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McDonald’s will buy back 225 units in Israel after the fast-food chain blamed the drop in sales on a boycott following the war between Israel and Hamas.
The U. S. company announced that it had reached an agreement to buy the restaurants from Israeli franchisee Alonyal, which has owned and operated the chain in the country for more than 30 years.
The deal will return ownership of 225 restaurants with more than 5,000 workers to McDonald’s. The terms were revealed.
McDonald’s has been embroiled in controversy since the early days of the Gaza standoff after the Israeli franchise said it had distributed thousands of bulk meals to Israeli soldiers.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a pro-Palestinian organization, recommended the fast-food chain to consumers, as franchisees “openly supported” the Israeli military, while franchise teams in countries such as Kuwait and Pakistan distanced themselves from the Israeli military company.
In response, McDonald’s said it had no position on the war and that its franchisees around the world were free to act independently.
Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s chairman and CEO, called the reaction “disheartening and unfounded” and attributed it to “misinformation. “
He said the controversy was to blame for the chain’s first quarterly sales failure in just four years and warned that the industry in the Middle East would not do so as long as the conflict continued.
In a statement Thursday, McDonald’s said it “remains committed to the Israeli market and ensures a positive experience for workers and consumers in the market in the future. “
Omri Padan, CEO and owner of Alonyal Limited, said: “For over 30 years, Alonyal Limited has prided itself on Israel’s Golden Arches and serving our communities.
“We have built the brand into the leading and most successful restaurant chain in Israel and we are grateful to our management, employees, suppliers and consumers who have made this possible. We are encouraged by what the future holds.
Most McDonald’s restaurants around the world are run by franchisees, who pay the U. S. company a sum to license their logo and recipes.
The strategy has helped cement the chain’s prestige as one of the world’s biggest brands, but it means it cannot dictate the company’s core policy in a crisis.
McDonald’s is one of the major corporations targeted by militants in the standoff between Israel and Hamas.
Last year, Starbucks sued an Iowa union for expressing solidarity with Palestine in a social media post, drawing fury from pro-Israel teams who condemned the post and pro-Palestinian activists who called for a boycott in reaction to the lawsuit.
Read the updates below.
Thank you for joining us today. Chris Price will be back tomorrow. I’ll leave you with some of our most recent stories on the Telegraph website:
Why the Risk of a ‘Nightmare’ Chinese Supercomputer Just Got Closer
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Housing in Europe fell for the first time in a decade after a stalled economic expansion in Germany and France.
In the last quarter of 2023, space costs fell by 0. 7% in the eurozone and by 0. 3% in the EU during the last quarter.
In France, costs fell by 2. 7%, in Denmark by 2. 3% and in Germany by 2%. However, Eastern European countries tend to perform better, with costs rising by 4. 8% in Poland.
Ricardo Amaro of Oxford Economics told the Financial Times that the slow expansion in Germany, where space costs fell 7. 1% year-on-year, “reinforces caution among current and potential buyers and the sharp rise in space costs that the pandemic has also made the German market vulnerable. “. to a correction.
McDonald’s will buy its Israeli franchise operator after it sparked controversy by providing bulk food to Israeli soldiers.
As a result, the fast-food giant faced protests and calls for a boycott, claiming that “misinformation” hurt sales.
It has now agreed to buy the 225 restaurants controlled through the Alonyal franchise in Israel.
In January, McDonald’s boss Chris Kempczinski said: “A number of markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing significant advertising effects due to the war and resulting misinformation that is impacting brands like McDonald’s.
“It’s disheartening and misguided. In each and every country where we operate, including Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented through local owner-operators who work tirelessly to serve their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens.
Most McDonald’s restaurants around the world are run by franchisees.
McDonald’s operators in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Pakistan have publicly stated that they do not control the movements of franchised restaurants in Israel.
McDonald’s Global President Jo Sempels said today, “McDonald’s remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive experience for workers and consumers in the market in the future. “
Omri Padan, owner of Alonyal, said, “For more than 30 years, Alonyal Limited has been proud to bring the Golden Arches to Israel and serve our communities. We have turned the logo into the leading and most successful restaurant chain in Israel and we are grateful to our management, employees, suppliers and consumers who have made this possible. We are encouraged by what the long term holds.
