The shadow Brexit Secretary has said that Labour are not necessarily ruling out a remain option, should a second referendum go ahead. The Former QC and current MP for Holborn and St Pancras, Sir Kier Starmer, made the comments during his speech at the annual party conference in Liverpool. Specifically, Sir Starmer took the opportunity to dispel suggestions that a remain option would not be reconsidered in the event of a secondary vote. In the speech, he stated: “If [a general election] is not possible, we must have other options. And, conference, that must include campaigning for a public vote. Conference, it’s right that parliament has the first say. But if we need to break the impasse, our options must include campaigning for a public vote and nobody is ruling out remain as an option.” Sir Starmer’s comments prove to be in direct opposition to remarks made earlier in the week by shadow chancellor and close ally of leader Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell. Notably, McDonnell said that should a second referendum indeed go ahead, the vote should crucially respect the result of the June 2016 vote and thus not include an option for ‘remain’. “If we are going to respect the last referendum, it will be about the deal, it will a negotiation on the deal,” he stated on Monday. He added: “Parliament will determine the nature of the question that will be put, but the first stage of that is to see if we can get a deal that is acceptable and brings the country together again. And I’ve always thought we could.” Sir Starmer’s recent interjection will no doubt add to confusion over Labour’s Brexit stance, as the March 2019 deadline fast approaches. Whilst the annual party conference is often seen as way to outline a cohesive party strategy, it still remains unclear precisely what Labour’s official policy regarding Brexit actually is. However, it seems that a lack of clarity over Brexit is, curiously, a cross-party problem. Equally, the Conservatives continue to be in disarray with respect to how best to proceed with negotiations. In particular, Tory Brexiteers continue to differ on whether or not to back Theresa May’s proposed plan. Former cabinet foreign secretary Boris Johnson has remained among one of the most prominent critics of the proposals, articulating his opposition in his respective column in The Telegraph. Moreover, prominent Hard Brexit supporter, Jacob Rees Mogg, has said that the Prime Minister should recognise that her Chequer’s plan will have limited support. It seems that the controversial vote to leave back in 2016 has done nothing to quell debates within the conservative party over the Europe issue. Nevertheless, a spokesperson for Number 10 remained adamant that the cabinet itself remain united behind the plan. However, with the most recent rejection of the proposed chequers deal from EU officials, it remains to be seen whether Theresa May’s own party will also cooperate. According to party sources, Labour also remains unconvinced. Ahead of his aforementioned speech in Liverpool, Sir Starmer told BBC’s Radio 4 Today Programme that the party looks likely to vote down the deal. Party differences aside, it seems there is one thing both the Conservative and Labour can agree upon – derailing Theresa May’s Brexit proposals.              

Michael Kors has confirmed plans to buy Versace in a $2.1 billion deal. The US company confirmed the takeover after fans called on Versace to stop the sale. John D. Idol, the chairman and chief executive officer of Michael Kors, said the deal was “an important milestone for our group”. “For over 40 years, Versace has represented the epitome of Italian fashion luxury, a testament to the brand’s timeless heritage,” he said in a statement. “We are excited to have Versace as part of our family of luxury brands, and we are committed to investing in its growth. With the full resources of our group, we believe that Versace will grow to over $2 billion in revenues.” “We believe that the strength of the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands, and the acquisition of Versace, position us to deliver multiple years of revenue and earnings growth,” he added. Donatella Versace, who is the creative director of Versace, said sale the sale was a “very exciting moment” and will “allow Versace to reach its full potential”. Michael Kors plans to increase the number of Versace outlets from 200 to 300 and double the group’s turnover to $2 billion. Last year the US luxury fashion brand bought Jimmy Choo for almost £900 million. The deal was first reported on Monday by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Reuters later reported the news after a source revealed: “They gradually persuaded the family to look into a possible sale and introduced them to a series of buyers, including Michael Kors.” “Blackstone wasn’t going to put any more money into it. They needed a buyer who could make heavy investments.” Shares in Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) are down 8.21 percent at 66,71 (1324GMT).  

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced that it plans to axe thousands of jobs worldwide. The group currently employs around 1,500 people in the UK, with plans to cut 400 of these roles. As well as the UK, Novartis will also cut over 2,000 roles in Switzerland. The group has said the decision to phase out roles is not relevant to Brexit. “Novartis has been a part of the Grimsby community for many years so this has been a very difficult decision,” said the UK country president, Haseeb Ahmad. “The Grimsby site is an effective, well-running operation that is testament to the hard-working and dedicated employees. We will treat every employee with the utmost respect, sensitivity and fairness during this difficult time.”

