Unilever’s Dutch shareholders approve London unification plan September 21, 2020 Unilever shareholders in the Netherlands have approved plans to unify its London and Dutch headquarters, ending the company’s dual structure to create a single entity. It now needs to pass a vote by its British investors, which will take place on 12 October. The move was voted on by 99.39 per cent of shares, after [...]
UK watchdog to accuse KPMG of breaches in Carillion audit September 21, 2020 The UK’s accountancy watchdog has said it has delivered an initial report of KPMG’s audit of collapsed outsourcer Carillion, indicating it found a number of breaches made by the firm. After a preliminary investigation, the Financial Reporting Council would either close the enforcement case or, if breaches have been found, deliver an initial investigation report. [...]
Nikola founder steps down after short-seller’s fraud allegations September 21, 2020 The founder of electric truck firm Nikola has stepped down from his position as executive chairman, following a spate of fraud claims against the company by short-seller Hindenburg Research. “The focus should be on the company and its world-changing mission, not me. So I made the difficult decision to approach the board and volunteer to [...]
Kin and Carta shares bounce as it raises expectations September 21, 2020 Kin and Carta has said it expects revenue and profit for the 12 months to the end of July to be better than previously forecast, helping its shares to rise almost eight per cent. In a trading update to investors this morning, the digital transformation firm said the pandemic had boosted its business as companies [...]
Informa swings to half-year loss as it targets £600m pandemic plan September 21, 2020 Informa reported a pre-tax loss of almost £740m today, as the first six months of the year were heavily impacted by the weight of the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s largest exhibition group said the pandemic had forced it to expand its cost-cutting programme to target £600m in savings, which will be achieved by laying off [...]
Leaked document trove reveals banking giants enabled money laundering September 20, 2020 Some of the world’s biggest banks have been caught enabling trillions of dollars in money laundering to flourish under their watch, thousands of leaked government documents have revealed. The FinCEN Files, named after the US Treasury’s anti-fraud agency, have been shared by Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). They claim to [...]
Coronavirus: UK cases jump by 3,899 as lockdown looms September 20, 2020 Confirmed cases of coronavirus rose by 3,899 in the UK today while authorities recorded a further 18 deaths. The figures come after cases jumped by 4,422 yesterday — the highest daily count since May — taking the country’s overall total to 394,257 since the pandemic began. The official death toll now stands at 41,777. These [...]
Judge blocks Trump’s Wechat ban on constitutional grounds September 20, 2020 A US judge has blocked the US Commerce Department’s order for app stores to remove Chinese messaging app Wechat, ahead of a ban coming into force today. The Commerce Department issued an order on Friday requiring Apple and Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app Wechat for downloads by this evening. The order also previously included [...]
EU to toughen up enforcement powers against tech giants September 20, 2020 The EU is said to be preparing new rules to strengthen its executive arm, which would allow it to force companies to break up or sell off their European operations if deemed a threat to competition. The European Commission is currently planning to propose a Digital Services Act by the end of this year, which [...]
English vineyard Nyetimber prepares for socially distant harvest September 20, 2020 English sparkling wine firm Nyetimber is making preparations for its first harvest after a fruitful summer — at a sociable distance. It will harvest grapes from 640 acres of vineyards in West Sussex, Hampshire and Kent over the next few weeks, which it said is the largest area of harvested vines of any English sparkling [...]