Bad news for employees of Pokemon Go developer Niantic to finish the week. Instead of hunting for Pokemon, a quarter of the workforce will now be hunting for jobs. Hopefully everyone else’s week ends on a better note. Enjoy the weekend.

The lowdown

• 😿 Pokemon Go developer Niantic lays off a quarter of its workforce.

• 👟 Nike beats revenue estimates but lower margins weigh on profits.

• 🤖 AI startup Inflection raises $1.3 billion from backers including Microsoft and Nvidia.

Featured story

KPMG and PwC fined for Eddie Stobart audits

Britain's accounting watchdog has fined PwC and KPMG for serious failings in their audits of logistics firm Eddie Stobart. The audits date back to 2017 and 2018. KPMG resigned as ESL's auditor in 2018 due to a breakdown in its relationship with management, and PwC was subsequently appointed.

PwC was fined £1.9 million ($2.4 million), and KPMG was fined £877,500 – both fines being reduced due to cooperation.

Investigations into the audit started in May 2020 after Eddie Stobart discovered that its 2018 profits had been overstated by £2 million. Without the error, Eddie Stobart would have been in a loss-making position so it was kind of material ($). It is not very encouraging that two out of the big four made the same error.

The content we're consuming today

• The Economist: New forms of debt restructuring reward bad behaviour ($).

• Puck: Netflix’s New Math & HBO’s Pivot ($).

• FT Films: Can Bob Iger revive Disney?

Off-balance sheet items

• It’s hard to know whether McDonalds would be happy that its new Grimace Shake has gone viral on TikTok. Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.

The bottom line