Bloomberg said McDonald’s is looking for a new franchisee for its operations in Israel, according to a report by an Israeli media outlet.
The agreement is subject to conditions and may take several months to finalize.
McDonald’s has been reached for comment.
The FTSE hundred rose 0. 5% today. The biggest gainer, Entain, with a 5% increase, followed by mining company Antofagasta, with a 4. 7% increase. The biggest loser, Ocado, with a 5% drop, followed by investment corporation St James’s Place, with a 2. 4% drop.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 rose 0. 6%. The top gainer online magazine and publisher Future, with a 15. 9% increase, followed cleaning organization Mitie, with a 7. 2% increase. The biggest loser, OneSavings Bank (OSB), down 3. 4%, followed by asset owner Hammerson, up 2. 5%.
A 133-year-old central London branch will be redeveloped after Westminster City Council approved a plan by Foster Partners for new Lazari Investments. The redevelopment will create new shops, offices and a rooftop garden.
Fenwick opened on Bond Street in 1891 but closed in February, saying the sale would fund a “significant investment” in the company’s online business and other stores.
The new tariffs that will be imposed on animal and plant products transiting through the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel from the end of the month have come under attack from business leaders.
The charges, released through the government, will fund biosecurity checks.
Cold Chain Federation chief executive Phil Pluck told Sky News: “Ultimately, this will increase business costs and food costs and potentially reduce possible options for buyers. “
The government has “not listened” to businesses on fixed tariffs, the British Chambers of Commerce have said. Will Bain, the agency’s head of industrial policy, said: “Importing a small batch of products containing just five other meats, poultry, eggs, milk or some seafood products in the medium-risk category will now face a £145 bill per package from those proposals.
Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has begun restoring loose blue checkmarks for some of its users, in a reversal of M’s decision. Musk to make other people pay.
For years, Twitter’s blue checkmarks have been largely reserved for celebrities, politicians, and other influential accounts in order to determine user authenticity. That was replaced months after Musk bought the platform for $44 billion (£35 billion) in October 2022.
Last year, X began issuing verification checks only to those who paid the most sensible prize and verification badges of many celebrities and other vital accounts.
But now, many users have reported that they’ve seen the blue checkmarks return to their accounts, or appear for the first time, even though they weren’t paying for the premium service on X.
Levi’s shares jumped 17% after the company reported higher margins, as a restructuring program begins to bear fruit.
Revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 25 was $1. 6 billion (£1. 3 billion), down 8% from a year earlier. The textile company posted a loss of $11 million, compared to a profit of $115 million. This is due to restructuring fees of $116. 2 million following a 12% relief in its workforce.
Investors reacted sharply to the increase in full-year earnings forecasts.
The co-op will crack down on rising middle-class shoplifting after suffering £70 million from shoplifting last year. Hannah Boland reports:
Matt Hood, chief executive of Co-op Food, said it is installing more synthetic intelligence (AI) technologies in its convenience retail establishments to monitor what consumers put in their shopping bags at their self-checkouts.
He said: “We’re in what we can do around AI and what we can do with that connection to our CCTV cameras. “
That would help them “reduce the potential backlog of crime among the middle class,” Hood said, adding that there is “some evidence” that drive-thru machines were causing more robberies.
This follows moves by U. S. competitors to pull the generation out of retail outlets in an effort to steal fees.
Read the full story. . .
The gender pay gap at Goldman Sachs has widened to its worst point in six years, where men are paid less than their share of what they earn. Michael Bow has the details:
Women hired at Goldman Sachs International, which has offices in London, Birmingham and Milton Keynes, earned an average of 54% less per hour than men in 2023, according to the group’s latest gender pay report.
In terms of pounds and pence, this means that a typical Goldman worker earned 46 pence for every pound earned through a male colleague.
The gender pay gap at the Wall Street bank widened from 53. 2% in 2022. Last year’s figure is the worst since Goldman began publishing insights into this factor in 2017. At the time, the gender pay gap was 55. 6%.
The gap between men’s height and women’s bonuses was 67. 4% last year, despite more women than men earning performance-related bonuses.
