Stock Movers: WPP, Qualcomm, Telefonica (podcast)
On this episode of Stock Movers: - WPP Chief Executive Officer Mark Read is set to retire at the end of the year, kicking off a search for a successor at one of the world's largest advertising agency groups as it grapples with slowing sales. - Qualcomm has agreed to buy London-listed semiconductor company Alphawave for about $2.4 billion in cash to expand its technology for artificial intelligence. - Telefonica and Masorange have held informal talks on a potential deal for Vodafone Spain, people familiar with the matter said, a move that could lead to further consolidation in the country's telecom market.
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Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pret targets small-town Britain with launch of slower-paced cafes
Pret A Manger is to serve freshly made food on porcelain plates at sit-down cafes as it expands into small-town Britain. The London-headquartered chain has announced plans to trial new cafes that feel more like restaurants than takeaway shops, with food prepared to order behind a counter. Clare Clough, the chain's UK boss, said Pret wanted to become more of 'a destination for customers in a bit less of a rush who want a comfortable space to enjoy delicious food and spend time with family and friends'. Though widely known for its prevalence in London and its popularity among commuters, Pret has in recent years been focusing on suburban and remote areas – forcing it to adapt its stores to appeal to older customers and families, instead of busy workers. This month, it will open two cafes in Dundee and Maidenhead featuring more comfortable seating, a new menu and fewer fridges. Instead of chilled baguettes, the new sites will sell more hot products such as meatball and red pepper tapenade subs and sourdough toasties. While customers will be served food on porcelain crockery, they will still have to collect their orders from the counter in a manner similar to rivals such as Costa Coffee and Gail's. The focus on suburbs and more remote areas comes after Pret's city centre stores struggled during the pandemic and, since then, with the rise of working from home. More than 80pc of the sites it has opened since 2023 have been outside of London. The strategy has paid off, with Pret's revenues topping a record £1bn in 2023. A push to grow the business internationally in Europe and the US has also borne fruit after New York became its second-highest-grossing city outside London. However, it has struggled to stay profitable and faced criticism for raising prices. The chain has also come under pressure from both cheaper rivals and more expensive competitors in its London heartlands following the pandemic, spurring it to consider how it can broaden its appeal. Simon Stenning, hospitality industry expert and director of Future Foodservice, said: 'The competition has expanded, providing Pret customers with more options and more choice. 'And they're being challenged at the value-end of the spectrum with Greggs increasing their presence in London. 'I think it is Pret realising that, given their predicament of becoming very expensive for products which are better than standard but still fall a little short of the alternatives that are available to consumers, they need to shift the dial. 'You're not comparing a baguette from a chilled Pret cabinet with a baguette from a Greggs or a Sainsbury's cabinet now. What you're doing is comparing it to a baguette made freshly for you in a nice cafe environment or a bakery.' In 2015, the chain trialled evening meals at its flagship site on London's Strand. Called 'Good Evening with Pret', it sold wine and beers alongside a menu of small plates. The idea was never rolled out more widely. Last week, it emerged that JAB Holding, Pret's Luxembourg-headquartered private-equity backer, had appointed advisers to explore options for the chain, including a potential stock market float or bringing in another investor to shore up its finances. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says UK is in 'Goldilocks' situation for AI
Jensen Huang, the CEO of chipmaking giant Nvidia (NVDA), has said that the UK is in a "Goldilocks" situation when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI). Huang made the comments on a panel with UK prime minister Keir Starmer and minister for investment Poppy Gustafsson at the start of London Tech Week on Monday morning. When asked by Gustafsson how the UK could create an AI ecosystem and drive the opportunities presented by the technology, Huang said that the country was in a "goldilocks circumstance". He was implying that the UK had the right ingredients to be successful with AI. Huang said the UK has "one of the richest AI communities anywhere on the planet", adding that it has the "best universities, amazing start-ups and incredible thinkers in computer science". London-founded AI research lab DeepMind, which is also headquartered in the UK capital and is now owned by Google (GOOG, GOOGL), was among the start-ups highlighted by Huang. Autonomous driving systems start-up Wayve, AI video generation company Synthesia and AI voice generator start-up ElevenLabs, were among the other names Huang mentioned. In addition, Huang said the UK has the "third largest AI venture capital (VC) investment anywhere in the world". "And so between these two ideas that you're rich with computer scientists, it's a fantastic place for VCs to invest, the ecosystem is really perfect for takeoff," he said. Read more: Stocks to watch this week: TSMC, Adobe, Tesco, Bellway and Inditex "It's just missing one thing: it is surprising this is the largest AI ecosystem in the world without its own infrastructure, which is the reason why we're talking about it so much, which is the reason why the prime minister's announcement of investing in ... 20 times more computing is such a big deal." In a speech prior to the panel, opening London Tech Week, Starmer said that the government was committing an extra £1bn of funding to scale up the UK's computing power by 20 times. "If you're in the world of AI, you do machine learning," said Huang on the panel. "You can't do machine learning without a machine. "So the ability to build these AI supercomputers here in the UK will naturally attract more startups. It will naturally enable all of the rich ecosystem of researchers here to be able to do their life's work and I think it's just such an incredible, incredible place to invest: I'm gonna invest here. "The UK is such a great place to invest because of all the things I've just said – we're gonna start our AI lab that you mentioned, prime minister, and we're going to partner with the UK to upskill the ecosystem of developers into AI." In addition to ramping up the UK's computing capacity, Starmer unveiled a government partnership with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030. The prime minister also shared the government's plans to embed learning around AI in the education system with a "tech-first training programme". He said that this £185m investment would train up to a million young people in tech skills. Read more: Will the UK spending review lead to autumn tax rises? Have your say What is the Pension Investment Review? Bank of England governor expects interest rates and pay to decrease this yearError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
Treasury Yields Little Changed Ahead of May CPI
0907 ET – U.S. bond benchmarks are little changed from Friday, as trade and budget negotiations continue ahead of inflation data and Treasury auctions. U.S. and China officials are meeting in London to discuss tariffs. Republican senators are yet to agree on a budget bill, keeping alive worries about fiscal deficits. Markets will watch long-term Treasurys auctions this week for potential signs of weakening demand. Economists surveyed by WSJ expect May annual CPI, due Wednesday, to accelerate to 2.5% from 2.3%, and to 2.9% from 2.8% in the core reading. The 10-year Treasury yield is at 4.513% and the two-year at 4.031%. ( @ptrevisani) 1056 GMT – U.S. Treasury yields fall, reversing Friday's rise after better-than-expected U.S. jobs data. Yields around 5% for 30-year Treasurys, 4.5% for 10-year Treasurys and 4.0% for two-year Treasurys could attract buyers, Pepperstone's Michael Brown says in a note. These levels have 'proved attractive to dip buyers in recent weeks.' However, investors are cautious ahead of this week's U.S. bond auctions, especially Thursday's sale of 30-year Treasurys, given U.S. fiscal concerns, he says. Three-year Treasurys will also be auctioned Tuesday and 10-year Treasurys on Wednesday. The 30-year Treasury yield falls 1 basis point to 4.953%; the 10-year yield falls 2 basis points to 4.488%; the two-year yield falls 3 basis points to 4.012%, Tradeweb data show. (
