Loan ‘irregularities’ led to collapse of Prax Lindsey oil refinery

Administrator was appointed after parent company State Oil was given new information about £783m loan

The Prax Lindsey oil refinery collapsed after “material irregularities” were discovered in a complex £783m loan facility that funded the wider group, it has emerged.

The refinery on the Humber estuary in northern England – one of just five left in the UK, – was suddenly plunged into administration in late June, prompting calls from furious government ministers for an investigation into Winston Soosaipillai, Prax Group’s oil tycoon owner.

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Airbus workers vote to strike for 10 days next month in pay dispute

Unite says stoppages at Broughton and Filton factories could disrupt production of wings and delay deliveries

Thousands of Airbus workers in the UK are to go on strike for 10 days in September in a row over pay that threatens to disrupt the production of aircraft wings.

A series of two-day strikes are planned to begin on 2 September and continue throughout the month at the company’s factories in Broughton, north Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, according to Unite.

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Shein mulls China return for Hong Kong listing after London IPO stalls

Fast-fashion retailer considered £50bn float in London but has not received backing from Chinese authorities

The online fast-fashion retailer Shein is understood to be considering moving its base back to China from Singapore in a move expected to pave the way for a Hong Kong listing rather than a UK one.

The business, which was founded in China and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022, had been considering a £50bn float in London after failing to win approval from regulators in the US for a New York flotation.

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UK metals firms threaten to sue government over tariffs on steel imports from Asia

Companies send letter to business secretary complaining new rules were imposed with 24 hours’ notice

UK metals companies have threatened to take legal action against the government over tariffs on raw steel imports from Asia which they claim have caused a “tsunami” of problems for the industry.

Earlier this summer, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, reduced the amount of raw steel from Vietnam and South Korea that can be imported tariff-free in a move designed to protect UK raw steel makers, which face competition from cheap imports.

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Soho House members’ club to go private in $2.7bn deal as Ashton Kutcher joins board

MCR Hotels to lead new equity investors in members’ club chain after four years on New York stock exchange

The members’ club chain Soho House has agreed a $2.7bn (£2bn) deal to take it private after a tricky four years listed on the New York stock exchange.

New York-based MCR Hotels will lead new equity investors in the chain of clubs as part of a deal that will involve it ditching its stock market listing.

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Swatch pulls ‘slanted eye’ ad after backlash in China

Calls for boycott after Swiss watchmaker becomes latest western brand accused of racist imagery

The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and removed an advert featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted accusations of racism and calls for a boycott on Chinese social media.

Internet users heavily criticised the “slanted eye” gesture made by the Asian male model as racist.

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Young Australians may endure worse lives than their parents, ‘worried’ productivity chief warns

Productivity Commission chair urges ‘growth mindset’ to solve looming problems for future generations ahead of economic summit, while reiterating call to limit AI regulation

Young Australians may endure worse lives than their parents, the nation’s productivity chief has warned.

Danielle Wood, chair of the productivity commission, said young people are facing a future of lower wages, increased costs and the impacts of climate breakdown without major government action to tackle major economic challenges.

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Trump hiked tariffs on US imports. Now he’s looking at exports – sparking fears of ‘dangerous precedent’

Experts warn of destabilized trading relations after White House strikes deal with Nvidia to take a 15% cut of certain AI chip sales to Chinese companies

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the White House bearing an unusual gift. “This box was made in California,” Cook reassured his audience in the Oval Office this month, as he took off the lid.

Inside was a glass plaque, engraved for its recipient, and a slab for the plaque to sit on. “The base was made in Utah, and is 24-karat gold,” said Cook.

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PM deflects question about literal red carpet for Putin and says Trump ‘an advocate for peace’ in Ukraine – as it happened

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Tim Wilson sidesteps question about whether Coalition will dump support for net zero

Finally, Wilson was asked about internal pressure within the Coalition to abandon support for any policies that might help Australia achieve net zero and to address the climate crisis.

We should make sure that we have net zero outages, net zero price increases, and net zero emissions, because you need to have things in a position of balance of policy to make sure that we can grow the future of the Australian economy, because that’s also the basis of social licence to cut emissions as well. If you don’t have net zero outages and net zero price increases, public support for net zero emissions reduction is also going to fray.

I’m going to work with my colleagues to make sure we drive them forward as part of a policy package to take to the next election. I’m absolutely committed to making sure we have simplification, to make it easier to employ more Australians, and to raise standards of living, and improve the number of Australians [getting jobs] and well-paid jobs.

We’ve got big challenges coming ahead around [things] like artificial intelligence and making sure we make workplaces more productive, but also building out the capacity for small businesses to be successful as part of a dynamic economy.

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Iceland says it will pay customers £1 if they report a shoplifter

Grocery chain employees will verify the incident and the reward will be adding to the shopper’s loyalty card

The grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.

The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use.