Goldman has the worst gender pay gap of any major Wall Street bank in London.
JP Morgan’s ratio fell to 47% last year and Morgan Stanley’s fell to 48%.
The knowledge is based on the average of what Goldman will pay all men and women in the UK, regardless of their position. Men and women in office are paid the same salary.
Goldman has more men in higher-paid control positions, creating an imbalance. The majority of those in lower-paid positions are women.
A Goldman spokesperson said: “It’s important to note that this gender pay gap report doesn’t take into account salaries in similar roles or mandates, but we know we want to do more to increase women’s representation at the highest levels of the company. »
Thank you for joining me today. From that point on, Alex Singleton will take over the flow of updates.
I’ll leave you with a quick look at the markets, where the FTSE 100 index rose 0. 5% after the latest economic data showed the UK’s dominant sector grew more slowly in March, raising hopes of lower interest rates.
At the same time, sterling rose 0. 1% against the dollar to above $1. 26 after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that U. S. policymakers still plan to cut rates three times this year.
In the commodity market, fuel prices in Europe rose due to demand symptoms from Egypt, where the government expects chronic blackouts.
First-month Dutch futures gained as much as 2. 8% to more than €26 per megawatt hour.
Brent crude oil was steady during the day at more than $89 a barrel.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has visited Britain’s largest railway factory as she prepares to sack a slew of painters after completing their most recent output, with no prospect of additional paintings in sight.
Managers at Alstom’s Derby plant have revived a voluntary redundancy procedure that was halted in January amid optimism about new government contracts.
Since then, negotiations with the Department for Transport (DfT) have stalled and Alstom now expects to announce job cuts across its 3,000 employees.
Britain has a strong history in the rail sector, but after 14 years of Tory failures, it is mired in chaos. My message today at Alstom is that the government will have to act and do everything in its power to protect our rail industry and protect staff and their families from the loss of tareas. pic. twitter. com/OhLwwVIH2N
– Rachel Reeves (@RachelReevesMP) April 4, 2024
Google’s parent company could make a bid for online marketing software company HubSpot.
Alphabet has reportedly spoken to advisers about the option of making a $32 billion (£25 billion) bid for the tech company.
According to Reuters, the organization met with Morgan Stanley to discuss a possible bid and whether such a move would allow it to circumvent festival regulators.
U. S. stock markets opened higher as recent economic reports reinforced the prospect of financial policy easing later this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 216. 5 points, or 0. 6 percent, at the open to 39,343. 6.
The s
The U. S. company, which is considering a multibillion-dollar takeover war to buy one of Britain’s biggest packaging companies, said it would identify a European headquarters in London and try to acquire its shares in the City.
International Paper said that if its bid for DS Smith is successful, it would retain the company’s current headquarters.
It said the “key elements” of DS Smith’s London objectives would be maintained, subject to “consultation with the relevant employees”.
International Paper is also “apparently a secondary directory of its shares on the London Stock Exchange,” he said.
The Memphis-based company had said in the past that it may be interested in a £5. 7 billion offer for DS Smith, which would be paid in shares.
This came after DS Smith had already struck an initial £5. 1 billion deal with London-listed rival Mondi.
The company said that if the deal goes through, it expects to save around $514 million (£407 million) a year over the next four years thanks to savings in freight and volume of its purchases by negotiating deals with suppliers.
DS Smith shares rose 1. 4%.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits hit a two-month high last week, but layoffs remain at record lows as the hard-work market remains resilient despite high interest rates.
The Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ended March 30 rose from 9,000 to 221,000 from 212,000 last week.
The four-week claims average, which mitigates some of the weekly volatility, rose to 214,250, up 2,750 from last week.
A total of 1. 79 million Americans gained unemployment in the week ending March 23, down 19,000 from last week.
Weekly jobless claims are an indicator of the number of layoffs in the United States in a given week and a sign of where the hard labor market is headed. They have remained at traditionally low levels since the pandemic wiped out millions of jobs in the spring of 2020.
