UK total retail sales fell 4% year on year in the April as wet spring weather deterred shoppers, despite businesses offering hefty discounts in an attempt to entice customers into stores, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
Universal Music Group could become the latest company to face an embarrassing shareholder revolt this AGM season, after an influential advisory firm urged investors to reject an “excessive” €139m (£119m) payout for its chief executive, Lucian Grainge. Glass Lewis said it had “severe reservations” about supporting the Dutch-American music company’s pay decisions, which included a €92m share-based bonus for its British-born CEO that easily made up for a 51% cut in his salary, to €7.5m. – Guardian
BP reported a worse-than-expected fall in first-quarter profit on the back of lower oil and gas prices, an outage at a US refinery and “significantly weaker” fuels margins as it also started a $1.75bn share buyback.