Responding to the threat of cuts to pension tax relief December 2, 2012 AS GEORGE Osborne prepares for his much-anticipated Autumn Statement, rumours abound that he will cut pensions tax relief for higher-rate earners. The Chancellor is coming under increasing pressure to meet his debt targets during a time of sluggish economic growth and high public spending levels. And pensions are a likely subject for tinkering now that [...]
Finding handy tools for your DIY portfolio December 2, 2012 THE retail distribution review (RDR), which comes into effect in Jaunary 2013, will change the way that you receive investment advice. Some studies suggest that good advice can help investors, but a recent survey by BlackRock found that 65 per cent of people will still shun advisers – who will begin to explicitly charge fees [...]
Advisers need to respond to new levels of demand December 2, 2012 EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, GEKKO OVER the past few years two factors have emerged that have resulted in the need for a more prescriptive approach on how financial advice is provided. Firstly, the forces of open market competition and the pursuit of short-term profit has led to the practice of dubious sales tactics whereby products are sold [...]
FTSE touches three week highs on back of Rio pledge and US hopes November 29, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 scaled three-week highs yesterday, cheered by promises of spending cuts at miner Rio Tinto and by growing hopes of achieving a US budget deal to avoid recession in the world’s biggest economy. The US ‘fiscal cliff’ of some $600bn in spending cuts and tax hikes that is otherwise due to come into [...]
Wall St rises as tax talks make trading volatile November 29, 2012 US stocks finished higher yesterday as investors bought on sporadic dips in a market roiled by conflicting comments from Washington about negotiations on an agreement to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” Tech shares, including Research In Motion and Advanced Micro Devices, helped the Nasdaq outperform the broader market. Telecommunications and health-care stocks were the day’s best-performing [...]
Recession shouldn’t stop tech innovation November 28, 2012 THE financial crisis has forced companies to operate in new and challenging environments. Many are now leaner organisations, the result of significant cutbacks in both staff and operations. But a simple trimming down is not a solution for the medium or longer term. A lot of companies are still clinging to in-house research and development [...]
A business model for a low growth world November 28, 2012 FACED with the most severe downturn since the 1930s, corporate confidence has declined. Recent research from Ernst and Young revealed that company executives are more pessimistic about the current state of the global economy now than they were a year ago. But more interestingly, given the Bank of England’s recent growth forecast, over 78 per [...]
Firms can weather the storm and thrive despite the current climate November 28, 2012 Q What questions should businesses consider when planning investment during a difficult economic period? A The Institute for Fiscal studies said this week that the current economic environment – “austerity” – is likely to be with us until 2018. Organisations will thrive if they embrace this outlook and design into their processes, people and infrastructure [...]
Jobs of the Week November 28, 2012 COMPLIANCE ANALYST LONDON £60k-£84k pa A global financial services firm is looking to recruit a compliance analyst on a six month rolling contract. Knowledge and/or experience of UK and European regulation is essential. http://www.cityamcareers.com/job/32217 FIXED INCOME QUANT LONDON £100k pa, plus equity A 12 man start-up company is looking to recruit someone with strong fixed [...]
FTSE rallies in final trading hour as US budget talks show signs of deal November 28, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday after a volatile session, as signs of potential compromise in US budget talks reversed early falls over fears that negotiations had stalled. The FTSE 100 initially extended losses in afternoon trading, with a weak US open and disappointing housing data compounding caution that had been instilled when a [...]