Coryton march disrupts fuel supply June 11, 2012 Workers from Coryton oil refinery staged a protest outside the plant, disrupting the supply of fuel heading to petrol stations to voice their anger at the plant’s closure. Some 900 jobs are at risk at the plant, formerly owned by Swiss-based company Petroplus. Administrator PwC has indicated it is unlikely to find a buyer to [...]
Loose credit prompted volatility June 6, 2012 The loosening of credit conditions from the early 1970s stoked volatility in the housing market, research from PwC showed yesterday. “In the 50s and 60s disposable incomes grew more strongly than house prices. But from 1970 onwards house prices rose more strongly on average than incomes but also became much more volatile,” chief economist John [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 25, 2012 Edison Investment Research The investment research firm has made three appointments to its London team. Tom Carless joins as finance and operations director from 7city, a specialist financial training firm. He spent five years as finance director at Ovum. Additionally, Will Forbes and Zsolt Mester join Edison’s team of analysts, from Arc Asset Management and [...]
Global mining profits increased in 2011 despite fall in share price June 6, 2012 THE world’s top 40 mining companies saw their combined profits hit a record of $133bn in 2011, but the success failed to transfer to the stock markets as overall market capitalisation fell by 25 per cent. According to a report into mining industry trends by PwC, net profits climb 21 per cent to $133bn last year, [...]
Audit quality threatened by fee pressure June 14, 2012 PRESSURE to reduce fees poses a threat to the quality of British auditing, a leading member of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said yesterday, as the body issued its annual reports on the performance of the country’s four largest accountancy firms. Paul George, the organisation’s executive director of conduct, told City A.M.: “Commercial pressures run the [...]
Finance workers unhappy in jobs May 7, 2012 Many graduates working in the financial services sector are dissatisfied with their jobs and likely to leave when the labour market picks up, PwC warned today. Fifty-five per cent of staff surveyed “made compromises” when accepting a job during the downturn, meaning they are likely to reconsider their roles when the economy recovers. If firms [...]
Cattles accuses PwC over audit November 2, 2011 FINANCIAL services group PwC is facing accusations from sub-prime lender Cattles, it emerged yesterday. Cattles, which was sold to its creditors this year, has claimed in a court hearing that PwC’s audits of the firm between 2005 and 2007 led to a “gross misstatement” of the firm’s financial position. Cattles made some £850m of unanticipated [...]
Cattles accuses PwC over audit November 2, 2011 FINANCIAL services group PwC is facing accusations from sub-prime lender Cattles, it emerged yesterday. Cattles, which was sold to its creditors this year, has claimed in a court hearing that PwC’s audits of the firm between 2005 and 2007 led to a “gross misstatement” of the firm’s financial position. Cattles made some £850m of unanticipated [...]
UK firms face productivity crisis as we drop further behind our rivals July 29, 2012 RECENT UK economic statistics present a conundrum. While the country is experiencing the longest double-dip recession for more than 50 years, private sector employment is rising. What other factors are at play? Our latest research into global employee trends suggests that productivity is an underlying issue. Employers are struggling to get the most of their [...]
PwC: UK may avoid double dip recession November 9, 2011 GROWTH will slow almost to a halt in 2012, but the UK will probably avoid a double dip recession, according to a report out today from PwC. GDP growth is expected to come in at one per cent in both 2011 and 2012, with a “30 to 40 per cent chance of recession,” chief economist [...]