Do you get all your soup from a can and all your pasta sauce from a jar? If so, I’m really sorry to hear that and I hope things get better for you. Also, you might be interested to know that Campbell soup has purchased the maker of RAO’s pasta sauce Sovos Brands for $2.7 billion.

The lowdown

• 🥫 Campbell Soup has bought the maker of RAO’s pasta sauce Sovos Brands for $2.7 billion.

• 📉 Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded a number of small and mid-sized US banks, denting their share prices.

• 🚀 Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk’s share price pops after latest trials show the weight loss drug cuts the risk of stroke by 20%.

Featured story

Italy surprises banks with a windfall tax

Not a great day for Italian bankers as Italy's government announced a one-off 40% tax on profits gained from higher interest rates in the banking sector.

Sharply higher official interest rates has led to record profits for banks in many parts of the world as the cost of loans soared. Spain and Hungary have previously imposed similar windfall taxes, and Italy's move could influence other countries to do the same. European bank shares tumbled after the announcement, with Italy's major lenders experiencing significant losses.

The measures were drafted quickly, but it appears the tax will apply only in 2023, targeting 40% of the net interest margin earned in 2022 or 2023, focusing on the yearly increase above certain thresholds. Are we witnessing a bank robbery?

The content we're consuming today

• Bloomberg: Short Seller Hindenburg Nabs Tiny Gains Off $173 Billion Carnage ($).

• Unhedged podcast: How bonds make - and break - nations.

• The Verge: It’s time to change how we cover Elon Musk.

Off-balance sheet items

• It’s nice to see someone overcome their fears, even if that someone is a 500-pound bear that is no longer afraid of humans and uses his massive size to break into homes to eat in a reverse Goldilocks scenario. Hank the Tank has now been captured.

The bottom line