Compulsory audit tenders could cost consumers quality, money and competition July 22, 2013 The Competition Commission (CC) has shied away from compulsory auditor switching, instead pushing for mandatory tenders every five years, in an attempt to break up the big four (PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG). FTSE 350 companies should put their statutory audit engagement out to tender at least every five years. Companies may defer this [...]
Why the French model may have the answer to the NHS’s many challenges July 20, 2013 IT IS often said that the NHS is “the envy of the world”, but this claim is now increasingly difficult to justify. Yesterday, professor Sir Bruce Keogh published his review into 14 NHS hospital trusts with high mortality rates. “Mediocrity is simply not good enough,” he said, with the probe uncovering poor standards of care, [...]
ENRC begins legal proceedings against former director July 19, 2013 Miner ENRC has filed a legal claim in the High Court against a former non-executive director, Paul Judge (release). For breach of fiduciary duty to ENRC, relating to the disclosure of confidential information to the media and for the return of all confidential documentation in his possession. Gerhard Ammann, chairman of ENRC said: We have [...]
Sale of government’s £5bn Lloyds stake may begin this September July 19, 2013 The government is weighing the sale of its stake in Lloyds as soon as September, valued at approximately $7.6bn (£5bn), according to reports by Bloomberg.
China moves towards lending determined by markets forces, rather than government fiat July 19, 2013 China will remove its floor on lending rates tomorrow, and markets seem to be interpreting the move by the People's Bank of China as easing. See the reaction in the Australian dollar: Controls on bill discount rates and a ceiling on lending rates for rural credit co-operatives will also be scrapped, allowing banks more freedom [...]
US bellwether General Electric beats earnings forecasts July 19, 2013 US utility company General Electric has just beaten earnings forecasts, making $0.36 per share in the second quarter, rather than the $0.35 expected. Revenues less satisfying, making just $35.12bn as opposed to estimated revenues of $35.56bn. The company is often seen as an indicator of future economic performance in the US, and said that it [...]
JP Morgan will advise government on bank privatisation strategy July 19, 2013 UKFI, the body responsible for managing the government's stakes in RBS and Lloyds, has announced that it has appointed JP Morgan to advice on the return of these holdings to public hands. UKFI announces that it has appointed J.P. Morgan Cazenove as a privatisation strategy adviser under Lot 4 of the Framework for an initial [...]
How accurate is it for Osborne to say that the UK’s finances are improving? July 19, 2013 There are enough variations of today's public borrowing figures that you can twist them to fit almost any narrative you'd like. But can chancellor George Osborne really say that the deficit is shrinking? We've got some analyst reaction. Martin Beck, UK economist, Capital Economics: The public finances have yet to see much of a boost [...]
Regulator bans and fines former insurance broker £140,000 July 19, 2013 Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Paul Cable from working in the financial services sector and fined him £140,000 for misleading a client. Whilst the sole director of Media and Entertainment Insurance Service Limited (M&E), Cable misled a client by telling them that he had arranged insurance policies for them when no such [...]
National debt at its highest level since the 1960s July 19, 2013 Public sector borrowing statistics for June have been released, and the ONS has the numbers in a variety of flavours, depending on your preferred measure (see below). Sky's Ed Conway reports that national debt is at its highest proportion of GDP since the 1960s: Britain's national debt has just gone through the £1.2 trillion mark. [...]