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☆ UK military faces $22 billion equipment shortfall, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain's armed forces face an equipment funding shortfall of 17 billion pounds ($21.6 billion) over the next 10 years, a public spending watchdog said on Monday, a concern for defence chiefs at a time of heightened geopolitical risks. The National Audit Office (NAO) put the estimate for the budget for new weapons and equipment at 305.5 billion pounds for 2023-2033, 16.9 billion pounds over budget, the largest deficit since its first report in 2012. Russia's war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for extra military spending across Europe, with Britain an important ally and provider of military equipment to Kyiv. The government raised spending on defence by an extra 5 billion pounds earlier this year, increasing it to about 2.25% of gross domestic product this year and next. "The Ministry of Defence acknowledges that its Equipment Plan for 2023–2033 is unaffordable," NAO head Gareth Davies said in a statement.

Persons: NAO, Grant Shapps, Shapps, Gareth Davies, Sarah Young, Bernadette Baum, Timothy Organizations: Audit, Soaring, Ministry of Defence's, Defence, Ministry, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Britain, Ukraine, Europe, Kyiv

☆ Exclusive: China orders local governments to cut exposure to public-private projects as debt risks rise, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The guidelines were mentioned in a cabinet document that was circulated among local governments, policy banks and state lenders last month, said the two sources with knowledge of the matter. The move comes after numerous local governments' PPP expenditure hit the upper limit of the threshold in recent years. But the PPP boom has alarmed authorities who say some local governments have used public-private partnerships, government investment funds and government procurement services as "disguised channels" for raising debt. The State Council and the NAO did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments. A portion of the $12.6 trillion local government debt is linked to the PPP projects, as municipalities used these infrastructure-building initiatives as a conduit to raise capital.

Persons: Thomas Peter, NAO, Kevin Yao, Ziyi Tang, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Central Business District, National People's Congress, REUTERS, Rights, International Monetary Fund, National Audit, State, State Council, Bank of, Reuters, National Development, Reform Commission, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Bank of China

☆ China rate scare reminds watchdogs of hidden risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Overnight borrowing rates for some Chinese financial institutions spiked to 50% on Tuesday, according to official interbank data, far in excess of the average rate of roughly 3.6%. In 2012, a national audit confirmed that local governments had amassed up to 10 trillion yuan in debts. Those have since swelled to 92 trillion yuan, per Reuters. The latest liquidity squeeze is a reminder that short-term dangers will complicate any attempts at more drastic surgery on China’s financial system. CONTEXT NEWSOvernight borrowing costs for some Chinese financial institutions jumped to as high as 50% on Oct. 31.

Persons: Xi Jinping’s, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Traders, People’s Bank of, Financial Work, Central Financial Work Conference, Xinhua News Agency, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, People’s Bank of China, Beijing

REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. fund KKR and Italy's Treasury are set to ask Telecom Italia (TIM) for more time to arrange a joint bid for its landline grid, three sources close to the matter said. KKR (KKR.N) last month won the backing of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, which authorised the Treasury to join its bid for an asset deemed of strategic national interest. The U.S. fund's preliminary bid valued the business -- dubbed NetCo -- at around 23 billion euros ($25 billion) including debt and taking into account a number of variables. The French group, which owns 24% of TIM, has so far shown little appetite for a deal under KKR's terms. The Treasury is evaluating the request, one of these people said, without adding further details.

Persons: Yara, Giorgia, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Elvira Pollina, Giuseppe Fonte, Alvise Armellini, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Italy's Treasury, Telecom Italia, Treasury, TIM, NetCo, Reuters, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, U.S

☆ Britain has a new big problem: crumbling concrete in schools, hospitals, airports, and theaters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The "crumbly concrete" was used in hundreds of schools and some have been shut over fears of collapses. The UK government said more than 100 schools faced closure because they contained reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material typically used in roof planks and wall panels. AdvertisementAdvertisementOther structures such as hospitals, theaters, universities and some apartment buildings are also being checked for the concrete. Why was the concrete used? According to the think-tank the Institute for Government, those cuts are linked with schools' RAAC closures.

