<ul class="summary-list"><li>EXCLUSIVE: Labour has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards asking for an investigation into <keyword id="11344884" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wendy-morton">Wendy Morton</keyword> MP.</li><li>Morton, a Foreign Office minister, declared a £4,000 donation received by her local association.</li><li>The company had been dissolved for nearly three years.</li></ul><p>A government minister could face investigation by Parliament's sleaze watchdog, after the opposition <keyword id="67790" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Labour-Party">Labour Party</keyword> requested a probe into a £4,000 donation she accepted from a company that was dissolved nearly three years before the donation was made.</p><p>The chair of the Labour Party, <keyword id="11363358" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anneliese-dodds">Anneliese Dodds</keyword> MP, has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, calling for her to "urgently investigate" the donation registered by Wendy Morton MP, a Foreign Office minister in the UK government. The donation was first brought to light following <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-took-almost-30000-from-non-trading-companies-records-show-2021-5">an Insider investigation</a>.</p><p>Dodds told Insider: "Labour has asked Parliament's standards watchdog to get to the bottom of why a sitting Conservative MP appears to have pocketed thousands of pounds from a company that only exists on paper. The Conservative Party has also failed to explain publicly why the records show it stashed thousands more from the same company. </p><p>"We need to understand where the Tories are getting their cash from - there can't be one rule for them and a different rule for everyone else."</p><p>In her letter, Dodds asks Stone to investigate "a potential breach of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament relating to donations and other support for activities as Members." </p><p>Similar to political-financing laws, <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmcode/1882/188204.htm">the Code of Conduct states</a> that MPs "must not accept any donations, loans, security or other support valued at over £500 from impermissible donors". </p><p>In January 2020, Morton <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/200111/morton_wendy.htm">registered a £4,000 donation</a> from Unionist Buildings by her local party organisation, according to her entry in the Register of Members' Interests. Records held by Companies House matching the company registration number provided show the company was dissolved in January 2017. </p><p>Dodds writes: "It appears that the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills has accepted a donation of thousands of pounds from a company that was officially dissolved almost three years earlier. I am sure you will agree that this case requires urgent investigation to establish if the Member has breached the Code of Conduct.</p><p>"Any breach of the Code of Conduct or the General Principles of Conduct for Members of Parliament undermines public trust in our political system. To uphold that trust, it is important that allegations of a breach are investigated swiftly and that any Member found to be responsible is subject to the appropriate sanctions."</p><p>In addition to the 2020 donation, Unionist Buildings made a £6,000 donation to Morton's local association in June 2017, five months after its dissolution, which <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/170707/morton_wendy.htm">she registered in July 2017</a>.</p><p>There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Unionist Buildings.</p><p>These donations are already the subject of inquiries by the <keyword id="137643" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Electoral-Commission">Electoral Commission</keyword>, the body which regulates political finance across the UK. Their inquiries were opened after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/urgent-investigation-demanded-into-tory-donations-from-ghost-firms-2021-6">Dodds wrote to them last week</a>, following <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-took-almost-30000-from-non-trading-companies-records-show-2021-5">Insider's revelation</a> that Electoral Commission records showed nearly £30,000 in donations which appeared to have come from impermissible sources.</p><p>On Friday, the Electoral Commission said that a £10,000 donation from Stridewell Estates, previously reported by Insider, had been "incorrectly identified" on their database following an "administrative error" by the Commission. A similar error was made on another donation from a different company. The record has since been altered.</p><p>A Commission spokesperson said: "We regret any confusion it has caused, and the impact it has had on transparency."</p><p>But questions remain concerning the donations from Unionist Buildings, with the Commission saying: "The Conservative Party has advised us that donations from Unionist Buildings Limited were inaccurately reported to us. We remain in contact with them so that we can publish the correct information and provide transparency to voters."</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57365728">The BBC reported</a> a Conservative Party spokesperson saying: "We welcome this decision from the Electoral Commission and we will continue to work with them."</p><p>Insider has contacted Morton and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for comment.</p>

Labour asks sleaze watchdog to investigate government minister for taking donation from non-existent company

<ul class="summary-list"><li>EXCLUSIVE: The Conservative Party accepted tens of thousands of pounds from companies that had been struck off, an investigation by Insider has found.</li><li>Tory politicians, including one currently serving government ministers, received the donations.</li><li>Political parties are obliged to carry out checks on any company offering them a donation.</li><li>Labour is calling for the <keyword id="137643" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Electoral-Commission">Electoral Commission</keyword> to launch an urgent investigation.</li><li>"This just doesn't pass the smell test," Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds told Insider.</li></ul><p>The Conservative Party pocketed nearly £30,000 from companies that were no longer trading at the time the donations were made, an analysis of Electoral Commission records and Companies House data by Insider has found.</p><p>Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, UK political parties can only receive donations from actively trading companies and they are obliged to carry out permissibility checks on all donations from companies.</p><p>However, Insider's investigation has found four donations from three companies that official records show were either dissolved or in the process of dissolution, with two of the donations received by currently serving government ministers.</p><p>Following Insider's findings, the opposition Labour party called for an official investigation into the donations.</p><p>Anneliese Dodds MP, Chair of the Labour Party, told Insider: "This just doesn't pass the smell test. The Conservatives need to explain why it seems they pocketed tens of thousands of pounds from companies that only existed on paper.</p><p>"The rules are clear: political parties must check that companies making donations are carrying on business in the UK. The Electoral Commission must launch an urgent investigation to find out what's happened here - and any breaches of the law should be punished fully."</p><h2>Two donations received by a government minister<div type="image" title="conservative party" height="2880" width="5760" msid="83062251" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>The first donation identified by Insider was to <keyword id="11344884" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wendy-morton">Wendy Morton</keyword>, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills, and a junior minister in the Foreign Office, from a company called Unionist Buildings.</p><p><a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00116945/filing-history">Companies House records</a> show that Unionist Buildings was struck off the register on 17 January 2017, following an application, filed on 21 October 2016, by its directors.</p><p><a href="http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donations/C0330440">However, Electoral Commission records</a> show Morton's local association received £6,000 from Unionist Buildings on 2 June 2017, less than a week before the 2017 general election. The donation was accepted on 5 June 2017.</p><p>Nearly three years after Unionist Buildings was struck off the register, Morton <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/200111/morton_wendy.htm">declared</a> a further £4,000 received by her local Conservative association from Unionist Buildings and registered on 9 January 2020. Her entry also contains the £6,000 donation from 2017.</p><p>At the time Morton received the £4,000 donation in January 2020, she was a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice.</p><p>There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Unionist Buildings, who did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. Morton did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication either.</p><h2>Donations were received from dissolved companies</h2><div type="image" title="theresa may" height="1240" width="2480" msid="83062253" hostid="261"></div><p>Another donation was received from a company whose sole director was Conservative minister <keyword id="11344885" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="charlotte-vere">Charlotte Vere</keyword>.</p><p>Vere is a Conservative life peer and a junior minister in the Department for Transport.</p><p><a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09951500/filing-history">Companies House records</a> for the firm Conservatives In, established to support the Remain vote in the 2016 Brexit Referendum, show it was struck off the register on 2 May 2017 following an application, filed on 3 February 2017, by Vere, the company's sole director from June 2016 onwards.</p><p>On the application which Vere signed on 10 January 2017, she declared that "none of the circumstances described in section 1004 or 1005 of the Companies Act 2006 [...] exists in relation to the company".</p><p>Section 1004 of the Companies Act 2006 states that a company may not apply to be struck off if it has, "at any time in the previous three months [...] traded or otherwise carried on business".