Lib Dem plans fail to impress businesses April 14, 2010 BUSINESS rounded on the Liberal Democrat manifesto yesterday, although economists praised the party for providing more detail on tax and spending than either of the two main parties. John Cridland, the deputy director-general of the CBI, said it was vital that all parties “established a clear and robust plan to rebuild the public finances” and [...]
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MANIFESTO | AT A GLANCE April 14, 2010 Economy • Save up to £15bn in government spending per year. A third will be set aside for additional spending commitments, but £10bn each year, after 2011/12, will go towards paying off the deficit, set to be £163bn this financial year. • A cap on public sector pay rises, restricting tax credits, ending government payments [...]
ELECTION2010 April 14, 2010 Tories pass 40 per cent mark Today’s YouGov poll for the Sun shows the Conservatives gaining considerable ground. Their lead has0 widened to nine points, with a 41 per cent share of the vote, while Labour is up two points at 32 per cent. That puts the Tories on course to win a comfortable majority [...]
Shareholders approve UBS bonus payout April 14, 2010 UBS shareholders yesterday vented their anger at the Swiss bank for awarding hefty payouts to staff, despite the firm recording big losses during the financial crisis. Over 40 per cent of investors at the firm’s annual meeting in Basel called for an end to the bank’s big bonus culture. The protest will keep chief executive, [...]
E&Y rocked by slide in profits April 14, 2010 PARTNERS’ profits at Ernst & Young fell last year as the accountancy firm invested heavily to close the gap on its rivals. The smallest of the “Big Four”, its average profit per partner fell from £737,000 to £678,000. This compared with £883,000 at Deloitte, £777,000 at PricewaterhouseCoopers and £671,000 at KPMG. The highest paid partner [...]
Moody’s upgrades South Korea April 14, 2010 South Korea’s credit rating was yesterday upgraded, as the government successfully fulfilled its commitment to slash its debt. Moody’s lifted government bond ratings to A1 with a stable outlook from A2, the first increase since July 2007. “The change has been prompted by Korea’s demonstration of an exceptional level of economic resilience to the global [...]
Cash payments out of fashion April 14, 2010 The Payments Council says cash payments have slumped from 73 per cent to 59 per cent over the past decade with debit card spending quadrupling to £264bn last year. Debit card payments, the most popular form of spending, were used over six billion times in 2009. The cheque continued to decline at an even faster [...]
Northern Petroleum strikes oil April 14, 2010 Northern Petroleum has identified a new oil reserve at Baxters Copse in West Sussex. According to an independent third party auditor, 5.36m worth of undeveloped crude reserves exist at the site. Northern Petroleum, along with joint venture partner Providence Resources, will begin work at Baxters Corpse in 2011.
Political uncertainty unnerves consumers April 14, 2010 THE impending general election and the recent Budget have caused British consumers to lose confidence in both the current economic situation and their expectations for the coming year, the Nationwide consumer confidence survey will show today. According to the monthly report, the overall index fell by nine points to 72 last month from 81 in [...]
Fresnillo produces record gold output in the first quarter April 14, 2010 MEXICAN precious metals miner Fresnillo posted record first quarter gold output after the launch of its new Soledad-Dipolos mine, the first leg of an expansion that will also boost its silver production by up to 70 per cent by 2018. London-listed Fresnillo, the world’s largest primary silver producer, is focusing on organic growth after finding [...]