Exclusive: Ministers and business leaders have raised concerns about the rising cost of insuring UK directors after prices more than doubled over the past year on concerns over corporate governance and pandemic-related claims.
Government officials speak to insurance sector executives about the rising cost of director, said those familiar with the situation amid growing fears that smaller businesses in particular are struggling.
In light of the prospect of new regulations that could hold directors personally responsible for the accuracy of the financial statements in an upcoming audit reform consultation, insurance costs will continue to rise, according to the executives.
The government’s plans are due to be published this week. (FT)
Coronavirus digest
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Exclusive: The cost of United Kingdom Companies with “final salary” -style pension systems could fall as much as £ 60 billion due to the impact of Covid-19. Companies have called on chancellors Rishi Sunak To create “a level playing field” between brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers.
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The NHS is planning a mass campaign of booster jabs against new virus variants, which is expected to be carried out annually. Public health officials have selected specific locations to help contain the spread of a mutation.
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South Africa has stopped the introduction of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine after early data showed no impact on mild or moderate cases of the local variant.
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MexicoPresident Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s pandemic optimism has stalled after catching Covid-19.
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Finance minister Janet Yellen The US could reach full employment next year if Congress passes Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 billion stimulus package. (FT)
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In the news
Exclusive: TikTok’s US e-commerce push TikTok plans an aggressive expansion into e-commerce in the US to compete with Facebook. The Chinese-owned viral video app aims to introduce a tool that allows popular users to share links to products and automatically earn commissions on sales, among other things. (FT)
The TikTok influencers Florin Vitan (left) and Alessia Lanza. TikTok, which is part of China’s ByteDance, would also like to offer brands the opportunity to present catalogs of their products on the © AFP platform via Getty Images
Exclusive: UK regulator ring fencing rules The bankers are preparing to duel the Bank of England over the future of UK ring fencing law. Sections of the industry are campaigning to relax the restrictions that conflict with regulators who insist that they be maintained. (FT)
Mercedes’ electric gains By the end of this decade, Mercedes-Benz will earn just as much from electric cars as it does from its luxury models with combustion engines, said Ola Kallenius, managing director, when the German automaker announced that it would be separating its car arm from its truck unit. (FT)
Reddit-led turmoil hits big quant hedge funds Two Sigma Investments and DE Shaw cause losses after an army of private investors upside down in Reddit markets. Wall Street trading companies paid nearly $ 3 billion to retail brokers like Robinhood to do their business last year – a lucrative practice that is drawing attention in Washington. Robin Wigglesworth asks: Is a new era in retail emerging? (FT)
Britain targeted Isis drones A secret British cyber operation designed to undermine Isis and weaken her fighters on the battlefield involved disabling drones, blocking phones and targeting servers to block online propaganda, according to military and security chiefs. (FT)
Mike Lynch is fighting extradition The British tech entrepreneur will begin his fight against extradition to the US this week. This is the largest test yet to determine whether UK courts are willing to block transfers of executives for trial. Lynch was charged with 14 cases of conspiracy and fraud related to the sale of his former company Autonomy for $ 11.6 billion. (FT)
Blinken is beyond China The US Secretary of State warned Beijing that Washington would “hold it accountable for its abuses” after a phone call with China’s top foreign policy official. This was the first high-level interaction since Joe Biden became president. China hawks are trying to influence Biden’s decision to head the industry and security bureau of the commercial division. (FT)
Cuba lifts private business ban Havana has announced a major expansion of the private sector weeks after the peso devaluation and the abolition of a dual currency system as the communist government grapples with the worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union. (FT)
Cuba’s fragile economy has already been hit by tightening economic sanctions ordered by the Trump administration. © Yander Zamora / EPA / Shutterstock
Exclusive: Marshall Wace is looking for venture capital deals One of the world’s largest hedge fund firms is expanding into late-stage venture capital. This is the latest sign that managers who normally focus on trading stock markets are looking for new sources of return in the private markets. (FT)
The US supports Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala in running the WTO Washington’s approval removed one final hurdle to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as Director General of the World Trade Organization. Last Friday, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee was eliminated from the race. (FT)
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala could become the first female head of the WTO and the first from Africa. © AFP via Getty Images
The day ahead
ECB annual report The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, will discuss the bank’s annual report in the European Parliament on Monday. (FT)
Andrew Bailey testifies The Governor of the Bank of England will answer questions from the Treasury Select Committee about his failure to protect investors in the collapsed London Capital & Finance fund when he was executive director of the Financial Conduct Authority. (FT)
UK mechanism “Pay as you grow” Chancellor Rishi Sunak will ease the 1.4 million small businesses that have taken out loans under the government-sponsored bounce-back loan system by letting them repay them over an extended period. (FT)
Grenfell inquiry The investigation into the high-rise fire continues after the pandemic stopped it in December. Two of the world’s largest manufacturers of cladding and insulation are about to be tested. (FT)
Summary of results Hasbro, KKR and SoftBank report results. (FT, BW)
Economic data Germany publishes industrial production figures for December.
What else are we reading?
The UK’s dysfunctional tax system The British tax system is so messed up that reform makes sense anyway, writes Martin Wolf. Rishi Sunak has to state in his budget that he understands why and how this has to be done. (FT)
Workers are burdened by stress and fear The Financial Times conducted a global labor and mental health survey that saw more than 250 readers around the world share the difficulties – and benefits – of new work practices, as well as the demands of Covid-19 that is affecting their mental health to have . Two economics professors give insights into avoiding pitfalls when working remotely. (FT)
Hundreds of FT readers responded to our survey – the pandemic overwhelmed many © Kenneth Andersson / Eye Cand
Impeachment Dilemma After four years in lockstep with Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell broke off with the outgoing president. “The mob was fed lies,” he said, referring to the siege of the Capitol. But with the Senate impeachment trial due to begin this week, McConnell has adopted a different tone, indicating a likely second discharge. (FT)
Bezos’ revolution – and complicated legacy What will be said about Jeff Bezos as an innovator in the coming years? The founder of Amazon steps aside as some of the effects of Amazon crystallize – what critics say is monopoly, worker exploitation, and invasion of privacy. Perhaps his lasting legacy will be reshaping the innovation business itself. The strategy behind Amazon’s success is to reinvest income and experiment, writes Andrew Hill. (FT)
Probably the most important businessman of his generation resigns just as his hardball tactic invites political control
FT Global MBA Ranking 2021 US business schools continue to dominate delivering the world’s leading MBAs, although two European competitors top the FT’s annual Global MBA Ranking. Insead, based in France and Singapore, and the British London Business School took first and second place overall, ahead of Chicago: Booth in third place. Read the full ranking here. (FT)
Samsung’s Biggest Challenge: “The Lee Family Must Reform” With billionaire Lee Jae-yong in jail for bribery, South Korea’s largest company could become the country’s first major conglomerate without a family owner at the helm. However, some believe Samsung is just too important to fail. (FT)
Podcast of the day
Vaccine triumphs and the lockdown question When can the UK economy open up again? Sebastian Payne also speaks about trade control tensions in Northern Ireland. (FT)
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