Revealed: McKinsey clients had ‘rising share of global emissions’, internal analysis shows

Consulting giant had said it engages with clients to help them transition to cleaner energy even as it knew they were in line to exceed climate targetsThe world’s biggest consulting firm found that its clients were on a trajectory to bust global climate targets, details of internal forecasting in 2021 uncovered by the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) and the Guardian reveal.McKinsey & Company has worked with some of the world’s biggest emitters, including many of the largest fossil fuel producers. It has previously argued it is necessary to engage these clients to help them transition to cleaner forms of energy and hit the target of limiting global warming to less than 1.5C above preindustrial levels.But the CCR and the Guardian have learned of an internal analysis of client emissions carried out by McKinsey in 2021 which showed that the companies the firm works with were set to exceed this target

British mining executives held in Mali freed after $160m deal to settle tax dispute

Three British mining executives who had been detained by the government of Mali have been released and are “safe and well”, days after agreeing to pay $160m to settle a tax dispute.Resolute Mining, an Australian company, said on Thursday its chief executive, Terence Holohan, and two other employees, who had been held in the country since 9 November, have been freed.The three executives were in Mali’s capital, Bamako, to hold discussions with mining and tax authorities.They were detained at the end of a meeting with government officials, held to discuss tax and other state claims that the miner had previously said were “unsubstantiated”. The miner agreed to pay $160m to the Mali government this week to help resolve the tax dispute

Water companies blocked from paying bonuses out of customer money

Investors at Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will be forced to pick up the tab for executive bonuses after the regulator determined that the sector had awarded “undeserved” extra payments, worth £6.8m.Ofwat said on Thursday it had used new powers to ensure that bonuses at the three companies were paid by shareholders and bondholders – rather than through customer bills – because the payments had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”.Water companies have faced public anger and political backlash in recent years over leaks and sewage overflows as they have also come under increasing financial strain.Nine water companies will not be allowed to use customer funds to pay bonuses worth £6

Billionaire Gautam Adani charged in US over alleged $250m bribery plot

Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest men, has been indicted in New York over an alleged multibillion-dollar scheme to pay $250m in bribes and conceal it from US investors.Prosecutors charged the chair of the Indian conglomerate Adani Group and two other executives of a renewable energy company with securities fraud and conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud.The US attorney’s office in Brooklyn accused the executives of agreeing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024, in an attempt to obtain solar energy supply contracts expected to make $2bn in profits over 20 years.Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US’s top markets watchdog, charged Adani, 62, and two other executives over conduct it said had arisen out of a “massive bribery scheme” that involved $175m from US investors.Arrest warrants have been issued in the US for Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani

FCA plans to allow lenders longer to respond to car finance complaints

The City regulator plans to intervene in the car loan mis-selling scandal, in a move that could give lenders up to a year to respond to the rising number of customer complaints after a shock court ruling.The Financial Conduct Authority has been under pressure to take action after a court of appeal ruling in October said it was unlawful for two lenders to have paid a “secret” commission to car dealers without borrowers’ knowledge.Lenders complained that the ruling went beyond FCA regulation – as well the watchdog’s ongoing investigation into a much more narrow commission issue – and had created a large amount of uncertainty about potential payouts to customers who could seek compensation as a result.Some lenders have been flooded with complaints, including from claims management companies and claims law firms, as consumers look to see whether they could be in line for a slice of a compensation bill that the rating agency Moody’s suggests could balloon to £30bn.The FCA is proposing to ease the pressure by scrapping an eight-week deadline for lenders to respond to customer complaints

UK government borrowing in October tops forecasts at £17.4bn

The UK government borrowed more than expected in October as debt interest payments pushed the public finances deeper into the red, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves as she attempts to grow the economy.Borrowing rose to £17.4bn last month, the second highest October figure since monthly records began in 1993 and despite a rise in inheritance tax receipts.City economists had expected a smaller figure, of about £12.3bn for October, after the UK borrowed more than £16bn in September