Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit April 30, 2019 A financial watchdog has stung KPMG with a £6m fine and “severely reprimanded” the auditor after finding fault with how an insurance audit was conducted. Read more: KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs KPMG must also carry out an internal review following the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) findings, which relate [...]
BP profits drop but beat expectations as weaker oil prices squeeze margins April 30, 2019 BP saw profits sink in the first quarter of 2019, blaming weaker oil prices and squeezed margins, but the oil giant still managed to beat expectations. Read more: Equinor joins Shell and BP on climate change after investor pressure The figures Underlying replacement cost (RC) profit for the three months to the end of March [...]
Avengers: Endgame smashes worldwide box office record, taking $1.2bn in debut weekend April 29, 2019 The newest Marvel film has beaten box office records with a huge $1.2bn (£929m) around the world in opening ticket sales. Read more: Avengers, Assemble: the business lessons to learn from Marvel's superheroes Avengers: Endgame, which opened in the UK on Thursday, has beaten the record set by the previous film in the Marvel superhero [...]
Brits snub EU countries for summer holidays amid prolonged Brexit uncertainty, Thomas Cook reveals April 29, 2019 Fewer Brits are travelling to EU countries for their summer holidays as the UK’s prolonged Brexit process has encouraged holidaymakers to expand their horizons, according to Thomas Cook. Read more: Tory party chairman hints at another Brexit vote Both Turkey and Tunisia have benefited from dwindling interest in the EU, the travel agent said today [...]
Non-Standard Finance extends deadline for Provident shareholders to accept £1.3bn hostile takeover April 29, 2019 Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has set 15 May as its final closing date to secure its hostile takeover of rival Provident Financial, urging shareholders to back it to break the “status quo”. Read more: Provident lashes out at 'unlawful' NSF payments amid takeover dispute The new date signals a week’s delay to the previous deadline to [...]
Oil prices fall after Trump’s showdown with Opec April 26, 2019 Oil fell today after President Donald Trump said he “called up” the Opec oil cartel to demand they bring down prices. Read more: Corbyn snubs state dinner invite during Trump's UK visit “Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up Opec, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump [...]
Slack files for IPO as it targets New York Stock Exchange debut April 26, 2019 Collaboration tool Slack has confidentially filed to float on the New York Stock Exchange. Read more: Uber reveals IPO will value firm as high as $90bn The messaging app will join the stock market under the ticker symbol SK this summer, in either May or June, according to its filing. Slack, which was last valued [...]
P&O Ferries sues government over £33m Eurotunnel settlement after no-deal Brexit ferries fiasco April 26, 2019 Ferry operator P&O is suing the UK government following the heavily-criticised decision to hand a no-deal Brexit ferries contract to a firm with no boats. Read more: Government ferry contracts to cost millions more if Brexit is delayed The Department for Transport has already been forced to pay Eurotunnel £33m in a settlement after its [...]
‘Banksy artwork’ appears at Marble Arch after two weeks of Extinction Rebellion protests April 26, 2019 Artwork believed to be the work of Banksy has appeared overnight at one of the major sites of the last fortnight’s climate change protests. Read more: Climate protesters blockade Treasury in action against finance sector The image in Marble Arch depicts a child in a headscarf holding a placard with the symbol of protest organisers [...]
Advertising giant WPP suffers like-for-like sales decline after ‘significant’ client losses April 26, 2019 WPP sales slipped in the first three months of the year as the advertising giant told investors it is closer to selling market research division Kantar. Read more: WPP boss outlines overhaul of corporate culture Revenue rose almost one per cent year on year to £3.59bn in the first quarter of 2019 but like-for-like revenue [...]
