Google boss Sundar Pichai to receive $380m pay day this week

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One of the largest single payouts to a public company executive in recent years
Google chief executive Sundar Pichai is about to have a very big week. On Wednesday, an award of 353,939 restricted shares he received before a promotion in 2014 will vest.
At the end of last week, the grant was worth about $380m (£272m), making it one of the largest single payouts to a public company executive in recent years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mr Pichai, 45, who has led Alphabet’s Google ince 2015, received the shares before his promotion to senior vice president of products a year earlier, when he took over many of co-founder Larry Page’s responsibilities.
Read more Hunt threatens Facebook and Google with new age-limit laws The award swelled in value as Alphabet’s stock surged 90 per cent since the grant date, compared with a 39 per cent advance of the S&P 500. He has received two more nine-figure stock grants since then. The company has yet to disclose Pichai’s compensati..

Culture Secretary could intervene in Trinity Mirror purchase of the Express and Star

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Potential impact on editorial independence and media plurality cited
The culture secretary, Matt Hancock, has said he is “minded to” intervene in Trinity Mirror's proposed purchase of the Daily Express, Daily Star and a number of other titles on two public-interest grounds.
He cited the potential impact the transfer of newspapers would have on editorial decision making and independence, as well as the need for a sufficient plurality of views in newspapers.
Trinity Mirror also plans to buy the Sunday Express, Daily Star and celebrity magazine OK!, among other titles, from Richard Desmond's Northern and Shell.
Read more Daily Mirror publisher Trinity to change name to Reach Mr Hancock said he had taken into account that the merged entity would own 9 out of 20 national UK newspaper titles.
It would become “the second largest national newspaper organisation in circulation terms, with a 28 per cent share of average monthly circulation based on circulation figures for 2017..

Zero good news on zero hours contracts?

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It's true that the latest figures show that their growth has plateaued but there are still too many people on them who are being exploited and the Government's proposed response is woeful
There would appear to be modest signs of progress when it comes to the exploitative zero hours contracts that hundreds of thousands of Britons find themselves stuck on in the latest data.
Official figures show the number of firms using them did rise to 1.8m in the year to November, up from 1.7m the previous year.
Not exactly good news, but the Office for National Statistics noted that the survey methodology had changed so cautioned against drawing firm conclusions.
Read more Number of zero-hours contracts rises by 100,000 in 2017, says ONS McDonald's faces more strikes as union ballots workers One in three zero-hours workers juggle at least two jobs at same time Meanwhile the proportion of the workforce on them stayed flat at 6 per cent, and the available evidence at least seem..

Facebook: How much of a problem is personal finance guru Martin Lewis' planned libel action with results due?

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The MoneySavingExpert founder is unhappy over fake ads bearing his likeness and name
A knockout judgement against Facebook coming from a libel suit planned by personal finance guru Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert? It would barely register as a financial hit.
In 2017 – characterised as a ‘hard year’ for the social network – it generated $12.8bn (£9.2bn) in revenues, up 49 per cent, and turned a net profit of $4.3bn on that.
Its growth might be slowing, users might be spending less time on it, but the financial train is still rolling along the tracks. The company looks set to gobble up close to a fifth of the enormous digital ad market this year.
Read more Martin Lewis to take legal action against Facebook over 'scam ads' Bitcoin fraudsters using images of celebrities to scam people Martin Lewis: Students 'can't trust Government to keep its word' The 2018 first quarter numbers that are due on Wednesday will be closed watched for any sign ..

Co-op's £140m takeover of Nisa cleared by competition watchdog

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There are enough local alternative grocery stores to ensure people can still shop around to get the best value, CMA says
The UK’s competition watchdog has cleared the Co-op’s proposed £143m takeover of member-owned groceries wholesaler Nisa.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the two companies do not compete head-to-head and that the deal would not result in reduced quality of service or higher prices for customers.
The CMA said it had carefully considered the impact of the deal because Nisa supplies over 4,000 groceries stores but it took into account the fact that those outlets would still be free to set their own prices and decide which products to stock after the merger.
Read more Co-operative Group secures Nisa deal in injury time thriller After an initial investigation, the CMA decided not to refer the deal for an in-depth “Phase 2” probe.
There are enough local alternatives to both Co-op and Nisa-supplied stores to ensure that people can still shop ar..

City drinks Capita kool aid as shares soar but is this wise?

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Investors and ministers are desperately hoping new CEO Jon Lewis can pull off a turnaround. The man who called Capita's problems two years ago says they're taking a lot on trust
Talk about a strange start to the week: Troubled outsourcer Capita started it as the stock market’s hot share.
A company that sparked real fears of it being the next outsorucing domino to fall after Carillon shot up like one of Elon Musk’s rockets as it unveiled details of a £700m cash call, and a £300m disposal programme, four days earlier than expected. Alongside the small matter of a half billion pound pre tax loss.
If that makes you go ‘hmm’, the explanation for it is that there are an awful lot of people who really, really, really want to believe that turnaround specialist Jon Lewis can fix the thing. There are just as many of them working in the City of London as in there are in Westminster, where the government needs another Carillion like a hole in the head.
Read more Capita shares jump a..