carlos Abrams-Rivera will become chief executive of North American Grocery Co, whose brands will include Oscar Mayer,

dividing the assets up, CNBC reported. Buffett had helped orchestrate the original union between Kraft and Heinz a decade ago, which was billed as a way to enable both US and international growth through brands such as Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Maxwell House coffee and Oscar Mayer hotdogs. But Kraft Heinz sales have struggled in recent quarters amid weak demand for some core food items.

Germany probes China e-commerce firm JD.com’s bid for electronics giant

Greece estimates €23 million in EU farm aid stolen

company balance sheets – it is also a matter of digital sovereignty, security of supply and democratic control”. MediaMarkt and Saturn have a network of more than 1,000 electronics stores, many of them in Germany but also in several other European countries, as well as online sales platforms. But there has been resistance to Chinese attempts to invest in Germany. A bid by Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco to buy a stake in a Hamburg port sparked a furious row on national security concerns, with Cosco only allowed to buy a smaller stake than it had originally sought. The sale of two German semiconductor makers to Chinese investors was blocked entirely. – AFP

management recommended that its shareholders accept the offer. In response to a question raised by a lawmaker about the potential risks, the Economy Ministry confirmed that an official review of the deal had begun and was in its “early stages”. As part of the review, officials would examine “whether the planned acquisition affects the public order or security of the Federal Republic of Germany” or another EU state, according to the ministry’s response. The question had been submitted by lawmaker Anne-Mieke Bremer from far-left party Die Linke, and she provided the response to AFP. Ministry sources confirmed they had sent it. Bremer said the attempted takeover was “not just a matter of