10 TheEconomistMay21st 2022
The world this week Business
Twitterinsisted that it would
enforce the buyout deal it
struck with Elon Musk, for
$44bn, after Mr Musk said he
was putting the offer on hold.
Mr Musk wants the company
to provide evidence that spam
and fake accounts make up
less than 5% of all its users, as
claimed by Twitter. Mr Musk
thinks the figure is 20%. In
vestors wonder what he is up
to. Mr Musk may be trying to
get a lower price for the deal, or
be seeking to walk away and
pay a $1bn breakup fee.
Investors took fright when a
batch of company earnings
revealed that higher costs and
disrupted supply chains were
hurting their business.
Target’sshare price slumped
by 25% after the retailer issued
a profit warning. Walmartsaid
that higher food prices were
also eating into its profits. Its
share price swooned. The s&p
500 plunged by 4%, its biggest
oneday loss since mid2020.
The nasdaqcomposite fell by
4.7%, as tech giants such as
Amazon and Apple shed more
than 5% of their value.
António Guterres, the un
secretarygeneral, warned of a
coming global food shortage
caused by the war in Ukraine
that would particularly affect
developing countries. He
called for Ukraine’s grain
supplies to be released from its
ports, and for Russian food
and fertiliser exports to be
allowed to resume trading on
world markets.
Global wheat pricessurged
after India, the world’s second
biggest producer, decided to
halt exports of the grain as it
tackles soaring domestic food
prices. Similar price increases
have destabilised neighbour
ing Sri Lanka. Wheat supplies
were already tight following
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Higher commodity prices were
one reason why Japan’s econ-
omyshrank by 0.2% in the
first three months of the year
over the previous quarter. The
country’s import costs have
risen as the yen has fallen to a
20year low.
Britain’sannualrateof
inflationleaptto9%inApril,
thehighestlevelinfour
decades.Britainnowhasthe
worstrateofinflationinthe
g7. AndrewBailey,the
governoroftheBankofEng
land,saidtherewasnotmuch
hecoulddoaboutit,singling
out“apocalyptic”risesinfood
pricesasanexternalcause,
althoughenergycostsaccount
formuchofBritain’sinflation.
Hiscallsforrestraintonpay
increases,whichfirmsusually
passontoconsumers,have
notgonedownwellwithcash
strappedworkers.
TheendofMcDemocracy
McDonald’sdecided to pull
out of Russia for good, two
months after closing its outlets
there at the start of Russia’s
war on Ukraine. “The Golden
Arches will shine no more in
Russia,” lamented the chief
executive.
A judgeinCaliforniastruck
downthestate’srequirement
forgenderdiversityonthe
boardsofcompaniesthatare
basedthere.Thejudge,a wom
an,foundthatacademicstud
iesonthebenefitsofhaving
morewomenonboardswere
inconclusive,andthatthe
statehadfailedtoshowhow
thelawimprovedopportuni
tiesforfemales.Butalthough
thelawhasbeenoverturned,
many firms are increasing
their share of female directors
under pressure from investors.
Shareholders at JPMorgan
Chasevoted by a wide margin
against the bank’s pay packag
es for senior management,
including for Jamie Dimon, the
chief executive. It was the first
time it had lost a “say on pay”
vote since its introduction in
2009; investors are not happy
with the underperforming
share price. The vote is non
binding, but Mr Dimon said he
“appreciates the feedback”.
Allianzannounced a settle
ment with American authori
ties over fraud at one of its
subsidiaries, which resulted in
institutional investors losing
billions of dollars. The German
financialservices company is
paying $850m in penalties to
the authorities, and $5bn in
compensation to the investors.
ThestockmarketdebutofLife
InsuranceCorporation, a
staterunbusinessandhouse
holdnameinIndia,wasa
disappointment,astheshare
pricesankbyalmost8%onthe
firstdayoftrading.Thegov
ernmentsoldoff3.5%oflicin
whatwasIndia’sbiggestever
ipo, raising$2.7bn.
GautamAdani, Asia’srichest
man,madehisbiggestacquisi
tion to date when his conglom
erate agreed to buy the Indian
assets controlled by Holcim, a
cement producer, for $10.5bn.
Cashinhand
Mastercard launched a
biometrics paymentspro
gramme in which customers
will need to give only a “quick
smile” into a camera or “wave
of your hand” over a scanner to
pay for goods. Payment sys
tems based on a person’s bio
metric data, such as eye pat
tern or palm print, have stalled
amid legal challenges to facial
recognition technology. Mas
tercard is starting its scheme
in São Paulo, and then the
Middle East and Asia, regions
where privacy concerns are
less prevalent. The firm said
nothing about whether a scowl
from shoppers, as they inspect
their rising grocery bills, will
suffice in place of a smile.
Consumer prices
Britain, % change on a year earlier
Source:ONS *Includes water
20
15
10
5
0
- 2020 21 22
Overall
Household energy*
Food