</p><p>But Electoral Commission records show that less than three months prior to this, Conservatives In gave £9,754.98 to the Conservative Party's central office. The <a href="http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donations/C0266010">donation</a> was made on 22 December 2016, the day after Vere was appointed a government whip in the House of Lords. </p><p>Vere's entry on the register of ministers' interests in November 2019 disclosed that her husband, Mike Chattey, is the head of fundraising at the Conservative Party. He has held the position since 2009.</p><p>Baroness Vere did not respond to a request for comment.</p><h2>A company listed as a donor denies knowledge of donation</h2><p><a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC302175/filing-history"><div type="image" title="GettyImages 684404106" height="2059" width="4118" msid="83062254" hostid="261"></div>Companies House records</a> for the firm Stridewell Estates show it was also struck off the register in November 2016, following an application made in August 2016.</p><p>Over three years later, the Conservatives accepted <a href="http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donations/C0479223">a donation of £10,000</a> from Stridewell Estates. </p><p>A spokesperson for Stridewell Estates told Insider that the entry on the Electoral Commission's website "must be a mistake." She said "no payments were made from this company after it was dissolved. It is very possible that the company that donated has been recorded incorrectly." </p><p>The spokesperson was unable to provide further details by the time of publication.</p><p>There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Stridewell Estates.</p><h2><strong>"This just doesn't pass the smell test"</strong></h2><div type="image" title="boris johnson brexit" height="1300" width="2602" msid="83062256" hostid="261"></div>Insider referred all of these donations to the Conservative Party. A spokesperson for the party said: "Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission and are published by them."<p>The party did not seek to claim that any of the donations did not occur.</p><p>A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: "Political parties can only accept donations over £500 from permissible sources. This includes companies who are registered and incorporated in the UK, and who carry on business at the time they make donations. </p><p>"We carry out our own permissibility checks on donors, though the legal responsibility lies with the parties to ensure that they only accept money from legal sources. Should there be evidence that the rules have been broken, we would consider it in line with our Enforcement Policy."</p><p>Campaigners say there needs to be a stronger set of regulatory requirements for parties to ensure that they are receiving donations from permissible sources. </p><p>Susan Hawley, executive director at Spotlight on Corruption, told Insider: "It is high time that political parties be placed under a proper legal obligation to do thorough background checks on the origins of donations and the Electoral Commission be given robust powers to penalise them when they fail to do so. </p><p>"The public need to have confidence that electoral finance is squeaky clean and there aren't any loopholes that would allow illegal or foreign donations which might skew our electoral process."</p>

The Conservative Party received tens of thousands of pounds from non-existent companies

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11911533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="boris-johnson" source="Orion">Boris Johnson</keyword> has carried out a mini-reshuffle, handing Jacob Rees-Mogg a new <keyword id="6355333" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="brexit" source="Orion">Brexit</keyword> job.</li><li>Chris Heaton-Harris is the new chief whip, while Chris Pincher, favourite for the role, is deputy.</li></ul><p>Boris Johnson has handed Jacob Rees-Mogg a key new Brexit role as part of a mini-reshuffle designed to reinvigorate his faltering premiership.</p><p>Rees-Mogg has been promoted from leader of the House of Commons to take on a new brief as minister for Brexit opportunities. He will continue to attend Cabinet.</p><p>Mark Spencer has been demoted as chief whip, taking on Rees-Mogg's vacated leader role.</p><p>However in a surprise move, Christopher Pincher was overlooked for the chief whip role, despite having been running Number 10's shadow whipping operation in recent weeks.</p><p>Instead Chris Heaton-Harris has taken the reins, moving from his brief as Europe minister, with Pincher being named his deputy.</p><p>Stuart Andrew took on Pincher's role as housing minister and Wendy Morton became a transport minister.</p><p>Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-expected-to-purge-whips-to-retain-power-sources-2022-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">reported in January</a> that Johnson planned to "purge" his whips' office — which contains MPs who enforce party discipline within the party — in a bid to cling onto power.</p><p>The prime minister has faced weeks of damaging headlines over parties held in Downing Street during lockdown which have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/all-the-mps-who-have-publicly-called-for-boris-johnson-to-quit-2022-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">prompted at least 10 Conservative MPs</a> to submit letters of no-confidence in his leadership. </p><p>Spencer had faced calls to resign since a botched attempt to save Owen Paterson, an MP who had been suspended from the House of Commons for lobbying.