Asda has launched what it claims is Britain’s biggest autonomous grocery home delivery trial. From today, its customers based in London can have their shopping delivered to their homes by “self-driving” Jaguar I-Pace electric cars. (The Times £)

Dame Sharon White, chairwoman of the John Lewis Partnership, brought in bankers to advise on a possible merger with Marks & Spencer when she joined the company. (The Times £)

The FT asks what lies ahead for John Lewis? “At the heart of the dilemma for John Lewis is its unusual partnership structure whereby it is also owned by those 74,000 employees — vaunted a decade ago by former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg as a model for the wider UK economy, but one which also limits its financial room for manoeuvre.” (Financial Times £)

A leading investor has told Matt Moulding, the founder of troubled online retailer THG, to get his house in order as the company prepares to reveal yet more losses. (Daily Mail)

Aldi, Asda and Lidl have become the latest supermarkets to announce they are cutting the price of milk in stores following similar moves by their rivals. (Sky News)

Rocketing food price inflation we’ve continued to see in the shops over recent months runs entirely contrary to what’s been happening on global and national wholesale food markets. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation index, global food prices fell in March for the twelfth successive month – and are now some 10pc below where they were before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The contrast between downward wholesale food prices and upward retail prices over recent months is very stark indeed. (The Telegraph)

The Telegraph interviews Iceland’s Richard Walker on giving back, climbing Everest and why his father thinks he’s mad for entering politics. On Iceland’s debt refinancing, with a £550 million loan which has to be refinanced in 2025, he says: “I am supremely confident we’ll refinance the debt. I have a plan A, B, C and D for that. It is definitely going to happen.” (The Telegraph)

The BBC looks at supermarkets’ changing use of loyalty cards. Gone are the days when the Clubcard or Nectar card was used to build up points to redeem for a treat. Now they offer financially-stretched customers lower prices in the hope they do not shop elsewhere. (BBC)

The head of the inquiry into the horsemeat scandal in 2013 has warned the UK is isolated from intelligence over food supply chains in Europe, increasing the risk of new scandals. (The Guardian)

Cheaper petrol prices have helped push the rate of inflation to its lowest level in nine months, figures this week will show (Daily Mail). Inflation is expected to have fallen back into single digits in March after a surprise jump to 10.4% the month before (The Times £).

Hedge funds have emerged as some of the biggest winners from the global food price spike that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the world’s 10 biggest hedge funds alone making profits estimated at nearly $2bn. (The Guardian)

English winemaker Nyetimber has predicted a ‘bumper summer of sales’ following the Coronation weekend. (Daily Mail)

The Guardian looks at how how TikTok can help save consumers money on their food shopping. The video-sharing app has become the best place to see the unfolding effect of the cost of living crisis, with weekly shops and ‘receipt reveals’ watched by millions. (The Guardian)

British fresh fruit technology that harnesses a mineral dug up with rare earth metals is gaining traction among growers once again after a turnaround in the fortunes of the company that is commercialising it. (The Times £)

More than 1m small businesses may be paying energy bills significantly above market rates after becoming trapped in long-term contracts fixed when prices reached a historical peak last year. (The Guardian)

The demise of the British pub has been greatly exaggerated, writes The FT’s Lex column. “A third of the boozers that close subsequently reopen. That helps slow the overall rate of attrition. Some 400 pubs per year disappear for good. The decline is likely to plateau. But if it did not, the last pub in Britain would not close for another century.” (Financial Times £)

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