UK tax exiles under threat February 17, 2010 Thousands of UK tax exiles may face large tax demands after an entrepreneur lost a bid to overturn a decision by the taxman to hit him with a £30m bill. Millionaire Robert Gaines-Cooper lost an appeal against a ruling by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that he was liable to pay UK tax despite his [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WILL MORE UK TAX EXILES HAVE TO PAY TAX AFTER THIS RULING? February 17, 2010 SEAN DURY | PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS We expect increasing movements of employees out of the UK. While companies may take some comfort from the viewpoint of the courts, the withdrawal of IR20 in April 2009 and only draft guidance in place since means terms around the meaning of residency in the UK are unclear. TINA RICHES | [...]
Pinewood in German JV deal February 17, 2010 Film studio group Pinewood Shepperton yesterday said it had secured a deal with German firm Studio Hamburg to operate production facilities in Hamburg and Berlin. The joint venture, to be named Pinewood Studio Berlin Film Services, aims to target between two and four German films per year, with budgets in the region of between €5m [...]
Output rises in OECD area February 17, 2010 GDP in the 30-member OECD-area jumped by 0.8 per cent over the fourth quarter of last year, boosted by strong growth in the US and Asia. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said yesterday that output had risen 0.8 per cent compared to the third quarter, though it was 0.7 per cent lower year-on-year. [...]
Gold shines as slide in price boosts sales February 17, 2010 Spot gold hit a one-month peak yesterday, supported by strong investment interest and news that South Africa is to levy royalties on minerals exports. Spot gold rose as high as $1,126.85 an ounce, its highest level since 20 January. This news came as the World Gold Council (WGC) said global annual demand for gold was [...]
Oil explorers hit as tensions with Argentina rise February 17, 2010 INVESTORS lost faith in oil firms planning to drill near the Falkland Islands after Argentina threatened to disrupt their activities in a revival of tensions with the UK after the Falklands War. Shares in firms including Falklands Oil & Gas, Rockhopper and Borders & Southern Petroleum slipped by 3.5 per cent, 0.4 per cent and [...]
Toyota adds brake system to calm fears February 17, 2010 TOYOTA will add a brake-override system to all future models worldwide in the wake of brake and accelerator defects that led to the recall of more than 8.5m vehicles. The system cuts engine power when the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time and Toyota hopes the move calms customer fears, particularly [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 17, 2010 MORRISON Barclays says Morrison has continued to take market share, has seen profit growth accelerate and has sharply increased its dividend. Yet it was the worst-performing stock in the sector during 2009. To some extent Morrison is seen as a “consensus Buy”, a worthy story but one which lacks triggers which might lead to a [...]
CITY BEAN COUNTERS GET STAR TREATMENT February 17, 2010 DULL accountants, hobnobbing the evening away with some of the world’s glitziest movie stars? Who’d have thought it? Yet that’s exactly what a gaggle of beancounters from Deloitte will do on Sunday evening at the annual BAFTA film awards – for which they’ve been engaged as official “scrutineers” for the past four years. This year’s [...]
Orange offers juicy concession February 17, 2010 Orange and T-Mobile hope to avoid an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into their proposed merger by offering to sell off part of the mobile spectrum. The European Commission are looking into the deal, which would create the UK’s largest mobile provider with £29.5m customers, and will decide by 1 March whether the OFT [...]