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New physical product inspections at UK ports may incur costs and increase supply chain delays, business owners have warned. As of today, physical inspections will be introduced at UK ports on animal products, plants, and plant products coming from Europe. Business owners and industry leaders have voiced concerns about the potential disruption caused by the reforms, pointing to price inflation and product availability issues. The new system will include a "common user charge" and additional costs for inspections. The new fees are set to cost businesses an additional £60,000 to £70,000 a year. Kate Foster, head of international at the Federation of Small Businesses, warned that the flat user fee could have a negative impact on small businesses that import goods of “low value and low volume” compared with larger companies. She said: “We're concerned that it would impact small businesses' ability to trade internationally, because the cost impact has the potential to be disproportionate.” 

 

The Times

Foreign investment in Britain's financial and professional services halved to £1bn in 2023. The US was the largest source of funding, accounting for more than 40% in 2023 across 222 projects that created nearly 7,000 jobs. Investment management firms were the primary drivers of inward investment projects, comprising a third of all investments last year. These were worth £227m. The sector is facing tough competition in capital markets, particularly for listings from New York and, since Brexit, EU financial centres. About 7,000 jobs left the UK for new post-Brexit hubs opened in the EU by banks, insurers and asset managers to avoid disruption from Britain's departure from the bloc.

 

Reuters

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has defended its plans to name companies under investigation at an earlier stage. Banking and financial services trade association UK Finance had described the reforms as “disproportionate” and warned that they could “harm the UK’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a financial centre,” while the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee said the plans could hurt “blameless” companies. However, FCA enforcement officials Therese Chambers and Steve Smart said the City watchdog has come under increasing pressure to be more transparent about its investigations. Noting that the regulator has “thought about these proposals carefully,” they said it is “not proposing to name every firm in every investigation.” They added: “Each case would be judged on its merits. In some cases, it will be in the public interest to name a firm, in other cases not. And we will not usually name individuals.” They insisted that the FCA is “not seeking to shame firms,” saying it is about “shining a spotlight on a case” in a way that will deter others, raise standards and reassure consumers, as well as “encourage people to come forward with evidence and intelligence.”

 

City AM

Daily Mail

Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm says a focus on regulation is “driving Europe to irrelevance” as he warned that the region’s competitiveness is being undermined and called for changes to antitrust policy.

 

Financial Times

Norway's $1.6tn sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, is facing criticism for not supporting shareholder proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by oil companies. A report from Norwegian NGO Framtiden i vaare hender (the Future in our Hands) states that the fund, which aims for its invested companies to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, falls short on its climate ambitions. The report analysed the fund's voting record on climate resolutions at nine oil majors, finding that it supported seven resolutions but backed "climate harmful" strategies in the remaining nine cases. The report highlights a misalignment between the fund's climate engagement strategy and its voting behaviour. The fund also voted against all climate resolutions at the annual general meetings of BP, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Marathon. The report concludes that the fund's failure to endorse climate resolutions undermines its role as a steward of sustainable finance.

 

Reuters

Net zero policies risk crushing British businesses if imposed in the wrong way, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has claimed. She has argued against what she described as a green “leviathan of central planning.” The UK's target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 has been backed by all governments since Theresa May's tenure. However, Rishi Sunak's government has delayed or diluted several medium-term goals.

 

The Daily Telegraph

Last year, world leaders, corporate executives, and academic experts gathered at Britain's Bletchley Park for the world's first global AI Safety Summit. Now, the second AI Safety Summit, co-hosted by Britain and South Korea, will address the limitations and regulation of artificial intelligence. Martha Bennett, a senior analyst at Forrester, believes it will be difficult to move beyond the broad agreement reached at the first summit. The focus has shifted from existential risk to the resources needed for AI's development, such as data and electricity. Experts warn against relying solely on scientific breakthroughs and lucrative financing efforts for AI's future. Questions around copyright, data scarcity, and environmental impact are also expected to be discussed. However, some key attendees have declined invitations to the virtual event in Seoul. Despite the lower attendance, the summit aims to build on the momentum of Bletchley Park and make progress in AI safety and innovation.

