The top three executives at Marks and Spencer could earn more than £15m between them for the current financial year if they hit targets and the retailer’s share price recovers by 50% (The Financial Times £). The trio in charge of Marks and Spencer are in line for a pay pot worth more than £15m this year (The Daily Mail).

Marks & Spencer’s former boss more than doubled his pay to £2.63m last year after getting his first bonus since 2017 as the cost of living crisis intensifies for customers. (The Guardian)

The cost of filling a tank of petrol hits £98 for first time in history - and prices are still climbing. As oil prices continue to soar, drivers need to brace themselves for petrol prices to hit £2 a litre, the RAC has warned (Sky News). Soaring fuel prices have put the haulage industry in crisis with the cost of running one lorry up £20,000 on last year, a freight boss has said (The BBC).

Tesco has been rebuked by the UK advertising watchdog after the country’s largest supermarket chain failed to show that its Plant Chef burgers and plant protein-based foods were more environmentally friendly than their meat equivalents. (The Financial Times £)

The cost of food is a big worry for the vast majority of Britons while the number of people who skip meals or use a food bank has jumped in the past year, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA). (The Guardian)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spawned sanctions, export blockades and disruption to farming. That has already sparked civil unrest in Indonesia, Egypt and Iran. High prices and hungry bellies will foster further political instability. The war knocked out two links in the food chain: a hefty chunk of cereals supply and the fertiliser needed to bolster a wide range of crops. (The Financial Times £)

Pressure is building for an international agreement on a rescue mission for Ukraine’s grain, which is desperately needed to feed the world, and which Kyiv urgently wants to sell to get its hands on vital foreign currency. Ukraine produces as much as half the world’s sunflower seeds, a tenth of its wheat and up to a fifth of barley and rapeseed. (The Guardian)

The west’s mobilisation to address the global food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine is recognition that millions could face starvation in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as the conflict shakes commodity markets and leaves vulnerable grains importers on the verge of catastrophe. (The Financial Times £)

Topics