The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark borrowing rate 11 times since March 2022 in a bid to bring down the highest inflation in four decades that took hold after the economy rebounded strongly from the 2020 Covid recession. Part of the Federal Reserve’s goal of easing the hard labor market and moderate wage growth, which it said contributed to persistently high inflation.
However, commentators say staff are enjoying the “most productive task market in the last half century, with wages now outpacing inflation”:
Initial requests for the week ending March 30, 2024, imply that Americans’ remarkable security task continues into the second quarter of 2024. First-time claims rose to 221,000 from an upwardly revised 212,000 last week, which is quite modest. pic. twitterArraycom/46jCGztGw2
– José Brusuelas (@joebrusuelas) April 4, 2024
The boss of personal equity giant London Southend Airport got $187 million in reimbursement in his first year on the job.
Our reporter James Warrington has the details:
Harvey Schwartz, who has served as leader of the Carlyle Group since February of last year, earned a base salary of $838,462.
However, his total payout increased after receiving about $180 million in long-term shares, which will be awarded over the next few years and will be subject to yield.
Schwartz also won a $6 million bonus, double the target point and the maximum reward imaginable.
Find out how Carlyle’s board of directors justified the payment.
Union leaders have threatened to disrupt oil supplies across Britain by the end of the month as tanker drivers prepare to abandon the strike.
Our editor-in-chief Hannah Boland has the details:
Unite said shipping company JW Suckling “hasn’t sat down at the table” to talk about higher pensions for its drivers, who transport fuel to workshops.
Unite drivers have now voted in favour of commercial action in the dispute over pensions and wages. A total of 39 drivers in London, the South East and Scotland are expected to take part in the ongoing measures from 16 April.
Unite claimed that this could affect only materials in some parts of the UK, although it is not expected to cause widespread problems.
The risk of running out of fuel is a headache for beleaguered drivers, who have faced a variety of disruptions at the pump in recent years.
The festival’s watchdog found that women who need hormone replacement treatment (HRT) could see higher costs if an agreement between two corporations allowed it.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said an initial investigation had found that Theramex’s plan to buy European rights to two medicines could be pure competition.
Last year, the London-based women’s fitness company announced it would buy the rights to Duphaston and Femoston HRT from U. S. -based Viatris.
Theramex is already one of the most important players in the UK market for “systemic” HRT. Systemic HRT medications treat the whole body, not just a localized area.
It provides estrogen patches, as well as estrogen and progestin patches and pills.
“The CMA is concerned that the agreement could reduce the festival in this vital market, the cost of which is covered through the NHS, by reducing incentives to bring new products to market and improve and publicise existing ones,” the watchdog said.
“Reduced HRT opportunities in an already highly concentrated market can favor selection and lead to potential price increases, as well as raising concerns about security of supply. “
Companies have five days to respond to the considerations with “meaningful solutions” or face a Phase 2 investigation through the watchdog.
Scheduled transfers between London Underground drivers on Monday 8 April and Saturday in May have been cancelled, the Aslef union has announced.
The union said that after a series of meetings at Acas’ conciliation service, its negotiating team won a proposal that resolves key issues in the conflict.
One official said: “Management has shown that it has disbanded its ‘train modernization’ team and will not implement its plan to replace drivers’ driving arrangements without an agreement.
“They also agreed to reinstate annual refresher trainings that were interrupted by the pandemic. “
Inflation in Britain will fall to 1. 2% in June, according to HSBC, before recovering before the end of the year.
The speed of value increases is expected to slow sharply due to Ofgem’s value cap on energy expenditures falling in April, as well as the transmission of statistical “base effects,” the lender said.
Inflation fell from 11. 1% in October 2022 to 3. 4% in February as interest rates remain at a 16-year high of 5. 25%, putting pressure on businesses and consumers.
However, HSBC warned that wage expansion and “persistent” inflation in the sector threaten to push inflation back above the Bank of England’s 2% target.
He said inflation would reach “the target on a more ‘sustainable’ basis next year. “
HSBC said: “To be clear, we expect price and price pressures to reaccelerate going forward.
“But we assume a degree of patience in our forecasts, so that after the energy slump this year, UK inflation will be back above 2% by the end of this year, before reaching the target on a more ‘sustainable’ basis next time. “.