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Kingsmill owner to buy Hovis in £75m deal to create UK’s biggest bread brand

Jobs expected to go if competition watchdog approves takeover by Associated British Foods

The owner of Kingsmill has agreed to buy its rival Hovis in a deal worth an estimated £75m that could create the UK’s biggest bread brand if the competition regulator approves it, but also put jobs at risk.

The deal comes after decades of decline in the popularity of the packaged sliced loaf, with Hovis, owned by the private equity company Endless, and its rival Kingsmill – part of Associated British Foods (ABF) – struggling to get out of the red for some years.

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Online fashion retailer Shein’s UK sales leap by a third to more than £2bn

Profits rise 56% to £38.2m in 2024 as company overtakes British rival Boohoo and closes in on Asos

Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by about a third to more than £2bn last year, overtaking the British rival Boohoo and closing in on Asos.

The company, which had been considering a £50bn float on the London Stock Exchange but is expected to list in Hong Kong, said profits rose 56% to £38.2m last year on which it paid £9.6m corporation tax, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week.

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Australia news live: Israel’s deputy foreign affairs minister says Sydney Harbour Bridge marchers ‘useful idiots’

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Attorney general says Australia complying with international obligations regarding defence exports to Israel

Michelle Rowland says she is confident that Australia is meeting its obligations regarding defence approvals for exports of parts for F-35 fighter jets bound for Israel.

Certainly Israel is a democracy in the region. We maintain relations, obviously at that level. But as the prime minister himself has clearly said, these were difficult conversations that he needed to have with the government of Israel. We stand by the statements that we’ve made in terms of recognition – it has long been the policy of this government to have a two-state solution.

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Drop in new properties for rent is steepest since Covid, says Rics

Monthly report from surveyors’ body sees ‘firmly negative trend’ that is expected to push up rental prices

The flow of new rental properties coming on to the market has fallen at the fastest rate since the first Covid lockdown five years ago, according to research by Britain’s property surveyors.

Although the demand for properties is steady, there are fewer new rentals from landlords coming available, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found.

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Trump revokes Biden order promoting competition in the US economy

Move further unwinds initiative to crack down on anti-competitive practices in agriculture, drugs and labor

Donald Trump on Wednesday revoked a 2021 executive order on promoting competition in the US economy issued by Joe Biden, the White House said.

The move by the Republican US president further unwinds a signature initiative by his predecessor, a Democrat, to crack down on anti-competitive practices in sectors from agriculture to drugs and labor.

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Tighter US border rules are putting European visitors off, says Tui

Holiday company boss says tourists are opting instead for destinations such as Canada, Africa and Asia

Tighter border rules are putting European tourists off holidaying in the US, according to Europe’s biggest package trip operator.

Tui’s chief executive, Sebastian Ebel, said there had been a “significant decline” in travel to the US, due to a multitude of factors including “the atmosphere, what you hear from border control”.

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Commonwealth Bank urged to repay fees of 2 million low-income customers after posting record profit

Australia’s biggest bank delivers bumper payout to shareholders as CBA vows to end lending to coal companies with no net zero plans

The Commonwealth bank has posted a record cash profit, sparking renewed calls for Australia’s biggest bank to repay more than 2 million low-income customers $270m in fees – something it has refused to do.

CBA recorded $10.25bn in annual cash profits for the year to June – a 4% lift on the previous year – and gave a bumper $2.60 payout per share to shareholders.

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Treasury targeting inheritance tax reforms to help plug UK deficit

Exclusive: Chancellor also looking at tweaks to capital gains tax to try to bridge £40bn-plus spending gap before budget

The Treasury is looking at ways to raise more money from inheritance tax amid growing pressure on the country’s finances ahead of the autumn budget, sources have told the Guardian.

Officials have been tasked with examining whether tightening rules on the gifting of money and assets could be one way of addressing a gap between revenue and spending that is estimated to reach more than £40bn.

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UK visa services firm sues ex-boss for £6m over alleged improper use of profits

Exclusive: Ecctis alleges Cloud Bai-Yun used profits from government contract to buy out her shares in breach of fiduciary duty

The company that runs visa services for the UK government is suing its former chief executive for £6m over her alleged improper use of profits earned during a period of record immigration.

Cloud Bai-Yun, who once represented the UK on an international ethics and fraud advisory body, is accused by Ecctis of a breach of fiduciary duty, according to court filings.

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Santander mortgage cap jumps by as much as 24% as bank eases lending rules

Some higher-earning couples with smaller deposits could borrow extra £130,000 as a result of overnight changes

Some couples applying for a Santander mortgage will see the maximum they can borrow increase by £130,000 overnight after the bank loosened its lending rules.

Santander is the latest in a line of lenders to allow some borrowers to access bigger mortgages after intervention by the City regulator and new guidelines from the Bank of England designed to help more people on to the housing ladder.

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