The head of the UK financial regulator has promised to consider imposing restrictions on a system that allowed the now collapsed bank Greensill Capital to operate in the UK without a licence. Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told MPs that Greensill’s failure had led the regulator to look “much more closely at the systems of control that the principle has in place and potentially also plac[e] some restrictions on the scale of business that can be undertaken through this mechanism”. – Guardian
Guidance that people in England should work from home if they can is to be dropped from 21 June, the prime minister has indicated. Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday the government intended to take the step when it moved to the final stage in its Covid reopening plans. “That is certainly our intention, provided we stay on track,” he told the Commons when asked about the proposal by the Tory MP Felicity Buchan. – Guardian
Driving could become the preserve of the rich as Britain and other countries around the world impose bans on diesel and petrol cars and embrace electrification, the boss of Vauxhall owner Stellantis has warned. A global rush to go electric could make cars too expensive for the middle classes, said Carlos Tavares, chief executive of the world’s fifth-biggest car maker – and it may even fail to significantly reduce carbon emissions because the vehicles are so much heavier than petrol ones. – Telegraph
Bitcoin fell sharply last night after Tesla announced it would no longer accept the world’s largest cryptocurrency as payment for its vehicles. The electric carmaker, one of the digital asset’s largest corporate champions, cited alarm over its “rapidly increasing” consumption of fossil fuels. Elon Musk, chief executive, argued Bitcoin’s future “cannot come at great cost to the environment.” – The Times
A loophole that allowed rogue directors to escape scrutiny by dissolving their companies is to be closed, the government has said. The Insolvency Service will be given powers to investigate directors of companies that have been quietly struck from the corporate register amid concerns over fraudulent evasion of liabilities linked to emergency Covid-19 loans. – The Times
