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South East Water’s management should be sacked over repeated supply outages and maintenance failures and shareholders in the utility must also take a “share of the blame”, MPs have said in a damning report. The House of Commons environment committee said on Friday that it had “no confidence” in the chief executive and board of the water supplier for London’s commuter belt, criticising a “clear pattern . . . of blaming factors outside of their control”. More than 300,000 customers had been hit by several water outages since 2020, including a two-week stoppage before Christmas last year that forced 30,000 households to turn to bottled water for all their needs, the MPs said.
Elon Musk testified for more than seven hours over three days this week at a trial in Oakland, California, over the future of OpenAI, casting his lawsuit against the owner of ChatGPT as a defense of the institution of charitable giving. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX as well as the world's richest person, is also suing OpenAI's Chief Executive Sam Altman and its President Greg Brockman, saying they betrayed him and the public by abandoning the mission to be a benevolent steward of AI for humanity.
Royal Bank of Canada is launching an Indigenous advisory and finance practice in a bid to increase access to capital for Indigenous-owned major projects and other investments. Ottawa has pegged major projects for fast-track status, many of which will require buy-in from Indigenous groups. RBC said its new team, housed in the lender’s capital markets unit, will connect Indigenous groups with specialized expertise through advisory services, financing, and by strengthening access to capital. “With most major projects on or next to Indigenous lands, it’s critical that Indigenous partnership is at the heart of this process – our shared prosperity depends on it,” RBC chief executive Dave McKay said at a conference Thursday held by the First Nations Major Projects Coalition.
Le gouverneur de la Banque du Canada, Tiff Macklem, s’est dit « encouragé » par les efforts déployés par le gouvernement fédéral pour diversifier l’économie et la protéger contre les chocs de plus en plus fréquents qui nuisent au commerce mondial. Il a ajouté que la mise à jour budgétaire d’Ottawa, déposée plus tôt cette semaine, n’aura probablement que peu d’impact sur les prévisions d’inflation de la banque centrale. M. Macklem a fait ces commentaires lors d’une entrevue accordée à La Presse canadienne mercredi, après que la Banque du Canada a maintenu son taux d’intérêt de référence à 2,25 % pour la quatrième fois de suite.
The minimum wage in Quebec is now $16.60 per hour. The government announced the $0.50 per hour increase last January. It says this represents a 3.11 per cent raise for some 258,900 workers in Quebec. Employees who receive tips, like bartenders and restaurant workers, are now paid $13.30 per hour. Quebec’s minimum wage falls in the middle of that of other Canadian provinces and territories. Alberta has the lowest minimum wage at $15 an hour, while Nunavut has the highest at $19.75. Ontario’s minimum wage is set to increase to $17.95 in October. A study published yesterday by Quebec socioeconomic think tank IRIS shows someone living in Montreal needs to earn about $30 per hour to live above the poverty line.
Lululemon’s board members were under pressure. The company’s estranged founder had launched a proxy fight, with a big-name activist investor waiting in the wings, and the board was being pushed to quickly recruit a new chief executive who could turn things around. When Lululemon landed on former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill for the job last week, Chairwoman Marti Morfitt and the board thought they had it in the bag. But the pick backfired spectacularly. Lululemon shares tanked, falling 13% the day of the announcement, and they have declined further since. Wall Street analysts critiqued her tenure at Nike, and investors complained that she wouldn’t be starting the new job for more than four months, leaving the struggling company without a permanent leader at a vulnerable time.
Influential shareholder proxy advisory groups Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have recommended that investors vote against a proposed £11mn pay deal for new WPP boss Cindy Rose next week. Rose, a former Microsoft executive, could earn as much as £11mn every year if her short- and long-term incentive bonuses are fully paid out. That would be a significant increase on the pay of her predecessor, Mark Read, who was in line for a maximum £8.6mn payout before he stepped down in September last year. Shareholders will vote on the proposal at the company’s annual meeting next week, but ISS and Glass Lewis — the largest proxy advisory firms — have recommended that they reject it. Investors in WPP are nursing heavy losses after shares in the group more than halved in the past 12 months.
Carter’s has appointed longtime Build-A-Bear Workshop chief Sharon Price John to lead the company as its new chief executive, effective mid-June. John joins the apparel company, which makes clothing for babies and young children, after a 13-year run as CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, where she oversaw the turnaround and expansion of the stuffed-animals specialty retailer. Before Build-A-Bear, John served as president of children’s-footwear company Stride Rite Children’s Group, and held senior roles at Hasbro, where she led the Global Playskool business. She also served at Mattel as vice president of international marketing for the Disney business unit and as a director of the Barbie brand.
Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla will end a four-day state visit to the U.S. on Thursday with a formal farewell with U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in Washington. The king is then expected to lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River in Virginia, a sacred site for many Americans where tens of thousands of the country’s war dead are buried, as well as two presidents and some former Supreme Court justices. The royal visit to the U.S., officially to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from British rule, came at a time of tensions between Britain and the U.S., with Trump having criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he says is his lack of help in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The head of an organization that oversaw a $300-million federal digital prescription service has been removed in the midst of a probe by a parliamentary committee into how the program failed. The board of Canada Health Infoway, a government-funded non-profit, dismissed Michael Green as chief executive officer on Wednesday after more than 11 years in the role. Board chair Peter Vaughan said in a statement that the decision was effective immediately. Canada Health Infoway launched a program called PrescribeIT in 2017 as part of “axe the fax” initiatives to replace fax machines with digital alternatives, in this case transmitting prescriptions from doctors’ offices to pharmacies digitally.
Weir Group reported a fall in first-quarter orders on Thursday, sending the British engineering firm's shares down as much as 10%, even as it reiterated its annual outlook and promoted the head of its biggest business to CEO. The company, focused heavily on services to the mining sector, said Chief Executive Jon Stanton will step down after nearly a decade in the role and be succeeded in August by the president of its minerals division, Andrew Neilson. The update comes as global demand for critical and rare-earth minerals such as nickel and cobalt continues to accelerate, driven by electric vehicles, grid expansion, a renewable energy push and data‑centre growth linked to AI.
Canada is set to host a proposed mulitlateral defence bank designed to help fund the rearmament of nations facing heightened geopolitical risks, the country's finance ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. The statement said Canada had been working in Montreal with allies to agree a founding charter for the planned Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB). The other countries were not identified. The DSRB has been proposed by former NATO security advisers, senior ex-military personnel and bankers. Its aim is to found a triple-A rated institution capable of raising 100 billion pounds ($135 billion) to fund defence projects, particularly in countries that may struggle to access cheaper finance.
The federal government is pledging up to $145-million for security during the World Cup, to help host cities Vancouver and Toronto deal with rising costs associated with an unprecedented police deployment during the soccer tournament. The money, announced Wednesday at a renovated BMO Field in Toronto, will help police monitor and prevent potential safety threats related to hooliganism, large-scale protests and terror attacks. That includes the use of plainclothes foreign police, or “football intelligence officers,” from competing nations who will work with local police and fan groups to help keep supporter marches from getting out of control. Security has become one of the biggest costs of FIFA’s marquee event, which is being played in Canada for the first time in June, along with host cities in the United States and Mexico. With large crowds expected in Toronto and Vancouver over the course of 13 games, police say thousands of officers will be needed for the biggest security operation in either city’s history.
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Tehran has sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the United States to Pakistani mediators, Iranian state news agency IRNA said on Friday, a move that could improve prospects for breaking an impasse in efforts to end the Iran war. IRNA gave no details but global oil prices, which have risen sharply since Iran started a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, dropped after its report. The blockade of the vital sea channel has choked off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies, and the U.S. Navy is blocking exports of Iranian crude oil. This has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns that there will be an economic downturn.
Canada’s manufacturing sector expanded in April at the fastest pace in nearly four years as the war in the Middle East spurred stock building and added to inflation pressures, data showed on Friday. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.3 last month from 50.0 in March, marking the highest level since June, 2022. A reading above 50 shows expansion in the sector. “Lifting the lid on the latest headline PMI, whilst also drawing on the qualitative evidence of our respondents, suggests the April number should be treated with some considerable caution,” Paul Smith, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement.
The past weeks have not been reassuring for those who thought Europe could navigate its tricky relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump this week lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over his criticism of the Iran war, calling him "totally ineffective," and threatened to cut the 36,400 U.S. troops based in Germany. He has taken aim at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in strikingly personal terms, saying that he is "not Winston Churchill," and threatening to impose a "big tariff" on imports from the UK. More worrying for Europe, Trump's Defense Department has floated punishing NATO allies that it believes are not supporting U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain as a member and reviewing U.S. recognition of the Falkland Islands as a UK possession.
Indigenous leaders across Canada say more clarity is needed on how major projects financed under the new Canada Strong Fund will affect and respect Indigenous rights. The federal government has to engage with First Nations on the country’s new sovereign wealth fund, which was introduced on Monday, before any investments are made, the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in a statement. “The government cannot push development ahead without proper consultation and accountability to First Nations,” Ms. Woodhouse Nepinak said.
