Diddy says Diageo neglected his tequila due to race - BBC

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By Natalie Sherman

Business reporter, New York

Rapper Sean Combs, known as Diddy, has accused drinks giant Diageo of breaking the terms of their business partnership and neglecting the tequila brand they bought together because he is black.

In a complaint filed in New York, he said the company invested in competing brands, while depriving DeLeon Tequila the same level of support.

He also said Diageo limited the drinks' distribution to "urban" neighbourhoods.

Diageo denied the allegations and said it would defend itself "vigorously".

"This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that," a spokesman for the company said in a statement.

"Our steadfast commitment to diversity within our company and the communities we serve is something we take very seriously."

The lawsuit comes after years of partnership between UK-based Diageo and Mr Combs, who rose to fame as a music executive and rapper in the 1990s before branching out into acting and other business ventures.

Diageo, owner of brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Tanqueray, approached him to help market the company's Ciroc vodka in 2007.

Together they bought DeLeon Tequila in 2013, but the complaint accused Diageo of quickly falling short of its commitments for distribution, investment and brand positioning.

Mr Combs' company, Combs Wines & Spirits, said there was a pattern of "racial typecasting", pointing to disputes that Diageo has had with other black business partners.

"This case is not an ordinary contract dispute in which a party chooses to disregard its contractual promises due to greed and profit," the firm said in the filing.

"Rather, and similar to the realities experienced by many people of colour in the United States, Diageo's treatment of its business relationship with Mr Combs was tainted by racial prejudices."

The lawsuit cites a 2019 conversation in which a Diageo executive allegedly said Mr Combs's brands would be more widespread had he been "Martha Stewart", among other decisions.

The DeLeon brand is also currently sold in less than 4% of possible outlets compared with more than a third for Diageo's competing Casamigos and Don Julio tequilas, the complaint said.

Despite being repeatedly confronted over the issues, Diageo failed to repair the situation, Combs Wine & Spirits alleged.

It said Mr Combs intends to take separate legal action to request billions of dollars in damages and has asked the court to order the firm to "provide the equal treatment that it has contractually promised".

Diaego said it was "disappointed our efforts to resolve this business dispute amicably have been ignored and that Mr. Combs has chosen to damage a productive and valued partnership".

"For more than 15 years, we've had a productive and mutually beneficial relationship with Mr. Combs on various business ventures, making significant investments that have resulted in financial success for all involved," the company said.

"While we respect Mr. Combs as an artist and entrepreneur, his allegations lack merit, and we are confident the facts will show that he has been treated fairly."

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• Diageo

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2023-05-31 18:42:51Z
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Making CBI staff feel safe to speak up should be more central to its message - The Guardian

The voice of business has spoken. The messaging, however, is mixed. After a period of turmoil and soul searching, during which most of its work was suspended, the Confederation of British Industry has outlined plans for an overhaul of its culture and governance. Its members will be asked to give their verdict in a confidence vote, for which polling has already opened. We will learn the results next week, soon after a gathering at the CBI’s Cannon Street offices in London.

Its director general, Rain Newton-Smith, brought in to steady the ship, made her pitch in a prospectus published on Wednesday.

More than 50 leading companies, from John Lewis to Aviva, have suspended or cancelled their membership. The government, and the Labour party, have paused all official contact until the situation is resolved. Has Newton-Smith done enough to win them back?

The allegations could not be more serious. They concern claims of sexual misconduct, including rape, by male employees. The women who have complained say their concerns were not properly dealt with. The CBI’s president, Brian McBride, conceded in April in a letter to members that his organisation had failed to filter out “culturally toxic people” during its hiring process, and that its managers had tried to find resolution in sexual harassment cases “when we should have removed offenders from our business”. On Wednesday, he said the organisation felt “chastened”.

In some quarters, the tone has been less apologetic. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general from 2015 until 2020 and the first woman to lead the CBI, recently spoke up in the Sunday Times for what she described as a “really good culture”, saying she did not accept a connection between the way the organisation was run and some of the alleged misconduct. She hit out at the board for drawing “a direct link from a toxic culture to assaults on women”, saying it was “fundamentally unfounded”.

Newton-Smith seems to have positioned herself somewhere between the two.

Her key statement on Wednesday was all about Principia, an external consultancy brought in to review the working environment at the CBI. We are told it has concluded blanket descriptions portraying the group’s culture as toxic were not accurate.

