Business news

• Business group cautions U.S. on 'reshoring' too much China supply

  19-05-2020 23:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday warned the U.S. government against overdoing a major effort underway to rip U.S. supply chains out of China in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, saying such moves could harm the economy."Protecting the resiliency of our supply chain doesn't have to mean reshoring all production in the United States," Chamber Chief Executive Thomas Donohue told an online conference.President Donald Trump has long pledged to bring manufacturing back from overseas, but th
  
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• Exclusive: Third Point founder Daniel Loeb takes over as Munib Islam leaves firm

  19-05-2020 23:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb is taking back the reins as sole chief investment officer at his hedge fund Third Point LLC, less than one year after he appointed long-time colleague Munib Islam to be his co-chief investment officer, according to a letter the firm sent its investors.Loeb, who is about to celebrate his 25th anniversary at Third Point, told investors about his decision in a letter on Tuesday.Third Point has built a reputation as an influential activist shareholder by pushing for
  
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• Facebook launches shopping feature as pandemic pushes businesses online

  19-05-2020 23:25 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Facebook launches shopping feature as pandemic pushes businesses onlineBusinesses will be able to sell to customers through Shops, potentially posing a challenge to commerce rivals such as Amazon
  
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• Johnson & Johnson to stop selling talc-based baby powder in U.S., Canada

  19-05-2020 23:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  J&J faces more than 16,000 lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products, including Johnson’s Baby Powder, caused their cancer.J&J has consistently defended the safety of its talc products and said it remains confident in their safety.The lawsuits allege that the company’s talc products have been contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen.
  
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• Johnson & Johnson to stop selling talc-based baby powder in U.S. and Canada

  19-05-2020 23:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  J&J faces more than 16,000 lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products, including Johnson's Baby Powder, caused their cancer.The lawsuits allege that the company's talc products have been contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen.J&J said it "remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder," citing "decades of scientific studies."
  
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• Exclusive: Chief executive of Premier League's coronavirus test provider agreed £48k penalty and was barred from making deceptive health claims

  19-05-2020 22:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The man in charge of the Premier League’s £4 million Covid-19 testing programme agreed to a suspended $58,623.42 [£47,830] penalty to settle a civil court action in the United States in which he was accused of making “deceptive health claims” for a medical app his company marketed. Avi Lasarow, 43, a South African-born, British-based businessman, who is the chief executive of Prenetics, the Premier League’s test provider, settled the civil claim with a US gove
  
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• Visa extends work-from-home for majority of employees through 2020

  19-05-2020 22:39 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The world's largest payments network is looking at bringing employees back to offices on a site-by-site basis in stages, said Kelly in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday.Rival firm American Express Co said on Monday that a majority of their employees can continue working remotely for the rest of the year, while payments technology company Square Inc offered most of its workforce the option to work from home permanently.
  
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• US economy risks 'permanent damage' from long lockdowns, Mnuchin warns

  19-05-2020 21:42 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  US economy risks 'permanent damage' from long lockdowns, Mnuchin warns
  
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• U.S. economy won't reclaim all of its lost ground until after 2021 - CBO

  19-05-2020 21:33 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. economy should bounce back sharply in the third quarter after its deep coronavirus-related collapse, but it will not fully retake its lost ground until sometime after next year, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday. In an updated economic forecast, the CBO projected the economy would contract at a 37.7% annual rate in the second quarter, but expand at 21.5% pace in the July-September period.
  
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• Treasury finally closes bonus loophole to firms receiving Covid-19 loans

  19-05-2020 21:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Treasury finally closes bonus loophole to firms receiving Covid-19 loans. State lending should promote corporate survival, not underwrite executive pay packets
  
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• Ford requires visitors to wear masks but unclear if Trump will comply

  19-05-2020 21:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Ford Motor Coon Tuesday reiterated its policy that all visitors to its manufacturing plants must wear a mask but said the White House will ultimately decide if U.S. President Donald Trump will comply during a planned visit.Trump plans to visit a Ford plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, onThursday that is being used to manufacture ventilators.Ford issued a revised statement late on Tuesday that signaled it may allow Trump to violate a policy it spent weeks locking in to allow it to operate its plants s
  
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• Volkswagen pays 9 million euros to end proceedings against chairman, CEO