</p><p>He also identified himself as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mp-removed-from-ministerial-post-due-to-her-muslimness-2022-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">individual who told Nus Ghani she had lost her ministerial role in the 2020 reshuffle because of her "Mulimness"</a>.</p><p>Johnson made the changes as he tries to reset his relationship with Conservative backbenchers after weeks of turbulence stemming from Downing Street. </p><p>Five of his aides <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-rocked-by-further-resignation-day-after-losing-four-key-aides-2022-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">left their posts last week</a>, including his chief of staff Dan Rosenfield. Steve Barclay was appointed to replace Rosenfield while retaining his role as an MP and as Cabinet Office minister.</p><p>Some of Tuesday's appointments were designed to carve up Barclay's role so he can dedicate his time to the consuming new position. Michael Ellis was appointed as a Cabinet minister — a role which Barclay also retains — while Heather Wheeler became a parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office, an unpaid role.</p>

Jacob Rees-Mogg handed key new Brexit role as Boris Johnson conducts ministerial reshuffle

<ul class="summary-list"><li>EXCLUSIVE: Labour says <keyword id="137643" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Electoral-Commission">Electoral Commission</keyword> must open "urgent investigation" into potentially illegal donations.</li><li>Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-took-almost-30000-from-non-trading-companies-records-show-2021-5">reported</a> that the Conservative Party received donations from nonexistent companies.</li><li>The commission has the power to impose fines of £20,000 per offense.</li><li>Advocates say that UK political-finance law needs strengthening.</li></ul><p>The Labour Party is calling on the UK's Electoral Commission to launch an "urgent investigation" into multiple potential breaches of the law by the Conservative Party, after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-took-almost-30000-from-non-trading-companies-records-show-2021-5">an investigation by Insider</a> revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party had received tens of thousands of pounds from companies that no longer exist.</p><p>In a letter to Bob Posner, the commission's chief executive, on Tuesday, Labour Party Chair <keyword id="11363358" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anneliese-dodds">Anneliese Dodds</keyword> called for an investigation to examine three donations totalling £20,000 made to the party by two companies, Stridewell Estates and Unionist Buildings. </p><p>Political-finance laws state that a company is a permissible donor only if it is registered under the Companies Act 2006, incorporated in the UK, and "carries on business in the United Kingdom." </p><p>The watchdog's enforcement policy allows for it to apply to the courts to seek forfeiture of impermissible donations "as well as or instead of" using a sanction. Under the law, the Electoral Commission can levy fines as a sanction of up to £20,000 per offense. </p><p>Dodds told the commission that the law on donations was "clear" and added "in relation to the requirement that companies carry on business in the UK, parties are advised by the Electoral Commission to check the Companies House website to see if the company is in liquidation, dormant, or about to be struck off - or if the company's accounts are overdue. </p><p>"While a company may still be carrying on business if it is in liquidation, dormant or late in filing documents, parties are advised to make extra checks to ensure this is the case. These include checking the latest accounts filed at Companies House."</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-took-almost-30000-from-non-trading-companies-records-show-2021-5">Insider's investigation</a> revealed that Electoral Commission records showed the Conservative Party had accepted a  £10,000 donation from Stridewell Estates, whose director was the <a href="https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/top-tory-hit-by-landlord-donor-crisis">property magnate and Tory donor Brian Gillies,</a> in November 2019, more than three years after the company was dissolved in November 2016. </p><p>A spokesperson for Stridewell Estates had previously told Insider that "there must be a mistake. ... It is very possible that the company that donated has been recorded incorrectly."</p><p>A £6,000 donation from Unionist Buildings was accepted by the local association of the Foreign Office Minister Wendy Morton in June 2017, after the company was dissolved in January 2017 - and then a further £4,000 was registered by Morton in January 2020.</p><p>Dodds wrote: "I trust you will agree that these cases require urgent investigation to understand why companies that have been officially registered as dissolved by Companies House made thousands of pounds in donations to the Conservative Party and a sitting Conservative Member of Parliament.</p><p>"I trust that any breach of the rules will be immediately subject to your Enforcement Policy, as part of the vital work to uphold public trust and confidence in the rules upholding electoral finance."</p><p>A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told Insider: "We can confirm we have received a letter from Anneliese Dodds MP, in her capacity as Chair of the Labour Party. We will respond shortly."</p><p>Advocates say political-finance laws and regulations need toughening.