Executives from German automaker VW have said that they saw no evidence of forced labor upon visiting the company’s plant in Xinjiang. No offense but after the whole ‘let’s install devices to cheat on emissions tests to sell more cars’ saga, we have some trust issues.

The lowdown

• ✂️ GM to cut hundreds of jobs and streamline its operations.

• 🛒 UK grocery price inflation hits a record high of 17.1%.

• 🇨🇭 Regulator says Credit Suisse ‘seriously breached’ obligations in Greensill case.

Featured stories

Occidental Anadarko deal revisited

Oil company Occidental acquired Anadarko in 2019 in a deal valued at $55 billion, which included the assumption of Anadarko's debt.

Oil major Chevron was the first to lob a bid for Anadarko. Occidental then showed up and a bidding war commenced, driving up the price of the acquisition. Occidental prevailed when Berkshire Hathaway made a $10 billion preferred stock investment into Occidental, giving it the finance needed to close the deal.

Shareholders were unhappy with the amount of debt that was taken on to finance the deal. Activists sought to oust CEO Vicki Hollub for her perceived recklessness.

Occidental ended 2022 as the best performer in the S&P 500, and this week Hollub announced the company’s most profitable year ever, with enough cash generated to reduce the debt from the Anadarko acquisition by roughly half and increase the dividend by 38%. But was it much Hollub about nothing from activists or just blind luck? ($).

Event spotlight: Pigment's FP&A Week

For finance leaders looking to adapt their playbook for today’s ever-changing landscape, look no further than Pigment's FP&A Week: a series of virtual events with some of the top voices in Finance.

Sit down with over 15 speakers from the likes of Netflix, Figma and Tableau for a week of unique insights and inspiring discussions: from people, to processes, and product – and the rise of the CFO.

Register for FP&A Week for free here. (Sponsored)

The content we're consuming today

• FT on YouTube: The business of Formula 1: inside McLaren HQ.

• WSJ: At Marc Benioff’s Salesforce, It’s One Big Family—Until Trouble Hits ($).

• Bloomberg: The SPAC Fad Is Ending in a Pile of Bankruptcies and Fire Sales ($).

Off-balance sheet items

• Scorcese and DiCaprio acquired the rights to the book before it was even released, so you know it’s going to be good. Read an excerpt from the just released ‘The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder’ here ($).

The bottom line