  19-05-2020 21:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Volkswagen AGhas agreed to pay 9 million euros (8 million pounds) in a deal with a German court to end legal proceedings against its chairman and chief executive, who were accused of holding back market-moving information on rigged emissions tests.The court in Braunschweig was hearing charges of stock market manipulation against CEO Herbert Diess, as well as non-executive Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch.VW in September 2015 admitted using illegal software to cheat U.S. diesel engine tests, batterin
  
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• Facebook takes on Amazon with push into online shopping

  19-05-2020 21:13 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Facebook has pushed further into online shopping by letting businesses set up their own storefronts on the social network as well as its family of apps such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Users will be able to browse online catalogues, contact businesses, and in some cases complete transactions within Facebook and Instagram, the company announced on Tuesday. The Facebook Shops service represents an attempt both to use the social network’s vast quantities of user data to recommend products they
  
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• U.S. energy secretary criticized by advocacy groups for 'redlining' comment

  19-05-2020 21:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Liberal groups criticized U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Tuesday for a comment they interpreted as comparing the reluctance of some banks to finance fossil fuels projects with discrimination against minorities.The environmental advocacy group League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and consumer rights group Public Citizen both called for Brouillette to resign over comments in an interview with Axios on Monday.
  
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• Sunak warns UK economy could suffer permanent ‘scarring’

  19-05-2020 21:04
  Chancellor dashes hopes of ‘immediate bounce back’ as jobless claims hit record
  
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• Quarantine measures may lead to shortage of fruit pickers in Britain

  19-05-2020 21:03 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Quarantine measures may lead to shortage of fruit pickers in BritainFood producers urge ministers to rethink immigration bill and coronavirus curbs* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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• Government to call on Britons to take their holidays at home

  19-05-2020 21:02
  Staycations urged to help British tourist industry recover from effects of shutdown
  
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• Government to call on Britons to holiday at home

  19-05-2020 21:02
  Staycations urged to help domestic tourist industry recover from effects of shutdown
  
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• Elderly home turns to wearables for contact tracing, sidestepping Apple-Google limits

  19-05-2020 20:46 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  High-tech wristbands worn by The Legacy at Town Square's 35 workers and 49 residents expedited contact tracing, the otherwise pain-staking process of interviewing patients to determine who crossed paths with them.Facilities with quick contact tracing following infections in the coming months will be better positioned to ward off outbreaks and stay open, according to epidemiologists."It makes you ready to make the best operational decisions at a moment’s notice," said Joseph Walter, executi
  
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• ‘Radical measures’ required: how Covid-19 has hit UK labour market

  19-05-2020 20:34
  Crisis exacerbates inequalities with hiring falling sharply and unemployment set to soar
  
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• Google refuses to build AI to extract oil and distances itself from the industry

  19-05-2020 20:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Google has pledged not to build bespoke artificial intelligence algorithms for oil and gas companies to extract oil, the first of the major cloud computing providers to do so. The technology giant has several energy customers that use Google Cloud to host and process their data so they can run their IT systems out of their own datacentres, but it will not build custom machine learning algorithms to help the companies find and extract oil. It will, however, offer customised artificial intelligenc
  
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• Google refuses to build AI for oil and gas companies

  19-05-2020 20:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Google has pledged not to build bespoke artificial intelligence algorithms for oil and gas companies, the first of the major cloud computing providers to do so. The technology giant has several energy customers that use Google Cloud to host and process their data so they can run their IT systems out of their own datacentres, but it will not build custom machine learning algorithms to help the companies find and extract oil. It will, however, offer customised artificial intelligence to renewable
  
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• Chancellor plays down hopes of quick economic recovery

  19-05-2020 20:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chancellor plays down hopes of quick economic recovery. Rishi Sunak warns UK facing recession ‘the likes of which we haven’t seen’ due to Covid-19 crisis
  
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• Moss Bros bidder told it cannot walk away from deal in light of Covid-19

  19-05-2020 20:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The owner of Crew Clothing has been told it cannot pull out of its proposed £22.6m takeover deal for Moss Bros despite the coronavirus pandemic forcing non-essential retailers to close stores. Last month Brigadier Acquisition Company said it was seeking a ruling from the Takeover Panel in order to invoke a condition to its offer for the suit hire company and to lapse the offer. The attempt to retract the offer was “on account of the impact the current health crisis on Moss Bros and r
  
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• Questor: income investors should head to Japan, the land of the non-falling dividend

