Shein, which ships cheap clothes and accessories direct from factories in China to more than 150 countries, has grown to become the world’s biggest fast fashion retailer by sales

International News via Reuters:

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein is strengthening its controls after a string of fines over data privacy breaches, fake discounts and greenwashing, according to a letter to investors, internal memos and two sources with direct knowledge of the plan.

Shein, which ships cheap clothes and accessories direct from factories in China to more than 150 countries, has grown to become the world’s biggest fast fashion retailer by sales. But its rapid expansion has been accompanied by regulatory breaches in multiple markets.

In a letter to investors reviewed by Reuters, executive chairman Donald Tang said the company has created a “Business Integrity Group” that connects compliance, governance and external affairs teams, and has also expanded its internal audit capabilities to strengthen “discipline”.

In the past three months Shein has faced mounting penalties: a 150 million euro ($174.53 million) fine from France over website cookies collecting consumer data without consent, a 40 million euro penalty from France’s antitrust agency for misleading discounts, and a 1 million euro fine from Italy over greenwashing. Shein is contesting the 150 million euro fine.

Further fines could follow if a European consumer protection probe finds that products sold on its website fail to meet EU safety standards.

Founded in China and headquartered in Singapore, Shein has filed for a stock market listing in Hong Kong, after failed attempts to list in New York and London.

According to the letter, Shein has piloted enhanced internal controls in the United States, Canada, Brazil and Mexico.

The company declined to comment on the letter’s contents.

It is currently hiring for two governance, risk and compliance policy analysts and one internal audit manager in Los Angeles, according to its career website and LinkedIn. It was not clear if the jobs being advertised are additional roles.

The internal overhaul focuses on areas where Shein faces legal risk, like breaches of copyright and product safety laws, a separate source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

As Shein’s global profile has grown, so too have its risks, prompting senior management to allocate more resources to address persistent compliance problems, the source said.

MOUNTING FINES AND SLOWING GROWTH

Tang acknowledged “heightened challenges” in the second quarter, citing U.S. tariffs and “intensifying political and regulatory headwinds” in Europe. The letter, which has not been previously reported, was sent on August 25, according to a second source.

“In Q2 we grew firmly in line with both our global expansion plan and our financial projections,” Tang wrote.

The end of duty-free treatment for low-value online orders has hit Shein’s U.S. sales – the company’s largest market – forcing it to raise prices to offset higher costs. 

Coresight Research estimates Shein’s U.S. revenue will grow 20.1% in 2025, to $17.2 billion, down from estimated growth of 50% in 2024. Shein has shifted more of its marketing spending to Europe (including the UK), which is expected to surpass the U.S. in revenue for the first time this year, growing 30.7% to $17.9 billion. 

GROWING CRITICISM OF SHEIN’S BUSINESS PRACTICES

Europe, especially France, has become the epicentre of scrutiny of Shein’s business practices.

An investigation by a French agency of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) prompted by a complaint from two French lawmakers found last week that Shein does not comply with OECD guidelines on responsible business conduct, due diligence, working rights, environmental standards, and transparency.

“Information about the activity of the group, its finances and its governance remains extremely rare, hindering a clear analysis of its business, its revenue and its structure in the European Union and globally,” the final report, published on September 29, stated.     

A Shein spokesperson said the investigation “at times did not reflect the neutral mediation intended by the OECD framework” and rejected claims that Shein is in breach of various EU legislation, “specifically those that are not yet applicable”.  

($1 = 0.8595 euros)

Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

The maker of blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy is pressing ahead with a sweeping restructuring in a bid to revive sales growth and fend off intense competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly

International News via Reuters:

Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion, giving the Danish drugmaker access to the U.S.-based company’s experimental liver disease drug.

The maker of blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy is pressing ahead with a sweeping restructuring in a bid to revive sales growth and fend off intense competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly.

Under the deal, Novo would pay Akero shareholders $54 per share upfront in cash, which represents a premium of about 16.2% to Akero’s last close of $46.49 on Wednesday.

The Danish drugmaker will also pay an additional $6 per share upon full U.S. approval of efruxifermin for treatment of compensated cirrhosis due to MASH by June 30, 2031, the companies said.

