Elon Musk backs Disney activist investor; Royal Mail asks to cut delivery days – business live | Business

Elon Musk says Nelson Peltz would improve Disney

Tesla boss Elon Musk has said that Nelson Peltz would “significantly improve Disney’s share price” if he joined the board.

Musk, the world’s third richest man according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also said that he would “definitely” buy Disney shares if Peltz were elected.

Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!

He would help reform the company, improve the quality of product and generally serve in the best interests of shareholders, as he has done at many other companies.

This would significantly improve Disney’s share price. https://t.co/JPa6dP7kbQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

While I don’t own any Disney shares today, I would definitely buy their shares if Nelson were elected to the board.

His track record is excellent.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

Key events

Eurozone unemployment stayed flat in February at 6.5%.

Usually a historically low unemployment rate would give central bankers pause before they cut interest rates.

However, that does not appear to be the case this time, according to Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a consultancy. She said:

Will the labour market tighten further now that GDP growth looks to be rebounding? We doubt it and, in fact, suspect the unemployment rate will edge up over the coming months.

A still-low unemployment rate doesn’t necessarily mean wage growth will remain at today’s highs, so it need not worry the ECB nor prevent it from starting its easing cycle. We think wage growth will come down, in line with the fall in inflation in recent months as workers’ negotiating power diminishes. A recovery in productivity would support wage growth even as inflation eases. We think productivity growth is now improving, but slowly does it.

*This post has been corrected: unemployment did not rise slightly in February as previously stated.

Royal Mail owner wants to cut delivery days and 1,000 jobs

Alex Lawson

The owner of Royal Mail has asked the industry regulator to be allowed to reduce second-class letters to just two or three days a week, cutting nearly 1,000 jobs and saving £300m a year in the process.

International Distributions Services (IDS) has told Ofcom it hopes to pare back the six-day, Monday to Saturday second class service to “every other weekday”.

However, IDS has committed to continue to deliver first class letters from Monday to Saturday, in a move which will relieve publishers and small businesses who have voiced concerns over potential “panicked” cuts.

Under the proposals, a postal worker may deliver on a single route on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for example, and on another route Tuesday and Thursday of the same week. The speed of the second-class delivery would then depend on when the letter was posted.

First-class letters would then likely be delivered using the network of Royal Mail vans used for parcels.

Eurozone inflation drops unexpectedly to 2.4% in March

Eurozone inflation fell unexpectedly in March, adding to the case for an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Consumer prices rose by 2.4% in the year to March, down from the 2.6% rate in February, according to statistics office Eurostat. That was below the 2.6% expected by economists.

It was a drop in energy prices that pulled down overall inflation. Energy prices soared over the last two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but have steadied – albeit at much higher prices – since then.

The drop in inflation will increase expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank, which is widely expected to loosen monetary policy at its meeting in June.

Virgin Atlantic loses £139m but expects 2024 profit

Virgin Atlantic has said that expects to make a profit this year, after narrowing its losses during 2023 in the long aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline, which is part-owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, said that losses before tax and exceptional items fell to £139m, down from £206m.

While some airlines – such as Ryanair – have raced past pre-pandemic passenger numbers, long-haul aviation has been slower to recover. Virgin Atlantic is focused on long-haul transatlantic routes such as between London and New York, and it also flies to a few destinations in Asia and Africa.

The company also said that it had made record total revenue of £3.1bn, up £265m versus 2022. It said that result came “despite corporate travel being slower to return to pre-pandemic levels”.

Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, said:

In 2023, we capitalised on continued strong demand for leisure air travel and holidays, which shows that desire for experiences and travel remains, resulting in record revenues. A loss is never satisfactory; however, our performance and results illustrate that we have made really good progress in 2023, the plan is working, and Virgin Atlantic is on course to return to profitability in 2024.

Elon Musk is not a Disney shareholder – so it is unclear why he is getting involved. However, he has never been one to turn down the chance of a scrap.

The immediate prompt for his posts just now was another billionaire activist investor, Bill Ackman. Ackman, who is not directly involved in the Disney board battle, published an article-length post on Musk’s social network, X, calling for the US regulator to investigate the Disney board battle.

Ackman said that the Securities and Exchange Commission should look at who has leaked results of the Disney vote – which is not finalised. He accused the company and/or its advisers of being behind the leak, although he did not have any direct evidence other than the fact that “Only the company and its advisers have access to how shareholders have voted before the day of the annual meeting.”

Disney has been approached for comment.

There have been a few recent articles in the press about @Disney ‘winning’ its proxy contest with Nelson Peltz based on early election returns that have been leaked to the media. We don’t have an investment in Disney, but I thought it useful to point out the inappropriateness of…

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 2, 2024

Ackman, the veteran of many battles with company boards, said that he believed the company was trying to sway institutional investors who might be wavering in the close vote. He wrote:

Here, the company and/or its advisers have leaked the early results in order to tip more institutions and other shareholders to vote for the incumbent board, unfairly tipping the scale in the incumbent board’s favor.

