Reckitt’s share price dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade on Monday after a jury in the US ruled against competitor Abbott Laboratories in the latest in a series of lawsuits against the two companies over the health impacts of their premature infant formulas (The Financial Times £).
On Friday evening, a jury in Missouri, found that Abbott Laboratories’ specialised formula for premature babies, Similac, caused a girl to develop necrotising enterocolitis, a potentially deadly bowel disease (The Times £).
Shares in the British consumer goods group, which is facing similar legal action over its Enfamil formula, saw its shares plunge by about 9% on Monday after Abbott was ordered to pay $495m (£385m) in damages (The Guardian).
US healthcare firm Abbott plans to appeal the decision, but close to 1,000 US lawsuits have now been filed against Abbott, Reckitt or both (The Mail).
The business commentary in The Times (£) says Reckitt chief is facing ‘life or death dilemma’.
Heineken blamed the weather after its sales disappointed in a second quarter also hit by a writedown of its stake in a Chinese brewer, sending shares in the world’s second-largest brewer down 7% (The Financial Times £).
An €874m writedown in the value of its Chinese beer business has driven Heineken to a first-half loss (The Times £).
The brewer also said beer demand had been hit by summer downpours, especially in Europe (The Mail).
Asda bosses have been left bruised after a staff survey suggested that fewer than half of workers are confident in the strategy at the supermarket (The Telegraph £). Only 47% of respondents to the company’s annual questionnaire, which was completed last month, said they felt confident in Asda’s long-term strategic plan.
But half said they were confident Asda would take action in response to the questionnaire (The Mail).
New York-based Coefficient Capital has invested $15m in Zoe, which was launched in April 2022 offering a smartphone app that gives users personalised nutrition advice (The Times £).
Obesity has nothing to do with a lack of self-control, the boss of nutrition app Zoe has said (The Telegraph £). Jonathan Wolf, the company’s chief executive, argued that losing weight should not be considered a matter of will power alone and warned that Britain’s addiction to so-called ultra-processed foods was having a serious impact.
Zoe will put the cash towards its US expansion plans, alongside “continuing to deliver long-term engagement” for its community of more than 100,000 members worldwide. Read more on the story in The Grocer.
As some sizzling barbecue weather finally arrived, Cranswick reported a strong performance in its first quarter and maintained an optimistic full-year outlook (The Mail).
The pace of price rises in Britain’s shops has held steady over the past month at its lowest level since October 2021 (The Times £).
Poor weather and people setting aside cash to take advantage of attractive rates on savings accounts have prompted a sharp decline in retail sales (The Times £).
UK consumers have cut back on summer spending amid the impact of poor weather and the cost of living crisis, figures show, underscoring the challenge for the Bank of England ahead of its interest rate decision on Thursday (The Guardian).
McDonald’s has suffered its first global drop in sales since 2020, as consumers around the world balk at the higher cost of burgers, fries and soft drinks (The Financial Times £).
The fast food chain reported a 1% fall in global sales in the three months to the end of June – the first decline since the end of 2020, when stores were closed during lockdown (The Telegraph £).
he company said it expects same-store sales to be down for the next few quarters and is working on fixes like meal deals and new menu items (The Guardian).
The slowdown came as a shock to analysts, who had expected quarterly revenue growth of 0.5% (The Times £).
The Financial Times (£) examines ‘the nightmare’ facing the Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who took over from Howard Schultz last year.
Premium beauty, which has been touted as virtually recession-proof, is heading for a rough patch, according to the Lex column in The Financial Times (£). “Recent evidence suggests that even consumers with high disposable incomes are starting to feel the pinch,” the paper writes.
The new generation of weight loss drugs may not only help you give up food, but smoking too, as a study found people prescribed Ozempic for type 2 diabetes management were less likely to be treated for tobacco-related problems (The Times £).
The founder of JD Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, has sold almost £10m worth of shares in the pub chain (The Guardian).
Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Monday set out a series of “incredibly tough choices” to fill in a £22bn fiscal hole she claims she inherited from the Conservatives, as she paved the way for Budget tax rises in the autumn (The Financial Times £).
The last Conservative government “deliberately covered up” the true state of public finances, a cabinet minister has said, as the chancellor prepared to detail a “£20bn black hole” in the public finances (The Guardian).
No comments yet