Barclays raise concerns over Bramson’s shareholding with Bank of England and US Fed March 31, 2019 Barclays has raised concerns with the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve over activist investor Ed Bramson’s shareholding. The US-based investor has ensured his holding is hedged by time-limited derivatives, limiting his exposure to a fall in the company’s share price as he pushes for a seat on the board next month. Read more: [...]
Hedge funds take out £86m bets against British Gas owner Centrica March 31, 2019 Hedge funds are taking out record bets against British Gas owner Centrica as the energy sector faces challenges from Ofgem’s price cap. The cap, which increases from tomorrow, has put pressure on suppliers’ margins. Read more: UK must decarbonise heating, Centrica boss says Disclosed so-called short positions in the Big Six energy supplier have risen [...]
Zuckerberg: Governments must help Facebook and other web giants regulate harmful content March 31, 2019 Mark Zuckerberg has called on regulators and governments to take a “more active role” in controlling content on the internet. Writing in the Washington Post, Facebook’s founder said firms like his could not be expected to shoulder all the responsibility for moderating harmful content. Read more: Access to Facebook Live to be restricted in wake [...]
Jeff Bezos investigator accuses Saudi government of hacking Amazon chief’s phone March 31, 2019 An investigator hired by Jeff Bezos has said Saudi Arabia hacked the Amazon chief's phone and gleaned private data from it. Bezos, one of the world's richest men who owns the Washington Post newspaper, hired Gavin de Becker to find out how his private messages regarding an extra-marital affair had been leaked to US tabloid the National [...]
Babcock could appoint Rolls-Royce director Cairnie as first woman chair within weeks March 31, 2019 Defence giant Babcock is planning to appoint a female director at Rolls-Royce as its next chair, according to reports. Ruth Cairnie, a non-executive director on the engine maker’s board and former executive at oil giant Shell, could be named the contractor’s chair within weeks. Read more: Defence giant Babcock's chairman to step down after decade [...]
Philip Day steps back from race to buy collapsed high street shoe store LK Bennett March 31, 2019 Philip Day, the billionaire owner of retailer Edinburgh Woolen Mill, has removed himself from the competition to buy collapsed shoe seller LK Bennett. The retail tycoon had lodged a bid with administrators at EY, joining Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley, as well as Chinese fashion entrepreneur Rebecca Feng and former LK Bennett chief executive Darren [...]
Labour’s John McDonnell reveals plans to turn post offices into branches of nationalised bank March 31, 2019 Labour would transform post offices into branches of a new, nationalised bank, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has announced today. Labour said the policy would halt the decline of the high street and face-to-face banking by bringing footfall back into town centres. According to consumer watchdog Which, the UK has lost nearly two-thirds of its bank and [...]
Theresa May should ‘look closely’ at customs union Brexit if MPs back it, says cabinet minister March 31, 2019 Theresa May would need to look "very closely" at a customs union Brexit if parliament voted for it, a cabinet minister has said. Parliament is due to hold another round of indicative votes on Monday after MPs rejected the Prime Minister's withdrawal agreement for a third time on Friday. At the last showing of indicative [...]
Last minutes of doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet emerge March 30, 2019 Details of the last minutes of the Ethiopian Airline jet that crashed earlier this month killing all 157 people on board have emerged. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Boeing 737 Max began to run into difficulties shortly after take off on the 10 March flight between Addis Ababa and Nairobi [...]
Dominic Grieve blames UKIP entryism for constituency no-confidence vote March 30, 2019 Former attorney general and committed remain supporter Dominic Grieve has blamed an ex-UKIP parliamentary candidate for orchestrating a vote of no confidence against him in his constituency party. Grieve lost a no-confidence vote held by his local party in Beaconsfield by 182 to 131 votes and now faces deselection. Grieve told Sky News “there is [...]