THE DAILY BRIEFING

■ BEER BOOM Calorie- counting millennials are knocking back Bud

Light, which contains a third fewer calories than most regular beers, as an alternative to regular lager. AB Inbev said the beer is its fastestgrowing lager brand in the UK. ■ STILL CONFIDENT Manufacturers expect robust growth to continue thanks to the strong global economy, says the IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index, which read 55.2 in February. Anything over 50 indicates growth.

■ WATCHDOG’S WARNING The head of water regulator Ofwat has said companies with financial structures deemed inappropriately aggressive are damaging the sector. Jonson Cox said that boards must fix the problem.

■ OIL HEAD Oil giant Shell has put one of its executives in charge of First Utility, the UK household energy supplier it bought last year. Colin Crooks was vice-president of the downstream strategy division, which works on its petrol stations.

■ JOBS HOPE Outgoing chief executive of Carphone Warehouse Seb James says employees at electronics retailer Maplin, which is nearing collapse, could be offered jobs with his company.

■ CASH SHORTAGE Steinhoff, the embattled South African owner of

Poundland, has warned that money to keep its businesses running has ‘largely dried up’ after it was hit by an accounting scandal last year.

■ FRESH BLOOD Roland Diggelmann, 50, has joined the board of

Smith and Nephew, the global medical technology business, as a nonexecutive director and member of the audit committee. ■ REGAL TAKEOVER The UK’s second-largest cinema operator Cineworld has completed its £2.6bn takeover of the US group Regal Entertainment. ■ FUNDS RISE Investors handed £9.6bn to fund manager Schroders in 2017, suggesting stock-pickers can still succeed in tough times. Assets rose 13pc to £447bn. ■ PROFITS UP Profits at Yorkshire Building Society rose 9pc to £165.8m last year as it boosted mortgage lending to a record £8.1bn. It lent cash to more than 36,000 buyers. ■ COAL SALE Miner Anglo American has sold its thermal coal operations in South Africa to Seriti Resources, for £51m.