The 10 biggest business stories on Friday November 20
HBOS collapse; Square valuation raises fears of tech bubble; World's second-largest diamond found in Botswana
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Your support makes all the difference.1. The Office for National Statistics publishes the net borrowing figures for September at 9.30 am. The previous month’s borrowing was up at £8.63 billion, putting pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as he prepares for his Autumn Statement this month.
2. A 1,111 carat "high quality diamond" has been discovered at a mine in Botswana, said to be the biggest find in more than a century, according to the mine company.
3. Britain's biggest customer-owned lender Nationwide said its profits jumped by more than a quarter in its latest six months, driven by record mortgage lending and more than a quarter of a million new current account customers.
4. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is using Twitter to find software engineers in an attempt to accelerate the company's project to build self-guiding cars, according to the BBC.
5. Regulators should consider banning up to 10 former HBOS executives from working in the City, a report into the collapse of the bank has said.
6. Mobile payment firm Square's stocks jumped 45 per cent on its first day of trading. Stocks leapt from an initial public offering of stock at $9 to $13.07 by close of trading.
7. ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, has raised €3.3 billion in an initial public offering.
8. Casino firm Wynn has said the opening of its new $4 billion hotel will be delayed after revenue declines hit the business.
9. Truffle mushroom prices soar after dry spell in Italy’s main growing area. The mushrooms - usually sold in shavings by the gram - fetch about $1,200 a pound wholesale, up 67 per cent from last year and the highest since 2012, according to Bloomberg.
10. Equal pay won’t actually happen for 118 Years, according to the World Economic Forum.
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