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Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, has announced the appointment of Jonathan Howell as a non executive director of the company with effect from 12 May 2026. Howell will also become
chair of the audit and risk committee and a member of the nominations committee, with effect from 31 July 2026. Howell has significant board-level executive and non-executive experience across FTSE-listed and regulated businesses, with particular expertise in finance, governance, risk and transformation. He is currently a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee of Experian plc and Whitbread plc, and previously served on the boards of Sage Group plc, EMAP plc, FTSE International Ltd and CrestCo Ltd. Howell brings deep financial leadership experience gained in complex, highly regulated environments. Having trained as a Chartered Accountant, his extensive executive career includes roles such as the CFO of Sage Group plc, Close Brothers Group plc and London Stock Exchange Group plc.
Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it regretted the collapse of pay deal talks with its South Korean union, flagging concerns that it could heighten anxiety among employees, shareholders and the public. The company said it would continue efforts to prevent a worst-case scenario through what it described as "sincere dialogue" with the union. The union leader said earlier on Wednesday that it failed to reach a pay deal with the company, warning that more than 50,000 workers could go ahead with a full strike for 18 days from May 21 that threatens to disrupt production of AI and other chips.
One of the UK’s biggest veterinary care groups is facing pressure from an activist hedge fund to turn around its performance after competition regulators concluded a probe focused on high prices in the sector. Montreal-based fund Converium Capital has built a 2 per cent stake in CVS Group and threatened to rally shareholders to nominate directors to the board if the FTSE 250 group does not acquiesce to its demands, according to people familiar with the matter. In a letter to CVS’s board, seen by the FT, Converium called on CVS to launch a £100mn stock buyback “to capitalise on its currently languishing share price”. CVS’s market value stood at £785mn at Tuesday’s close, down more than 10 per cent so far this year.
Calgary-based Keyera Corp. announced Tuesday it had closed its $5.15-billion acquisition of Plains All American LP’s Canadian natural gas liquids business, even as the federal Competition Bureau challenges the deal. The acquisition will significantly expand Keyera’s liquids infrastructure business by creating an integrated natural gas liquids (NGL) corridor that stretches from western to central Canada. Houston-based Plains’ assets in the deal include extraction, storage, pipelines, and rail and truck terminals in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.nBut the bureau argues that the deal would significantly reduce competition at Canada’s most important natural gas liquids hub – in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. - thereby harming domestic energy producers and increasing supply-chain costs.
When Norway's $2.2 trillion wealth fund — the world's largest — sells a company's shares over ethical concerns, should it explain why? This seemingly simple question has become a dilemma for its guardians, the finance minister told Reuters, as a government commission reviews the rules that have made the fund a global benchmark for ethical investing. "It is not just about divesting, one must publish a reason," Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview. "I see that this creates some dilemmas. This is why I am glad we have a commission not only assessing whether we should make divestments, but also the reasoning that can contribute towards reinforcing the impact (of a divestment)."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would get on with governing despite a “destabilizing” 48 hours of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after a drubbing in local elections. At a meeting of his cabinet, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that, while he took responsibility for one of his Labour Party’s worst election defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest. Several loyal ministers expressed their support for him. It was the latest pledge from Starmer to press on with a premiership dogged by scandal and policy U-turns since he won a large majority at a national election in 2024, and leaves the leader and Labour rebels in something of a stalemate.
Canada is investing $2-million in an economic hub in the Philippines backed by the United States and Japan, its trade minister said on Tuesday. Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu said in an interview during his visit to Manila that the investment will be for a future project aligned with the Luzon Economic Corridor. The corridor is a key manufacturing hub on the Philippines’ largest island, where Japan and the United States have already committed to ramp up infrastructure investments under a trilateral framework agreement.
Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg will join U.S. President Donald Trump on his visit to China this week, a White House official told Reuters. Others taking part include Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra, Mastercard’s Michael Miebach, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon and Visa’s Ryan McInerney, the official said. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins was invited by the White House to join the China trip but was unable to attend as the company’s earnings will be released this week, a company spokesperson said. The U.S. and China are expected to agree to forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing airplanes, American agriculture and energy, Reuters reported earlier on Monday.
Victoria’s Secret is ratcheting up its proxy fight with billionaire investor Brett Blundy by accusing the Australian businessman of spying on the lingerie retailer to gain trade secrets. Victoria’s Secret employees notified management in late 2024 that a senior employee of Blundy’s private-equity firm BBRC International visited at least 17 stores and falsely presented himself as being affiliated with the lingerie retailer, according to proxy materials Victoria’s Secret filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The employee, a trusted adviser of Blundy’s, sought confidential sales information—and succeeded in getting information “in some cases,” the proxy materials said. At the time, Blundy was preparing to launch a competing lingerie brand called Léays, which made its debut in 2025.
