Imperial Brands has launched a £1bn share buyback programme to reward shareholders after a year in which investors seeking refuge in Big Tobacco helped the UK-based cigarette maker rank among the FTSE 100’s best-performing stocks (The Financial Times £).
The buyback, on top of dividends, means that Imperial is returning £2.3bn to shareholders, 13% of its market value, which the retail investor platform AJ Bell called astonishing (The Times £).
Imperial Brands said tobacco net revenue growth improved in the second half, when compared against the first, driven by a stronger price mix (The Mail).
The dairy co-operative Arla Foods has announced it will pay its farmers more money for the milk they produce if they meet new environmental sustainability targets (The Guardian).
Diageo, which owns the brewery as well as Johnnie Walker and J&B Scotch whiskies and Tanqueray gin, said it had made a good start to the financial year to the end of June, with organic net sales growth across all its regions (The Times £).
Ireland’s deputy prime minister has admitted for the first time that Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading rules are a “little too strict” as he hinted at a compromise on the controversial protocol (The Times £).
Britain’s economy is expected to take until 2024 to recover to pre-Covid levels amid a slowdown for hiring and business investment, as households and businesses struggle with soaring costs (The Guardian).
The honour of France’s noblest cheeses, including cantal, reblochon and saint-nectaire, has been threatened by a summer that deprived animals of the local grass that makes their milk authentic (The Times £).
Households are stockpiling thermal underwear to avoid turning on the heating this winter as energy bills spiral (The Telegraph).
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