Akero’s shares rose over 19% in premarket trading.

Novo’s new CEO Mike Doustdar, who took the reins in July, last month announced the company would cut 9,000 jobs.

Doustdar has said the company will retain a tight focus on developing the next generation of highly effective obesity and diabetes drugs, which can also be used to treat related cardiometabolic conditions such as MASH, rather than expanding into other disease areas.

Akero’s experimental drug, efruxifermin, is being studied in patients with severe scarring or cirrhosis due to a type of fatty liver disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru and Maggie Fick in London, Editing by Essi Lehto and Leroy Leo

In its latest cereal forecasts, Expana increased its estimate for EU soft wheat production this season by 0.3 million metric tons from last month’s forecast to 136.4 million tons

International News via Reuters:

Expana has raised its monthly grain production forecast for European Union crops for the 2025/26 season, projecting soft wheat output will hit a record high and barley a 17-year high.

In its latest cereal forecasts, Expana increased its estimate for EU soft wheat production this season by 0.3 million metric tons from last month’s forecast to 136.4 million tons, up 22.8 million tons from the rain-affected 2024/25 crop.

Barley output was also revised 0.2 million tons higher to 56.4 million tons, up 6.2 million tons year-on-year.

For maize, Expana raised its crop estimate by 0.8 million tons to 56.5 million tons, after the harvest turned out slightly better than previously expected, though the crop remains 2.5 million tons below last season and the second lowest since 2007.

As of early October, maize harvesting was well advanced in most European production zones except Poland, where crop development is around a month behind schedule.

“The contrast between a good maize harvest in the northern half of the EU and disastrous results in the southern half looks set to become even more pronounced than it was in 2024/25,” Expana said.

Expana continues to expect that EU soft wheat exports will rebound sharply this season, but said the increase looks set to be held in check by fierce competition on international markets, especially from U.S., Australian and Argentinian origins.

“European exports, especially French exports, made a slow start to the new campaign. However, French exports have gained some momentum in recent weeks thanks to the better competitiveness of French wheat,” it said.

Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide. Editing by Mark Potter

EU lawmakers rejected the two motions of censure with 378 members of the 720-strong parliament expressing support for the von der Leyen

International News via Reuters:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived two bids to remove her when the European Parliament rejected no-confidence motions from hard-right and left groups on Thursday.

EU lawmakers rejected the two motions of censure with 378 members of the 720-strong parliament expressing support for the von der Leyen and her team of commissioners in the first vote and 383 in the second.

The results were slightly better for the EU executive chief than in July, when 360 lawmakers voted against a motion brought by mainly far-right lawmakers, although the number is lower than the 401 votes von der Leyen received in July 2024, when re-elected as Commission president.

Although the motions of censure had almost no chance of reaching the two-thirds majority required to unseat her, some lawmakers said they could expose more general disquiet over her leadership and destabilise the EU assembly, whose backing is required to pass legislation.

Reporting by Inti Landauro and Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Bart Meijer

HSBC will offer HK$155 per share for the 36.5% of Hang Seng’s shares it does not own

International News via Reuters:

HSBC said it plans to buy out minority interests in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Bank for HK$106.1 billion ($13.63 billion), paying a premium to take control of a subsidiary hit by faltering property markets by halting its own share buybacks

HSBC will offer HK$155 per share for the 36.5% of Hang Seng’s shares it does not own, it said on Thursday, a 30.3% premium to Wednesday’s closing price, giving a total valuation of $37 billion.

HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, who has spent the past year trying to cut costs in the bank’s sprawling businesses, thinks he can extract value from Hang Seng by delisting its shares and streamlining operations.

“This is an investment for the medium- to long-term in what is a leading local bank in Hong Kong, an iconic franchise, distinct and unique customer proposition and a strong financial standing with very good liquidity ratios and capital ratios,” Elhedery told reporters on Thursday.

Hang Seng Bank shares surged 26%, but HSBC shares fell more than 6% in London and Hong Kong.

“While strategic rationale is compelling, and this seems a sensible overall use of capital, we expect investors will query why now and at this price,” Citi analysts said in a note.

