BT auditor highlights new accounting weaknesses June 8, 2020 The external auditor of BT has highlighted “material weaknesses” within the company’s financial reporting controls, in the latest upset to its accounting credibility. In a letter to the telecoms firm KPMG noted that BT “did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of 31 March, 2020 because of… material weaknesses related to general [...]
Ocean Outdoor revenue drops as coronavirus hits advertising industry June 8, 2020 Digital advertising group Ocean Outdoor today reported a dip in revenue for the first quarter of 2020 as demand for advertising continues to nosedive amid the coronavirus crisis. The figures The billboard giant announced that group revenue sank four per cent to £27.4m in the first quarter of 2020 on a pro-forma basis, down from [...]
Nokia boosts broadband arm as rival Ericsson flags 5G losses June 8, 2020 Telecoms equipment giant Nokia has said it is seeing a pick-up in orders as providers seek to boost their broadband networks as global lockdown measures raise demand. The coronavirus pandemic has left many people reliant on home broadband connections to continue working, putting a strain on networks. Nokia’s president of fixed networks Sandy Motley said [...]
Two more Easyjet board members to step down this year June 8, 2020 Two members of the Easyjet board will step down this year, it was announced this morning, just a few weeks after finance chief Andrew Findlay also turned in his resignation. Deputy chairman Charles Gurassa and finance committee chair Andy Martin will quit the board in line with corporate governance best practice, having each served for [...]
Why you might never buy a phone again June 8, 2020 | Sponsored In the past few years we’ve ditched DVDs, said goodbye to CDs and realised that owning a car is an expensive inconvenience. Increasingly consumers looking to save time, space and money are streaming, subscribing and leasing their stuff. The next item to lease could be your mobile phone and that’s where London-based startup, www.raylo.com, comes [...]
European Commission set to scrutinise Fiat-PSA mega-merger June 8, 2020 The European Commission may seek concessions in order to clear the proposed $50bn (£39.6bn) merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA over competition concerns. Reuters reported that the body’s antitrust regulators were worried by the potential size of the two firm’s market share in small vans. According to sources, the two firms must dispel [...]
Lookers delays financial results further and warns of share suspension June 8, 2020 Car dealership firm Lookers has delayed publishing its financial results for the third time and has warned it may have to suspend trading. Lookers had been scheduled to report its 2019 financial results in March but had to delay publication until April after it had “identified potentially fraudulent transactions” and hired Grant Thornton to review [...]
Mulberry looks to cut a quarter of workforce June 8, 2020 Mulberry is looking to cut 25 per cent of its global workforce as the British luxury brand looks to reduce its costs after demand for its products was dented by the coronavirus pandemic. Mulberry, which employs around 1,500 people globally, said it expected the recovery of its sales levels in the medium term to be [...]
Sir Keir Starmer not supportive of Bristol statue being pulled down by protesters June 8, 2020 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said it was “completely wrong” for protesters to bring down a Bristol statue of a slave trader yesterday, but that the ornament should have been brought down lawfully instead. Starmer said the statue of Edward Colston had “no place in 21st century Britain”, but that the statue “should have [...]
DEBATE: Should we be worried about the privacy issues around the contact tracing app? June 8, 2020 Should we be worried about the security and privacy issues around the government’s contact tracing app? Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, says YES. The government’s contact tracing strategy raises many questions and offers few answers. Why does the UK government, unlike other democracies, want a state-controlled contact tracing app? Why do they want [...]