HMRC doubles number of investigations into apprenticeship levy underpayments March 25, 2019 The number of investigations by tax authorities into underpayment of the apprenticeship levy has more than doubled in a year. HMRC launched 84 investigations last year collecting an additional £6.2m, according to research by accountancy group UHY Hacker Young. Read more: Apprenticeship levels up on last year but still hampered by 2017 levy There is concern that [...]
Majority of businesses not budgeting for increased recruitment costs after Brexit March 24, 2019 More than three-quarters of UK businesses have put no additional funds in place to meet the costs of international recruitment following Brexit. As many as 26 per cent of businesses have already recruited fewer workers from the EU since March 2017, according to research by law firm Shakespeare Martineau. Read more: Time for a migration policy [...]
Stocks for a durable ISA portfolio in the Brexit years March 24, 2019 | City Talk By Edmond Jackson from interactive investor. With the Brexit outcome still uncertain, companies analyst Edmond Jackson picks five larger cap stocks and three AIM shares for a resilient ISA. Be aware how sentiment towards equities hinges currently on whether Brexit is "resolved" by way of "Soft" business-friendly outcome, or the UK leaves the EU without [...]
Dogs of the Footsie 2019: 10 shares yielding 6 per cent plus March 23, 2019 | City Talk By David Budworth from interactive investor. Here are the 10 high yielders that make it into this year's Dogs of the Footsie investment strategy. It's time to reset our Dogs of the Footsie portfolio, selecting the 10 highest-yielding shares of the FTSE 100 index. Around half of 2018's portfolio is carried over on to this [...]
Wetherspoon shares swing wildly as profit plunges March 22, 2019 | City Talk Five times the shares failed to make a break above 1,340p stick. Is it sixth time lucky for Wetherspoon? Alongside the usual diatribe against the Brexit process and the tax disparity with supermarkets, pub chain JD Wetherspoon (LSE:JDW) has fallen foul of higher costs, especially with regards to labour. This has impacted the bottom line [...]
I’d kill to be the chief exec of… Unilever March 22, 2019 Last week, Unilever’s chief executive Alan Jope announced that he would promote his rival for the top job – Nitin Paranjpe – to the newly created role of chief operations officer. He also said farewell to two other executive members – all in pursuit of the ever-elusive goal of three to five per cent top-line [...]
Countdown to Brexit: three market indicators to watch March 22, 2019 | City Talk The UK is due to leave the European Union (EU) on 29 March 2019. With politicians still struggling to agree the terms of withdrawal, investors in assets linked to the UK economy could be in for an uncertain time. UK investments have already underperformed their global peers since Britain voted to leave the EU, in [...]
DEBATE: A third of voters would rather AI ran the country than politicians – so should robots move into Downing Street? March 22, 2019 A third of voters would rather AI ran the country than politicians – so should robots move into Downing Street? Takashi Sonoda, chief executive of internet of things company Uhuru, says YES. The idea that an artificial intelligence (AI) device could wholly take over the decision making at the top of the British government is pure [...]
Monetary policy is no job for the politicians March 22, 2019 At a time of such sweeping uncertainty, anything predictable is reassuring. This week, that reassurance came from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, which yesterday voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold. This had been widely expected, but that doesn’t mean that central bank decisions should be taken for granted. Across the Atlantic, the [...]
Royal London profits fall amid Brexit volatility and end of auto enrolment roll out March 21, 2019 Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual insurer, announced today its pre-tax profits had fallen in 2018 after Brexit uncertainty hit the confidence of its customers. The firm said its results compared unfavourably with last years in part because the first stage of the auto enrolment pensions roll out had come to an end, meaning a [...]
