Inheritance tax reaches another record as £4.9bn receipts more than double in less than 20 years July 28, 2017 The government collected £4.9bn in inheritance tax in the last year, the latest data released today by tax authorities revealed. That represented only a four per cent year-on-year increase in 2016 to 2017 after a 22 per cent surge in receipts in the previous tax year, according to HM Revenue and Customs. Inheritance tax receipts [...]
Santander UK in “good position” to face Brexit with no need to move operations, says chief executive Nathan Bostock July 28, 2017 Banking giant Santander is in a “good position” to deal with Brexit and will not need to move any of its operations, the UK subsidiary’s boss said today. The lender also said “still resilient UK macro-economic conditions” are supporting “strong business performance, cost discipline and good credit quality” in its UK arm. The comments came [...]
Libor will end in 2021 says Britain’s top financial regulator July 27, 2017 The infamous Libor benchmark lending rate is set to be dropped in 2021, the UK’s top financial regulator said today. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss Andrew Bailey said the London interbank offered rate (Libor) will no longer receive the backing of regulators as the industry tries to move to a more reliable marker. Libor, which [...]
Airbnb isn’t monopolising the homestay market, it’s popularised it for a new generation of business travellers July 27, 2017 A recent report by PWC found that hotel companies and peer-to-peer home swapping platforms account for the second largest share, in terms of volume of activity, of the UK’s sharing economy. With the meteoric growth of Airbnb in particular, most people assume that traditional rental and aparthotel operators, like myself, are concerned about the impact [...]
Transport for London delays English language tests for Uber and minicab (PHV) drivers again July 27, 2017 Transport for London has pushed back plans to introduce English language tests for Uber drivers again. It will now require those working for Uber and other minicab firms in the capital to show they have passed the test by July next year if they have applied for or renewed a licence since October last year. [...]
Sophos says cyber attacks like Petya and Wannacry ransomware are great for business July 27, 2017 Sophos has had a lift from global cyber attacks and that’s set to continue. The figures Revenue for the first quarter jumped 11.3 per cent to $141.8m, or 14 per cent on a constant currency basis, while operating profit declined more than 63 per cent to $3.4m. Billings for the period of increased 16 per [...]
London Heathrow airport confident of keeping airport charges ‘close to current levels’ during expansion as it unveils flying first-half earnings July 27, 2017 Heathrow said today it is making “good progress” towards meeting the task set by the government to deliver expansion without bumping up airport charges as it unveiled solid first-half results. Read more: Government says Heathrow vote will be pushed back until next year The figures Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose [...]
Embracing a brilliant new era of close UK-South Korea relations July 27, 2017 Anyone who has walked through the graves at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan will never forget the huge sacrifices made by British forces in the Korean War. Yet, whether because of insufficient media coverage or post-World War II fatigue, many veterans returned to a country which did not acknowledge their service, and the Korean [...]
DEBATE: UK growth has slowed down to its lowest in five years – can we blame this on Brexit? July 27, 2017 DEBATE: Can we blame the UK’s flatlining growth on Brexit? YES – Dr Victoria Bateman, lecturer and fellow in Economics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While the Eurozone enters its fifth year of recovery and the IMF upgrades its forecasts for Germany, France, Italy and Spain, UK growth for 2017 is experiencing its weakest [...]
Sony Xperia Touch review: A projector that turns any surface into a touchscreen – but is it any more useful than a tablet? July 26, 2017 There’s a research laboratory hidden deep inside the bowels of Sony’s labyrinthine headquarters, where cackling scientists in crisp white coats mix vials of fizzing coloured liquids and bash misbehaving robots on the head with giant spanners, with the goal of inventing all manner of contraptions in total secrecy. From this department of experimental ideas comes [...]