CITY WHISPERS: Dr No’s firm in rebrand after Hindenburg disaster

Readers may remember the colourful saga of Enochian Biosciences. In 2022 short-seller Hindenburg Research revealed the US drugs firm’s chief scientific adviser Serhat Gumrukcu had been arrested for his alleged role in a murder-for-hire plot. 

Hindenburg also disclosed that Gumrukcu had worked as a magician in Turkey under the stage name ‘Dr No’. 

It was an embarrassing moment for the business, which later discovered he had faked clinical data, accusing him of ‘brazen fraud’. 

Colourful saga: Hindenburg has put out a report accusing Renovaro boss Mark Dybul of trying to run ‘the same shameless scam with a new name’

Enochian’s leadership is now trying to reinvent the firm under a new name, Renovaro Biosciences.

But Hindenburg has caught wind of the change, putting out a report accusing Renovaro boss Mark Dybul, who once praised Gumrukcu as a ‘rare genius’, of trying to run ‘the same shameless scam with a new name’.

And a US law firm is looking to launch a class action on behalf of disgruntled investors. More curse than magic spell!

Switzerland sidesteps inflation nightmare

Shoppers, politicians and central bankers will doubtless be wishing they were in Switzerland. Not out of fondness for fondue or cuckoo clocks, but because the Alpine nation has sidestepped the inflation nightmare.

Price rises peaked at just 3.5 per cent in August 2022.

Analysts at Capital Economics are predicting that the neutrality-obsessed Swiss will have seen inflation fall to 1.2 per cent last month.

They expect the central bank in Bern to drop the base rate to 1.5 per cent.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will surely be looking on with envy. Markets are predicting that the UK won’t reduce rates for another five months.

Gottverdammt!

Kebab man looking for seat in Parliament

Ibrahim Dogus, founder of the British Kebab Awards, took to the stage at the 12th annual shindig last week to rail against unpopular VAT and business rates on hospitality firms. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan and ex-Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi were among those there. 

Word is that Dogus, a Labour councillor, is looking for a seat in Parliament. Burnishing his credentials perhaps?

Firm predicts windfall from Post Office affair

It was another bleak week for the Post Office as the Horizon IT scandal was back in the headlines.

The debacle ruined the lives of many subpostmasters and shredded the reputation of executives at the Post Office and Fujitsu, architect of the system. 

But one firm is predicting a windfall from the affair.

In its half-year results on Monday, AIM-listed Made Tech said it would benefit ‘smaller, more agile’ firms as ‘negative sentiment’ to larger providers, saw their customers defect.

The software firm’s profits quadrupled to £1.3 million in the six months to November – so it might be on to something.

                                                                                                                                 Contributor: John Abiona 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk