Rishi Sunak to be PM
What next + Podcast + Other stories that matter
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch. Today’s edition is later and shorter than usual as I wanted to wait until after the 2pm deadline for nominations in the Conservative leadership race so we had more clarity on who the next prime minister might be…
Well, we have that clarity. Rishi Sunak is going to be the new prime minister after Penny Mordaunt pulled out. This is Mordaunt’s statement, which she put out just before the 2pm deadline to submit her nomination, for which she needed the backing of 100 Conservative MPs…
Financial markets have largely shrugged their shoulders at the news today, a sign that Sunak becoming prime minister was widely anticipated after Liz Truss resigned, especially once Boris Johnson said he would not stand. The pound is currently down about 0.2 per cent against the dollar at $1.128. Some grim data about the state of the economy in October hasn’t helped the pound today. The latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) - which is closely watched by economists - came in well below expectations and suggests the economy has contracted this month. You can read more here.
Sunak is expected to address the UK with an on-camera statement later today. As it stands, the government’s fiscal statement is still due to go ahead next Monday. We should know more about Sunak’s plans pretty quickly.
In the meantime, a couple of interesting pieces I wanted to flag. Firstly, the Manchester Evening News has looked at what sort of prime minister Sunak will be for the north of England. Sunak is the first Hindu prime minister in the UK (and it’s Diwali today), a significant milestone for the country. He is also only the second Conservative prime minister to represent a constituency in the north of England (Richmond in Yorkshire). You can read the MEN’s piece here. Henry Mance in the Financial Times has written a profile of Sunak and how he is an “ambitious pragmatist”. You can read that here.
A quick note before we move on to the rest of today’s newsletter. There will be no Off to Lunch on Wednesday as I am away in the US for meetings at the moment, which you will hear more about soon. The news in the UK is certainly attracting a lot of interest here, even border control made a joke about it at the airport. Off to Lunch will be back on Friday…
Podcast…
Episode five of our Business Studies podcast is live. It’s the story of Gerald Ratner’s infamous speech in 1991 and what happened to him and his jewellery company afterwards. At the time of the speech, Ratners was the largest jewellery retailer in the world and the owner of H Samuel, Ernest Jones, Watches of Switzerland and more. But everything changed after he joked that one of his products was “crap”…
This really is a remarkable story. It’s not just a business story, but a people story. The episode is an honest and open discussion with Ratner about dealing with disaster, how his life changed and the lessons we should all learn from what happened. You can listen here.
Other stories that matter…
A fascinating look at Isaac Le Maire, supposedly the first ever shortseller and activist investor, and how his actions in the early 1600s were driven by revenge (Investor Amnesia)
Could music made by artificial intelligence soon be more popular than Taylor Swift and anything humans can do? AI is already producing art (see Dall-E) and music could be next (Bloomberg)
Car mechanics are battling to survive due to the rising costs associated with fixing and replacing high-tech parts on new cars (Wired)
LinkedIn has redesigned its HQ to meet flexible working patterns. It has neighbourhoods within the office to meet different needs, such as working parents who need somewhere quiet to crack on with a project and sofa areas for informal meetings. It is also flexible and adaptable so LinkedIn can change the layout as people’s requirements evolve (Harvard Business Review)
The New Yorker has done a long read on Toto Wolff and his management of the Mercedes Formula One team. It’s a story that has relevance beyond sport and lots of lessons for business. How does a once-dominant organisation adapt to being left behind by others? (New Yorker)
A round-up of insightful comments from leading chief executives in the US and around the world about how they see the global economic outlook (The Transcript)
There were plenty of significant and interesting pieces in the Sunday press this weekend, not just about the Tory leadership race either. Off to Lunch’s paying members got a round-up of the Sunday press yesterday, you can sign-up to read it and get next week’s edition here.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoy Off to Lunch then please share it with others and spread the word. If this newsletter was shared with you then please sign-up below to become a member, get Off to Lunch sent directly to your inbox, attend our forthcoming events and contribute to the work of Off to Lunch
Best
Graham