Shell mulls offshoring its legal eagles to cut costs June 6, 2016 Shell is considering offshoring its legal centre in a bid to cut costs and improve efficiencies, it was revealed today. "We are operating in the reality of a 'lower for longer' oil price environment and to remain competitive, Shell is taking essential steps towards building a more sustainable and resilient company," said Donny Ching, Shell's legal director. "Shell's [...]
Financial Reporting Council launches KPMG probe over additional services provided while it audited Ted Baker June 6, 2016 The accountancy watchdog has today announced an investigation into KPMG Audit over its handling of its additional services provided to Ted Baker. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has said it will be examining how the big four firm complied with ethical standards relating to providing non-audit services while it was auditing the retailer. The periods concerned [...]
Over half of City workers think they will have changed jobs by this time next year June 6, 2016 Cuts to bonuses and stagnant salaries are causing many workers in the Square Mile to consider jumping ship. As a result, more than half of City workers do not believe that they will be doing the same job in a year’s time, research released today indicates. The poll, conducted by recruitment firm Astbury Marsden, suggests that [...]
Why “failure to prevent” will fail to prevent fraud and money laundering June 4, 2016 Predictably, reaction to the Prime Minister’s proposal of a new failure to prevent economic crime offence has been mixed. The timing of recent announcement – in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal and just as Mr Cameron's anti-corruption summit kicked into gear – was not lost on some commentators. Others have welcomed the announcement, pointing to [...]
Libor charges brought in the US against two former Deutsche Bank traders June 3, 2016 Two former Deutsche Bank workers were indicted in the US yesterday evening on allegations of manipulating US dollar linked Libor. Matthew Connolly, 51, of New Jersey, and Gavin Black, 46, of London, have been accused of taking part in a scheme to rig the benchmark rate so that it better suited their own or their former employer's trading positions. The [...]
BP has agreed to shell out another $175m over Deepwater Horizon June 3, 2016 BP agreed to settle with shareholders for $175m (£121.4m) last night over a class action lawsuit sparked by the Deepwater Horizon incident. In a brief statement issued by the company, it noted that the settlement will be dished out to shareholders during 2016-17. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 people and spewing [...]
Pre-pack deals being referred for review much higher in value than initially expected June 2, 2016 The value of pre-pack deals being referred for initial assessment is much higher than initially anticipated. Data shared with City A.M. by the Pre-Pack Pool, which was established in May 2015 to review and greenlight pre-pack administration proposals, shows that the average value of deals referred to it so far is around to £4.2m. By comparison, the [...]
BHS fiasco could spark a Cadbury moment for takeover rules, says top City law firm June 2, 2016 The ongoing BHS debacle could cause the government to have a Cadbury moment and change the Takeover Code, a City law firm has said today. Pinsent Masons believes that the level of public interest in the high street retailer's administration, and the £1 sale to Retail Acquisitions that took place just one year beforehand, may force a rethink to the [...]
Decision on super exam for lawyers delayed June 1, 2016 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has today delayed making a decision on the introduction of a so-called super exam. While the SRA maintained in its announcement that it still believed there was a strong case for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, it has extended its timetable to work out some of the detail. Read more: Criminal justice system [...]
Key advisers on the £1 sale of BHS are being asked to reveal their fees June 1, 2016 The two key advisers on the BHS sale to Retail Acquisitions have today been asked to reveal their fees. The Work and Pensions select committee, which is overseeing one of the two inquiries currently examining the BHS fiasco, has written to representatives from accountancy firm Grant Thornton and law firm Olswang for more details on how [...]