Soda, Steak and Slacks: 10 Things We Learned This Week

Amazon
Shareholders
Rebel
on
Pay

It
isn’t
just
climate
and
net
zero
proposals
that
are
galvanising
shareholders
of
large
companies.
Significant
numbers
are
also
voting
to
curb
executive
renumeration,
in
what
are
widely
known
as
“say
on
pay”
proposals.
This
isn’t
just
a
UK
phenomenon,
where
there
have
been
grumblings
about
so-called
“fat
cat”
bonus
payments
for
years,
recently
focusing
on
the
pay
packages
of
water
company
bosses.
This
is
now
an
issue
for
US
shareholders,
which
we
typically
expect
to
be
more
tolerant
of
executive
largesse.

One-in-three
Amazon
shareholders
voted
this
week
against
pay
practices
at
the
online
retailer,
as
shareholders
cast
votes
on
a
record
number
of
proposals
at
its
AGM.
As
explained
in
this
Morningstar
article
these
proxy
votes
are
seen
as
an
important
bellwether
of
ESG
and
stewardship
practices,
reflecting
widespread
shareholder
opinion.
Although
the
numbers
voting
down
the
renumeration
package
of
senior
execs
wasn”t
enough
to
sway
the
vote,
the
large
numbers
indicate
strong
feeling
on
this
issue,
with
ordinary
investors
and
asset
managers
increasingly
demanding
the
pay
is
better
aligned
with
corporate
performance. 

CBI’s
Existential
Moment

It’s
a
make-or-break
meeting
next
week
for
the
embattled
CBI.
It
has
called
an
extraordinary
general
meeting
which
will
determine
whether
the
lobby
group
for
business,
stays
in
business.
In
its
“programme
of
change”
–
sent
round
to
members
–
the
CBI
is
proposing
a
new
president,
a
board
shake-up
and
potential
redundancies
as
it
works
to
become
a
“sharper,
more
focused”
organisation.
Members
will
vote
on
whether
the
lobby
group
moves
ahead
with
these
reforms
or
is
wound
down.
The
outcome
is
by
no
means
guaranteed,
with
reports
that
the
board
has
appointed
lawyers
to
prepare
for
possible
insolvency.
These
proposed
reforms
have
been
made
by
new
director
general
Rain
Newton-Smith,
who
stepped
into
the
role
after
the
group
was
thrown
into
crisis,
following
a
series
of
allegations
about
misconduct.
This
led
to
many
high-profile
members
cancelling
or
suspending
membership.
Those
that
have
left,
though,
will
be
denied
a
vote
on
its
future
next
week. 

Tagged
Steaks,
Price
Controls

Supermarkets
appear
to
be
a
canary
in
the
coal
mine
during
the
cost-of-living
crisis.
This
week
it
emerged
many
are
security-tagging
steaks,
cheese
and
other
marginally
more
expensive
foodstuffs,
while
also
limiting
the
number
of
items
on
shelves
in
a
bid
to
deter
shoplifters.
Although
not
all
supermarkets
are
deploying
these
measures,
and
those
that
do
are
not
imposing
them
in
all
stores,
it
is
as
one
Co-op
customer
put
it,
depressing
to
see
them
“packaging
sirloin
steaks
like
they”re
gold
bars”.

At
the
other
end
of
the
scale,
the
government
is
discussing
plans
to
introduce
a
“voluntary”
price
cap
on
marginally
less
expensive
food
items,
including
basics
such
as
bread
and
milk.
While
the
government
says
this
might
protect
consumers
from
spiralling
food
costs,
cynics
may
note,
it
could
also
help
the
government
meet
its
self-imposed
inflation
targets.
However,
there
is
less
enthusiasm
from
the
supermarkets
though
about
such
action.
Asda
chair,
and
former
M&S
boss
Sir
Stuart
Rose
poured
cold
water
on
the
idea,
while
the
British
Retail
Consortium
asked
the
government
to
focus
on
cutting
red
tape
around
food
sales
rather
that
resorting
to
“1970s-style
price
controls”. 

