Business news

• Saudi Arabia's PIF gets $40 billion from foreign reserves to fund overseas investments

  29-05-2020 23:57 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Saudi Arabia transferred a total of 150 billion riyals ($40 billion) from central bank foreign reserves to fund investments by sovereign wealth fund PIF in March and April, the finance minister said on Friday.Saudi Arabia's central bank foreign reserves fell in March by nearly $27 billion (22 billion pounds) month-on-month, their fastest rate in at least 20 years, to around $464.5 billion, according to Reuters calculations based on central bank data.Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a
  
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• Trump administration to study ways to protect for U.S. investors from Chinese firms

  29-05-2020 23:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Trump administration will study ways to safeguard Americans from the risks of investing in Chinese companies, U.S. president Donald Trump said on Friday, ratcheting up pressure on the firms to comply with U.S. accounting and disclosure rules.Speaking at a White House briefing to unveil measures targeting Beijing over Hong Kong, Trump said he is instructing the presidential working group on financial markets to study "differing practices of Chinese companies listed on U.S. markets with the go
  
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• Coronavirus: How safe is it to get on a plane?

  29-05-2020 23:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Many airlines are planning to resume flying, but they first need to reduce the risks of Covid-19.
  
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• Coronavirus furlough scheme to finish at end of October, says chancellor

  29-05-2020 23:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chancellor Rishi Sunak says employers must start sharing the cost of the scheme from August.
  
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• Preliminary agreement reached in Lufthansa bailout row - sources

  29-05-2020 23:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Germany and Brussels have reached a preliminary agreement in the ongoing row over the 9 billion euro (8.1 billion pounds) bailout of carrier Lufthansa , two people familiar with the matter said.The people said Lufthansa is giving up as much as four planes each in Frankfurt and Munich as well as up to 24 corresponding landing slots.One of the people said the deal, first reported by business paper Handelsblatt, would not officially conclude talks between the German government and the European Comm
  
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• Preliminary agreement reached in Lufthansa bailout row - source

  29-05-2020 23:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Germany and Brussels have reached a preliminary agreement in the ongoing row over the 9 billion euro (8.13 billion pounds) bailout of carrier Lufthansa , two people familiar with the matter said.The people said Lufthansa is giving up as much as four planes each in Frankfurt and Munich as well as up to 24 corresponding landing slots.Lufthansa declined to comment.
  
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• Lufthansa accepts tweaked demands by Brussels over state bailout

  29-05-2020 23:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lufthansa'smanagement board has accepted a more favourable set of demands from the European Commission in exchange for approval of a 9 billion euro (8.1 billion pounds) government bailout, the carrier said on Saturday, paving the way for its rescue.The agreement comes after the airline's supervisory board on Wednesday rejected an initial deal with Brussels including conditions that were significantly more painful.Lufthansa and the rest of the airline sector have been hard hit by what is expected
  
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• Edging closer to bailout, Lufthansa accepts tweaked demands by Brussels

  29-05-2020 23:07 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lufthansa'smanagement board accepted a more favourable set of demands made by the European Commission in exchange for approval of a 9 billion euro (8.13 billion pounds) government bailout, the carrier said on Saturday, paving the way for its rescue.The agreement comes after Lufthansa's supervisory board on Wednesday rejected an initial deal with Brussels including conditions that were significantly more painful.Lufthansa and the rest of the airline sector have been hard hit by what is expected t
  
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• Reporter arrested live on air

  29-05-2020 22:29 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A CNN reporter is filmed being arrested live during a broadcast of the riots in Minneapolis.
  
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• U.S. senators urge probe of TikTok on children's privacy

  29-05-2020 22:21 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Four U.S. senators, including a China hawk, urged the Federal Trade Commission on Friday to investigate allegations that the popular video app TikTok violated a consent decree protecting children's privacy.In their letter, lawmakers noted a report by the Center for Digital Democracy, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and others saying that Chinese-owned TikTok had failed to take down videos made by children under age 13 as it agreed under a 2019 consent agreement with the FTC.
  
