1 Peter Hebblethwaite, the chief executive of P&O Ferries, had spoken of how “essential” his staff were months before 800 were sacked without notice and replaced with cheaper overseas workers. Concerns have been expressed about the pension scheme for 20,000 present and former British seamen as it emerged that P&O Ferries owes it about £140 million. Page 15
2 AML, a firm based in the Isle of Man that promotes tax avoidance schemes, faces a tax bill of up to £3.3 million after a legal verdict which criticised it for being “evasive” to an HMRC investigation. The firm is run by Doug Barrowman, the billionaire husband of Baroness Mone, the businesswoman.
3 Ocado has started using electric cargo bikes to deliver groceries as it tries to reduce emissions — and increase the profitability — of its service. The Times can reveal that the company has signed a multi-year contract with e-cargobikes.com to operate an undisclosed number of Ocado-branded bicycles across London. The plan is to expand the cycle delivery service to other cities.
4 Working from home, lower speed limits and car-free Sundays in cities should be used as “emergency measures” to cut oil demand and avert a “crippling” supply crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Energy Agency has said.
5 Goldman Sachs, the New York investment bank, has warned that a “significant relaxation” on concerns about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left equities more vulnerable to a sell-off as the FTSE 100 closed out its best week in 14 months.
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6 Ardeshir Naghshineh, the former owner of Centre Point, who in 1992 founded the property investment company Targetfollow, has launched a £1.5 billion legal claim against Lloyds Banking Group, linking Libor manipulation to the partial collapse of his property empire.
7 The London Metal Exchange’s website boasts that it is “robust and regulated” but its market for nickel — one of the many metals traded there — has been poleaxed by the turmoil created by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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8 Andrew Bailey, the former head of the Financial Conduct Authority, has been accused of falling asleep during a meeting to discuss a pensions mis-selling scandal involving thousands of British Steel workers.
9 Sycamore Partners Management, an American private equity firm, is considering a takeover offer for Ted Baker, prompting shares in the fashion brand to rise by almost a fifth.
10 Tim Martin, the founder of JD Wetherspoon, has reassured investors over the impact of inflation as he hailed a return to more normal trading after “a traumatic two years” for the pub sector.