PwC to ship UK associate to run scandal-hit China enterprise

Good morning. In the present day we’re masking:

• The launch of Apple’s AI iPhone

• The deal to purchase Japan’s most eccentric Hawaii-themed resort

• The US presidential election debate

However we begin with an unique story on PwC: the Massive 4 agency is about to parachute in a senior associate from the UK to run its China enterprise, because the fallout from its audit of collapsed property developer Evergrande continues to mount.

The accounting agency’s international leaders have tapped Hemione Hudson, a runner-up within the race earlier this yr to steer PwC UK, to steer the scandal-hit China enterprise, based on folks accustomed to the matter.

Not like conventional multinationals, PwC operates as a community of impartial, domestically owned partnerships, so the appointment of an outsider to take cost is a extremely uncommon step.

The intervention underscores the priority throughout the agency in regards to the depth of the disaster at PwC China, which has informed shoppers that it expects Beijing to impose a considerable fantastic and a six-month suspension of its operations as a punishment for failures associated to its audits of Evergrande. 

The transfer can be vital given the political sensitivity confronted by western manufacturers working within the nation and restrictions on sharing data throughout borders, even inside companies. Right here’s what else to know in regards to the management change.

And right here’s what else I’m holding tabs on as we speak:

• Financial information: China publishes August commerce figures and Malaysia reviews manufacturing gross sales and its industrial manufacturing index for July.

• Huawei’s new cellphone: The Chinese language tech large is about to unveil its triple-folding smartphone, the Mate XT, a day after Apple launched its newest iPhone. (Reuters)

5 extra prime tales

1. China’s producer costs slid in August, boosting fears that deflationary forces are taking root on the earth’s second-largest economic system. Final month’s fall in producer costs — 1.8 per cent yr on yr — was essentially the most in 4 months, dragged down by metal, agriculture and different sectors. Right here’s why economists are involved.

2. Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 yesterday, which chief government Tim Prepare dinner mentioned was the primary of its smartphones to be “designed from the ground up” for synthetic intelligence. Listed below are the AI instruments coming to the iPhone — plus extra on the chip that makes it doable.

3. India’s Adani Group has warned Bangladesh’s new authorities that its backlog of overdue funds has change into “unsustainable”, because the nation falls $500mn behind on dues from a contentious energy challenge. The pricey offers negotiated beneath Sheikh Hasina have left the interim authorities “firefighting”, mentioned the nation’s prime power official.

4. Non-public fairness group Fortress has agreed a $100mn deal to purchase Spa Resort Hawaiians, Japan’s oldest and most eccentric sizzling springs resort which sits simply 50km from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. The Fortress bid comes with plans to take a position a additional $70mn in upgrades to the Hawaiian-themed resort, golf and waterslide advanced — a favorite vacation spot of Japanese households because the Sixties.

5. The US Division of Justice’s newest antitrust trial towards Google started yesterday, with the DoJ accusing the corporate of operating a large advert tech monopoly that minimize off potential rivals and drove up prices for publishers and advertisers in an try to maximise earnings. The trial comes because the tech large contends with a landmark loss in a separate justice division antitrust case towards it over search.

• Extra US information: Donald Trump is escalating his threats to extend tariffs on imports if he wins a second time period within the White Home, reviving fears of renewed commerce wars that hit the worldwide economic system throughout his presidency.

The Massive Learn

Introduced in 2019, the EU’s sprawling Inexperienced Deal local weather legislation goals to succeed in web zero emissions by 2050 and rewire the bloc’s economic system into one primarily based on recycling, reuse and longevity. But it surely has additionally turned out to be a bureaucratic machine that has spawned reams of laws that companies are struggling to implement, and even perceive.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• US election: Kamala Harris badly wants a breakthrough in Tuesday night time’s debate to revive momentum to her marketing campaign, writes Gideon Rachman.

• Cost fraud: New UK guidelines that oblige banks to compensate scammed clients are a missed alternative to deal head-on with a rampant new sort of crime, writes Patrick Jenkins.

• Automotive-free Olympics?: Los Angeles loves its automobiles, however forward of the 2028 Olympics, town has quietly change into the chief in US public transport funding.

Chart of the day

For the reason that international monetary disaster of 2008, residence costs adjusted for inflation are up about 2 per cent in Europe and 25 per cent in Japan — however greater than 50 per cent within the US, writes Ruchir Sharma.

Take a break from the information

From international conflicts to the local weather disaster, it’s onerous to be optimistic in regards to the world today. However Sergei Guriev, dean of the London Enterprise Faculty, says there are causes to be hopeful.

Extra contributions from Tee Zhuo and Melody Abike Adebisi