Don’t believe Osborne – his taxes are making the UK less competitive March 12, 2014 Higher income taxes risk driving businesses away, tax firm Baker Tilly warned today, reversing the gains made by cutting corporation taxes. Tax partner George Bull fears George Osborne and Ed Miliband are both threatening Britain’s competitiveness by targeting high earners relentlessly. Britain’s headline corporation tax has dived from 30 per cent a decade ago to [...]
The 236 skyscrapers coming to London March 12, 2014 London’s skyline is set to change dramatically over the next decade. According to a report out today, over 236 towers over 20 storeys are being proposed, approved or under construction – more than double the number of high-rise buildings estimated to be in capital today. Traditionally a low-rise city, London’s skyscrapers have, until now, been [...]
Video: Building collapses after New York explosion March 12, 2014 New York media sources report that emergency services have responded to a possible explosion and building collapse on East 114 Street. That's been confirmed by FDNY on Twitter. Their social media profile confirms that FDNY has 39 units and 168 members responding. The building in question is apparently a six story apartment building, located in [...]
Britain is beating France, Germany, Italy and Spain in these 5 key tech metrics March 12, 2014 Britain has marched ahead of its European tech rivals with its internet connectivity with the lowest number of non-internet users and the highest take up of broadband, according to Ofcom’s European Broadband Scorecard. 1. Lowest proportion of people who have never used the internet, at just eight per centA drop from the 11 per cent [...]
Government on track to miss its own R&D target March 12, 2014 Governments and targets, eh? They love ‘em, can’t get enough of ‘em – yet aren’t very good at actually hitting ‘em. A bit like me and deadlines. Take research & development, more widely-known as R&D. Over five years ago the government decided that R&D investment should amount to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014. [...]
Meet the UK’s professional mermaids March 12, 2014 LinkedIn, the internet’s answer to a our hatred of networking events, has passed a notable milestone (ahem, as has the internet, “happy 25th birthday internet”). The business-friendly social network now has 15m members in the UK. That’s a relatively impressive 23 per cent of the UK. But what is perhaps more impressive, is the [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 12, 2014 With little in the way of economic data today, investors will likely be looking towards China and the worries over copper. The metal’s hit a 2010 low, with gold hitting a five-and-a-half-month high. The news fuels concerns over China’s continuing economic slowdown, with European markets falling for a fourth day, and US stock futures suggest [...]
G7 says it won’t recognise Crimea referendum March 12, 2014 G7 has warned that it won’t recognise a referendum in Crimea on joining Russia. In a statement, it’s said it would have “no legal effect” because it would violate Ukraine’s constitution. It's also called on Russia today to immediately halt its actions in supporting the referendum, saying that, if it moves to annex Crimea, it'll [...]
Opec raises oil demand outlook for 2014 March 12, 2014 The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has today raised its forecast for oil demand growth in 2014 for the second month in a row. Opec, which accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s oil supply and represents 12 countries, has revised its forecast by 50,000 barrels per day to 1.14m bopd. Total [...]
G4S to pay government £109m over tagging contracts March 12, 2014 G4S has agreed to reimburse the government £109m plus value-added tax for overcharging on the company's contract to electronically tag prisoners, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The figure is significantly higher in cash terms than the £24m that G4S offered in November. The MoJ said it would consider asking for larger amount if [...]