Give Covid graduates the chance to succeed June 25, 2020 This is a year like no other for graduates. Those leaving university this summer face new and unprecedented challenges in making their way in the world. Recruitment freezes have been imposed, job offers have been rescinded, and whole sectors of the economy are facing existential challenges. So where does that leave our university leavers? We [...]
DEBATE: Was it the right decision to end the daily government press briefings? June 24, 2020 Was it the right decision to end the daily government press briefings? Eliot Wilson, co-founder of Pivot Point and a former House of Commons official, says YES. The coronavirus pandemic changed so much. One thing it brought was daily Downing Street press conferences, at which a senior minister would take questions, flanked by advisers or [...]
FCA proposes assessment of pension value for money rules June 24, 2020 The financial watchdog has proposed a tightening of rules to check whether members of workplace pension schemes are getting value for money. In a consultation paper released this morning, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it would bring forward the proposals to make it easier for Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) and Governance Advisory Arrangements (GAAs) to [...]
Former Wirecard boss Markus Braun released from custody, says lawyer June 24, 2020 Former Wirecard chief executive Markus Braun, who was arrested on suspicion of falsifying the company’s accounts and market manipulation, has been released from custody. Braun was released after paying his bail of €5m (£4.5m), his lawyer told Reuters. A German news agency had earlier reported that the former boss of the payments company had been [...]
Brazil suspends Whatsapp’s payments service days after launch June 24, 2020 Whatsapp’s payments service has been suspended only a week after it launched in its first territory, as Brazil’s central bank said it was not given enough time to assess the new technology. The central bank said it was taking the decision to “preserve an adequate competitive environment” within the mobile payments sector, and to ensure [...]
Accounting watchdog investigates London Capital & Finance audits June 24, 2020 The accounting watchdog has launched three investigations into audits of collapsed mini-bond seller London Capital & Finance (LCF). The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will investigate audits of the investment firm carried out by Oliver Clive & Co., PwC, and EY. LCF went into administration in January 2019, leaving 11,600 investors facing losses of up to [...]
Life after lockdown: Returning to the classroom won’t be straightforward for our vulnerable children June 24, 2020 2020 is not the year anyone expected. The coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of millions: people have lost jobs, been furloughed or taken pay cuts, and purse strings have tightened as a result. The impact has been especially hard on this country’s disadvantaged families — in particular, children’s education. It is a challenge I [...]
Is entrepreneurship set to boom post-pandemic? June 23, 2020 Ronel Lehmann backs the next generation to find their own way in an increasingly confusing world When we’re growing up, we plan for a world that has changed by the time we arrive in it. This has always been a problem: how do you look ahead when the world is moving so fast? It’s never [...]
Big tech vs the market: what you need to know June 23, 2020 | City Talk Big tech has led the global market recovery in the wake of Covid-19. Can the dominance of the FAMAGs continue? On 8 June the S&P 500 of US stocks recovered all their Covid-19 losses for 2020. The so-called FAMAGs (Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet (Google’s parent company)) led that recovery. Even before the pandemic, [...]
Wirecard: Missing $2.1 bn likely does not exist June 22, 2020 Wirecard AG said on Monday that there was a likelihood that the missing amount of €1.9bn euros ($2.13bn or £1.72bn) from its accounts simply did not exist. The scandal-hit German payments firm said it was also withdrawing its full-year 2019 and first quarter 2020 financial results. “The Management Board of Wirecard assesses on the basis [...]
