The head of PwC in Australia Tom ‘the Sieve’ Seymour has been forced to resign after a scandal involving the leak of confidential government tax policy to clients. PwC clients may have then used this information to structure their affairs in a way that bypassed incoming legislation. The Sieve has moved up to second place on the Australian government’s most hated leakers list, just below countryman Julian Assange.

The lowdown

• 💧 Head of PwC Australia resigns after scandal involving the leak of government tax policy to clients.

• 🥋 Banks tightened lending standards in the first quarter and are expected to continue tightening throughout 2023.

• 🗞️ Google to pay NY Times $100 million over three years to license its news content.

Featured stories

Ride-hailing startup Bolt targets 2025 IPO

Estonian ride-hailing startup Bolt is targeting profitability within a year – something that much larger rival Uber has never managed.

Bolt's primary business is ride-hailing, with the company charging a 20% to 23% commission on fares, which can be reduced to 10% if drivers take part in promotional activities like displaying Bolt stickers on their vehicles. It sounds a lot like Uber so far.

One major difference is in the markets the two companies serve. Bolt has a strong focus on the African market, which accounts for 50 million of its 150 million customers, whereas Uber is kind of everywhere (except China).

Bolt was last valued at over $8 billion after raising €628 million in funding in the previous year, but we know things have changed since then. The company is preparing for a potential IPO in 2025, with the final decision hinging on ‘market conditions’ which is code for whether the company can beat the lofty valuation it once commanded.

The content we're consuming today

• The Information: Sequoia Capital’s Mighty Struggle ($).

• Money: Inside and Out: Argentina Feels the Heat.

• NY Times: Liz Holmes Wants You to Forget About Elizabeth ($).

Off-balance sheet items

• After some embarrassing failures (I don’t think I kneaded it enough), I am trying to get better at making pizza dough. This is the recipe I used most recently, and I feel like I have made huge strides. You should make some too.

The bottom line