Everyone seems to think the Conservative Party will walk the general election, but today Labour is winning on Twitter.
Ian Lavery, the shadow trade unions/trades unions (depending on how grammatically stringent you want to be) is trending big time on Twitter.
Presumably there is some sort of Labour Party shindig going on today.
Ian Lavery fires up the Labour faithful with a string of recently announced policies: 'Not bad for the last 10 days is it?' pic.twitter.com/OxTGPtzGMq
— Ian Silvera (@ianjsilvera) April 20, 2017
Lavery is up against some serious competition in the Trending stakes.
Top 5:
2: #ncvoconf
4: Argentina
5: Ian Lavery +6
— Trends5UK (@Trends5UK) April 20, 2017
I’m expecting #explainamanifestobadly to start trending any day now.
Bill Gates urges Britain to maintain overseas aid
Bill Gates has got a new pair of spectacles.
OK, he’s still got the same haircut he had back in the 70s, but I am in no position to carp.
He’s weighed in on the foreign aid debate, urging Britain to stick to its international foreign aid target.
Some have been quick to tell him to mind his own business.
The UK pays more foreign aid than any other country per person, Bill Gates should stay out of it https://t.co/p7ZpP7eDBF
— David Jones (@DavidJo52951945) April 20, 2017
Come to think of it, he was quite successful at minding his own business.
Bill Gates appeals to #Britain to maintain foreign aid https://t.co/idYgzhfMEY
Think he needs to mind his own business
These days the “business” he minds is one that is trying to wipe out tropical diseases, especially malaria, so when flag waving tub-thumpers take umbrage at him giving the UK policy advice and urge him to “mind his own business”, that’s kind of what he is doing.
Soft soap from Unilever
While the posturing ahead of the general election gets underway, Anglo-Dutch fast moving consumer goods giant Unilever plc (LON:ULVR) has half an eye on another possible vote: a shareholder vote on its independence.
Having escaped the unwanted attentions of promise-breaking plastic cheese-making US rival Kraft Heinz a while back, it is going on a bit of a charm offensive.
We remain investment & innovation led – 2/3rd of savings reinvested in our business, behind our brands @Dove @BabyDoveUKI pic.twitter.com/Y9g4isddAx
— Unilever (@Unilever) April 20, 2017
Boasting about ploughing two-thirds of cost savings into its business and its brands – BabyDove? Have the Supremes’ lawyers been in touch, do you think? – is all very well, but cranking up the quarterly dividend by 12% is likely to impress shareholders more.
According to ETX Capital’s Neil Wilson, the quarterly sales numbers were also “pretty solid”, which is more than can be said for most soaps these days. When did liquid soap become the norm?
(We ask all the important questions here at Proactive Investors).
Debenhams' new strategy leaves market underwhelmed
We’ve got famed retail analyst Nick Bubb on the line to the Proactive Investors studio later today, and I am looking forward to his reaction to the strategy update from Debenhams PLC (LON:DEBS).
Debenhams unveils turnaround strategy https://t.co/giJTWzflzY
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 20, 2017
Market reaction, to say the least, has been lukewarm.
Debenhams strategy update fails to inspire - by @GarryWhite - now on CS: Live https://t.co/60B9u1atce pic.twitter.com/6AmmCAcpNx
— Charles Stanley (@_CharlesStanley) April 20, 2017
Customer reaction does not seem much better.
Debenhams @Highcross turn the heating down and I might consider shopping there again
— Helen (@maeday05) April 20, 2017
Seeing Debenhams is in financial trouble is no surprise, the stores are awful imitations of John Lewis.
— Alex Murray (@AlexRJMurray) April 20, 2017
Steve Hawkes may have a point, however, if the government wants to save the high street.
Government has repeatedly refused to address business rates issue - today both M&S and Debenhams announce store closures
— steve hawkes (@steve_hawkes) April 20, 2017