BASF, partners put $4 billion India chemical complex on hold due to COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: Flags of the German chemical company BASF are pictured in Monheim

Thu, 5 November 2020

BERLIN (Reuters) - German chemicals maker BASF <BASFn.DE> said on Thursday that its plans to build a petrochemicals complex in India worth up to $4 billion (3.07 billion pounds) with partners had been put on hold due to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

BASF signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group and Borealis AG in October 2019 to evaluate a collaboration to build the chemical site in Mundra, in India's Gujarat state.

"The global economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic have led the partners to review the timing for undertaking this investment," BASF said in a statement.

"Despite all attempts to optimize the scope and the configuration, the project has been put on hold."

BASF in April scaled back its investment budget as the coronavirus crisis hit automakers, the chemicals giant's biggest customers.

Profits in the chemicals industry react strongly to a downturn because of the industry's exposure to cyclical sectors such as carmakers, while massive overheads prevent swift cost cutting.

Under the India plan, the partners wanted to build a plant to produce propylene from propane gas to be supplied by ADNOC.

It would have been the first plant in the world to be fully powered by renewable energy and BASF's biggest investment so far in India.

BASF said the partners remained convinced that India was a good place to invest and had agreed to periodically explore market conditions and discuss any opportunity that might arise over time.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Michelle Adair and Susan Fenton)

Bitcoin hits highest level since January 2018

amid post-election volatility

FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are seen in this picture illustration

Anna Irrera
Thu, 5 November 2020

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin's <BTC=BTSP> price rose to more than $14,900 on Thursday, its highest level since January 2018, amid volatility caused by the U.S. election and investor hopes that more central bank stimulus to support economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic will push up the value of digital assets.

The biggest cryptocurrency has surged more than 10% since the day of the presidential election, with Democrat Joe Biden edging closer to victory over President Donald Trump.

Bitcoin was last trading 5.4% higher at $14,930.

World tech stocks and bond markets also extended their rally on Thursday.

"Bitcoin is the big winner from the current macro environment" said Anthony Pompliano, a co-founder and partner at cryptocurrency investment firm Morgan Creek Digital Assets. "As we saw coming out of the 2008 liquidity crisis, inflation hedge assets do very well when the Fed steps in with QE."

The Bank of England added 150 billion pounds to its asset purchase programme on Thursday, and the Federal Reserve is expected to signal later that it will do whatever it can to help the U.S. economy.

Bitcoin has been on an upswing over the past few weeks, after digital payments company PayPal Holdings Inc <PYPL.O> announced it would enable purchases with virtual coins on its platform.

The news bolstered long-standing expectations that bitcoin and its rivals could become a more viable form of payment, a goal that has been elusive.

HOPES PINNED ON FURTHER PRICE INCREASES

Bitcoin investors and enthusiasts are also pinning their hopes of further price increases on more clarity from global financial regulators on rules for cryptocurrencies and increased adoption by mainstream finance firms.

"The once dismissed asset is now acknowledged by traditional finance," said Dave Chapman, a Hong Kong-based executive director at OSL, a cryptocurrency brokerage. "It's not going away, and it has now been afforded the regulatory clarity from regulators, globally."

Blistering rallies are not uncommon in cryptocurrencies, and are generally followed by equally steep crashes, with many experts at a loss to identify a clear cause for changes of direction.

The price of bitcoin soared to more than $20,000 in December 2017 and crashed 50% the following month.

"Bitcoin doesn't go up or down for macroeconomic reasons, like QE or real investor decisions," said David Gerard, a cryptocurrency expert and author of recent book on Facebook-led virtual coin Libra.

"The market is thin and manipulated, and every price change is fully explained by internal market issues."

(Reporting by Anna Irrera, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Denver overturns pit bull ban after more than 30 years

IT'S THE OWNER NOT THE BREED
Phil Helsel 
.

© Provided by NBC News

The vote has not been certified, but the measure Ballot Measure 2J had more than 65 percent of voters approving it, according to the city's elections division.

The ordinance banning ownership of pit bulls was enacted in 1989 after a number of people had been attacked.

The city council voted to end it in February, but that was vetoed by Mayor Michael Hancock, who cited concerns if someone were hurt following a repeal.

The group Replace Denver BSL in a Facebook post Thursday hailed the result as "an absolutely historic win." BSL stands for breed specific legislation.

