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MPs on the Treasury Committee have urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure banks are more transparent on why they “debank” businesses. In a report on its inquiry into the barriers SMEs face to accessing finance, the committee called on the City watchdog to force lenders to detail the number of business accounts they close each quarter, as well as the reason. The FCA said it will “carefully consider” the recommendations, adding that it has “been clear to banks they must be fair to people, including businesses, when considering closing accounts.” Trade body UK Finance said closures affect a small proportion of business accounts and are mainly due to a lack of information sharing, dormant accounts and financial crime concerns. The Federation for Small Businesses says the FCA should demand more information from banks to establish the main underlying reasons for closures, while also suggesting that small business owners should also be given a three month grace period to find a new provider if their bank account is to be closed. Data from Barclays, HSBC, TSB, Lloyds, Santander, NatWest, Metro and Handelsbanken shows that more than 140,000 small businesses have been de-banked by major lenders in the past year, often immediately and with no explanation.

 

City AM

Daily Mail

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chairman Ashley Alder has told the Treasury Committee that the regulator has been surprised by the criticism it has received over proposals to name and shame firms under investigation, saying it was “not expecting such a stern reaction from the industry.” While committee chair Harriett Baldwin noted that the City watchdog already has the power to name firms under exceptional circumstances in the public interest, FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi said he did not believe these powers would work in a number of cases. Meanwhile, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, chair of the Lords’ Financial Services Regulation Committee, said Mr Rathi had rejected a request from the House of Lords urging the FCA to extend a consultation on the name and shame plans. Separately, City Minister Bim Afolami has suggested that the FCA should “stop focusing on things that are non-core, like naming and shaming . . . and focus on conduct and making sure the system works.”

 

FT Adviser

The Times

City AM

Daily Mail

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated an investigation into the £762m takeover of road haulage operator Wincanton by GXO Logistics. The CMA will assess whether the merger will result in increased prices for businesses. Wincanton, which provides transportation services for supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Asda, is expected to provide its opinion on the deal as part of the investigation.

 

The Daily Telegraph

Car retailer Cazoo has filed notices of its intention to appoint administrators which could buy it time to find a potential rescue deal. The company’s creditors cannot move against the company while the notices are active. It comes after Cazoo announced a major change to its business model, plans to cut jobs and the departure of its chief executive in March. At the time the company said it would remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange “until at least March 20” but that it has no obligation to continue to be so after that date.

 

City AM

Boohoo has cut over 1,000 jobs in the past year and saw a significant increase in debt, as its losses surged and sales fell by 13%. The company said it had built up net debts of £95m in the year to the end of February – down from almost £6m of net cash a year before – after losses widened 76% to £160m and sales fell to £1.8bn. Its chief executive, John Lyttle, blamed the group's problems on "difficult market conditions, caused by high levels of inflation and weakened consumer demand," and said it planned to make savings of £125m in the year ahead after putting more automation into its Sheffield warehouse, closing one in Daventry, and opening a new warehouse in the US. 

 

Evening Standard

The Guardian

TSB Bank is planning to cut around 250 jobs and close 36 branches. The lender will cut roles in its fraud operations and central operations, as well as its branch network due to the closures. The 250 new job cuts come on top of 300 announced in February as part of a wider restructuring plan. TSB has seen the number of in-branch transactions fall by 43% over the last four years.

 

Sky News

City AM

The Independent

The Sun

The Daily Telegraph

The number of workers available to take up new roles has increased sharply over the last month, while businesses have scaled back demand for staff. KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's (REC) candidate availability index rose to 60.4 in April from 60.2 in the previous month, well above the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction. The analysis also shows that vacancies contracted last month, with the labour market continuing to cool amid high interest rates and sluggish economic growth. There were, however, signs that the labour market gathered momentum in April. The permanent appointment index jumped to 46.4 from 43.3, while the temporary appointment index climbed to 46.9 from 45.7. Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: "Firms have told us all year that they will be willing to hire and invest in their business when confidence returns to the wider economy - and there is a glimmer of lower inflation and the prospect of lower interest rates starting to drive that now." He added: "Pay continues to rise, with a slight bump-up this month likely to have been driven by the April peak in employer pay rises and the recent minimum wage rise."

