Asda workers fear Sainsbury’s will hold all the power, writes The Times (£) in its continuing look the the merger of two of the UK’s big four supermarkets. Store managers can see the logic behind the deal, but shopfloor staff worry about what they will stand to lose, the paper writes. (The Times £)
Additionally, a rough analysis by The Times, which assumes that only half of Asda’s shopfloor workers are on the higher £8.67-an-hour contract, shows it could cost more than £150 million to switch Asda staff on to Sainsbury’s £9.20 rate. (The Times £)
Revenue from alcohol sales in England would plummet by £13bn if customers complied with the recommended drinking guidelines, according to a study that condemns the industry’s role in regulation. (The Guardian)
The price of coffee has hit its lowest level in decades as an oversupply of beans floods the world market. A recent good harvest means that the price for a pound of coffee is under a dollar, which is three times cheaper than it was in 2011. (The Daily Mail)
More than 100,000 people a year will be forced to tackle unsustainable debts by 2022, according to a new forecast. Arrow Global believes that personal insolvencies in Britain are set to climb towards levels last seen in the wake of the global financial crisis. (The Times £)
Superdrug has advised its online customers to change their passwords after the high street chain was targeted by hackers claiming to have stolen the personal details of thousands of people. (The Guardian)
Bloomberg looks at how German pharmaceutical giant Bayer is still reeling from the record verdict against Monsanto’s weed killer. “Bayer, which enjoys a positive reputation in its home country, may not have fully grasped the animus that Monsanto faces,” it writes. (Bloomberg)
Department store chain Debenhams has appointed Rachel Osborne as its new chief financial officer to replace Matt Smith who is leaving for upmarket rival Selfridges (The Financial Times £). The former finance chief at Domino’s Pizza Group has found a new job more to her taste at Debenhams. (The Times £)
Sports Direct’s billionaire founder Mike Ashley and his chairman Keith Hellawell face a fraught annual meeting in September after independent shareholders were urged to vote against the re-election of the two men to the board. (The Financial Times £)
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