Persons: Matthew Byatt, RAAC, –, Chris Goodier, What's, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, NAO, Gareth Davies, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Service, Health, Safety, National Audit Office, Guardian, Financial Times, of Structural Engineers, Labour, Loughborough University, Department for Education, Institute for Government, The Times, National Health Service, European Union Locations: Wall, Silicon, Heathrow, Gatwick, Kent, Sweden, London, he's, India

☆ Moldova puts its debt to Gazprom at $8.6 mln, Russian firm disagrees
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The former Soviet republic, nestled between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, used to buy Russian natural gas. But Gazprom and its Moldovan subsidiary said in late 2021 it had accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Prime Minister Dorin Recean added: "After clarifications regarding the debt for natural gas, Moldova and citizens are not obliged to pay the corresponding bills." Parlicov said the auditors had not received documents from Moldovagaz and Gazprom to cover $276 million of the alleged debt. She has previously said that Moldova has no debts to Gazprom for natural gas.

Persons: Victor Parlicov, Dorin Recean, Maria Zakharov, Parlicov, Maia Sandu, Alexander Tanas, Vladimir Soldatkin, Anna Pruchnicka, Alexander Smith, Kevin Liffey, Ron Popeski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Gazprom PAO, Gazprom, European Union, Romania, Moldovan, Moldova Energy, Foreign Ministry, Moldovagaz, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Moldova, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Chisinau, Moldovagaz, Moscow

☆ Birmingham City Council: How an equal pay claim took down Britain's second-biggest city
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —Birmingham — the biggest British city after London — is in dire financial straits. “Local government is facing a perfect storm,” Sharon Thompson, Birmingham City Council’s deputy leader, said in remarks broadcast Tuesday. How Birmingham went bustThompson blamed Birmingham’s financial troubles partly on an outstanding £760 million ($950 million) legal bill pertaining to the equal pay claims, which resulted from a Supreme Court ruling in 2012. The original case was brought by 174 former council employees, all except four of whom were women. They argued that this breached the equality clauses of their employment contracts under the Equal Pay Act of 1970 — and the court agreed.

Persons: London —, ” Sharon Thompson, Thompson, —, Shaun Davies, Rishi Sunak, England —, ” Organizations: London CNN — Birmingham, Birmingham City Council’s, Birmingham City, National Audit Office, Local Government Association, UK, Special, Municipal Authorities Locations: London, United Kingdom, “, Birmingham, England, —, West Midlands, Yorkshire, Croydon, Woking

☆ Standards body proposes rules for auditing company climate disclosures
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A global body on Wednesday proposed its first set of comprehensive rules for auditing climate-related company disclosures in an anticipated move regulators have said is crucial for giving investors information free of greenwashing. Stricter European Union, U.S. and global rules are being introduced over coming months to replace a patchwork of voluntary private sector practices for listed companies to disclose the impact of climate change on their bottom line. The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) said its first comprehensive, standalone standard for auditing sustainability disclosures would play a key role in enhancing trust and confidence in reporting. The proposed standard, put out to public consultation, can be used for disclosures under the various regimes being rolled out to aid global consistency, the IAASB said. Nigel Sleigh-Johnson, director for audit and corporate reporting at the ICAEW, a London-based professional accounting body, said the proposed standards were a much-needed underpinning for high quality disclosures.

Persons: Nigel Sleigh, Johnson, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: Union, KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, Auditing, Assurance, Board, EU, Thomson Locations: London

☆ Britain lagging in delivery of new hospitals, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The National Audit Office (NAO) said only 32 of 40 hospitals promised by former PM Boris Johnson were due to be completed on schedule by 2030. "Delivery so far has been slower than expected," said Gareth Davies, the head of the non-partisan NAO. The promise of 40 new hospitals in England by 2030 has been criticised as some of the proposals were for renovations of existing hospitals. Including those projects, there would be 40 new hospitals by the end of the decade, a health ministry spokesperson said. "Patients and clinicians are going to have to wait much longer than they expected before their new hospitals are completed."

