Keep up to date with the latest business and accountancy news in our weekly round-up…

Banking sector cautiously backs May’s Brexit deal

Banks and other financial service companies have cautiously backed progress around the Brexit deal, though are still pushing ahead with job moves and expansion in other EU states.

Royal Mail profits plunge by half with danger of job cuts

Royal Mail saw pre-tax profits tumble to £33 million in the six months to October, from £77 million a year earlier. Rico Back, the chief executive, has refused to rule out job cuts to deal with the company’s issues.

Just 13% of UK technology firm board members are women, new research reveals

New research has revealed a ‘shocking’ lack of diversity at UK technology firms. Only 14.6% of senior executives at the 500 largest technology companies are female.

HSBC, CIC in talks on 1 billion pounds fund to invest in Britain

HSBC and China Investment Corp are in talks to create a fund for the Chinese sovereign wealth fund to invest in companies in Britain that have business links with China, HSBC said on Thursday.

Big Four have their say in CMA audit review

The Big Four firms were unanimously against being broken up into smaller firms and against the creation of an independent audit appointment body.