Banks face probe for their use of Big Four auditors March 23, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT has asked regulators to investigate whether banks help to entrench the Big Four auditing firms’ dominance through restrictive lending agreements with companies. The Budget included a call to the Office of Fair Trading to probe whether bank covenants lock out smaller auditors. The Financial Reporting Council had expressed concern to lawmakers last year [...]
UK to probe bank covenants favouring big auditors March 23, 2011 The government has asked regulators to investigate whether banks help to entrench the “Big Four” auditing firms’ dominance through restrictive lending agreements with companies. Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget included a call to the Office of Fair Trading to probe whether bank covenants lock out smaller auditors. The Financial Reporting Council had expressed concern to lawmakers [...]
The new British Airways boss says the business is ready for take-off March 20, 2011 IT is time for a fresh start. That was the message from Keith Williams, the new boss of British Airways, as he gave City A.M. his first ever interview since becoming chief executive of Britain’s 37-year-old flag-carrier. One can forgive Williams for wanting to turn a page: his predecessor Willie Walsh, who has moved upstairs [...]
BUSINESS SCHOOL NEWS IN BRIEF March 16, 2011 FS STILL NUMBER ONE It might not be the politicians’ favourite sector, but MBA graduates are still pretty keen on the financial services. In its 2011 Alumni Perspectives Survey GMAC (the Graduate Management Admission Council) says that 22 per cent of MBA graduates went to work in the financial services, up on 15 per cent [...]
Shareholder rights are still being ignored March 9, 2011 DEFENDING shareholder rights remains an “uphill struggle” despite almost 150 asset owners signing up to a series of guidelines for best corporate governance behaviour, a key City regulator will say today. Almost 150 asset owners have signed up to the Stewardship Code launched by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) last July to push institutional investors [...]
Changes to insurance regime could mean a PII revolution February 22, 2011 SOLICITORS are dealing with a number of challenges that threaten the futures of many within the legal profession. The recession has affected everyone and solicitors are no exception. Corporate lawyers aren’t seeing the deals that used to see them working into the early hours of the morning and the property lawyers have seen their conveyancing [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 17, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BALLS WARNS KING ON BANK CREDIBILITY Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, has criticised Mervyn King, Bank of England governor, saying he should step out of the political arena and stop tying his credibility to the coalition’s “extreme” deficit-reduction plans. In an interview with the Financial Times, Balls drew comparisons between King’s stance and the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 6, 2011 Pinsent Masons The law firm has appointed Barry Vitou (pictured) to its dispute resolution team. He joins the firm from the London office of US firm Winston & Strawn, where he headed its regulatory and tech practice. He will be working with Danvers Baillieu, a senior associate advising on online and tech business issues. Vitou [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES MADEJSKI IN TALKS TO RESTRUCTURE GROUP DEBT Sir John Madejski, the owner of Reading Football Club, is in talks to restructure a loan that backed the expansion of his property empire after the crash in regional property values led to a breach in the covenants of the debt. The wealthy former media magnate’s [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 27, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES POLICE TARGET “HACKTIVISTS” An online “hacktivist” group that brought down the websites of perceived opponents of WikiLeaks has itself become the target of an international police crackdown. The London Metropolitan Police arrested five men in connection with a recent spate of attacks by Anonymous, behind last month’s revenge assault on the websites of [...]