Your commercial news round-up: Twitch, NatWest, greenwashing, Tesco, stockpiling

Reading time: two minutes.

It’s certainly been a busy week of scandals, hefty fines, hacks and Christmas stockpiling!

Without further ado, let’s tuck into this week’s headline-grabbing commercial news stories.

• Game-streaming platform Twitch has confirmed a data breach. The gaming site has been the latest data breach victim to have confidential information leaked on Wednesday. More than 100GB of data was posted online which showed Twitch’s top streamers earned millions of dollars in the past two years. In a statement posted on Twitter, the company said it would "update the community as soon as additional information is available". Twitch has recently been in the news for setting a record 31-day stream stint and YouTube gaming recently poached one of Twitch’s top video-game streamers in a multi-million-dollar deal.
   
• In banking news, Britain’s NatWest pleads guilty to failing to prevent the alleged money laundering of nearly £400 million between 2013 and 2016. The first British bank to admit to a criminal offence could face a penalty fine of £340 million pounds for failing to adhere to the requirements of anti-money laundering legislation regarding the Fowler Oldfield Ltd's account. Britain’s biggest business bank said it had invested £700 million pounds over the years on money laundering prevention systems. NatWest CEO Alison Rose “deeply regret" their failings.
   
• In retail news, Nike, H&M, Primark and Zara all face accusations of greenwashing. Each retailer faced accusations following new research that revealed: “clothes made from recycled plastic bottles are just as damaging to the environment.” Nike recently launched a ‘Move to Zero’ sustainability campaign to showcase climate commitment during climate week. The Changing Markets Foundation documentary video details how polyester from downcycled PET means they can then not be recycled again, instead of going directly to landfills after being used. This discovery supports numerous studies that reveal up to 40% of green claims from retailers could be misleading or entirely false.
   
• Supermarket giant Tesco settles the 2014 accounting scandal. The country’s largest supermarket had no choice but to pay shareholders £193 million after two law firms brought legal proceedings over a scandal that happened seven years ago. Tesco allegedly booked an incorrect supplier income by £250 million; an error that grew to £326 million. According to CITY A.M, the investors include “Allianz, Russell Investments and the Church of England pension fund.” The shareholders seek compensation for the drastic share price fall, blaming Tesco’s inaccurate reporting for their losses. Tesco has been fined £129 million by the Serious Fraud Office.
   
• One-third of consumers plan to stockpile food and drink this Christmas. An intelligence survey discovered 56% of Brits are worried about the “media coverage of others stockpiling” and 6% admitted they had already stockpiled for Christmas. The average stockpiling list include crisps, snacks, tinned food and alcohol. The driver shortage crisis is causing a noticeable strain on retailers; last week we reported Next demands the UK government take a “more decisive” approach to save Christmas. Blonnie Whist, insight director at Lumina Intelligence said, “Christmas this year will be incredibly different to last when travel restrictions and last-minute regional lockdowns ended most people’s festive plans.”

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