Fast fashion firms Asos and Missguided call for action on UK worker exploitation July 20, 2020 Fast fashion retailers Asos and Missguided have called for urgent government action over the exploitation at UK clothing factories, after rival e-commerce firm Boohoo was embroiled in a scandal over the treatment of workers in Leicester. In a letter to home secretary Priti Patel, a group of retailers, MPs and investors, including Allianz Global Investors, [...]
Finance chiefs expect slow business recovery from coronavirus pandemic July 20, 2020 Finance bosses do not expect business to bounce back quickly after the coronavirus pandemic, with many forecasting that demand will not recover until the second half of next year. Research by Deloitte found that 49 per cent of chief financial officers do not believe that demand for their business will return to pre-pandemic levels until [...]
Dividend recovery ‘could take six years’ after record-breaking fall July 20, 2020 Shareholder payouts could take up to six years to recover to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, the latest research has shown, after companies were forced to slash dividends during the crisis. Dividends were down £22bn to £16.1bn in the second quarter of the year, a record fall of 57.2 per cent year on year. Underlying dividends, excluding [...]
The City View: Jo Tanner on the Downing Street spin machine July 20, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS In today’s episode, Andy Silvester is joined by Jo Tanner, Chief Executive of iNHouse Communications, one of the capital’s most effective campaigning operations. Andy and Jo talk about the government’s communications strategy around Covid-19, whether ‘work from home’ is all it’s cracked up to be and what certainty Downing [...]
Tiktok shelves London HQ plans as tensions mount July 19, 2020 Bytedance, the Chinese owner of video app Tiktok, has had its plans to create a new international headquarters in London thrown into doubt by a growing diplomatic crisis and fears it could be blocked in the US. Tiktok has been in discussions with the UK government over the past few months to locate its headquarters [...]
Grant Thornton faces legal action over Patisserie Valerie audit July 19, 2020 Grant Thornton is reportedly facing legal action over its auditing of cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, which collapsed last year following allegations of suspected fraud. Liquidator FRP Advisory has hired law firm Mishcon de Reya to explore a claim, potentially worth tens of millions of pounds, against Grant Thornton, which audited the cake shop’s accounts for [...]
Coronavirus: EU leaders struggle to make progress on €750bn fund plan July 19, 2020 EU leaders are still trying to reach an agreement on a proposed €750bn (£680bn) coronavirus emergency fund, with the acrimonious talks yielding little on the first two days of the Brussels summit. Talks are deadlocked on the summit’s third day, with the more fiscally conservative EU countries – such as the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and [...]
UK looks at ditching Hong Kong extradition treaty July 19, 2020 The UK is prepared to tear up its Hong Kong extradition treaty after the imposition of new security laws by Beijing, according to foreign secretary Dominic Raab. Raab said he would outline the UK’s further plan to deal with Hong Kong tomorrow, but said the UK had enough international clout to get rid of the [...]
Smiles all round at Happy Valley after record fixture July 19, 2020 Racing may have been a different proposition in much of the world this year, with good news at a premium during the Covid-19 pandemic. But in Hong Kong, there’s plenty around – with the finale of this season’s racing at Happy Valley seeing a turnover record for a fixture at the inner city track. Read [...]
Boris Johnson: UK will not need another national coronavirus lockdown July 19, 2020 Boris Johnson has said the UK will not need another nationwide coronavirus lockdown, likening the measure to a “nuclear deterrent”. The Prime Minister said today that does not want another complete lockdown, adding “nor do I think we will be in that position again”. Johnson announced on Friday that local authorities would be given powers [...]