Ferretti investor KKCG is ready to support the yacht maker's expansion, which should be pursued through acquisitions in the leisure boating market and by developing its defence business, the Czech investment firm's chair said on Thursday. KKCG founder and Chairman Karel Komarek outlined his view for Ferretti in comments to Reuters as the Czech firm, the second largest shareholder in the boat maker, seeks to gain control of Ferretti's board, challenging the grip of the top investor: China's Weichai Group. Shareholders in the company vote to elect a new a board of directors on May 14 and KKCG has submitted a list of nominees which includes Komarek as president and current boss Alberto Galassi as chief executive.
Occidental Petroleum said on Friday CEO Vicki Hollub, one of the most prominent women in the male-dominated oil industry, would retire next month, handing the reins to insider Richard Jackson.
Reuters had reported in March that Hollub was preparing to retire after a decade at the helm of the U.S. oil and gas company. Jackson, who joined the shale producer in 2003 and is currently its chief operating officer, will join the board effective June 1. Hollub's tenure was defined by the debt-fueled acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019, a bold and controversial deal that reshaped Occidental's business and drew intense investor scrutiny. The move set off a multi-year transformation focused on cutting debt, selling assets and tightening operational discipline. Her departure will mark the end of more than four decades at the Houston-based company, where she became the first woman to lead a major U.S. oil producer when she was named CEO in 2016.
Elon Musk’s moonshot compensation package at Tesla came in at $158.4 billion for 2025, according to a regulatory filing. The pay package was part of a stratospheric compensation plan approved by shareholders last year as a way to motivate Tesla’s chief executive to spend more time at the electric-vehicle maker. The 10-year deal could be worth $1 trillion if Musk hits every milestone, which includes growing Tesla’s market cap to $8.5 trillion. Musk won’t make the full amount reported, and he has to earn what he does get by hitting significant operational and financial milestones over the next decade.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers would continue working together despite the departure of the United Arab Emirates, Russian news agencies reported. According to the reports, Novak said he did not expect an oil price war to emerge following the UAE's exit given a global oil deficit. The UAE said on Tuesday it was quitting OPEC, dealing a blow to the oil producers' group as an unprecedented energy crisis triggered by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations. The UAE was the fourth-largest producer in OPEC+, which comprises OPEC and its allies, while Russia is second, behind Saudi Arabia. "In the current situation, it is hard to talk about a price war when there is a shortage in the market. What we are seeing instead is the deepest crisis in the industry," Novak was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
The Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold at 3.75 per cent Thursday as policy-makers assess the economic impact of the Iran war and Tehran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude passes. The decision was widely expected and echoes the decision of other central banks facing higher prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada and U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates on hold, a day after the Bank of Japan did so too. The European Central Bank also left interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday, but signalled rising concerns over soaring inflation, bolstering bets it would lift rates several times this year with an initial move in June.
French car maker Renault Group's Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said on Thursday that he will not seek a new term at the end of his current term in spring 2027. "I will not stay on for one term too many, and I will make it my priority to ensure an orderly succession, guided by a single obsession: safeguarding the interests of the company and its teams," he said at the Renault shareholders' meeting.The announcement confirms an earlier report by Reuters. A former top executive at tyre manufacturer Michelin, Senard was appointed as Renault chairman in 2019.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he would stay on the central bank’s board after his chairmanship ends next month to defend the institution from what he called unprecedented legal attacks from the Trump administration. His decision marks a departure from decades of precedent and overshadowed deepening divisions over the path for interest rates. Powell announced his decision Wednesday after officials extended an interest-rate pause but split over whether to continue hinting at further rate cuts, an uncharacteristically contentious end to Powell’s eight-year chairmanship. His term as chair ends May 15 but a separate term as governor allows Powell to remain at the Fed until early 2028. For decades, Fed chairs have left the building when their successor is installed.
The executive director of the Royal Society of Canada is stepping down, which leaves the academic association without a top administrator who forged new coalitions on its behalf, enhanced its public profile, expanded its reach and worked to acquire a permanent home in Ottawa. Darren Gilmour will depart the organization in May after 16 years, having elected to step down, according to the Royal Society’s president, Françoise Baylis. Mr. Gilmour said in a news release that he leaves the organization in a position to “enhance its contribution to a better country at a critical moment in Canadian history.” He did not respond to interview requests.
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