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Dan Kitwood, Rishi, Boris Johnson, Gareth Davies, NAO, Sunak, Johnson, Meg Hillier, Alistair Smout, William Schomberg Organizations: British, Hospital, REUTERS LONDON, Audit, New, Labour Party, of Health, Social, Thomson Locations: Cambridge, United Kingdom, England

☆ Energy firms lose UK legal challenge over sale of collapsed rival Bulb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A British Gas sign is seen outside its offices in Staines in southern England, July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Centrica's British Gas, Scottish Power and E.ON on Friday lost a court challenge over the British government’s handling of the sale of collapsed energy firm Bulb. The three other energy suppliers had argued the government had unlawfully committed billions of pounds of taxpayers' money to prop up Bulb, without considering the potential impact on the wider energy market. "It's clear that the case was a desperate attempt by those organisations to defend their waning market positions against a more efficient and customer-focused rival," Octopus Energy said in a statement. The addition of Bulb's customers catapulted Octopus to become the country's third largest domestic energy supplier behind British Gas and E.ON.

☆ Moldova no longer needs Russian gas, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Gazprom PAO FollowCHISINAU, March 15 (Reuters) - Ex-Soviet Moldova is no longer receiving Russian gas or enduring the "blackmail" imposed by gas giant Gazprom over its difficulties in paying for supplies, the country's energy minister said. But when the (rest of Moldova) was getting gas, the Russian company resorted to supply cuts, to blackmail." A contingent of 1,500 Russian "peacekeepers" remain in the separatist region 30 years after a brief war pitting it against newly independent Moldova. Transdniestria channels funds from gas bills paid by domestic and industrial users to a "gas account" used to cover some of its substantial budget deficits. The sum of Transdniestria's unpaid bills for Russian gas is estimated by Moldovan officials at several billion dollars.

China's four new vice premiers:Ding Xuexiang, 60, is the first-ranked vice premier who also sits in the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, China's top echelon of power. Wang Zhigang, 65, remains minister of science and technology. Huai Jinpeng, 60, remains minister of educationPan Yue, 62, remains head of the National Ethnic Affairs CommissionWang Xiaohong, 65, remains minister of public securityChen Yixin, 63, remains minister of state security. Considered a Xi ally, he had worked with Xi when the latter was party chief of Zhejiang province from 2002-2007. Tang Dengjie, 63, remains minister of civil affairsHe Rong, 60, remains minister of justiceWang Xiaoping, 59, remains minister of human resources and social securityWang Guanghua, 59, remains minister of natural resourcesHuang Runqiu, 59, remains minister of ecology and environmentNi Hong, 60, remains minister of housing and urban-rural developmentLi Xiaopeng, 63, remains minister of transportLi Guoying, 63, remains minister of water resourcesTang Renjian, 60, remains minister of agriculture and rural affairsHu Heping, 60, remains minister of culture and tourismMa Xiaowei, 63, remains head of the National Health CommissionPei Jinjia, 59, remains minister of veterans affairsWang Xiangxi, 60, remains minister of emergency managementHou Kai, 60, remains auditor-general of the National Audit OfficeReporting by Yew Lun Tian, Ziyi Tang, additional reporting by Albee Zhang; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French audit office sees interest rates adding pressure to finances
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, March 9 (Reuters) - France's long-term budget planning is once again at risk of getting blown off course by overly optimistic forecasts, with high interest rates adding new pressure, the national audit office said on Friday. The independent public audit body has made similar criticisms before, but it said this time public finances would come under additional pressure if the government's borrowing costs remained above currently planned levels. The government's long-term budget planning does not foresee France's 10-year benchmark bond yield above 3% before 2027, when its current long-term budget planning ends. The audit office said if the borrowing rate remained one percentage point above the government's expectations between now and 2027 that would add 17 billion euros ($18 billion) to debt servicing costs by then. In turn, that would push the public debt burden from an expected 111.2% of economic output this year to 113% by 2027, the audit office calculated.

☆ Lebanon's central bank chief says he will not renew his term
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Lebanon's embattled central bank chief Riad Salameh said on Sunday he would leave his post once his latest term ends in July even if he is asked to stay longer. "No one has asked me to continue [as central bank chief] but even if they do, I think this is enough," he said in a televised interview with Egypt's AlQahera News on Sunday. Salameh, who became the head of the central bank in 1993, has come under increased scrutiny both at home and abroad since Lebanon's financial system began unraveling in 2019. The collapse has locked most savers out of their bank accounts and pushed more than 80% of Lebanon's population below the poverty line. The central bank had announced in November 2022 that a "specialized and professional international auditing firm" had completed an audit of the gold reserves but had not announced its value.

