Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND WEATHER THE COVID STORM WITH HEALTHY SKIN CARE SALES, AND LOCAL BRANDS EYEING RECOVERY
BOTH the Australian as well as the New Zealand cosmetics and personal care market have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, trends towards increasing purchases of health conscious and natural products have continued, with local brands gaining momentum, indicating how the Australasian personal care product market will develop once the coronavirus has lost its bite.…
PORTUGAL’S CLOTHING AND TEXTILE SECTOR IN GOOD SHAPE TO LEVERAGE POST-COVID RECOVERY
THE PORTUGUESE textile and clothing industry has proved to be an example of resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its clusters, flexibility, investment in research and development (R&D) and good ethics, a Oporto and Brussels-based clothing industry innovation agency has argued.…
IRISH ACCOUNTANTS FEAR GOVERNMENT COVID-19 STIMULUS MAY BE INSUFFICIENT TO HEAD OFF INSOLVENCIES
With the Irish economy facing an uncertain 20200 final quarter, accountants are agreed that the government’s wage subsidy scheme has helped keep many clients afloat during the Covid-19 crisis. But they worry a revised version of the scheme applied from September may not be enough for some companies.…
FINCEN LEAKS SHAKES UP ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING WORLD
THE WORLD has become used to large leaks of confidential data from intelligence services and banks, but the latest dump, from the files of the USA’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) may have impacts beyond the unveiling of wrongdoing. Keith Nuthall explains.…
INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL UPDATE – IFAC PROPOSES NEW PARALLEL SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING BOARD
THE INTERNATIONAL Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released detailed proposals to create a new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), working alongside the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) but operationally independent under the IFRS Foundation. The goal would be integrating standards created by a wide range of existing sustainability initiatives, such as from the CDP (https://www.cdp.net/en…
FRAUD SHOOTS UP DURING COVID PANDEMIC, SURVEY FINDS
Levels of fraud have shot up during the Covid-19 pandemic with 77% of respondents to an August global survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reporting that they had seen an increase. ‘Fraud in the Wake of COVID-19: Benchmarking Report’, is the second in a series of surveys of ACFE members looking at the pandemic’s impact on the fight against fraud and saw a sharp rise in August compared to May when the first survey was carried out and 68% of respondents reported seeing an increase. …
UK TO CHECK UBOS BEFORE REGISTERING COMPANIES IN REGISTRAR REVAMP
Companies House, the UK company register, is to verify directors’ identities before they can be appointed, under a new transparency drive aimed at tackling fraud and money laundering. Unveiled September 18, in the government’s full response to its ‘corporate transparency and register reform’ consultation, the planned changes would give Companies House more powers to query and investigate the registration details that organisations provide, with the right to reject false information.…
QUANTUM COMPUTING OFFERS MAJOR EFFICIENCY INNOVATION BENEFITS TO DYEING AND FINISHING SECTOR
QUANTUM computing is coming to fruition after decades of research and these new powerful systems will offer textile finishers the opportunity to develop new chemicals and products that they simply could not explore and create using classical computers.
These new computers excel in the complex calculations that are needed to model molecules, especially those from nature, whose assessment are often at the core of designing new chemical solutions that could deliver new functionality and colour to textiles.…
ANNUAL EU CRIME REPORTS SHOW EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS STILL FAILING TO CRUSH ENDEMIC FRAUD
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) continues to struggle to clamp down on fraud within its revenue collection and spending programmes – making progress, but with major scams still emerging within the EU’s complex international decision-making systems.
In its latest annual ‘fight against fraud’ report (1) (2), covering 2019, the European Commission reports that 939 discovered irregularities were reported as fraudulent (8% of the number), involving EUR461.4 million in lost money (28% of that affected by irregularities).…
TEXT FRAUD CAN HIT VICTIMS HARD BECAUSE VICTIMS REPLY TO PHONE MESSAGES IN HASTE, BUT REPENT AT LEISURE
TEXT fraud is maybe more dangerous that email fraud, given the tendency for mobile phone users to respond to texts swiftly and without careful thought, cyber-security experts warn.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also created opportunities for fraudsters using texts and messaging services such as WhatsApp to launch fishing and other attacks on the unwary.…