Labour briefing paper ‘outlines Corbyn plan to renationalise water companies’ May 5, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn would reportedly try to renationalise water companies if he came to power, according to leaked internal documents, in a plan which could see him pay up to £24bn less than their market value. Read more: Government ready to compromise with Corbyn through 'gritted teeth' The Labour leader's plans could cause pensioners, employees and [...]
Corbyn’s past just keeps tripping him up May 2, 2019 The charge sheet is grim. He defended a mural depicting hook-nosed Jewish bankers playing monopoly on the backs of the poor. He claimed Israel exerts “unbelievably high levels of influence” over “the upper echelons of parts of the media”. He presides over a party struggling to deal with complaints of antisemitism among its members and [...]
Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit April 30, 2019 A financial watchdog has stung KPMG with a £6m fine and “severely reprimanded” the auditor after finding fault with how an insurance audit was conducted. Read more: KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs KPMG must also carry out an internal review following the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) findings, which relate [...]
The material consequences of choosing sustainable fashion April 29, 2019 The textile industry – primarily the business of cloth and clothing – produces close to 100 million tonnes of fibres every year. This number is only set to grow as purchasing power in emerging markets rises. The industry – and its growth – has huge consequences for the environment and climate change, producing some 1.2 [...]
BT’s Italian accounting fraud linked to London, investigation reveals April 23, 2019 A criminal investigation into BT’s Italian division has uncovered a string of damning emails linking UK executives to alleged accounting fraud in the country. Emails seized by police and seen by Reuters appear to show that senior executives in the UK were involved in artificially inflating financial results for BT’s Italian business, despite the fact [...]
Business lobby groups slam competition watchdog’s calls for radical audit reform April 18, 2019 Business lobby group the CBI said reforms to the audit sector proposed today by the competition watchdog could “undermine confidence in corporate Britain”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today called for the Big Four accountancy firm’s audit arms to be split from their non-audit arms with separate profit pool and management in a major [...]
Accounting watchdog to investigate audits of outsourcer Interserve’s financials by Grant Thornton April 11, 2019 Britain’s accounting watchdog has started investigating the audits of Interserve by Grant Thornton, weeks after the outsourcer collapsed into administration. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said this morning it is looking into Interserve’s accounts in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Read more: Interserve begins its new life as a private company Last month, Interserve finally collapsed into [...]
Central banks glimmer as gold buying reaches highs not seen since 2008 April 8, 2019 Central banks are turning to gold at a much higher rate than last year as global uncertainty has driven them to diversify portfolios. Around the world the banks bought nearly 90 tonnes of gold in January and February, up from 56 tonnes year-on-year, the World Gold Council reported. Read more: Avesero shares lay flat despite [...]
Premiership Rugby’s relegation battle is set to go down to the wire, so why ring-fence the league? April 8, 2019 English top-flight rugby has rarely been more competitive than it has this season yet talk of ring-fencing the competition continues to loom large. Premiership Rugby is set to provide an update to its board on Tuesday regarding the proposal to ring-fence the league, despite the fiercest relegation battle for many years currently raging on. The [...]
Poll: Sterling set to rise three per cent if Brexit deal looks likely April 5, 2019 Sterling will jump three per cent if it looks likely the government will secure a Brexit deal, but will drop five per cent if talks fail, according to a Reuters poll. The pound plummeted following the 2016 referendum and has been volatile ever since as the market reacts to every development in the Brexit negotiations. [...]