Friday newspaper round-up: Fracking, General Electric, Farfetch
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 16 Aug 2019
(Sharecast News) - Environmental groups have voiced fears that the government is preparing to row back on fracking regulations after officials said they were considering reviewing earthquake safeguard rules. The limits affecting shale gas fracking are strongly contested by the industry because they bring an immediate halt to fracking if even a minor tremor of 0.5 on the Richter scale is recorded. - Guardian
The whistleblower who exposed Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme has accused General Electric of wide-scale fraud, sending the US conglomerate's share price into a tailspin. In a report titled General Electric, a Bigger Fraud Than Enron, the investigator, Harry Markopolos, claims GE is engaging in accounting fraud worth $38bn. He said GE was heading for bankruptcy and was hiding $29bn in long-term care losses. - Guardian
Donald Trump has promised a "fantastic and big" US trade deal with the UK and said the two countries were moving rapidly towards it. The US president said he had spoken to Boris Johnson on Wednesday, adding: "He and I are very much aligned." Mr Trump said: "I think we'll make a fantastic and big trade deal with the UK. That's moving along rapidly. We should do much more business than we're doing." - Telegraph
An online luxury retailer that had more than $2 billion wiped off its market value last week faces more problems as it emerged that five US law firms are preparing class action suits. Farfetch, founded in 2007 by José Neves, a Portuguese entrepreneur, is one of London's most celebrated technology start-ups. Its online marketplace connects fashion shoppers with luxury boutiques around the world. The business floated in New York last September in a $5 billion listing, but less than a year later the shares have crashed to half the flotation price. - The Times
Britain's banks have warned the government that they will have just hours to turn around their systems if the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal on October 31, potentially creating chaos. The chosen date will present particular problems as November 1 is the first Friday of the month, when many people are paid and have direct debits leaving their accounts. - The Times
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN