International stocks trading in New York closed lower Monday,
with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts
falling 1.7% to 148.67. The European index dropped 2% to 149.42,
the Asian index fell 1.1% to 142.30, the Latin American index
declined 1.6% to 254.04 and the emerging-markets index fell 1.2% to
261.21. Among the companies with shares that actively traded was
Unilever PLC (UL, ULVR.LN).
Unilever is ready to sell its Ragu pasta-sauce brand for around
$2 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal which cited two
people familiar with the situation, as the consumer-goods company
continues to pare its food business. The company has enlisted
Morgan Stanley to help with the sale, according to one of the
people. The timing of any potential deal was unclear, as were the
entities Unilever might approach as buyers. Shares fell 1.9% to
$40.24.
Bank of Ireland PLC (IRE), the country's dominant lender, Monday
posted a much smaller loss for 2013 and said it is again making
sustainable profits this year for the first time since the
financial crisis struck in 2008. Shares still fell 1.3% to
$21.33.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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