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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/jan/27/bts-head-of-europe-leaves-in-wake-of-italian-accounting-scandal-business-live
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| BT's head of Europe leaves in wake of Italian accounting scandal - business live | BT's head of Europe leaves in wake of Italian accounting scandal - business live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.38am GMT | |
| 08:38 | |
| Hammond: UK will respect EU rules as it seeks trade deals | |
| Philip Hammond, UK chancellor, has arrived in Brussels for the Ecofin meeting of finance ministers. | |
| He told reporters that Britain will respect its obligations under European Union rules as its seeks to strengthen trade ties around the world. | |
| It comes as Theresa May prepares to meet US President Trump later today, with a UK/US trade deal expected to be high on the agenda. | |
| Hammond said in Brussels: | |
| Of course we want to strengthen our trade ties with the very many trade partners we have around the world. But we are very mindful of our obligations under the treaty and will follow them precisely. | |
| Britain remains a fully engaged member of the European Union. We will continue to abide by the rules, regulations and the laws of the European Union for so long as we are members. | |
| 8.37am GMT | |
| 08:37 | |
| European markets open lower | |
| Most of Europe’s major markets are down in early trading. The FTSE 100 is the exception, but only just (up 5 points): | |
| FTSE 100: +0.1% at 7,167 | |
| Germany’s DAX: -0.2% at 11,828 | |
| France’s CAC: -0.3% at 4,853 | |
| Italy’s FTSE MIB: -0.2% at 19,400 | |
| Spain’s IBEX: -0.3% at 9,485 | |
| Europe’s STOXX 600: -0.3% at 367 | |
| 8.30am GMT | |
| 08:30 | |
| Tesco is biggest riser on the FTSE 100 | |
| Tesco is at the top of the FTSE 100 leader board with shares up 8.3% after it revealed plans to by the food wholesaler, Booker, in a £3.7bn deal. | |
| 8.12am GMT | |
| 08:12 | |
| Tesco boss: Booker deal will help us grow | |
| Back to Tesco’s deal to buy Booker... | |
| Tesco’s chief executive Dave Lewis had this to say (he’s calling it a merger): | |
| Tesco has made significant progress in turning around our UK retail business. This merger with Booker will further enhance Tesco’s growth prospects by creating the UK’s leading food business with combined expertise in retail, wholesale, supply chain and digital. | |
| Wherever food is prepared and eaten - ‘in home’ or ‘out of home’ - we will meet this opportunity with the widest choice and best service available. | |
| Booker says it is the UK’s biggest food wholesaler, serving a total of 1.3m customers. | |
| Customers are varied, and include the prison service in England and Wales, Marks & Spencer and most of the cinema chains in the UK. | |
| Here is our full story on the deal: | |
| 7.59am GMT | 7.59am GMT |
| 07:59 | 07:59 |
| Also coming up... | Also coming up... |
| Finance ministers of the European Union are gathering for the latest Ecofin meeting. We’ll bring you any interesting snippets from the sidelines. | Finance ministers of the European Union are gathering for the latest Ecofin meeting. We’ll bring you any interesting snippets from the sidelines. |
| And it’s GDP day in the US! At 13.30 UK time we’ll get fourth-quarter growth figures from the world’s largest economy. | And it’s GDP day in the US! At 13.30 UK time we’ll get fourth-quarter growth figures from the world’s largest economy. |
| They will be Obama’s sign-off, as Michael Hewson from CMC markets explains: | They will be Obama’s sign-off, as Michael Hewson from CMC markets explains: |
| Today’s first iteration of US Q4 GDP will be the final legacy of the Obama Presidency, and the economy that he has left for the new incumbent. | Today’s first iteration of US Q4 GDP will be the final legacy of the Obama Presidency, and the economy that he has left for the new incumbent. |
| How the US economy performs from here will largely be down to Donald Trump, even if Obama laid the foundations. | How the US economy performs from here will largely be down to Donald Trump, even if Obama laid the foundations. |
| Expectations are for a modest slowdown from the 3.5% growth seen in Q3 to 2.2%. | Expectations are for a modest slowdown from the 3.5% growth seen in Q3 to 2.2%. |
| A large part of this slowdown is likely to be as a result of lower exports, given that the high Q3 number was boosted by a large jump in soybean exports, due to a shortage in South America. This isn’t likely to be repeated, while personal consumption is also expected to come in lower. | A large part of this slowdown is likely to be as a result of lower exports, given that the high Q3 number was boosted by a large jump in soybean exports, due to a shortage in South America. This isn’t likely to be repeated, while personal consumption is also expected to come in lower. |
| 7.56am GMT | 7.56am GMT |
| 07:56 | 07:56 |
| Traders at IG in the City are predicting markets will open lower across Europe: | Traders at IG in the City are predicting markets will open lower across Europe: |
| Our European opening calls:$FTSE 7159 down 2$DAX 11839 down 9$CAC 4858 down 9$IBEX 9493 down 20$MIB 19408 down 32 | Our European opening calls:$FTSE 7159 down 2$DAX 11839 down 9$CAC 4858 down 9$IBEX 9493 down 20$MIB 19408 down 32 |
| 7.45am GMT | 7.45am GMT |
| 07:45 | 07:45 |
| The agenda: BT's head of Europe leaves, Tesco buys Booker | The agenda: BT's head of Europe leaves, Tesco buys Booker |
| Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. | Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. |
| Some major corporate news this morning from two of the UK’s biggest firms. | Some major corporate news this morning from two of the UK’s biggest firms. |
| BT has revealed that Corrado Sciolla, head of its continental Europe business, is leaving after an accounting scandal in the Italian business wiped almost £8bn off the company’s value on Tuesday. | BT has revealed that Corrado Sciolla, head of its continental Europe business, is leaving after an accounting scandal in the Italian business wiped almost £8bn off the company’s value on Tuesday. |
| According to Reuters, BT put it plainly: | According to Reuters, BT put it plainly: |
| Corrado is leaving the business, this happened on his watch. | Corrado is leaving the business, this happened on his watch. |
| BT has announced European chief Corrado Sciolla has left the company following accounting irregularities in its Italian division | BT has announced European chief Corrado Sciolla has left the company following accounting irregularities in its Italian division |
| Announcing third quarter results this morning, BT’s chief executive Gavin Patterson said: | Announcing third quarter results this morning, BT’s chief executive Gavin Patterson said: |
| We’ve undertaken extensive investigations into our Italian business, including an independent review by KPMG, and I am deeply disappointed with the unacceptable practices by some that we’ve found. | We’ve undertaken extensive investigations into our Italian business, including an independent review by KPMG, and I am deeply disappointed with the unacceptable practices by some that we’ve found. |
| This has no place at BT, and it undermines the good work we’re doing elsewhere in the Group. We are committed to ensuring the highest standards across the whole of BT. | This has no place at BT, and it undermines the good work we’re doing elsewhere in the Group. We are committed to ensuring the highest standards across the whole of BT. |
| In other news, Tesco is buying the food wholesaler Booker in a £3.7bn deal. | In other news, Tesco is buying the food wholesaler Booker in a £3.7bn deal. |
| Britain’s biggest supermarket chain said that buying Booker, which owns Budgens and Londis, would help speed up the turnaround of Tesco (was hit by its own accounting scandal a couple of years ago). | Britain’s biggest supermarket chain said that buying Booker, which owns Budgens and Londis, would help speed up the turnaround of Tesco (was hit by its own accounting scandal a couple of years ago). |
| More on both stories soon. | More on both stories soon. |