Business Live: Sports Direct reaction - BBC News

Got a TV Licence?You need one to watch live TV on any channel or device, and BBC programmes on iPlayer. It’s the law.Find out moreSummaryGet in touch: bizlivepage@bbc.co.ukRyanair profits tumble on falling ticket pricesJust Eat combines with Dutch rival Takeaway.comLive ReportingBy Ben Morris and Jill TreanorAll times stated are UKPosted at 6:476:47Softbank to invest $2bn in ride-hailing firm GrabGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesJapan’s Softbank will invest $2bn in
ride-hailing app Grab, its chief executive, Masayoshi Son, told reporters in
Jakarta on Monday.Softbank will also help South East Asian technology
company build a second headquarters in the Indonesian capital, Mr Son said.Besides recently Grab has also announced an additional investment of $300m from Invesco, a move that
will further accelerate Grab’s expansion in the region.Posted at 6:266:26Vauxhall raises fears for Ellesmere plantTheo LeggettBBC International Business CorrespondentWhat Carlos Tavares, chief executive of PSA, has told the FT goes further than
previous comments about Ellesmere Port, but there have been previous threats.Last year when I interviewed him he warned of “dramatic consequences”
for the UK plants if there was no deal, but would not elaborate.In this case, he seems to have said explicitly that work
could be moved from Ellesmere Port - and that another plant has already been
earmarked. So it is a very direct threat now.Last month PSA said it planned to build the new Astra at
Ellesmere, but that was made conditional on the terms of Brexit and insiders made it
pretty clear that no-deal was not an option.Posted at 6:216:21New boss at Mirror publisher ReachBBCCopyright: BBCThe publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers, Reach, has announced a new boss.The current chief executive, Simon Fox, will step down on 16 August to be succeeded by Jim Mullen, who was most recently chief executive of Ladbroke Coral.Mr Mullen's previous roles include director of product management and director of digital strategy at News International.The news came as Reach released half-year results showing an 8% rise in adjusted pre-tax profits to £69.9m, although revenues dipped slightly, by 0.3%, to £352.6m.Posted at 6:206:20Chief executive of Daily Mirror owner steps downPosted at 6:106:10Just Eat combines with Dutch rivalGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesJust Eat and Netherlands based Takeaway.com are combining to create one of the world biggest online food delivery companies.After the deal Just Eat shareholders would end up owning 52.2% of the company and Takeaway.com shareholders would have 47.8%.The combined company will be headquartered in Amsterdam and Jitse Groen, chief executive of Takeaway.com, will become chief executive.Posted at 6:046:04AmCham calls on Hong Kong government to actGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesThe American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong has called on the government to take immediate action to restore business confidence in Hong Kong, including a complete withdrawal of the controversial bill that would have enabled extraditions to mainland China.Hong Kong has seen eight consecutive weekends of anti-government and pro-democracy protests. Demonstrations began when the Hong Kong government introduced the bill.AmCham members representing sectors ranging from
financial services to logistics and tech suggested the government restore confidence by "formally and completely" withdrawing the extradition bill "to remove any room for continued public doubt" among other measures, it said in a statement.“A clear majority of our
membership surveyed over the past week said the government needs to address the
underlying causes of the protests and not simply to paper over the cracks of
social instability with a short-term law-and-order fix,” said AmCham President Tara Joseph. Posted at 6:006:00'Sports Direct a case study in failed governance'Today ProgrammeBBC Radio 4ReutersCopyright: Reuters"Sports Direct is almost a case study in failed corporate governance," Aviva Investors' David Cumming said."Anyone who cares about proper oversight, control and governance of the CEO shouldn't really be an investor in this company, in my point of view."He said the boss Mike Ashley "has obviously got retail talent - or had retail talent", but the firm had "lost its way".He said news on Friday that the firm was facing a €674m (£605m) tax bill from Belgian authorities and regretted its deal to buy House of Fraser was "obviously very disappointing and has implications for the people that work there"."If you're looking at it as an opera," he said, "it's more of a tragedy".Posted at 5:575:57London Stock Exchange 'betting the farm'Today ProgrammeBBC Radio 4Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesThe London Stock Exchange is "betting the farm" on its proposed deal to buy financial data analytics provider Refinitiv for $27bn (£21.8bn), according to David Cumming, the chief investment officer for equities at Aviva Investors.If the deal goes ahead, he said: "It's going to be a huge data and distribution company on the back of this deal - a giant really in the industry."The investor noted that around 80% of Refinitiv's business is generated by subscriptions, which would give the LSE a stable source of revenues. Of the LSE, he said: "It's a highly-rated well-respected company currently so and what they're buying is also a good company.""It's just they're paying quite a lot for it."Posted at 5:495:49Asian markets fallGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesAsian markets were broadly in the red on Monday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%.In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.3%, while the Shanghai Composite was 0.2% lower.Posted at 5:395:39A Brexit deal 'absolutely essential'Today ProgrammeBBC Radio 4Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesThe Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has issued a report warning the government that neither the UK nor the EU is ready for a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.Speaking to Radio Four's Today, Josh Hardie, the CBI's deputy director general, said: "A deal is absolutely essential if we're to manage the economy in the best way that we can."But he said preparing for a no deal did not mark a change in tack for the CBI which campaigned to remain in the EU and then backed Theresa May's proposed deal."If you see a storm coming, you put down the sandbags," he said. "It doesn't mean you're going to stop all the flood water, you'll probably still lose the kitchen but you might save the bedroom and that's where we are right now."He said meetings between businesses and the government needed to "scale up - and they have to scale up now". He said that talks about no-deal preparations had been postponed since an initial March deadline to leave the EU was delayed until 31 October.Posted at 5:195:19Singapore's banking giant reports strong profitsGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesDBS, one of the biggest banks in Asia, saw a sharp rise in second quarter earnings, according to its latest financial results.Net profit increased 17% from a year ago to 1.6bn Singapore dollars ($1.2bn; £944m). “We achieved a record half-year performance despite heightened economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions," DBS chief exectuive Piyush Gupta said in a statement.Posted at 5:135:13'Amateur' Sports DirectBBC Radio 5 LivePA MediaCopyright: PA MediaWe'll see if there's any more fallout out today from Friday's shambolic performance from Sports Direct, when it failed to produce its results on time, having already delayed them once.When it did publish the results, there was an unexpected £605m tax bill from Belgian authorities."This is amateur week... it is frankly a pathetic way to run a business," says Justin Urquhart Stewart, from Seven Investment Management."Mike Ashley doesn't care about the City [investors] very much. As far as he is concerned he is used to running a business his way."House of Fraser, which Sports Direct bought a year ago, "is a mess and really needs sorting out", Mr Urquhart tells Wake Up To Money.Posted at 5:125:12Ryanair profits slide as fares fallGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesRyanair has reported a 21% fall in profits after tax for the three months to the end of June (its first quarter).That was despite an 11% rise in sales.It blamed a 6% fall in the average ticket price. There was particular price pressure in Germany where Lufthansa bought Air Berlin and tickets were not being sold "below cost price".Earlier this month the company said it was adjusting its schedules due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max family of jets.It confirmed today that it expected to have 30 new Max jets in time for next summer.Posted at 5:005:00Trade talks resume amid tensionsGetty ImagesCopyright: Getty ImagesAs face-to-face talks between the US and China are due to resume, tensions between the two sides are already seem to be simmering.On Friday, a US presidential memo on reforming developing country status in the World Trade Organization singled out China."The United States has never accepted China’s claim to developing-country status, and virtually every current economic indicator belies China’s claim," US President Donald Trump said in the memo.It says the United States Trade Representative Office shall "use all available means to secure changes at the WTO that would prevent self-declared developing countries from availing themselves of flexibilities in WTO rules and negotiations that are not justified by appropriate economic and other indicators."Chinese state media responded, saying in a "commentary" piece that the memo was aimed at putting pressure on China ahead of the trade talks that are due to resume on Tuesday."It obviously timed the memo to serve as a new bargaining chip for the upcoming 12th round of China-US high-level economic and trade consultations," the piece said."But the tactic of imposing pressure is nothing new to China and has never worked."Posted at 4:584:58'Bad' Brexit conditions could close Vauxhall plantAFPCopyright: AFPVauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port employs around 1,000 workers and is owned by French car maker, PSA. Its boss Carlos Tavares has warned that production could be switched to mainland Europe, if Brexit creates unfavourable conditions for his firm.In an interview with the Financial Times he says he is particularly worried about customs arrangements after Brexit.That's because the Ellesmere plant exports 80% of its production and imports around three-quarters of its components."If the conditions are bad and I cannot make it profitable then I have to protect the rest of the company," Mr Tavares told the FT.However, several commentators have pointed out that this plant has been under threat for many years.Posted at 4:574:57Welcome!Ben MorrisBusiness reporterIt's time to kick-off Monday's Business Live page.A worrying report for the 1,000 workers at Vauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port. That plant could close if Brexit makes it unprofitable for the plant's French owner, PSA, reports the FT.Trade talks are due to restart between China and the US on Tuesday.And we'll take a look at the latest results from Ryanair.






































































































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