Inflation deals record blow to UK workers’ living standards August 16, 2022 Surging inflation has dealt a record blow to households’ wages in a sign the UK economy is tumbling into a sharp slowdown, official figures published today showed. Brits’ pay accounting for consumer price index inflation dropped 4.1 per cent over the last three months, the biggest drop since records began in 2001, according to the [...]
Big Four refuse to back government plan to break dominance of audit market August 16, 2021 The UK’s Big Four accountancy firms have refused to back a government scheme that would see them share audit work with smaller firms. Last month, Deloitte, EY and PwC said they did not support the government’s proposal for “managed shared audits” of large listed companies. The Financial Times has reported that the other Big Four [...]
Let’s be honest, we are suffering from a national crisis of bad vibes February 9, 2023 Strikes, NHS waiting lists, high energy prices and a constant stream of news about horrific crimes, natural disasters and economic gloom, Britain's Bad Vibes are keeping us down, writes Matthew Lesh
Scorching inflation raises fears of Christmas spending slump November 8, 2022 Scorching inflation hobbling Brits’ finances has triggered a spending squeeze that could bleed into Christmas, research out today reveals. Surveys out from Barclaycard and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show retail sales volumes likely fell in October. While the organisations measured a jump in consumer spending of 3.5 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively, [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile? August 12, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Deloitte Deloitte has built out its financial advisory practice with a new London-based director. Stepping into the real estate team, ex-KPMG Tracey Hancock brings some experiences from across CBRE and JLL. Hancock, a chartered surveyor and registered [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile today? November 30, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. KPMG KPMG has posted a new partner to its financial services technology practice, who moves from technology and consulting giant IBM. The former chief technology officer for IBM’s financial services offering, Bharat Bhushan, joins the Big Four [...]
EY agrees record $100m settlement with US regulator over ethics exam cheating scandal June 28, 2022 EY has reached $100m (£82m) settlement with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) over claims the Big Four firm’s auditors cheated on accounting exams and later misled the watchdog’s investigators. The US financial watchdog said in a statement that EY had agreed to pay the highest penalty ever imposed on an audit firm by [...]
Joules: Margins continue to be under pressure as shoppers seek out sale items July 19, 2022 Prestige retailer Joules has said discount-hungry consumers have intensified pressures on margins while expecting yearly profit to surpass expectations. The clothing and lifestyle brand admitted gross margins had “remained under significant pressure” after “consumer appetite” was focused on marked down products. Shoppers have been hunting for reductions amid monster hikes in energy and fuel bills, [...]
PwC to give 11,000 workers their biggest pay rise in a decade June 26, 2022 PwC is set to give around half of its UK workforce their biggest pay rise in a decade, in hiking around 11,000 of its workers base salaries. The accountancy firm is set to give a nine per cent pay rise to around half of its more than 22,000 staff – at a cost to [...]
Does raising interest rates actually bring down inflation? June 22, 2023 Britain’s inflation problem is looking much harder to solve than first thought. Numbers out from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday revealed the rate of price increases was unchanged in May at 8.7 per cent. The City thought it would slim to 8.4 per cent. Core inflation – the best barometer of underlying price [...]