Newton-Smith admits there is work to do.

With that in mind, another consultant has been hired. The board adviser Ffion Hague, whose past clients have included the mining giant Rio Tinto and retailer Marks & Spencer, will review governance.

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Convincing members to return is about more than external evaluations. It is about showing the CBI has changed. Staff must believe the right procedures will be followed if they raise a complaint in future. The CBI leadership has taken some important steps. Employees suspended after an investigation by a law firm have now left, and those departures send an important signal.

However, speaking up is a huge career risk for more junior staff. Unless they feel safe in calling out misconduct, they won’t do it. And if they don’t do it, the organisation is unlikely to change.

When pressed on this point, Newton-Smith said she was laying the foundations for a “strong speak-up environment”. But that was not her central message. It probably should have been.

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2023-05-31 18:24:00Z
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Britain braces for recession as higher rates squeeze mortgage holders - The Telegraph

High mortgage rates will tip Britain into recession this year as homeowners coming to the end of fixed rate deals are hit by soaring costs, a leading ratings agency has warned.

The UK, the US and Germany will suffer technical recessions but the UK will be the only advanced economy to record negative growth across 2023, according to Moody’s.

It came as a Bank of England policymaker said underlying inflation was proving much more persistent in the UK compared with other countries, making the task of bringing price rises back under control “much more challenging”.

Catherine Mann, who is one of the Bank’s most hawkish rate-setters, also warned that the adjustment to sustainably higher interest rates will inevitably result in “things breaking”.

Ms Mann also defended her voting record on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Threadneedle Street has come under fierce criticism for failing to get inflation under control.

Describing her critics as being in the “peanut gallery”, Ms Mann said she had consistently voted for higher rates compared with the rest of the MPC. “All of last year, I voted above the majority, so don’t blame me,” she told a panel in Zurich.

Ms Mann said the transition to higher rates would have “an awful lot of volatility associated with it. Volatility in exchange rates, and volatility in prices. And some of that volatility is going to be reflected in things breaking.”

Britain is particularly vulnerable to a recession because so many homeowners have short-term fixed-rate mortgages.

“The UK’s relatively short-dated mortgage market means that around half of outstanding mortgages have a floating rate or will need to be refinanced at higher rates this year, which will reduce household disposable income,” Moody’s warned. The blow for a typical household will be equivalent to a 7.5pc drop in disposable income, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

While British mortgage holders typically secure their interest rates for two or five years, those in America and Germany typically lock in rates for 30 years and 10 years respectively, meaning most homeowners will be completely unaffected by recent rate rises.

UK GDP will shrink by 0.1pc across this year, Moody’s forecast. The only countries in the G20 that will see bigger falls are Russia and Argentina.

Separate data showed home sales slumped to their lowest level since moves were banned during the pandemic.

There were 67,220 residential transactions in April, according to HM Revenue and Customs. This was a drop of 29pc compared to March.

April marked the lowest monthly sales total since the 2020 lockdown period when viewings were banned and the market was essentially frozen.

The current slump reflects the sharp increase in mortgage rates since September’s mini-Budget. The average two-year fixed-rate deal climbed from 4.7pc to 6.65pc in just four weeks after the statement.

Because the average property deal takes around five months from sale agreed to completion, this spike is now hitting the spring transaction data.

The European Central Bank also warned higher interest rates were “testing the resilience” of eurozone households and companies and raising the risk of “disorder” across markets.

In its financial stability review published on Wednesday, the ECB admitted its fight against inflation had revealed weaknesses in the financial system that are becoming harder to ignore.

The ECB has hiked its key interest rates by an unprecedented 3.75 percentage points since last July in an attempt to bring down rapidly rising prices across the bloc.

While the central bank said conditions had improved slightly and energy prices had fallen, it added that higher borrowing costs and stricter credit conditions were “testing the resilience of euro area firms, households and sovereigns”.

The current “correction” in real estate markets could turn disorderly if higher mortgage rates increasingly reduced demand”, it said.

Fears of higher US interest rates, uncertainty over a deal to raise America’s debt limit and poor Chinese data pushed stock markets lower on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index fell 1pc to a two month low of 7446.

Britain’s blue chip index has fallen more than 5pc this month, its worst May performance since 2015. Separate US data showing the number of US vacancies topped 10 million for the first time prompted investors to raise their bets on a 0.25 percentage point rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting in June.

