A man was detained for questioning Tuesday night in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie. The apprehension came after the FBI released surveillance videos of a masked person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished from her Arizona home.
It has not been determined if the man who was detained for questioning, nine days after the 84-year-old mother of U.S. television host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing, is the same person seen in surveillance video.
RELATED: FBI Releases Video of Kidnap Suspect at Nancy Guthrie’s Home
AP reports deputies detained the person during a traffic stop south of Tucson, per the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. The outlet released some specific details about the arrest:
The department and the FBI were conducting a court-authorized search Tuesday night at a location in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of Tucson, the department said in a statement. It was expected to take several hours.
The department did not immediately provide details about the person or the location. The FBI referred questions to the sheriff’s office.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department detained the man being questioned by law enforcement during a traffic stop south of Tucson, the agency said.
“The subject is currently being questioned in connection to the Nancy Guthrie investigation,” the department said, per an NBC report.
As Breitbart News reported, Guthrie disappeared on Feb. 1 and since then the case has been a focus of national attention.
Tuesday’s arrest is the first significant advance in investigations seeking to disclose the fate of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie or finding who was responsible.
More to come…
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American figure skater Amber Glenn fired back at critics on Tuesday following her gold medal victory in the team event at the Winter Olympics.
Glenn, who said she was taking a social media break because of “hate” comments after criticizing President Donald Trump’s administration, returned to TikTok with photos of herself and Alysa Liu. She directed her caption at those who apparently came after her.
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Amber Glenn of the United States competes during the figure skating women’s team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
“They hate to see two woke b—-es winning,” Glenn wrote. “If ‘Woke’ means people who use their platforms to advocate for marginalized communities in the country that they are actively representing …… Then yeah sure?”
Glenn ripped the Trump administration in a pre-Olympics press conference last week, saying it had been a “hard time” for her and members of the LGBT community. It was one of a handful of political remarks U.S. athletes made in the lead-up to the Winter Games.
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From left, Ellie Kam, Alysa Liu, and Amber Glenn of Team USA react after receiving their gold medals for the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
“It’s been a hard time for the (LGBTQ) community overall in this administration,” she said, via USA Today. “It isn’t the first time that we’ve had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights. And now especially, it’s not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities, and I think that we are able to support each other in a way that we didn’t have to before, and because of that, it’s made us a lot stronger.”
Glenn added that the issue she was talking about was something she wasn’t going to be quiet about.
Read More About The 2026 Winter Olympics
The backlash online was enough for her to log off for a few days.
“When I chose to utilize one of the amazing things about the United States of America (Freedom of speech) to convey how I feel as an athlete competing for Team USA in a troubling time for many Americans, I am now receiving a scary amount of hate/threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED about how I feel,” she wrote in a since-expired post on her Instagram Stories.
Team USA’s Amber Glenn celebrates with her gold medal after the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
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“I did anticipate this but I am disappointed by it. I will be limiting my time on social media for my own wellbeing for now but I will never stop using my voice for what I believe in.”
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
A three-day health alert for cold weather has been issued for the Midlands and northern England.
It warns of a greater risk to life to vulnerable people and a minor impact on healthcare services due to increased demand.
The alert from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) runs from 6am on 13 February until 8am on 16 February.
Met Office snow and ice warnings are also in force on 12 and 13 February for northern England and virtually the whole of Scotland.
Sky News weather producer Chris England said the cold would “come as something of a shock after the long mild, wet spell”.
“The jet stream, which guides our weather systems, will move briefly south to end the week, allowing an increasingly northerly flow, bringing more wintry conditions,” said England.
However, he added that milder conditions should spread from the South later in the weekend.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A murderer who killed a travelling salesman in a deadly robbery has become the first to face the death penalty in Florida this year.
Ronald Palmer Heath was given the lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, in the north of the state, on Tuesday.
He was convicted of the 1989 murder of Michael Sheridan after conspiring with his brother, Kenneth Heath, to rob him.
The 64-year-old was already strapped down with an IV inserted into his arm when the curtain rose on the execution chamber at 6pm.
According to Sky’s US partner, NBC News, he was asked by the warden if he had any last words, and replied: “I’m sorry. That’s all I can say. Thank you.”
He showed little outward reaction as the three drugs were administered, closing his eyes and appearing to fall asleep, before becoming motionless. He was pronounced dead at 6.12pm.