 

Reuters

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has made progress in reforming how it manages evidence disclosure in its high-profile cases, but more government funding is needed to help fix the problems, a report from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has found. Issues with disclosure have appeared in a number of the SFO's prosecutions, sometimes with huge consequences. The fraud trial of two former Serco executives collapsed in April 2021 after the SFO failed to disclose evidence to the defendants’ lawyers. The report suggests that the SFO should introduce an independent disclosure review process as it looks to address long-standing problems with its evidence analysis.

 

Financial Times

City AM

IBM is commencing a legal battle against Swiss software company Lzlabs in the English High Court. The tech giant alleges that Lzlabs reverse-engineered its mainframe software to create its own product. Lzlabs denies the breach of terms. The trial, which will last 28 working days, will be closely watched by the tech industry. IBM has also filed legal action in Texas against Lzlabs and Texas Wormhole for alleged misuse of its intellectual property. IBM's legal team includes partners from Quinn Emanuel and leading silks from Brick Court Chambers. Lzlabs has chosen partners from Clifford Chance and leading silks from 4 New Square and 11 South Square.

 

City AM

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is due to update its guidance this summer on how best to conduct internal investigations, after lawyers expressed concerns about the robustness of corporate probes.

 

Financial Times

HMRC is investigating the tax affairs of Babylon Healthcare, an insolvent technology company that was championed by former Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The investigation is focused on the period before the appointment of administrators from Alvarez & Marsal over Babylon Partners, the main British operating company. The insolvency of Babylon Partners, which provided a virtual GP service used by NHS patients, has left unsecured creditors facing a deficit of about £300m.

 

The Times

Peter Rutter, head of equities at Royal London Asset Management, has quit to set up his own firm. Four of his team members have walked out with him, including Will Kenney and James Clarke, the senior fund managers.

 

The Times

Online food delivery platform Getir has confirmed plans to exit the UK, Germany, and Netherlands as part of its restructuring plans. The Turkish-based company, once valued at £9.5bn, has already pulled out of Italy, Spain, and Portugal due to fading demand for home grocery and takeaway services in a post-pandemic market. The move will impact around 1,500 job roles in the UK.

 

City AM

Ocado chairman Rick Haythornthwaite has insisted that plans to pay its founder Tim Steiner a bonus worth up to £14.8m are fair, despite a shareholder backlash against the proposals. More than 19% of votes at the annual shareholder meeting went against the pay scheme, which allows Mr Steiner to receive a bonus worth up to 1,800% of his base salary if certain targets are met. Glass Lewis had questioned whether there was a need for an “enhanced incentivisation tool” at Ocado, while ShareAction criticised the gap between Mr Steiner's pay and what the firm's staff received.

 

Financial Times

The Daily Telegraph

The Sun

The Times

Job vacancies fell by more than 17% in the year to March, according to analysis from jobs search engine Adzuna. The labour market report also showed that vacancies fell 0.5%, month-on-month. The total number of vacancies fell by 862,000, marking the fifth consecutive month where there was a decline in job openings. The report showed that there are 1.87 jobseekers per vacancy. This is the highest since August 2021 and is up from 1.49 a year ago. Adzuna found that advertised salaries rose by almost 3% over the past year and increased by 0.4% between February and March. The average earnings on listed job postings stood at £38,638. Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, warned of a “difficult” environment for jobseekers, saying: “Vacancies have fallen again in March, unemployment is up and competition for open roles is intensifying across most sectors.”

 

The Times

Royal Mail has suspended fines for letters with counterfeit stamps after facing criticism for penalising the public due to its own inadequate technology. The company has been imposing a £5 levy on addressees if a fake stamp is suspected. Customers have raised concerns about the effectiveness of the scanners used to detect fraud. Some have been fined despite using stamps bought from Post Office branches and Royal Mail's website. Royal Mail, which claims its technology is robust, has announced the suspension of fines until the end of July and plans to develop an app for customers to authenticate their own stamps.

 

The Guardian

A fossil fuel tax on companies in the wealthiest nations could raise as much as $720bn by the end of the decade, according to a new report. The tax would be levied on the extraction of fossil fuels in the world's richest economies and could play a crucial role in combating the worst impacts of the climate crisis if it is directly diverted to helping countries transition to greener sources of energy and compensate the most vulnerable people. The Climate Damages Tax report recommends levying a $5 tax for every ton of carbon pollution starting from 2024 and increasing it by $5 a year.

 

The Independent