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2023-05-31 17:43:16Z
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Families on Universal Credit to receive hundreds more pounds from end of June - Sky News

Families on benefits will be able to claim hundreds of pounds more in childcare payments from the end of June, the government has announced.

People on Universal Credit will see their maximum childcare payments rise by nearly 50% from 28 June as the government tries to get more people back into work.

Parents eligible for help through the Universal Credit system will be able to claim back up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children - an increase of 47% from the previous caps of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children.

Parents who are eligible for support will also have some of their childcare costs paid for upfront for the first month if they either become employed or increase their work hours, in a move designed to help those struggling to take on a job or getting into debt under the current system due to the hefty upfront costs.

Those parents will receive up to 85% of their childcare costs back before their next month's bills are due, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.

The shakeup of the benefits system was announced as part of Jeremy Hunt's budget in March and is aimed at encouraging claimants into work or to increase their hours.

Mr Hunt also announced an expansion of childcare in the budget. In households where all adults work at least 16 hours, every child from nine months old to school age will get 30 hours of free childcare per week by September 2025.

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The chancellor's spring budget came as unemployment rose to 1.3 million in the month to March 2023, while around 2.5 million people are thought to be out of work because of long-term sickness.

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing Claire Coutinho said: "Childcare shouldn't be a barrier to work, but the expense has previously meant parents have had to choose between working or looking after their child.

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"We are supporting families with the largest ever expansion of free childcare, making sure that places will be available for parents who need them. This will save a working parent using 30 hours a week an average of £6,500.

"We have already announced plans to boost the amount government pays childcare providers, and now we're knocking down barriers to recruiting and retaining the talented staff that provide such wonderful care for our children."

The shakeup by the DWP is accompanied by a consultation from the Department for Education this week aimed at increasing the early years' workforce in England.

Read more:
'Written off' - call for more help to get millions of long-term sick back into employment
Disadvantaged children risk being 'worse off' under government childcare plans

A recruitment campaign will also be launched next year and will look at introducing new accelerated apprenticeship and degree apprenticeship routes.

Labour's Shadow Education Minister Helen Hayes said: "The Conservatives are piling pressure on a broken system. Their plans come with no plan to increase the workforce, who are so critical to delivering an expansion of childcare.

"What parents and children both need is higher standards, better availability across our country, and a flexible system that supports families from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.

"Labour has set out clear plans for fully funded breakfast clubs for every child in every primary school in England which can be delivered and will not leave parents scrambling to find provision."

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2023-05-31 00:43:58Z
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Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence - BBC

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By Bernd Debusmann Jr & James Clayton

BBC News

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has reported to the federal prison where she will serve an 11-year sentence.

Holmes, 39, was convicted early last year on four counts of fraud linked to her failed blood testing start-up.

In mid-May, a court rejected her request to remain free on bail while a challenge to the original conviction was considered.

She will serve her term in a minimum-security prison in Texas.

Holmes reported to the federal facility in Bryan, Texas, which holds between 500 and 700 inmates at any given time, on Tuesday.

It is about 100 miles (160km) north of Houston, her hometown. Her arrival at the facility was confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which declined to give any more details about her confinement, citing privacy concerns.

There, the woman once billed as the world's youngest self-made billionaire might work alongside other inmates for between 12 cents (10p) and $1.15 (93p) an hour - much of which will go towards her court-mandated restitution payments.

Earlier this month a US judge ordered Holmes and her former romantic and business partner, ex-Theranos boss Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, to pay $452m to victims.

Balwani is already serving a 13-year prison sentence in California for his role in the scheme.

Reuters

Together, the pair are accused of duping some of the world's richest and most prominent investors - including media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and former US Treasury Secretary George Shultz - into backing Theranos.

The firm, once valued at $9bn, promised it had technology that could detect conditions such as diabetes with just a few drops of blood. The tech, however, never worked. The company finally collapsed in 2018.

• Holmes has gone to jail. Will she pay victims too?
• Inside the routine at Elizabeth Holmes' prison

The Texas prison camp where Holmes will serve time is a sprawling 37-acre facility. Most inmates there have been convicted of non-violent crimes, low-level drug dealing or white-collar offences.

According to the facility's handbook, life largely revolves around work and extracurricular activities that include foreign language, computer literacy or business courses.

