Business news

• Lofty aspirations for Facebook groups risk linking wrong people

  20-09-2020 23:35 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It was half-time, February 2020, and the San Francisco 49ers were tied 10-10 with the Kansas City Chiefs; the biggest prize in American football was still all to play for. While the teams regrouped, Facebook was making its own big play. In its first-ever Super Bowl advert, the globe-spanning social network showed off a medley of Facebook groups relating to the word “rock”: extreme climbers in Utah, replica Stonehenge builders and a Rocky Balboa fan club gatecrashed by Sylvester Stall
  
  Read more

• ‘Tsunami’ of job losses in pubs if lockdown rules are tightened

  20-09-2020 23:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Pub and restaurant bosses have hit out at “dizzyingly complex” rules on socialising and urged ministers to maintain the latest guidelines or risk “a tsunami” of job losses. Industry chiefs have grown frustrated with what they described as “mixed messages” from the Government regarding advice on socialising over recent weeks. Last week, Boris Johnson warned that the UK could be heading for a second nationwide lockdown, a move which could force venues to shut do
  
  Read more

• Sunak to extend business support loans as Covid-19 spread worsens

  20-09-2020 23:00
  Government weighs whether more aggressive measures needed to control virus in UK
  
  Read more

• UK banks enabled ‘flow of dirty money’, leaked secret files claim

  20-09-2020 22:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  British banks have been accused of enabling fraudsters, criminals and money-launderers, following a leak of secret files. A cache of more than 2,000 suspicious activity reports (SARs) – those filed to the authorities by banks who suspect wrongdoing – reportedly contains allegations that a number of major UK lenders allowed dirty money to flow through their accounts. Over 100 global organisations reported on the so-called FinCEN Files, which were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared w
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 'FinCEN' documents reportedly show banks moved illicit funds - BuzzFeed, ICIJ

  20-09-2020 22:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The media reports were based on leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and other financial firms with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen).The SARs, which the reports said numbered more than 2,100, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media organizations.
  
  Read more

• Oil refiners worldwide struggle with weak demand, inventory glut

  20-09-2020 22:09 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Global oil refiners reeling from months of lackluster demand and an abundance of inventories are cutting fuel production into the autumn because the recovery in demand from the impact of coronavirus has stalled, according to executives, refinery workers and industry analysts.Refiners cut output by as much as 35% in spring as coronavirus lockdowns destroyed the need for travel.As lockdowns eased, refiners increased output slowly through late August.
  
  Read more

• European Central Bank to review bond-buying tool launched in response to pandemic - FT

  20-09-2020 22:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The questions for the review would be to consider how long the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) should continue and whether some of its extra flexibility should be transferred to the ECB's longer running asset-purchase schemes, the newspaper added, citing the members.The ECB launched this scheme in March and then later increased its size to 1.35 trillion euros ($1.60 trillion) in June.
  
  Read more

• Coronavirus: 'Critical point' in pandemic as UK infection rate heading in wrong direction, says chief medical officer

  20-09-2020 21:15 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has warned the rate of COVID-19 infections in the UK is "heading in the wrong direction".
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• WeChat: Judge blocks US attempts to ban downloads of Chinese app

  20-09-2020 21:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The ban on the Chinese-owned messaging and payments apps was to come in on Sunday night.
  
  Read more

• Fincen files: How British companies use banks to money launder

  20-09-2020 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The office in Potters Bar has registered more than 100 companies that are named in the Fincen files – a leak of suspicious activity reports filed by banks.
  
  Read more

• FinCEN Files: HSBC moved Ponzi scheme millions despite warning

  20-09-2020 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The transfers took place after officials were told of the $80m fraud, the secret files reveal.
  
  Read more

• Norway extends Norwegian Air loan guarantees by two months

  20-09-2020 18:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  In August, Sweden rejected a state credit guarantee for the budget airline.
  
