HMRC brings in £5bn in revenue through fraud investigation February 6, 2017 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is cashing in on its new tax fraud unit, collecting in an additional £5bn in revenue through the service last year. The UK tax authority set up the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) in 2015 to deal with serious tax probes. The team brought in £2.2bn from criminal investigations in 2016, and [...]
Fund managers plan executive pay crackdown to avert need for government intervention February 5, 2017 A group of fund manager giants have agreed to club together to combat excessive executive pay. Aberdeen Asset Management, M&G Investments and Standard Life Investments were among 13 firms involved in the recent pact. The agreement came after an 18 January meeting of the Investment Association, which came around the time Blackrock, the world’s biggest fund manager, indicated [...]
After the FTSE 100’s 37 per cent return, should I still invest? February 3, 2017 | City Talk The rise in the FTSE 100 since a low last February has been remarkable. The index was up 33% between 11 February 2016 and mid-January 2017. Including dividends, the index returned 37%. The index also recorded a fresh all time high during that period, reaching 7,337.81 on 13 January 2017. Stocks in certain sectors [...]
After the FTSE 100’s 37% return, should I still invest? February 3, 2017 | City Talk The rise in the FTSE 100 since a low last February has been remarkable. The index was up 33% between 11 February 2016 and mid-January 2017. Including dividends, the index returned 37%. The index also recorded a fresh all time high during that period, reaching 7,337.81 on 13 January 2017. Stocks in certain sectors led [...]
Tesco Bank’s chief exec says lenders don’t pay customers enough interest on current accounts February 2, 2017 The boss of Tesco Bank has hit out at high street rivals, claiming they make billions of pounds by skimping on the rate of interest paid to customers. Benny Higgins, who led the lender through a mammoth cyber attack on Tesco Bank last November, said the amount of switching between providers remains "stubbornly low", something lenders [...]
Startup Dead Right aims to bring digital disruption to the funeral industry February 1, 2017 A new digital disruptor is aiming to put the ‘fun’ in funeral. Dead Right, a service comparison startup, is backed by advertising exec Sir John Hegarty and his company Garage Soho, and is in the process of seeking further funding. Read more: A startup sprouting up across London could be getting a massive investment from Softbank [...]
Do strong brands make good investments? Brand Finance certainly think so February 1, 2017 When purchasing consumer goods, we’re attracted to brands we know and love. We buy Coca Cola, rather than an own brand product. We prefer Ray Ban sunglasses, Colgate toothpaste, Apple’s iPhone. And we’re willing to pay a premium for the privilege. Consumers have an affinity with the real thing, not just through overt awareness – [...]
How Trump’s presidency might affect your investments February 1, 2017 | City Talk While Donald Trump’s presidency is not the only factor that could affect investments in 2017, it is potentially a major one. Trump’s plans to boost employment, rebuild infrastructure and bring businesses back to the US could have massive repercussions, both positive and negative, for global trade and growth. His policies have already had an effect. [...]
How Trump’s presidency might affect your investments February 1, 2017 | City Talk While Donald Trump’s presidency is not the only factor that could affect investments in 2017, it is potentially a major one. Trump’s plans to boost employment, rebuild infrastructure and bring businesses back to the US could have massive repercussions, both positive and negative, for global trade and growth. His policies have already had an [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]