Holmes had fought to stay out of prison while her legal appeal works its way through the courts. She argued a delay would allow her to raise "substantial questions" about the case that could warrant a new trial.

Her defence team also argued that she should remain free to care for her children, one who is nearly two and the other three months old.

The Wall Street Journal reported the prison has facilities where inmates can host gatherings and where children can play.

Holmes and other mothers are allowed to hold their children in their lap and breastfeed their infants, according to official Bureau of Prison guidelines.

The image of Holmes walking into a federal prison on Tuesday stands as a dire warning to other bosses in Silicon Valley, where observers have long warned of a "fake it until you make it" culture.

Still, it is rare to see tech bosses go to prison on fraud charges.

The US government hopes that Holmes's plight will deter executives from making outlandish claims about what their technology can do while hunting for financial backing.

Eileen Lepera, who lost part of her savings investing in Theranos, told the BBC this week that she is "glad she [Ms Holmes] got 11 years".

"Her hubris is beyond belief," she added. "I don't believe she's still taking any responsibility for what has happened."

In tearful remarks ahead of her sentencing in November, Holmes said she regrets her failings at Theranos "with every cell in my body" but did not admit any criminal wrongdoing.

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Related Topics

• Theranos trial
• Texas
• Fraud
• United States

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2023-05-30 19:09:56Z
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Asda boss criticises Sunak's 'clumsy' plan to cap food prices - The Telegraph

The chairman of Asda has hit out at “clumsy” plans by ministers to impose price caps on supermarkets amid fears that soaring grocery inflation is becoming entrenched.

Lord Rose, who was also previously chairman of Marks & Spencer and Ocado, warned that the Government needed to be careful of “unintended consequences” that could arise from intervening in food pricing.

He said: “I’ve been involved in retail for 50 years and there have been all sorts of schemes by all sorts of governments over what they think we should be doing to control the market. You can’t interfere in the markets, the markets will control themselves.”

It came as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will assess how suppliers and supermarkets are making decisions on prices as part of a wider investigation into the sector.

In an open letter to supermarkets, the CMA said it will also look at whether a lack of suppliers for certain grocery items is leading to higher prices and if there is evidence of similar trends in other countries.

So far, the CMA said it had not seen any evidence of specific competition problems.

City analysts also sounded the alarm on entrenched UK inflation on Tuesday, warning that the Bank of England faces keeping interest rates higher for longer than other advanced economies because it has failed to get a grip on price rises.

2605 uk inflation

The Telegraph reported this week that the Prime Minister is drawing up proposals to introduce retail price caps on basic food items such as bread and milk to help tackle the rising cost of living.

Food inflation hit 19pc in April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the highest level in more than 45 years.

Lord Rose said Asda’s supermarkets had kept prices for clothing, food and electronics down in real terms at “unprecedented” levels and insisted it was doing a “very good job for consumers”.

He made the comments as Asda said it had reached a £2.3bn deal to buy most of the UK and Irish operations of EG Group, the forecourt operator. Both businesses are owned by the Issa brothers, Mohsin and Zuber.

Lord Rose, who also chaired the official pro-EU Remain campaign which later descended into chaos, added: “If the Government wants to start doing a relatively clumsy thing then they need to be careful about the unintended consequences... Let the shopkeepers do what they do well – shopkeep.”

He said Rishi Sunak’s plans for a price cap were “rather backward looking” and instead supermarkets should be owed “a debt of gratitude” for working to keep prices as low as possible.

The British Retail Consortium, which represents all the major supermarkets, said the proposals “will not make a jot of difference to prices”.

Official data on Tuesday suggested company profits are not driving up prices, in evidence that so-called corporate “greedflation” is not to blame for soaring consumer costs.

Citi analysts suggest Rishi Sunak may start offering mortgage subsidies to struggling homeowners as he fights for re-election Credit: Daniel Leal/Pool/REUTERS

The ONS said the profitability of UK private companies remained stable at 9.8pc in the final three months of last year. The rate is also marginally below the pre-pandemic average.

However, the latest data is backward-looking and Bank Governor Andrew Bailey has suggested that high supermarket prices have recently been driven by food producers “rebuilding” their profits.

Analysts at the Bank of America warned the UK “has an entrenched inflation problem” that can only be addressed through a prolonged downturn or by keeping interest rates “higher for longer than other developed economies”.

Inflation stood at 8.7pc in April. This is far higher than the Bank of England’s 2pc target and the joint highest rate of inflation among the G7, alongside Italy.

In a note to clients, the Bank of America highlighted that because most people fix their mortgage, swathes of borrowers were somewhat shielded from the immediate pain of rate hikes, which would exert a smaller drag on consumer spending.

Meanwhile, analysts at Citi suggested Mr Sunak may start offering mortgage subsidies to struggling homeowners as he fights for re-election, while Goldman Sachs warned that inflation was unlikely to return to the Bank’s 2pc target until the end of 2025.

Ahead of next year’s general election, Citi said voters were likely to hold the Conservative Party “at least partly responsible” for the surge in prices following Liz Truss’s ill-fated mini-Budget last autumn.

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2023-05-30 18:13:00Z
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Billionaire Issa brothers merge Asda with EG Group UK in £2.3 billion deal - Evening Standard

T

he billionaire Issa brothers marked another milestone on their quest to slash their business empire’s heavy debt burden today as the pair finalised plans to merge the UK operations of petrol forecourt business EG Group with Asda in a £2.3 billion deal.

EG Group, which also owns the Leon fast-food chain, said around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 food-to-go sites in the UK and Ireland would be sold off to Asda as part of the deal.

The firm said proceeds from the deal would be used to repay its debts as it wrestles with soaring interest rates on its billions of pounds of loans, adding it “will look to address upcoming maturities” on its existing portfolio of loans.

The group will continue to operate in the USA and several European countries whilst retaining around 30 UK sites and the Cooplands bakery brand.

The Issa brothers completed their highly-leveraged £6.8 billion acquisition of Asda from Walmart in February 2021. EG Group said its shareholders are providing around £450m of additional equity to fund the merger with Asda, and pledged to invest more than £150m within the next three years to fully integrate the combined businesses.

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Zuber Issa, co-founder and co-CEO of EG Group, said: “This transaction with Asda represents an important strategic step for EG Group. Following this sale, EG Group will benefit from a significantly strengthened balance sheet, supporting the continued roll out of its successful convenience retail, fuel and foodservice strategy and drive innovation to transform the consumer experience.

“This includes the ongoing investment and expansion of our EV charging business, evpoint, as well as hydrogen and other sustainable fuel retail infrastructure, which we continue to see as a significant future opportunity.“

Chair Stuart Rose told reporters that the primary purpose of the deal was to expand Asda’s operations but “if as a consequence you’ve also got the opportunity to deleverage then what’s the problem with that?”

Mohsin Issa said: “We’ve engaged with credit ratings agencies and the feedback we’ve got is that this is credit-positive.”

The GMB union had expressed its concerns that the merger could make the firm’s debt level “unsustainable.”

Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said: “GMB believes this merger requires proper scrutiny from the CMA.

“We are concerned rising interest rates will leave the debt of the UK’s third largest retailer unsustainable. More than 7,000 ASDA colleagues are already facing hire and rehire - this slashing of terms and conditions is just the tip of the iceberg.”

EG Group and Asda could not confirm if there would be job losses as a result of the deal.

It’s the latest effort by the conglomerate to materially reduce its billion-dollar debt burden, following its decision in March to sell off $1.5 billion in property in the US.

An earlier analysis by the Evening Standard found the company could face increased interest payments of as much as $250 million (£202 million) per year in 2023.

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2023-05-30 15:44:47Z
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Inflation out of control 'until end of 2025' amid 'concerning' wage rises - latest updates - The Telegraph

The Bank of England will not get inflation back under control until the end of 2025 because of soaring food prices and a "concerning" rise in wages, according to Goldman Sachs.

The Wall Street giant predicted it will take at least two-and-a-half more years for policymakers to bring the headline rate back to its 2pc target from the current 8.7pc level.

It blamed a "more gradual decline in food inflation" and the UK's tight jobs market for the slower decline.

While Goldman said a sharp fall in gas prices will help bring down household energy bills significantly this year, it added: "food inflation, on the other hand, remains at record levels and has shown limited signs of slowing so far."

Ibrahim Quadri, UK economist at Goldman, added: "Given the tightness in the labour market, we remain concerned about the risk of wage growth not cooling sufficiently and sustainably over the medium term."