Image: Florida State Prison in Starke. Pic: AP
Court records show that the Heath brothers met Mr Sheridan at a Gainesville bar on 24 May, 1989, where the travelling salesman brought them a drink.
When he inquired whether the duo had any marijuana, they conspired to take him somewhere and rob him.
After stopping on a dirt road in an isolated area, Kenneth held up the victim at gunpoint.
However, Mr Sheridan initially refused to give the brothers anything, so Kenneth shot him in the chest.
Image: A hearse arrives at Florida State Prison in 2011. Pic: AP
Then the salesman, still alive, started emptying his pockets, but Ronald kicked him and stabbed him with a hunting knife.
Kenneth then shot their victim twice in the head.
After the brothers dumped Sheridan’s body in a wooded area, they returned to the bar to loot his rental car.
The brothers were caught after making multiple purchases with his credit cards.
Image: A protest at Florida State Prison. Pic: AP
Ronald was convicted of first degree murder, armed robbery, and multiple forgery charges, and sentenced to death.
But Kenneth made a plea deal and testified against his brother, according to Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP), a group campaigning against capital punishment.
Read more: Family of last woman hanged in Britain seek pardon Do Britons want the death penalty back?
He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years, and is now eligible for parole.
Court records describing the killing suggest that Ronald was the driving force, ordering Kenneth to shoot.
Image: Florida governor Ron DeSantis has overseen a record-breaking run of executions. File pic: AP
But FADP condemned the execution, saying: “Ronnie was put to death for a murder he did not commit.
“The undisputed trigger man in that crime, Ronnie’s brother Kenneth, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
“That means one day Kenneth may walk free on this earth, while Ronnie will be buried six feet under it.”
Executions in Florida reached a new annual high in 2025, with 19 people put to death, smashing the previous record of eight in 2014.
The state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, oversaw more executions in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
FADP said Heath’s death continued an “execution spree that remains politicised, frantic, and disproportionate”.
The Super Bowl halftime show is one of the most watched cultural events in the US. Every year, tens of millions of viewers tune in, many of them less for the sport than for the spectacle. That reach makes halftime a rare moment in which ideas about national identity and belonging are staged for a global audience.
At the 2026 Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny delivered a halftime performance almost entirely in Spanish and packed with carefully staged symbolism. To understand what the show was communicating, it helps to look closely at four key moments.
1. Sugar cane fields
The show opened in a landscape of sugar cane fields and performers dressed as jíbaros (rural farmers) wearing traditional pava hats. These elements nod to the island’s agricultural roots and carry deep historical and cultural weight, as sugar cane points directly to the plantation economy, first under Spanish colonial rule and later reorganised under US governance.
2. Ricky Martin and Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawái
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin sang an excerpt of Bad Bunny’s song Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawái. Chris Torres/EPA
Ricky Martin is a Puerto Rican singer best known internationally for hits like Livin’ la Vida Loca. Instead of performing one of his global anthems, he sang an excerpt from Bad Bunny’s song Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawái, which frames Hawaii as a cautionary tale for Puerto Rico, warning against the consequences of over-tourism and gentrification:
Quieren quitarme el río Y también la playa. Quieren el barrio mío Y que abuelita se vaya.
No, no suelte’ la bandera ni olvide’ el lelolai. Que no quiero que hagan contigo lo que le pasó a Hawái.
They want to take my river, and want the beach as well. They want my neighbourhood, and want Grandma gone.
No, don’t let go of the flag, and don’t forget the lelolai. As I don’t want them to do to you what they did to Hawaiʻi.
The lyrics trace loss as a gradual process that begins with land and natural resources (“the river” and “the beach”), then moves inward to community space (“my neighbourhood”), family continuity (“grandma”), and cultural memory itself (“lelolai”, a traditional refrain), urging listeners not to “let go of the flag”, as a symbol of identity.
The staging of jíbaros climbing sparking electricity poles, suggesting overload and failure, during El Apagón, Bad Bunny’s protest song about chronic power outages on the island, can be read as a visual reference to Puerto Rico’s fragile power grid following Hurricane Maria.
According to the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration, Puerto Rico experienced an average of around 27 hours of power outages per year between 2021 and 2024. By contrast, customers in the mainland US typically had about two hours of outages per year. The poles thus functioned as signs of uneven material conditions.
4. A continental roll call after God Bless America
The performance closed with Bad Bunny saying: “God Bless America” followed by a roll call of countries across South, Central and North America, as well as parts of the Caribbean. The sequence challenged a familiar assumption about who counts as “America”. In everyday US English, America is often used as shorthand for the United States as in Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.” Across much of Latin America, América refers to the continent.