While the repeal doesn't take effect until Jan. 1, the city published requirements for pet owners.

Dog owners in Denver are limited to two pit bulls and must get a special permit, which involves showing the animals are microchipped and vaccinated. If there are no incidents like a charged dog bite in three years, the special restrictions can be dropped.

Denver’s ordinance was first enacted after 20 people were attacked by pit bulls in Colorado between 1984 and May 1989, according to a history of the law published in 2005. A 3-year-old was fatally attacked in Denver in October 1986.

A spokesperson for the mayor told NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver in an email that "while Mayor Hancock has always been forthright in sharing he could not, in good conscious, sign the bill to overturn Denver’s pit bull ban, he has also been very clear he supported putting this decision in the hands of Denver voters."

THE MARK OF THE BEAST
DNA might replace barcodes to tag art, voter ballots: study

Thu, 5 November 2020
  

The DNA-based tagging method is cost-effective for the first time, said the researchers at University of Washington and Microsoft.

Easy-to-remove barcodes and QR codes used to tag everything from T-shirts to car engines may soon be replaced by a tagging system based on DNA and invisible to the naked eye, scientists said Thursday.

The DNA-based system could help anti-forgery efforts, according to researchers who said thieves struggle to find or tamper with a transparent splash of DNA on valuable or vulnerable items, such as election ballots, works of art, or secret documents.

In an article published in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft said that the molecular tagging system, called Porcupine, is -- unlike most alternatives -- cost-effective.

"Using DNA for tagging objects has been out of reach in the past because it is expensive and time consuming to write and read, and requires expensive lab equipment," lead author and a Washington University doctoral student Katie Doroschak told AFP.

Porcupine gets around this by prefabricating fragments of DNA that users can mix together arbitrarily to create new tags, the researchers said.

"Instead of radio waves or printed lines, the Porcupine tagging scheme relies on a set of distinct DNA strands called molecular bits, or 'molbits' for short," the University of Washington said in a statement.

"To encode an ID, we pair each digital bit with a molbit," explained Doroschak.

"If the digital bit is 1, we add its molbit to the tag, and if it's 0 we leave it out. Then we can dry it until it's ready to be decoded later," said Doroschak.

Once the item has been tagged, it can then be shipped or stored.

When someone wants to read the tag, water is added to rehydrate the molecular tag, which is read by a nanopore sequencer -- a DNA-reading device smaller than an IPhone.

-'Undetectable by sight'-

"The name Porcupine comes from a play on words (PORE-cupine, as in nanopore) and the idea that porcupines can 'tag' objects, and critters that dare to get too close," the lead author said.

Unlike existing systems to tag objects, DNA tags are undetectable by sight or touch, senior author Jeff Nivala said in a press release from Washington University.

"Practically speaking, this means they are difficult to tamper with.

"You could envision molecular tagging being used to track voters' ballots and prevent tampering in future elections," said Nivala.

The DNA-based technology might also be able to tag items that would be difficult to fix a barcode to.

"It is not possible to tag cotton or other fibres with conventional methods like RFID tags and QR codes, but a liquid DNA-based tag could be used as a mist," said Doroschak.

"This could be helpful for supply chains where origin tracing is important to retain the value of the product," she added.

The Number of the Beast (full text) by Robert Heinlein

https://metallicman.com/laoban4site/the-number-of-the-beast-full-text...

2020-05-10 · The Number of the Beast (full text) by Robert Heinlein. This is the full text of a very long full length novel by Robert Heinlein. It is about a “mad scientist” that builds a machine that can enter and leave different world-lines at will. ... The joy of intellectual discovery – the mark of a true scientist.” ...

RSA shares soar on £7bn takeover approach
One of Britain’s oldest insurance firms could fall into foreign ownership after attracting a £7.1bn takeover offer from Canadian and Scandinavian rivals

Michael O'Dwyer
Thu, 5 November 2020
  

RSA logo

.

Personal and commercial insurer RSA said it has received a potential 685p-per-share cash offer and that its board is minded to accept, sending the stock rocketing 45.8pc.

The FTSE 100 firm said it had been approached by Danish insurer Tryg and Canadian property and casualty insurance business Intact Financial Corporation, acting in partnership.