Elon Musk says Nelson Peltz would improve Disney

Tesla boss Elon Musk has said that Nelson Peltz would “significantly improve Disney’s share price” if he joined the board.

Musk, the world’s third richest man according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also said that he would “definitely” buy Disney shares if Peltz were elected.

Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!

He would help reform the company, improve the quality of product and generally serve in the best interests of shareholders, as he has done at many other companies.

This would significantly improve Disney’s share price. https://t.co/JPa6dP7kbQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

While I don’t own any Disney shares today, I would definitely buy their shares if Nelson were elected to the board.

His track record is excellent.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

Ryanair has said that it cancelled almost 950 flights during March because of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The Irish airline said that it carried 1m more passengers during March 2024 compared with March 2023. That represented an 8% increase to 13.6m. The airline’s load factor was unchanged.

Ryanair is the world’s second most valuable by market capitalisation, behind only the US’s Delta. It flew 77,000 flights in March, and has flown 183.7m passengers during the last 12 months.

London’s FTSE 100 and Milan’s FTSE MIB are the biggest fallers of the main European stock market indices this morning. Both have lost 0.3%.

There are no major individual movers on the FTSE 100, however: the biggest faller is BT Group, down 1.7%.

Elsewhere in Europe it is a more mildly positive story. Here are the opening snaps via Reuters from across the rest of Europe:

• EUROPE’S STOXX 600 UP 0.1%

• FRANCE’S CAC 40 UP 0.2%, SPAIN’S IBEX UP 0.1%

• EURO STOXX INDEX UP 0.2%; EURO ZONE BLUE CHIPS UP 0.3%

• GERMANY’S DAX UP 0.2%

Chipmakers evacuate Taiwan factories after earthquake

Good morning, and welcome to our live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets.

The biggest earthquake in 25 years has hit Taiwan, killing at least seven people. On financial markets investors are bracing for disruption to the island’s crucial technology companies.

Taiwan plays a central role in the global economy because of its status as a manufacturing hub for computer chips, as well as its companies in the broader technology supply chain.

The earthquake’s epicentre was on the east coast of the island, while most of its tech manufacturing is based in the west. Nevertheless, the quake affected production at chip fabs, which rely on very sensitive machinery.

The share price of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which makes most of the world’s cutting-edge chips on behalf of others, dropped by 1.3% on Wednesday. The company said in a statement it was still trying to work out the impact of the earthquake on its operations:

TSMC’s safety systems are operating normally. Preventive measures were initiated according to procedure and some fabs were evacuated. All personnel are safe, and those evacuated are beginning to return to their workplaces.

The company is currently confirming the details of the impact. Initial inspections show that construction sites are normal.

However, the company has decided to suspend work at construction sites for today, and work will resume following further inspections.

Shares in major Apple supplier Foxconn dropped by 1.4%, while TV panel manufacturer Au Optronics fell by 1.9%.

Disney reportedly fends off Nelson Peltz

Disney has reportedly managed to fend off a bid for board seats from activist investment billionaire Nelson Peltz. That would be a victory for prominent Disney chief executive Bob Iger.

Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, has failed to win enough shareholder backers to install Peltz and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo on the entertainment company’s board, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Reuters said:

Enough votes had been cast as of Tuesday evening to put Disney’s board directors safely ahead of Trian’s two challengers.

Investors could still change their votes. However, if the result is confirmed at Wednesday’s annual meeting as expected it would represent a significant relief for Disney’s management.

Peltz has campaigned for board seats for months, arguing that the House of Mouse was too late to develop a coherent streaming strategy and that it overpaid on its $71bn acquisition of Fox.

However, Iger successfully won around well-known and powerful investors including Steve Jobs’s widow Laurene Powell Jobs, JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and Star Wars creator George Lucas

The agenda

• 10am BST: Euro area inflation rate flash reading (March; previous: 2.6% year-on-year; consensus: 2.6%)

• 10am BST: Euro area unemployment rate (February; prev.: 6.4%; cons.: 6.4%)

• 1:15pm BST: US ADP employment change (March; prev.: 140,000 jobs; cons.: 148,000)

Summarize this content to 100 words Elon Musk says Nelson Peltz would improve DisneyElon Musk, speaking at a symposium about antisemitism, in Krakow, Poland, on 22 January 2024. Photograph: undefined/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTesla boss Elon Musk has said that Nelson Peltz would “significantly improve Disney’s share price” if he joined the board.Musk, the world’s third richest man according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also said that he would “definitely” buy Disney shares if Peltz were elected.Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!He would help reform the company, improve the quality of product and generally serve in the best interests of shareholders, as he has done at many other companies. This would significantly improve Disney’s share price. https://t.co/JPa6dP7kbQ— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

