BUSINESS LIVE: Revolution Beauty nears Minto settlement; Hipgnosis faces lawsuit; CMC Markets cuts jobs

The crypto industry is doomed to repeat the mistakes that led to the collapse of FTX, a top Wall Street short seller has warned.

Cryptocurrencies were plunged into crisis in 2022 after one of the biggest trading platforms FTX went bankrupt.

Thousands of people lost a combined £7billion after boss Sam Bankman-Fried funnelled customer deposits into a separate company he owned. This turned out to be one of biggest ever US financial frauds and led to his conviction last year.

Britain’s unemployment rate was much lower late last year than previously thought, the Office for National Statistics said on Monday, citing re-weighted survey results that might add to the Bank of England’s caution about cutting interest rates quickly.

The new data – which reflect the latest estimates of Britain’s population – showed an unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent in the three months to November, compared with 4.2% provided by the ONS last month on a temporary, experimental basis.

The BoE is watching Britain’s labour market closely as it considers whether inflation pressures in the economy have cooled enough for it to cut its benchmark interest rate from its highest level in nearly 16 years at 5.25 per cent.

London-listed stocks are in the green this morning, with the FTSE 100 supported by gains in personal goods shares, while most investors maintain a cautious stance ahead of key economic data later in the day.

The personal goods index leads sectoral gains with a 2.1 per cent climb, while automobiles and parts sub-index is the bottom performer after losing 0.4 per cent.

Both UK and US January services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures, due later today, will be on investors’ radar for more clues on economic strength and the trajectory of interest rate cuts.

Meanwhile, a survey shows Britain’s unemployment rate was much lower last year than previously thought, fuelling caution over early rate cuts.

CMC Markets has gained 8.7 per cent after the online trading platform announced layoffs representing 17 per cent of its overall staff.

Shares of Vodafone have dropped 1.4 per cent after traders assessed data that showed service revenue growth in Germany slowed sharply in the third quarter.

CMC Markets is set to cut its global headcount by about 200 positions, representing 17 per cent of its overall staff, as the online trading platform completed a cost review.

CMC Markets said it expected to incur a one-off, non-recurring cost of about £2.5million this fiscal year due to the job cuts, with an estimated annualised savings of £21million to be realised in the 2025 financial year.

Trading platforms had seen a surge in revenue during the pandemic and in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as market volatility jumped.

However, trading activities were relatively more subdued in 2023, despite a year-end uptick in volatility amid the Middle East conflict benefiting these platforms.

‘Cost reductions have been primarily achieved by merging support functions across multiple business lines, streamlining reporting lines and automating processes,’ the London-listed company said in a statement.

Hipgnosis Songs is seeking protection from founder Merck Mercuriadis against a legal claim launched by a former business against the music royalties fund, its investment adviser and the industry veteran.

Hipgnosis Music Limited (HML), founded in 2015 and now being wound up, had served proceedings in November alleging ‘a diversion of business opportunity’ to the London-listed fund and Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM), which Mercuriadis founded in 2017.

Hipgnosis’ board recently appointed solicitors to review the claim, it said in a statement.

It has previously said it was not insured against the cost of dealing with the claim.

‘As any liability of the company arises from Mr Mercuriadis’ conduct and knowledge, the company intends to seek to secure an indemnity from Mr Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis Songs Management against any liability that might be incurred by the company ,’ Hipgnosis said in a statement.

More than six million people live in areas where no public electric car charging points were installed in the final three months of 2023.

Analysis of the latest figures shows 75 constituencies in the UK had the same number at the end of last year as at the start of October.

In some areas where no more were installed, there are hardly any public charge points at all. In Bolton West, the number stayed stuck at 12 while there were six in Bootle in Liverpool and three in Castle Point in Essex and Sheffield Hallam.

The co-founder and former chief executive of Revolution Beauty, Adam Minto, will pay the British cosmetics firm £2.9million as part of a settlement deal resolving accounting issues that sparked the 2022 suspension of its shares and a year of turmoil for the group.

The British makeup company had earlier alleged that Minto breached fiduciary and other duties, and that the company was looking to recover ‘material sum’ in related costs.

Alistair McGeorge, non-executive chair, said: ‘We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Adam.

‘This, together with the revised payment schedule agreed in December 2023 for the acquisition of Medichem, means we can now focus on the future.

‘We look forward to providing an update on our strategy at our upcoming Capital Markets Event on 8 February 2024.’