Obama and US Treasury announce new rules to end tax inversion deals September 23, 2014 US president Barack Obama has announced sweeping new measures to end the increasingly popular practice of US firms relocating their headquarters to countries with more favourable tax regimes through foreign takeovers. The US Treasury will introduce new measures making so-called tax inversion deals less attractive to firms. Measures include an end to “hopscotch” loans whereby [...]
Tesco profits crisis: Dave Lewis must do “whatever it takes”, says shareholder September 22, 2014 Tesco could be forced to raise cash by way of a rights issue or by speeding up the sale of its UK and overseas assets, as the troubled supermarket chain launched a probe yesterday into a £250m black hole in its accounts. The debacle prompted a profits warning, which puts Tesco on course for trading [...]
Miliband to tax mansions to fund new NHS splurge September 22, 2014 ED MILIBAND will today deliver a key pre-election speech at his party’s annual conference in Manchester, in which he is widely expected to announce a funding boost for the NHS. Miliband is thought to have found a way to pay for a budget increase for the health service as he seeks to position Labour as [...]
Ed Balls’ attempts to win over business leaders knocked flat by reality – Labour Conference Comment September 22, 2014 You could almost see the moment Ed Balls realised it during his speech to Labour conference yesterday. The shadow chancellor knew he had to appeal to business leaders keen to see evidence of his economic credibility. But at the same time Balls the showman wanted the audience in the palm of his hand. By the [...]
Labour vows to pay for more spending out of tax not debt September 22, 2014 ED BALLS yesterday committed not to borrow any money in order to fund promises in Labour’s election manifesto in a speech at the party’s conference in Manchester. Announcing plans to extend the freeze on child benefit and curb ministers’ pay, the shadow chancellor prepared Labour voters for difficult decisions in a speech designed to bolster [...]
British Land sells just 18 flats for total of £210m September 22, 2014 PROPERTY developer British Land has sold some of the most expensive London property ever, with 18 apartments in Mayfair going for £210m. Four of the flats sold for over £5,000 per sq ft, a record for Mayfair’s property market. The so-called “super-prime” property, Clarges Mayfair, was acquired by British Land for £129.6m in 2012 and [...]
Draghi hits out at Eurozone’s lack of reform September 22, 2014 EUROPE’S sick economies need massive structural reforms if they ever hope to become competitive once more, European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi urged yesterday. “Courageous structural reforms and improvements in the competitiveness of the corporate sector are key to improving the business environment,” Draghi told the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee. “This [...]
Apple sells record 10m iPhone 6 smartphones in just three days September 22, 2014 APPLE broke its own records over the weekend selling more than 10m iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices. Last year, Apple sold 9m of its iPhone 5S and 5C in 11 countries. This year it exceeded that figure despite launching in just 10 countries, missing out on the huge Chinese market where it is [...]
Phones 4u is to close the rest of its 362 stores September 22, 2014 PHONES 4u’s remaining 362 high street stores across Britain will be permanently closed and the 1,697 staff in those stores will be made redundant, administrator PwC announced last night after failing to find a buyer for the shops. Britain’s largest mobile network operator EE bought 58 Phones 4u stores in a £2.5m deal earlier in [...]
Tesco in turmoil: Share price dives after £2bn is wiped off market value September 22, 2014 Britain’s largest retailer suspends four executives and launches probes after £250m profit overstating debacle. Tesco shares plunged 12 per cent yesterday after the embattled supermarket chain admitted that an error in its accounts meant profits for the last six months would be £250m lower than expected. The retailer has suspended four senior executives, [...]