Two Chinese banks are facing the same fate as Thames Water as lenders await a very large payment of £190 million.
Ben Marlow and Luke Barr have the details:
A consortium of lenders from Thames Water’s parent company, Kemble, consists entirely of foreign banks, the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, both of which are owned and controlled by the Chinese state.
Also part of the creditors’ organization are the Dutch bank ING and the Allied Irish Bank.
The revelations will spark fresh fears about the long-term nature of the River Thames, amid considerations about China’s involvement in Britain’s critical infrastructure.
Last year, the U. K. intervened eight times to block, cancel or impose situations on acquisitions involving Chinese buyers under the National Security and Investment Act.
This chart shows how much Thames Water is drowning in debt.
U. S. inventory indexes are getting tougher in premarket trading after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he still expects three U. S. interest rate cuts this year.
The s
Powell warned that the rate cuts would be implemented when policymakers “are more confident that inflation will come down sustainably” to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Stocks fell earlier in the week following some economic reports, adding production activity and project opening data that raised questions about the three widely priced in rate cuts for the year.
Lately, money markets see a roughly 59% chance of seeing a rate cut from at least 25 fund issuances in June, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
In premarket trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S
The owner of Go Compare is now the winner on the FTSE 250 after revealing that it has returned to biological profit growth.
Shares of media publisher Future jumped 14. 2% after the company said it would return to growth in the three months to the end of March thanks to the price comparison site’s strong performance.
In a pre-match update to its half-year results, it said it had also made an effort to offer resilient functionality in its Busian magazines, which include Ideal Home and Country Life.
Chiefs said the organization remained on track to meet market expectations throughout the year.
Oil prices remain near five-month highs after a rally pushed the price of Brent crude to around $90 a barrel.
The OPEC cartel, made up of oil-producing countries and their allies, said on Wednesday that there would be no substitute for its policy of cutting materials later this year.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for crude, is up about 16% this year as wars threaten in Russia and the Middle East and the global economic recovery leads to higher consumption.
Sophie Lund-Yates, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “At the same time, the outlook for the US call looks very healthy and broader disruptions due to global events continue to increase anxiety. “
British employers expect inflation to ease over the next year and its value to be the lowest in two-and-a-half years, according to a Bank of England survey.
In March, policymakers estimated that inflation over the next 12 months would fall to 3. 2 percent from 3. 3 percent in February, the bank’s monthly panel of policymakers showed.
Companies expect to increase their own value by as much as 4. 1% over the next year, the lowest figure since October 2021, before the shock of the power of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The survey also found that companies expect wage expansion to slow by 1. 5 percent over the next 12 months.
Over the next year, employers expect the average interest rate on their loans to fall to 6. 2% from 7. 1% in March.
However, this rate is still particularly higher than the 3. 6% interest rate that companies had declared paying at the end of 2021.
The American rock band Kiss has sold its catalog of music for the hologram concerts of the Abba company.
The group, known for its black-and-white makeup and metallic suits, also allowed Pophouse Entertainment Group to purchase their logo and face paint designs.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and is worth around $300 million (£237 million), includes major recordings and publishing rights to the band’s songs, such as God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II and Crazy Crazy Nights.
There are plans to make a biopic and an experiment with the Kiss theme after the sale.
The company, founded through Abba singer Bjorn Ulvaeus, had already struck a deal with Kiss to turn the band members into avatars, similar to those at concerts at the Abba Voyage stadium.
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons said:
We’ve innovated in popular culture and this partnership will ensure that we continue to do so for years to come, because what Pophouse is doing is breaking the rules.
We already have several projects in development, of which the avatar screen is one, a biopic is another, and a Kiss-themed experience is the third. The future couldn’t be more exciting.
Amazon has announced the elimination of many jobs at its AWS cloud computing unit as part of a strategic shift.
The online retail giant said it will cut “a few hundred seats” on the team that monitors generation used in its brick-and-mortar stores, and follows the announcement that it will end the use of its self-service checkout “just happens. “generation in grocery stores. stores in the United States.
The company said it is also cutting several hundred positions in AWS’s sales, marketing, and service teams.
