Looser bonus rules and tax breaks needed to save London stock market, says CBI

The London stock market risks “drifting into irrelevance” without government and regulatory reforms, ranging from tax breaks for stock market listings to looser bonus rules for directors, a lobbying group has said.The 20 recommendation put forward by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which lobbies on behalf of UK businesses, suggest financial incentives, marketing campaigns and boardroom pay are central to guaranteeing the future success of the London Stock Exchange, which has been losing stock market listings and floats to foreign rivals.“With domestic capital shifting away from UK equities, new listings having slowed … and high-growth firms often looking overseas to raise capital, the UK stands at a pivotal moment for the future of its public equity markets,” the CBI said.The lobbying group claims that tax breaks could persuade more companies to list their shares. By making the costs of a flotation or initial public offering (IPO) tax deductible, the government would be ensuring more cash is available for reinvestment and growth, the CBI’s Revitalising UK Public Markets report said

London’s stock exchange needs a shot in the arm from the Treasury | Nils Pratley

A marketing campaign to promote the joys of investing in the London stock market? The idea may sound slightly desperate, and will fall flat if proponents think they are rehashing the one-off “Tell Sid” privatisation campaign for British Gas from 40 years ago. But, actually, yes, give it a go.As the CBI puts it in a report out on Wednesday, a “new narrative” is needed to stop the London Stock Exchange drifting into irrelevance. Since 2016, 143 UK-listed companies have exited to private equity takeovers. That tally is depressing if one agrees that corporate transparency and accountability are better in the public arena and that a healthy economy needs a buzzy exchange

ASA cracks down on online pharmacies advertising weight loss injections

Online pharmacies are no longer allowed to run adverts for weight loss injections, the advertising watchdog has ruled, as part of a crackdown on what has been described as a “wild west” culture of online selling.In the UK, advertising prescription-only medications (POMs) – which includes all weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – to the public is illegal. However, a Guardian investigation previously found some online pharmacies either breaking these rules outright, or exploiting grey areas to peddle the medications to the public.Now the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has released nine new rulings that, it says, will set clear precedents for advertisers.The ASA said the new rulings meant that while pharmacies could continue to mention weight loss injections on their websites, provided they were not shown on homepages or landing pages from other links, adverts were banned from using the phrases “weight loss injections” and “weight loss pen”, and the treatments must instead be marketed as part of a wider service, including a consultation and prescription

Ed Miliband abandons plan to charge less for electricity in Scotland

Ed Miliband has abandoned plans to charge southern electricity users more than those in Scotland, after senior officials warned it could put off investors and make it more difficult to build renewables.Sources have told the Guardian that the government has decided not to proceed with the scheme, known as “zonal pricing”, and that the decision will be announced once it has been signed off by the cabinet.The plan was first proposed by the Conservatives as a way to encourage heavy electricity users to relocate to areas where there is more generation, such as Scotland, and windfarms sometimes have to switch off because of a lack of demand.The proposals were heavily backed by Greg Jackson, the founder and boss of Octopus Energy, but triggered a backlash among many other energy companies including SSE, Scottish Power and RWE.One source said: “The government has been weighing this up carefully and concluded that the benefits of delivering the clean power mission at pace, particularly given the expected impact of imminent grid upgrades; the need to deliver on the coming renewables auctions; and the significant risk premium being attributed to the UK by international investors, would outweigh the purported benefits of zonal pricing – which at any rate would take beyond the next election to implement

Pret a Manger launches salad revamp – and one starts at £12.95

Pret a Manger prompted social media outrage two years ago with its £7.15 “posh” cheese and pickle baguette, so it may be bracing itself for a possible backlash after launching a new “premium” lunchtime salad that costs “from £12.95”.The sandwich chain told the Guardian that in response to “a shift in what customers want from lunch”, it was launching four new “supersized” salad offerings. Three cost more than the purported psychological £10 “maximum price” that many are willing to pay for a takeaway lunch

EDF will invest £1.1bn in Sizewell C plant, French and UK governments announce

French energy company EDF will invest £1.1bn in the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, the UK and France announced on the first day of a state visit to the UK by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.The company will take a 12.5% stake in the nuclear project, alongside a previously announced £14.2bn investment by the UK government, which has a majority stake