While I don’t own any Disney shares today, I would definitely buy their shares if Nelson were elected to the board. His track record is excellent.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

ShareKey eventsEurozone unemployment stayed flat in February at 6.5%.Usually a historically low unemployment rate would give central bankers pause before they cut interest rates.However, that does not appear to be the case this time, according to Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a consultancy. She said:
Will the labour market tighten further now that GDP growth looks to be rebounding? We doubt it and, in fact, suspect the unemployment rate will edge up over the coming months.
A still-low unemployment rate doesn’t necessarily mean wage growth will remain at today’s highs, so it need not worry the ECB nor prevent it from starting its easing cycle. We think wage growth will come down, in line with the fall in inflation in recent months as workers’ negotiating power diminishes. A recovery in productivity would support wage growth even as inflation eases. We think productivity growth is now improving, but slowly does it.
*This post has been corrected: unemployment did not rise slightly in February as previously stated.ShareUpdated at 12.12 CESTRoyal Mail owner wants to cut delivery days and 1,000 jobsAlex LawsonRoyal Mail has asked to cut the number of days it delivers second-class letters. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPAThe owner of Royal Mail has asked the industry regulator to be allowed to reduce second-class letters to just two or three days a week, cutting nearly 1,000 jobs and saving £300m a year in the process.International Distributions Services (IDS) has told Ofcom it hopes to pare back the six-day, Monday to Saturday second class service to “every other weekday”.However, IDS has committed to continue to deliver first class letters from Monday to Saturday, in a move which will relieve publishers and small businesses who have voiced concerns over potential “panicked” cuts.Under the proposals, a postal worker may deliver on a single route on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for example, and on another route Tuesday and Thursday of the same week. The speed of the second-class delivery would then depend on when the letter was posted.First-class letters would then likely be delivered using the network of Royal Mail vans used for parcels.ShareEurozone inflation drops unexpectedly to 2.4% in MarchEurozone inflation fell unexpectedly in March, adding to the case for an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.Consumer prices rose by 2.4% in the year to March, down from the 2.6% rate in February, according to statistics office Eurostat. That was below the 2.6% expected by economists.It was a drop in energy prices that pulled down overall inflation. Energy prices soared over the last two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but have steadied – albeit at much higher prices – since then.The drop in inflation will increase expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank, which is widely expected to loosen monetary policy at its meeting in June.ShareVirgin Atlantic loses £139m but expects 2024 profitVirgin Atlantic flight VS3 (front) and British Airways flight BA001 (back) perform a synchronised departure on parallel runways at London Heathrow airport, heading for New York JFK to celebrate the reopening of the transatlantic travel corridor in 2021. Photograph: Anthony Upton/PAVirgin Atlantic has said that expects to make a profit this year, after narrowing its losses during 2023 in the long aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.The airline, which is part-owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, said that losses before tax and exceptional items fell to £139m, down from £206m.While some airlines – such as Ryanair – have raced past pre-pandemic passenger numbers, long-haul aviation has been slower to recover. Virgin Atlantic is focused on long-haul transatlantic routes such as between London and New York, and it also flies to a few destinations in Asia and Africa.The company also said that it had made record total revenue of £3.1bn, up £265m versus 2022. It said that result came “despite corporate travel being slower to return to pre-pandemic levels”.Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, said:
In 2023, we capitalised on continued strong demand for leisure air travel and holidays, which shows that desire for experiences and travel remains, resulting in record revenues. A loss is never satisfactory; however, our performance and results illustrate that we have made really good progress in 2023, the plan is working, and Virgin Atlantic is on course to return to profitability in 2024.
ShareUpdated at 11.07 CESTElon Musk is not a Disney shareholder – so it is unclear why he is getting involved. However, he has never been one to turn down the chance of a scrap.The immediate prompt for his posts just now was another billionaire activist investor, Bill Ackman. Ackman, who is not directly involved in the Disney board battle, published an article-length post on Musk’s social network, X, calling for the US regulator to investigate the Disney board battle.Ackman said that the Securities and Exchange Commission should look at who has leaked results of the Disney vote – which is not finalised. He accused the company and/or its advisers of being behind the leak, although he did not have any direct evidence other than the fact that “Only the company and its advisers have access to how shareholders have voted before the day of the annual meeting.”Disney has been approached for comment.There have been a few recent articles in the press about @Disney ‘winning’ its proxy contest with Nelson Peltz based on early election returns that have been leaked to the media. We don’t have an investment in Disney, but I thought it useful to point out the inappropriateness of…— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 2, 2024

