Facebook and Google duopoly is ‘too powerful’ says CMA boss February 23, 2021 Facebook and Google’s duopoly is too powerful, and the pair have too great a share of the UK online advertising space, CMA boss Andrea Coscelli has said. Speaking to the BBC, Coscelli said he would like to see regulatory changes to deal with their market dominance, but stopped short of saying the giants should be [...]
PwC US to head to trial over whether it rightly fired a whistleblower February 23, 2021 PwC in the US will go to trial next Monday, in which it will have to defend its audits of two tech companies and that it rightly fired a whistleblower. Former PwC senior manager Mauro Botta has accused audit giant of firing him because he submitted complaints to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and [...]
Skills for jabs: Philippines offers Britain nurses in exchange for vaccines February 23, 2021 The Philippines has said it will let thousands of its healthcare workers, mostly nurses, take up jobs in Britain and Germany, if the two countries agree to donate coronavirus vaccines. The department for health said it was not interested in such a deal and its priority was to use vaccines domestically, but said it would [...]
Regulator gives green light on Big Four plans for audit separation February 23, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has given the go ahead for the Big Four firms to press on with the next stage of separating their audit divisions from the rest of the business. The Big Four – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – were asked by the regulator to submit their plans for operational separation [...]
Begbies Traynor shares defy market slump to rise five per cent following good results February 23, 2021 Begbies Traynor defied London’s market slump today, with shares rising five per cent following encouraging results. In a Q3 update the professional services firm said it was “confident” of the outcome of its full year results, although it gave no actual figures. The business has enjoyed something of an acquisition spree this year. Earlier this [...]
Governments expected to come down hard on tax enforcement in coming years February 23, 2021 Business leaders have predicted greater tax enforcement in the next three years, as governments look to balance their books following pandemic pressures. More than half (53%) of business leaders in tax expected greater tax enforcement in the near future, according to research carried out by EY. They anticipated a far more diverse tax risk environment [...]
BoE policymaker: ‘Five per cent interest rates won’t return in my lifetime’ February 22, 2021 Bank of England policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe said he did not expect British interest rates to return to levels common before the 2008 financial crisis during his lifetime, due partly to the effect of an ageing population. Vlieghe, 49, said longer life expectancies and more time spent in retirement had boosted demand for safe retirement assets, [...]
Gig economy workers to nab 20 per cent of financial services jobs February 22, 2021 Gig economy workers will soon make up between 15 and 20 per cent of the workforce at financial services firms, up from the current five per cent of workers. In the next three to five years so-called ‘gig workers’ will become increasingly common at financial services firms, more than half (52%) of financial services firms [...]
Supreme Court allows release of Trump’s tax returns to prosecutor February 22, 2021 The US Supreme Court has paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns, in a major setback for the former President. The documents will be subject to grand jury secrecy rules that restrict their public release. The documents form part of a criminal investigation into Trump, who has [...]
Johnson: ‘The crocus of hope is poking through the frost’ February 22, 2021 “The crocus of hope is poking through the frost,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson today in an address to the nation on the gradual easing of the national lockdown. Earlier today Johnson announced all Covid restrictions could be lifted by 21 June under the Prime Minister’s roadmap for exiting lockdown. “Spring is one its way [...]
