UK firms hit by new global accounting rules April 29, 2010 PROPOSED changes to global pension accounting rules will make pension costs more volatile at UK firms, exacerbating the impact that pension deficits have on companies experts warned. The International Accounting Standard Board yesterday announced changes to the way pension deficits and surpluses are accounted for, which accountants KPMG forecast could wipe as much as £10bn [...]
London sales are slowed by volcanic ash May 16, 2010 RETAIL sales growth in London has slowed after the ash cloud crisis took its toll, according to the British Retail Consortium. Sales were up 3.6 per cent in April while they had jumped by 5.1 per cent in the same month last year. The volcanic ash cloud which billowed across Europe grounded flights for six [...]
Lib Dems release Nick Clegg’s bank details in bid to prove innocence April 22, 2010 THE Liberal Democrats last night released records of Nick Clegg’s private bank statements in a bid to refute allegations that he acted improperly by accepting party donations in his private account. The accounts show that the Liberal Democrat leader received payments from three private donors directly into his personal account. The payments were made between [...]
What now? Prepare for the next crisis July 28, 2010 PREDICTING the future can be a notoriously tricky business. If people declare with certainty that things will happen, they often don’t. While things that no one saw coming have a horrible habit of actually happening. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 came as everyone was talking about an “Asian economic miracle”, while the most recent [...]
First lady of broking buys out FinnCap May 4, 2010 ONE of the City’s hottest female rising stars has completed a £2.5m management buyout of her firm FinnCap, with the aim of growing it into the broker of choice for small cap companies in London. Chief executive Sam Smith at the weekend sealed a deal to buy back the outstanding 50 per cent of FinnCap [...]
Treasury pays 6.5m to KPMG for advice on APS October 12, 2009 ACCOUNTANCY firm KPMG has been paid more than any other adviser for its work on the Treasury’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS) for bailed out banks, according to a freedom of information request. Seven firms have been paid a combined £26.5m for their advice on the APS, the Treasury revealed, of which KPMG alone picked up [...]
High street sales jump April 11, 2010 A RISE in high street sales will add to hopes the economic recovery is on track, with a three per cent like-for-like rise expected for March. The figures, to be released later this week by the British Retail Consortium, and KPMG, will be a boon for a sector that has been decimated by the downturn. [...]
BBC Worldwide shake-up could see Radio Times sold April 12, 2010 THE BBC may seek a commercial partner for its portfolio of magazines in a major shake-up of its Worldwide division. Its iconic Radio Times magazine, launched in 1923 by Lord Reith, may be sold off completely as part of the radical plans. It will also look at potential tie-ups with a number of rival publishers [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 17, 2010 Quayle Munro The boutique merchant banking group has appointed Andrew Adams, pictured, and Robert Cormie as executive directors. Adams has been a managing director at the firm since 2008, having spent ten years at The Van Tulleken Company prior to its acquisition by Quayle Munro. Cormie also became a managing director in 2008. Prior to [...]
Easter timing hits retailers May 10, 2010 THE timing of Easter, combined with consumers’ ongoing uncertainty, caused UK retail sales to fall 2.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis last month compared to April 2009, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today in its monthly retail sales monitor. This year, only two days over Easter fell in April compared to all [...]