Mike Ashley, the billionaire boss of sports department store chain Sports Direct International PLC (LON:SPD) is currently facing question from MPs over pay and conditions at the firm’s warehouses today.
MPs have been trying to quiz Ashley for months, with the Newcastle United FC owner originally declining the offer, before stating over the weekend that he would defend the “good name” of the company this week.
Satirical comedy show Have I Got News For You posted a predictably witty response…
Mike Ashley agrees to commons appearance. MPs delighted to get massive mug from Sports Direct.
— HaveIGotNewsForYou (@haveigotnews) June 6, 2016
Last year, the Guardian reported that warehouse workers were subjected to surveillance and rigorous searches, while it has also been revealed that 76 ambulances were called to the Shirebrook distribution centre between January 2013 and 2014.
Elsewhere in the business world, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has warned that a Brexit could have “significant economic repercussions” in her speech in Philadelphia yesterday.
Yellen was slightly more upbeat about the US economy, claiming that although the May jobs report was “concerning”, she still believes that “the positive forces supporting employment growth and higher inflation will continue to outweigh the negative ones.”
In the housing market, Halifax has said it expects house prices to continue to rise throughout the year.
This will come as welcome news to housebuilders who have been under pressure recently given the looming EU referendum and the negative impact a Brexit could have on the sector.
Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, has said that “low interest rates, increasing employment and rising real earnings continue to support housing demand.”
TV presenter and owner of Tepilo estate agents, Sarah Beeny, also added that she doesn’t expect Brexit to have much influence on the housing market, stating that “all signs point towards the market growing at a steady and sustainable pace post-June23.”
Perhaps the most bizarre story of the day comes from Japan, where McDonald’s chicken nuggets are now literally worth their weight in gold – well, one of them is anyway.
McDonald’s Japan will give away an 18-karat gold chicken nugget as part of its latest Willy Wonka-esque promotional campaign.
All you have to do is tweet this hash tag, ＃怪盗ナゲッツ, and you could win yourself the golden nugget or, more likely, an actual chicken nugget meal.