Brent crude heads towards $104 a barrel while stock markets fall Deloitte has been fined £6.05m in the UK over its audit of the bus and rail operator Go-Ahead Group between 2016 and 2020. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK’s accounting watchdog, said it reduced the penalty from £11m because of Deloitte’s “ex
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Oil prices have risen towards $103 a barrel on worries about crude supplies from the Middle East amid growing attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the strait of Hormuz, while the US has reduced its output as a hurricane threatened offshore production. Brent crude, the global benchmark, advanced $2.62 a barrel to $102.8 a barrel, up 2.6%. Attacks on tankers sailing through the strait were at a weekly high last week since the US and Israel unleashed the Iran war on 28 February, Reuters reported, citing maritime security sources. There were at least 12 attacks on oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers around the strait in the week to 5 October. At the same time, Gulf producers have stepped up oil exports. Asian shares fell again amid the strain in government bond markets and reports that some big tech companies are seeking to raise billions of dollars in debt.