A handy guide to the supermarket deal of the century - in chart form.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative Andrew Jones, a former producer for both Sainsbury's and Asda, asks for implications for all parties, including food producers, to be considered as part of the CMA assessment.

Mr Griffiths says the Commons "all want to see" these smaller business "grow and thrive". He says both supermarkets want to continue those relationships.

House of Commons
Parliament

"Asda is a huge part of the civic and economic life of Leeds," says Labour's Rachel Reeves, whose constituency is in the city.

The chair of the Business Committee says that people from Leeds who work at Asda's head office there will be very concerned.

She asks the minister for assurances that jobs will not be "rebalanced" away from Leeds to London.

Minister Andrew Griffiths says that both supermarkets have promised they intend to retain both of the existing head offices.

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Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Vince Cable asks how the CMA will take into account competition in bricks and mortar stores against online competition from the likes of Amazon.

Mr Griffiths says Phase 2 of the CMA investigation, shortly to begin, will take into account all parts of the market, both physical and online retailers.

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The SNP's consumer affairs spokesperson, Patricia Gibson, says that there are concerns that the merger will affect prices and reduce choice for consumers in products available.

She says that the CMA may force closure of some stores in the interest of market dominance.

Minister Andrew Griffiths says "this is at the heart of what the CMA will be considering" when they look at what consumers will be paying for a pint of milk or loaf of bread. He says Sainsbury's believe this will lead to a reduction in costs and "better prices for the consumer".

House of Commons
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Labour's shadow business minister Rebecca Long Bailey says the proposed Sainsbury's/Asda deal poses risks to workers, buyers and consumers.

It will bring "never before seen bargaining power" she says, but warns that this could be at the expense of farmers, warning that consumer choice could be at risk.

"There are many risks associated with this deal... it could radically alter the whole grocery sector."

Minister Andrew Griffiths says that he shares many of Ms Long Bailey's concerns and that Asda and Sainsbury's have been encouraged to engage with the unions.

"We must also recognise... the retail sector is in a huge state of flux.

"One of the things that the new merger will offer is reduced costs for the consumer," he tells MPs.

House of Commons
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Business Minister Andrew Griffiths says that there are no planned store closures as a result of the merger, and the deal is dependent on approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.

Both parties have decided to fast track their merger into Phase 2 decisions from the CMA, he says.

The decisions are subject to legal challenge, he adds. Ministers can only intervene in cases of national security, media plurality and financial stability, he says.

Business Secretary Greg Clark has spoken to heads of Asda and Sainsbury's and trade unions this morning, he goes on, to seek a "proper and thorough engagement" for workers in these firms.

The department will also speak to the Groceries Code Adjudicator ensure suppliers and small and medium-sized enterprises are treated fairly.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey is asking the government for a statement on the proposed merger between Sainsbury's and Asda.

The announcement came on Saturday morning, when the two supermarkets announced they were in "advanced" talks.

Former business secretary and Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Vince Cable, has said that the deal "must be investigated" by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The two supermarkets would allow the merger to leapfrog the largest supermarket in terms of market share, Tesco.

The BBC Business Editor, Simon Jack, has published his analysis in the form of five big questions for the merger.

You can read more from the BBC on this, here.

Image source, Roger Harris

Executives from TSB and the bank's owner Sabadell will be grilled by MPs on the Treasury Commitee on Wednesday over the IT meltdown.

TSB's chief executive Paul Pester and the bank's chairman Richard Meddings are due to appear, the Committee has announced. A representative from the Spanish owner will also attend, but a name has not bee announced.

Announcing the news, committee chairwoman Nicky Morgan said: "The Treasury Committee is extremely concerned by the problems at TSB, and by the apparent miscommunication to customers about the extent and nature of these problems.

"It's been reported that services such as online banking have been down for some TSB customers for over a week. Many individuals and businesses will have made arrangements for the planned outage, but not for the additional time that the systems have been unavailable.

"We will take evidence from TSB and Sabadell representatives to find out how they got into this mess, who is responsible, and how they are putting it right."

