Wednesday newspaper round-up: RBS, nuisance calls, M&S, Shire
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has called on the government to use its position as majority shareholder of Royal Bank of Scotland to block planned branch closures. McDonnell said the government should use its stake to force RBS, which holds its annual shareholder meeting in Edinburgh on Wednesday, to act in the public interest and accused it of “dancing to the tune of the bank’s board”. Earlier in May RBS revealed plans to close 162 branches in England and Wales with the loss of nearly 800 jobs. The bank said the move was a response to more people using online banking. – Guardian
Business directors could be personally fined up to £500,000 if they fail to prevent nuisance calls, under a government consultation on the issue. While there has been a big recent increase in the fines issued to companies – last year one was fined £400,000 for making almost 100m automated calls in 18 months – there is concern this has not been a sufficient deterrent. The data protection watchdog said that in several cases directors had escaped fines by declaring their companies bankrupt and starting again under a different name. – Guardian
Marks & Spencer is poised to narrowly escape a humiliating relegation from the FTSE 100 in the index’s quarterly shake-up after investors rallied behind the troubled high-street icon’s turnaround plan. The retailer was left close to the FTSE 100 trapdoor after its shares plunged to a nine-year low last month as it struggled to generate growth in its core clothing and food divisions. – Telegraph
Sir Martin Sorrell is set to make a dramatic return to the London stock market tomorrow, taking the helm of cash shell Derriston Capital and pivoting its operations towards marketing. Sir Martin, who stepped down from advertising giant WPP just last month, will become the executive chairman of London-listed Derriston Capital. The appointment will be revealed as part of an announcement by Derriston on the proposed acquisition of Sir Martin's newly-incorporated business S4 Capital. The news was first reported by Sky News. – Telegraph
The Japanese pharmaceuticals company seeking to complete a £45 billion acquisition of Shire is coming under pressure from shareholders. Twelve investors have raised concerns about the cash-and-shares takeover before Takeda’s annual shareholder meeting next month. They have told the board that the deal “carries overly high risks” and that “there is a danger of causing a great disadvantage to existing shareholders”. – The Times
President Trump has raised the stakes again in his trade dispute with China by pledging to make good on a threat to impose $50 billion of tariffs on imports within weeks. The White House said yesterday that it also would restrict investment and exports by Chinese companies and individuals if they related to “industrially significant technology” in America. – The Times