  19-05-2020 20:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Where can income investors go now that dividends are being cut across the board? Here is one answer: go to Japan. The contrast with the situation in Britain could not be starker as far as dividends are concerned. While London-listed firms have been forecast to cut their divis in aggregate by as much as 50pc this year because of coronavirus, Japanese firms will on average trim just a couple of per cent from theirs, stock market analysts say. How is this possible? “Japanese companies have bu
  
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• Rishi Sunak hints debt binge will not last forever

  19-05-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Britain is in the middle of an extraordinary recession, deliberately induced to try to suppress the spread of the coronavirus. That makes its genesis and its effects entirely unprecedented. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the man in charge of trying to reduce the damage wrought by this radical public health policy, gave peers in the House of Lords an update on his efforts. Here are four crucial things we learned. No more furlough extensions The wages of eight million private sec
  
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• Facebook to launch new shopping feature across apps

  19-05-2020 19:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The move to build up e-commerce offerings follows Facebook's launch last year of limited shopping options on photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp.Facebook Shops will tie at least some of those efforts together, enabling businesses to set up a single online store accessible via both Facebook and Instagram.
  
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• Compass raises £2bn in biggest UK fundraising of Covid-19 crisis

  19-05-2020 19:52 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Compass raises £2bn in biggest UK fundraising of Covid-19 crisis. World’s largest catering firm will use proceeds to reduce debt and shore up finances
  
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• Britain’s vision for EU trade deal prompts claims of cherry picking

  19-05-2020 19:37
  Chief negotiator David Frost hits out at Brussels but Michel Barnier says UK must be more realistic
  
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• JPMorgan directors reelected, former Exxon exec overcomes opposition

  19-05-2020 19:35 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  JPMorgan Chase & Coshareholders voted to reelect all of the bank's board members on Tuesday, including a former Exxon Mobil CorpCEO who drew criticism from environmental groups and New York City's comptroller and pension system leader.In April, JPMorgan said it will name a new independent director to replace former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond, 81, "by end of summer 2020."The vote showed investors were willing to go along with JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon's assertions that the bank
  
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• Why has China slapped tariffs on Australian barley and what can Australia do about it?

  19-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Why has China slapped tariffs on Australian barley and what can Australia do about it?. Australia’s government flags going to the WTO as the trade dispute threatens a $500m blow to the economy
  
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• Dungeons & Dragons in lockdown: as my universe contracts, this game expands whole worlds

  19-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Dungeons & Dragons in lockdown: as my universe contracts, this game expands whole worlds. Playing the game online, I discovered D&D; gave me even more space to be imaginative, connect with friends and escape into fantasy
  
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• Coalition eyes Australian 'economic sovereignty' with boost to manufacturing

  19-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Coalition eyes Australian 'economic sovereignty' with boost to manufacturing. Karen Andrews signals role for Covid-19 Commission plus more natural gas, faster project approvals and lower company tax
  
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• Australian wool producers 'particularly exposed' if trade tensions with China rise

  19-05-2020 19:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Australian wool producers 'particularly exposed' if trade tensions with China rise. Experts say barley tariff will send message in China that Australia not a ‘friendly’ country and fallout could hit several industries
  
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• Microsoft boss praises ‘digital first responders’ in coronavirus crisis

  19-05-2020 19:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Satya Nadella said the technology industry had played a key role in the global response to Covid-19.
  
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• Facebook launches Shops as new online retail space for small businesses

  19-05-2020 19:21 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The social network says it wants to help those affected by the economic downturn during coronavirus lockdown.
  
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• UK businesses urge government to seal post-Brexit EU free trade deal

  19-05-2020 19:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK businesses urge government to seal post-Brexit EU free trade deal. Government sets out plan to cut tariffs, with many duties to be cut to zero and farming and car industry to be protected
  
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• Spain ready to approve new credit lines to help companies cope with COVID-19

  19-05-2020 19:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Spain said on Tuesday it would approve new liquidity lifelines to help companies and households weather the coronavirus crisis after releasing another tranche of the 100 billion euros (89 billion pounds) of state-backed credit announced in March."If companies and the productive sector need more liquidity, the government will obviously provide the liquidity mechanisms that will keep them alive," government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero said following a cabinet meeting.
  
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• ‘Highly sophisticated’ cyber attack exposes details of 9m easyJet passengers

  19-05-2020 19:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Luton-based carrier said this includes more than 2,000 customers who also had their credit card details stolen.
  