  Read more

• Manufacturers scale back plans for investment in wake of Covid

  20-09-2020 18:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Manufacturers are slashing investment as they fight to survive the impact of coronavirus and growing Brexit worries, echoing the collapse seen in the wake of the great financial crisis. Industrial companies’ spending plans dropped to a balance of minus 32pc in the third quarter, down from minus 26pc in the previous period, research from trade group MakeUK and BDO revealed. Illustrating how investment is plunging, pre-Covid investment intentions in the sector, which makes up one-tenth of th
  
  Read more

• Rolls-Royce in talks to tap investors for £2.5bn coronavirus cash boost

  20-09-2020 18:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Rolls-Royce also plans to raise more than £2bn through selling divisions of the group, including its ITP Aero turbine-making business in Spain.
  
  Read more

• Judge halts WeChat download ban in US-China tech battle

  20-09-2020 18:08 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A US judge on Sunday blocked the government's ban on WeChat downloads, hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing.
  
  Read more

• Morrisons reinstates door marshals to prepare for Covid-19 second wave

  20-09-2020 18:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Morrisons reinstates door marshals to prepare for Covid-19 second wave. Possible lockdown restrictions spurs store to get tough on social distancing, shopper numbers and face masks
  
  Read more

• Labour takes aim at BA and British Gas over job cuts

  20-09-2020 18:00
  Deputy leader Angela Rayner says government should step in if ‘fire and re-hire’ policies not dropped
  
  Read more

• Wheaton Precious Metals to list in London

  20-09-2020 17:59 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  One of the world’s largest precious metals companies is set to list in London, marking potentially the largest mining listing since Glencore’s blockbuster float in 2011. Wheaton Precious Metals, valued at C$30bn (£18bn) on the Toronto stock exchange, will announce plans tomorrow for a secondary listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The business, which also has a dual listing in New York, funds miners’ projects in return for rights over metals, providing
  
  Read more

• Societe Generale gears up for Lyxor asset management sale - sources

  20-09-2020 17:59 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Societe Generaleis gearing up to launch the sale of its asset management arm Lyxor as the French lender seeks to shore up its finances after two consecutive quarterly losses, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.Lyxor had about 132 billion euros ($156 billion) of assets under management at the end of June, with exchanged-traded funds (ETF) representing almost half of its operations.It will be aimed at bidders in Europe and United States, including French asset manager Amundiand Germ
  
  Read more

• Tesla faces scrutiny from investor adviser over director pay

  20-09-2020 17:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Tesla faces opposition from powerful investor adviser ISS over director pay at the electric car company’s annual meeting this week, where it will reveal latest technological advances. ISS has flagged up concerns over share options granted to directors, which it said ranged from $1.2m (£930,000) to $7.3m. It is recommending that investors vote against ratifying director pay, citing “ongoing concerns regarding equity award magnitude and a lack of performance vesting criteria&rdqu
  
  Read more

• Tech tester Calnex to raise £22.5m through Aim listing

  20-09-2020 17:22 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A technology testing company to corporate giants BT and Facebook is poised to raise £22.5m through a listing on London’s junior market. Calnex plans to float on Aim at the beginning of October, with an oversubscribed placing valuing the company at £42m on admission. The business, based in West Lothian, Scotland, designs and manufactures testing equipment for telecoms companies looking to check the performance of their networks. It hopes to take advantage of the rollout of 5G, t
  
  Read more

• About a quarter of the UK's top earners are migrants, data shows

  20-09-2020 17:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  About a quarter of the UK's top earners are migrants, data shows. Lead author says research helps negate idea migrants are a drain on the economy
  
  Read more

• New British Business Bank boss pledges help for levelling up ambitions

  20-09-2020 17:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The new boss of the British Business Bank (BBB) has vowed to help the Prime Minister’s levelling up agenda by “doubling down” on its regional funding drive. Catherine Lewis La Torre, who became chief executive of the government-owned development bank this month, said she wanted to take a “very focused approach to addressing” funding gaps across the country. “We know there are perennial market failures in access to finance across the UK – that’s a m
  
  Read more

• Liz Truss to rip up rules on assessing trade deals

  20-09-2020 16:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Liz Truss is ready to rip up the Trade Department’s rule books on assessing deals in a bid to improve how it measures the economic benefits of its post-Brexit “Global Britain” project. The Trade Secretary has drafted in experts to overhaul the department’s models. Tony Venables, an economics professor at Oxford University, will lead a team including Graham Gudgin of Cambridge University, Swati Dhingra of the London School of Economics, Michael Plummer of John Hopkins Univ
  
  Read more

• Norway extends loan guarantees for Norwegian Air

  20-09-2020 16:43 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Norway's government has extended loan guarantees for the country's airlines, including Norwegian Air , by two months until the end of 2020, the Industry Ministry said on Sunday.The government has changed the terms of the state guarantee scheme, the industry ministry said in a statement, without disclosing specifics."The changes we now propose are designed for the scheme to help more airlines than those who have already used it," Industry Minister Iselin Nyboe said in the statement.
  