“These decisions are still challenging as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation to our customers,” AWS said in a statement.
It added that it would continue to rent in other priority spaces and that it had posted thousands of AWS task posts online.
The company specified in which countries the layoffs will take place, but said it would also try to find internal opportunities for workers whose roles are affected.
The owner of Thames Water has had its credit rating downgraded to “undesirable speculation” amid doubts about its ability to repay its debts.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded its senior secured debt rating of Kemble Water from ‘CCC’ to ‘CC’ after shareholders last week refused to provide a £500 million cash injection to save the long-suffering supplier from collapse.
As a result, Kemble said it would not be to cover his next interest bills or to repay a £190 million loan due at the end of this month.
Fitch said: “Most likely, there will be some form of default, and even if lenders agree to modify and increase it (A
A consortium of pension budgets and foreign states announced last week that it would block Thames Water’s investments, accusing Ofwat, the regulator, of making it “impossible to invest”.
The auto industry has suggested the government offer incentives for the purchase of electric cars after new figures showed a decline in the percentage of electric vehicles on the market.
About 15. 2 percent of new cars registered in March were purely electric, up from 16. 2 in the same month last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
The industry framework has recommended the government halve VAT on the purchase of new electric vehicles (EVs), amend plans to introduce excise duties on electric vehicles and VAT on public charging of electric vehicles to align with household charging.
As part of the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, at least 22% of new cars sold by each and every manufacturer in the UK this year will need to be zero-emission, meaning that in most cases they will be purely electric.
The threshold will be increased every year until it reaches 100 percent by 2035.
Manufacturers that comply with or use flexibilities (such as exceeding previous years’ allocations or buying credits from competing corporations) will have to pay the government £15,000 for polluting vehicles sold above the limits.
SMMT Executive Director Mike Hawes said:
Manufacturers have interesting offerings, but they can’t finance the transition on their own indefinitely.
Government for personal consumers – not just businesses and fleets – would send a positive message and enable a faster and fairer transition, on time and on time.
Britain’s dominant sector grew for a fifth straight month, according to a closely watched survey, a sign that the economy is on the verge of emerging from its mild recession.
The S PMI Index
This is lower than February’s rate of 53. 8 and the slowest rate of activity expansion since November and, more importantly, above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Tim Moore, Chief Financial Officer, S
Commercial activity continues to develop for consecutive months, supported by a sustained improvement in order intake.
March’s strong rate of expansion reinforces the view that a rebound in the sector’s functionality is helping the UK economy emerge from last year’s mild recession.
Respondents once commented on a recovery in business and customer spending, despite client budget constraints due to peak inflation and elevated borrowing costs.
The UK PMI declined to 53. 10 points in March from 53. 80 points in February 2024. https://t. co/Tti1VJNW5C pic. twitter. com/3s4lC2pvT0
– BUSINESS ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) April 4, 2024
Economic activity in the euro area rose last month for the first time since May last year, in a closely watched survey.
The HCOB Composite Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50. 3 in March from 49. 2 in February, an improvement from an initial estimate of 49. 9.
This rally has pushed the index back above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Cyrus de los Angeles Rubia, chief economist at the Commercial Bank of Hamburg, said: “There is finally more smart news. The euro sector is gradually getting back on track; Activity stabilized in February and signs of moderate expansion appeared in March. “
The PMI rose to 51. 5 from 50. 2, above the preliminary estimate of 51. 1 and its highest point since June.
?? Eurozone Genuine Ending PMI 51. 5 (Est. 51. 1, beyond 51. 1)** Genuine Final Composite PMI 50. 3 (Est. 49. 9, beyond 49. 9)https://t. co/vVBU74sJih#PMI #Eurozone #HCOB pico. twitter. com /p8AmkeS4yx
– M. Giuliani
Ocado has announced the departure of its chairman after taking up his new role at NatWest from embattled Sir Howard Davies.
NatWest has appointed Rick Haythornthwaite, in city circles as ‘Slick Rick’, to update Sir Howard following the Nigel Farage banking scandal.
Haythornthwaite took up his new role this month after a series of mistakes made by his predecessor, backing the bank’s former boss, Dame Alison Rose, hours before she resigned following non-bank fury.
