The level of fraud faced by British companies jumped to £1.1bn between January and June, according to accountants at KPMG, up from £609m in the same period last year.

Bosses are the biggest corporate crooks, according to a new report from KPMG. The accountancy group's research, published today, reveals that half of all UK corporate fraud is perpetrated by senior management or board members.

The popularity of smartphones and tablet computers continues to soar in the UK and offers media content companies a big revenue stream, a report will say today.

The labour market suffered a "marked slowdown" last month, with the slowest growth in permanent and temporary staff appointments in seven months, according to a KPMG/REC survey published this morning.

Consumer businesses in the UK expect to see an increase in their company's financial performance this year, but their confidence is lower than the global trend, according to KPMG International. Some 52 per cent of UK consumer businesses believe that performance will improve in 2011, compared to 76 per cent of global businesses in the sector.

Retailers are facing a huge dilemma over whether to pass rising prices on to customers, says a new report.

A lack of meaningful benchmarks often stands in the way of companies making progress in their corporate sustainability strategies, according to a new survey from KPMG. The accountancy firm said two-thirds of those polled believed a new set of rules was "either very important or critical". In the current economic climate, short-term financial priorities were the largest barrier, followed by the risk of higher costs.

Lloyds Banking Group has hired an accountancy firm to offer advice on its option should All Saints fails to find an investor in the next week to inject fresh funds into the fashion chain.

The Government's guidance on the controversial Bribery Act is to offer an olive branch to business as its publication today kicks off the three-month countdown to the act becoming law.

Outlook So JJB lives to fight another day. That it is not shutting up shop in the face of the problems that have plagued it in recent times is a tribute to the tenacity of its management. KPMG, its accountant, also deserves congratulations for the imagination it showed in coming up with a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that, while unpalatable for landlords, at least offered them some upside when (or if) JJB returns to health. That was an advance on the detail of other CVAs that the retail sector has come up with in the past.

JJB Sports, the troubled sportswear retailer, lived to fight another day yesterday after creditors approved an insolvency procedure to safeguard its immediate future by shedding up to 89 stores and slashing its rent bill.

Profits made by the major banks have doubled during the past year but the groups still face significant challenges going forward, a report indicated today.