Accountants told to step up audit quality July 20, 2010 BRITAIN’S big four accountants were criticised by an independent review this morning for the “disappointing” quality of their audit work. One in ten audits produced by the major firms fell below the proper standards, the Audit Inspection Unit (AIU) said. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – along with smaller competitor PKF – were [...]
BNY Mellon earnings triple despite fee falls July 20, 2010 BANK of New York Mellon saw its earnings more than triple in the second quarter, compared to a period last year when the bank was laid low by writedowns on mortgage-backed securities. The US custodial bank reported second-quarter profit attributable to shareholders of $658m (£430.2m), up from $176m a year earlier. That was equivalent to [...]
Cameron’s US trip hampered by anger at BP July 20, 2010 DAVID Cameron yesterday asked Britain’s top civil servant to re-examine the circumstances surrounding the early release of the Lockerbie bomber, but insisted BP had not influenced the decision. Amid fears that his first Prime Ministerial visit to Washington is being overshadowed by US resentment against the oil major, Cameron tried to draw a line under [...]
State Street’s second quarter profit boosted by higher fees July 20, 2010 STATE Street yesterday announced an operating profit increase of five per cent in the second quarter, fuelled by strong growth in its investment management and servicing business. The US asset management and custody firm said earnings climbed to $464m (£303.5m) from $441m a year earlier while earnings per share rose to 93 cents from 89 [...]
Real estate group Heron wins a £115m loan facility for City flats July 20, 2010 REAL estate group Heron International has secured a £115m loan facility to finance the construction of The Heron, its residential development near the Barbican. The company said the financing is being provided by Santander, HSBC and Investec, and is the first facility for any significant speculative residential build since the credit crisis. The property giant [...]
De La Rue suspends bank note printing July 20, 2010 BANK NOTE printer De La Rue’s shares plunged to an 18-month low yesterday after it warned sales would be materially below earlier expectations, and that some paper production had failed to meet quality specifications. De La Rue, the FTSE 250 company, said that sales and production levels would be “materially” lower than previously expected. Analysts [...]
Admiral diversifies into home insurance July 20, 2010 BRITISH car insurer Admiral yesterday announced plans to expand into household insurance, making its first foray outside the motor market in pursuit of continued growth. Admiral, which insures about six per cent of the cars on Britain’s roads and also owns popular price comparison website Confused.com, will start underwriting household insurance next year, a spokesman [...]
Lesley Knox takes chair at Grosvenor July 20, 2010 LESLEY Knox, one of only two female chairmen at FTSE 100 firms, yesterday added another prestigious role to her CV as chairman of Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster’s property firm. Grosvenor said its current chair, Lord (David) Home, plans to retire as a trustee of the company and from the board at the end of [...]
IG Group smashes profit forecasts July 20, 2010 FINANCIAL trading firm IG Group announced yesterday that pre-tax profits jumped by more than 25 per cent for the year ending 31 May, beating most analyst expectations. Shareholders will also get their slice of the pie after the company announced a 13.5p dividend, which brings the total dividend for the year to 18.5p, a 25.5 [...]
WorldSpreads announces new partnership July 20, 2010 SPREAD betting firm WorldSpreads announced its latest partnership with 188Bet, one of the world’s largest online bookmakers, yesterday. It will provide all financial spread betting services to 188Bet’s customers, including equities and currencies trading. This deal comes hot on the heels of WorldSpreads partnership to provide the same service to bookmaker Ladbrokes, which was announced [...]
