Investors’ summer optimism gives way to insecurity as curfews and lockdowns return
Stock markets in the US and Europe fell sharply oas investors focused on signs that rich countries’ efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic were foundering.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index lost 1.8% after heavy falls in German blue-chip stocks. In the US the Dow Jones industrial average closed 2.3% down at 27685.38, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.9% to 3400.97.
Continue reading...Financial technology firm will list on Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets in snub to US
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s financial technology firm is aiming to raise more than $34bn (£26.15bn) in the world’s biggest initial public offering, valuing the business at more than $313bn.
Ant Group, which on Monday set the price for its much anticipated flotation and is expected to start trading early next month, will beat the record $25.6bn sold by state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco in its flotation last December.
Continue reading...Calls for boycott of French goods after president’s remarks at tribute to murdered teacher Samuel Paty
France has appealed for foreign governments to stamp out calls by what it calls a “radical minority” for a boycott of French products after Emmanuel Macron’s public backing of the Muhammad caricatures.
The appeal came as anger escalated across the Islamic world over the president’s remarks at a national tribute to the murdered high-school teacher Samuel Paty last week, with Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling on Monday for a complete boycott of French products in Turkey.
Continue reading...Survey finds nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs believe their business may not survive pandemic
An estimated 6m small businesses in the UK supporting 16.6m jobs are in a financially precarious position as a result of the pandemic, a London business school has warned.
Nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs felt their business might not survive the pressures of Covid-19, while more than half predicted they would run out of money within the next 12 months, according to the new study from King’s Business School.
Continue reading...Reform of international corporate taxation could transform health and education, says report
Big US technology companies are exploiting loopholes in global tax rules to avoid paying as much as $2.8bn (£2.1bn) tax a year in developing countries, according to research by the anti-poverty charity ActionAid International.
Facebook, Google and Microsoft have been accused of failing to pay a fair amount of taxes in poor countries where governments are struggling to provide even basic healthcare or education to their citizens.
Continue reading...The country seems to have rebounded, but some analysts believe that at the very least, there is sleight of hand at work
Beijing prompted envy, admiration and not a little resentment when it released data last week confirming that it was the first major economy to start growing again after the devastation caused by Covid-19 in the first half of the year.
China appeared to have achieved the V-shaped recovery being chased by finance ministers around the world, after pioneering mass lockdowns to contain the virus that had taken hold in Wuhan, then shutting its borders to stop it filtering back in from abroad.
Continue reading...Loos for Storyhouse’s Halloween drive-in screenings were just over Welsh side of the line
Drive-in cinemagoers in Chester were almost caught short after it emerged anyone using the toilets, located across the Welsh border, would be breaking coronavirus lockdown laws.
Ticket-holders for the Storyhouse’s Moonlight Drive Halloween showings could breathe a sigh of relief on Friday, after the cinema confirmed it had found a way out of the tight spot.
Continue reading...Barrett previously recused herself from cases because her father worked for Shell but has failed to commit to doing so in future
Amy Coney Barrett is poised to make critical rulings on whether oil and gas companies will be held accountable for the effects of the climate crisis once she is confirmed to the supreme court, even though she has acknowledged in the past that she has a conflict of interest in cases involving Royal Dutch Shell.
Related: Trump and Barrett's threat to abortion and LGBTQ rights is simply un-American | Robert Reich
Continue reading...An exception meant for freelancers sees a roaring lunch trade, and No 10 doesn’t seem too bothered
“A table for six? No, sir, that is against the Covid-19 restrictions … unless you promise that your party will discuss business, not pleasure.”
Some of London’s fanciest restaurants have discovered a loophole in the tier-2 coronavirus lockdowns restrictions designed to prevent households from mixing and thereby slow the spread of the virus.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Contract staff deemed essential workers as firm’s own employees work from home
Facebook moderators working for one of the company’s Dublin-based contractors are being forced to go into the office, even as Ireland returns to its highest tier of Covid lockdown, after their employer categorised them as “essential workers”.
Staff with personal shielding requirements are exempt from the order, but those with high-risk family members at home have been told by the contractor, CPL, that they are still required in the office.
