John McAfee on life in prison… and the price of Dogecoin April 26, 2021 Speaking from behind bars in a Spanish jail, computer legend John McAfee says he’s stunned by the price of Dogecoin.
The EU will sign a post-Brexit deal on financial services, PwC boss predicts, because it ‘needs London’ April 26, 2021 The EU will grant the City of London access to its capital markets and agree a post-Brexit deal on financial services because it “needs London”, PwC has predicted. The financial services sector was left out of the post-Brexit trade deal agreed between the two sides last year, but the Big Four firm is predicting the [...]
Sunday Sitdown: ‘Skittish’ banks need to up their game, says CEO of Ezbob April 25, 2021 Following a nightmare year that was hugely disrupted by the pandemic and three subsequent lockdowns, the City is slowly switching into recovery mode as the economy starts to re-open and many sectors are coming back to life. To discuss the way back up, City A.M. sits down with Tomer Guriel, chief executive of Marble Arch-based [...]
Public debt: Who has lent a staggering £2.1 trillion to Rishi Sunak? April 23, 2021 Government debt has hit its highest point as a portion of gross domestic product since the early 1960s when the country was still paying off what it had borrowed to fund the fight against Nazi Germany, new figures showed this morning. Last year spending skyrocketed to pay for dozens of programmes to prop up the [...]
KPMG’s ex-interim CEO Mary O’Connor in talks about leaving after being passed up for the top job April 23, 2021 Mary O’Connor, who was the first woman to head up KPMG, is in advanced talks to leave the firm after being passed over for the top job. O’Connor is close to agreeing the details of her exit, Sky News first reported, and a statement on her future at the company could be made in the [...]
UK will stay financial services leader without EU equivalence deal, says KPMG boss April 23, 2021 If the UK and EU fail to agree an equivalence deal it will not be the end of the world, according to KPMG’s head of FS Karim Haji, who was feeling upbeat about the future of financial services in the UK. Haji, who was made KPMG’s head of FS in June 2019, acknowledged an equivalence [...]
UK inflation climbs to 0.7 per cent in March April 21, 2021 The UK’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 0.7 per cent in March, from 0.4 per cent in February, official ONS figures showed this morning. CPI was boosted by rising fuel costs and clothing but was partially offset by falls in the price of food. The ONS said prices charged by manufacturers rose by 1.9 [...]
Blacklist audit firms for fraud failures, urges Pirc April 19, 2021 Large audit firms that are deemed not to be working hard enough to root out corporate fraud will be blacklisted in this year’s annual shareholder meetings by Pirc. Pirc has urged investors have not to reappoint PwC, KPMG, EY or Grant Thornton because it believes they have not done enough to improve their fraud detection [...]
UK tech optimism hits seven-year high on recovery hopes April 19, 2021 UK tech companies are now more optimistic about their short-term growth prospects than at any time over the last seven years, according to new figures published today. Firms in the burgeoning British tech sector reported strong confidence that business activity will bounce back strongly after the latest national lockdown and as Brexit-related uncertainty among clients [...]
Jon Holt elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive April 12, 2021 Following a partnership vote Jon Holt has been elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive, marking a transitionary moment for the Big Four firm after a bumpy start to the new year. Holt, formerly head of audit at the firm, will begin his new role immediately and serve as chief executive until the end of September [...]