RETAIL

Tesco to reshuffle workers

Tesco PLC, the UK’s biggest supermarket group, yesterday said that it was changing the way it manages its larger stores, affecting about 1,750 workers. All of the UK’s major grocers are seeking to save on costs as they try to keep a lid on rising prices. Tesco said that it would introduce about 1,800 “shift leader” roles in its larger Superstores and Extra stores, and would reduce the number of “lead” and “team managers” in its large stores. The affected workers would have the option of moving to shift leader vacancies or taking redundancy. Localized changes across the UK business would affect a further 350 jobs.

FRANCE

GDP increases 2.6 percent

The economy grew 2.6 percent for the whole of last year, data released by the government’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies statistics office found. Household spending dropped 0.9 percent in the final quarter, but imports fell 1.9 percent, outweighing a 0.3 percent dip in exports. Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno le Maire said the result was “testimony to the strong rebound of our economy after the COVID shock and its resilience in the face of the energy crisis.” Allianz economist Maxime Darmet was more skeptical. “It is a superficial resistance by the French economy. Consumption is not doing well, and such a fall in imports is not a good sign as that is saying that internal demand is really very weak,” he said.

BANKING

UBS beats forecasts

Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG yesterday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, although its investment bank revenues took a hit. Net profits at Switzerland’s largest bank soared 23 percent to nearly US$1.7 billion in the final quarter of last year, while its revenues came in at just more than US$8 billion, marking an 8 percent year-on-year drop. “We delivered good full-year and solid fourth-quarter results in a difficult macroeconomic and geopolitical environment,” UBS chief executive officer Ralph Hamers said in a statement. UBS has likely benefited from what is believed to be a significant exodus of clients from its scandal-plagued Swiss rival, Credit Suisse Group AG.

UNITED KINGDOM

NZAOA bans carbon removal

The Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), which is committed to climate change and controlling US$11 trillion in assets, has banned members from counting carbon removal schemes toward their emissions reduction targets before 2030. The move reflects broad concerns about the quality of some carbon removal schemes and criticism of companies that buy carbon credits instead of improving their own carbon footprints, but runs counter to the UN’s message that carbon removal is required to slow or stop climate change. In the longer term, the NZAOA still wants members to invest in and support the development of a liquid and fully accountable market for carbon removal certificates.

E-COMMERCE

Shein to hire Marcelo Claure

Online retailer Shein plans to appoint former Softbank Group Corp chief operating officer Marcelo Claure to help run its Latin American business, a signature hire that could accelerate a global expansion by one of world’s most valuable start-ups. Claure is to lead the region’s operations and made a roughly US$100 million personal investment in the company, a person familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified as they were discussing a private deal.