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The Morning Ledger: U.K. Firms in Limbo After May Delays Brexit Vote |
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“If we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow, the deal would be rejected by a significant margin,” U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday. PHOTO: PETER NICHOLLS/REUTERS
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Good day. Corporate decision makers in the U.K. are left in limbo again after Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a critical parliamentary vote on her proposal to leave the European Union, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Don't let a slip become a slide: The British pound dropped to its lowest level in more than a year on the news. "Many business leaders will be intensely frustrated by yet another delay in this drawn-out process, which impacts real-world business conditions, not least currency markets," said Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, in a note.
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Growing groundwell: Calls for a new referendum have been growing in Parliament, bolstered by a ruling by the EU’s top court on Monday that the U.K. could cancel Brexit unilaterally. Ms. May has rejected the idea of holding another plebiscite.
Sticky wicket: To get a deal through parliament, Mrs. May needs to solve an issue that has dogged Brexit talks for months. The so-called backstop is a temporary customs arrangement designed to avoid the need for checkpoints at the Irish border if a long-term solution that avoids them cannot be agreed. Ms. May is meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte and German Chancellor Merkel on Tuesday to rescue her Brexit deal, the BBC reports.
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A former executive at Bloomberg LP and construction-industry officials are expected to be charged as soon as Tuesday for what Manhattan prosecutors have alleged is a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme relating to construction work inside two of the company’s buildings in New York.
American Eagle Outfitters Inc., Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. and DSW Inc. are among the companies scheduled to report earnings today.
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The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. PHOTO: JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
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U.S. public companies paid a median of 2.5% more in 2017 to auditors for assuring that their financial statements are free from material misstatements, according to an annual survey by the Financial Education & Research Foundation.
The increase was nearly double the 1.3% median rise in audit fees recorded in 2016 and came as companies prepared to implement sweeping new revenue accounting rules, which became effective for most public companies in 2018, reports CFO Journal's Tatyana Shumsky. U.S. public companies were also preparing to adopt new lease accounting rules, which come into effect for fiscal years starting after Dec. 15, 2018.
FERF examined audit fees reported in securities filings by 6,340 U.S. public companies, and surveyed more than 250 financial executives at public and private companies as well as nonprofit organizations.
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A letter carrier makes his rounds in Boston, Mass. PHOTO: CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Looking for ways to raise Postal Service revenue, the Trump administration has proposed a fundamental change to your mailbox: selling access to it to private companies.
Alphabet Inc.'s Google said it would close the consumer version of its Google+ social network after discovering a software bug that exposed the private profile information of 52 million users to outside app developers, the second time this year the company has acknowledged exposing private user data.
WPP PLC Chief Executive Mark Read set out his vision for a turnaround on Tuesday, a strategy he hopes will make the world’s largest advertising company better-positioned to contend with the rapidly changing marketing landscape.
Verizon Communications Inc. will shed about 10,400 workers who have accepted a severance package as the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers works to cut $10 billion in costs and upgrade to a faster 5G network.
Bunge Ltd.’s chief executive has agreed to step down from his position, a move that comes as the agricultural giant seeks to placate investors upset by its performance.
Some CBS Corp. directors are concerned that recent leaks from the investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by the broadcaster’s former chief executive, Leslie Moonves, could result in legal exposure for the company.
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Carlos Ghosn will remain in jail until at least Dec. 20. PHOTO: LUDOVIC MARIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Nissan Motor Co.’s Carlos Ghosn will remain in jail until at least Dec. 20 without the possibility of bail under a Tokyo District Court decision Tuesday.
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Apple Inc. was ordered by a Chinese court to stop selling older iPhone models after finding the company infringed on two patents held by Qualcomm Inc., casting uncertainty over Apple’s business in a critical market at a time of thorny trade relations between the U.S. and China.
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Huawei Technologies Co.’s finance chief won’t be a flight risk while awaiting a decision on her extradition to the U.S., her lawyer said at a bail hearing on Monday. The hearing resumes Tuesday morning.
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Sears Holdings Corp.’s push to pay up to $25 million in bonuses to executives and some high-ranking non-insiders has drawn fire from a bankruptcy watchdog.
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A former procurement officer at Venezuela’s state-run energy company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, pleaded guilty Monday to his role in a scheme to obstruct a continuing bribery probe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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The U.K. on Monday released a package of measures to increase transparency and prevent abuse of limited partnerships, which criminals have used to launder money through the country.
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Chinese Vice Premier Liu He last month PHOTO: CLEMENS BILAN/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
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The U.S. and China started the latest round of trade talks with a phone call involving Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
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French leader Emmanuel Macron took action Monday to put cash in the pockets of everyday French citizens as he confronted the violent anti-government street demonstrations that have posed the stiffest challenge to his presidency yet.
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Businesses in the U.S. are less optimistic about the outlook for the coming year than they were 12 months ago, though many still expect sales, hiring and investment to rise in 2019, according to a survey released Monday.
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Extreme wildfires across California in recent years are squeezing local economies. Chico, which escaped the wrath of the Camp Fire, is the latest example.
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The Madison Square Garden Co., a New York, N.Y.-based sports and entertainment arena, named Victoria Mink finance chief. The appointment takes effect Jan. 1, 2019.
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Ms. Mink succeeds current Chief Financial Officer Donna Coleman who will retire on Jan. 1. Ms. Coleman will remain with the company to assist with the transition. Ms. Mink, who joined MSG in October, is currently executive vice president of finance. Compensation details were not released.
Lockheed Martin Corp., the Bethesda, MD-based defense contractor, named Kenneth Possenriede finance chief, effective Feb. 11, 2019. Mr. Possenriede succeeds Bruce Tanner, a 37-year veteran of the company, who is slated to retire in 2019.
Mr. Possenriede currently works as vice president of finance and program management in Lockheed's aeronautics unit. Prior to this, he was vice president and treasurer for Lockheed Martin from 2011 to 2016. Compensation details were not disclosed.
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