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As it happenedended1571845392

Business news - live: Pound steadies after Brexit delay, as Toto Energy becomes latest supplier to go bust

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Ben Chapman
Wednesday 23 October 2019 10:00 BST
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Boris Johnson to pause Brexit Bill until extension decision is reached

The pound steadied on Wednesday after Boris Johnson hit “pause” on his Brexit deal legislation.

Sterling fell back from $1.30 after MPs refused to back Boris Johnson's plan to push through the deal through the House of Commons in just three days.

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Welcome to the The Independent's rolling coverage of business and economics news. 

The pound is hovering around $1.286 having fallen back yesterday as MPs rejected Boris Johnson's three-day timetable to ram his Brexit deal through the Commons.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 09:30
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 'Concrete cartel': three building firms fined £36m for fixing prices

By Henry Saker-Clark, PA City Reporter

Three building firms have been fined more than £36m for their roles in an illegal price-fixing cartel.

FP McCann, Stanton Bonna Concrete and CPM Group colluded to fix concrete prices for almost seven years, the competition watchdog said..

The Competition and Markets Authority said the three firms illegally shared competitively sensitive information to keep prices artificially high.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 09:36
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Sports Direct accuses Goals Soccer Centres of 'skullduggery'

(Press Association) Sports Direct has condemned Goals Soccer Centres, accusing its management of wiping out shareholders through "skulduggery".

Mike Ashley's retail firm hit out at the five-a-side-football pitch operator, two days after confirming he had no intention to buy the business.

The retail tycoon said Goals and its board "did not truly engage" with the offer process, describing their co-operation as "limited and fitful".

Sports Direct, which is Goals' largest shareholder, had been mulling a £4m swoop for Goals.

The retail giant denied reports that Goals said it provided Sports Direct with all the information needed.

In the statement, Sports Direct said: "From the beginning, the attitude of the Goals board made no sense, including proclamations to senior management of Sports Direct that the issues impacting on, and leading to the catastrophic failure of, the business had only been perpetuated by one person.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 09:37
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Metrobank shares are down 2 per cent after the troubled lender's founder and chief executive left with immediate effect this morning.

Vernon Hill will stay on in an honorary position of emeritus chairman, the bank said.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 09:39
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Grant Shapps’ plan for electric cars will make China a motoring giant

The name of Grant Shapps is not normally associated with the shifting tectonic plates of global economic power, but the transport secretary has reminded us about something that will shift the balance of industrial power: the rise of the electric car.

How will we get there? What will it mean? It will take time, given that only about one or two in every 100 new cars sold are pure electric – that is, battery power only, rather than hybrids such as the Toyota Prius that also feature an internal combustion engine. But the pace of adoption is accelerating for a number of reasons.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 10:00
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More on Mike Ashley's 'furious tirade' against Goals

Mike Ashley has had a go at another company he was trying to takeover: Goals Soccer Centres.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould thinks Ashley might be his own worst enemy.

“Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley might have his strengths but subtlety is not one of them. Having dropped his takeover of five-a-side football operator Goals Soccer Centres overnight he has launched a furious tirade against its management.

“Sports Direct claims that the Goals board attributed the accounting problems which contributed to the suspension and ultimately the cancellation of its listing on AIM to just one person – something which it dismissed as impossible – and accused them of ‘skulduggery’ and failing to engage properly with the takeover.

“For Goals part, it has denied seeking to frustrate the bid and the ‘accelerated’ sale process looks set to continue.

“Like Debenhams earlier this year, this is another example of Ashley apparently being thwarted in his takeover ambitions despite being the largest shareholder and the company in his crosshairs apparently being in an extremely weak bargaining position.

“Ashley may be proving to be his own worst enemy, perhaps proving that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. 

“It also brings into question a seemingly scattergun approach to buying assets in the retail and sports space.”

ben.chapman23 October 2019 10:04
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Google faces new antitrust challenge in US as state attorneys arrange talks

Reuters is reporting that US state attorneys are planning to meet next month to discuss an investigation into Google's business practices.

The news agency cites three sources who say the attorneys are likely to have a series of talks about whether Google broke competition law.

It would be the latest challenge to the tech giant's business and comes after a meeting this week at which officials from the US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission discussed their probe of Facebook.

Google has come under fire for its dominance of the online advertising business.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 10:15
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WeWork staff outraged at massive payout for former CEO as they face redundancy

Adam Neumann, the eccentric co-founder of WeWork, will leave the board of the crisis-stricken company pocketing over $1bn (£778m), while thousands of his ex-colleagues face losing their jobs. Their reaction: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

That was one of the comments posted on the staff-wide communications system at the co-working company, reflecting a broader mood throughout its headquarters in New York.

Dozens of employees expressed indignation in interviews and messages to colleagues on company Slack channels that were relayed to Bloomberg. They requested anonymity in a bid to protect their jobs, as management weighs the dismissal of thousands of employees.

WeWork’s board agreed on Tuesday to take a bailout from SoftBank, which will secure an 80 per cent stake. The Japanese conglomerate will provide $6.5bn to the business that is on the verge of running out of money.

ben.chapman23 October 2019 10:40
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Thomas Cook's 555 shops were sold to Hays for just £6m

Sunderland-based travel agent Hays snapped up 555 Thomas Cook outlets for just £6m, MPs have been told.

The head of the Insolvency Service told the BEIS committee that it was the "best deal on the table".

ben.chapman23 October 2019 11:12
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Some 11 per cent of 11 to 16 year olds have spent their own money on gambling in the past seven days, compared with 14% in 2018, survey findings have suggested.

The Gambling Commission said the percentage of young people classified as "problem" gamblers was unchanged from last year at 1.7 per cent, although the percentage classified as "at risk" has risen from 2.2 per cent to 2.7 per cent.

It said the latest results "do not represent a significant increase over time".

The survey found the most common type of gambling activity that young people are taking part in is private bets for money, played by 5 per cent of those surveyed, and playing cards with friends for money (3 per cent).

The research also shows that 3 per cent report buying National Lottery scratchcards in a shop and a further 4% say they have played fruit or slot machines in the past seven days.

Press Association

ben.chapman23 October 2019 11:26

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