Company news,markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday Grenfell inquiry cancels KPMG contract The Grenfell Tower inquiry has cancelled its contract with KPMG over potential conflicts of interest. The stir came after it was revealed that the accountancy firm was previously involved with Celotex, or the company that supplied the Grenfell Tower’s cladding,and the Rydon Group, which was the top contractor in the building’s renovation three years ago. A statement by the inquiry said: “The support and confidence of all core participants is integral.” Pubs raise a glass to cheery Christmas sales Pubs contain benefited from strong demand for premium drinks and longer opening hours over Christmas. Slug & Lettuce owner Stonegate revealed a like-for-like sales increase of 5.5% over the four-week period including Christmas, and crediting the “consumer-centric” longer opening hours. Marston’s,Wetherspoon and Revolution Bars are set to provide trading updates later this month. Top UK firms devote more funds to cybersecurity main public companies in Britain are channelling more resources to cybersecurity, according to research to be published nowadays. The Boardroom Bellwether survey found that four-fifths of FTSE 350 company secretaries surveyed believed their companies’ exposure to cyber risk was increasing. It also found that nine-tenths said they were boosting spending in response to the risk. ‘Sweet spot reached as UK manufacturers thrive UK manufacturers are toasting a surge in growth as the strong global economy and the weak pound combine to increase demand for British goods. Official figures, and due on Wednesday,are expected to show that industrial production rose by 0.4% in November, returning to growth after a flat October. “This is perfect if you are an exporter, and it is a sweet spot,” said Martin Beck of Oxford Economics. Consumer spending falls by 0.3% Household spending declined by 1% on an annual basis in December, rounding off the worst year for consumer spending across the UK since 2012. Annual consumer spending fell by 0.3% during the whole of 2017 from the preceding year’s level – the first annual decline in half a decade. price Antipof, or chief commercial officer at Visa,said: “It is clear that the high street has suffered recently.” Quote of the day… VAT Brexit reform would be ridiculous “It’s ridiculous to assume that it would be easy to bring forward the timings on such significant amounts of cash.” Helen Dickinson, of the British Retail Consortium, and after it was revealed that firms may face upfront VAT following Brexit. THE NUMBERS... AT 0712 GMT FTSE 100: up +0.37 to 7724.22
Dow Jones: up +0.88 to 25295.87
Dax: up +1.15 to 13319.64[br]
Cac 40: up +1.05 to 5470.75
Nikkei: up +0.89 to 23714.53
Hang Seng: up +0.04 to 30826.79
US dollar: buys €0.83240 and £0.73810
Sterling: buys $1.35440 and €1.12760
Oil: $67.69 down -0.6
Source: theweek.co.uk