  Read more

• EU looks to bolster powers to take on big tech

  20-09-2020 16:38 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Breton told the FT: “There is a feeling from end users of these platforms that they are too big to care.”
  
  Read more

• Migrants responsible for UK’s growth of top incomes and taxes

  20-09-2020 15:45
  Study suggests highest paid roles in economy have been created for specialist foreign workers
  
  Read more

• U.S. judge halts Trump administration's order to remove WeChat from app stores

  20-09-2020 15:23 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Trump administration from requiring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit "have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor."On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department had issued a order citing
  
  Read more

• U.S. judge halts Commerce Department order to remove WeChat from app stores

  20-09-2020 15:23 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Commerce Department from requiring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google to remove Tencent Holding's WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in California said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit "have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor."
  
  Read more

• U.S. judge blocks Commerce Department order to remove WeChat from app stores

  20-09-2020 15:23 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Commerce Department from requiring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit "have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor."
  
  Read more

• Trump gives 'blessing' to TikTok tie-up with Oracle

  20-09-2020 15:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Donald Trump has given his “blessing” to a deal that will allow social media app TikTok to continue to operate in the US. The US president had previously ordered that the Chinese video-sharing app would be banned over national security concerns unless parent ByteDance sold out of its US interests. ByteDance is set to agree to a partnership with cloud computing giant Oracle and Walmart to assuage the fears of the Trump administration. The US government suggested that TikTok could be f
  
  Read more

• TikTok close to salvation after Donald Trump gives 'blessing' to tie-up with Oracle

  20-09-2020 15:18 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  TikTok's future in the United States looked close to secure after a new rescue deal received both the "blessing" of President Donald Trump and the cautious praise of China's state media. The Chinese viral video app confirmed on Sunday that it hoped to hand over its 100m American users to a new US-headquarted company called TikTok Global, entrusting their data and a large ownership stake to Californian cloud provider Oracle. Mr Trump said that he had "approve[d] the deal in concept", extolling it
  
  Read more

• Instagram at 10: how sharing photos has entertained us, upset us – and changed our sense of self

  20-09-2020 15:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Instagram at 10: how sharing photos has entertained us, upset us – and changed our sense of self. From its early days as a whimsical, arthouse space through more recent waves of influencers and pool inflatables, the world’s favourite photo-sharing app has rewired society for good and bad
  
  Read more

• More long-term thinking is needed to protect the UK economy

  20-09-2020 14:58 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  More long-term thinking is needed to protect the UK economy. Stop-start policies are harming UK plc and the fight against Covid-19. Rishi Sunak needs to plan ahead now
  
  Read more

• Italy sees GDP down 9% this year, rising more than 5% in 2021 - sources

  20-09-2020 14:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Italy expects its coronavirus-hit economy to grow by more than 5% next year after shrinking 9% in 2020, two government sources told Reuters on Sunday.In April, the government of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the centre-left PD party forecast a fall in gross domestic product of 8% this year and a 2021 rebound of 4.7%.The new forecasts, along with public finance projections, will be published next week, providing the framework for the 2021 budget which must be presented to the Europea
  
  Read more

• EU climate plan sets stage for an explosive rise in carbon prices

  20-09-2020 14:28 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Commodity traders are betting that Europe’s carbon futures will soon catapult higher as Brussels drains the glut of carbon allowances on the market. Prices are likely to smash the all-time record of €30 a tonne within months, profoundly reshaping the EU’s energy architecture The killer detail in the European Commission’s 140-page climate impact report for 2030 released last week is a "one-off" rebasing of its cap-and-trade Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to dry up excess pe
  
  Read more

• Illegal evictions up 50 per cent since pandemic began as housing experts warn of ‘massive increase’ in coming months