Continue reading...A federal government investigation into the scandal may cost more than the lavish gifts purchased in November 2018
Four Cartier watches given to Australia Post senior managers were worth nearly $20,000 in total, $8,000 more than the organisation’s chief executive told a parliamentary hearing this week.
Christine Holgate told Senate estimates on Thursday the watches, purchased in 2018 as a reward for the executives, were worth about $3,000 each.
Continue reading...Covid has tanked the gains he made in the economy and any new stimulus could be too late
It all looked so simple for Donald Trump as he took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January this year. At the start of an election year, the annual gathering of the global business elite was an opportunity to launch his campaign.
It was one Trump eagerly seized. The next 30 minutes was one long boast, detailing how a US economy that had allegedly been on its knees under Barack Obama had been transformed under his stewardship.
Continue reading...Ex-worker tells documentary series staff would post on articles about Dov Charney
A documentary series has revealed how American Apparel helped fuel its founder’s bad boy mythology in order to bolster interest in the clothing company online.
In the nine-part Big Rad Wolf, a former employee reveals she would leave approved fake comments under salacious articles about Dov Charney on celebrity media blogs such as Gawker and Jezebel, in order to manufacture his reputation as predatory.
Continue reading...Today’s meeting between federal, state and territory leaders will focus on removing social and border restrictions to jumpstart the economy. Follow live
On the bonuses that aren’t blingy watches.
In just the year to June, Australia Post paid $1.95 million in bonuses to 35 of its executives earning over $520,000 a year. That’s 648 Cartier watches - or 162 times the total Cartier watch spend. (Or about 27,850 Casio watches...) https://t.co/S8mmcqJmhh
We will probably be in a bit of a news lull while national cabinet is meeting and the US presidential election debate is on in about 25 minutes.
You can follow the debate in our other live blog here.
Continue reading...Government plans set to start in 2021 risk lives and are ‘hugely wrong’, experts say
Plans for cars to drive themselves on UK motorways as soon as 2021 are unlikely to go ahead after insurers warned government proposals were risking lives and “hugely wrong”.
Cars with the technology to keep in lane, accelerate and brake automatically will be on the road next year, and ministers had proposed that drivers could relinquish control to their vehicles at speeds of up to 70mph on motorways.
Continue reading...Bank’s Malaysia division agrees to plead guilty to violating foreign bribery laws
Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $2.9bn (£2.2bn) to settle a US-led investigation into its role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.
The settlement is expected to draw a line under a years-long saga that has cast a shadow over one of the most recognisable names on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs’ Malaysia division also agreed to plead guilty to violating foreign bribery laws linked to the alleged looting of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.
Continue reading...Sir Patrick Vallance said there was ‘room for improvement’ with test and trace in the UK as only about two-thirds of the close contacts reached are done so within 48 hours of the case entering the system, according to performance figures released on Thursday.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak presented a new package of government support grants during a televised briefing and also discussed vaccines and local restrictions
Continue reading...A school student in Melbourne’s north tested positive to coronavirus, putting the suburbs of Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg on high alert. Follow live
Australia Post is up in the communications estimates committee hearing - that starts at 9
NSW has reported just one locally acquired case - another six are in hotel quarantine.
Continue reading...European aerospace giant and two Israeli arms firms win EU contracts totalling €100m
Airbus and two Israeli arms companies will be paid €100m (£91m) to operate unmanned drones to spot refugees and migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea to Europe, according to EU contracts.
Drone operations over the Mediterranean will start next year, after testing carried out on the Greek island of Crete.
Continue reading...Brazilian president’s stance on deforestation remains stumbling block for South America agreement
Brussels is in talks with Brazil’s far-right nationalist president, Jair Bolsonaro, over commitments on the future of the Amazon as it seeks to persuade Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders and parliaments to ratify the trade deal the bloc has negotiated with South America.
The ratification of the draft trade agreement between the EU and the “Mercosur” or Southern Common Market free-trade zone – which spans Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina – has been in doubt almost since it was announced last June.
Continue reading...