The news surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica has been the top story of the week. The social network took a huge hit after misuse of its users’ data by Cambridge Analytica was revealed. A French firm is to produce the new British passports and more high street stores are facing financial difficulties. Former Carillion finance directors are facing investigation and PwC are under scrutiny for charging £20m for eight weeks of work during the company’s collapse. Read on for more details on the top commercial news stories of the week.
Facebook shares fell by almost $50bn after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica used data from 50 million Facebook users improperly during the 2016 American election campaigns. As well as facing the consequences for its reputation, the social network is being sued by shareholders over “significant losses and damages”.
There has been some criticism from Brexit supporters after a French firm won the contract to produce the new dark blue British passports. The company, Gemalto, is a security company based in Paris and beat the UK’s current Hampshire-based provider De La Rue.
Collapsed construction company Carillion is still making the headlines as two of its former finance directors are facing investigation. PwC faced accusations from MPs of trying to “milk the Carillion cow dry” after charging more than £20m for work over the first eight weeks of the company’s collapse.
High street stores continue to face difficulties as more retailers are closing stores or issuing profit warnings. Carpetright, Marks & Spencer, and New Look are to close stores while Moss Bros, Mothercare, and DIY group Kingfisher are struggling.
There are fears of a trade war due to Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on around $60bn of Chinese products. The proposed tariffs are due to suspected intellectual property theft by China. Beijing said that while it doesn’t want a trade war, it was “not afraid” of one.
