Good morning. Today we're talking about HSBC's battle against a break up, the US debt ceiling deadline and Adidas' Ye problem.

Big Stories

HSBC fights to stay in one piece

Last week HSBC shareholders voted to reject controversial proposals to shake up the London-based bank. Shareholders of Europe’s biggest bank gathered at its annual general meeting where a group of Hong Kong-based investors proposed the lender restructure by spinning off its Asian business. Under pressure from its biggest shareholder – Chinese insurer Ping An - in recent years HSBC has sold off European and North American assets in an effort to focus on its more profitable Asian arm. “The overwhelming majority of shareholders, excluding Ping An, have voted to draw a line under the debate on the structure of the bank,” a HSBC spokesperson said in a statement. HSBC has said the board had previously reviewed options for restructuring the bank and concluded that such alternatives would “materially destroy value.”

US debt warning

This week US President Joe Biden will meet with leaders from Congress to push for an increase in the debt ceiling, a controversial legal limit on how much the US government is able to borrow. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the federal government could run out of cash to pay its bills by next month if the debt ceiling remains in place, an outcome that could spark a global financial crisis. 

No Yeezy way out

Adidas remains in limbo seven months after cutting ties with Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) in October over his anti-semitic comments. With $1.3bn worth of Yeezy-branded inventory in its warehouse, the losses are also piling up - the sportswear company said it expects to take a $773m loss this year if it has to write off all the stock. While Adidas is getting closer to deciding what to do with the Yeezy stock, its CEO said it hasn’t made a choice yet because there are “so many interested parties.”    

Elsewhere...

Culture crisis: The crisis-hit CBI has drafted in a business ethics consultancy to aid a review of its culture four weeks before a meeting of its membership that will determine its future.

Pay back: The Post Office CEO will return part of his £450,000 bonus for last year, after a rebuke from the chairman of the inquiry into the Horizon computer scandal.

Travel return: The owner of British Airways has made a first quarter profit for first time since the pandemic begun thanks to strong demand for holiday travel.

0% deposit: A deposit-free mortgage specifically aimed at people currently renting has been launched by a UK building society.

Goldman payout: Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $215m to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit that alleged widespread bias against women in both pay and promotions.

Linked-out: LinkedIn will cut more than 700 jobs and shut down its China jobs app in the latest round of tech sector redundancies.

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Number Of The Day

20 million

The peak television audience of King Charles’ coronation on Saturday, according to official viewing figures – 9 million fewer than audience of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September.

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