PwC fined £15m for not reporting suspected fraudulent activity at London Capital & Finance – business live

Newsflash: economics professor Alan Taylor has been appointed to the Bank of England’s interest rate-setting committee.

Taylor will join the Monetary Policy Committee on 2 September for a 3-year term, replacing current external member Professor Jonathan Haskel when his term expires.

Taylor is currently Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, New York, and has previously worked for investment bank Morgan Stanley and bond-trading giant PIMCO.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:

“Professor Alan Taylor’s substantial experience in both the financial sector and academia will bring valuable expertise to the Monetary Policy Committee.

“I would also like to thank Professor Jonathan Haskel for all his work since he joined the Monetary Policy Committee.”

Taylor was born in Wakefield, and graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, and has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

He will be place at the Bank ready for the next scheduled MPC meeting in mid-September, when the markets say there’s a near-40% chance of a rate cut.

The LNER train drivers’ strike may lead to more people driving instead of taking the railway.

And the good news for motorists is that petrol prices have fallen to their lowest level in six months.

Analysis from the AA shows that the average price of a litre of the fuel was 143.0p this week, the lowest since mid-February.

Diesel prices have fallen to an average of 147.9p per litre, a level not seen since late January.

But, the AA also points out the highest average price for petrol before the coronavirus pandemic was 142.5p per litre in April 2012.

AA spokesman on road fuel costs Luke Bosdet says:

“Pump prices this summer have given UK drivers little cause for celebration. They may be way below the 191.53p record for petrol in July 2022 but they are currently locked at a permanently and historically high level that drains consumers’ finances.

“For low-paid workers who welcomed a Living Wage increase of nearly £2 an hour during the cost of living crisis, having to pay an extra 6p a litre for road fuel is going to feel like a substantial pay cut.”

Newsflash: Train drivers at LNER will take fresh strike action over the next three months that will disrupt weekend travel.

Drivers at LNER, which runs the passenger service on the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh, will strike on every Saturday between 31 August and 9 November, and every Sunday from 1 September to 10 November.

The Aslef union say the action follows a breakdown in industrial relations, accusing LNER of bullying by management, and persistently breaking agreements.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said:

‘The continued failure of the company to resolve long-standing industrial relations issues has forced us into this position.

We would much rather not be here. But the company has brutally, and repeatedly, broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith. When we make an agreement, we stick to it. This company doesn’t. And we are not prepared to put up with their boorish behaviour and bullying tactics.’

The issue is separate to the long-running dispute over pay, which could soon be resolved after Aslef and the UK government agree a pay offer in principle, which will be put to its members.

Newsflash: PwC has become the first audit firm to be fined by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA has imposed a £15m fine on PwC, for failing to tell the regulator it suspected fraudulent activity at London Capital & Finance plc.

London Capital & Finance collapsed in 2019, wiping out the investments of thousands of savers.

It had sold “mini-bonds” had promised returns of up to 8% a year; more than 11,000 investors poured £236m into the bonds. But little of the money went into safe interest-bearing investments. Much went into highly speculative property developments, commissions by the bond marketeers, oil exploration off the Faroe Islands, and a helicopter bought for a company controlled by LC&F.

LC&F fell into administration in January 2019 after the FCA ordered the firm to withdraw misleading promotional material for the sale of mini-bonds.

The FCA says today that PwC encountered significant issues when it audited LCF in 2016.

The regulator explains:

A senior individual at LCF acted aggressively towards auditors, and the firm provided PwC with inaccurate and misleading information. PwC found the audit very complex, and it took considerably longer to complete than anticipated.

LCF’s actions, and PwC’s own work on the audit, led PwC to suspect that LCF might be involved in fraudulent activity. PwC was duty bound to report those suspicions to the FCA as soon as possible, but they failed to do so.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, says PwC should have acted ‘immediately’ when it suspected fraudulent activity was taking place:

“Auditors have a central role to play in keeping our markets clean. They have privileged access to information and they are required by law to report suspicions of fraud to the FCA.

