Asian shares retreat as US-China tensions sour July 24, 2020 Asian shares sunk overnight from six-month highs as tensions between the US and China worsened, following the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu. China announced the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu, just days after Washington told Beijing to close its Houston consulate. Beijing said it notified the US embassy in Beijing and [...]
Rolls-Royce reportedly mulling £1.5bn rights issue to counter aviation slump July 29, 2020 Engine maker Rolls-Royce is reportedly considering a share issue to raise up to £1.5bn after the slump in aviation due to the coronavirus pandemic left a large dent in its financial position. Earlier this month the engineer, which makes engines for the Boeing 787 and Airbus 350 planes, reported cash outflows today of £3bn for [...]
New report will urge FTSE bosses to bolster number of women on their boards or risk being accused of tokenism November 10, 2018 Next week around 75 firms in the FTSE-350 will be challenged as to the number of women on their boards, with concerns that many are not taking gender diversity seriously enough. The Hampton-Alexander review is expected to highlight that as many as 75 companies only have one female board member and risk being accused of tokenism amid [...]
EY and PwC ban consultancy for audit clients as MPs blast Big Four bosses January 30, 2019 EY and PwC said they will follow KPMG by phasing out selling non-essential extra services to their FTSE 350 audit clients. The chief executives of the two accountancy giants, half of the sector’s Big Four, informed MPs of their decision at a parliamentary hearing today, following months of intense criticism of Britain’s biggest bean counters. [...]
Cyber attacks could now cost the UK economy £1bn per year, research reveals March 20, 2019 Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyber attacks may now cost the UK economy more than £1bn every year, new research has revealed. The majority of business affected by DDoS attacks, which infect a network and block users from accessing it, suffered network outages costing on average £140,000, according to research firm Netscout. Read more: FTSE firms must [...]
Rentokil boosts revenue on disinfection sales during pandemic October 22, 2020 Rentokil’s revenue climbed almost 10 per cent in the third quarter, after strong demand for its hygiene and disinfection services helped offset a slump in pest control sales, and boosted its full-year outlook. The figures The Camberley-based ratcatchers saw ongoing group revenue climb 9.8 per cent to £754.6m in the third quarter. The group said [...]
Deloitte calls for audit market cap and ban on selling extra services to audit clients November 8, 2018 Two of the world’s biggest accountancy firms have backed a ban on UK auditors selling extra services to their audit clients, setting the stage for a huge shift in the embattled sector. Deloitte and KPMG – two members of audit’s Big Four – have backed the move, which would potentially put hundreds of millions in fee income [...]
A third of small businesses have no cyber security strategy, report finds March 18, 2019 A third of small businesses in the UK have no cyber security strategies in place, a new report has found. Research by charity Business in the Community (BITC) revealed 40 per cent of small businesses had not taken any action on cyber security over the past 12 months. In addition, more than three-quarters of firms [...]
Coronavirus: Redrow secures £300m facility through BoE’s emergency scheme April 9, 2020 Housebuilder Redrow has secured a £300m lending facility under the Bank of England’s emergency coronavirus financing scheme. The developer, which has furloughed 80 per cent of its staff using the job retention scheme, is also in talks to extend its existing revolving credit facility by £100m to £350m. Redrow said this morning that it expects [...]
Business schools: Your country needs you… to save our SMEs October 6, 2020 With tighter restrictions coming into place across the country, local businesses would be forgiven for feeling fear and uncertainty about what is coming next as we go into a second wave of Covid-19. No business is immune — but those in the SME category are particularly at risk. Small business owners have been significantly impacted [...]