Alcohol powerhouse Diageo is on the hunt for a new chief executive, after announcing Debra Crew is to step down by mutual agreement (Financial Times). The Smirnoff and Guinness owner’s chief financial officer, Nik Jhangiani, will lead the business on an interim basis and has been tipped as a frontrunner for the permanent job (The Guardian). Chairman John Manzoni thanked Crew for her contributions, but his message could not hide some of the share price turmoil which has likely driven the move, claims the Telegraph. Diageo shares, which have lost more than 40% since the beginning of June 2023, added 2.8% on Wednesday afternoon (Daily Mail). The London-based company is in the midst of a turnaround drive and in May unveiled a plan to cut $500m in costs and make “substantial” asset sales by 2028 (The Times).
Chief executive of the Co-op, Shirine Khoury-Haq, has admitted that the personal data of all 6.5 million of its members was stolen during a cyber attack earlier this year (Telegraph). She said no financial information, such as credit or debit card details, or transaction data was stolen (The Guardian). In late April, the company shut off parts of its IT systems after the hack, in which criminals accessed and extracted members’ personal data (Daily Mail).
In other Co-op news, a variety of grape described as “Mojito flavoured” because of its similarity to the classic cocktail is to go on sale next week at the grocer. The grapes will be available for three weeks in selected stores and cost £2.90 (The Standard).
Coca-Cola will switch back to cane sugar, from corn syrup, as the primary sweetener of its original cola produced in the US, Donald Trump has claimed on social media (Financial Times). Without explicitly confirming the recipe tweak, a Coke spokesperson said they “appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm” and “more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon” (BBC). A May report by the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative said substantial consumption of high-fructose corn syrup could play a role in childhood obesity and other conditions (Reuters).
Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals as soon as the end of the month as he steps up pressure on big pharma to shift manufacturing and investment to the US (The Times). “We’re going to start off with a low tariff and give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we’re going to make it a very high tariff,” he told reporters (Bloomberg).
Retailers are legally selling addictive nicotine pouches to children, just weeks after single-use vapes were banned in an effort to cut their use among young people, Trading Standards has warned. Shops were displaying the pouches – often in sweet flavours and with eye-catching packaging – at the front of counters, the body said (The Standard).
The rate of inflation has risen by more than expected on the back of fuel and food price pressures.The Office for National Statistics reported a 3.6% level for the 12 months to June – a pace not seen since January last year (Sky News). Inflation remains much higher than the Bank of England’s target rate of 2%, but a cut in the cost of borrowing is still expected at next month’s rate-setting meeting (BBC).
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