Carlos Ghosn, chief of Nissan and Renault, faces arrest in Japan. Carlos Ghosn, the powerful head of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, faces arrest in Japan after being accused of tax evasion and misconduct. In a statement that came as a bombshell to investors, the global car industry and politicians in Tokyo and Paris, Nissan said that it would ask its directors to sack Mr Ghosn as chairman. The statement caused shockwaves in France. Shares in Renault plunged 12 per cent in morning trading amid speculation that Mr Ghosn would also have to abandon his job as chief executive of the French manufacturer.
Apple chief says tougher data regulation is inevitable. The chief executive of Apple has said that tighter regulation of big technology companies is inevitable following recent scandals over the use of personal data. Tim Cook said that he had been a supporter of self-regulation but that had changed after “deeply personal” data became “weaponised” by companies. “Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of regulation,” he told the website Axios. “I’m a big believer in the free market. But we have to admit when the free market is not working. And it hasn’t worked here. I think it’s inevitable that there will be some level of regulation. Last month he called for the United States to introduce tough EU-style data protection laws. He believes that Congress will have to pass legislation to tighten up the use of personal data at some point.
Edward Bramson set to demand board seat at Barclays. Activist investor wants investment bank cut back. The activist investor pushing Barclays (BARC) to curtail its investment banking ambitions has told other shareholders that he could push for a seat on the board if he feels he is being ignored. Edward Bramson could begin a proxy fight against Barclays if he does not get the response from the bank he was looking for, a leading UK fund manager said. Mr Bramson’s Sherborne Investors became one of the largest shareholders in Barclays this year, buying a stake of little over 5% with a view to putting pressure on it to increase returns through cutting back its investment banking business.
Interserve fails to provide back-up plan for services. One of the biggest suppliers of cleaning and catering services to government departments, schools and hospitals has failed to provide civil servants with details of how it would ensure continuity of service in the event of a Carillion-style collapse. Interserve (IRV), whose shares wobbled dramatically last week amid reports that it was close to failure, is absent from a list of companies being published today by the cabinet office that it says are close to providing it with a so-called living will. Capita, Serco and the French-owned Sopra Steria are the first three companies to volunteer to provide living wills aimed at helping civil servants to transfer contracts smoothly in the event of their collapse to a new supplier or to take them in-house without disruption.
Johnston Press pensioners face cuts. Almost 5,000 former workers at Johnston Press (JPR) face cuts to their pensions in the wake of the collapse of the owner of The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and the i newspapers. The company agreed a pre-pack administration on Friday night, in which its businesses and assets will be sold to a newly formed company controlled by the investors that own its debt, allowing the new owners to jettison the pension liabilities. Trustees of the pension fund, which has a deficit of £40 million, are seeking rescue by the Pension Protection Fund, the official lifeboat. A bailout would follow the rescues of Carillion and Kodak UK pensioners this year.
Playtech investor Jason Ader wants founder Teddy Sagi fired. The American activist investor calling for a shake-up at Playtech (PTEC) has written to the gaming technology group’s directors calling on them to cut all ties with Teddy Sagi, its billionaire founder. The Times understands that Jason Ader, from Spring Owl Asset Management, a New York hedge fund, expressed concern that Mr Sagi remains closely involved with the business, despite recently cutting his stake to only 4.8%. Mr Ader is said to have suggested that Mr Sagi’s colourful past — in his early twenties he spent time in an Israeli jail on charges of insider trading, before deciding that the internet was the way to make money — has constrained shareholder value and may have hindered Playtech’s American ambitions.