Why the symbolism matters
These four moments form one narrative: the sugar cane fields root the performance in Puerto Rico’s colonial history. Ricky Martin’s lyrics name the risk of cultural erasure. The electricity poles tie questions of identity to material inequality. Finally, the roll call after God Bless America expands the frame outward, celebrating the continent as a shared, plural space.
On the biggest stage in US popular culture, the performance pushed Latin visibility at the highest mainstream level. Against the scale of the spectacle, and the controversy it provoked, a message glowed quietly in the background: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
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Several roads leading into and around St Neots will be closed for roadworks throughout February
Diversions have been put in place for each of the road closures(Image: atex.scriptmanager)
Over the next month, multiple roads in Cambridgeshire are set to be closed whilst roadworks are carried out. Several roads around St Neots will be closed by National Highways with diversions being put in place.
From Monday, February 9, until Saturday, February 14, the A1 southbound between Wyboston and Tempsford will be closed from 9pm to 5am to allow for new street lighting, permanent signage, and CCTV to be installed. There will be a diversion in place by exiting the A1 at Wyboston Interchange, taking the A428 towards St Neots, and re-joining the A1 at Tempsford Interchange.
To allow for the installation of new drainage, kerbs, and resurfacing, Potton Road from the B1046 junction to south of Eynesbury Plant Hire and the B1046 from Potton Road rail bridge to Lansbury Farm will also be closed. The closure will be in place from 9am on Friday, February 13, until 6am on Monday, February 23.
Traffic will be diverted south on Barford Road taking the first exit onto the A428 eastbound to then continue on A428 towards St Neots. You can then head onto south on B1046 at Eltisley and take Gransden Road and re-join St Neots Road.
The A421 westbound between the Black Cat junction and Renhold Interchange and Bedford Road between Roxton Garden Centre and the Black Cat roundabout will be closed overnight from Monday, February 16, to Saturday, February 21. The roads will be closed from 9pm to 5am to allow for the installation of new street lighting, permanent signage, and CCTV.
A diversion will be in place for drivers to continue south on the A1 and then take the A603 towards Bedford. Drivers will then re-join the A421 westbound at Cardington Interchange.
National Highways is installing rigid grids near to the A421 westbound and will be closing the road between the Black Cat junction and Renhold Interchange. The closure will be in place from 9pm on Friday, February 20, until 5am on Monday, February 23.
For the diversion, drivers will continue south on the A1 and take the A603 towards Bedford. Drivers will then re-join the A421 westbound at Cardington Interchange.
National Highways has said road closure can change at short notice. You should check the National Highways website for its daily closures when you travel.
Britney Spears has quietly cashed in on her pop legacy, selling off the rights to her iconic music catalog in a blockbuster deal.
The 44-year-old pop superstar put pen to paper on a sweeping agreement that hands over her ownership stake in decades of chart-topping hits – including …Baby One More Time and Toxic.
Legal documents show the catalog was sold to music publishing powerhouse Primary Wave, though the exact price tag has not been disclosed, TMZ reported on Tuesday.
The outlet’s sources described the transaction as a ‘landmark deal,’ with estimates placing it in the same league as Justin Bieber’s reported $200 million catalog sale.
The records reveal Britney signed off on the agreement on Dec. 30 – and the insider said she’s happy with the decision and celebrating by ‘spending time with her kids.’
Daily Mail has not received a response to its request for comment from reps for Spears.
Britney Spearshas quietly cashed in on her pop legacy, selling off the rights to her iconic music catalog in a blockbuster deal; (pictured 2002)
The 44-year-old pop superstar put pen to paper on a sweeping agreement that hands over her ownership stake in decades of chart-topping hits – including …Baby One More Time and Toxic
Spears shares her two sons, Sean, 18, and Jayden, 17, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, whom she was married to for just under three years before their 2007 split.
The pop princess now joins a growing wave of superstar artists cashing in on their catalogs, following major names like Bieber, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Shakira, KISS, Sting and Phil Collins.
The trend has exploded in recent years as legacy acts lock in massive payouts for their music rights.
Notably, Stevie Nicks sold an 80 percent stake in her publishing catalog to Primary Wave in 2020, with her copyrights reportedly valued at around $100 million at the time.
Spears’ catalog is widely regarded as one of the most valuable in modern pop, built on a hitmaking run that began with her 1999 debut.
