Thursday 7 June 2018

The National Audit Office says accountants
and lawyers will earn £70m managing the fallout from the collapse
of Carillion. However, taxpayers will have to cover a bill of more
than £150m. PricewaterhouseCoopers are among those set to cash in.
“They make a killing in fees advising struggling companies how to
turn them round and then they pocket millions tidying up when that
advice fails,” said Rachel Reeves MP.

Poundworld is facing administration as it
struggles to find buyer. The budget chain is the latest retailer to
struggle during a torrid time for stores. Its owner, TPG Capital,
does not intend to inject any more money into the group, which has
355 stores. It is thought to be trying to find backers for a rescue
bid, but is running out of time.

Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is to step down
after 26 years. The controversial Dacre, who will edit his last
edition in November, will remain at the Daily Mail’s publisher, as
chairman and editor-in-chief of its newspaper arm Associated
Newspapers. He will turn 70 in November and says he is announcing
the move now “in order to facilitate the handover to a new
team”.

The fastest-selling £1m homes are outside London, reports the
BBC this morning. Cambridge has the fastest selling £1m-plus homes
in Britain, taking 45 days to secure a buyer, and the other areas
in the top five were Edinburgh, Harpenden, Bristol and St Albans. A
grand total of 16,119 property sales for £1m or more were completed
in 2017, up 5.4%.

The royal wedding and the sale of World Cup
stickers have boosted WH Smith, notes the Daily Telegraph. Boss
Stephen Clarke said a strong Easter weekend and Mother’s Day helped
to offset the impact of the ‘Beast from the East’ in February and
March. He explained that royal wedding publications “did very well”
and there was a “high demand” for Panini World Cup
stickers.

“I honestly think that we’ve got to bring everything forward
because there are concerns that we could actually have sea levels
rising by over 100ft if we lose a big chunk of the
Antarctic.” Sir Richard Branson says plans to ban the sale of
new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 need to be
accelerated. 

FTSE 100: up +0.33 to 7,712.37
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Cac 40: down -0.06 to 5,457.56
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Hang Seng: up +0.54 to 31,427.82
US dollar: buys €0.8473 and £0.7443
Sterling: buys $1.3436 and €1.1385
Oil: $75.95 up +0.78