Trump sacks defence secretary Mark Esper November 9, 2020 Donald Trump has sacked US defence secretary Mark Esper and replaced him with National Counterterrorism Centre director Christopher Miller. The US President took to Twitter to announce: “Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service”. In a separate tweet Trump added: “I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. [...]
Boris Johnson urges caution over Pfizer Covid vaccine breakthrough November 9, 2020 Boris Johnson has urged the nation to not start celebrating the news of a potential effective Covid vaccine and that the “distant bugle of the scientific cavalry” was still “some way off”. Johnson said at a press conference this afternoon that the UK would wait until Pfizer and BioNTech release the safety data around the vaccine [...]
KPMG to sell restructuring arm to win more work November 9, 2020 Audit giant KPMG is to sell its restructuring arm because conflicts of interest and regulatory scrutiny are preventing it from winning work. In an email to colleagues KPMG UK chairman and senior partner Bill Michael said that concerns relating to conflicts of interest arising from its existing work was likely to “limit the restructuring clients [...]
Winners and losers: Stocks soaring AND plummeting as Pfizer reports Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough November 9, 2020 US pharma giant Pfizer reporting today that early studies of its Covid-19 vaccine are 90 per cent effective has sent markets into a frenzy, with travel and hospitality stocks shooting up while food delivery services and video conferencing software providers plummeted. Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce saw the biggest change on the FTSE 100, surging 43 [...]
Boris Johnson maintains Brexit deal ‘is there to be done’ November 8, 2020 A post-Brexit trade deal is still “there to be done” despite the final deadline looming next month, according to Boris Johnson. Johnson, who spoke to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, said “the broad outlines are pretty clear” and that the EU chief “totally agrees with me”. A statement from Downing Street yesterday [...]
The City A.M. weekend: How to have fun during lockdown November 7, 2020 This is not the weekend we wanted, but it’s the weekend we have to make do with. As we enter another period of lockdown, there are no galleries, cinemas, restaurants or places to have fun of any kind. So here’s the weekly City A.M. culture and entertainment round-up, lockdown edition. Over the next few weeks [...]
English airports will close without government support, AOA warns November 6, 2020 The Airport Operators Association (AOA) has written to the Prime Minister to call for urgent support to help protect airports following restrictions on international travel announced as a part of England’s second national lockdown. In a letter to Boris Johnson the trade body said airports would like to remain open throughout the lockdown, but without [...]
Republican civil war looms as Trump stance splits party November 6, 2020 With Democratic candidate Joe Biden closing in on a 2020 election victory, senior figures in the Republican party are split on whether to back Trump as he pedals baseless claims about election fraud. In the last 24 hours Donald Trump has spread falsehoods about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, having claimed mass election fraud [...]
Deloitte fined for pension scheme audit failures November 6, 2020 Big Four firm Deloitte has been fined £362,500 for failures relating to the audit of a former client’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme and the carrying value of the company’s intangible assets. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) described the former client as one of the largest local and regional multimedia organisations in the UK responsible [...]