WH
Smith
Ready
to
Go

It
isn’t
just
airlines,
Airbnb
and
travel
agents
who
look
set
to
benefit
from
a
busy
summer
holiday
season.
WH
Smith
has
raised
its
profit
guidance
for
this
year,
on
expectations
that
airports
and
railway
stations
will
be
heaving
with
passengers.
The
retailer
has
been
in
the
doldrums
for
years,
amid
falling
footfall
on
the
high
street,
competition
from
online
retailers,
and
then
the
pandemic
which
saw
international
travel
grind
to
a
halt.
Given
many
of
Smith”s
most
profitable
outlets
are
close
to
transport
hubs
this
had
a
significant
impact
on
its
business.
But
sales
are
now
booming
at
outlets
in
its
travel
division
and
the
company
is
looking
to
open
a
further
120
travel
stores,
with
60
in
the
US,
and
the
rest
in
Europe,
Australia
and
the
UK. 

A
Prescription
for
Dr
Martens

Dr
Martens
got
a
bit
of
a
kicking
on
the
stock
market
this
week
after
unveiling
a
slide
in
profits.
It
reported
disappointing
US
sales,
particularly
of
its
iconic
boot
and
warned
margins
would
fall
this
year,
after
sales
fell
10%,
due
in
part
to
overseas
warehousing
and
distribution
problems.
However
the
British
footwear
company,
now
listed
on
the
London
Stock
Exchange,
said
it
had
seen
a
50%
increase
in
sales
of
its
“chunky”
shoes
and
sandals.
The
boots,
originally
designed
by
a
German
army
doctor
in
1945,
were
made
in
Northamptonshire
from
the
1960s,
but
are
now
manufactured
in
China,
Vietnam,
Laos
and
Thailand
as
well
as
in
Northamptonshire,
under
its
handcrafted
(and
more
expensive)
“Made
in
England”
brand. 

Too
Fat
to
Fly?

Air
New
Zealand
is
the
first
airline
to
start
weighing
its
passengers,
in
a
bid
to
improve
fuel
efficiency
and
safety.
The
airline
has
been
at
pains
to
stress
that
people’s
weight
won’t
be
displayed
to
staff
or
other
passengers,
but
will
be
kept
in
an
anonymised
aggregated
database.
It
is
also
a
voluntary
scheme
at
present,
but
the
airline
is
hoping
10,000
customers
will
step
on
the
scales
before
boarding
at
Auckland
airport
to
give
it
a
more
accurate
picture
of
the
total
weight
that
the
planes
are
carrying.
The
airline
said
that
it
already
weighs
suitcases,
commercial
freight
and
even
the
onboard
meals,
but
to
date
has
relied
on
average
body
weights
for
its
human
cargo.
It
remains
to
be
seen
whether
other
airlines
will
follow
suit,
and
standing
on
the
scales
will
become
as
commonplace
as
walking
through
metal
detectors. 

Soda
Float?
Yes,
WE
Can

It’s
a
case
of
old
technology
finding
new
tech
applications
—
and
potentially
generating
billions.
WE
Soda,
part
of
the
Ciner
Group
conglomerate,
indicated
it
would
float
on
the
London
Stock
Exchange
this
week,
with
a
potential
£7
billion
valuation.
The
firm
extracts
soda
ash,
more
commonly
known
as
washing
soda
or
bicarbonate
of
soda
in
the
UK.
This
has
been
used
in
cleaning
products
for
years,
as
well
as
the
manufacture
of
glass.
But
demand
has
rocketed
as
it
now
used
in
the
production
of
the
photovoltaic
glass
in
solar
panels,
and
to
produce
lithium
carbonate
—
needed
in
electric
car
batteries.
While
soda
ash
can
be
produced
synthetically,
WE
Soda
mines
natural
deposits
in
salt
lakes
in
Turkey
and
Wyoming
in
the
US.
It
claims
this
is
less
carbon
intensive
and
cheaper,
leading
to
bumper
profits
at
the
company.
Given
the
furore
recently
about
tech
companies
choosing
to
list
elsewhere,
the
LSE
will
see
this
announcement
as
a
significant
vote
of
confidence
in
the
London
market. 

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