‘Taking the pistachio’: Watchdog bans Tesco Mobile ads for potential ‘serious and widespread offence’ May 11, 2022 UK advertising watchdog banned Tesco Mobile’s advertising campaign this morning for using expletives as names for food substitutes. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the names were likely to cause “serious and widespread offence”, ruling the use of “shiitake” and “pistachio” to be unacceptable. One advert seen in February featured text saying: “What a load [...]
Investment group backed by ex-Tesco boss probed over allegations of £2m Covid loan misuse May 11, 2022 We Are Nova, a start-up investment group with support from ex-Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, is being probed over claims it misused Covid loans. According to The Times newspaper, companies associated with We Are Nova netted almost £2m through the government’s bounce back loan scheme. However, the firms did not seem to be eligible for [...]
Windfall tax: There was little sympathy for loss-making energy giants in depths of 2020 May 10, 2022 Is business turning on business? It appeared so yesterday morning when the well-respected Tesco chair John Allan said the case for a windfall tax on energy giants had become “overwhelming.” Needless to say, Labour jumped all over this, just as they did when the former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber said the same. But alas, [...]
The City View: Victoria Scholar on uneasy European markets and US dollar high May 10, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor. They go through the rebound by European markets today after yesterday’s sell-off, the US dollar’s 20-year high, McColl’s purchase by Morrisons, and Heathrow’s strong results. Andy also talks to City A.M. reporter Charlie Conchie — they unpick the Queen’s Speech, going through [...]
Tesco chief joins calls for energy firms to face windfall tax amid deepening cost-of-living crisis May 10, 2022 Tesco chairman John Allan has joined calls for energy giants to be slapped with a windfall tax to ease pressure on households.
British Gas profits and Heathrow’s growth keeps FTSE 100 stable May 10, 2022 A strong April for Heathrow and British Gas’s owner Centrica expecting higher profits has helped the FTSE 100 remain steady, up 0.8 per cent at the open this morning. London rose 63 points despite fears about rising inflation, as the UK’s biggest airport lifted its forecast for passenger growth after a spike in travel over [...]
The City View: Analysing the G7 plan to phase out Russian oil May 9, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to City A.M. reporters Nicholas Earl and Leah Montebello. They go through the G7’s decision to phase out Russian oil, historically elevated gas prices, unpick Snapchat owner Snap Inc.’s plan to compete with the likes of TikTok, and break down Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s recent letter to employees. And in the [...]
Ex-Magic Circle lawyer who injected food with blood found not guilty by reason of insanity May 8, 2022 A London lawyer, who caused £500,000 worth of damage by injecting his own blood into food in supermarkets, has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. Leoaai Elghareeb, 37, was found not guilty, after he entered three supermarkets – Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express, and Little Waitrose – on Fulham Palace Road carrying a bucketful [...]
Supermarket sales slow over Easter as Brits start to cut back on grocery purchases May 4, 2022 Supermarket sales slowed last month as spending habits returned to normal after pandemic restrictions. Households are tightening their purse strings after the first tranche of higher bills hit budgets this spring while spending habits are also normalising after the easing of lockdown restrictions. Shoppers added slightly fewer items to their baskets over the last four [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Greggs join forces to lobby Sunak to slash business rates May 3, 2022 Supermarket giants have reiterated calls for a cut in business rates as firms endeavour to keep prices competitive for shoppers amid rising inflation. Big names including Morrisons and Co-op have come together under a new Cut the Shops Tax campaign, organised by the Retail Jobs Alliance. In a joint letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, bosses [...]