Business news - live: Pound steadies after Brexit delay, as Toto Energy becomes latest supplier to go bust

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Boris Johnson to pause Brexit Bill until extension decision is reached

The pound steadied on Wednesday after Boris Johnson hit “pause” on his Brexit deal legislation.

Sterling fell back from $1.30 after MPs refused to back Boris Johnson's plan to push through the deal through the House of Commons in just three days.

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[23 October 2019 13:03 · ben.chapman]

Jobs at risk after British Steel bidder fails to agree deal

The Turkish company that had been in line to take over British Steel has fialed to agree a deal putting thousands of jobs at risk.

As preferred bidder, Ataer Holding has exclusive to British Steel's books until tomorrow.

After that, other companies will be able to bid, including Liberty House which owns steel plants in Rotherham and Stockbridge.

[23 October 2019 13:11 · ben.chapman]

Businesses 'at a loss' with Brexit preparations

Continued uncertainty around Brexit has left businesses "at a loss" with how to prepare, according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

CMI chief executive Ann Francke said: "Businesses are again lost as to what Brexit preparations they should be making, creating economic uncertainty. Are we deal or no-deal? Clearly we should deal.

"To do so, the Prime Minister needs to take a pragmatic, co-operative approach to his work with both Parliament and the European Union, to ensure the UK secures a deal.

"Only then can we build a future relationship with the EU that is good for jobs and the economy."

[23 October 2019 13:37 · ben.chapman]

The pound "lacks any direction", says Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

"The pound has stabilised following last night’s dip as traders await the next move on the Brexit table with the EU set to approve an extension.

"What remains uncertain is whether it’s heading towards an election before Brexit happens or a push to get this bill all the way through the Parliamentary hoops.

"One senses the government would prefer the former as it simply cannot trust this parliament to get this rather unattractive agreement over the line still without it becoming so ugly that it needs to be ditched."

[23 October 2019 13:39 · ben.chapman]

UK firms must have global 'duty of care' to stop environmental damage, say Lib Dems

UK companies should have a new “duty of care” to ensure they take legal responsibility for deforestation and other environmental damage linked to their operations overseas, the Liberal Democrats have proposed.

The law would make it more difficult for UK-based firms to shirk responsibility for damage caused by their suppliers – by applying a minimum set of standards to all of their operations globally.

That would mean companies could be held liable in the UK for problems caused elsewhere, even where local laws have been complied with.

[23 October 2019 14:00 · ben.chapman]

Boeing replaces senior executive in charge of 737 Max after two fatal crashes

Boeing has replaced the senior executive in charge of the doomed 737 Max plane.

The aircraft manufacturer has replaced president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAllister, who was in charge of the Boeing 737 Max programme.

Mr McAllister is the most senior executive to leave the company since the jet was grounded in March. 

The worldwide fleet of Max jets was grounded following two fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 346 people. 

The Manoeuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) was later blamed for the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes.

[23 October 2019 14:24 · ben.chapman]

Half of musicians suffer sexual harassment at work, damning report claims

About half of musicians have been forced to endure sexual harassment in the workplace, a new study has found.

The Musicians’ Union, which represents more than 30,000 musicians working across the industry, found some 85 per cent of victims did not report the harassment.

Researchers said their silence was predominantly due to the “culture of the industry”.

Almost two-thirds of performers considered themselves more vulnerable to such treatment because they were freelance workers rather than on permanent employees, the research found.

Some 90 per cent of the Music Union’s members work on a freelance basis. Only one in five of those surveyed for the study said their contracts contained procedures to handle sexual harassment.

[23 October 2019 14:50 · ben.chapman]

Insolvency Service to seek out buyers for British Steel

The Official Receiver is willing to talk to other bidders for British Steel as discussions with Ataer Group falter.

 after two months of exclusive talks with Ataer Holdings comes to an end, the department has said.

Ataer, which is controlled by the Turkish military pension fund, is still "very much interested in acquiring the business", the Official Receiver in charge of the sale claimed.

The Official Receiver said:

“While discussions with Ataer are continuing, discussions with other parties who have expressed continued and renewed interest in acquiring the whole British Steel business will now be possible. I have instructed the Special Managers to engage with these additional interested parties.

"Diligence team members from these parties are expected to visit the company’s sites over the coming days and weeks. Meanwhile Ataer remain very much interested in acquiring the business and we remain in detailed discussions with them to conclude a sale.

“I remain focussed on achieving a sale of the business and assets of British Steel as quickly as possible, to achieve the best possible outcome for the Company’s creditors. The conclusion of the exclusivity period allows us to consider all of the options available at this point in the process. I would like to thank the team at British Steel for their continued support and hard work during this period of uncertainty.”

[23 October 2019 16:07 · ben.chapman]

How to get £20 compensation for the Three network going down

Customers of Three mobile network could get a £20 refund on their bill after last week’s outage left users without phone signal or internet connections for hours.

The company won’t be contacting its 10 million UK customers, they have to get in touch in order to claim compensation with each claim assessed individually.

A Three spokesperson said: "If you’d like to talk to us about compensation, please call us and we will consider each case on an individual basis. Please be patient because we are experiencing high call volumes."

The company has not specified how much money it will refund, but MoneySavingExpert reports that some customers have received £20 credit towards their bill.

[23 October 2019 16:12 · ben.chapman]

Google claims 'quantum supremacy'

(Reuters) Google says it has achieved a breakthrough in computer research, by solving a complex problem in minutes with a so-called quantum computer that would take today’s most powerful supercomputer thousands of years to crack.

Official confirmation of the breakthrough in quantum computing came in a paper here published in science journal Nature, after weeks of controversy following the leak of a draft, over whether Google's claim of "quantum supremacy" was valid.

Computer scientists have for decades sought to harness the behavior of sub-atomic particles that can simultaneously exist in different states - in contrast to the “real” world that people perceive around them.

So, whereas traditional computing relies on bits, or ones and zeros, quantum computing uses quantum bits, or qubits, that can be both one and zero at the same time.

This property, called superposition, multiplies exponentially as qubits become entangled with each other. The more qubits that can be strung together, the vastly more powerful a quantum computer becomes.

But there’s a catch: Quantum researchers need to cool the qubits to close to absolute zero to limit vibration - or “noise” - that causes errors to creep into their calculations. It’s in this extremely challenging task that the research team at Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, has made significant progress.

[23 October 2019 16:38 · ben.chapman]

Toto Energy goes bust

Another energy supplier has gone bust just a day after watchdog Ofgem announced proposed new rules to prevent company failures in the sector.

Toto Energy has ceased trading, leaving Ofgem with the job of finding a new supplier for 134,000 customers.

The regulator told affected consumers not to change suppliers.

Philippa Pickford, Ofgem’s director for future retail markets, said:

“Toto Energy customers do not need to worry, as under our safety net we’ll make sure your energy supplies are secure and customers’ credit balances are protected.

“Ofgem will now choose a new supplier for you and whilst we’re doing this our advice is to ‘sit tight’ and don’t switch. You can rely on your energy supply as normal. We will update you when we have chosen a new supplier, who will then get in touch about your new tariff.”