This weeks news includes; UK general election results, Santander buys rival for 1 euro, Kellogg’s takes tennis player to court, Uber fires 20 employees after harassment investigation.
Below are our top 10 stories that you need to know about. Be sure to check our twitter page and Facebook page for regular posts of important headlines. Click on the links for full stories.
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Opinion articles of the week:
- The Independent argues that How Brexit is proving good news for Lidl and Aldi.
- BBC News looks at Royal London’s argument that the Saudi Aramco: London listing is inappropriate.
- Investopedia claims that Apple’s curse may be the success of the iPhone.
- The Independent claims that EU plans to relocate London’s €930bn clearing business would be ‘severely detrimental to Europe’.
1. UK ELECTION
Theresa May and the Conservative Party suffered an embarrassing conclusion to her snap election. She failed to win enough electoral seats to obtain a working majority, winning only 318, 8 less than the required 326. The Conservative Party lost 13 seats while Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party unexpectedly gained a massive 30 seats. This resulted in a hung parliament where no one party had enough seats to rule. The Conservative party and the Northern Irish Democratic unionist party are currently in negotiations to form an agreement to give them a working majority in parliament.
For more on the election, click here. (BBC News)
There was a mixed market reaction to the results. The pound fell sharply to its lowest level since April. This had a positive impact on some FTSE 100 companies, particularly the large multinational companies as they benefit from a weaker pound. Conversely, a lot of nationally centred companies that benefit from a stronger pound saw their share prices falling. The Financial Times looks closer at how the markets reacted.
2. SANTANDER RESCUES RIVAL BANCO
Santander is to buy its largest Spanish rival Banco Popular for just one euro. This deal was approved after Banco Popular announced it was on the verge of insolvency. Santander will require 7 billion euros from its investors to support Banco Popular subsequent to the purchase. This deal has been approved by the European Central bank and the European Competition authorities.
Business Insider looks further at the deal.
3. EU COURT TOLD WORKERS CAN CLAIM COMPENSATION IF THEY ARE NOT GIVEN PAID LEAVE
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has told the court that workers are entitled to compensation if they are not allowed to take their paid leave. This opinion arose out of a case regarding a UK window salesman who was wrongly classed as self-employed and there was no holiday included in his contract. When the worker retired he sought compensation for 13 years of holiday that had not been taken, amounting to £27,000 pounds. The ECJ advocate general, Evgeni Tanchev agreed and said that employers were required to provide “adequate facilities to workers” to allow them to take their paid annual leave.
Opinions given by ECJ advocate generals are usually followed by the court. The court will make a decision in the coming months. The Guardian looks further at the case.
4. ELECTRIC CARS ON THE RISE WHILE DIESEL SALES PLUMMET
The number of electric cars on the road globally has passed 2 million for the first time. 90% of these electric vehicles were from Europe, China and the USA. The number of electric cars hit 1 million in 2015 but falling prizes and wider ranges of model have led to a 60% rise in sales in 2016. Despite this growth, electric cars still make up 0.2% of all passenger cars globally. The Guardian looks further into electric car.
Diesel cars on the other hand, saw a massive dip in sales in the past month, with a 27% decline. Sales fell from around 20,000, from just under 102,000 in May 2016 to 81,489 last month. Sky News explores the reasons for this decline.
5. CEREAL MAKER KELLOGG’s TAKES AUSTRALIAN TENNIS PLAYER TO COURT
Kellogg’s has taken Thanasi Kokkinakis to court to prevent the use of the trademarked name “Special K” for commercial purposes. Kokkinakis wants to use “Special K” for his branding campaign but Kellogg’s has held the trademark for this name for over 50 years and seeks to prevent this.
The case will be in the Australian courts and the first hearing will take place on Thursday. To find out more about this case and other trademark disputes, read Sky News’s analysis.
6. UBER FIRES 20 EMPLOYEES OVER HARASSMENT
Uber has dismissed 20 of its employees over a harassment investigation. The dismissals related to an investigation regarding a culture of sexual harassment and bullying after a female employee made a strong complaint online about her experience at the company. This is just another scandal in a list of issues CEO Travis Kalanick faces. The BBC looks further at the issue of sexism in Silicon valley.
The Independent asks when Silicon Valley CEO’s will deal with the issue of sexism and harassment in its midst.
7. BOOHOO OWNER SELLS £80m IN SHARES TO AID EXPANSION
The owner of online fashion retailer Boohoo.com has sold £80m as part of plans to build a “supersite” warehouse. Mahmud Kamani and his siblings who own part of the company sold 36.6 million shares to raise capital. Shares in the company rose by 18% hitting a record high. Boohoo .com, which was founded in 2006 and owns brands such as “Pretty Little Thing”, is now valued at over £2.8 billion.
To find out more about Boohoo and its finances, check out The Guardian’s article.
8. OCADO SECURES OVERSEAS DEAL
British online supermarket Ocado has landed an overseas deal with a European retailer over 18 months. The retailer has not been named but Ocado will provide them with software and support services to create an online business.
Reuters looks further at the deal.
9. £8.8bn FALL IN FOREIGN TAKEOVERS OF UK FIRMS
There were £3.6 billion worth of foreign takeovers of UK firms, 48 takeovers in total according to the ONS. This has fallen from £11.9 billion last year, a decline of £8.8 billion. This could possibly indicate a decline a confidence in British companies. British companies completed 26 acquisitions overseas, with a value of £1.9bn.
To find out more about M&A activity check out Sky News’ analysis.
10. TOPSHOP OWNER PROFITS PLUMMET
Taveta Investment profits have fallen by a whopping 79%. The retail empire owned by Sir Philip Green has been plagued by scandal including the failure of British Home Stores (BHS). Profits in the past 12 months have fallen from £172.2 million to £36.8 million while total sales fell by 2.5%.
Taveta is the parent company of Arcadia which owns major brands such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins.
The BBC News looks further at the issues troubling the company.
