Companies face prosecution risk as new fraud law comes into force

Companies could be prosecuted and face unlimited fines if they fail to prevent fraud that their firm profits from under a corporate offence coming into force on Monday.Under the new “failure to prevent fraud” law, large companies can be held criminally liable where an “employee, agent, subsidiary or other ‘associated person’” commits a fraud intending to benefit the organisation.Examples could include dishonest sales practices, hiding important information from consumers or investors, or dishonest practices in financial markets. If a company is prosecuted it will have to prove to the court that it had reasonable anti-fraud measures in place.The law will apply to large organisations that meet at least two of three criteria: having more than 250 employees, £36m turnover or £18m in total assets

Norway signs £10bn deal for anti-submarine warships built in UK

Norway has agreed a £10bn deal for anti-submarine warships that will be built in the UK, as the two countries plan joint operations in northern Europe to deal with increased Russian activity.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the agreement to build Type 26 frigates was the UK’s biggest ever warship export deal by value, and Norway’s biggest defence procurement deal.It said that overall it would provide a £10bn boost to the UK economy and support 4,000 jobs across the UK “well into the 2030s”.The Type 26 frigates will be built at the BAE Systems shipyards in Glasgow, which are already constructing eight of the warships for the Royal Navy.“This £10bn deal is what our plan for change is about,” said the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer

First the great migration, now the big hold: why workers are staying put

The tide has turned. The great migration – when the shift to remote work prompted people to quit their jobs in droves – is officially over. Now comes the big hold.According to a new survey from consulting firm Robert Half, 73% of respondents – workers at companies – said they plan to stay in their current roles through 2025. They gave reasons like having “positive company culture” and “feeling professionally fulfilled” or “being well compensated” at their current job

How Trump and corporations have hobbled US labor watchdog

Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Biden administration, was one of the first officials to be fired by Donald Trump once he took office in January. She wasn’t the last.Since then, Trump has fired a slew of government officials, including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chair, Gwynne Wilcox, the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, and most recently, he has attempted to fire the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.Abruzzo served at the agency for nearly 30 years before Trump fired her in January 2025, a move recommended in Project 2025. Now she is warning that the attacks on the US’s top labor watchdog threaten to return workers’ rights to levels unseen since 1935 and empower corporations to run roughshod over the agency

Rachel Reeves is under immense pressure. She must not waste her chance to ‘go big’ | Heather Stewart

It’s back to school this week for MPs and government ministers – and few can be facing a more challenging new term than Rachel Reeves. After being moved to tears in the unforgiving glare of the cameras before the summer break, the chancellor’s allies say she is returning to the frontline with a renewed sense of purpose. She is ready, as the kids would say, to “lock in”.But team Reeves is also well aware of the scale of the economic and political obstacles ahead. Most pressing, yet out of the chancellor’s hands, is the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) summer “supply stocktake” of its economic model

Trump accused of using mortgage fraud allegations as ‘weapon of choice’ to attack Fed

Donald Trump has been accused of wielding unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud as his “weapon of choice” to attack the Federal Reserve’s independence, as a governor at the central bank sues the president over his bid to fire her.In court on Friday, lawyers for Lisa Cook argued she was fired without the notice or “cause” required to remove a Fed governor. Cook learned of her removal from the board via a post on social media, they said.US district judge Jia Cobb is overseeing the case, which is widely expected to be ultimately decided by the supreme court. While it makes it way through the courts, Cook is seeking a temporary restraining order against Trump’s attempt to “immediately” dismiss her from the Fed’s board