RSA - which underwrites home and pet insurance offered by the likes of John Lewis, Tesco and Argos - traces its roots back more than three centuries to the original Sun Insurance company set up in 1706 by entrepreneur Charles Povey to protect livelihoods after the Great Fire of London.

The consortium made its approach on Oct 2 but has not tabled a formal bid. Shares leapt to 670p having traded at just above 450p late on Thursday afternoon.
 

Markets Hub - RSA Insurance Group

The proposed cash offer would hand RSA shareholders 685p per share plus a previously announced 8p per share interim dividend.

Boss Stephen Hester - the former chief executive of bailed-out lender Natwest - would land up to £15.9m from payouts for shares which he owns outright and has coming his way under various bonus schemes if targets are hit.

There is no certainty that the consortium will make a formal bid and any offer would be subject to conditions including a period of due diligence, RSA said as it confirmed the talks following a report by Bloomberg.

The announcement raised the prospect that the company could be split up.

Intact, which has a market value of £12.2bn, intends to retain RSA’s Candian division and its UK and international unit.

Copenhagen-listed Tryg, which is worth £6.8bn, would take over the Swedish and Norwegian operations.

The pair would jointly own RSA’s Danish business, which is being restructured by Tryg's former finance chief.

Philip Kett, an analyst at Jefferies, said that a 685p offer “would represent more than fair value for RSA”. Rival insurer Zurich aborted a £5.6bn bid for the firm in 2015.

The approach was revealed just hours after RSA disclosed that a fall in claims from customers staying at home during the pandemic helped to offset a slump in sales in the third quarter.

Group business operating profit increased in the first nine months of the year helped by strong underwriting, the firm said.

The company sold £4.7bn worth of insurance in the first nine months of the year, 3pc lower than a year ago. It blamed the fall on Covid-19.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

£1bn of fraudulent Covid scheme loans for UK businesses blocked


Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent
Thu, 5 November 2020
 The Guardian

Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Banks have prevented more than £1bn worth of fraudulent business loans being paid out from one of the government’s emergency Covid schemes.

In a letter to the public accounts committee, the British Business Bank, which administers the government-backed loan programme, said 20 lenders had blocked a total 26,933 fraudulent applications to the bounce-back loan scheme (BBLS) between May and October.

Those fraudulent applications could have cost the taxpayer £1.1bn, as the scheme uses public funds to repay any losses that lenders cannot recover.

The programme has distributed 1.3m loans worth £40.2bn so far, but the National Audit Office (NAO) said last month that taxpayers stood to lose billions of pounds from BBLS fraud. The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the British Business Bank have also warned about fraud linked to the scheme, which was designed to distribute cheap loans worth up to £50,000 to small businesses.

The government has been criticised for failing to act on those warnings, and has since launched a £100,000 Covid fraud hotline to try to catch scammers. The hotline, run by Crimestoppers, allows people to leave anonymous tips about suspected fraud, including any unusual purchases by companies or individuals, or about cold callers asking for bank details that could lead to identity theft.

A NAO report released in October said the scale of BBLS fraud would not be clear for months. However, the Cabinet Office’s government fraud function estimates that losses will be significantly above the usual level of fraud linked to public sector schemes, which is usually between 0.5% and 5%.

Three people were arrested over alleged BBLS fraud in Birmingham last week after obtaining £145,000 in government-backed loans. All three suspects were questioned and have since been released under investigation, according to the NCA. It marked the first arrests linked to the scheme.

Most accredited lenders have confined applications to their customers, in part to prevent against fraud. However, the move has also blocked up to 250,000 small businesses from accessing emergency funding, as they do not bank with any of the accredited lenders, according to the all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking.

BBLS is scheduled to run until 31 January, after an extension was announced this week. Businesses will also be able to apply for top-ups if they failed to request the maximum amount available in their initial application.

Banks block fraudulent Covid loan applications worth £1bn

Lucy Burton THE TELEGRAPH
Thu, 5 November 2020
 

Rishi Sunak

Britain's biggest lenders have blocked criminals from obtaining loans worth more than £1bn from the flagship coronavirus rescue scheme, it has emerged. 

The British Business Bank told MPs that nearly 27,000 applications for the hugely popular 'bounce back' loans, which would have been worth £1.1bn had they got through the system, have so far been blocked by lenders due to concerns about fraud. 