Sir Howard also accused of not being in touch earlier this year after stating that it is not “that difficult” for first-time buyers to climb the housing ladder.
Haythornthwaite said he would seek re-election to Ocado’s board in April next year because of his “growing commitment to NatWest”, giving the shop time to locate his successor. Said:
With time accrued and increased visibility into the expected growth of the index portfolio’s needs, it’s clear that the pressure on my time will most likely increase in the medium term.
Given that Ocado has a strong and robust board of directors, a high-quality control team and a smart sales functionality drive, I have made public my goal of stepping down in a year’s time so that the company has enough time for a measured chairmanship. . Succession.
Ocado shares fell 1. 2%. CEO Tim Steiner added: “It goes without saying that we will be disappointed to lose Rick, but we fully understand why he is stepping down as chairman to take up his new role at NatWest. “
U. K. stocks rose as miners of valuable metals were buoyed by gold hitting a new record high.
The resource-rich FTSE 100 and the more locally-oriented FTSE 250 rose 0. 2%.
Precious metals miners rose 1. 4% as gold costs hit a record high above $2,300 an ounce after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated U. S. policymakers would cut interest rates three more times this year.
Investors have also turned cautiously positive after a report showed that expansion in the U. S. sector slowed further in March, which could give the Fed the confidence to make cuts this summer.
Among individual stocks, Cab Payments gained as much as 15. 6% after the fintech company obtained a payment service provider license in the Netherlands.
Entain’s interim boss will be its new chairman later this year as the reorganization of the gaming giant’s executive room continues.
Stella David will succeed chairman Barry Gibson, who is retiring at the end of September, as owner of Ladbrokes.
The company is looking for a new chief executive after a complicated 2023, in which it agreed to pay a £585 million fine similar to a corruption scandal at its Turkish operations, which have since been sold.
Shortly after the sanction was announced, the group’s top executive, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, resigned after three years in office.
It’s possible Gibson will leave before September, depending on the timing of the appointment of its new chief executive, who Entain says is “progressing well. “
Shares of Entain rose 1. 3% in early trading.
Volvo reported record global sales in a single month, up 25 in March from a year earlier, to 78,970 cars.
The Swedish group, majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding, said in a statement that its sales of all-electric cars rose 43% and accounted for 23% of all global sales during the month.
The company’s shares rose 4% early on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Total sales in Europe, Volvo Cars’ largest market, were up 33 percent, and sales of all-electric vehicles were up 66 percent from last year.
In the U. S. , overall sales increased by as much as 50%, while sales of all-electric cars declined by as much as 66%.
British consumers are buying electric cars because they are too expensive, the head of a car dealer has warned.
Robert Forrester, chief executive of Vertu Motors, said the government wants to offer Americans the same monetary incentives as businesses for buying electric vehicles.
BBC Radio 4:
There’s a strong legislative push on battery electric cars and it’s not finding good luck in the retail market.
The government has offered incentives for corporations to buy battery-electric cars for their workers as corporate vehicles, but there are no incentives in the retail market.
The average cost is around £50,000 for a battery electric vehicle and obviously you have all the issues that we’ve talked about in relation to diversity anxiety and things like that, even though the diversity is a lot.
The individual is moving towards mass adoption of battery electric cars in the retail market.
London stock markets rose in early trading after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last night that U. S. authorities still plan to cut interest rates three times this year.
The FTSE 100 rose 0. 1% to 7,947. 65, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 gained 0. 1% to 19,768. 73.
The Co-op Group has noted that its sales have plummeted over the past year as it grapples with “very turbulent” conditions, in addition to food price inflation and rainy weather affecting convenience stores, the store said.
The retail and funeral business revealed that its profits fell to £11. 3 billion in 2023, from £11. 5 billion a year earlier, partly due to declining food sales.
But the company said that excluding the effect of the sale of its oil station business, which was acquired through Asda in the second half of 2022, sales rose about 5% year-on-year.
It also reported strong relief in the group’s debt to £82 million from £322 million a year earlier.
