George Osborne has been picking up bad habits March 20, 2014 The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has given its assessment on the chancellor's Budget. The think tank says that George Osborne has become increasingly reliant on short-term revenue raising wheezes to pay for permanent tax cuts and spending commitments. For example, the changes announced yesterday on the abolition of taxing pension pot withdrawals, and accelerated [...]
Airbnb plans funding round at $10bn valuation March 20, 2014 Airbnb is in advanced talks to raise funds that’d value it at more than $10bn, reports the Wall Street Journal. The round would see the online property-rental marketplace valued above some of the largest hotel operators with whom it competes. Private equity firm TPG is in the running to lead it, said two people who [...]
Meet the hamster that wants part of the City of London to join an independent Scotland March 20, 2014 This is William Wallace, he’s a hamster and he’s currently running for Lord Mayor of Portsoken. The ballots are being counted today and the result is expected to be announced this evening. “Hamster candidate, Sir William Wallace, pledges that if elected, he would declare Portsoken part of an Independent Scotland,” says Muhammad Al-Hussaini, the [...]
Why you should move to a National Park March 20, 2014 It’s crossed every commuter’s mind at least once, usually during rush hour on the Northern Line, to pack it all in and move to a cottage in a quiet bit of the countryside. The Office for National Statistics has today offered some decidedly mixed news for those hoping to escape to the remotest parts of [...]
BAE Systems raises concerns over Scottish independence March 20, 2014 Defence giant BAE Systems has announced a profit before tax of £422m for the year ended 31 December. The figure is significantly down from the £1.2bn the company enjoyed last year. The company had a one off impairment charge this year relating to the accounting of goodwill in parts of its US business – that [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 20, 2014 It seems investors haven’t quite recovered from Janet Yellen’s press conference yesterday. In it she hinted that US interest rates could begin rising sooner than expected. S&P 500 futures and US Treasury futures are both lower, in the wake of yesterday’s selloff. European bond markets are still taking a hit on the message, pushing up [...]
3 G4S officers face manslaughter charges for plane death March 20, 2014 Three G4S custody officers are facing manslaughter charges over the death of Jimmy Mubenga, who died on a plane while being deported from the UK. Colin Kaler, Terrence Hughes and Stuart Tribelnig will, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed, face prosecution. In July 2012, the CPS made the decision that no charges should be brought [...]
Alcohol escalator scrapped but these sin taxes are still hitting the poorest hardest March 20, 2014 Beer drinkers raised a glass yesterday as the chancellor cut beer duty by 1p and abolished the alcohol duty escalator. Whiskey drinkers also enjoyed rare victory in the form of a freeze on the spirit as did cider drinkers. Bingo enthusiasts saw the bingo tax halved, with the chancellor giving a special mention to the [...]
FCA bans and fines trader £663k for manipulating gilt price during QE March 20, 2014 Mark Stevenson, a bond trader with almost 30 years’ experience, has been banned from the industry and fined £662,700 for deliberately manipulating a UK government bond – gilt – on 10 October 2011. Stevenson has a holding worth £1.2bn, which he intended to sell to the Bank of England for an artificially high price during [...]
William Hill ups hit from Budget as shares carry on sliding March 20, 2014 William Hill’s revised up how big the hit it’ll take from the increase in tax on its fixed-odds betting terminals will be – to £22m. In a document entitled “Clarification re Budget”, the bookmaker explains its original figure of £16m, put forward in response to George Osborne’s Budget announcement that machine games duty (MGD) would [...]