Ukraine PM vows to meet IMF’s requirements March 3, 2014 UKRAINE’S Prime Minister yesterday promised that his government will meet all the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to get a loan, as a fact-finding team from the global lender arrives in Kiev. IMF representatives are expected to spend 10 days in Ukraine discussing reforms that would need to happen for the country to [...]
MPs demand overhaul of business rates March 3, 2014 A GROUP of MPs has waded into the debate on business rates by demanding a complete reform of the current system, calling for a tax based on sales instead of the value of a property. Suggesting a series of reforms that could hit online retailers such as Amazon and Asos, the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) [...]
Government considering legal case for all-women job shortlists March 3, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT is looking at the legality of women-only shortlists for board appointments, to help ensure it meets a diversity target set by Lord Davies for 2015. A report out today details a 10-point plan to beef up a voluntary code for headhunters, to make sure they put forward enough women candidates for interviews at top firms. [...]
Boris: Increase council tax and cut business rates in the capital March 3, 2014 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson has called for a cut to business rates and increases to council tax for those who own expensive homes in London. Speaking at a Communities and Local Government select committee yesterday the Mayor said businesses are being “clobbered” by high rates while rich homeowners pay low rates of tax as council [...]
EU red tape cost £1.3bn last year March 3, 2014 NEW REGULATION stemming from the EU added £1.3bn in annual costs to business and civil society in the UK during 2013, while European reductions in regulation cut annual cost by only £2.5m. According to the annual report of the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), deregulation savings enacted nationally in 2013 amounted to £274m per year, against new [...]
Ian Tyler made minder for G4S March 3, 2014 FORMER Balfour Beatty boss Ian Tyler has been appointed as a £500-a-day “minder” for troubled outsourcer G4S. Tyler, soon to become chair at Cairn Energy, is among a group of Crown Representatives being announced today as part of a Whitehall bid to improve public procurement. G4S is at the centre of an investigation by the [...]
Robust growth in euro industry as UK improves March 3, 2014 MANUFACTURERS in the Eurozone reported further solid growth in February, while UK industry continued to expand at a robust pace. The headline reading of data firm Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector was 53.2 in the euro area this February. The figure was down slightly from 54 in January, the highest level [...]
Bank use of Funding for Lending surges but business loans drop March 3, 2014 USE OF the Funding for Lending Scheme by banks surged in the last part of 2013, with nearly half of the borrowings made so far coming in the year’s final quarter. Banks drew down £18.79bn in the final three months of the year, out of £41.92bn in the six quarters the scheme has been active. [...]
Tate & Lyle could exit FTSE 100 to make way for St James’s Place March 3, 2014 TATE & Lyle, one of the original components of the FT 30, is on the verge of being demoted from the FTSE 100 as part of its quarterly reshuffle of the index, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) said yesterday. The food ingredients company will learn its fate tomorrow night when the exchange reveals the firms [...]
Average energy spend soars by 55pc in 10 years March 3, 2014 AVERAGE household spending on energy increased by 55 per cent between 2002 and 2012, while usage dropped by 17 per cent over the period, according to data compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The divergence between spending and use means that the increase in average spending is explained solely by rises in energy [...]