10 The Sunday Times February 7, 2021 BUSINESS Jamie Nimmo LUKE MACGREGOR BP boss slips on accounts reveal the extent of from its lenders, though. Just Reddit rebels give shot the coronavirus carnage for over a year ago, Mettis faced FUNNY BUSINESS Russian black ice the aerospace industry. a hostile takeover bid from Mettis breached banking Aerostar, a Chinese fund. in the arm to Glaxo Bernard Looney defended covenants in September and Former business secretary BP’s 20 per cent stake in required a £4.6 million cash Andrea Leadsom intervened, Another unlikely beneficiary after the announcement that Russia’s Rosneft last week, injection from its majority causing the Chinese to walk of the GameStop trading drugs giant Eli Lilly would unveiling a sustainability shareholder, the private away, on the same day she frenzy has emerged: the team up with Glaxo and Vir agreement between the oil equity firm Stirling Square, in waved through the takeover British pharma giant Glaxo to test its Covid-19 antibody giants. BP’s own net-zero December. It did manage to of Cobham. Given the Smith Kline. Glaxo, run by treatment. Vir has been a ambitions exclude secure a two-year extension industry’s tailspin, the Dame Emma Walmsley, has a magnet for short-sellers, with production at Rosneft, which Chinese may feel Leadsom, 5 per cent stake in US more than 30 per cent of its hasn’t set similarly ambitious 57, did them a favour. company Vir Biotechnology, stock on loan to investors targets and has just begun BESTSELLING BOOKS having struck a deal last April betting against it. work at the huge Vostok oil to collaborate on treatments The firm was swept up in project in the Arctic. The Intelligent Investor Benjamin Graham Dr Pot’s smoking and vaccines for Covid-19. the GameStop hysteria as Prufrock wonders what 1 Harper Business Vir is also backed by Reddit traders targeted BP’s image-conscious leader Start With Why new purchase Japan’s SoftBank, Abu Dhabi’s heavily shorted stocks for thinks of the plans at Rosneft, Simon Sinek Geoffrey Guy may have 2 Penguin sovereign wealth fund and quick gains. S3, the financial where he is a director. Along bagged $90 million from the Never Split the Difference Iconiq Capital, the venture data firm, even highlighted with two other Russian oil Chris Voss & Tahl Raz $7.2 billion (£5.2 billion) sale firm said to manage money Vir as a possible winner from firms, it has asked the 3 Random House of his medical cannabis for tycoons such as the GameStop saga. It’s good Moscow government for How to Make the World Add Up group GW Pharmaceuticals, 4 Tim Harford Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. to see the “evil” hedge funds softer regulations in the Little, Brown but “Dr Pot” also has other TWITTER POLL At the end of January, Vir’s being squeezed out — while Arctic. Specifically, they want The 4-Hour Work Week news to celebrate. shares surged more than the underdog that is Big rid of rules requiring expert Timothy Ferriss Guy, 65, owns the grand 5 Yes No 70 per cent to a record high Pharma cashes in. green assessments of new Vermilion Chedington Court estate in Emma Walmsley’s Glaxo saw its biotech investment rise projects there. Looney, 50, Shoe Dog Dorset, where he hosts 6 Phil Knight may need a stiff vodka. Simon & Schuster weddings (including actor 20% 80% l Maurice Bennett, the entrepreneur who co-founded the The 5am Club Sean Bean’s fifth attempt) Warehouse and Oasis fashion chains, has helped a firm of fine Robin Sharma and even runs a motorbike JUST SAYING . 7 Harper Thorsons printers celebrate its centenary year — by rescuing it. Leadsom flew Think And Grow Rich tours firm. The bike business Bennett, 86, was introduced to Barnard & Westwood, 8 Napoleon Hill revealed a new addition last which holds royal warrants to produce invitations for the We have concerns about being China to safety Vermilion month. “Dr Guy is pleased to Who Moved My Cheese? Queen and Prince Charles, by his son David. Barnard & constrained . by people taking an British industry has had a Spencer Johnson add a new Yamaha Tricity to Westwood was owned by an employee trust and had been hit tough pandemic. Just ask 9 Vermilion the collection,” a newsletter hard by the cancellation of events. Bennett visited its office in ideological approach to corporate Mettis Aerospace, the Factfulness announced alongside a US regulators are meeting Hans Rosling et al London and fell in love. “It’s straight out of Dickens,” he says. Redditch-based Ministry of 