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• Florida officials approve Walt Disney World reopening plans

  29-05-2020 21:59 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The successful reopening of its parks is a signal event for Disney and the rest of the world as governments and companies strategize how to move out of lockdown while the novel coranavirus is still a threat.The state also cleared Sea World Entertainment Incto reopen on June 10, said Halsey Beshears, secretary of Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation, in a memo sent to officials in Orange County, Florida.When the Disney parks reopen, guests and employees will be required to
  
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• US terminates relationship with WHO

  29-05-2020 21:48 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Donald Trump says the US has "terminated it's relationship" with the World Health Organisation and will redirect its funds. 
  
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• Lyft violates Washington DC sick day law during pandemic, lawsuit claims

  29-05-2020 21:36 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lyft Incwas sued on Friday by a former driver who accused the ride-sharing company of failing to provide required paid sick leave to drivers in Washington, D.C., a policy she said could fuel the spread of the coronavirus.Cassandra Osvatics, of Bowie, Maryland, accused Lyft of subjecting current and former drivers to a "Hobbesian choice" between having to risk their livelihoods by staying home when sick, or "risk their lives (and the lives of their passengers)" by working through their illnesses.
  
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• UK lenders approve almost 1.5m holidays for card and loan payments

  29-05-2020 21:35
  Requests to freeze accounts among distressed borrowers continues to grow
  
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• Sunak looks to rebuild economy with plans for big job creation scheme

  29-05-2020 21:35
  Chancellor lays out ‘lifeline’ for millions of jobs to avoid mass UK unemployment
  
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• Shadow chancellor reacts to UK’s furlough changes

  29-05-2020 21:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Labour’s shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds has welcomed the changes announced earlier by Rishi Sunak, but is concerned that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the furlough and self-employment schemes could lead to big job losses.
  
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• 'Business is restarting' - German executives fly back to China

  29-05-2020 21:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Scores of German business executives were due to return to China on Friday evening, beneficiaries of an accelerated entry procedure offered by Beijing as both countries seek to reignite their economies after months of lockdown.Under a deal brokered by the German Chamber of Commerce in China, staff from hundreds of German companies with units there can return without undergoing two weeks' quarantine if they can show a certified negative coronavirus test.Among the executives waiting to board the c
  
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• Tencent in talks to buy Warner Music stake - WSJ

  29-05-2020 20:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Warner Music is also working to line up institutions that, along with Tencent, would serve as anchor investors contributing a total of more than $1 billion toward a fundraising goal of as much as $1.8 billion, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.The listing by the world's third-largest recording label, home to artists such as Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, could potentially be the largest New York IPO so far in 2020.
  
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• Morgan Stanley plans June return of some traders to New York headquarters - CNBC

  29-05-2020 20:43 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman declined to comment on the CNBC report.CNBC's report said the Wall Street bank expects only a small number of traders and workers in other departments will make use of the back-to-office option.New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday the city was "on track" to reopen on June 8, when it will begin phase one of the governor's reopening plan.
  
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• Huawei: Egalitarian beacon of creativity or instrument of state expansion?

  29-05-2020 20:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  On the face of it, Huawei’s rise is the tale of founder Ren Zhengfei and his extraordinary lone-wolf battle with western corporate giants and Chinese state-owned behemoths. This is certainly the story Huawei would like to tell. Then there is the other version of events, in which Mr Ren is an ex-army engineer who never completely left the fold. He is said to have used his contacts to secure government loans and subsidies, to win state contracts and, according to the US, to shut down investi
  
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• Coffee maker JDE Peet's IPO wrapped up in just 72 hours - sources

  29-05-2020 20:06 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It took just three days to sell shares in JDE Peet'sas investors facing a dearth of opportunities because of the coronavirus-induced slow-down rushed to secure a dose of the world's No. 2 maker of packaged coffee.JDE Peet's , whose brands include Douwe Egberts, Peet's Coffee and Jacobs, is Europe's biggest initial public offering (IPO) this year.A total of 20 banks are expected to pocket an overall $59.8 million in fees, with global coordinators BNP Paribas, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs earning ab
  
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• Kylie Jenner: Forbes drops celebrity from billionaire list

  29-05-2020 20:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The magazine says the Kardashian family misled the press about the value of Jenner's makeup business.
  
