“People want to know three things about a business: How is it performing? Is it honestly run? And will it survive? Auditors are key to answering all three.”
That was the conclusion of Donald Brydon, former chairman of the London Stock Exchange and author of an inquiry by the UK government into corporate standards in the accountancy industry.
It’s two years since the $9.7 billion collapse of the outsourcing giant Carillion. Now plans to regulate the auditors, that had for years been signing off the accounts of Carillion and companies like it, are taking effect.
Elsewhere, Volkswagen’s share price has revved up, as it turbo-charges its transition to becoming an electric vehicle manufacturer. It’s now overtaken software giant SAP to become Germany’s most valuable firm.
Coinbase claims that recent investments now value the cryptocurrency exchange platform ahead of the New York Stock Exchange. It plans to float later this year in what looks set to be another multi-billion-dollar market debut.
Irish assets continued to flee the London money markets in early 2021, with exchanges in Brussels and Frankfurt the main beneficiaries.
And in more evidence of the post-COVID-19 world ahead, home gyms and offices could become as commonplace as kitchens and bathrooms, according to one new report.
Our graphic shows just how much demand for home fitness products has boomed in lockdown.
Read on for more of the day’s business news in full.
Louise Greenwood
Digital correspondent
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The UK is to introduce stringent new rules on company accounting, that will bar large firms with insufficient cash reserves from paying shareholder dividends and executive bonuses.
In an overhaul of corporate governance legislation, company directors who flout the guidelines will face large fines, suspension from office, and the clawback of previous bonuses, if it is found their businesses made financial errors.
The change follows a series of high-profile corporate failures in the UK including that of the public sector contractor Carillion, department store BHS and the cafe chain Patisserie Valerie.
The proposals come after a four-month public consultation and will implement recommendations made in three government-backed reports into competition in the accountancy market. Some of the rules, such as the separation of core business from lucrative consultancy work, are already being introduced at the UK’s “Big Four” providers; PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY. However, the new regime will mean smaller firms undertaking a larger portion of a big company auditing in future.
Volkswagen has become the most valuable company in Germany. Shares rose 11 percent on Wednesday, giving the car giant a market tag of $166 billion. Earlier this week, CEO Herbert Diess announced plans to turn VW into Europe’s leading electric-car company, with investments in battery factories and new plug-in models, which industry analysts say puts VW in pole potion to take on the might of global market leader Tesla.
The cost of borrowing in the U.S. is on hold at its current range of between 0 and 0.25 percent, where it’s now been for a year. Despite growing inflation worries, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep the current policy in place until “substantial further progress” is made in employment and price stability.
The yield on government debt also rose as the Fed predicted the U.S. economy would grow by 6.5 percent this year, well ahead of forecasts three months ago. Ten-year Treasury bonds also rose, to 1.73 percent, on hopes of a strong rebound in the post-pandemic period.
The online share trading platform at the center of the “meme” stock frenzy is offering cash in exchange for new deposits. In an offer that has alarmed some market analysts, the “Robinhood Cash Rewards” scheme is offering credits of between $10 and $250 on deposits up to $15,000.
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange says recent private market transactions have valued the company at around $68 billion. In a regulatory filing, Coinbase, which analysts say has benefited from its close association to Bitcoin, said its stock was averaging at more than $343 per share in the first quarter, close to a 13-fold jump in the space of a few months. This puts the value of Coinbase ahead of that of the NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange.
British Airways owner IAG is to raise about $1.2 billion through a bond issue, to help it through the COVID-19 travel downturn if the effects of the pandemic last longer than expected. IAG, which also owns Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Aer Lingus in Ireland, said the proceeds from a bond sale could be used to provide “flexibility to take advantage of a recovery in demand for air travel”.
Shares in Republic of Korea COVID-19 vaccine producer SK Bioscience, have more than doubled on their trading debut. Stock in the firm rose 160 percent in the largest IPO on the local market in four years, valuing the firm at $1.3 billion. SK Bioscience produces COVID-19 vaccines for AstraZeneca and has signed a deal to make jabs for U.S.-based Novavax.
The founder of the Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo stepped down as chairman just as the company’s annual user base passes that of rival Alibaba. Colin Huang, who founded the site in 2015 and is now China’s third-richest man, says he wants to pursue research in food and life sciences.
The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom says it won’t impose price caps on full-fiber connections provided by British Telecom’s Openreach subsidiary. The former state telecoms provider says it will “build like fury” to roll out internet connections as part of a $16 billion investment. Consumer groups have raised concerns over price implications after Ofcom froze the curbs on what Openreach charges internet service providers for its slower copper-based connections.
Opposition parties in the UK are calling for government support to protect jobs in the steel industry threatened by the collapse of the lender Greensill Capital. Liberty Steel is under threat after Greensill went into administration last week. The Anglo-Australian finance group had been a major lender to its parent firm GFG Alliance group, owned by magnate Sanjeev Gupta.
Google parent Alphabet is to invest more than $7 billion in offices and data centers in the U.S. this year. The plans by the tech giant include spending a $1 billion in its home state of California, despite the increased shift to home working in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Irish assets worth more than $119 billion left London for other EU finance centers in the wake of Brexit, according to figures just out. The pan-Europe exchange Euronext says it had completed settlements for 50 Irish companies from London to Brussels by the middle of this week.
The long-term effects of “home nesting” will become a feature of developed economies after the pandemic is over, according to new research. A higher spend on goods such as home offices and gym equipment is expected, according to a new report by data analysts McKinsey. Online grocery shopping and virtual healthcare appointments are also expected to rise, while spending on remote education and digital entertainment will dip.
WATCH: Germany is the latest European country to suspend the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after reports of “serious blood clotting in adults” linked to the UK-made drug.
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The ride-hailing service Uber is to offer its thousands of drivers in the UK workers’ rights such as sick pay, holidays and pension contributions. It comes after years of dispute with its fleet staff over their official employment status, culminating in a ruling at London’s Supreme Court last month.
CGTN Europe spoke to Jessica Gracy, a lecturer in law at the University of York. She says the impact of events at Uber may ripple out into different sectors of the entire “gig” economy.
I think this sets a huge precedent, because it’s had so much coverage up and down the country and elsewhere in the world and I do think the workers, particularly in the food delivery sector, but also beyond that, to potentially supply teachers, to online tutors, will be thinking to themselves ‘hang on a minute, does this judgment apply to me?’ So I can definitely see future litigation happening there and potentially class action.
Do you think we might be seeing the beginning of the end of the “gig” economy in the UK?
Potentially, because there is some oversaturation in the market These platforms are just going to have to update themselves and bring themselves into the 21st century, to meet those standards that are expected of them with employment regulation.
What are the implications for users of companies like Uber, particularly when it comes to the kind of prices they might pay for services?
These platforms that operate are competitive because they offer lower prices… So I don’t see that being a potential implication. And they have such a large monopoly on the market as well that I don’t see too many implications for users, but I do think this is a big win-win for Uber and for its drivers.
And finally, McKinsey claims home gyms could become a common part of households of the future, once the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Figures confirm that even in the first month of lockdown, spending by UK shoppers on home exercise equipment boomed.
Source(s): Reuters