Wall Street rose on Monday following strong McDonald's earnings and major merger announcements, including T-Mobile US's acquisition of Sprint.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones was up 0.7% to 24,481.3 points. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 2,681, while the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.6% to 7,159.8.

Investors were cheered by several major deals across the telecom, petroleum, travel and retail sectors. The most prominent transaction was the T-Mobile US merger with Sprint, which creates a giant with combined 131 million subscribers, virtually matching second-ranked AT&T and posing stiff competition to market leader Verizon Communications.

Shares of Sprint sank 12.1%, while T-Mobile rose 5.3%. Another large deal was the $23.3bn purchase of independent oil refiner Andeavor by Marathon Petroleum, forming the largest US refiner.

Walmart, in talks about a deal with Sainsbury's for its Asda division, saw its shares rise 2.5%.

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Carpetright has said it will book annual losses of up to £9m after the struggling retailer's shareholders rubber-stamped a mass store closure programme.

The group said on Monday, external that it expects a full-year underlying pre-tax loss of between £7m and £9m, which compares with a £14.4m profit last year.

It comes as investors approved its Company Voluntary Arrangement, a process that will allow it to shut loss-making outlets and secure rent reductions.

Carpetright has earmarked 81 stores for closure as part of the restructuring, with rent on another 113 set to be slashed as part of the plan. Carpetright creditors approved the CVA last week.

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McDonald's has posted a better-than-expected rise in quarterly sales at its restaurants, helped by strong international sales, especially in the UK and Germany.

Global sales at stores open at least 13 months rose 5.5%, easily topping the average analyst estimates of about 3.9%.

Same-store sales for what it calls its international lead markets - comprising Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK - rose 7.8%, surging past analysts' expectation of a 5.3% gain.

Sales at McDonald's US restaurants also topped estimates due to higher menu prices and a rise in customers.

Net income rose to $1.4bn, from $1.2bn. Revenue fell 9% to $5.1bn, but edged past estimates of $4.98bn.

Simon Atkinson
Asia Business Reporter

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Not everyone is convinced that Hyperloop - the futuristic technology envisaged to transport people and cargo in pod-like vehicles through a vacuum - will come to fruition any time soon. Our very own Rory Cellan-Jones gave us this take not so long ago.

But in the United Arab Emirates, the port operator DP World has just joined forces with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop One to create a firm that will build high-speed cargo delivery systems using the technology.

Called DP World Cargospeed, the idea is its networks of tubes will move time-sensitive cargo around the world in a matter of hours.

DP World chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, says that the system will eventually offer “air speed at the price of transport by land” - as well as being a greener form of transport.

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Drugs firm Allergan, best-known for its blockbuster wrinkle treatment Botox, has reported higher-than-expected sales and profits for its first quarter.

The firm, which recently ruled itself out of a bidding war for Irish drugmaker Shire, reported adjusted earnings of $3.74 per share on revenues of $3.67bn.

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Commenting on its intermittent online banking issues, Lloyds Banking Group said: "We are aware that a small number of customers are experiencing issues logging on to Internet Banking. We are working hard to resolve the problem and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

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Insurer Aviva, which sponsors the rugby, has said it will shell out £14m in a "goodwill payment" to shareholders who lost out when it cancelled £450m worth of preference shares earlier this year.

The group said on Monday that it recognises the "uncertainty" created for preference shareholders and the impact the move had on its reputation, saying the payout is the "right thing" to do.

Chief executive Mark Wilson said: "The board and I want to do the right thing and make this goodwill payment."

The goodwill payment will apply to those who sold preference shares between 8 March and 22 March. The FTSE 100 insurer believes fewer than 2,000 individual investors were affected.

Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe is currently answering questions about the proposed merger with Asda.

Sky News business presenter Ian King reports Mr Coupe as saying that the deal "categorically 100%" has nothing to do with Brexit. He says that the seeds were sown long before the Brexit vote.

Meanwhile, The Times' retail editor Deirdre Hipwell has been given this handy chart to explain what the merger is all about...