The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States is unsurprisingly dominating the headlines. Uncertainty remains over how he’ll spend his unprecedented second term in the Oval Office but the main worry for British food and drink will be the impact of tariffs. The FT has the pick of the coverage, detailing the “blitz” of executive orders to be expected on Trump’s first day.
Former Asda and M&S chair Lord Rose has strong views on remote work, claiming people who work from home are “not doing proper work”. As a battle looms between businesses and Labour, who want to extend worker’s rights to work from home, Lord Rose told BBC Panorama that home working was leading to a “general decline” in productivity and the UK economy.
In what’s set to be another flashpoint between Labour and business, “fed up” pub owners will gather at the House of Commons this week to voice their disapproval at the impact of tax rises and reforms to Employment Rights Bill announced in Rachel Reeve’s budget, writes The Telegraph. The meeting with employment ministers has been organised by UK Hospitality.
Also facing scrutiny are Scottish Salmon farmers after campaigners raised concerns about the impact of an invasive Jellyfish species, which is causing “significant damage” to salmon stocks. String Jellyfish have already killed millions of farmed fish in Norway, and have now been reported at several sites in Scotland, reports The Guardian.
Scotland’s biggest Haggis maker Macsween also has its eyes on the US, after announcing it is reformulating its recipe for the first time in 50 years in order to beat “America’s strict food regulations”, writes The Telegraph. Macsween will substitute sheep lung with sheep heart, to circumvent 1971 legislation that food containing offal is unfit for human consumption, with a view to launching in 2026.
Elsewhere, The Times has a profile on Tom Morris the reclusive “retail genius” boss of Home Bargains. “As Poundland and other rivals struggle”, Home Bargains “is making so much money he just paid himself £1.2 billion”.
Finally, Asda’s so far disastrous Project Future IT upgrade could be about to get worse, warns The Telegraph. The supermarket faces a penalty fine from Walmart over continued use of its technology if it’s unable to complete the work before the looming February deadline.
No comments yet