Market Buzz
Thursday newspaper round-up: Covid contracts, Indivior, KPMG, Glaxo
The government has been urged to publish details of up to £2bn in Covid-19 contracts awarded to private healthcare companies, including some that have helped fund the Conservative party. Contracts to provide extra capacity during the pandemic have been handed to 17 firms since March 2020. - Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: AstraZeneca, tax avoidance, car industry
AstraZeneca is facing mounting opposition over its plans to award its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, a big increase in bonuses, with three investor advisory groups calling on shareholders to vote against the policy. Pirc, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have all flagged concerns over moves to raise the maximum share bonus Soriot can receive under a long-term plan from 550% of his £1. 3m base salary to 650%. AZ also plans to hoist Soriot’s maximum annual bonus to 250% of salary from 200%, depending on performance targets being hit.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Amazon, Uber, Verizon Media
Fresh questions have been raised over Amazon’s tax planning after its latest corporate filings in Luxembourg revealed that the company collected record sales income of €44bn (£38bn) in Europe last year but did not have to pay any corporation tax to the Grand Duchy. Accounts for Amazon EU Sarl, through which it sells products to hundreds of millions of households in the UK and across Europe, show that despite collecting record income, the Luxembourg unit made a €1.
Sunday newspaper round-up: GlaxoSmithKline, Rare Earths, Amazon
Top investors in Glaxo Smith Kline are piling pressure on Dame Emma Walmsley after the activist New York hedge fund Elliott Management was revealed to have built a significant stake. Two top-20 investors in the drugs and consumer goods giant said that the chief executive’s future was in doubt after four years of disappointing performance. One top-20 investor said there was “no desire to protect her” among institutional shareholders. Another said that Walmsley, 51, should step aside after her plan to break the business in two is carried out and hand over to her lieutenant, Luke Miels.