CGI Inc. says company veteran Tim Hurlebaus has been named president and chief executive. He succeeds François Boulanger, who is retiring from the top job after 30 years at CGI. The consulting firm says the appointment of Hurlebaus, who will also join the CGI board, is effective immediately. Hurlebaus started his career at CGI as a developer and consultant and has been a member of CGI’s senior executive team for over a decade. He has spent the last two years as CGI’s president and chief operating officer with responsibility for the company’s operations across the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. CGI provides information technology and business consulting services to companies around the world.
EBay on Tuesday rejected an ambitious $56 billion takeover bid from the much smaller GameStop on doubts over the financing of the deal, while underscoring its turnaround efforts that have boosted growth. Analysts and investors have doubted whether the half-cash, half-stock bid from the US$12 billion videogame retailer for a company nearly four times its market value would close. EBay stock has been trading far below the offer price of $125 per share since the bid was made earlier this month. It fell one per cent to $107 before the bell, while GameStop was down four per cent. “We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive,” eBay chairman Paul Pressler said. “eBay’s Board is confident the company, under its current management team, is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth.”
Ryan Cohen has spent much of his career being dismissed. It is a pattern that has turned the chief executive of video-game retailer GameStop into a leather jacket-wearing outlier with a loyal base of meme-stock investor The Canadian entrepreneur turned activist investor has built his cult-like reputation by repeatedly betting on ideas that many institutional investors labelled as absurd. First it was online pet supplies. Then a dying strip mall video game retailer. Now it is a $56bn attempt to acquire eBay, an ecommerce giant roughly four times the size of GameStop. Wall Street’s immediate response to the hostile bid has ranged from scepticism to outright mockery. Analysts have questioned how GameStop, valued at roughly $11bn, could realistically finance the takeover of a company worth about $47bn.
Countries of the European economic area and Switzerland have committed almost 200 billion euros ($235 billion) of investments into their electric vehicle ecosystem, data from New Automotive showed on Monday. Investments were mainly focused on the battery supply chain, with 109 billion euros engaged so far, as the continent tries to challenge a Chinese monopoly on battery production. China manufactured more than 80% of all the batteries made in 2025, also those used outside the EV sector, the International Energy Agency said earlier this year.
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The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kevin Warsh to a 14-year term as Federal Reserve governor, marking an important step toward his succeeding Jerome Powell as the U.S. central bank’s next leader. The vote passed 51-45, with a single Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, casting his vote with the Republican majority. The Senate began the confirmation process for Warsh’s concurrent four-year term as Fed chair, holding a so-called cloture vote to start a countdown toward approving him for the leadership post as soon as Wednesday. Powell’s term as chair ends on Friday.
Equinox Gold Corp. and Orla Mining Ltd. have signed a deal to combine operations in a deal that will create a gold miner with about 1.1 million ounces of annual production. The combined company, which will continue under the Equinox name, will have operating mines in four countries including Orla’s Musselwhite mine in Ontario, and Equinox’s Greenstone mine in Ontario and Valentine mine in Newfoundland and Labrador. Equinox chief executive Darren Hall, who will remain in the job after the companies are combined, said the deal creates a senior North American gold producer with increased scale, high-quality long-life assets, and one of the strongest organic growth pipelines in the sector.
La PDG de Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec, Julie White, sera candidate du Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ) dans la circonscription de Jean-Talon, à Québec, a appris Radio-Canada. Il y a une semaine, Mme White a annoncé à ses membres qu'elle quittera ses fonctions vendredi. Ce n'est pas un départ motivé par un manque d'intérêt, bien au contraire, a-t-elle écrit dans une infolettre, sans toutefois préciser ce qu'elle comptait faire par la suite. Des sources sûres qui ne sont pas autorisées à parler publiquement ont confirmé à Radio-Canada qu'elle portera les couleurs du PLQ dans la circonscription actuellement représentée par Pascal Paradis, du Parti québécois.
Le franchiseur montréalais, Foodtastic, a obtenu un droit de franchisage exclusif pour ouvrir une centaine de restaurants de la chaîne de café et de beignes. Le premier établissement devrait ouvrir vers la fin de l’année ou au début de 2027, selon un communiqué publié mardi. L’entreprise québécoise a déjà conclu une autre entente avec le propriétaire de l’enseigne, Inspire Brands, afin de développer le concept de Jimmy John’s, un restaurant de sandwichs.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Tuesday expressed his thanks to the U.S. for its help in strengthening the island's defences and said Taipei would not give in to pressure, ahead of a summit between the U.S. and Chinese leaders in Beijing this week. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are holding two days of meetings on Thursday and Friday where the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, is certain to come up. The U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, and its main arms seller, to the constant anger of China which has demanded weapons sales stop.