Since 1999’s Baby One More Time, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, she has racked up 11 No. 1 singles, more than 30 Top 10 hits, and nine studio albums.
Hits like Toxic, Oops!… I Did It Again, Gimme More, Circus, and Womanizer have all gone multi-platinum, with cumulative album sales exceeding 100 million worldwide.
Her songs have earned multiple Grammy nominations, MTV Video Music Awards, and Billboard Music Awards, and they continue to generate massive streaming revenue, with billions of streams across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Join the debate
What do you think selling her music means for Britney¿s legacy and freedom after her family struggles?
Legal documents show the catalog was sold to music publishing powerhouse Primary Wave, though the exact price tag has not been disclosed, TMZ reported on Tuesday
The outlet’s sources described the transaction as a ‘landmark deal,’ with estimates placing it in the same league as Justin Bieber’s reported $200 million catalog sale; (pictured in 2001)
Since 1999’s Baby One More Time, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, she has racked up 11 No. 1 singles, more than 30 Top 10 hits, and nine studio albums
In addition, her tracks are in constant rotation on radio, film, commercials, and TikTok trends, giving the catalog long-term commercial earning power that few artists can match.
The catalog sale comes as the singer has reignited tensions with her family, taking fresh aim at those closest to her amid the lingering fallout from her conservatorship battle.
Spears claimed she is ‘scared’ of her family and ‘lucky to be alive’ in a bombshell new social media post.
In a bombshell social media post, the pop superstar claimed she is ‘scared’ of her family and ‘lucky to be alive.’
Four years after ending her 13-year conservatorship, largely controlled by her father Jamie Spears, 73, Britney slammed her relatives for ‘isolating’ her and insisted they will ‘never take responsibility’ for their actions.
‘I’m incredibly lucky to even be alive with how my family treated me once in my life and now I’m scared of them,’ the singer wrote in a lengthy caption.
‘They will never take responsibility for what they did,’ she wrote, adding, ‘We can forgive as people but u don’t ever forget.’
Spears also revealed her latest health setback, explaining she hasn’t been able to dance after breaking her toe twice – just four months after suffering a ‘horrible’ leg injury.
Admitting that it was “painful to lose a sponsor”, Louis stood by the interview, claiming: “That’s what I do. That’s my unique place in the British broadcasting landscape. I’m willing to have difficult conversations and long may it continue.”
He continued: “The interview went out a couple of days after [a terrorist incident outside a synagogue in Manchester on the holy day of Yom Kippur], and there’s a lot of fear that’s real, and I want to acknowledge that.
“At the same time I’m very proud of how we handled the interview and how we did it. But I don’t want to minimise the feelings that are going on.”
He told his X followers: “I went on the podcast and as hard as the lobby groups and media tried, they couldn’t twist anything I said. So they have resorted to lobbying for Louis’ sponsorship to be pulled in an attempt to scare others out of giving me a platform.”
The best protein powders can be a handy way to up your intake, but the sheer number of choices on the market makes picking one tricky. It’s even harder when packaging is plastered with bold claims, from building muscle and speeding recovery to boosting joint health and sharpening focus.
What can help make the purchasing decision a little bit easier is getting to grips with the terminology. Any time browsing protein powders will invariably bring you to two terms: “whey protein concentrate” and “whey protein isolate”. If you’re not sure what these mean, don’t let this put you off.
To cut through the jargon and understand what these supplements actually do in real life, I turned to the experts to weigh up their benefits and potential drawbacks. Below, Professor Javier Gonzalez, a professor of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Bath’s Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism, unpacks the nutritional need-to-knows of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate, and how these should impact your decision-making.
As The Independent’s fitness writer, I’ve tried and tested plenty of protein powders, and I’ve highlighted the ones that impressed me the most. For more guidance and my full list of tried-and-tested picks (including vegan, flavoured, and organic options) you can check out my full review of the best protein powders.
Read more: This is how much protein you need each day, according to a nutritionist
What is the difference between whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate?
Whey protein isolate has a slightly higher protein content and a lower carbohydrate content than whey protein concentrate (Getty/iStock)
Whey is the watery portion of milk that splits from curds during the cheese-making process. This is then processed to create the whey protein powder we see on shelves.
The terms “whey protein concentrate” and “whey protein isolate” refer to the level of processing the whey is subjected to. Whey protein isolate is more filtered than whey protein concentrate, delivering greater “purity”, according to Professor Javier Gonzalez, a professor of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Bath’s Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism.
