KPMG risks a ban on bidding for public contracts if there is a repeat of recent scandals at one of the UK government’s biggest providers of consulting services, the cabinet office has warned, the Irish Times reported. The threat was made in a letter from the department to the Big Four consultant seeking assurances that there would be no further misconduct at the firm. KPMG’s reputation has suffered in recent years after a series of fines for misconduct. It is also under investigation over other allegations of malpractice.

Scotland’s leader said Monday that she will renew her push for independence from the United Kingdom next year, with the aim of holding a referendum on secession in 2023, the Associated Press reported. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the independence campaign, stalled by the pandemic, “will resume in earnest” in spring 2022, “COVID permitting.” “In the course of next year, I will initiate the process necessary to enable a referendum before the end of 2023,” Sturgeon told a conference of her Scottish National Party.

British subprime lender Amigo said on Monday it expects court proceedings over its new rescue plan to take at least four months once submitted, and laid out plans for an equity raise to support the business, dragging its shares nearly 30% lower, Reuters reported. Amigo had flagged a potential equity raise in August after London's High Court rejected its older rescue plan that would have cut compensation payouts to customers who complained about Amigo mis-selling loans to them.

Two more energy suppliers in the U.K. have failed, taking the total to 23 companies that have collapsed since the start of August in the biggest shake out of the country’s retail power and gas market, Bloomberg News reported. Entice Energy, with 5,400 customers, and Orbit Energy, which served 65,000 households, announced they are ceasing to trade, according to regulator Ofgem. The watchdog will help find a new firm to take over the accounts. The U.K. energy market is in chaos. The government insists that the tools they have are working to manage the disruption caused by so many bankruptcies.

Britain is open to legislating to stop an explosion in scam adverts online being a significant source of fraud, financial services minister John Glen has told lawmakers, Reuters reported. Victims' groups and campaigners have called for fraudulent adverts to be incorporated in the government's planned Online Safety Bill, which currently only covers user-generated content. "We are very sympathetic to that," Glen told the Treasury Select Committee. "This is a massive problem.

The U.K. government will temporarily run gas and electricity supplier Bulb as the energy crunch deepens, the first forced nationalization of a British company since the 2008 banking crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The government and energy regulator Ofgem will ensure uninterrupted supplies to Bulb’s 1.7 million customers by appointing a special administrator. Costs for running the seventh-largest retailer will be supported by Treasury. The process is being carried out “in the quickest possible timeframe,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

Auction houses and shoppers seeking new clothes for the Christmas holidays lifted British retail sales last month by more than expected, adding to recent signs that a slowdown in the economy might have abated slightly, Reuters reported. Retail sales volumes rose by 0.8% month-on-month in October, the Office for National Statistics said. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a 0.5% increase. Retail sales are now 5.8% above the level of February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Auction houses were an especially strong driver of retail sales growth in October, the ONS said.

British and European Union negotiators highlighted significant gaps on Friday in their positions on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland despite a senior British minister expressing confidence of breaking the impasse, Reuters reported. Britain and the EU agreed to intensify efforts to resolve difficulties over trade from the UK mainland to the British province this week after Brussels cautiously welcomed a change in tone from London following weeks of verbal sparring.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed a ban on debt packager referral fees in a bid to protect consumers, YahooFinance reported. The UK watchdog said on Wednesday that debt packagers – who are regulated providers of debt advice and refer customers on to other providers of debt solutions – should not be allowed to be paid a commission. Under the current setup, they rely on 90% of their income from referral fees paid by these other firms.

Inflation in Britain rose to its highest level in nearly a decade in October after soaring energy prices hit household bills, the New York Times reported. The Consumer Price Index rose to 4.2 percent from a year earlier, the highest since November 2011, and up from 3.1 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The price increases were more than twice the central bank’s target of 2 percent, increasing the likelihood that policymakers will go ahead with the interest rate increases they have signaled are coming.