Ollie Phillips: Johnny Sexton’s outstanding Ireland and dominant Saracens lead my 2018 roll of honour December 20, 2018 There is only one place to start a look back at rugby in 2018 and that’s with its best side. Ireland have been the undoubted stars of the last 12 months. They may not have overtaken New Zealand as No1 in the world rankings, but their first ever home win over the All Blacks last [...]
London house prices: Homes in the capital lose value despite the UK’s resilient property market November 14, 2018 London house prices fell 0.3 per cent in the year to September, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. Growth in the capital lagged far behind the UK-wide average, which was 3.5 per cent, a small increase from 3.1 per cent last month. The growth puts the average house price across the country [...]
Ollie Phillips: England’s next two matches can make or break their Rugby World Cup hopes November 22, 2018 England’s autumn has gone well so far, with a lot of the negativity surrounding Eddie Jones and the team dissipating, yet they have been fortunate and cracks have, for now, just been papered over. They were very lucky to edge out a South Africa team who pummelled them in the first half; downpours played into [...]
London’s audit giants are muscling in on law firms August 8, 2018 The City's top law firms are keeping a wary eye on the Big Four accountancy giants as the beancounters expand into the $600bn (£465bn) global legal services market. Managing partner of City law firm Fieldfisher Michael Chissick said: “They have very ambitious plans, that isn’t in doubt, audit is in decline and it is low [...]
Ollie Phillips: Autumn internationals showed that northern hemisphere sides are edging towards becoming World Cup favourites November 29, 2018 The autumn internationals came to their conclusion last weekend and what stood out for me was just how strong the northern hemisphere sides are at the moment. Ireland and Wales won all four of their matches, England claimed three out of four – losing the other by one point to New Zealand – while Scotland [...]
KPMG will halt non-audit work on FTSE 350 clients in wake of Carillion November 8, 2018 KPMG is set to become the first of the so-called Big Four to cease all non-audit work for FTSE 350 clients in the wake of Carillion. The auditor will stop providing all but some essential non-audit services for the 90 FTSE 350 customers whose accounts it audits, it has told 625 UK partners in a [...]
Google joins the list of firms deserting Saudi conference over missing journalist October 16, 2018 Google became the latest name in a long list of high-profile companies to drop out of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia late last night, amid building criticism of the state's handling of a missing journalist. A well-known critic of Saudi Arabia's policies, US resident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering [...]
GDP: Half-year growth hits slowest rate since 2011 as business investment slides September 28, 2018 The UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the second half of this year, marking the weakest six-monthly growth in seven years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) findings on gross domestic product (GDP) today show that the underlying trend is “still one of slowing real GDP growth”, with the UK economy growing [...]
Ollie Phillips: Leicester need to face harsh realities if they are to end losing streak in Champions Cup this weekend December 6, 2018 Leicester travel to Paris to play Racing 92 in the Champions Cup on Sunday on a losing run and in a difficult position. The Tigers are second in Pool 4, with one win and one defeat from their opening two matches, but are not playing well and haven’t won a match since 6 October. Coach [...]
As Laing O’Rourke is late filing its figures, is it another major contractor we should be concerned about? October 24, 2018 Pinning down the finances of private companies can be a tricky task for City stakeholders. Public companies, however, are mandated to keep investors and other interested parties entertained with a steady stream of financial updates. When it comes to filing financial statements – the audited figures upon which financiers hang their hats – listed firms [...]