</p><p>Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK, told Insider: "The rules on company donations make it far too easy for money of unknown provenance to enter <keyword id="8058948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK-Politics">UK politics</keyword>. Parties should at least be checking to see if their corporate donors are at least 'carrying on business' in Britain, yet that's such a low hurdle to pass as to be next to meaningless. </p><p>"The law needs changing so political donations from companies can only derive from genuine commercial activities."</p><p>Insider's investigation also revealed nearly £10,000 donated to the Conservative Party from a company, Conservatives In, whose director at the time was Baroness Vere of Norbiton, now a junior transport minister.</p><p>After making the donation in December 2016, Vere filed for the company to be struck off in February 2017. Companies law requires directors to affirm when they apply for their company to be dissolved that the company has not "at any time in the previous three months ... traded or otherwise carried on business."</p><p>Insider has contacted the Electoral Commission and the Conservatives for comment.</p><p>The Conservatives had previously told Insider: "Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission and are published by them." </p>

Labour demands 'urgent investigation' into the Conservatives after Boris Johnson's party declares donations from companies that don't exist

By Pan Pylas <p>London, Apr 28 (AP) The British government faced mounting criticism on Wednesday over its planned cuts to overseas aid spending as leaked details point to big reductions in funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects as well as girls' education. </p><p>Details of where the ax will fall have yet to be officially confirmed but the government is adamant that its decision last November to reduce its long-standing target for overseas aid from 0.7% of national income to 0.5% was right given the scale of the economic recession in the U.K. during the coronavirus pandemic over the past year. </p><p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, or FCDO, which allocates the funding, said "tough but necessary decisions" have had to be made as a result of the pandemic's financial impact and that it is "working through what this means for individual programs." </p><p>In a leaked document reportedly prepared for minister Wendy Morton and published in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, the government is said to be cutting bilateral funding for overseas water, sanitation and hygiene projects by over 80% </p><p>"There is never a good time to cut aid for lifesaving water and sanitation but the middle of the worst pandemic for 100 years must be one of the worst," said WaterAid U.K.'s Chief Executive Tim Wainwright. </p><p>He said it is "even more incredible" that the cuts are taking place in the year that the U.K. is hosting the Group of Seven and the United Nations Climate Change Conference, widely known as COP-26. </p><p>The latest leak comes a day after a former minister in the FCDO, Elizabeth Sugg, claimed that the government is to cut its aid budget for girls' education by more than 40% and that it is set to close its Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme. </p><p>The U.K. has gained a strong reputation over the past couple of decades for being one of the most generous of all industrial nations when it comes to spending on projects in the developing world. Critics argue that the reductions will do undue harm to that reputation in addition to the detrimental impact on those who have benefited from its generosity. </p><p>"We are balancing the books on the backs of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world and it is a matter of national shame for our country to be slashing spending in this way," said Andrew Mitchell, a former Conservative development secretary. </p><p>The FCDO defended its plan to cut the overall aid budget. </p><p>"The seismic impact of the pandemic on the U.K. economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid," a spokesman said. "We will still spend more than 10 billion pounds this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health." </p><p>The British economy has shrunk by around 10% and as a result Treasury chief Rishi Sunak decided to cut the allocation of government funds to overseas aid from 0.7% of national income to 0.5%. The decision to cut the target is expected to free up a further 4 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) for the Conservative government to use elsewhere, money that critics say could be used to save tens of thousands of lives in the poorest parts of the world. </p>The decision went against the government's promise in the 2019 general election to maintain the aid target and drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum, including from within Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own Conservative Party. (AP) RS RS

UK government facing mounting criticism over aid budget cuts

<h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/568e70ccc08a80e01b8b7743-3601-2701/ap_131943288360.jpg" alt="donald trump" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton" data-mce-caption="DonaldTrump." /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>1. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-macys-to-shut-stores-cut-jobs-2016-1">Macy's is closing stores and cutting jobs</a></h3><p><span>Department store chain</span><span class="highlight"> Macy</span><span>'s Inc, which lowered its full-year earnings expectations for the second time, said it would cut jobs and consolidate its operations, starting early 2016.</span></p><h3>2. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/criminal-investigation-underway-chipotle-2016-1">A criminal investigation is underway at Chipotle</a></h3><p><span>Popular chain restaurant Chipotle is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in California in conjunction with the FDA.</span></p><h3>3. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-jc-penney-same-store-sales-rise-39-percent-in-november-december-2016-1">JC Penney same-store sales grew 3.9% in November and December</a></h3><p><span>J.C.</span><span class="highlight"> Penney s</span><span>aid same-store sales surged during the holiday shopping months of November and December due to strong demand for its private-label offerings and gift products and higher online sales. <span>The department store operator's shares rose 2.8 percent to $7.20 in premarket trading.</span></span></p><h3><span>4. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-gloats-after-massive-macys-jobs-cut-2016-1">Donald Trump gloats after massive Macy's jobs cut</a></span></h3><p>According <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/business/macys-to-cut-4500-jobs-after-holiday-sales-slump.html?_r=0">to The New York Times</a>, Macy's said it would eliminate 4,500 jobs, or 3% of its work force, after disappointing holiday-season sales. Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, declared on Twitter that Macy's cratering stock was "another win for Trump!"</p><h3>5. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-value-menu-in-fast-food-2016-1">We tried the new value menus at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's - and the winner is clear</a></h3><p><span>The glut of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-value-menu-mcpick-2-2016-1">promotions</a> indicates that despite lower gas prices and signs of an improving economy, customers are still demanding deep discounts from fast-food chains. </span><span>We've evaluated value-meal promotions from <span>Burger King, McDonald's, and Wendy's </span>to discover which provides customers with the best option.</span></p><h3>6. <a href="http://www.fastcocreate.com/3055165/equinox-demands-fierce-commitment-in-bold-new-year-ad-campaign?utm_content=bufferb7c01&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">Equinox demands fierce "commitment" in bold new year ad campaign</a></h3><p>Equinox pitches its advertising in a rather more provocative and uncompromising way. This year's January ad drive for the fitness company urges people to "Commit to Something" and a series of shots by fashion photographer Steven Klein depicts some deeply committed people.</p><h3>7. <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/ibm-under-armour-build-smart-fitness-app-2016-1">Under Armour is using IBM's supercomputer to put a really smart personal trainer in your pocket</a></h3><p><span>IBM and </span><span>Under Armour have created an app that has the potential to revolutionize the health and fitness industry. <span>Record is an app that tracks and analyzes your workouts, sleep data and nutrition taking info from fitness trackers, smart watches, third-party apps, from data you enter into it.</span></span></p><h3>8. <a href="http://brandchannel.com/2016/01/06/loreal-uv-skin-patch-010616/">L'Oréal Debuts Stretchable UV Skin Patch at CES 2016</a></h3><p><span>As sun protection becomes increasingly important, L'Oréal Group's leading dermatological skincare brand, La Roche-Posay, has created the flexible transparent patch adhesive that adheres directly to the skin, measuring one square inch and 50 micrometers thick, half the thickness of an average strand of hair.</span></p><h3>9. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ultra-premium-water-is-on-the-rise-2016-1">People are spending up to $100 a bottle for an unlikely beverage</a></h3><p>You may just get it from the tap, but there are customers willing to pay $60,000 for a bottle of water. <span>Sold in a solid gold bottle, </span><a href="http://www.most-expensive-water.com/acqua.php"><span>Acqua di Cristallo,</span></a><span> the world's most expensive water bottle, wasn't made for mass consumption. </span></p><div class="slideshow-content slide-intro-bottom"><h3>10. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jenner-sisters-under-fire-for-copying-a-shirt-at-pacsun-2016-1">PacSun doesn't want you to see this shirt that Kendall and Kylie Jenner designed</a></h3><p><span>According to </span><a href="http://pagesix.com/2016/01/05/kendall-and-kylies-shirts-removed-from-stores-after-lawsuit/" target="_blank">Page Six</a><span>, a shirt designed by the well-known duo was pulled from PacSun stores after PacSun was allegedly sued by the Island Company. Page Six notes that the Jenner girls' shirt bares a marked similarity to an Island Company top.</span></p></div><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/odo-denim-creates-self-cleaning-jeans-2015-12">This company has created stain-resistant 'self-cleaning'  jeans you never need to wash</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lsazZ3eTr7_rI3E2IpV4Amv1Q4iTlCs0" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'lsazZ3eTr7_rI3E2IpV4Amv1Q4iTlCs0',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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