“This decision has been made alongside broader changes to our business globally, and as a result of the changes in our product portfolio which now focuses on more specialised medicines, reflective of today’s changing healthcare needs.”

“Novartis remains committed to the UK and believes that the UK is a world-leader in life sciences. Today’s announcement is part of a global review of our manufacturing operations and is not linked to the decision of the UK to leave the European Union,” he added.

Novartis currently employs around 124,000 people worldwide, with plans to cut this number to below 100,000 by 2022.

Unions criticised the decision and said the company will be worse off.

Shares in the group (SWX: NOVN) were up about 0.8 percent at 0900 GMT.

New figures have found that scammers have stolen £500 million from UK bank customers in the first half of 2018. The trade body UK Finance found that the total figure was lost through authorised push payment (APP) scams and unauthorised fraud. The trade body said that only £30.9 million of the £145 million that was lost through APP scams was returned to customers. The current legislation means that the customers that are liable for the losses incurred if they authorise a payment themselves. The managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, Katy Worobec, said: “The criminals behind it target their victims indiscriminately and the proceeds go on to fund terrorism, people smuggling and drug trafficking, whether or not the individual is refunded.” Through major investment in security systems and cyber-defences, the industry has managed to prevent two-thirds of unauthorised fraud for the first half of the year. Gareth Shaw, a money expert at the consumer group Which?, has said that the efforts made by banks has been “woefully insufficient”. “It’s now two years since our super-complaint highlighted the lack of protection for victims of bank transfer scams, but these shocking figures show just how widespread the problem still is,” he said. “Banks … have not done enough to protect their customers, who continue to lose life-changing sums of money to ever-more sophisticated crooks.” “The Payment Systems Regulator has rightly committed to introducing a reimbursement scheme for victims. It’s about time that banks step up and properly compensate customers who have lost money through no fault of their own.” The first six months of 2018 has seen an increase in money lost to scammers. The same period last year totalled £101 million for losses by APP, compared to this year’s £145 million. The UK Finance said this year’s increase is partly down to banks reporting more data.

Tesco Bank has been fined a record penalty of more than £30 million over a cyberattack back in 2016. The fine, which has been imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), was a result of an incident dating back to November of 2016. As a result of the cyber attack, Tesco’s banking division said at the time that £2.5 million had been stolen from 9,000 customers. The decision comes amid recent research which indicated that UK bank customers have lost a total of £500 million in the first half of 2018 as a result of such scams, according to trade body, UK finance. Specifically, £145 million was lost due to authorised push payment (APP) related scams, where customers were conned into making payments to different accounts. Moreover, £358 million was also lost from unauthorised fraud from third parties, UK finance said. Whilst banks will refund customers who have been victims of fraud, there are limited protections in place to protect those affected by APP schemes. UK finance said that only £30.9 million of the £145 million lost through APP scams this year had been returned to victims. Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, warned that the figures revealed that cyber crime continues to be a significant threat. “The criminals behind it target their victims indiscriminately and the proceeds go on to fund terrorism, people smuggling and drug trafficking, whether or not the individual is refunded,” she commented. Tesco’s banking arm is still in negotiations with the FCA regarding the penalty, indicating that a lower figure could be agreed upon in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, the record fine will no doubt be a warning signal to larger banks, as the FCA continues to crackdown on cyberattacks in the banking industry. Shares in Tesco (LON:TSCO) are currently trading +0.38 percent as of 11.05AM (GMT).        

The co-founders of Instagram have announced their resignation from the group. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have said they are leaving the Facebook-owned company to “explore our curiosity and creativity again”. It was reported in Bloomberg that the chief executive officer and chief technical officer are leaving Instagram amid growing tensions with Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) founder Mark Zuckerberg. In a statement on Monday, Systrom said the pair were grateful for “the last eight years at Instagram and six years with the Facebook team”. “We’ve grown from 13 people to over a thousand with offices around the world, all while building products used and loved by a community of over one billion. We’re now ready for our next chapter.” “We remain excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook in the coming years as we transition from leaders to two users in a billion. We look forward to watching what these innovative and extraordinary companies do next,” he added. The pair met while studying at Stanford University. Instagram was purchased by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion (£760 million) in cash and stock and now has more than one billion active monthly users. Zuckerberg released a public statement about Systrom and Krieger’s departure, saying: “Kevin and Mike are extraordinary product leaders and Instagram reflects their combined creative talents. I’ve learned a lot working with them for the past six years and have really enjoyed it. I wish them all the best and I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next.” The co-founders’ resignation from the group comes months after the WhatsApp chief executive and co-founder Jan Koum resigned. Whatsapp was sold to Facebook in 2014.

