Wheat and see: Farmers fear trade deal impact on bioethanol and beef markets May 13, 2025 Ministers and commentators heralded the UK’s trade deal with the United States as a political coup that will save thousands of jobs at British automakers. But changes to beef and bioethanol trade rules have left an already bruised agricultural sector fearing the worst, writes Ali Lyon. When he’s not slavishly editing clips for the hundreds [...]
National Grid appoints Shell director to replace chief executive May 1, 2025 National Grid has unveiled plans for the appointment of a top executive at Shell to replace its current boss, John Pettigrew. Zoë Yujnovich, a former director of integrated gas and upstream at Shell, will net a base salary of £1.3m per year when she takes charge of the UK’s electricity network later this year. She [...]
Unilever turnover dips as turnaround fails to gain pace April 24, 2025 Unilever has reported a dip in turnover despite a year-long turnaround plan aimed at revitalising the business. Turnover at the consumer goods giant fell 0.9 per cent year year to €14.8bn (£12.65bn) in the first quarter of 2025. This was driven by slumps in personal and home care products, which fell by 4.4 per cent [...]
Tariff talks to dominate IMF-World Bank meetings April 21, 2025 Finance ministers are poised to use this week’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s gathering to strike up trade deals with bilateral partners as uncertainty continues to swirl around Donald Trump’s tariff plan. Senior politicians and economic heavyweights are flocking to Washington for the biannual gathering put on by the two global agencies, with [...]
Unilever to update on turnaround under new boss amid mounting trade pressure April 20, 2025 Unilever is expected to outline fresh details of its attempted turnaround this week, after replacing its chief executive in March. The consumer giant, which makes goods from Marmite to Dove soap, reports its first quarter results on the 24th April. Experts said the company could give more insight into its plans under new boss Fernando [...]
Weak dollar restricting market rebound, say Barclays analysts April 16, 2025 A weakened dollar may prohibit the full recovery of global markets, analysts have warned, as investors continue to suffer the fallout from the Trump tariff mayhem. The DXY index, which tracks the dollar’s value against a basket of currencies, sank to its lowest in three years during Monday trading. This came after markets plunged following [...]
Business needs a real voice in the Civil Service, not a mid-rank mandarin April 3, 2025 The civil service needs an actual industry bigwig, not a mid-rank mandarin, if it wants to properly engage with business, writes Matthew Elliott.
Unilever acquires sustainable deodorant Wild April 1, 2025 Unilever has finally confirmed its acquisition of refillable deodorant brand Wild as it looks to build its presence in premium beauty and self care. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is believed to value Wild at £230m. Wild, which was started in 2019 by business partners Charlie Bowes-Lyon and Freddy Ward, [...]
‘Corporate purpose? It went too far’, says man behind Britain’s Davos March 25, 2025 John O’Brien founded Anthropy – an annual gathering of corporate and political luminaries dubbed ‘Britain’s Davos’ – to help the UK ‘build back better’ from the pandemic. On the eve of its third instalment in the Eden Project’s greenery, Ali Lyon asks the ex-army captain, “Has it failed?” It is October 2022, and a group [...]
Unilever accused of ousting Ben and Jerry’s chief over activism March 19, 2025 Ben and Jerry’s has accused parent company Unilever of removing its chief executive David Stever over the firm’s political activism. In a court filing, the ice cream brand alleged that Unilever had violated a merger agreement by trying to silence its “social mission”, advocated by Stever. “Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including [...]