Crypto markets take another hit amid darkening economic outlook September 20, 2021 It’s a sea of red across the cryptocurrency markets today, with Bitcoin falling below $45k for the first time since last Tuesday.
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 [...]
EY to spend $2bn on improving audits after Wirecard scandal September 9, 2021 EY will invest around $2bn (£1.4bn) over three years to improve the quality of its audits after the high-profile collapse of payments company Wirecard, according to the Financial Times who first reported the news. The funding is part of a larger, and record, $10bn investment plan, announced by EY yesterday, to finance staff training and [...]
EY hit with $1bn claim for one of the largest bankruptcies in Swiss history September 7, 2021 EY’s Swiss practice is facing investor claims for giving clean audits to opaque conglomerate Zeromax for years before it collapsed, according to the Financial Times who first reported the news. Zeromax, whose crash in 2010 made it the second-largest bankruptcy in Swiss history, made multimillion-dollar jewellery purchases and made irregular offshore payments – which the [...]
House prices continue climb but signs of slowing begin to show September 7, 2021 House prices increased to another record high in August but the pace at which they are climbing is slowing. Monthly growth sat at 0.7 per cent in the month just gone, leaving prices up 7.1 per cent year on year, according to the Halifax House Price Index. The latter figure is down from 7.6 per [...]
Lee Wilson CA on helping some of business’s biggest players get to grips with cryptocurrency September 7, 2021 This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Lee Wilson CA, Head of Finance at Elliptic, is helping some of business’s biggest players get to grips with cryptocurrency. He gives Ryan Herman a whistle-stop tour of an industry set to influence all our lives. One of the more surprising aspects of the pandemic has been the [...]
Foresight targets £200m sustainable forestry company IPO September 6, 2021 London-listed sustainable investment manager Foresight has announced it is branching out with an IPO of a new fund that will invest solely in UK forestry assets. Incorporated only a week ago, Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company will list on London’s main market with a fundraising target of up to £200m, at a price of 100 pence [...]
Supply chain snarl ups pull UK construction growth down to six-month low September 6, 2021 The UK construction industry grew at the slowest pace for six months, driven by supply chain snarl ups leaving builders unable to progress work, according to a closely watched survey released today. The latest IHS Markit / CIPS UK construction purchasing managers’ index slid to 55.2 in August, down from 58.7 in July. However, the [...]
How worker shortages are cleared will determine UK economy’s trajectory September 4, 2021 You would be forgiven for forgetting we are currently amid one of the best runs of economic growth in living memory with all the negative news about supply chain snarl ups, worker shortages and soaring inflation flying around. A slew of data published this week, alongside a raft of announcements from supermarket, retail and food [...]
UK services growth slumps to six-month low despite record hiring rates September 3, 2021 UK services firms hired workers at the fastest pace on record in August to cope with soaring demand, but growth in the industry slumped to a six-month low amid severe shortages, according to a closely watched survey released today. The latest IHS Markit / CIPS UK services PMI survey dropped to 55.0 in August, the [...]