Press Digest: British Business - April 20
20/04/2021 01:29
April 20 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on
the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not
verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
- The Bank of England and the Treasury have announced that
they are setting up a taskforce to explore the possibility of a
central bank digital currency. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has
asked the Bank of England to look at the case for a new
"Britcoin", aimed at tackling some of the challenges posed by
cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. https://bit.ly/3n0fVyq
- Inflationary pressure is building in the manufacturing
sector as the proportion of businesses expecting to increase
their prices has risen to the highest level in more than four
years. A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce has found
that in the first three months of this year price expectations
in manufacturing climbed to the highest level since the final
quarter of 2017. https://bit.ly/3txRk6t
The Guardian
- Facebook Inc FB.O has announced plans to launch new
audio products and features in an aggressive move to take on
competitors including Twitter Inc TWTR.N and Clubhouse, an
invitation-only audio platform that has generated significant
buzz. https://bit.ly/3syf8WP
- The UK government has stepped in to order an investigation
of Nvidia Corp's NVDA.O $40 billion takeover of the
Cambridge-based chip designer Arm, citing potential national
security concerns. https://bit.ly/3dvcz3e
The Telegraph
- The French government has increased its stake in Air
France KLM SA AIRF.PA to more than three times that of the
Netherlands, strengthening its grip on the struggling airline. https://bit.ly/3dwUCl3
- The buyout specialist Melrose is putting another 100
million pounds ($139.94 million) into engineer GKN's pension
pot, fulfilling a key takeover pledge following a major
disposal. https://bit.ly/32tnzb9
Sky News
- Tesco Plc TSCO.L has been fined 7.56 million pounds for
selling food past its use-by date at three of its stores. The
supermarket admitted 22 breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene
Regulations between 2016 and 2017 following an investigation. https://bit.ly/3gpNw3I
- Sky News has learnt that Elementis Plc ELM.L , which
makes chemicals used in products such as deodorants, has
received an offer from Nasdaq-listed Innospec Inc IOSP.O
which values it at more than 1 billion pounds. https://bit.ly/32qQs7Q
The Independent
- Senior managers in HSBC Holdings Plc's HSBA.L
headquarters will have to hot desk on an open-plan floor instead
of occupying private offices, the banking giant's chief
executive, Noel Quinn, has confirmed. https://bit.ly/3dtyNCN
($1 = 0.7146 pounds)
(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))