London house prices: Your home is paying off your annual commute in around a fortnight if you live in Surbiton, Tandridge, Harpenden, Henley and Epsom January 13, 2016 Have you found yourself grumbling about the ever-increasing cost of commuting, even when your train is delayed/cancelled/diverted for no apparent reason? If you're a property owner, it's time to turn that frown upside down. New research suggests that if you travel into London from the commuter belt, your home is actually paying off the cost of your annual [...]
Oil prices could spike at $500 on a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran January 13, 2016 A leading academic has warned a full scale war between Middle Eastern rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia could send oil prices as high as $500 per barrel. The two countries' long-running regional rivalry is borne out in a series of proxy wars across the Middle East, such as the one which is being waged in Yemen. But relations soured recently when [...]
Finally some good news: Chinese exports unexpectedly rise as concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy linger January 13, 2016 While fears over the state of the Chinese economy persist, some good news was delivered this morning, after Chinese exports defied expectations in December to rise. Chinese exports rose 2.3 per cent in December from a year ago in yuan-denominated terms, against forecasts of a 4.1 per cent fall. A weakening currency is thought to have [...]
Treating death as taboo is leaving many Londoners poorly prepared, and capital dwellers are more likely to think they don’t want or need a will January 13, 2016 Londoners' taboos about mortality have left them inadequately prepared for the financial impact of death. According to a report released today by Aviva, six out of ten of London adults said that they felt death was still a taboo subject and just less than half (49 per cent) said that they do not want to [...]
US oil falls below $30 a barrel for first time since 2003 January 12, 2016 Oil prices have fallen below $30 a barrel for the first time since 2003. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped very briefly to $29.97 a barrel before returning to $30 a barrel. It comes after a number of banks cut their forecasts for oil prices. Standard Chartered said it could fall to as low as $10 a [...]
Proposed national insurance tax rule could be easily dodged, warns Chartered Institute of Taxation January 12, 2016 A representative body for tax professionals today warned that proposed rules designed to tighten up claims for national insurance reductions could be too easy to dodge. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) cautioned that HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) plans to stop limited companies where the director is the sole employee from claiming Employment Allowance [...]
Mark Carney says UK recovery is not fuelled by debt January 12, 2016 Bank of England chief Mark Carney has played down fears that the UK's economic recovery has been based on an unsustainable credit boom. Speaking at at farewell symposium for Christian Noyer, the Bank of France's governor, Carney said "this is not a debt-fuelled recovery". He pointed out that private sector debt to GDP had fallen [...]
Niesr: UK economy expanded 2.2 per cent in 2015 January 12, 2016 The UK economy grew by 2.2 per cent last year, according to an early estimate from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr), a think tank. While the growth rate would be slower than 2014's 2.9 per cent expansion, Niesr said it "remains consistent with the economy growing at close to its long-run potential [...]
Oil price: Nigeria and UAE clash over emergency Opec meeting in February/March as Brent and WTI crude continue to fall January 12, 2016 Two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) have clashed over whether the oil cartel will hold an emergency meeting before its next scheduled session in June, as oil prices continue to plump new lows. Opec members have been hurt by the collapse in global oil prices, with Brent falling below $32 a barrel [...]
Don’t leave your tax return until the last minute, warns Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, as deadline date for online filing falls on a Sunday this year January 12, 2016 The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has today urged people not to leave filing their tax return to the last second. The representative body for accountants warned that 31st January – the deadline date for filing a self-assessment tax return online – and 30th January were the busiest days for filing [...]