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• Italian magistrates target Uber Italia over alleged rider exploitation - sources

  29-05-2020 20:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Italian magistrates have placed an Italian unit of Uber Technologies under special administration as part of an investigation into alleged exploitation of food delivery riders, three people familiar with the case said on Friday.Uber Italia said it had made its Uber Eats platform available to restaurants and couriers in full respect of the law and it condemned any form of illegal intermediation."We participate actively in the debate around regulation which we believe will give the food delivery s
  
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• Eighth century Jews burned cannabis as part of religious ceremony, researchers discover

  29-05-2020 19:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The world’s earliest known use of burning cannabis in a ritual ceremony has been dated to the early eighth century B.C. in Israel’s Tel Arad.Researchers from the Israel Museum and the Vocani Centre — an Israeli agricultural research centre —​ published the discovery on 28 May.
  
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• Days from launch, Fed officials eye 'Main Street' program expansion

  29-05-2020 19:55 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Fed staffers also reminded businesses interested in applying for the upcoming Main Street lending facility that they can seek financing even if they have already received some other types of loan assistance.The Main Street Lending Program is targeting medium-sized and small-sized businesses facing financial strain because of the coronavirus pandemic.The program is open to businesses with 15,000 or fewer employees and with revenue of $5 billion (4.06 billion pounds) or less, but Powell said the F
  
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• Google experiment uses augmented reality to help people social distance

  29-05-2020 19:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Google has a new, experimental augmented reality project called “Sodar”, which creates a virtual six-feet or two-metre radius ring around you that’s visible on your phone.Augmented reality is when virtual content is layered over real-world information, such as the video game Pokemon Go.
  
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• Get in line: British shoppers set for lengthy waits as high streets reopen

  29-05-2020 19:27
  Consumers urged to stay calm and carry on spending as lockdown eases
  
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• Preserving the arts should be a priority

  29-05-2020 19:25
  Theatres, galleries and museums are a vital part of the social fabric
  
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• Lloyd's of London considers part-virtual underwriting room

  29-05-2020 19:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Lloyd's of London insurance market said on Friday it is considering combining its physical underwriting floor in the City of London with some online elements.Lloyd's shut its "underwriting room" in its London tower on March 19 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and has said it will not reopen before August, marking the first closure of physical trading in the commercial insurance market's330-year history.Jennifer Rigby, Chief Operations Officer at Lloyd's, said in a video posted on YouT
  
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• Trump wants social media to be treated like traditional publishers: here's what that means

  29-05-2020 19:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  Donald Trump wants to change a law that protects social media companies, after he became infuriated that Twitter added a fact-checking label to a claim he made about postal voting fraud. Trump says that social media companies have a right-wing bias and that conservative voices are often unfairly silenced on the platform, something the companies deny. Not only is he dangling the threat of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube's privileges as "platforms" rather than "publishers", he is also threatening to
  
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• Harvey Weinstein accused of rape by four more women in new lawsuit

  29-05-2020 19:05 via uk.news.yahoo.com
  
  Four more women have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting them, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday.The disgraced producer is currently serving a 23 year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault.
  
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• Expo body formally approves one-year delay to Expo 2020 Dubai

  29-05-2020 19:05 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The World Expo awarding body said on Friday its general assemblyhad approved a one-year postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai due to difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic, and the event would now start in October 2021.Earlier this month the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) said that the required consent of two-thirds of its 170 member states to delay the Expo had been surpassed."While this situation is unprecedented, the response by the Government of the UAE and by our M
  
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• No more open-plan offices or water cooler gossip, say US coronavirus workplace guidelines

  29-05-2020 19:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Millions of white-collar workers across the US are facing the biggest changes in their careers as the country slowly edges back to normal in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In many places, the open-plan office, a staple of the American workplace since the 1960s, will become a historical curiosity under sweeping recommendations announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All 50 US states have eased some of the lockdown restrictions, paving the way for a gradual return to wo
  
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• Renovation firms' stock rises on EU 'green recovery' boost

  29-05-2020 18:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A pledge from European policy-makers to pour funds into energy-saving refurbishments of old, draughty buildings has boosted the outlook for the green construction sector as it seeks to shake off the impact of the coronavirus, fund managers said.Buildings absorb 40% of energy consumed in Europe - much of it produced by fossil fuels - threatening the European Commission's push to cut net European Union emissions to zero by 2050.It signals "a significant change in terms of the potential growth rate
  
