Watchdog hints at support for Sainsbury’s merger
The supermarket watchdog has signaled “tentative” support for
the mega-merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda, reports the Daily
Telegraph. Groceries code adjudicator Christine Tacon said she had
“no concerns at all” about the size of the two chains. “If
anything, [bigger supermarkets] are spending serious sums of money
making sure they are compliant,” she told MPs.
Gold demand weakest since economic crisis
Demand for gold dropped between January and March – the weakest
first quarter since the 2008 financial crisis. The World Gold
Council said demand fell 7% on a year ago to 973.5 tonnes. A 15%
slump in investment in gold bars to 254.9 tonnes is being blamed as
investors in China, Germany and the US held off from buying the
precious metal. The Guardian says “wild swings” on world stock
markets drove the price higher.
Mike Ashley reignites row over his ‘Victorian warehouse’
Mike Ashley has filed a complaint against the former MP who led
the parliamentary inquiry into his controversial retailer. The
billionaire founder of Sports Direct has complained to the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards about the conduct of Iain
Wright MP, who chaired the business, innovation and skills select
committee during the last parliament. MPs concluded that Ashley had
been running Sports Direct like a “Victorian workhouse”.
Investors in revolt as top firms face uprising
Leading British companies are facing revolts over pay, reports
The Times. More than a third of shareholders voted against the
remuneration policy of Unilever, while investors at Inmarsat voted
down its pay report. Car dealer Pendragon and Ocado, the online
grocer, reported votes of 17% and 16.5%, respectively, against
their directors’ remuneration reports.
House of Fraser confirms store closures
House of Fraser has announced plans to close stores as part of a
restructuring that will put hundreds of jobs at risk. Nanjing
Cenbest, which owns 89% of the company, has signed a conditional
deal to sell a 51% stake to C.Banner International Holdings, the
Chinese retailer that owns toy retailer Hamleys. House of Fraser
will undergo a CVA insolvency agreement.
Quote of the day… Musk dismisses ‘boring bonehead’
“Excuse me, excuse me. Next, next. Boring bonehead questions are
not cool. Next.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk responds to an analyst’s
questions about a record net loss.
THE NUMBERS… AT 0720 GMT
FTSE 100: up +0.30 to 7543.20
Dow Jones: down -0.72 to 23924.98
Dax: up +1.51 to 12802.25
Cac 40: up +0.16 to 5529.22
Nikkei: down -0.16 to 22472.78
Hang Seng: down -1.08 to 30392.82
US dollar: buys €0.8345 and £0.7352
Sterling: buys $1.1350 and €1.3597
Oil: $73.20 down -0.22
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