Co-op Chief Executive Officer Shirine Khoury-Haq said that “the company’s tireless effort to strengthen our monetary position has allowed us to navigate a very turbulent external landscape. “
The French Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it will publish the so-called investigation 2 into the merger of Vodafone and Three.
Both corporations told the regulator they would propose any measures to assuage their concerns.
The CMA said last month that the move could lead to higher costs and a decline in quality.
It gave businesses until April 2 to voice their concerns.
Vodafone and Three first announced a £15 billion merger last summer with the aim of creating the UK’s largest mobile phone network.
Vodafone’s proposed £15 billion merger with Chinese rival Three will be investigated through the festival regulator.
The telecoms agreed last year to merge with Three in a deal that will create the UK’s largest cellular network with more than 27 million customers.
However, the alliance has attracted scrutiny due to considerations that Three’s parent company, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, might have to touch the national infrastructure.
The Competition and Markets Authority said the potential merger would be subject to a thorough investigation as it could “result in a very extensive decline of the festival within one or more markets in the UK”.
Bet365 has been fined £582,120 for anti-money laundering and social duty in its online business.
The Gambling Commission said the company failed to conduct “significant” checks on potentially vulnerable consumers in an assessment in March 2022.
The review also found that the company had conducted monetary penalty checks against new users.
The regulator added that Bet365 had not carried out independent verification checks and relied too heavily on visitors’ annual self-checks.
Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Gaming Commission, said:
The political and procedural errors may not have been as serious as those of other gambling corporations in recent years, but they are still mistakes.
We expect the best criteria from operators in terms of safety, fairness, and freedom from crime, and we will take steps to correct any errors. This operator is well aware that a repetition of those mistakes will lead to an escalation of regulatory measures. .
It’s possible that Google would simply rate users for some of its AI-related services, which would be the biggest disruption to its business model.
The search giant, owned by Alphabet, has never placed a paywall on any of its core products.
However, the company is wondering how to take advantage of the technological revolution in artificial intelligence that threatens its advertising business and budgets its search engine.
It also faces a tough festival from Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and Elon Musk’s xAI project.
As a result, bosses are charging for new AI-powered “premium” features, according to the Financial Times.
It’s reportedly contemplating incorporating AI-based search features into its premium subscription services, which it’s already offering its new Gemini AI assistant in Gmail and Docs.
A Google spokesperson said: “We’re not running an ad-free search experience.
“As we have done many times before, we will continue to expand new features and premium services to our subscription offerings at Google. We don’t have anything to announce at this time.
Google added: “For years, we’ve been reinventing the pursuit of helping other people get data in the way that comes most naturally to them.
“Thanks to our generative AI experiments in search, we’ve already answered billions of queries and are seeing a positive expansion in search queries across all of our core markets. We continue to improve the product to meet the new needs of users.
As part of the AI-based premium content billing project, Google’s search engine would be free.
Engineers are coming up with the features needed for the changes, but executives have made a decision on whether and when to publish the plan, according to the Financial Times.
Google’s revenue from search and similar advertising reached $175 billion last year, accounting for more than a fraction of its total sales.
Thanks for joining me. Reportedly, Google is charging users for AI-generated content.
The search giant is considering a paywall as AI threatens its advertising business, according to the Financial Times.
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Asian stocks generally rose after a strong close on Wall Street, as expectations for a U. S. interest rate cut remain strong this year.
There’s also action in commodities, with gold hitting a new all-time high, oil hitting a five-month high and copper hitting a 13-month high, helping to boost shares of fundamental textile and energy companies.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 1. 7% to 40,120. 11.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0. 8% to 2,728. 82. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1. 2% to 16,725. 10, and the Shanghai Composite fell only about 0. 2% to 3,069. 30.
Analyst services at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) could receive quicker-than-expected relief, easing concerns about a production disruption, following Wednesday’s powerful earthquake that killed at least nine people.
Operations were closed in Taiwan on Thursdays and Fridays for holidays.
U. S. stocks rose on Wednesday, a day after their worst drop in weeks.
The s
In the bond market, Treasury yields fell. The 10-year yield fell to 4. 34% from 4. 36% due on Tuesday.
Asian stocks rose on Thursday, while the yen fell against everything but the dollar and boosted Japanese stocks.
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