Peacocks and Jaeger owner files for administration, putting 24,000 jobs at risk October 9, 2020 Around 24,000 jobs are on the line as Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EMW) group, the owner of retailers Peacocks and Jaeger, has filed a notice to appoint administrators. Bosses wrote to employees this morning warning them that lockdowns across the country had battered sales, forcing the company to review the future of its business. Steve Simpson, [...]
Government to crack down on pre-pack administration conflicts October 8, 2020 Pre-pack administrations involving people connected to the insolvent company are set to come under greater scrutiny in a bid to make the process more transparent. Pre-pack sales where connected parties, such as the insolvent company’s shareholders or directors, are involved in the process will be required by law to undergo independent scrutiny, the government announced [...]
Cambridge Analytica did not misuse data to influence Brexit, watchdog rules October 7, 2020 Disgraced political consultancy Cambridge Analytica did not misuse data to try and influence the outcome of the 2016 Brexit referendum, a major probe has concluded. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has spent three years investigating the use of personal data in political campaigning by the now defunct SCL Elections — the parent company of Cambridge [...]
Be brave Mr Sunak… and keep spending October 7, 2020 Since Rishi Sunak stepped into the suddenly vacant 11 Downing Street back in February, he’s proved a fleet-footed chancellor, earning praise for the speed at which he launched the furlough programme, provided cash support to struggling companies, and stood behind the economy as the pandemic took hold. He quickly realised that extraordinary times required extraordinary [...]
Fed’s Jay Powell: Too much stimulus is better than too little October 6, 2020 It is better for US policymakers to do too much to try to help the economy than to do too little, US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said in some of his most pointed comments about stimulus to date. Powell told the National Association for Business Economics that the recovery from the coronavirus lockdowns of [...]
High rents force three in four hospitality businesses to consider restructure or insolvency October 5, 2020 73% of London-based hospitality and leisure operators are considering a restructure or insolvency as a result of the economic impact of the ongoing pandemic. Advisory firm Cedar Dean, which surveyed 230 hospitality and leisure businesses with around 2,000 venues across the UK, found that rental obligations are currently the most pressing issue. 86% of London-based [...]
EY employee warned of Wirecard fraud four years before German firm’s collapse September 29, 2020 EY was reportedly warned four years ago by one of its own employees that senior Wirecard employees had potentially committed fraud and one had attempted to bribe an auditor. The auditor will face additional pressure following the revelation that a member of staff reported suspicious activity at the German payment firm four years before it [...]
Steer clear of Defi? September 25, 2020 I personally am steering clear of the yield farming space completely until it settles down into something more sustainable. You have been warned. These are not my words but the words of an influential voice in the crypto world, Vitalik Buterin himself, broadcast to the world in a recent tweet. Whether you share his view [...]
Cambridge Analytica boss hit with seven-year directorship ban September 24, 2020 The former boss of disgraced consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica has been banned from running limited companies for seven years. Alexander Nix, who led Cambridge Analytica until its collapse in 2018, will be disqualified from acting as a director or becoming involved – directly or indirectly – in the promotion, formation or management of a company. [...]
Luke Johnson: 1m employees on furlough face redundancy September 23, 2020 Former Pizza Express boss Luke Johnson has warned that at least a million jobs could be lost in the hospitality industry as the government tightens restrictions. Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the restaurant mogul predicted that if the government cut all subsidies, “of the 3m [on furlough] at least a million, maybe more, will be made [...]