Ackman, the veteran of many battles with company boards, said that he believed the company was trying to sway institutional investors who might be wavering in the close vote. He wrote:
Here, the company and/or its advisers have leaked the early results in order to tip more institutions and other shareholders to vote for the incumbent board, unfairly tipping the scale in the incumbent board’s favor.
ShareElon Musk says Nelson Peltz would improve DisneyElon Musk, speaking at a symposium about antisemitism, in Krakow, Poland, on 22 January 2024. Photograph: undefined/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTesla boss Elon Musk has said that Nelson Peltz would “significantly improve Disney’s share price” if he joined the board.Musk, the world’s third richest man according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also said that he would “definitely” buy Disney shares if Peltz were elected.Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!He would help reform the company, improve the quality of product and generally serve in the best interests of shareholders, as he has done at many other companies. This would significantly improve Disney’s share price. https://t.co/JPa6dP7kbQ— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

While I don’t own any Disney shares today, I would definitely buy their shares if Nelson were elected to the board. His track record is excellent.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

ShareA Ryanair plane takes off from Budapest Airport, in Budapest, Hungary, in 2022. Photograph: Anna Szilagyi/APRyanair has said that it cancelled almost 950 flights during March because of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.The Irish airline said that it carried 1m more passengers during March 2024 compared with March 2023. That represented an 8% increase to 13.6m. The airline’s load factor was unchanged.Ryanair is the world’s second most valuable by market capitalisation, behind only the US’s Delta. It flew 77,000 flights in March, and has flown 183.7m passengers during the last 12 months.ShareLondon’s FTSE 100 and Milan’s FTSE MIB are the biggest fallers of the main European stock market indices this morning. Both have lost 0.3%.There are no major individual movers on the FTSE 100, however: the biggest faller is BT Group, down 1.7%.Elsewhere in Europe it is a more mildly positive story. Here are the opening snaps via Reuters from across the rest of Europe:
EUROPE’S STOXX 600 UP 0.1%
FRANCE’S CAC 40 UP 0.2%, SPAIN’S IBEX UP 0.1%
EURO STOXX INDEX UP 0.2%; EURO ZONE BLUE CHIPS UP 0.3%
GERMANY’S DAX UP 0.2%
ShareChipmakers evacuate Taiwan factories after earthquakeGood morning, and welcome to our live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets.The biggest earthquake in 25 years has hit Taiwan, killing at least seven people. On financial markets investors are bracing for disruption to the island’s crucial technology companies.Taiwan plays a central role in the global economy because of its status as a manufacturing hub for computer chips, as well as its companies in the broader technology supply chain.The earthquake’s epicentre was on the east coast of the island, while most of its tech manufacturing is based in the west. Nevertheless, the quake affected production at chip fabs, which rely on very sensitive machinery.The share price of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which makes most of the world’s cutting-edge chips on behalf of others, dropped by 1.3% on Wednesday. The company said in a statement it was still trying to work out the impact of the earthquake on its operations:
TSMC’s safety systems are operating normally. Preventive measures were initiated according to procedure and some fabs were evacuated. All personnel are safe, and those evacuated are beginning to return to their workplaces.
The company is currently confirming the details of the impact. Initial inspections show that construction sites are normal.
However, the company has decided to suspend work at construction sites for today, and work will resume following further inspections.
Shares in major Apple supplier Foxconn dropped by 1.4%, while TV panel manufacturer Au Optronics fell by 1.9%.Disney reportedly fends off Nelson PeltzDisney has reportedly managed to fend off a bid for board seats from activist investment billionaire Nelson Peltz. That would be a victory for prominent Disney chief executive Bob Iger.Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, has failed to win enough shareholder backers to install Peltz and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo on the entertainment company’s board, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Reuters said:
Enough votes had been cast as of Tuesday evening to put Disney’s board directors safely ahead of Trian’s two challengers.
Investors could still change their votes. However, if the result is confirmed at Wednesday’s annual meeting as expected it would represent a significant relief for Disney’s management.Peltz has campaigned for board seats for months, arguing that the House of Mouse was too late to develop a coherent streaming strategy and that it overpaid on its $71bn acquisition of Fox.However, Iger successfully won around well-known and powerful investors including Steve Jobs’s widow Laurene Powell Jobs, JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and Star Wars creator George LucasThe agenda
10am BST: Euro area inflation rate flash reading (March; previous: 2.6% year-on-year; consensus: 2.6%)
10am BST: Euro area unemployment rate (February; prev.: 6.4%; cons.: 6.4%)
1:15pm BST: US ADP employment change (March; prev.: 140,000 jobs; cons.: 148,000)
ShareUpdated at 09.48 CEST
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2024/apr/03/taiwan-earthquake-tsmc-foxconn-disney-nelson-peltz-trian-ryanair-european-central-bank-ecb-inflation-business-live Elon Musk backs Disney activist investor; Royal Mail asks to cut delivery days – business live | Business