The loans are issued by banks such as Lloyds and Natwest to help small firms get through the Covid crisis but are 100pc guaranteed by the taxpayer. Take-up has been much higher than anticipated when the scheme launched in May, raising fears it was being targeted by criminals. 

Critics warned when the programme was introduced that it would be a magnet for fraudsters due to the fact it has a fast application process - which Sunak once said could be done “in the time it takes to have lunch” - and lighter checks. 

The amount of potentially fraudulent loans that banks had blocked were revealed in a letter sent to the Public Accounts Committee before a hearing into the scheme on Thursday. 

During the session Sir Tom Scholar, the Treasury permanent secretary, said the decision to simplify the application process to get money out as fast as possible to struggling businesses "reduced the checks that lenders were able to make" and was "not a decision the Chancellor took lightly". 

"In the end it was a calculated decision that given the needs of businesses and the urgency of the situation, it was appropriate to accept a higher degree of risk," he said.

"But I think it was a reasonable decision to try first of all with a more conventional approach and then very quickly, in a matter of a couple of weeks, move to an unconventional approach which is the one we ended up with with the bounce back loans scheme." 


Banks conduct more stringent checks on the larger coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), where only 80pc of the funds lent are guaranteed, but came under attack earlier in the year when the loans were not getting out to the country's smallest businesses quickly enough and so launched the bounce back scheme. 

The Government this week extended the deadline to apply for coronavirus loans from the end of November to the end of January as a result of the second national lockdown that began on Thursday. 

Lenders have dished out more than £60bn under the coronavirus loan schemes for businesses, mostly as Bounce Back loans. 

Earlier this year the National Audit Office warned that Bounce Back loans being exploited by fraudsters could cost taxpayers £26bn. The National Crime Agency has also said that it has received intelligence suggesting criminals are targeting the scheme. 

Banking chiefs are concerned about how they will be viewed if forced to demand money from entrepreneurs whose companies were destroyed by coronavirus restrictions.

One senior banker said earlier this year that he feared a new backlash when the scale of fraud became clear, in a major blow for an industry still struggling to restore its image after the 2008 financial crisis. 

The Cabinet Office has said it believed fraud losses were likely to be significantly above the 0.5pc to 5pc generally estimated for public sector schemes.

Volkswagen CEO Says Biden Win Better Suits Corporate Goals
By Matt Posky on November 5, 2020


As the U.S. election devolves into deciding which political party committed the most fraud, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said a victory by Democrat Joe Biden would be the ideal outcome for any German automakers seeking to mass-produce electric cars. Hardly surprising, considering the Biden-Harris campaign website says it would regulate the dickens out of fossil fuels, moving aggressively toward alternative energy sources and electrification while pressing other nations to do the same.

“A Democratic program probably would be more aligned with our worldwide strategy, which is really to fight climate change, to become electric,” the CEO told Bloomberg on Thursday.

Though he couldn’t commit himself fully with the election still undecided, Diess made sure to mention that VW had also established a “really a trustful relationship with the Trump administration and government … We did a lot also to contribute [sic] to build America.”

But VW has more global ambitions. Following the monstrous Dieselgate scandal of 2015, where the automaker was caught using illegal software to cheat emissions testing and was subsequently fined into oblivion, Volkswagen pivoted hard toward electrification. It now hopes to become the world’s largest EV manufacturer with the most diverse lineup of electrically driven cars.

Diess noted that the United States had the weakest market share for battery-electric vehicles when compared to China and Europe. Putting a Democrat in the White House would undoubtedly encourage the U.S. to adopt similar policies as global rivals — likely placing new restrictions on gas-driven vehicles while incentivizing electric vehicle purchases. While Trump has made it clear that he wants to deregulate the automotive industry wherever possible, Biden has repeatedly signaled that he intends to add regulations and push the country toward EVs as part of an extremely broad “infrastructure and environmental justice” program.

Volkswagen Group seems to have shrewdly determined that having the government gradually discourage people from buying anything other than electric vehicles will ultimately increase their sales. However, it’s going to have to wait a while to see which old guy wins the election because it’s presently an utter mess. Though that could be said at practically every stage of this particular election.

“At the end, this is a decision America has to take,” Diess said. “We only can watch and we have to adapt.”

Volvo eyes deliveries of heavy-duty electric trucks in 2022


Alan Tovey
Thu, 5 November 2020

Volvo electric truck

Volvo will begin producing heavy-duty electric trucks from next year as it becomes one of the first mainstream manufacturers to successfully tackle environmentally friendly haulage.

