Social media influencers promise greater clarity over sponsored posts amid CMA crackdown January 23, 2019 A host of high-profile celebrity influencers have agreed to be more transparent about when their social media posts are sponsored amid a crackdown on surreptitious product endorsements. Singers Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora and models Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are among the 16 social media stars who have given formal commitments to state clearly [...]
Rise of the bean counters: Accountants complain Oxford English Dictionary definition is ‘old-fashioned’ January 23, 2019 Accountants should not be dismissed as dull bean-counters, a major industry body has said as it takes issue with the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the role. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (Acca) said it supports an effort by Gary Turner, the managing director of Xero, who claims that the word experts need to [...]
Gatwick drone chaos costs Easyjet £15m but shares rise as profits stay the course January 22, 2019 Drone disruption at Gatwick cost Easyjet £15m, the airline revealed today, as it said that 82,000 passengers were affected by the incident, but shares rose as profits stayed the course. Easyjet was forced to spend £10m in customer welfare costs and lost £5m in revenue, it confirmed in a trading update this morning, as it [...]
Joint audit could inject some competition into the market January 22, 2019 Last week, the House of Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee opened hearings on its influential inquiry into the future of audit. Top of its agenda will be the proposed remedies set out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its recent review, which could bring wholesale change in the UK’s listed [...]
John Menzies’ takeover of Airline Services ready for takeoff after CMA gives green light January 17, 2019 Aviation services firm John Menzies’ shares nudged up in early trading as the group announced it had been given the green light on its takeover of London-based company Airline Services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved the buyout this morning, meaning Menzies can go ahead taking control of the firm in a deal originally [...]
Experts pour cold water on CMA’s proposals for joint audits in first Beis committee hearing January 15, 2019 Audit academics and investment managers have called for caution over recommendations by the competition regulator to shake-up the audit sector. During the first in a series of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee hearings, held today, witnesses warned that the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendation could risk unintended consequences for auditing. Led by [...]
Dignity rises as profits beat expectations despite tough year January 15, 2019 Dignity’s problems are not terminal it seems as the company beat market expectations to rake in a £79m profit. The group rose 2.1 per cent as the markets opened this morning, bringing it to 735p, but well below its 1,880p price on this day last year. Read more: Dignity shares slide after regulator proposes funeral competition [...]
Audit must reclaim its Victorian roots to win back public trust January 15, 2019 Today marks the first anniversary of the collapse of Carillion. It is also the first day that the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee takes evidence in its inquiry into the audit market. Carillion’s downfall brought the role of audit in business and society into the spotlight, and was a watershed moment for the [...]
EU banking watchdog calls for fresh cryptoassets regulation January 10, 2019 New rules may be needed to stop existing regulation on cryptocurrencies and digital assets from getting too diverse across the European Union, the bloc's banking watchdog said yesterday. Cryptoassets such as bitcoin, ether and tokens created in initial coin offerings (ICOs) typically fall outside of the scope of EU financial legislation, which makes it hard to [...]
Aisle be damned: The knives are out for big UK grocers January 9, 2019 Aldi and Lidl’s tills jingled all the way in December – handing them their highest-ever combined market share for the festive season, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed this week. All the major supermarkets lost market share in the 12 weeks to 30 December as Aldi’s sales jumped 10.4 per cent while Lidl’s were up 9.4 [...]