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British Steel saved
China steps in
Chinese industrial conglomerate Jingye Group will rescue British Steel in a deal that could save up to 4,000 jobs. Jingye said that it plans to invest £1.2bn in Britain’s second-biggest steelmaker over the next decade. In the new agreement, the group would also acquire subsidiary businesses FN Steel, British Steel France and TSP Engineering, subject to regulatory approval. The UK government has repeatedly refused to bail out British Steel and talks with Ataer Holding, an investment arm of the Turkish military pension fund, ended last month. “Jingye is committed to preserving UK jobs and investing in a workforce that can help to strengthen British Steel’s UK operations,” the group said in a statement.
Uber CEO gaffe
Self-driving comparison
Uber (US:UBER) chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has backtracked over comments he made in an interview with Axios, in which he described the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia as a “serious mistake” and compared the incident to a death caused by Uber’s self-driving car. Mr Khosrowshahi has been chief executive for little over two years, after its co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned from the position after a string of controversies. The head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Yasir Bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, sits on Uber’s board, who Mr Khosrowshahi described as a “very constructive board member” in the interview. Mr Khosrowshahi has since tweeted: “There’s no forgiving or forgetting what happened to Jamal Khashoggi & I was wrong to call it a ‘mistake’.”
Spoons chair slams investors
“Navel-gazing”
Shares in JD Wetherspoon (JDW) have had a good run so far this year, underpinned by decent sales growth and canny estate management. In the 13 weeks to 27 October, like-for-like sales increased by 5.3 per cent, and trading remains in line with management expectations. But this week’s first-quarter update was dominated by a characteristically epic screed from chairman Tim Martin, in which he lambasted corporate governance rules for “[institutionalising] short-termism, inexperience and navel-gazing”, and attacked the pub chain’s largest institutional shareholder, Columbia Threadneedle (CT), for voting against the re-election of two directors, whose tenure has exceeded recommended term limits. Mr Martin pointed out that CT’s US-based parent, Ameriprise, would not be compliant with the same rules. A spokesperson for the shareholder said the group had “shared our views on corporate governance issues in a private meeting with Wetherspoon, as is our normal approach”, and would “remain a long-term investor in the company”.
Inflation drops
Energy drag
UK inflation fell to its lowest level in three years in October, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as capped energy prices pushed down growth. Prices in October were 1.5 per cent higher than the same period last year, falling from 1.7 per cent in September. If the economy slows further, the Bank of England might cut interest rates. Last week, the Monetary Policy Committee left interest rates unchanged at 0.75 per cent, but the vote was not unanimous for the first time since last year. The UK economy narrowly avoided recession in the third quarter, expanding by 0.3 per cent compared with the previous three months.
Women on boards
Diversity improving
Women hold 32.4 per cent of all FTSE 100 board positions, up from 30.2 per cent last year and only 12.5 per cent in 2011, according to the 2019 Hampton-Alexander Review. The report shows that women’s representation in senior leadership of FTSE 100 companies has also increased this year to 28.6 per cent, up from 27 per cent in 2018. The Hampton-Alexander Review aims to achieve the 33 per cent target for women on boards and leadership teams of FTSE 350 companies by 2020. Denise Wilson, chief executive of the Review, said: “Strong foundations have been laid and significant progress has been made since the journey began in earnest in 2011.”
Unilever chair departs
Rotterdam failure
Unilever (ULVR) chairman Marijn Dekkers has stepped down after a three-year tenure, marked by a failed attempt to push the company’s headquarters to Rotterdam. Mr Dekkers will continue to serve as a non-executive director. The incoming chairman, Nils Andersen, is the former chief executive of shipping company AP Moller-Maersk A/S (Den:MAERSK-B) and has been a Unilever board member since 2015. Mr Dekkers said in a statement: “My decision to step down has been a difficult one to make but I look forward to seeing Unilever go from strength to strength under Nils as chairman.” Alan Jope took over as chief executive of Unilever earlier in January this year.
Royal Mail loses appeal
Ofcom fined
Royal Mail (RMG) lost an appeal against a record £50m fine from Ofcom. The British communications watchdog imposed the fine in 2018 after finding that Royal Mail had engaged in price discrimination against Whistl, a competitor in bulk mail. Whistl, formerly known as TNT Post UK, processes bulk mail and also uses Royal Mail to deliver letters. Ofcom said in a statement: “We found that Royal Mail pursued a deliberate strategy of pricing discrimination against Whistl, which was its only major competitor for delivering business mail. Royal Mail said that it was “disappointed” and was considering a further appeal.
Used UK car sales rose over the third quarter after nine straight quarters of decline, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The used car market increased by 0.9 per cent as 2,076,382 transactions took place between July and September, which was 18,925 more than during the same period in 2018.
Demand for diesel models rose 1.4 per cent, while petrol sales edged down slightly, falling by 0.2 per cent. Plug-in electric and hybrid model sales jumped by 13 per cent.
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