☆ UK energy support schemes' cost halved as mild winter tames prices - NAO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the interest of speed, it chose to role out universal support, granting 400 pounds this winter to each household regardless of need. It also capped average domestic energy bills at 2,500 pounds a year until March 31 and at 3,000 pounds until April 2024. When the scheme was first launched the government had said average bills would be capped at 2,500 pounds a year until April 2024. Last month, Britain announced plans to scale back energy subsidies for businesses for the next financial year by about 85% to 5.5 billion pounds. Without the government measures average household energy bills were set to rise more than 170% to over 3,500 pound this winter from a year earlier.

☆ How the market is rating the risk of debt ceiling default and a divided, dysfunctional Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

That would be the worst-case outcome, of course, but even the best case will probably see the sort of brinksmanship that occurred in the 2011 debt ceiling crisis." From the Senate, Mitch McConnell recently said it's an issue for Biden and the House GOP to work out. Kevin Brady , the former top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, dismissed talk of debt default as "fear mongering." Narrowness of GOP House majority does matterJPMorgan also referred to the path for a political agreement as being "narrow." In 2013, the Federal Reserve ran a simulation of a debt default by the U.S. government.

CONTAGION RISKTrust firms were dubbed "shadow banks" because of how they operated outside many of the rules that govern commercial banks. Zhongrong International Trust has been working with local governments, including Qingdao provincial authorities, to source early stage deals in intelligent manufacturing, an executive there said. CCB Trust, Zhongrong International Trust and Avic Trust did not respond to requests for comment. Ping An Trust, Zhongrong International Trust, Everbright Xinglong Trust and Minmetals International Trust have all bought project companies from struggling developers in the last few months, corporate records and company announcements showed. Ping An Trust, Zhongrong International Trust, Everbright Xinglong Trust and Minmetals International Trust did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ U.S. Audit Watchdog Looks to Strengthen Rules on Quality Controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The regulator inspects audit firms’ approach to quality controls as part of its reviews. Fourteen audit firms issued audit reports for over 100 businesses apiece last year, the PCAOB’s website shows. Audit firms would have to conduct the first evaluation of their quality controls by the following Nov. 30. It is considering revising changes to rules on confirmations, a process by which audit firms obtain and evaluate audit evidence from independent third parties. The regulator is working to update more than 30 audit rules related to 10 of its standard-setting projects, many of which refer to outdated technology.

☆ Petroecuador advancing in tender to appoint auditor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Talking to a local media outlet on Monday, Santos acknowledged Petroecuador is not audited by an international firm and its financial reporting does not comply with international standards. Petroecuador began a tendering process to appoint an auditor in August, it said. "As the process is financed with international cooperation funds, the hiring must follow the guidelines established by the international organization," the company added. Former Energy Minister Xavier Vera resigned at the end of October over a separate investigation into allegations that he took bribes in exchange for jobs at Petroecuador. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Concurs privind selectarea unei companii de audit
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-30 | by ( Alte Articole | ) www.civic.md time to read: +4 min

Obiectivul concursului: Selectarea unei companii ce va desfășura auditul financiar a proiectului, pentru primul an de implementare. CerințeRaportul de audit financiar va fi întocmit în două limbi ( română și engleză) – în 3 exemplare fiecare (pentru CPD, IM SDP și compania de audit). Efectuarea raportului de audit financiar pentru perioada 1.01.2020-31.12.2020 TOTAL MDL Semnătura Ștampila Datele bancareNotă: Oferta financiară va fi prezentată doar în lei moldoveneşti (MDL). Prima tranșă la semnarea contractului, și a doua tranșă în decurs de 5 zile calendaristice după aprobarea raportului de audit. Comitetul internațional pentru standarde de audit și asigurare.

Persons: Alexandra Ermolenco Organizations: CE Locations: Moldova, IM, părţi, Plata, Lei, Chişinău, Republica Moldova

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