6:10 am, June 14, 2024

Tesla shareholders vote to restore Elon Musk’s pay package

Tesla shareholders have voted to restore chief executive Elon Musk’s record $44.9bn pay package that was thrown out by a Delaware judge earlier this year.

Vote totals were not immediately announced at Tesla’s annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday, but the company said they voted for Musk’s compensation plan – worth circa £35bn – which initially was approved by the board and stockholders six years ago.

However, the package is likely to remain tied up in the Delaware Chancery Court and Supreme Court for months as Tesla tries to overturn the rejection. A separate issue to move the company’s legal home to Texas to avoid the Delaware courts was also approved. Full story about the vote here

Bridgerton boosts UK economy by £275m, Netflix says

Hit TV romance series Bridgerton has boosted the UK economy by £275m over the course of five years, Netflix has claimed.

The streaming website says the Regency-style drama, which premiered the final half of its third series yesterday and is produced by the company Shondaland, has supported 5,000 local businesses over the past five years.

Shondaland chief executive Shonda Rhimes will open trading at the London Stock Exchange today to celebrate the figure, which was calculated in-house by Netflix and includes direct and indirect spending.

UK’s largest pubs and breweries demand immediate cut in beer duty

The UK’s largest pub groups and breweries have written an open letter to the leaders of the three main political parties demanding an immediate cut in beer duty alongside business rates reform.

The letter, which appears in today’s edition of The Times to coincide with the start of Euro 2024, says: ‘British beer drinkers cheering on England and Scotland pay 54p duty per pint compared to German or Spanish fans paying less than 5p.’

Signed by 80 of the UK’s leading brewers and pub groups, it adds: ‘Combined with high costs such as energy, publicans currently only make an average 12p profit on the average £4.80 pint in the UK.’

Sunak to tell G7 reform needed for sustainable development and AI

Rishi Sunak will today tell world leaders they must unlock funding for sustainable development and harness the benefits of artificial intelligence.

The second day of the G7 summit in Italy will also see the PM announce funding that could top £100m to help deliver clean energy transitions, with a £20m expansion of an artificial intelligence (AI) development scheme into Asia.

Sunak will tell a session focused on AI and energy, Africa and the Mediterranean that the international financial system needs reforming to release finance needed to accelerate sustainable development goals and strengthen the voices of the most vulnerable.

Business groups seek more tax reassurances as Labour targets economic growth

Labour has put economic growth at the heart of its manifesto, but fears have been raised over the absence of pledges on some key taxes.

The manifesto confirmed Labour would cap corporation tax at 25% until the next parliament as it looks to cement its pro-business stance.

It also unveiled a raft of plans to support small firms, including reiterating aims to overhaul business rates. But experts said the lack of any promises not to increase capital gains tax has fuelled speculation it may be in line for a hike if Labour wins the election.

UN and aid groups urge release of 17 staffers held by Yemen’s rebels

The heads of six UN agencies and three international humanitarian organisations issued a joint appeal yesterday to Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the immediate release of 17 members of their staff.

The staff were detained along with many others also being held by the Iranian-backed group, which said earlier this week it had arrested members of an ‘American-Israeli spy network’, days after detaining the staffers.

Their appeal was echoed by a statement from several dozen nations and the European Union ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.

Tony Bennett’s daughters sue their brother over handling of late singer’s assets

Tony Bennett’s two daughters are suing their brother, alleging he mishandled and failed to disclose some of their father’s assets in his role as trustee of the late singer’s estate.

The lawsuit filed in New York by Antonia and Johanna Bennett accuses D’Andrea ‘Danny’ Bennett of not accounting for all of the proceeds from this year’s sale of their father’s catalogue and certain image rights to the brand development firm Iconoclast.

Bennett, who released more than 70 albums during his lifetime, died last July aged 96. No specific cause was given, but he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.

Alpine A290 interior, via Newspress

Covers come off Alpine A290

Alpine has finally revealed its eagerly anticipated A290 electric hot hatchback.

It has four headlamps, flared wings and wheel arches, side skirts and a black rear diffuser, while inside includes a sports steering wheel, sports pedals and a 10.1-inch central screen.

The A290 comes with a 52kWh battery pack that will give a claimed electric range of 236 miles, to be confirmed by homologation. Prices start at £32,000, with orders being taken at the beginning of 2025.

Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed

Market movements

The FTSE 100 closed 51.81 points down yesterday to end the day on 8,163.67. The Cac 40 was down 156.68 points at 7,708.02, the Dax was down 365.18 points at 18,265.68, and the Dow Jones was down 65.11 points at 38,647.10.

Weather outlook

Today will be breezy and variably cloudy, says BBC Weather, with scattered showers for most, some heavy, and thunder in the afternoon. Spells of rain in the far north of Scotland in the morning will clear to showers later.

Saturday will be showery in England and Wales, while Northern Ireland will also experience showers but with more periods of sunshine. It’ll turn cloudy in Scotland, with outbreaks of rain and showers. There’ll also be a risk of thunder.