Goldman analysis shows there is roughly a six-month lag between any significant rise or fall in producer prices and its impact on the cost of the weekly shop. While this relationship suggests supermarket prices "should moderate going forward", it added that the decline was likely to be more "gradual" than usual.

It expects food prices to keep rising at an annual pace of at least 2.5pc until 2026.

Read the latest updates below.

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2023-05-30 09:36:10Z
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Asda to buy UK operations of petrol chain operator EG Group for £2.3bn - Financial Times

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2023-05-30 08:38:23Z
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New UK-US Airline Buys First Plane: A Superjumbo - Airways Magazine

DALLAS — UK startup carrier Global Airlines has bought the first of three Airbus A380 aircraft it plans to purchase, according to the new airline.

As per a report in The Independent, Global will begin operations in the spring of 2024 with the three Superjumbos. The new airline intends to operate transatlantic flights between the United States and the United Kingdom by the spring of 2024. The carrier, which plans to operate from London Gatwick (LGW), announced that it had acquired an Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft.

Global Airlines is the first new airline to acquire an A380 in over eight years.

“The purchase of our first aircraft demonstrates that we are well on the way to launching Global. The next step is to overhaul and refit the aircraft to our high specification, providing our customers with the best experience in the sky today,” stated the new airline.

Global Airlines A380. Render: Global Airlines

The Return of the Superjumbo?

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During the pandemic, a majority of A380s were sent to storage. However, as air travel returned, the need for such a larger aircraft returned with it. Global Airlines has outright purchased the aircraft from Doric Aviation, a German aircraft finance company, which says it owns 14 Airbus A380 aircraft: 13 are with Emirates (EK), and one is up for sale. 

Next spring, Global will start flying from London to Los Angeles and New York. If the route is a reality, the new carrier will compete directly with legacy carriers such as Virgin Atlantic (VS) and British Airways (BA). The airline will also compete with low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic (N0), which serves New York and Los Angeles from London Gatwick (LGW).

Aside from the transatlantic competition, it takes time to put proper procedures in place for route planning across the ocean, A380 maintenance, crew training, and getting the relevant country to approve that certificate. Also, the startup must obtain takeoff and landing slot pairs at relevant airports for its Superjumbo operations, not to mention gate and ticket counter space.

Global has a long road ahead unless it has also purchased an airline operating certificate from a defunct airline but owning an airplane is usually the first step in establishing a new airline certification.

Global Airlines A380 tail. Photo: Global Airlines

Service Specs

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According to Asquith, by 2025, the airline will have over 100 wide-body planes and offer service from other major hubs in Europe. 

Furthermore, each Global Airlines first-class cabin suit is over 12 feet long and has room for a double bed. Each suite would have a private bathroom, similar to The Residence on Etihad’s (EY) A380. In addition to the first-class cabin, the aircraft will feature business class, premium economy, economy, and a gamer class.

Passengers will have to pay a premium for this cabin, where they can play XBOX and PlayStation with other passengers in the cabin. This gamer class will have fifteen seats in a 1-3-1 configuration.

The person behind Global Airlines is James Asquith, who founded Holiday Swap and has the Guinness World Record for the youngest man to visit every country in the world.

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Featured image: Global Airlines’ first A380 of four. Photo: Global Airlines

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2023-05-29 18:11:40Z
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HSBC opts for Innovation in rebranding of Silicon Valley Bank UK - Sky News

HSBC will next month unveil a new name for the technology-focused bank it rescued earlier this year after its US parent collapsed.

Sky News has learned that Europe's biggest lender intends to rebrand Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVBUK) under the name HSBC Innovation Banking.

The new identity is expected to be announced to coincide with London Tech Week, which kicks off on 12 June.

One tech veteran said it may stoke concerns among entrepreneurs that by bringing SVBUK under the HSBC brand, the new subsidiary was at risk of surrendering the operational independence that had made it a distinctive presence in the SME banking market.

Noel Quinn, HSBC's chief executive, has talked about the need to preserve the culture of a business it stepped in to rescue for £1 as it teetered on the brink of insolvency.

The Bank of England orchestrated the deal, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also becoming personally involved.

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3:36

A five-point guide to the banking panic of 2023

Read more:
Bank of England warning over future run risk
HSBC boss says SVB purchase only took five hours

SVBUK has thousands of clients, many of whom had joined forces to warn the government that its demise would imperil Britain's start-up economy.