The Swedish company said it would begin volume production of the trucks, which have a range of 186 miles, with a view to delivering them in 2022.

The commercial vehicle company – which is separate from car manufacturer of the same name – is seeking to cement its place in a market this being eyed by newer upstarts such as Tesla and Nikola.

Tesla boss Elon Musk has been hoping to launch his electric “Semi” truck since its unveiling in 2017, but its entry into service is slipping and not expected until next year.

Tesla 'Semi' truck

Nikola’s hopes of bringing in electric and hydrogen heavy trucks unravelled in the summer after a promotional video was exposed as a fraud.

The company admitted footage of a truck driving under its own power had been cleverly shot, and was in fact rolling downhill.

Volvo started electrifying its commercial vehicles more than a decade ago with buses and last year moved into medium electric trucks, typically for urban use that requires shorter ranges.

However, the latest announcement steps the business up into the 44-tonne heavy duty sector.

Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, said: “By rapidly increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks, we want to help our customers and transport buyers to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. We’re determined to continue driving our industry towards a sustainable future.”

The company wants 35pc of the trucks it sells to be zero-emission vehicles by the end of this decade, with hydrogen-powered models entering its rage within five years. By 2040 it hopes to phase out production of combustion-engine trucks.

The main challenge for electric heavy-duty trucks is the weight of batteries that enable them to match conventionally powered vehicles and transport loads over long distances.

Trucks going on sale next year will be aimed at regional transport operators, and the company has agreed a tie-up with rival Daimler to develop a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that can compete with traditional diesel trucks on long-haul routes.

Bentley to stop making petrol cars by 2030 and go fully electric

Jasper Jolly THE GUARDIAN
Thu, 5 November 2020

Photograph: Lintao Zhang/Getty

Bentley, the luxury carmaker, will stop making fossil fuel cars by 2030 and aims to be completely carbon neutral at the same time, in one of the most ambitious plans of any UK car manufacturer in the transition towards electric vehicles.

It will stop building cars with traditional internal combustion engines within six years, instead making hybrids and then its first battery electric cars in 2025. By 2030 it will sell only pure battery electric vehicles, with zero-carbon exhaust emissions.

The rapid transition will mean that a company famed for enormous 12-cylinder petrol engines, with large carbon dioxide emissions to match, aims to become one of the UK automotive industry’s leading champions of environmental sustainability.

Bentley’s Crewe plant is the only major factory in the UK to commit to producing electric cars exclusively on such a tight timescale, apart from its competitor Jaguar Land Rover at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich site. Workers on internal combustion technology will be redeployed.

Bentley’s promise to be an “end-to-end carbon neutral organisation” without using carbon offsetting is bold, as electric car batteries take considerable amounts of energy to produce. A spokesman said the company and its biggest suppliers would have to work out how to hit the target.

The carmaker, whose prices range from £130,000 to more than £240,000, said its environmental targets would make it “financially resilient and recession proof”, as it and other carmakers looked for ways to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, which has damaged car sales.

Related: 2020 set to be year of the electric car, say industry analysts

Figures published on Thursday showed last month was the weakest October for new UK car sales in nine years. The number of cars registered fell 1.6% to 140,945, putting the industry on course for the weakest year since 1982, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Electric car sales were one of the few bright spots, nearly tripling so far in 2020 to 76,000.

Bentley in June announced it would make 1,000 job cuts from its permanent workforce to reduce costs. However, it said it had scaled back the cuts to 800 staff, who were taking voluntary redundancy, 200 of whom were temporary contractors.

Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s chief executive, said the carmaker was going through “a paradigm shift throughout our business”.

“Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury,” he said.

The carmaker will also commit to consuming no plastic at its factory by 2030, as well as to raising the proportion of women and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in its management ranks to 30%, from 20% in 2020.

Bentley is owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, the largest carmaker in the world by volume. Volkswagen has announced investment of billions of euros into electric car technology after the “dieselgate” scandal, in which its engineers installed software to cheat emissions test.

Volkswagen and all other European carmakers face steep fines if they do not reduce the average emissions of the cars they sell. By 2030 carbon emissions must be 37.5% lower than 2021 levels, which is only possible by mainly selling electric cars with zero exhaust emissions.

