The Guardian

All the day’s economic and financial news, as shares claw back some of this week’s losses

All the day’s economic and financial news, as shares claw back some of this week’s losses

Decades after women were pushed out of programming, Amazon’s AI recruiting technology carried on the industry’s legacy of bias A recent report revealed Amazon’s

Taxpayer-funded provider collapses into administration, putting 4,500 apprenticeships at risk Police are investigating allegations of fraud at the government-funded apprenticeship provider 3aaa, which has collapsed into administration, putting 500 jobs and 4,500 apprenticeships at risk. 3aaa – which stands for aspire, achieve and advance – was placed into immediate administration after the Department for Education pulled all of its funding from the firm following an investigation. “Following our investigation we have referred our findings to the police, through Action Fraud [the UK’s fraud hotline],” a spokesperson for the DfE said on Friday. Derbyshire Constabulary confirmed that it is investigating the firm.

Index closes below 7,000 for the first time since March after challenging week The FTSE 100 has dropped below 7,000 for the first time in more than six months as stock markets around the world remained under pressure amid the fear of rising US interest rates. The index of UK blue-chip shares closed 11 points lower on Friday, taking it below the 7,000 milestone for the first time since March to finish the week at 6,995.91. After a closing peak of 7,877 in late May, the

Fall in pound and uncertainty has led to farmers paying more to attract or retain EU workers Brexit is about to make Christmas turkeys more expensive. Prices are to jump as a result of the fall in the value of the pound and higher wages farmers now have to pay to their east European pluckers. Paul Kelly, the chairman of the British Turkey Federation and boss of KellyBronze, a free range producer, said the industry was being forced to increase prices because of a 5% to 7% rise in costs.

World Development Report dismisses concern about growing income inequality, say critics Aid charities and trade unions have denounced a World Bank report that advises some of the poorest countries in the world to accept the demands of multinational corporations to hire and fire workers and remove laws protecting workers’ rights. Oxfam said the report’s main message was that governments should abandon labour market regulation and rely instead on low levels of welfare to prevent workers falling into extreme poverty.

Rescue plan emerges after finance director Chris Marsh was arrested on suspicion of fraud The multi-millionaire chairman of Patisserie Valerie is pumping £20m of his own cash into the stricken cake and cafe chain in a bid to ward off collapse as a result of “fraudulent activity” that has left the business teetering on the brink. Details of the proposed emergency rescue plan came hours after it emerged that the finance director of Patisserie Holdings, which has just over 200 cafes and nearly 3,000 staff, had been arrested at his home by police.

All the day’s economic and financial news, as shares claw back some of this week’s losses

Bumper pay day for Jeremy Darroch after bidding war with Murdoch’s Fox boosted shares Sky’s chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, has been handed a near-£40m bonanza following

Chancellor says smooth exit would free up much of £15.4bn reserved in case of ‘no deal’ A smooth

Some will say it’s turning into a foodie destination, but there’s enough unpretension to burst any inflated egos

Protections on products and services bought from EU-based traders could go, warns notice UK customers may be in legal limbo if they buy faulty products from EU countries in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the government has warned. The warning comes in the latest tranche of notices about potential issues arising if the government does not strike a deal with Brussels.

All the day’s economic and financial news, as shares claw back some of this week’s losses

All the day’s economic and financial news, as shares claw back some of this week’s losses

Hairdressing firm seeks to restructure costs to avoid entering administration The hairdressing group Regis, the owner of Supercuts, is asking a number of landlords for free rent at more than 20 stores as part of a rescue plan to avoid collapse. The group has asked for rent reductions of 25%-100% at 110 of its 220 salons. Regis warned that if the plan is not approved by creditors “then it is likely that the company will enter administration”.

High court rejects request to temporarily block Cuadrilla operation in Lancashire

Pret finds itself in unfamiliar position after crisis engulfed the chain in recent weeks At King’s Cross station in London, one of Europe’s busiest transport hubs, the workers at Pret a Manger never stop. Calls for lattes and flat whites ring out, sandwiches are placed in paper bags and bank cards are held to payment screens every few seconds, all day, every day. The crisis that has engulfed the company in recent weeks seems hardly to have made a dent in this busy outlet, but across the UK the picture is more nuanced. From being the fresh-faced darling of high street convenience food, Pret has found itself in the unfamiliar and deeply unwelcome position of being the food industry’s bogeyman.

High court rejects request to temporarily block Cuadrilla operation in Lancashire

Shale gas operation could start in UK again after seven years as court denies injunction request

It is worth around £240m to shareholders and Treasury will pick up nearly £150m RBS has paid its first dividend since it was

Chris Marsh was suspended after hole was found in cafe chain’s accounts The finance director of the stricken Patisserie Valerie has been arrested by police, the company has told the stock exchange. Chris Marsh, who joined the company in 2006, was arrested on Thursday night and has been bailed.

Meeting with regional business leaders aims to drive wedge between DUP and Theresa May The EU has launched a direct sales pitch to Northern Ireland businesses in an attempt to drive a wedge between the Democratic Unionist party and Theresa May over the backstop solution for the Irish border in Brexit negotiations. As the rhetoric from Belfast intensifies and the

Read up on these properties linked to writers, from Devon to Gloucestershire

FTSE 100’s number of BME leaders falls in first annual update on Parker review The number of FTSE 100 company directors from ethnic minority backgrounds has declined in the past year, according to a progress report delivered by the government-backed campaign to boost boardroom diversity. Just 84 of the 1,048 director positions in the 100 biggest companies on the London Stock Exchange are held by a business leader from an ethnic minority, down from 85 last year, in the latest sign of stalling progress to make big companies more representative of the country at large.