Chair of audit watchdog the FRC Simon Dingemans resigns after less than nine months May 20, 2020 Former Glaxosmithkline finance boss Simon Dingemans has stepped down as chair of audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) less than nine months after taking the role. Dingemans was appointed last July to chair the FRC and oversee its transformation to the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) after the FRC was heavily criticised for [...]
Johnson & Johnson stops selling Baby Powder talc in US amid cancer claims May 20, 2020 Johnson & Johnson last night said it would stop selling its talc Baby Powder in the US and Canada, saying demand had dropped in the wake of what it called “misinformation” about the product’s safety amid a barrage of legal challenges. Johnson & Johnson faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers and their survivors claiming [...]
Consumer law firm Taylor Rose buys rival McMillan Williams in pre-pack deal amid High Street law coronavirus struggles May 20, 2020 Consumer law firm Taylor Rose has bought struggling rival McMillan Williams in a pre-pack administration deal in what could be an early sign of an expected wave of consolidation in the High Street legal sector. Law Society president Simon Davis warned earlier this month that more than 70 per cent of High Street firms may [...]
Experian says coronavirus lockdowns could hit first quarter revenue May 20, 2020 Data credit company Experian said today it could take a 10 per cent revenue hit in the first quarter if government coronavirus lockdown policies persist through the period. The London-listed business said it was not providing financial guidance for the current financial year because of the unpredictability of the crisis which had caused major disruption [...]
Severn Trent ups dividend but warns of coronavirus impact May 20, 2020 Severn Trent today said it would pay a final dividend but warned the coronavirus pandemic was likely to lead to unpaid bills and a decline in sales to businesses over the next year. Severn Trent proposed a final dividend of 60p, up from 56p last year. The water company booked a bad debt charge of [...]
Ovo Energy to cut 2,600 jobs following SSE deal May 19, 2020 The UK’s second largest energy supplier, Ovo Energy, is planning to cut 2,600 jobs following its merger with SSE, blaming coronavirus for some of the cuts. Ovo, which closed a £500m deal for SSE’s retail arm this year, said the coronavirus pandemic had accelerated its integration plans for the businesses. “We are seeing a rapid [...]
Regulator asks for mobile data in Credit Suisse spying probe May 19, 2020 Swiss regulators have asked for message data from the mobile phones of several Credit Suisse managers and supervisory board directors as part of an investigation into spying at the bank, Reuters reported citing sources. Switzerland’s financial watchdog FINMA is examining the culture and governance of the bank and whether management failures led to spying operations [...]
Traders bet on Bank of England launching negative interest rates May 18, 2020 Traders are betting that the Bank of England introduces negative interest rates for the first time ever, pushing the pound to a three-week low today. Interest rate futures contracts from December dipped into negative territory today as the money markets speculated that British interest rates would fall below zero in the coming months. Comments by [...]
UK households gloomy about finances as coronavirus crisis hits home May 18, 2020 UK households were slightly more positive about their finances in May than in April, but the month still ranked as one of the most pessimistic since 2009. IHS Markit’s UK household finance index (HFI) – which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing – recorded 37.8 in May, up slightly from April’s eight-and-a-half year low [...]
Coronavirus triggers profit warning spike for financial services businesses May 18, 2020 UK listed financial services businesses have issued more profit warnings this year than in the whole of 2019 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. UK-listed financial services firms have issued 31 covid-19 related profit warnings so far this year, according to analysis from EY, representing 17 per cent of the Ftse financial services sector. [...]