LONDON (ShareCast) - HSBC is to cut up to 25,000 jobs around the world - including as many as 8,000 in the UK - as its chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, embarks on a fresh strategy to reduce costs and bolster returns to shareholders. Gulliver has already cut the total head count to 257,000 from 296,000 but on Tuesday signalled another wave of reductions as he turns the bank's focus towards Asian markets. - The Guardian
The price of food and drink in supermarkets has fallen significantly faster during the past year than the official inflation measure suggests, according to research by the Office for National Statistics. In a project published yesterday, the statistical agency compared its traditional inflation measure with an experimental version based on prices advertised on supermarket websites, finding that the latter showed prices falling faster. - Financial Times



Pets At Home's biggest shareholder is to almost halve its stake in the business in a share sale worth £300m at current prices. Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) used a regulatory announcement after the market closed on Monday to reveal it plans to place 108m shares in the UK's leading pet care and products retailer. - The Daily Telegraph

Burberry has risked the wrath of investors by awarding a pay package of nearly £8m to its chief executive barely a year after a rebellion in which shareholders voted down the fashion company's boardroom remuneration report. Despite a humiliating rebuke at its annual meeting last summer, the company has made only modest changes to Christopher Bailey's rewards, giving him a near-maximum bonus, a cash allowance and share awards, on top of his salary, amounting to £7.9m. - The Times

The Group of Seven industrial powers has agreed that the world should phase out fossil fuel emissions this century, in a move hailed as a historic decision in the fight against climate change. G7 leaders meetings in Bavaria, Germany, said that in line with scientific findings, "deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required with a decarbonisation of the global economy over the course of this century." - Financial Times

Merger mania swept through the City yesterday as some of Britain's best known firms saw their share prices jump on intense bid speculation. The Square Mile has seen a raft of corporate activity over the first quarter. With the total deal value of £52.5billion, this was the fourth-highest quarter in the UK since data firm Mergermarket's records began. - The Daily Mail

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