Former chancellor Hammond’s PE firm eyeing government contractor Amey September 19, 2021 Former chancellor Philip Hammond’s private equity firm is scheming to buy one of the government’s largest private sector contractors for £300m. According to Sky News, Buckthorn, the private equity firm who employs Hammond as a partner, has moved to acquire Amey. Buckthorn has submitted a bid for Amey as part of an auction being organised [...]
Former BoE chief economist Andy Haldane to lead levelling up agenda September 19, 2021 Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has been appointed by Boris Johnson to head up a new taskforce charged with leading the government’s levelling up agenda. Haldane will be head of the new Levelling Up Taskforce, which will sit in a revamped housing ministry under Michael Gove that will be titled the Department [...]
Man of the match: Former saboteur Michael Gove expands Whitehall empire dramatically September 19, 2021 One-time saboteur Michael Gove dramatically expanded his Whitehall empire this week, after emerging as one of the big winners in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet reshuffle. Gove, who was given the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, has seen his department renamed the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – underlining its central roll in [...]
Liz Truss ignores security spat with France as she says UK is simply ‘hard-headed’ September 19, 2021 New Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has launched a strong defence of the UK’s security pact with the US and Australia amid a deepening diplomatic row with France.Truss said the agreement – which will see the UK and US co-operate to develop a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian navy – showed Britain’s readiness [...]
Mon dieu! France recalls US and Australia ambassadors as £30bn submarine row heats up September 18, 2021 France has taken the dramatic step of recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in the worsening row over their nuclear submarine deal. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the “exceptional decision” was justified by the “exceptional gravity” of the actions of the two Western allies. It followed the announcement earlier this [...]
Inflation will keep breaching BoE target over next half decade September 17, 2021 Inflation will routinely breach the Bank of England’s target over the next half a decade, according to fresh data released today. The Bank’s latest survey on inflation expectations shows Brits think the rate of price rises will hit three per cent in five years’ time, one percentage point above the Old Lady’s target. Over the [...]
A confusing catalogue of crypto curiosities – what a week that was! September 17, 2021 It's been a strange week in the world of crypto, writes Jason Bourne, as we reflect on a catalogue of curiosities.
The CAs seeking justice in forensic accountancy September 17, 2021 As crime increasingly moves from street to balance sheet, more and more CAs are finding themselves playing a part in the fight against fraud. Karam Filfilan speaks to forensic accountants about the growth of the specialism. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. When people hear the word “forensic”, their imaginations are transported to a [...]
Reshuffle day two: Jesse Norman sacked as Treasury minister September 16, 2021 Boris Johnson continues his reshuffle today, after a major shakeup to his top team yesterday afternoon. Johnson will fill dozens of ministerial roles that sit under the secretary of state in each department. 17.56 International trade minister sacked Trade minister Graham Stuart has been sacked, along with two others in the latest announcement. Stuart had [...]
Rallying travel stocks lift London markets September 16, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 edged up today on a rally among travel stocks, helping to partly reverse yesterday’s poor performance. The capital’s premier index gained 0.16 per cent to hit 7,027.48 points, partly evening out losses registered on a choppy day on London markets yesterday. The likes of aerospace engineer Rolls Royce and British Airways parent [...]