The move contrasts with a string of market exits by HSBC after Elhedery took the helm last year and launched a global overhaul that saw the lender sell off or wind down businesses across Europe, North America and some Asia Pacific markets.

But Hong Kong emerged as a standalone division after the restructuring, along with three other key operations.

Elhedery told reporters “additional streamlining and simplification” are expected at Hang Seng, and the banks would seek to align product manufacturing and international networks.

HSBC would pause its share buybacks for about three quarters to build up the capital required for the acquisition, according to Elhedery.

Morningstar’s senior equity analyst Michael Makdad said the acquisition would be the biggest in Hong Kong for over a decade and was a positive move considering parent-subsidiary double listings were inherently problematic in terms of governance.

“HSBC will need to pay a premium … but there should be some opportunities for cost synergies,” he added.

RISING BAD LOANS

The planned privatisation of Hang Seng comes as debt-laden property developers and their creditors are set to face intensifying financial pressure as bond maturities are slated to jump by nearly 70% next year.

Hang Seng Bank has reported rising bad loans over the last few years due to its relatively high exposure to the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese property markets.

Impaired loans reached 6.7% of its gross loans as of June 2025, up sharply from 2.8% at the end of 2023.

Reuters last year reported that due to worries about a potential rise in bad loans amid growing economic headwinds and the property sector crisis in China, HSBC in early 2024 started planning to tighten risk management at Hang Seng Bank.

Elhedery said, however, that the move was “absolutely not” driven by pressure to bail out Hang Seng.

“We remain constructive on the outcome for the sector in the medium to long term. So we see this as a short term credit cycle, which in part is normalising,” he said.

HSBC said the privatisation would have a negative impact of about 125 basis points on its common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio, which stood at 14.6% at the end of June. But it expected to restore its CET1 ratio to its target operating range of 14.0% to 14.5% through organic capital generation and by pausing share buybacks.

The offer price is final, HSBC said, adding that it does not reserve the right to revise it.

($1 = 7.7815 Hong Kong dollars)

Reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong, Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London; Additional reporting by Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Adwitiya Srivastava and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London; Editing by Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill, Elaine Hardcastle

Macron’s office said on Wednesday he would appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours

International News via Reuters:

French President Emmanuel Macron was on Thursday searching for his sixth prime minister in under two years, hoping his next pick can steer a budget through a legislature riven by crisis.

Macron’s office said on Wednesday he would appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours, after outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu held two days of talks to seek a way out of France’s worst political crisis in decades.

The political paralysis has made it deeply challenging to pass a belt-tightening budget, demanded by investors increasingly worried by France’s yawning deficit.

“The question that is posed today is whether there are enough people who are responsible,” government spokesperson Aurore Berge told RTL radio. “I think this is the last chance.”

LECORNU SAYS A BUDGET DEAL IS POSSIBLE

Lecornu tendered his and his government’s resignation on Monday, hours after announcing the cabinet line-up, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern France.

He said in a television interview on Wednesday that, during talks Macron asked him to hold with party leaders after he resigned, he had learned that a majority of lawmakers opposed holding a snap parliamentary election and that there was a path, even if a tough one, to passing a budget by year-end.

Another key issue is Macron’s 2023 pension overhaul, which gradually raises the retirement age from 62 to 64. Members of the left have called for the law to be repealed or suspended.

WHAT’S NEXT?

For now, rival parties have largely stuck to their views on how to proceed, and there has been no indication of who could be the next prime minister.

The Socialists said Macron should appoint a prime minister from the left. The Republicains, who are part of the outgoing government, said they would not support a leftist premier.

Meanwhile, Manuel Bompard, of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), repeated his calls for Macron to resign. Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally (RN), reiterated his party’s demand for a new parliamentary election.

On the streets of Paris, people said they hoped for more stability.

“Well, having a prime minister who stays in office would be a good start, I think,” said Mathilde Marcel, 40. “And then, obviously, things need to move forward and reforms need to be implemented.”

The crisis has caused jitters on financial markets but bonds held onto gains from the day before on optimism that France can avoid a snap parliamentary election and agree on a budget.

Reporting by Makini Brice, Inti Landauro, Elissa Darwish and Marco Trujillo; Editing by Gabriel Stargardter, Ingrid Melander and Timothy Heritage