China hands out new fines to tech giants in anti-monopoly crackdown November 20, 2021 Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have been fined for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. The companies failed to report 43 acquisitions that occurred up to eight years ago under rules on “operating concentration”, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation. [...]
British Business Bank’s oversight of Greensill was ‘woefully inadequate’ with £335m of taxpayers’ money at risk November 20, 2021 A new report has warned that up to £335m of taxpayers’ money is at risk due to failures by the British Business Bank to properly scrutinise bust lender Greensill Capital. The Public Accounts Committee of MPs found that the bank, which oversaw the billions lent to businesses during the pandemic in loans backed by the [...]
Andrew Marr to leave BBC as he pledges to ‘get voice back’ on new LBC show November 19, 2021 BBC stalwart Andrew Marr has announced he is leaving the organisation to present new programmes on LBC and Classic FM “with no filter”. After hosting the corporation’s flagship political show, The Andrew Marr Show, for 16 years, Marr is set to head a new opinion-led LBC radio show. The deal with Global will also see [...]
Union seeks urgent meeting with Unilever for ‘cast iron guarantee’ of factory workers’ futures November 19, 2021 Unite the Union has called for urgent talks with Unilever after it announced the sale of its tea business to a private equity firm. Unilever confirmed the £3.79bn sale of its tea division – including household names such as PG Tips and Lipton – to CVC yesterday following an auction process. Unite pointed to CVC’s [...]
EU: ‘change in tone’ from UK but post-Brexit trade deal is ‘linked’ to solving Northern Ireland Protocol November 19, 2021 European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic has said the post-Brexit trade deal is “intrinsically linked” to settling the Protocol. Sefcovic was speaking at the Brexit Institute at Dublin City University, immediately before negotiations with Lord David Frost. Sefcovic said: “Settling the divorce has always been and remains a precondition for our future relationship. “It was [...]
Founder of tech firm where David Cameron chaired advisory board steps down after sexual assault claims November 19, 2021 The founder of a tech group at which former prime minister David Cameron was an adviser has stepped down amid allegations of sexual harassment. Zia Chishti, who founded Afiniti, was accused this week of pressuring a former employee into having sex with him on a business trip, when it was also alleged he beat her. [...]
A very merry Christmas: Pubs hope for a boost from late-notice office parties November 19, 2021 Pubs are readying for a wave of late bookings as office workers look for an excuse to put their Christmas party hats on. Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny told CityA.M. that his pubs had seen a “real surge” in bookings and enquiries over the last two to three weeks, mainly from the City and West [...]
Checking out: Ryanair confirms plans to delist from London Stock Exchange November 19, 2021 Ryanair is leaving the London Stock Exchange amid rising admission costs in a move that could be seen as a post-Brexit snub.
MP register update shows Boris Johnson used Heathrow lounge and Geoffrey Cox pocketed another £54k November 19, 2021 The latest update to the register of MPs’ interests shows that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was given use of the Windsor Suite at Heathrow Airport for three people on October 7, before he flew to Marbella on holiday. The Windsor Suite is a VIP lounge at Heathrow and has been used by royals including the [...]
Dyson opens virtual reality store that mirrors physical demos experiences November 19, 2021 Dyson has opened a virtual reality store to allow customers to try out its products before choosing to buy them. The new Dyson Demo VR experience, accessible via virtual reality headsets, sees users able to examine and test virtual versions of the firm’s hair Corrale straighteners, Supersonic hairdryer or Airwrap styler on strands of virtual [...]