Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is appealing a record €4.3 billion fine after it was accused of utilising its Android system to “cement its dominance”. The tech giant announced the appeal on Tuesday and it could take up several years to be resolved. The European Commission found that the company had illegally forced phone manufacturers to pre-install its Android apps, disadvantaging its competitors. Google also ensured Android manufacturers pre-installed its search engine and Chrome browser, in order to use Google’s app store. Google was dealt the record fine back in July. At the time of the announcement, EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who heads the competition policy department, said: “Today, mobile internet makes up more than half of global internet traffic. It has changed the lives of millions of Europeans. Our case is about three types of restrictions that Google has imposed on Android device manufacturers and network operators to ensure that traffic on Android devices goes to the Google search engine. In this way, Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine. ” She continued: “These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.” Earlier this month, the tech company was named the second-most valuable brand in the world according to a ranking by Interbrand. Elsewhere across the tech industry, Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) recently agreed to pay an additional £2.7 million in UK taxes. Similarly, it was also revealed this week that Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) UK tax bill had also tripled.

A City minister was warned that up to 5,000 jobs could be moved from the City of London by the time of Brexit. John Glen has agreed with the Bank of England that thousands of financial services jobs could move to the EU by March 2019, when the UK officially leaves the EU. “My sole objective in respect of the City is to ensure as much continuation as possible in respect of economic value able to be generated by the City,” he told a committee in the House of Lords. “We have not seen wholesale moves of large institutions to other cities in continental EU,” Glen added. The warning has come as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published over 900 pages of preparatory work for a ‘no deal’ Brexit, consulting with two financial firms in the run-up to the UK’s departure from the EU. Glen added that there have been no calculations yet on how much in tax will be lost from financial services institutions. “It would be pretty impossible, laden with so many assumptions, to do some meaningful calculations on that, in terms of what the different sectors’ response would be, because there’s so many live issues with respect to the deal and the regulatory certainty that we would seek to bring through the deal,” he said. The financial sector currently generates over £70 billion in tax revenues.  

Sosander expects to announce a 407 percent increase in first-half revenues compared to the same period last year. The online fashion retailer revenues for the year up to September 30 to reach £1.84 million thanks to growth in orders and customers. “The business has made substantial progress over the first six months of the year, and we are delighted to have delivered such strong growth in revenues, orders and new customers. We have successfully raised £3 million following strong institutional investor interest in the company,” said joint CEO’s, Ali Hall and Julie Lavington in a statement. Sosander has bucked the retail trend, where many retailers including French Connection have reported a fall in sales and profits leading to widespread store closures. The fashion retailer has driven customer base by focusing primarily on brand appeal and brand awareness through social media platforms including Instagram and Facebook, which have seen a growth in following by 193% and 129% respectively. The last six months have seen more frequent orders and a higher basket size, highlighting the growing customer loyalty to the fashion retailer. Hall and Lavington added:  

An assessment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has found that the UK’s public finances are among the weakest in the world. The UK was in the second weakest position in the health check on the wealth of 31 nations, with only Portugal in a worse state. According to the assessment, which includes wealth and stress tests, the UK did poorly largely thanks to the bailout of UK banks after the financial crisis. “The United Kingdom balance sheet expanded massively during the crisis. Most of the expansion in the balance sheet was the result of large-scale financial sector rescue operations that resulted in reclassification of the rescued private banks into the public sector. [This] increased (non–central bank) public financial corporation liabilities from zero in 2007 to 189% of GDP in 2008, with similar [falls] in financial assets,” said the report. Top of the list was Norway, who holds most of its wealth in oil. Countries including the Gambia, Uganda and Kenya also ranked above the UK due to their higher net wealth relative to GDP. Italy, Barbados and Greece were excluded from the broader tests and therefore would have had a lower rating than the UK. The IMF said: “Better balance sheet management enables countries to increase revenues, reduce risks and improve fiscal policymaking. Countries with stronger balance sheets pay lower interest on their debt. Evidence also shows that countries with strong balance sheets experience shallower and shorter recessions.” The IMF added that publishing a public sector balance sheet will help to “avoid the fiscal illusion that arises when governments on face value improve the fiscal position by lowering the immediate debt and deficits, but reduce net worth over time”.    