10Sceptre picture of the three-wheeled to discuss the GameStop “They have these wonderful machines and set the type by governance Defence supplier that also bike. Prufrock imagines share-buying frenzy. Should Bestseller List prepared by Nielsen using hand. Invitations were being made for a royal personage LSE boss David Schwimmer hits out serves private-sector data supplied by and copyright to that’s easier to ride than the watchdogs clamp down on overseas when I went and I learnt that when you talk about at the Investment Association for customers such as BAE. Nielsen BookScan, taken from the TCM for normal version after retail traders and something being gilt-edged, that’s literally what it is.” criticising Lord Hill’s listings review Companies House the four-week period ending January 30 sampling GW’s products. platforms? @ST_Business DATABANK INSIDE THE CITY SABAH MEDDINGS THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS THE ECONOMY Consumer prices index current rate prev. month FTSE 100 DOLLAR £719.4 million (a 23 per cent Such was the rebound over FTSE 100 USD > GBP 0.6% 0.3% rise year-on-year) and pre-tax the summer that Dunelm paid CPI including housing current rate prev. month You can sit 8,000 profits of £112 million — are back £14.5 million of furlough $1.37 0.8% 0.6% already known. costs in October, and has W 0.00 down and The real interest will be in shunned payments from the 12-month high: $1.37 Retail prices index current rate prev. month 7,000 low: $1.15 how it is holding up in the job scheme ever since. 1.2% 0.9% third lockdown. Assuming Dunelm, started by the EURO rest with 6,489.33 Average weekly earnings on prev. month on last year EUR > GBP click and collect offsets about billionaire Bill Adderley as a 81.87 H: 7,534.4 6,000 25 per cent of lost sales from market stall 40 years ago, has 1.28% L: 4,993.9 £567 U 0.9% U 4.4% Unemployment current rate prev. month Dunelm closed stores, total sales for grappled with pressure from 5,000 €1.14 the three months to March online-only retailers and FTSE 250 U 0.01 12-month high: €1.20 1.72m 5.0% 4.9% It takes a bold chief executive are expected to be discounters. But the recent 2020 2021 low: €1.06 Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon Manufacturing output on the year on last month to stand in front of investors £200 million, representing a carnage in department stores YEN RISERS FALLERS in the midst of a global 30 per cent decline — not too — including Debenhams — is V 3.8% 0.7% Aggreko: 844p U 44.3% on takeover Pearson 723.6p V 11% on GameStop YEN > USD U pandemic and declare that he bad in the circumstances. likely to reinforce its position. bid Virgin Money: 162.6p U 25.4% on hangover BP: 252.1p V 7.2% on annual Retail sales on the year on last month has “never been more As with all retailers, shares While all 174 of its stores are deposit growth National Express: loss Glaxo Smith Kline: £12.65 V 6.7% confident about the future”. in Dunelm plunged at the closed to customers, it has 303.8p U 21.4% on improving on dividend fears PureTech Health: ¥105.37 U 2.9% U 0.3% 21,066.87 sentiment Mitchells & Butlers: 353.5p 373.5p V 6.6% on sentiment Unilever: U 0.69 Nick Wilkinson, who leads start of the pandemic, but kept five staffed for click and U 18.6% on sector bounce Trainline: £39.80 V 6.1% on underwhelming 12-month high: ¥112.11 838.29 H:21,866.7 low: ¥102.34 the home retailer Dunelm, they have largely revived and collect. Home delivery has 4.14% L:12,829.7 484.2p U 18.6% on vaccine optimism results Source: SharePad/AJ Bell UK trade latest 3 mths prev. 3 mths latest 12 mths did just that last month. closed on Friday at £12.61, been operating as normal. OIL balance (£bn) -8.53 +5.75 +17.53 There are reasons why 10 per cent below their pre- Dunelm had £141 million of DOLLARS/BARREL DOW JONES FTSE EUROFIRST Gross domestic latest quarter prev. quarter annual change Wilkinson should feel pandemic peak last February, cash at the last count, which HANG SENG product confident. Dunelm has been giving Dunelm a £2.6 billion should be enough to weather 31,148.24 29,288.68 1,575.71 $59.34 U 16% V 18.8% V 8.6% 4.30 taking market share from value. The shares are 128 per the latest lockdown until non- 1,165.62 H:31,188.4 1,004.97 H:30,159.0 51.61 H:1,690.8 U Budget deficit latest month prev. month year-to-date 3.89% L:18,591.9 3.55% L:21,696.1 3.39% L:1,096.5 12-month high: $60.00 (PSNB) in £bn both bricks-and-mortar and cent above the level when this essential retail reopens.