“Whey protein isolate is approximately 90 per cent protein and whey protein concentrate is approximately 80 per cent protein,” he adds.
As a result, whey protein concentrate contains slightly more carbohydrates and fat per serving, while whey protein isolate tends to be the pricier option.
“It makes essentially no functional difference as long as the total amount of protein is met,” says Professor Gonzalez. “However, to meet the same amount of protein, concentrate does provide a few more calories.”
To use products from one of the UK’s leading protein brands, Myprotein, as an example, the whey protein concentrate contains 1.8g of fat, 2.7g of carbohydrates, 22g of protein and 114 calories per 30g serving. The whey protein isolate contains zero fat, 1.3g of carbohydrates, 25g of protein and 108 calories. At the time of writing, the former cost £21.99 per kilogramme, while the latter cost £28.49 per kilogramme.
Beyond elite athletes or those looking to dial in their diet, the nutritional differences will be negligible enough to overlook for the sake of saving a few pounds.
However, a bonus perk of whey protein isolate is that it contains less lactose courtesy of the filtration process, making it a solid option for people who are lactose intolerant.
Read more: Experts say including more of this in your diet can help you live a longer, healthier life – and it’s not protein or fibre
Protein works clear diet whey protein
Most clear protein powders are made with whey protein isolate. This is my pick of the bunch, delivering 20g of protein per serving alongside just 85 calories and negligible amounts of carbs, fats and sugars. It takes a bit more shaking than standard protein powders to get a smooth consistency, but what you’re left with is a refreshing juice-like drink that sits a lot lighter in the stomach.
Myprotein impact whey
In our roundup of the best protein powders, this Myprotein option is our top-rated whey protein concentrate. I enjoyed the wealth of flavour options on offer, as well as how well the shake mixed. It is also more affordable than most other protein powders on the market, making it an attractive option for those looking to build muscle on a budget.
Do you need protein powder?
Before you choose whether to buy whey protein concentrate or whey protein isolate, it’s first important to establish whether you need high protein products at all.
Protein powders are supplements, and should be treated as such – supplementing shortcomings in a balanced, nutritious diet, rather than replacing food.
“The recommended nutrient intake for protein in the UK is 0.75 grams per kilogram of body weight,” says Professor Gonzalez.
“There are some good arguments that a little higher than this – up to 1.2g/kg – may have additional benefits for muscle health and weight control. The requirements of athletes can be even higher than this – up to around 1.8g/kg.”
If you are already hitting these figures through your diet, chances are you do not need to use protein powder.
Older generations tend to require slightly more protein per day to support muscle maintenance and tissue repair. Fitness fans will also need higher intakes to fuel their exercise efforts – this is particularly true if you do strength training, with protein providing amino acids, which provide the building blocks to maintain and grow muscle, among other bodily tissues.
Looking for more recommendations? Here are the best magnesium supplements in 2026, recommended by experts
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s UK Exchange newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
The dispatch
Compass is that rare beast — a British company that is a genuine world leader in its field.
The world’s biggest contract caterer, which annually serves 5.5 billion meals in schools, colleges, workplaces, hospitals and sporting venues in more than 25 countries, is considered a well-run business.
Accordingly, its trading updates tend not to excite, routinely consisting of news on organic sales growth, margin improvements and — with workplace catering operations gradually being outsourced around the world — new business wins.
Last week’s update, though, brought something more eyebrow-raising as Compass announced that, from April 1, it will change the currency in which its shares are traded from sterling to the U.S. dollar.
The company explained that having reported in dollars since October 2023, the measure would align its share price trading currency with its reporting currency, “reducing FX volatility in the share price and simplifying the investment case for global investors.”
A large scale sample of the new twenty pound note featuring late British painter JMW Turner is seen during the launch event for the new note design at Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, south eastern England, U.K., on October 10, 2019.
Leon Neal | Afp | Getty Images
Cue hand-wringing over how Compass — which derives around three-quarters of its revenues in dollars — could be the next big U.K. company to abandon London for the New York Stock Exchange.
Protests from Compass that it would continue to pay dividends in sterling, unless shareholders elect to receive them in dollars, fell on deaf ears.
Compass was, in fact, taking advantage of a relatively recent change to the so-called “ground rules” governing membership of indices overseen by FTSE Russell, part of LSEG, the owner of the London Stock Exchange.
Announced in March 2025, and coming into force last September, it allowed for companies whose shares trade in dollars or euros “to be considered for potential inclusion to the FTSE U.K. Index Series.”
