FTSE 100 and US stock markets drop as Chinese trade war concerns weigh on investors May 29, 2019 The FTSE 100 fell 1.2 per cent today amid signs of an escalation in the China-US trade war along with growing concerns over a no-deal Brexit. All 10 blue-chip indices were in the red after China warned Beijing was ready to use its control over rare earths to his back at the US in their [...]
UK banks: What to make of Lloyds, RBS and Barclays? May 29, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Having underperformed since April's stock market peak, here's what to expect from the domestic lenders. With UK banks making heavy weather of Q1 results and the Brexit shackles still in place, there's a clear lack of momentum behind shares of Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Barclays (LSE:BARC) and The Royal [...]
These are the top 25 best-paying companies in the UK May 23, 2019 A report released today has revealed that the UK's 25 highest paying company's offer staff between £61,000 and £90,000 as a median compensation package. The list by job site Glassdoor is dominated by finance and tech firms, three of which have their headquarters in the UK. John Lamphiere, EMEA managing director at Glassdoor, said: “It [...]
With increased scrutiny of the profession, it’s time for auditing to be in the public interest May 16, 2019 Auditing in the UK is undergoing unprecedented scrutiny, and the magnifying scope is focusing on all aspects of the sector. The myriad reviews, some of which are ongoing, are being conducted by regulators, politicians and government departments, each separately looking at audit’s effectiveness, competition across the sector, and its future in general. Most notably, the [...]
British Gas-owner Centrica faces calls for shareholder revolt amid chief exec pay furore May 12, 2019 Centrica shareholders will head into the British Gas-owner’s annual meeting (AGM) tomorrow amid a clamour to reject chief exec Iain Conn’s £740,000 pay rise. Read more: Centrica shares hit 20-year low as it warns of energy price cap hit Despite a torrid 2018 in which Centrica lost around six per cent of its customers, Conn’s [...]
Standard Chartered given bloody nose as investors revolt over chief executive pension pay May 8, 2019 Standard Chartered shareholders have given the bank a bloody nose over a ‘stealth increase’ to chief executive Bill Winters’ pension. Investors holding more than 36 per cent of the UK-headquartered multinational bank’s shares voted against its directors’ pay report at its AGM today. Read more: Standard Chartered unveils $1bn share buy back plan Shareholder advisory [...]
KPMG stung with £5m fine for Co-op Bank audit failures as breakup talks roll on May 8, 2019 KPMG has been hit with a £5m fine for misconduct relating to an audit of Co-op Bank. Audit partner Andrew Walker was also fined £125,000, with both “severely reprimanded” by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Read more: Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit The Big Four audit giant and Walker admitted their [...]
Standard Chartered unveils $1bn share buy back plan April 30, 2019 Shares in Standard Chartered rose this morning after the bank unveiled plans for an up to $1bn (773.2m) share buy back and posted a 10 per cent jump in profits for the first quarter of 2019. Underlying profit before tax was up 10 per cent to $1.4bn, the bank announced today, as it revealed that [...]
Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit April 30, 2019 A financial watchdog has stung KPMG with a £6m fine and “severely reprimanded” the auditor after finding fault with how an insurance audit was conducted. Read more: KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs KPMG must also carry out an internal review following the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) findings, which relate [...]
Barclays shares: Optimists see an opportunity April 29, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. These results do not impress, but there’s lots going on at Barclays and plenty to interest investors. Without the attention generated by activist investor Edward Bramson, it’s likely that last week’s lacklustre investment banking performance at Barclays (LSE:BARC) may have been passed off as just another quarter blighted by [...]