“There were a number of red flags that led PwC to suspect fraud. They should have acted on them immediately. Their failure to do so deprived the FCA of potentially vital information.”

Back in May, PwC and fellow “Big four” accountancy firm EY were fined a combined £9.3m by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for failing to audit LCF properly.

In 2021 the UK government announced a £120m compensation scheme for victims of the investment scandal.

The FCA adds today that the Serious Fraud Office has an open criminal investigation into the failure of LCF.

Fintech firm Revolut has announced it is now valued at $45bn (£35bn) after agreeing a secondary share sale for its staff.

The sale will “provides liquidity for employees”, Revolut says, allowing them to sell their stakes in Revolut to new investors.

Revolut, which finally secured a UK banking licence last month, says the sale price cements its position as the most valuable private technology company in Europe.

For comparison, NatWest bank’s market capitalisation is £29bn, while Barclays is worth £33.5bn.

The market for baby and toddler formula milk in Britain is not working, the competition regulator believes.

Six months after launching an investigation into the infant milk market, the Competition and Markets Authority has decided not to escalate this probe.

While it believes the current regulatory framework and the behaviour of manufacturers and suppliers are leading to poor market outcomes, the CMA wants to press on and devise workable solutions for governments to consider, as soon as possible. Beginning a full-scale market investigation would slow that down.

It’s expected to publish its interim report in October 2024, including provisional recommendations for action.

In February, the CMA warned that the cost of infant milk remained at “historically high” levels despite some price falls in recent months.

Doctors have warned that the health of babies from low income families is being put at risk by high prices.

In November, the CMA found there was only one UK retailer, Aldi, that sold own-label formula, and that competition was hampered because parents were reluctant to switch brands, either because they were recommended by friends and family or because their baby would only drink one type.

Sterling has risen to its highest level in almost three weeks.

The pound has gained 0.2% to $1.2875, the highest level since 29 July.

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

A busy week for UK economic data ends today, with the news that retail sales across Great Britain have returned to growth.

Retail sales volumes rose by 0.5% in July, the Office for National Statistics reports this morning. That follows a fall of 0.9% in June when households cut back amid poor weather, and election uncertainty.

Department stores and sports equipment stores reported a boost in sales “following summer discounts and sporting events” last month, the ONS says.

Sales volumes were 1.4% higher compared with July 2023, when bad weather hit the high streets.

But, volumes are still 0.8% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

The pattern of spending was mixed, though.

Sales volumes at “non-food stores” rose by 1.4% in July – driven by higher takings at department stores – after a 1.9% drop in June.

Retailers suggested that summer discounting and sporting events, such as the European football championship in which England and Scotland competed, boosted sales.

But, automotive fuel sales volumes fell by 1.9% in the month.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown says:

“Retail sales grew in July led by increases in department stores and sports equipment shops with both the Euros and discounting across many stores boosting sales.

“These increases were offset by a poor month for clothing and furniture shops, and falling fuel sales, despite prices at the pump falling.”

We learned yesterday that the UK economy grew by 0.6% in April-June, and was the strongest growth in the G7 group of advanced economies over the past six months.

This morning’s retail sales data suggests the UK economy continued to grow last month; Michael Brown, senior research strategist at brokerage Pepperstone, says:

This morning’s UK retail sales figures showed that consumers started the third quarter of the year on a relatively solid footing, with sales having risen by 0.5% MoM, and by 0.7% MoM when fuel is excluded from the data, implying that the solid economic momentum seen in the first half of 2024 has continued at the start of the third quarter.

The agenda

• 7am: UK retail sales report for July

• 10am BST: Eurozone trade balance 10am

• 1.30pm BST: US building permits/housing starts 1.30pm

• 3pm BST: University of Michigan’s US consumer confidence 3pm