 

The Times

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has warned that the next government will have no spending room for tax giveaways and will have to find ways of generating revenues amid "sluggish" growth. It said that ministers will have to implement tax rises and delay net zero investment unless the government is willing to revise the Treasury's fiscal rules, saying that weak growth and lower inflation would make it difficult to adhere to the current policy. The think-tank argued that the current fiscal rules would prevent any pre-election tax cuts and that debt would continue to rise as a percentage of national income. Analysis suggests that weak growth will cause the debt-to-GDP ratio, which is approaching 100%, to rise over the next five years, breaching the Chancellor's current fiscal rules. The think-tank predicts that the economy will grow by 0.4% in Q1 and by 0.8% across 2024 as a whole. It also forecasts that average wage growth will fall back to about 3% in 2025, from the current rate of above 6%. 

 

The Times

Daily Mail

The Guardian

Unions, including Unite, are demanding that Labour toughens its workers' rights package after objecting to a series of concessions made to reassure business leaders. The party's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, insists that Labour is “doubling down” on workers' rights and will promise new laws to protect interns and volunteers from sexual harassment. However, Unite has called the concessions a "betrayal" and its leader, Sharon Graham, claims that the reforms have been watered down and that the package will become "a charter for bad bosses." It is noted that some unions are frustrated with Unite and believe that concerns can be addressed privately, although many believe that Labour has gone too far in trying to appease employers. Labour has promised a “full and comprehensive” consultation with business and other groups on Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to improve UK worker rights in a new version of its “New Deal for Working People.”

 

Financial Times

The Times

Wage talks between Norwegian oil firms and three labour unions have ended in a deal, averting the risk of strike action. Unions Lederne, Safe, and IE&FLT reached an agreement with companies, covering 7,300 workers at more than a dozen oil companies and suppliers. The wage agreements include Equinor, ConocoPhillips, Aker BP, and Vaar Energi. Norway, Europe's largest gas supplier, produces around 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The deal ensures a stable supply in the industry. "The wage talks have successfully concluded, ensuring the stability of the oil sector," said an industry official.

 

Reuters

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has requested a London tribunal to block a £13.6bn lawsuit accusing it of abusing its dominance in the online ad market. The lawsuit, filed by UK publishers of websites and apps, claims that they have suffered losses due to alleged anticompetitive behaviour. The Ad Tech Collective Action, represented by lawyers, has asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal to certify the case for trial. Google has dismissed the claims as incoherent.

 

The Times

Alliance Pharmaceuticals has delayed the publication of its results for the third time as its auditor needs more time to check its accounts. It has also announced the departure of CEO Peter Butterfield.

 

Financial Times

Fuselages made by Boeing's largest supplier regularly left the factory with serious defects, according to Santiago Paredes, a former quality inspector at Spirit AeroSystems. Mr Paredes, who says he often found up to 200 defects on parts being readied for shipping to Boeing, claims that he was nicknamed "showstopper" for slowing down production over his concerns. Spirit said it "strongly disagreed" with the allegations and is “vigorously defending” against the claims.

 

BBC News

The Competition and Markets Authority has found some grocery retailers are displaying inaccurate prices or failing to display prices at all for certain products. The competition watchdog said that the majority of problems were found in independent food stores and small independents operating under a brand name. In a review of 139 grocery stores in England and Wales, the CMA found missing prices; conflicting prices – when prices on products conflicted with those on shelf labels; and prices not being displayed sufficiently close to products, were the most common problems. The review also found prices not being clearly legible, the selling price being obscured, and multi-buy promotion labels that did not specify the price of the items individually. As a result of the findings, the CMA and Trading Standards have released a poster aimed at helping grocery retailers understand what they need to do to comply with the law.

 

London Evening Standard

The i

The Independent

China has revised and broadened its State Secrets Law (SSL) for the first time since 2010, as it aims to tighten procedures for protecting and restricting the disclosure of state secrets. The changes, which took effect on May 1, 2024, are part of China's efforts to expand and enforce national security-driven regulations. The Revised SSL creates challenges for foreign-invested companies operating in China, particularly in terms of data acquisition, management, use, and transfer. Cross-border transfers of data are subject to additional scrutiny and requirements. The definition of "state secrets" remains unchanged, allowing for broad interpretation and extensive government discretion. The Revised SSL introduces new articles that expand the scope of confidentiality obligations to all stakeholders, including non-state parties and foreign-invested companies. Chinese authorities are granted increased powers to conduct inspections and investigations. The Revised SSL also protects "work secrets" generated by state agencies and organisations. The changes pose challenges for due diligence, investigations, and compliance programs in China. They may also lead to increased enforcement actions and deter whistleblowers.

 

Reuters