In doing so, London has shown considerably more flexibility than some other major financial centers. The New York Stock Exchange, for example, insists that all NYSE-listed shares are quoted, traded and settled exclusively in dollars.
The first company to take advantage of the rule change, in January this year, was InterContinental Hotels Group, the parent of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel brands, which derives some 80% of its revenues and operating profits in dollars. If anything, it is even more British than Compass, dating back 249 years in the country. It is also proud of having registered the U.K.’s first trademark — the famous Bass red triangle — in 1875.
‘The accounts were not acceptable’
In a sense, changing the currency in which a company’s shares are traded is the logical next step in a process that began many years ago.
When companies were allowed to publish their report and accounts in currencies other than sterling, many started to do so. The three biggest companies in the FTSE 100 by market capitalization — HSBC, AstraZeneca and Shell — all now report in dollars. Unilever, the fourth largest, reports in euros. Others in the FTSE’s top 20 reporting in dollars include the miners Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American, the oil major BP and the international bank Standard Chartered.
It is not a recent development. As long ago as 1989, the car rental company Avis Europe began accounting in the old European Currency Unit (ecu), the synthetic currency which later evolved into the euro.
The move caused some complications for the business at the time. Alun Cathcart, the chairman and chief executive, told the annual Ecu Banking Association meeting at Copenhagen in June 1991 that, when Avis Europe had first submitted its report and accounts for 1990-91, the U.K. authorities refused to accept them.
He recounted: “We were asked to produce coins and notes, and if we couldn’t, the accounts were not acceptable.
“They were prepared to accept a report in Icelandic crowns or Australian dollars, but not in ecu.”
When in April 1997, Avis Europe floated on the stock market, it became the first London-listed company to report in ecus.
At the time, though, Avis Europe was very much an outlier. Other U.K. corporate stalwarts have only made the switch relatively recently. Shell began reporting its results solely in dollars at the beginning of 1998, explicitly doing so to encourage meaningful comparisons with U.S. rivals, with BP following suit a year later.
In the same sector, BG Group, the gas exploration and production company spun out of the old British Gas and acquired by Shell in 2015, began dollar reporting in 2009.
All were beaten by Rio Tinto, which has been listed longer in London than any other of the major global mining companies. It embraced the greenback following the merger in late 1995 of the old London-listed Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) and its 49%-owned Australian associate Conzinc Riotinto of Australia (CRA).
So it is surprising that the announcement from Compass last week caused such pearl-clutching. Perhaps the bigger surprise should be that British multinationals like GSK, British American Tobacco, Rolls-Royce, Diageo, RELX and Reckitt Benckiser, despite making most of their money overseas, remain loyal to the good old pound.
Top TV picks on CNBC
Greg Stafford, Conservative MP, discusses the mounting pressure on U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Jack Meaning, U.K. chief economist at Barclays, discusses the market implications of the political pressure on Starmer, and the economic outlook after the latest Bank of England decision.
Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, discusses the Monetary Policy Committee’s latest decision to hold rates at 3.75% as global uncertainty weighs.
Need to know
UK’s latest political standoff threatens to put a ‘Damocles sword’ over the country’s bond market, Jordan Rochester, head of FICC strategy at Mizuho EMEA, said in a Monday note. The prospect of a leadership challenge could upend the policy path laid down by Starmer and his finance minister, Rachel Reeves, which poses a significant risk to gilt investors.
Jeffrey Epstein has sparked a political crisis threatening the UK government. The release of further Epstein files last week triggered a series of events that left U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer fighting for his political life, despite the fact that he never knew the late financier and sex offender.
China lashes out at the UK’s expansion of a scheme for Hong Kong residents to apply for the British National Overseas, or BNO visa, calling it “despicable” and “reprehensible.” The U.K.’s move comes after a Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison under a national security law.
Quote of the week
Labour seem to be mystified and terrified of the bond market in equal proportions.
— Kallum Pickering, chief economist, Peel Hunt
In the markets
The FTSE 100 has traded lower over the past week, closing Tuesday at 10,353.84, compared to 10,402.34 a week ago. Britain’s blue-chip index finished yesterday’s session down about 0.3% on the day.
The British pound, meanwhile, rose slightly against the dollar this week, trading at $1.3665, up from $1.3650 last Wednesday, as yields on the U.K. government’s benchmark 10-year bonds — also known as gilts — dipped over the same period, finishing Tuesday at 4.495%, compared to 4.552% a week ago.
The performance of the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index over the past year.
