Sterling suffers as public sector debt more than doubles to £7.2bn July 19, 2019 Sterling sank this morning as official data revealed public sector borrowing more than doubled to £7.2bn last month, blasting past economists’ forecasts to record the highest June total since 2015. The net borrowing figure is more than double the £3.3bn recorded this time last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) warned, and smashed a [...]
UK digital advertising spend jumps to £13bn as brands opt for smartphone ads April 24, 2019 Digital advertising spend hit £13.4bn last year as smartphone adverts overtook desktop for the first time, new figures have revealed. Data from digital advertising body IAB and PwC show UK ad spend jumped 15 per cent in 2018 amid a boom in digital formats. Read more: Digital advertising firm Teads posts double-digit revenue rise Ad [...]
Is the concept of the ethical CEO too good to be true? November 6, 2019 “A fish rots from the head down.” It’s a worn cliché, perhaps, but one that resonates strongly in a world where increasing scrutiny is being placed on those at the helm of global companies. Investors, customers, governments, and even chief executives themselves, are finally starting to take real action based on the idea that unethical [...]
City Moves for 17 May – Who’s switching jobs at Capital One, Project Etopia and Investcloud? May 17, 2019 Today's City Moves includes Capital One, Project Etopia and Investcloud. Capital One Capital One UK has announced the appointment of Helene Brichet as UK chief financial officer. Helene has spent over 20 years in the financial services sector working in senior leadership positions for international organisations. She joins Capital One from EVO Payments, where she [...]
Big Four accountants push back against breakup proposals February 7, 2019 The Big Four accountancy firms have fired back at the competition regulator’s proposal to break-up their UK operations. In their responses to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) outlines for shaking up the audit market, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC all resisted a suggested split. David Barnes, managing director for public policy at Deloitte UK, [...]
Major companies could be exempt from joint audit rules in competition watchdog report April 14, 2019 The UK’s competition watchdog reportedly could exclude some major companies from a new rule that would require many business to appoint joint auditors. Sky News reported that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to publish its long awaited report into the audit sector this week. According to the report, the CMA has been [...]
Ollie Phillips: Warren Gatland should groom Andy Farrell as his British and Irish Lions successor June 13, 2019 Warren Gatland’s unveiling as the British and Irish Lions coach on Wednesday was hardly surprising, but it was an appointment which makes a great deal of sense. Gatland is one of the best coaches in the world and has plenty of motivation on what will be his third Lions tour, to South Africa in 2021. [...]
Activist investors turn their backs on troubled retailers April 15, 2019 While activist investors are known for their interest in underperforming businesses, there is one sector in the UK so troubled that even opportunistic shareholders are now turning their backs: high street retailers. Such are the difficulties facing Britain’s bricks-and-mortar retail giants that many have become "too distressed to attract activist interest", according to a new [...]
Jupiter vice chair Edward Bonham Carter says asset managers are on the cusp of a revolution, as regulation remains a worry according to a PwC survey March 14, 2018 The vice chairman of London-listed Jupiter Fund Management has said the asset management industry is on the “cusp of a significant change”. Speaking at an event this morning hosted by Byhiras, a fintech firm which provides accountability and transparency across the industry, Edward Bonham Carter said that financial technology and machine learning would play a [...]
Chief executives expect to ramp up hiring in 2019 January 22, 2019 A majority of UK chief executives expect to boost headcount in 2019, a new survey has shown. Sixty one per cent of UK business leaders expect to increase headcount in 2019, up from 54 per cent last year and greater than the worldwide average of 53 per cent. UK chief executives are also optimistic about [...]