Reuters UK Business

By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) -Portugal’s data regulator has ordered Sam Altman’s iris-scanning project Worldcoin to stop collecting biometric data for 90 days, it said on Tuesday, in the latest regulatory blow to a venture that has raised privacy concerns in multiple countries. Worldcoin encourages people to have their faces scanned by its “orb” devices, …

Portugal orders Sam Altman’s Worldcoin to halt data collection Read More »

LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann, who last week dropped her call for increases in borrowing costs, said on Tuesday she thought markets were betting on too many interest rate cuts by the British central bank. “I think they’re pricing in too many cuts, that would be my personal view,” Mann told …

BoE’s Mann says markets are pricing in too many rate cuts Read More »

(Reuters) -DS Smith confirmed on Tuesday it was in discussions with International Paper over an all-stock offer from the U.S.-listed company, which valued the British paper and packaging firm at 5.72 billion pounds ($7.22 billion). Under the terms of the proposal, DS Smith shareholders would receive 0.1285 shares in International Paper for each share they …

Britain’s DS Smith gets $7 billion buyout offer from International Paper Read More »

By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – A delay in creating a tougher British auditing regulator means the current watchdog is “sheriff of only half a county”, beholden to the goodwill of accountants for funding and data, lawmakers were told on Tuesday. After the collapse of builder Carillion, retailer BHS and cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, three …

Britain’s audit watchdog a ‘sheriff of half a county’ beholden to accountants Read More »

LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union’s securities watchdog on Tuesday proposed rules to ensure competition among external reviewers of green bonds to keep costs down for issuers. Green bonds will play a central role in raising billions of euros to help the bloc transition to a low carbon economy by 2050. The EU approved voluntary …

EU sets out rules for external checks on ‘green’ bonds Read More »

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Co-operative Bank said on Tuesday it had started a consultation to cut around 400 jobs, equivalent to 12% of its workforce, as part of broader plans to simplify its business and reduce costs. “The decision has not been made lightly, and the Bank will continue to work closely with our trade …

Britain’s Co-op Bank plans 400 layoffs Read More »

PARIS (Reuters) -French government agencies will have to find more ways to cut spending, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday, after official data showed the 2023 public deficit overshot its target. Statistics agency INSEE said the 2023 public accounts showed a fiscal shortfall of 5.5% of economic output last year, up from 4.8% …

France seeks more budget cuts after deficit overshoots target Read More »