They warned of "an existential threat to the UK tech sector", adding: "The Bank of England's assessment that SVB going into administration would have limited impact on the UK economy displays a dangerous lack of understanding of the sector and the role it plays in the wider economy, both today and in the future."

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13:02

Bank of England governor gives evidence over the collapse and rescue of SVBUK

Senior leadership to remain the same

Sky News recently revealed that HSBC was appointing a trio of senior figures as directors, two months after acquiring the US-owned lender.

No imminent changes to SVBUK's executive leadership are planned, with Erin Platts remaining as chief executive.

SVBUK's independent chairman Darren Pope is also expected to remain in place, at least for the time being.

In the US, SVB was taken into temporary public ownership after a run on the bank triggered by a crisis of confidence among depositors.

It was subsequently sold to First Citizens Bancshares, a regional US lender.

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Sky News revealed in March that HSBC had signed off on the payment of just under £20m in bonuses to SVBUK staff.

One insider said at the time that the bonus payments were a signal of HSBC's confidence in the talent base at its new subsidiary and that it had been keen to honour previously agreed payments in order to help retain key staff.

Employing about 700 people in Britain, SVBUK is a profitable business but was brought to the brink of collapse by the travails of its American parent company.

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2023-05-29 15:20:16Z
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Mars bar wrappers changed to paper from plastic in UK trial - The Guardian

Consumers buying Mars bars at Tesco in the coming days will notice a change: the chocolate bar’s usual plastic wrapper has been swapped for a more environmentally friendly paper one.

The confectionery maker Mars Incorporated is trialling recyclable paper packaging for a limited time, with the bars available at 500 Tesco stores from Monday.

The company is looking to explore different types of packaging, and how these work in everyday life. It added it would use the feedback to inform future packaging pilots.

Mars bars’ current plastic wrappers cannot be recycled, as is the case with several other kinds of food packaging.

Crisps, chocolate and cheese have traditionally been regarded as the worst foods for packaging recyclability, and big brands have previously come under pressure from customers and campaigners to do more to swap their wrappers to help the environment.

Mars is not the first confectionery firm to try trading in its traditional wrapping for something a bit more green.

It follows the move by Quality Street to ditch its traditional foil and plastic wrappers for recyclable paper before last Christmas.

The change, made by the brand owner, Nestlé, marked the end of shiny plastic wrappers for the first time since its launch in 1936, in favour of a kind of packaging collected by most local authorities for nine of its 11 sweets.

The orange crunch and green triangle remained in their existing foil wrappers, as these were not wrapped in a layer of plastic.

At the same time, Nestlé also announced it was switching KitKat wrappers to 80% recycled plastic, allowing them to be recycled at supermarkets across the UK or put in household recycling in Ireland.

Mars said it was “exploring different types of alternative packaging solutions” for its confectionery products.

Richard Sutherland-Moore, a packaging expert at Mars Wrigley UK’s research and development centre, said: “For Mars bar, the challenge was to find the right paper packaging solution with an adequate level of barrier properties to protect the chocolate whilst guaranteeing the food safety, quality and integrity of the product to prevent food waste.”

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Mars said it is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to redesign thousands of types of packaging, and meet its goal of reducing the use of virgin plastics by a quarter in the short-term, while also increasing its use of recycled plastic in its packaging.

Andrew Flood, a packaging development manager at Tesco, said Mars’s trial of its new Mars bar packaging aligned with the retailer’s own “strategy of removing plastic and packaging in our business where we can, reducing it where we can’t, reusing more and recycling what’s left”.

Not all attempts at cutting back on the use of plastic food packaging have proved a success with shoppers, however.

In April, Sainsbury’s had to defend its move to vacuum pack all of its beef mince, becoming the first UK retailer to do so, after customers criticised the new packaging as “very medical”, “too compressed” and “vile”.

Responding to the criticism, the supermarket said the new packaging would more than halve the amount used per pack – helping to save 450 tonnes of plastic a year – and told shoppers the mince in the new packets was “exactly the same out of the same machines” as in previous packs.

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2023-05-29 14:35:00Z
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Seven money changes coming in June - including £150 payment and Tesco Clubcard shake-up - The Mirror

There are plenty of important money changes and updates to pop in your diary for next month.

Tesco Clubcard holders will be hit by not one, but two, huge shake-ups in June - both affecting the Clubcard loyalty scheme.

