HSBC in $9bn suit over Madoff fraud December 6, 2010 HSBC is being sued for at least $9bn (£5.7bn) for allegedly aiding Bernard Madoff’s $65bn Ponzi scheme. Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee charged with liquidating Madoff’s investment firm and recovering funds for its victims, alleges 24 counts of financial fraud and misconduct against HSBC and its affiliates. The lawsuit filed on Sunday claims HSBC helped [...]
Retailers look for Christmas sales lift December 6, 2010 CONSUMER spending showed another month of modest growth in November, according to data released today. Yet shop vacancies have risen compared with last year as the high street cuts back on costs. Prospects for Christmas sales remain “delicately poised” following the early winter freeze, said the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which conducted the survey with [...]
Mouchel calls in Deloitte as austerity bites December 2, 2010 MOUCHEL yesterday confirmed Deloitte has been drafted in to examine how far the firm’s future income could drop, sparking fears it could follow Connaught and Rok into administration. The engineering consulting and design group has been rocked by swingeing cuts in government spending, resulting in the haemorrhaging of contract income. Deloitte was called in by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES KPMG HIRES NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS FOR NEW OVERSIGHT BODY KPMG Europe has hired three non-executive directors to sit on a new oversight body in a move that highlights the differing ways big audit firms are complying with regulatory changes in the UK. The directors are: Sir Steve Robson, a retired senior civil servant at [...]
PwC faces a probe into its auditing of Connaught’s books November 29, 2010 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS (PwC) faces an investigation into its audit of collapsed social housing repair firm Connaught. The UK accounting regulator, the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB), said yesterday it would look at the conduct of auditor PwC, as well as some of its staff, in relation to the preparation and auditing of the group’s results [...]
City business still booming November 29, 2010 BIG four accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has maintained its lead as the firm with the highest number of FTSE clients in the third quarter ended 4 November, according to the latest research from business data firm Hemscott. The Hemscott Corporate Advisers Rankings Guide, which is published quarterly, also revealed yesterday that public relations agency Brunswick had [...]
House of Lords slams Big Four auditors for role in banking crisis November 23, 2010 THE HOUSE of Lords yesterday accused the Big Four auditors of misleading investors by giving the banks a clean bill of health before the financial crisis. The Lords’ economic affairs committee grilled bosses of Ernst &Young, Deloitte, PwC and KPMG as part of a probe into a possible lack of competition in the financial services [...]
BLAIR WOOS LAWYERS WITH FOND MEMORIES November 22, 2010 CITY law firm Clifford Chance last night played host to a gathering of 250 of the City’s most prominent names in a one-off chance to hear from former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair blitzed into the event and had to run off to another engagement immediately afterwards, but in between he found time to cover [...]
Survey: new rules will hit bank profits November 22, 2010 NEW rules forcing banks to hold more capital could permanently depress profits and hit tax revenues and jobs, a survey has found. Liquidity buffers three times their present size will increase banks’ costs sharply and permanently reduce profit margins, according to the Evolving Bank Regulation study from business and tax consultants KPMG. The moves will [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 22, 2010 Huntsworth Group Global PR firm Huntsworth has added Colin Adams to its board as group finance director, replacing Tymon Broadhead. He has a background in media and joins from Bloomsbury Publishing, where has had been finance director since 1994. He also has three years’ experience on the investment committee of the creative capital fund. He [...]