Image copyright Getty Images The owner of Patisserie Valerie has said the chain needs “an immediate injection of capital” to continue trading in its current form. The stark statement to investors comes after the firm uncovered “significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities”. It also belatedly discovered HMRC filed a winding-up petition against one of its …
Image copyright Getty Images Auction site eBay’s UK subsidiary has agreed to pay an extra £7m in tax following a review by HMRC. According to the latest accounts from the firm, its sales in 2017 rose to more than £500m, but its profits were still relatively small at £20m. The £7m payment covers tax liabilities …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The indictment identifies GE Aviation as a target of the operation The US justice department has announced charges of economic espionage against a suspected Chinese intelligence officer. Officials say Yanjun Xu tried to steal trade secrets from US aviation and aerospace companies on behalf of China. He was arrested …
Johnston Press, the publisher of newspapers including the ‘i’, The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, has put itself up for sale. There had been speculation that the company could be sold after it launched a strategic review in 2017. Johnston Press has £220m of borrowing due for repayment in June next year. A decline in …
Image copyright Getty Images European stocks were sharply down in early trade after concerns about a trade war and higher US bond yields stoked global investor concerns. In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading UK shares opened down 1.6% at 7,030. Markets in Asia had plunged to a 19-month low after US shares suffered …
Image copyright Getty Images Companies may be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap under plans unveiled by the prime minister to help minorities at work. Theresa May has launched a consultation on whether mandatory reporting will help address disparities between the pay and career prospects of minorities. She acknowledged that minorities often “feel like …
Image copyright Reuters Carmaking giant BMW wants to take control of its joint venture in China and is set to pump billions more into its production capacity in the country. The German firm will spend 3.6bn euro ($4.16bn; £3.14bn) to up its stake in Brilliance Automotive from 50% to 75%. The Mini maker will also …
Image copyright Getty Images New research suggests that standing desks, which allow employees to alter their position during the day, may boost performance at work. A number of NHS staff were given new desks and set goals for standing time. After a year, researchers found sitting time was reduced by more than an hour a …
Image copyright SIA The battle to offer the world’s longest non-stop flight steps up a gear on Thursday, when a new Singapore-to-New York service takes off. Singapore Airlines is relaunching the service five years after it withdrew because it had become too expensive. It will cover more than 15,000km and is scheduled to take just …