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Here’s your executive summary of the most newsworthy, fascinating and amusing stories from today’s Financial Post.

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1. Hudson’s Bay buys 136 European department stores for $3.9 billion

Hudson’s Bay has purchased 120 department stores in Germany and 16 in Belgium for a total of $3.9 billion. Those familiar with the negotiations had suggested that the Toronto-based firm has no plans to shutter the stores or lay off employees — something HBC reiterated when the deal closed. In fact, the acquisition may be less about department stores qua department stores than about the buildings in which they are situated. The deal adds new properties to HBC’s $9.2 billion real estate portfolio, which the struggling retailer made big inroads to unlocking earlier this year when it began leveraging 52 properties to spin off two new companies in partnership with real estate investment trusts.

2. Chinese executives cash out as economic indicators diverge

Key investors appear to be growing weary of the diverging economic realities in China, where benchmark indexes are up nearly 150 percent over the past 12 months but GDP growth is tapering to its slowest pace in 25 years. Senior executives of publicly traded Chinese companies (and their family members) sold 1.68 billion shares of their own firms in May, three times higher than the number observed in April. Some argue that the sheer volume of activity suggests that those who are in the know see a cliff on the horizon. And execs aren’t the only big players who appear to be diagnosing overvaluation, either. Institutional investors sold US$17.5 billion worth of Chinese shares during the month, double the amount sold in April, and Chinese investment firm Central Huijin sold US$561 million worth of shares in mainland banks — the first time it has divested since the beginning of the financial crisis. More broadly, Beijing-based Shenwan Hongyuan Securities calculates that “major” shareholders fled Chinese stock markets at a historically unprecedented clip during the month.