ITV has put its South Bank studios up for sale, axing plans to move back after its five-year development. The site in South Bank has previously been the broadcaster’s headquarters for over 40 years and is home to the show Upstairs Downstairs. ITV vacated the building last year in what was supposed to be a temporary move and relocated in offices in Holborn. The move comes after plans unveiled in July by the new chief executive Carolyn McCall, who planned to cut costs as part of a strategy overhaul in July. “ITV needs to ensure that its property portfolio in London supports the new strategy by giving flexibility to continue to grow, while supporting our ambition to be an agile and increasingly digital organisation,” said a spokesperson. “By remaining in our current London office and studio spaces we can focus more time and resource on the areas of the business which will deliver greatest value.” Analysts at Liberum have estimated that the sale of the South Bank location could net ITV as much as £245 million. ITV bought the South Bank studios for £56 million in 2013 from Coal Pension Nominees. Shares in the group (LON: ITV) are trading at 159,30 (0911GMT).  

Since 2015, Amazon has experienced over 440 health and safety incidents at its UK warehouses. This is according to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests. It has been revealed that workers suffered fractures, head injuries, contusions, and collisions with heavy equipment. This is following the GMB union’s request of data from local authorities. Earlier this year, Amazon raised its minimum wage for US and UK employees. But, as the data collected reveals, in 2015-2016 there were 80 health and safety incidents. This increased to 114 in 2016-2017 and then to 149 in 2017-2018. Up until now in 2018-2019, 99 health and safety incidents have been reported. The data reveals a variety of injuries sustained by warehouse workers. For example, staff worked in extremely low temperatures of 3 degrees Celsius at a warehouse in Dundee. Moreover, one worker was injured using their hand to remove a label that was trapped in a conveyor belt. Equally, another worker was injured after being knocked over and trapped underneath a reversing heavy goods vehicle. Not to mention a forklift driver who crashed into a column at a warehouse, almost causing a floor to collapse.

It has also become apparent that Amazon workers had complained to local authorities regarding their working conditions.

Amazon has denied these claims, insisting that it fosters a safe working environment. A spokes person for the company said: “Amazon is a safe place to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong,” “Amazon has created more than 25,000 good jobs with good pay and benefits across Britain and we are proud of the work they do on behalf of customers every day.” However, a spokesman from GMB has commented: “Amazon’s claims over its health and safety record have not been independently verified, and there are good reasons to doubt that they are accurate,” “GMB’s investigations at the Rugeley warehouse in Staffordshire suggests that the serious injury rate may be significantly higher than the sector average. “If it wants to be taken seriously, Amazon should publish its own health and safety data and recognise GMB so workers have an independent voice through which to raise their serious concerns.” Earlier this month, Bloomberg claimed that Amazon was among a handful of companies that had been hacked by Chinese spies.

The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) hit the lowest levels for six months on Tuesday as fears over the Italian budget stand-off sucked the confidence out of European equity markets. The FTSE 100 fell beneath 7,200 on Tuesday, the lowest level since mid-April. Italy has set out a budget plan that equates to 2.4% of GDP, something that has been met by fierce resistance from Brussels and raised concerns among investors about the long term financial health of Europe’s 4th largest economy. Despite pressure in Italian bonds and condemnation from European leaders, Italy have been unwavering in there commitment to the plan. “We go ahead calm and responsible.” “There are no plan B or backtracks. We are convinced that the planned budget measures will create jobs and wealth,” said Italian deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. The market has met the Italian resistance with the selling of Italian bonds. Yields in 10-year Italian bonds closed at their highest level since 2014 yesterday, yet the Italian administration seems unperturbed, heightening the risk of a financial shock. “A spread at 400, 500? We are committed to making the spread reflect the fundamentals. If it goes to 500, the government will do what it needs to do.” “If everyone sells, we will have capital outflows and we will have to face the situation. Faced with a financial crisis, the government will do what it must do, as Draghi did,” said economy minister Giovanni Tria.

Global rates are rising

Italy and their rising rates are not the only country causing angst among investors. US rates have soared above 3% in recent weeks leading to volatility in global equities, particularly emerging markets who are suffering capital outflows as investor reallocate to US treasuries. In the UK, gilts are at the highest level for a year after recent BoE rate hikes and the promise of the UK government to halt years of austerity.