THE DAILY BRIEFING

SOLO SLUMP The boss of Disney Bob iger may oust Kathleen Kennedy, president of subsidiary Lucasfilm, which made Solo: A Star Wars Story, after the film’s poor boxoffice performance.

DRUG BOOST Tagrisso, a key Astrazeneca lung cancer drug, could generate £4.4bn in annual sales by 2023, nearly double previous estimates, according to bank UBS, which hiked Astra’s price target to 5600p, from 4550p.

TECH HELP The Department for Business, innovation and Skills has launched the Business Basics Fund, an £8m programme to help small companies use new technologies.

TOP MOVES A shake-up of management has been launched at pensions firm Phoenix Group as it takes over running a £2bn insurance book from Standard Life Aberdeen.

POWER FOCUS US group General Electric is spinning off its healthcare division and selling its stake in oil field services firm Baker hughes as it plans to focus on its power, aviation and renewable energy businesses.

SALES FALL Department store group John Lewis suffered a 2.2pc sales fall in the week to June 23.

SHOE FITS Fashion chain Karen Millen has signed a deal with pentland Brands to sell its shoes overseas.

SPENDING UP consumer spending power increased 2.1pc in May compared to the same time last year, according to Asda’s income tracker.

NEW CHAIR Equipment rental firm Ashtead has hired the former chief executive of software group Sage, paul Walker, 61, as chairman.

OIL DEAL Africa-focused palm oil firm Dekel Oil is buying 58.5pc of cashew nut firm pearlside holdings.

DIAMOND DAYS Miner Anglo-American has sold £434m worth of diamonds during the fifth sales cycle of the year.

HEDGE BETS US investment companies paamco prisma and the Employees Retirement System of Texas are joining forces to invest in other hedge funds which are just starting out.

RISK ROLE insurance firm Thomas Miller has hired industry veteran David Smith – formerly enterprise risk chief at retirement firm Just Group – as group risk and compliance director.