But in a welcome boost, the £150 disability cost of living payment will start to be sent out to more than six million eligible households.

Nationwide Building Society is also giving 3.4million customers a one-off £100 payment after raking in £2.2billion in profits.

There will also be another inflation update and Bank of England interest rates announcement coming next month.

Here is everything you need to know - and what it means for your wallet.

June 13 - £100 to Nationwide customers

Nationwide is issuing £100 payments to millions of customers ( PA)

Nationwide is paying out £100 to around 3.4million of its customers between June 13 to June 30.

The money will be paid automatically - meaning you don't need to apply for it - and will show on your bank statement as "Nationwide Fairer Share Payment".

To be eligible for the payment, you need to have a qualifying current account, plus a savings account or mortgage product with Nationwide.

Current accounts must have been opened on or before March 31, 2023, and still be open in June to receive the cash reward.

You can read our news story will full eligibility rules here.

June 14 - Tesco Clubcard changes

Tesco shoppers will be hit by two Clubcard changes on June 14.

The first shake-up will see the value of Clubcard points when redeemed against a "Rewards Partner" reduced.

Clubcard points are currently worth triple their value when used with a "Rewards Partner" but they will soon only be worth double their value.

Tesco currently has over 100 “Reward Partners” including Disney+, Thorpe Park, Pizza Express, Legoland and Zizzi.

The second change affects Clubcard holders who purchase fuel at Tesco forecourts.

Drivers currently get one point for every £2 they spend on fuel - but this will switch to one point for every two litres of fuel purchased.

June 15 - HMRC renewal packs

HMRC is sending out renewal packs for Tax Credit households ( Getty Images)

HMRC is currently in the process of sending out renewal packs to 1.5million Tax Credit households.

It is expected the last renewal packs will be issued by June 15.

Tax Credit claimants must renew their claim every year - or risk their benefit being stopped.

You can do it online through your GOV.UK account or you can use the HMRC app.

You can also call the HMRC Tax Credit helpline on 0345 300 3900 or post back the renewal pack you are sent by HMRC.

You have until July 31 to renew your Tax Credit claim.

June 20 - £150 disability payment

Six million people in receipt of disability benefits will receive a £150 cost of living payment between June 20 and July 4.

In order to get the £150 payment, you need to have been claiming a qualifying benefit on April 1, or are subsequently paid for that date.

Your payment might come later if you start claiming benefits at a later date and backdate your claim.

The benefits that will qualify you for the £150 payment are:

• Attendance Allowance

• Constant Attendance Allowance

• Disability Living Allowance for adults

• Disability Living Allowance for children

• Personal Independence Payment

• Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)

• Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)

• Armed Forces Independence Payment

• War Pension Mobility Supplement

The money will be paid automatically into your bank account, is not taxable and will not affect any benefits or tax credits you get.

June 21 - Inflation announcement

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will release the inflation rate for the 12 months to May on June 21.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation is a figure used to explain how much the prices of goods and services have increased over time.

When inflation is high, it means prices have risen more sharply and you’re getting less for your money than before.

CPI inflation was 8.7% in the 12 months to April - this is down from 10.1% in March, and down from the 41-year high of 11.1% recorded in October last year.

June 22 - Interest rates decision

The Bank of England will announce whether interest rates will be raised again on June 22.

The central bank increased the base rate on May 11 to 4.5%

The base rate is what the Bank of England charges other banks and lenders - this in turn then influences the rates you are charged as a customer when you borrow money.

If interest rates are higher, you'll pay more to borrow on products like variable rate mortgages - but the flip side is, savings rates should go up.

June 30 - Take a meter reading

The majority of households are currently covered by the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) when it comes to their gas and electricity bills.

But the EPG will come to an end on June 30, as the new Ofgem price cap will kick in on July 1.

The new Ofgem price cap will be £2,074 a year for the typical household - down from £2,500 a year under the EPG.

This means the typical household will see their energy bill fall by £426 a year from this summer.

If you don't have a smart meter, it is worth taking a meter reading before the new price cap begins.

This is so your supplier doesn't estimate your usage and potentially assume you've used more energy at the higher rate.

It is also worth noting that there isn't actually a total cap on how much you can pay for energy.

What the Ofgem price cap does is put a limit on how much you can be charged for unit rates and standing charges.

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2023-05-29 11:18:56Z
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