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• Wells Fargo reveals new risk management structure

  29-05-2020 18:55 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The company said it would also search for CROs for its commercial, consumer and small business, and investment banking arms and also for its wealth management unit.Since taking over the scandal-plagued bank late last year, Chief Executive Charlie Scharf has shaken up its leadership and overhauled the bank's business lines.The bank has had to contend with a federal investigation, a dozen consent orders and an unprecedented Federal Reserve cap on its balance sheet growth as the fallout of a 2016 s
  
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• Market report: Tui takes a dive as it cancels all holiday flights planned for June

  29-05-2020 18:45 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Shares in Tui hit fresh turbulence on Friday after the tour operator cancelled all holiday flights that had been due to take place next month. The group – which lost its spot in the FTSE 100 earlier this year – fell 84.5p to 436.1p. It had previously said it hoped to resume flights from June 12, but has been forced to scrap that ambition as travel restrictions remain in place. The drop left Tui as the biggest faller on the FTSE 250, on a day of heavy falls across Europe’s main
  
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• Chancellor outlines changes to UK’s furlough scheme

  29-05-2020 18:39 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that employers will need to contribute to their furloughed workers' salaries from August. It comes after the Government has admitted that the job retention scheme cannot run "indefinitely".
  
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• Prayer book of Mary Queen of Scots goes up for sale

  29-05-2020 18:33
  Christie’s markets rare volume owned by the doomed monarch ahead of live auction
  
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• Wales makes tentative start to loosening coronavirus lockdown

  29-05-2020 18:31
  Families and friends from different households will be able to meet outside from Monday
  
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• Markets not paying attention to climate crisis, IMF says

  29-05-2020 18:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Markets not paying attention to climate crisis, IMF says. Firms should be made to disclose exposure to global heating, report suggests
  
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• Rise of the ‘credibility bookcase’ video background sees sales of instant libraries soar

  29-05-2020 18:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It has become the ultimate proof of intellectual rigour for TV presenters, experts and politicians broadcasting from their home during the lockdown: a fully-stocked bookshelf in the background, ranging from foreign literature to weighty histories. But Zoom users left without a tower of hardbacks to display on video calls are turning to a quick fix: ordering aesthetically-pleasing “instant libraries” online. Book distributors who provide titles in bulk for TV sets and hotels, rather t
  
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• Sunak lays out new measures to avoid mass UK unemployment

  29-05-2020 18:15
  Chancellor says package will be a ‘lifeline’ for millions of jobs and businesses
  
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• New self-employment grant and furlough details: What does it all mean?

  29-05-2020 18:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Businesses will need to start contributing to furloughed wages and the self-employed can apply for a new grant from August.
  
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• Businesses told to start paying furlough bill from August

  29-05-2020 18:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled plans for grants for freelancers of up to £6,570 which will also be available from that date.
  
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• Coronavirus: UK cuts furlough aid for firms but extends self-employed lifeline

  29-05-2020 18:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the furlough scheme would end in October, and also announced new grants for the self-employed.
  
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• Virus-hit self-employed to receive second payment

  29-05-2020 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Applications for a "second and final" grant of up to £6,570 will open in August, the chancellor says.
  
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• Self-employed scheme extended as Chancellor details furlough changes

  29-05-2020 18:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It comes after Boris Johnson announced a gradual easing of the lockdown in England, with friends and families able to meet in parks and gardens.
  
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• Global markets slump amid trading caution over US-China tensions

  29-05-2020 17:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The FTSE 100 closed 157.36 points lower at 6,061.43p at the end of trading on Friday.
  
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• Changes to lockdown across the UK

  29-05-2020 17:52 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  There are widespread changes to lockdown across the UK with each of the four nations taking a slightly different approach .
  
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• Two million self-employed people thrown a lifeline but gaps in support remain

  29-05-2020 17:47 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The two million self-employed people currently relying on a government grant have been saved from a cliff-edge income drop at the end of May, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised to extend the support. In August they will be able to apply for a second grant that will cover them for income lost in the intervening three months. However it will be less generous than the first round of funding and only compensate people for 70pc of their typical profits, up to a total of £6,570 for the three
  
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