After a better-than-expected summer of sales, Next (LON: NXT) has raised its annual profit expectations. The retailer has also said that the biggest threat of a no-deal Brexit would be the queues and delays at ports. Despite this, the group’s boss Lord Wolfson, who has backed Brexit, does not think a no-deal Brexit will be a “material threat”. “It is not yet clear how well prepared HMRC systems, customs and other relevant personnel will be for the upcoming potential increase in workload and data capture,” he said. “We believe that the biggest risk to our business is the external risk of UK ports not coping with the additional volume of customs work they would be required to undertake if no changes are made to the UK’s current procedures… We believe that it remains open to the government to initiate changes in the way customs procedures operate and that such measures could eliminate much of the risk to our ports.” “There are significant challenges involved in preparing for a no-deal outcome and we would not want to understate the work we are doing to prepare for this eventuality. However, we do not believe that the direct risks of a no-deal Brexit pose a material threat to the ongoing operations and profitability of NEXT’s business here in the UK or to our £190m turnover business in the EU,” he added. Sales in Next increased 4.5 percent during the six months to July and the group reported half-year pre-tax profits of £311.1 million compared to the £309 million in the same period the year previously. Full-year profits are expected to be similar to last year of £727 million, despite the volatile high street. Last week, Moss Bros sales had suffered because of the hot summer. The retailer warned of the conditions faced on the high street. “The UK retail market remains volatile, subject to powerful structural and cyclical changes. Many of these headwinds have not abated. As expected, sales in our stores (which now account for just under half of our turnover) continue to be challenging.” “We believe the over-performance in the first half was flattered by the unusually warm summer and we remain cautious in our outlook for the rest of the year.”

Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) is to buy Versace in a $2 billion deal. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has reported that the US luxury brand is expected to announce the deal with the Milanese fashion house on Tuesday. US private equity firm Blackstone took a 20 percent stake in Versace in 2014, which will also be sold onto Michael Kors. Blackstone injected €150 million of capital into Versace and acquired €60 million in stock in Versace at the time of purchase. A source told Reuters: “They gradually persuaded the family to look into a possible sale and introduced them to a series of buyers, including Michael Kors.” “Blackstone wasn’t going to put any more money into it. They needed a buyer who could make heavy investments.” Michael Kors bought Jimmy Choo, the luxury shoemaker founded in London, for almost £900 million. Michael Kors said the acquisition was expected to deliver “the opportunity to grow Jimmy Choo sales to one billion dollars” and allow “a more balanced portfolio with greater product diversification”. Versace reported sales of €686 million in 2016. The group’s chief executive, Jonathan Akeroyd, said earlier this year that annual turnover was soon expected to be over €1 billion.      

Sky has recommended its shareholders accept Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) $40 billion takeover offer. In a statement released on Monday, the UK broadcaster advised shareholders to accept the offer by the October 11 deadline. “As the price of the Comcast Offer is materially superior, it is in the best interests of all Sky shareholders to accept the Comcast Offer,” the company said. “Accordingly, the Independent Committee unanimously recommends that Sky shareholders accept the Comcast Offer, and in order to ensure the successful closing of the Comcast Offer, and given the possibility of a delisting of Sky in the near future, urges shareholders to accept immediately.” Comcast outbid Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) for Sky on Saturday by $3.6 billion. The deal is worth £17.28 per share, higher than Fox’s of £15.67 per share. Martin Gilbert, chairman of the Independent Committee of Sky, said: “We consider the Comcast Offer to be an excellent outcome for Sky shareholders, and we are recommending it as it represents materially superior value. We are focused on drawing this process to a successful and swift close and therefore urge shareholders to accept the recommended Comcast Offer,” Fox now has to decide what to do with the 39 percent of Sky it owns, which it agreed to sell to Disney (NYSE: DIS) along with its entertainment assets in a deal that was approved by both sides in July. The group said it would “make a further announcement in due course.” Shares in Sky (LON: SKY) jumped nine percent to £17.22 in Monday’s early trading. Shares are currently trading up 8.74 percent 1141GMT).