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• FTSE 100 falters after hopes for economies replaced with caution

  19-05-2020 18:58 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The FTSE 100 closed the day down 46.36 points, or 0.8%, at 6,002.23 on Tuesday, following a 4.3% jump a day earlier.
  
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• Businesses blame Brussels rules for blocking emergency funding

  19-05-2020 18:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Desperate companies are being blocked from accessing emergency support by Brussels state aid rules, according to business groups demanding more help from the Government. Business leaders, lawyers and turnaround experts have warned that European Union restrictions designed to stop countries bailing out failing firms are blocking rescues and putting thousands of jobs at risk. Access to the Government’s loan guarantee and startup schemes have been severely hindered by state aid regulations cr
  
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• UK dividend cuts and deferrals top £30bn since Covid-19 crisis

  19-05-2020 18:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK dividend cuts and deferrals top £30bn since Covid-19 crisis. HSBC and BT among firms to make largest reductions to weather pandemic, data shows
  
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• John Lewis could quarantine clothes as stores reopen

  19-05-2020 18:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Trying on clothes before you buy has long been a key feature of the great British shopping experience. But when it reopens next month, John Lewis is considering a quarantine for items tested out by shoppers as part of plans to stop the spread of Covid-19. The department chain could put garments into temporary storage if customers try them out but do not make a purchase under proposals being considered ahead of reopening. Alternatively, professional garment steamers typically used to iron returne
  
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• Easyjet passengers warned to be wary of fake refund emails as data breach hits nine million

  19-05-2020 18:44 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  EasyJet passengers have been urged to be wary of emails offering flight refunds, after it revealed that the personal details of nine million customers had been stolen. The airline said yesterday it had been hit with a “highly sophisticated” cyber attack that exposed the email addresses and travel details of millions, along with the credit card details of just over 2,000 customers. It became aware of the incident in January and reported it to the authorities, but did not tell the 2,00
  
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• Lufthansa expects hundreds of aircraft to be grounded until 2022

  19-05-2020 18:36 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lufthansa is bracing for hundreds of aircraft to remain grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic well into 2022 and that further job cuts at its maintenance and catering businesses were inevitable.In a letter to staff seen by Reuters, the German airline's executive board said that 300 aircraft would remain grounded in 2021 and that 200 aircraft would be grounded in 2022."In the summer of 2023, when we will hopefully will have put this crisis behind us, we will still likely have a fleet that is 1
  
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• Trump might 'dig' coal but does coronavirus spell the end for the industry?

  19-05-2020 18:32 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  President Trump has made no secret of his love for “beautiful clean coal” but the industry is in steep decline, according to new federal figures, with renewables on track to produce more electricity in the US for the first time ever this year.In April 2020, the coal industry shed 6,000 jobs, a drop of 12.0% in one month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The entire US coal industry now employs 43,800 workers, around a tenth of the number of people who work at McDonal
  
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• GM says it is 'almost there' on million-mile electric vehicle battery

  19-05-2020 18:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The automaker also is working on next-generation batteries even more advanced than the new Ultium battery that it unveiled in March, according to GM Executive Vice President Doug Parks, who was speaking at an online investor conference.Reuters reported exclusively in early May that Tesla, in partnership with Chinese battery maker CATL, plans to introduce its own million-mile battery later this year or early next.
  
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• Sunak warns 'more hardship to come' as jobs market faces 'severe recession'

  19-05-2020 18:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Britain faces “a severe recession the likes of which we haven’t seen” as the coronavirus and the lockdown ravage the economy, Rishi Sunak has warned. The Chancellor said “no doubt there will be more hardship to come” as he cautioned workers that “although we have put unprecedented mitigating actions in place, I certainly can't protect every job and every business”. He was speaking after jobs numbers revealed employment likely slumped by around 450,000 in
  
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• No more drinking at the bar or salt and pepper shakers when pubs reopen

  19-05-2020 18:20 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Salt and pepper shakers will be removed from tables and drinkers banned from propping up the bar under plans aimed at allowing hospitality firms to reopen from July 4. The hotel buffet could also be a thing of the past, while tips will become digital to minimise the handling of notes which could harbour Covid-19. Revealed in a 75-page document submitted to ministers, the proposals from trade body UKHospitality offer a first glimpse into a new socially distanced world of eating and drinking when
  
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• Government must give more details on workers’ protection – business committee

  19-05-2020 18:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The committee chairman has written to Business Secretary Alok Sharma asking for his plans to tackle businesses profiteering with price gouging.
  
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