Asian markets slide as Ukraine crisis escalates April 14, 2014 Asian markets are experiencing partial retreats after Friday saw sliding shares on Wall Street and tensions escalate in Ukraine over the weekend. On 11 April, JP Morgan posted results significantly below estimates, with net income dropping to $5.3bn (£3.2bn), compared with $6.5bn a year earlier. The biotech sector also struggled, leading the Nasdaq substantially lower. [...]
Average London house price to top £700,000 by 2020 April 14, 2014 LONDON house prices are set to rise 54 per cent over the next six years, leaving the rest of the UK’s property market even further behind, new research claims. A typical home in the capital will be worth more than £700,000 in 2020, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). This rapid [...]
London leading Britain’s GDP growth comeback April 14, 2014 EVERY region in the UK is growing strongly, with London the driving force, an influential survey published by Lloyds shows today. Sustained growth across the country is driven by rising demand as consumers order more output from businesses. And as a result, the study found firms are hiring more staff which should in turn support [...]
Britain one of best at cutting tax for workers April 14, 2014 BRITAIN is cutting income taxes faster than almost any other advanced nation, figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed over the weekend. Tax rates in the UK fell by 0.6 percentage points in 2012-13, the third-largest cut across the 34 countries studied. The only bigger falls in income taxes came in [...]
Lagarde mulls ending central bank freedom April 14, 2014 CENTRAL banks are gaining so many new powers that it is time to consider ending their independence from government control, International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss Christine Lagarde indicated yesterday. This would represent a major shift in central banking, which has been given credibility by its freedom from politicians since – in the UK’s case – [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 April 2014 April 14, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES UK watchdog targets bankers Wayward UK bankers risk increasingly large fines as the amount of individual penalties levied by the country’s financial watchdog has increased 76 per cent over the past two years. The Financial Conduct Authority and its predecessor meted out fines totalling £35.5m on individuals in 2012 and 2013, compared with [...]
Companies turn away from tax avoidance plans April 14, 2014 THE TAXMAN suspects Britain’s biggest companies of underpaying taxes to the tune of £18.8bn in the last year, though this figure is down 12 per cent on the previous year in a sign that firms are being less aggressive with their financial planning. Figures from HM Revenue & Customs show that suspected underpayments or “tax [...]
Wages to overtake prices this year as squeeze on Brits eases April 14, 2014 PAY WILL finally rise faster than inflation this year, at last ending the long squeeze on British incomes, an influential group of economists has predicted today. Wages will rise by 1.7 per cent over the year while prices will increase by 1.6 per cent, the EY Item Club forecasts. As a result the UK’s economic [...]
Glencore sells Peruvian copper project Las Bambas for £3.7bn April 14, 2014 GLENCORE Xstrata yesterday confirmed the long-awaited sale of its Peruvian copper mine Las Bambas to a consortium for $6.25bn (£3.73bn), as demanded by the Chinese antitrust regulator last year in return for merger approval. China Minmetals-backed Australian resource company MMG owns a 62.5 per cent stake in the consortium, with Chinese firms Guoxin International Investment [...]
Draghi could print money to prop up Euro April 14, 2014 THE European Central Bank will ease monetary policy further if the euro keeps strengthening, President Mario Draghi said over the weekend as world finance chiefs ramped up pressure on Europe to ward off deflation. “The strengthening of the exchange rate would require further monetary policy accommodation,” he said.