Serious Fraud Office arrests two men over suspected £20m crypto fraud

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has arrested two men as it launched an investigation into a suspected £20m cryptocurrency fraud.The law enforcement agency raided two sites in West Yorkshire and London as it appealed for information about $28m (£21.4m) invested into a cryptocurrency scheme called Basis Markets.Two men, one in his 30s and another in his 40s, were arrested on suspicion of multiple fraud and money-laundering offences, the agency said.Basis Markets, which the SFO described as a “suspected fraudulent scheme” and is not a company, is said to have raised millions of pounds via two public fundraisers in November and December 2021, stating it would use the cash to create a “crypto hedge fund”

Industry can’t wait any longer for a fix to its energy crisis. Ministers should get a move on | Nils Pratley

In the long list of budget submissions from the business world, here’s one the chancellor is probably disinclined to smile upon.Make UK, the body representing manufacturers, would like the government to expand its energy support scheme – the one unveiled in June as part of the shiny new industrial strategy – from 7,000 firms to 115,000 businesses. And it would like the promised savings in electricity bills to be backdated to April this year; as scheduled, the so-called British industrial competitiveness scheme, or BICS, is due to arrive only in April 2027.One doubts Rachel Reeves will go there for three reasons. First, these things never get backdated

‘No contract, no coffee’: what to know about the Starbucks workers’ strike in 65 US cities

Unionized Starbucks workers are threatening to expand a US strike against the world’s biggest coffee chain into “the largest and longest” in the company’s history – and urging customers to steer clear.Starbucks has said the vast majority of its cafes remain open, and expressed disappointment that Starbucks Workers United launched the strike.Negotiations over the first ever union contract for Starbucks workers in the US broke down in recent months. Both sides have blamed the other.Prominent politicians including Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, have backed the striking workers

UK is worst-performing market for JD Sports as youth unemployment hits sales

Unemployment among young people in the UK is hitting sales growth and profits at JD Sports, the owner of the trainer and sportwear chain has said, amid warnings about the high number of under-25s not in work, education or training.The UK was the worst-performing market for JD Group, which also owns Blacks, Go Outdoors and a number of US and European sports chains.Régis Schultz, the chief executive, said JD was experiencing “pressures on our core customer demographic, including rising unemployment levels, as well as near-term volatility around consumer sentiment”.His comments came as official figures on Thursday showed the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) remains stubbornly close to the highest level in a decade.Despite a modest decline in the three months to September to 946,000, down from 948,000 in the previous quarter, campaigners said the figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Britain was at risk of failing a whole generation of young people

US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, after shock losses in August – as it happened

Newsflash: The US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, as America’s jobs market picked up after a summer lull.September’s official employment report, delayed since the start of October by the US government shutdown, shows that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 119,000 in September.That’s more than twice as many jobs as expected, thanks to gains in health care, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. Job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing and in federal government, though.But there’s bad news too

Asda to raise £568m in store sell-off as sales continue to fall

Asda is selling off 24 stores and a distribution centre – and leasing them back – to raise £568m in what has been called a “sign of weakness” as sales at the heavily indebted retailer continue to fall.The Leeds-based supermarket group, which is expected to release its quarterly results next week, has continued to lose market share to rivals as sales have gone backwards, despite an effort to win over shoppers with price cuts and improved stores.Sales fell 3.9% in the three months to 2 November, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar), which indicated a one percentage point drop in market share from a year before.Asda’s parent group slumped to a near-£600m loss last year as sales fell and the cost of servicing its debt pile increased