Elle s’envolera pour Paris à la fin de la semaine pour une mission du 16 au 20 mai. Notons que l’Assemblée nationale fait relâche la semaine prochaine. « La première ministre rencontrera de nombreux acteurs majeurs des milieux politiques, économiques et culturels », indique son cabinet, avare de détails. Christine Fréchette rencontrerait le président Emmanuel Macron, de même que les patrons de Safran et d’Airbus, des poids lourds de l’aéronautique. « Cette mission contribuera à la défense des intérêts du Québec à l’international, à la diversification des échanges commerciaux ainsi qu’à l’attraction d’investissements », indique-t-on. Christine Fréchette mise en particulier sur les secteurs de la défense et des minéraux critiques.
Onex Corp. founder Gerry Schwartz has given up control of the private equity and credit business he founded 42 years ago through a planned change in voting power that took effect on Monday. Three years ago, Onex shareholders approved a plan to put a sunset date on the dual-class share structure that had assured Mr. Schwartz’s control of the company. The change creates a single class of voting shares, with one vote per share, that elects 80 per cent of the company’s board of directors. Holders of the multiple voting shares owned primarily by Mr. Schwartz and his family are still entitled to choose the other 20 per cent of board directors, but won’t otherwise be allowed to vote at shareholder meetings, subject to some exceptions.
Swatch shareholders on Tuesday rejected a bid by activist investor Steven Wood for an independent director's seat, the Swiss watchmaker said, opposing the latest challenge to the Hayek founding family's control over the group. Wood, whose GreenWood fund owns about 0.5% of Swatch, had challenged the Hayek family's control of Swatch with the backing of proxy advisors Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. Swatch said he was not suited to represent shareholders. Participants in the annual general meeting rejected his appointment to the board, with 79.6% of votes against and 19.2% in favour.
Swedish buyout group EQT again sweetened its takeover bid for U.K. testing specialist Intertek Group and said a proposal valued at 9.40 billion pounds ($12.79 billion), including dividends, was its final offer. The move marks EQT’s last-ditch attempt to reach a friendly deal after some Intertek shareholders signaled, even before the latest offer was disclosed, that they wanted the company to engage with its suitor. In response, Intertek said Tuesday that it was reviewing EQT’s final proposal with its advisers. The company turned down three prior bids from EQT in recent weeks, arguing they undervalued it, opting instead to stick to a plan to split its energy-and-infrastructure business from the rest of the group’s operations.
Delivery Hero said on Tuesday its CEO Niklas Oestberg will step down, following campaigns by several large shareholders for a strategic review at the German food delivery group. In a statement, the company said Oestberg agreed to step down upon the completion of a succession process by March 31, 2027 at the latest. Last year, Delivery Hero said it was reviewing capital allocation measures and evaluating strategic options, as it came under pressure from several shareholders. Activist investor Aspex Management said on Tuesday it supported "the CEO transition announced by Delivery Hero, as well as the company's ongoing strategic review aimed at enhancing shareholder value," after holding talks with the company in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says that while Canada has long benefited from its proximity to the United States, it needs to seek new partners so that it’s no longer reliant on that partnership. “We need to build new trade relationships in order to move from reliance to resilience,” Mr. Carney told supporters and delegations from several European countries gathered Saturday at the Global Progress Action Summit in Toronto. Mr. Carney said the Canadian government is grateful for its relationship with the United States, adding “we did say thank you,” in a jab directed at U.S. President Donald Trump who earlier this year said Canada was ungrateful for the “freebies” it receives from its southern neighbour.
Brazil's Suzano, the world's largest pulp maker, on Monday secured unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $3.4 billion joint venture with U.S. diaper and tissue maker Kimberly-Clark, a European Commission statement said. The full approval, anticipated by a Reuters report last week citing unidentified sources, is a boost for the deal announced in June last year, which will see Suzano take a 51% stake in Kimberly-Clark's international tissue business that includes popular brands such as Kleenex. The deal is also being investigated by the UK watchdog. Businesses in recent months have faced intense scrutiny over their deals as regulators seek to balance the interests of consumers with geopolitics, sustainability benefits, and calls to take a more lenient line to create European champions.
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