Boohoo’s profits surged during the pandemic – do the fast fashion giants really need social responsibility? May 13, 2021 Last week, Boohoo reported a surge in profits despite damaging revelations about its supply chain and poor treatment of workers. As the world of retail pivots towards social responsibility, the bumper results could be seen as consumers rejecting the importance of brands’ embracing purpose. While Boohoo was able to reap in revenue, it is still [...]
Booking.com CEO: Business travel will never recover to pre-Covid levels May 13, 2021 The lucrative business travel market, which sees suited and booted executives fly between London, New York, Frankfurt and beyond and bolsters bottom lines at airlines and hotels globally, will never fully recover from Covid.
PIRC sides with activist investor in Exxon boardroom battle May 12, 2021 Governance advisor Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) has recommended Exxon Mobil shareholders vote in favour of four hedge fund board nominees, adding further fuel to the battle for Exxon’s boardroom. Exxon and activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 are battling over board seats and Exxon’s strategy to meet demands for lower-carbon energy. The fund has nominated four board [...]
Evening Read: Investors sit on record levels of dry powder, says Silicon Valley Bank’s UK boss May 12, 2021 In recent months we have glimpsed potential opportunities for the post-Covid economy: the huge acceleration in technology adoption, both corporate and personal. And that’s good news for London’s technology and innovation space. But to get startups’ ambitious growth plans off the ground and put the pandemic recovery into motion, sources of capital are needed: financing [...]
Amazon wins €250m in EU back tax battle May 12, 2021 In a fight over back taxes, Amazon will not have to pay €250m to the city of Luxembourg, Europe’s second-highest court heard today. The General Court said that the online retail giant had not received a selective advantage. “The Commission did not prove to the requisite legal standard that there was an undue reduction of [...]
Catering group Compass sounds optimistic note despite pandemic eating into sales and profit May 12, 2021 Catering company Compass Group suffered a sharp drop in revenue and profit in the first half of the year but sounded a positive note on its future prospects this morning. Compass’ revenue dropped 32.4 per cent from £12.48bn to £8.44bn in the six months ended 31 March due to the impact of coronavirus restrictions on [...]
Creating a new Corporate Auditor profession May 12, 2021 ICAS has issued its Corporate Auditor report, setting out how Sir Donald Brydon’s recommendation to establish a Corporate Auditor profession could be implemented in practice. ICAS notes with interest the intention of BEIS, as proposed in its consultation paper ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ (March 2021), to take forward the recommendation by Sir [...]
Low-wage employers including Coca-Cola and Hilton hiked CEO pay during pandemic May 11, 2021 Over half of the 100 companies in the S&P 500 Index that pay out the lowest median wages increased CEO salaries last year, according to a report published today by the Institute for Policy Studies. The left-leaning policy group said 51 companies identified boosted chief executive pay by adjusting the rules for assessing executive performance [...]
Lex Greensill apologises for Greensill Capital collapse as he faces ‘fraudster’ allegations May 11, 2021 Lex Greensill has apologised for the collapse of Greensill Capital and has blamed it on the firm’s insurance provider Tokio Marine pulling its coverage in March this year. Speaking to a Westminster committee today, Greensill said that “I bear complete responsibility for the collapse of Greensill Capital”, while also apologising to its clients and the [...]
City Corporation agrees let for the world’s very first ‘MONOPOLY LIFESIZED’ attraction May 11, 2021 The City of London Corporation has today (11 May) announced it will be hosting the world’s first ‘MONOPOLY LIFESIZED’ attraction within its building at 213-215 Tottenham Court Road. Hasbro, Inc and Gamepath (a new division of international theatre producer Selladoor Worldwide) have released the initial details of the ‘MONOPOLY LIFESIZED’ experience – which is due to open in London on 14 August 2021. The [...]