Regulator makes CFD restrictions permanent July 1, 2019 The City watchdog has confirmed that it will make a crackdown on selling contracts for difference (CFDs) to retail clients permanent. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it will make the European Securities and Market Authority’s (ESMA) temporary restrictions on CFDs permanent following evidence that the high-risk products had been “aggressively marketed” to the public. [...]
BDO reveals profit boost as it raises concerns over Brexit and audit break-up October 8, 2018 One of Britain’s largest professional services firms has warned that business leaders need clarity to prepare for Brexit and sounded a cautious note over reforms to the audit sector as it revealed rising profit and revenues. BDO posted an underlying revenue of £464.1m in its 2017/18 annual results, released today, an increase of 8.5 per [...]
What does 2020 hold in store for the pound? January 20, 2020 Brexit cast a long shadow over the pound in 2019. Additional factors that influenced the value of sterling – caution from the Bank of England, faltering economic results – were all seen through the lens of Brexit. Now that parliament has backed the Brexit bill, the focus may move slightly from the challenges of uncertainty [...]
What happened to the pound, euro and US dollar in 2019? January 20, 2020 It has been a year of ups and downs for sterling, largely dominated by political and geopolitical factors. Investors’ concern over the outcome of Brexit largely overshadowed other factors. Despite celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, it wasn’t a banner year for the euro. Over the last 20 years, the euro has strengthened by 27 [...]
Interview: Rachel Reeves drags audit into the light November 13, 2018 Rachel Reeves doesn’t fit the typical mould of a select committee chair. Where her counterparts leverage their positions of parliamentary power to try to forcibly move their party’s position (see Nicky Morgan), or to launch populist crusades to fix society’s ills (see Damian Collins), Reeves has taken a less attention-seeking approach to the chair, and [...]
Theresa May’s new merger powers would be a hostile takeover by the state October 16, 2018 Back in July 2016, Theresa May launched her campaign for leadership of the Conservative party by promising radical action on foreign takeovers of British businesses. In the wake of Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury and Pfizer’s failed bid for AstraZeneca, May promised to defend workers and local communities from transient shareholders who, she said, were more [...]
Here are the six (yes, six) reviews the audit sector is currently facing November 14, 2018 As 2018 continues to be the annus horribilis of audit, bean counters are finding that sector reviews are, as the saying goes, like buses. With news this week that MPs are going to launch their own super-inquiry, the sector now faces six reviews. If that seems like more than you’ve got to grips with, here’s a [...]
Competition watchdog says proposed minicab cap would lead to fare hikes for Londoners September 24, 2018 The competition watchdog has criticised proposals to grant councils the power to cap the number of minicabs in the capital following a plea last month by London mayor Sadiq Khan. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was responding to a government-commissioned review into taxi and PHV licensing after stakeholders suggested that current legislation was no longer fit for purpose. [...]
Culture minister Matt Hancock confirms Sky-Fox deal can proceed as long as Sky News is divested June 5, 2018 Culture secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that the Sky-Fox merger can go ahead, as long as Sky News is divested to Disney or another firm. If an “acceptable form of remedy” can be found, the minister said he would wave it through. Hancock said he agreed with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that there [...]
Culture minister Matt Hancock confirms Sky-Fox deal can proceed as long as Sky News is divested June 5, 2018 Culture secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that the Sky-Fox merger can go ahead, as long as Sky News is divested to Disney or another firm. If an "acceptable form of remedy" can be found, the minister said he would wave it through. Hancock said he agreed with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that there [...]