Bentley is particularly suited to quickly changing to electric technology, because bigger margins as a luxury carmaker mean it can absorb the higher cost of batteries, although analysts expect the premium for manufacturing battery cars to disappear by 2024.

Bentley kills off the internal combustion engine

Alan Tovey
Thu, 5 November 2020

Bentley's concept car

Bentley plans to kill off the internal combustion engine that have powered its luxurious cars.

The Crewe-based company famed for its petrol-guzzling 12-cylinder engines is going electric as it aims to become a “global leader in sustainable luxury mobility”.

Established in 1919, Bentley has become synonymous with big engines to drive its heavy cars, the cheapest of which starts at £133,000.

However, as part of the manufacturer’s “Beyond100” strategy, by 2026 it will no longer sell cars with only conventional engines.

The first all-electric Bentley will be introduced in 2025 and its range will all have either battery or hybrid engine drive trains. By 2030, it will no longer offer hybrids.

Moving away from its exhaust-belching roots will help the company face increasingly punitive levies for the amount of carbon that its cars emit.

Bentley cars

The company described the plan would see it “evolving from the world’s largest producer of 12-cylinder petrol engines to having no internal combustion engines”.

Adrian Hallmark, chief executive, said: “Being at the forefront of progress is part of our DNA; the original Bentley boys were pioneers and leaders.

“Now, as we look Beyond100, we will continue to lead by reinventing the company and becoming the world’s benchmark luxury car business.

“Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury.”

Bentley is part of the Volkswagen Group, which is investing €40bn into electric vehicles and new technology as it pushes to be leader in sustainable transport and move on from the “dieselgate” scandal of 2015. 

Bentley's luxury car range to be fully electric by 2030

Nick Carey
Thu, 5 November 2020
   

FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside the Bentley Motors factory in Crewe

By Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters) - Bentley Motors' model line-up will include only plug-in hybrids and electric cars by 2026 and will be fully electric by 2030, the British luxury carmaker said on Thursday, as the auto industry adapts to tighter emissions limits in Europe and China.

The 100-year-old company, owned by Germany's Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE>, said it would launch two plug-in hybrids next year as part of its "Beyond100" strategy to accelerate the development of electrified models.

Last week, Volkswagen announced a return to profit for the third quarter thanks to surging demand for luxury cars.

"Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100 year old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury," Bentley Chief Executive Officer Adrian Hallmark said in a statement.

In the summer, Bentley said it would cut up to 1,000 jobs, or nearly a quarter of its workforce, as the Crewe, northwest England-based company shifts towards an electric model line-up.

A draft document in September showed the European Commission wants to further tighten auto emissions limits, prompting a push-back from Germany's car industry, Europe's biggest.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Mark Potter)

AMELIORATING CAPITALI$M
Work when you want wherever you want, Standard Chartered tells 75,000 staff


Lucy Burton
Thu, 5 November 2020

Bill Winters

Standard Chartered has told its 75,000 staff they can work when they want and wherever they want, becoming the latest financial institution to make drastic permanent changes to office life.

As well as offering employees the option to select the hours, days and location they want, the London-listed banking giant told its workforce on Thursday that it was in talks with a third party to provide extra "near-home" work spaces.

The new rules could prompt its big bank rivals to follow suit. There were fears in Whitehall over the summer that changes triggered by coronavirus will become permanent, turning city centres into ghost towns.

Standard Chartered expects almost all of its staff to move to a hybrid working model by the end of 2023 although it said that those who want to spend all of their time in the office or all of their time at home can do so. 

"While we have been thinking through the issues around future workplace for some time, it’s inevitable that recent events provided a catalyst," said the bank's HR chief Tanuj Kapilashrami. "We also see this as an opportunity to appeal to a wider and more diverse potential future workforce."

Standard Chartered is not the only large financial institution to make permanent changes, although it is one of the largest. Earlier this year Britain's largest listed asset manager Schroders fired the starting gun on the end of City life when it said staff could carry on working from home even after the pandemic.

One insider said at the time that the change will end the presenteeism which has long been an issue in finance, with employees across the industry known for putting in shifts of 12 hours or longer.

Other City firms that have made permanent changes to working life include Numis, broker to over 210 London-listed companies including Asos and Ocado. Britain's biggest high-street lender Lloyds is also experimenting with different ways it will use its office in future.