  20-09-2020 13:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  As hundreds of thousands oftenants fall into arrears and new rules mean landlords must give six months notice to evict, campaigners warn some property owners are taking law into their own hands
  
  Read more

• German public sector unions prepare walkouts over pay

  20-09-2020 13:49 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  German public sector workers unions are preparing to take industrial action including walkouts next week after making no progress in a second round of wage talks with the government, they said on Sunday.The Verdi and dbb unions want a 4.8% pay rise for 2.3 million public sector workers in federal government and municipalities in Europe's biggest economy."Employers have blocked themselves into a corner ... so warning strikes are inevitable," said Verdi chairman Frank Werneke.
  
  Read more

• Sore loser? Lakers star LeBron James claims MVP votes "pis---d me off"

  20-09-2020 13:47 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Giannis Antetokounmpo has now won back-to-back MVP awards.
  
  Read more

• Former NBA player gets banned in CBA for "offensive" posts against Chinese women

  20-09-2020 13:28 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Ty Lawson once played for NBA teams such as the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.
  
  Read more

• Suburbs become rental hotspots as working from home becomes new normal

  20-09-2020 13:26 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Cambridge saw the biggest annual rise, with searches surging 76%, while Chessington in Kingston upon Thames is London’s new prime renting real estate.
  
  Read more

• Hancock: UK faces tipping point in Covid pandemic

  20-09-2020 13:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned the government will not hesitate to take "more stringent action" should the public continue flout lockdown restrictions.
  
  Read more

• Young Boston Celtics step-up to take Game 3 against Miami Heat

  20-09-2020 13:08 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with an impressive 26 points on 11 for 17 shooting.
  
  Read more

• Macron challenger presses France to save tyre plant

  20-09-2020 13:05 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  France should invest in a Bridgestonetyre plant threatened with closure, the head of its regional government who plans to run against President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 said on Sunday, ahead of a ministerial visit to the site.The call by Xavier Bertrand, a former minister who now leads the Hauts-de-France region, adds pressure on the government to prevent an outright closure of the facility, as the coronavirus pandemic batters confidence.The Japanese tyre maker's announcement on Wednesday that it
  
  Read more

• Coronavirus: Rolls-Royce considers tapping investors for £2.5bn

  20-09-2020 13:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The jet engine-maker is reportedly in talks with sovereign wealth funds to raise money.
  
  Read more

• Facebook tells Irish court that probe threatens its EU operations - newspaper

  20-09-2020 13:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Facebookhas told Ireland's High Court it cannot see how its services could operate in the European Union if regulators freeze its data transfer mechanism, the Sunday Business Post reported, citing court documents seen by the paper.The U.S. social media giant last week said that the Irish Data Protection Commission, its lead EU regulator, had made a preliminary decision that the mechanism it uses to transfer data from the EU to the United States "cannot in practice be used".Facebook requested and
  
  Read more

• TikTok: Trump backs Oracle deal, delays app store ban

  20-09-2020 12:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It comes after months of intense negotiations between ByteDance and the Trump administration over concerns the app posed a national security threat.
  
  Read more

• Super Mario 3D All-Stars review: Three extraordinary adventures in one perfunctory package

  20-09-2020 12:17 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  As Nintendo's famous plumber reaches his 35th birthday, the Japanese gaming giant has dusted off three of his defining achievements in one celebratory package. Or at least, it should be celebratory. As you may have heard by now, Super Mario 3D All Stars serves up Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy with relatively little pomp and circumstance. The games remain largely unchanged from their original guises, with high-definition resolution and each game's soundtrack the only
  
  Read more

• Gore-Tex: Inventor of waterproof fabric Robert Gore dies aged 83

  20-09-2020 11:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Robert W. Gore's invention has been used in space suits, guitar strings and waterproof jackets.
  
  Read more

• US airlines facing ‘Thelma and Louise’ moment as government aid set to expire

  20-09-2020 11:00 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  US airlines facing ‘Thelma and Louise’ moment as government aid set to expire. Funding used to protect workers will expire on 30 September, and airlines have already announced huge layoffs
  
  Read more

Follow @Business_UKnews on Twitter!