Consumer goods giant Unilever has struck a €2.27bn deal to buy South Korean cosmetics firm Carver Korea.

Shares in French food group Danone rose after the New York Post newspaper said in a report over the weekend that Danone could be a takeover target.

Nestlé warned sales growth this year will be the weakest in at least two decades, giving activist investor Dan Loeb ammunition for his campaign to overhaul the world’s largest food firm, while Danone kept its 2017 goals despite a sales slowdown in the second quarter.

The Anglo-Dutch owner of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cut costs faster than expected in the first half of the year by reducing ad spend and paying its suppliers less.

Mustard is the new hot thing as US foods giant McCormick agreed to pay a scorching $4.2bn (€3.6bn) for Reckitt Benckiser’s food business, home to brands including French’s mustard and Frank’s RedHot sauce.

The US Supreme Court tightened rules for where patent lawsuits can be filed in a decision that may make it harder for so-called patent “trolls” to launch sometimes dodgy patent cases in friendly courts, a major irritant for high-tech giants like Apple and Alphabet’s Google.

Nestle and Unilever have reported sales that beat estimates as the European food giants pushed through cost increases to combat slowing purchases by pickier consumers opting for quality over quantity.

US cereal company Post Holdings agreed to buy Weetabix from Bright Food Group of China for £1.4bn (€1.65bn), adding the breakfast staple to a portfolio that includes Grape Nuts and Honey Bunches of Oats.

Unilever promised a multi-billion euro programme of shareholder rewards yesterday, after a corporate rethink sparked by a takeover approach from Kraft Heinz. It is aiming to prove it can generate lucrative returns as an independent company.

Unilever was all smiles when Kraft Heinz abandoned its attempt to buy the Anglo-Dutch consumer company for $143bn (€134.6bn).

Kraft Heinz has made a $143bn (€134.5bn) offer for Unilever in what would be the largest-ever takeover in the food or beverage industry, opening a campaign to create a consumer-goods giant with household names from Dove soap to Heinz ketchup.

Irish food-to-go supplier Greencore (GNC) has struck a €547m deal to buy American peer Peacock Foods in a bid to strengthen its US business.

US stocks jumped to record highs on Friday after a strong jobs report for the month of July gave investors more confidence that the economy is still growing.

The legend that is Warren Buffett spread in an even wider arc around the globe at the weekend, as the iconic Berkshire-Hathaway annual general meeting streamed live on the internet for the first time.

Billionaire Warren Buffett said on Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway is poised to do well no matter who wins the White House in November, and the billionaire investor defended the performance and tactics of the conglomerate’s several large investments.

Activist investor William Ackman has built a stake worth about $5.5bn (€5.05bn) in Mondelez International, the maker of Cadbury chocolate and Oreo biscuits, in what is seen as an attempt to push the company to boost earnings or sell itself.

With a merger of Kraft and Heinz expected soon, entrepreneur-led food firms are wide-eyed with optimism for the future, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.