CITY WHISPERS: Short but sweet meeting for Abramovich-backed Evraz

Evraz, the steel company backed by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, will hold an unusual annual meeting in Berkeley Square next Friday.

The firm has been under sanctions for more than a year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and several of its directors – including Abramovich – have been targeted.

The sanctions didn’t scupper the annual shareholder meeting last year, but this time it may feel as though there is tumbleweed blowing outside.

In focus: The firm has been under sanctions for more than a year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

There are only three resolutions. Two are votes to appoint new independent directors and one gives the company the ability to call a meeting on not less than 14 days’ notice.

The sanctions mean no City auditors have been able to collate its accounts. Evraz claims to have repeatedly asked the Government to appoint beancounters, but to no avail.

THG boss Matt Moulding said last week that annual meetings can be ‘as dull as watching paint dry’.

Given the brevity of the Evraz agenda, at least voting should be quick.

Boohoo brand Warehouse rapped by ASA 

Fast fashion giant Boohoo is no stranger to controversy. 

While the company’s spat with Revolution Beauty is grabbing headlines, last week its clothing brand Warehouse was rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for using a model who looked ‘unhealthily thin’. 

The ad was banned after the watchdog deemed it ‘irresponsible’. 

Warehouse said the model was a size eight, but the watchdog said her pose made her look even slimmer. 

Can Moonpig get back into orbit?  

After a heady debut when it joined the stock market in February 2021, online greetings card and gift merchant Moonpig, whose logo features a cute porker in an astronaut helmet, has had a few crash landings.

Shares are down by almost two-thirds from its listing price of £3.50 and it recently dropped out of the FTSE 250.

It is set for more pain this week when analysts expect it to reveal a slump in annual profits.

Postal strikes and bricks-and-mortar card shops reopening after Covid won’t have helped things last year and worries about the cost-of-living crisis cast a shadow over its immediate outlook.

But look further out and the City is far more upbeat. Maybe Moonpig is gearing up to go back into orbit after all.

El Nino set be pub gossip 

Even the most avid followers of climate change news could be forgiven for not knowing every detail.

This includes the meaning of El Nino – the phenomenon of sea temp- eratures in the Pacific rising 0.5 per cent above their long-term average.

This often happens in December and the name – Spanish for little boy – is thought to have been a reference by Peruvian fishermen to the newborn baby Jesus.

If you are a pub goer you may soon hear it discussed more frequently.

Barclays analysts have warned the weather pattern could drive up the price of wheat and barley used in beer production.

Food and drink inflation is already soaring, so many people may soon be crying into their pints.