Biden officially nominated
Democratic candidate
Joe Biden has officially become the US Democratic party’s presidential candidate. Mr Biden garnered support from the requisite number of delegates during a virtual roll call to secure his nomination. Among the figures endorsing Mr Biden during the second night of the Democratic convention were former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as the Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell. In his speech, Mr Clinton said “Joe Biden wants to build an economy far-better suited to our changing world”. Last week, Mr Biden named Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate.
Marston’s joint venture probed
CMA investigates
The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into a joint venture between pub and brewing group Marston’s (MARS) and Danish drinks giant Carlsberg. In May, Marston’s announced an agreement to create “a best in class, brand-led UK brewer of scale”, with the group taking a 40 per cent stake in the initiative, and the rest belonging to Carlsberg. In July, the Campaign for Real Ale group called on the CMA to investigate the deal out of fear over the quality of consumer choice, and the watchdog has acknowledged competition concerns.
Robinhood tops $11bn
New investor
The trading app Robinhood saw its valuation rocket to $11.2bn (£8.5bn) this week, following a fresh round of fundraising. D1 Capital Partners invested $200m in the app, which Robinhood said in a statement would be directed towards building its “core product and improving the customer experience”. In the first quarter of this year alone, the app, which aims to “democratise finance”, added 3m new customers and grew its user base beyond 13m. Last month it ditched its plans to open in the UK.
Finablr founder resigns
BR Shetty out
BR Shetty has resigned from Finablr (FIN), the payments group tangled in an accounting scandal. The company, which had owned Travelex, saw its shares suspended in March as it prepared for potential insolvency. Mr Shetty also founded healthcare group NMC Health, which entered administration in April following the discovery of billions in undisclosed debt. Last month, Finablr appointed law firm Skadden to investigate potential historic wrongdoing. It has also disclosed that HMRC has proposed the suspension of UAE Exchange UK’s business registration and one of its global money transfer subsidiaries.
Oracle eyes TikTok
Race heats up
The Financial Times reported that Oracle (US:ORCL) has entered the contest to buy parts of TikTok, the popular video app. So far Microsoft (US:MSFT) has been the lead suitor to acquire the company, after it said earlier this month that it had been in discussions with its Chinese parent ByteDance. There are also reports that Twitter (US:TWTR) has spoken with TikTok, although most believe that the company would struggle to muster enough resources for the deal. President Trump has threatened to shut down TikTok in the US unless it is acquired by an American company by mid-November.
#FreeFortnite
Epic sues
Epic, the company behind the popular video game Fortnite, has taken legal action against Apple (US:AAPL) and Alphabet (US:GOOGL), after it was removed from both the Google Play and App Store for breaking in-payment rules. Epic accused the iPhone-maker of an unlawful monopoly over the distribution of apps on its devices. Both Apple and Google take a 30 per cent slice of purchases made on their platforms. A number of developers have opposed the so-called ‘Apple tax’, which has recently drawn the attention of antitrust law-makers in Washington.
Cranswick lifts outlook
“Exceptional demand”
Cranswick (CWK) expects to beat its previous outlook for the year to March 2021, thanks to a rising trend towards eating at home over the past few months. With customers staying put during lockdown, the group – which sells pork, chicken and gourmet food products – said that revenues for the 13 weeks to 27 June were up by a quarter year on year, or by almost a fifth on a like-for-like basis. Trading was bolstered by increased sales from Cranswick’s new poultry facility in Eye, Suffolk.
A combination of clothing and higher petrol prices drove increases in the UK inflation rate during July.
The 12-month Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 1 per cent, up from 0.6 per cent in June. CPIH – which includes owner-occupier’s housing costs – rose by 1.1 per cent, up from 0.8 per cent.
The ONS noted that prices for clothing and footwear typically see a larger fall each year between June and July because items are put on sale before autumn arrives. But in 2020, trends have differed – with greater discounting at the start of lockdown. Fuel prices climbed as movement restrictions eased.
