Volkswagen names Matthias Mueller as new boss
VW says emissions scandal "moral and political disaster"
European markets close sharply higher
Starbucks to pay National Living Wage
Fun fact for Friday. When the plan to sell Lloyds shares in the market was announced by UKFI in December 2014, the government’s stake was 24.9%. So today's news means the taxpayer's stake has more than halved over the last seven months. This latest reduction means that – in total – about £15bn has been raised by the share sales. Just in case it comes up in the pub quiz next week.
Image source, Getty ImagesStarbucks is to pay the National Living Wage (NLW) to all its staff, , externalincluding those aged under the age of 25, it has announced. The coffee shop chain, better known in the UK in recent years for its corporation tax shenanigans, says it will increase its basic pay to £7.20 per hour in April 2016 for all employees, including apprentices and more than 4,500 members of staff who are under 25. That goes quite some way beyond the government’s recommendations. Starbucks says it will also pay a London premium for workers in the capital.
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Image source, Getty ImagesThe government has shifted some more Lloyds shares, taking their holding to just below 12%. The state sold just over 705 million shares, which at yesterday's closing price of about 74p means they may have raised £522m or so.
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
What reforms do British businesses want to see in terms of the UK’s membership of the EU? Says the BCC's John Longworth: They want the UK parliament to be able to block EU legislation. They want an-opt out from ever closer union and they want greater control over migration. Some legal and constitutional experts might suggest those reforms were already won back in 1992 and that any further clawback of such powers would only be achieved by an exit.
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Image source, Getty ImagesThe British Chambers of Commerce has released a survey of its members that shows that the reforms the Prime Minister comes back with from his renegotiation of Britain’s membership of the European Union will have an impact on whether they think the UK should stay or leave. John Longworth, director general of the BCC, tells Today: “Business is divided and in a state of flux at the moment”. The majority, if they were asked today, would vote to stay in the EU, he says. But business opinion is equally divided. Half of businesses say a renegotiation of Britain’s membership may have absolutely no impact on their company, he adds.
Theo Leggett
BBC Business News Reporter
Image source, Getty Images“Friday will be a very big day for us” – that’s what I was told by a member of VW’s communications team.
The VW board is meeting. So what can we expect? A new chief executive for a start, and the name on everyone’s lips is that of Matthias Mueller, the Porsche CEO.
There are others in the frame, but Mr Mueller is the clear favourite.
On the other side of the coin, more heads will roll. Four names are being bandied around in the German press and they are all very senior people. Following the resignation of Martin Winterkorn earlier this week, it’s looking like a major bloodletting exercise.
And VW tell us we should get more precise details about which brands and models carried the so-called ‘defeat switch’ designed to get cars through emissions tests, while allowing them to spew out illegal levels of pollution.
So yes, it could be quite a day here in Wolfsburg.
BBC Radio 5 Live
Guy Smith is an arable farmer with 500 acres near Clacton in Essex. He's also vice president of the National Farmers' Union. But today he's talking about wheat. "The harvest has been good in the UK... but when wheat goes down to £100 per tonne... you are in a loss-making situation." Out of the price of a loaf, the farmer only gets 10%, which is why the price of bread may not be sinking as much as you'd think, he says.
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BBC Radio 5 Live
Image source, Getty ImagesSasja Beslick, head of responsible investment and governance at Nordea, one of Volkswagen's biggest investors, is explaining his firm's freeze on trading VW shares. He says "our business is about trust... financial and environmental." Why not sell up? "We believe that the company has a good foundation where they stand .... we believe as owners we have the ability to influence." He also doesn't want to miss out on any class action lawsuits from investors, he says.
BBC Radio 5 Live
Richard Hunter of Hargreaves Lansdown says markets are fond of overshooting, and commodities are no exception. Metals and oil have sank of late, and have taken the FTSE100 down with them. Worries about the US economy are pressing UK shares too, he says. Yesterday, the FTSE 100 closed down 70.75 points at 5,961.49.
Howard Mustoe
business reporter
Good morning. It's Friday! More news from Volkswagen is expected, so stay tuned for that, as well as the best of the rest of today's business news. Get in touch: bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk