THE DAILY BRIEFING

■ NETWORK JOB Facebook’s top public relations executive is to leave the company for a role at video streaming giant netflix.

Rachel Whetstone’s exit comes after the social network battled a series of high-profile data and privacy scandals. ■ DEFENCE CONTRACT Satellite company avanti Communications announced it had signed a sevenyear deal to supply the US government and Department of Defence.

■ SAVINGS WOE Investors who had trusted crisis-hit Swiss savings firm GaM with their money will get 87p in the pound back from funds it is shutting down. GAM suspended top manager Tim Haywood last month after concerns over record keeping and has since been forced to shut down some of its funds. ■ BUFFETT BOOST Warren Buffett is plotting to plough £233m into the owner of Paytm, India’s largest mobile payments firm, through his company Berkshire Hathaway. ■ FRAUD BOSS The new head of Britain’s fraud squad has started work today. Lisa Osofsky, 56, a former lawyer for the FBI, started work today as head of the Serious Fraud Office. ■ REBELS YELL Major shareholder rebellions have hit 120 public companies so far this year, according to the investment association – up 25pc on 2017. ■ NEW CHAIR Recruitment consultancy Hays has appointed former senior independent director Andrew Martin as permanent chairman to replace predecessor Alan Thomson, who died last month. ■ FUNDING SUPPORT Financial giant Legal & General has backed a £15.5m funding round for Salary

Finance, a firm which works with employers to give employees loans, savings and financial education. ■ EXPANSION CASH UK start-up apperio, which allows companies to track in real-time how much they are spending on pricey legal advice, has raised £7.5m to expand. ■ ITALIAN JOB Italy’s finance minister, Giovanni Tria, denied suggestions it could breach EU budget rules after deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio indicated plans for tax cuts and income support schemes would likely see the country’s deficit exceed 3pc of GDP.