Autumn Statement 2015: Scrap the spending cuts ringfence, say the Institute of Economic Affairs and Taxpayers’ Alliance November 23, 2015 The government's decision to ringfence certain areas of spending means this week’s Comprehensive Spending Review is likely to be “incoherent and incomprehensive”, a prominent Westminster think tank has said today. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said that because 70 per cent of government spending is protected, or ringfenced, cuts risk being made in the [...]
Small business confidence hits second-lowest level since 2012 November 23, 2015 Confidence levels at UK small and medium-sized businesses are waning, according to new survey figures published today. The confidence index from accountants BDO dropped to a score of 61.8 this month from 64.3 six months ago. With the exception of January this year, the confidence of small and medium-sized quoted companies is at its lowest [...]
City Moves for 23 November 2015 | Who’s switching jobs November 22, 2015 TISA The financial services membership organisation has appointed Kenn Taylor to its retirement policy and technical team. He has 30 years’ industry experience, most recently leading consulting teams with Troika, Navigant and Grant Thornton. THERIUM CAPITAL The third party litigation funder has appointed Timothy Mayer and Nicholas Moore as principals in its investment team. They [...]
Deutsche Bank eyes further job cuts in London to reduce costs November 22, 2015 DEUTSCHE Bank could be about to cut 1,000 more jobs in London as it further scales back on it’s investment bank. Traders, back-office staff and fixed income specialists at the bank could be given redundancy notices in the new year, the Sunday Times reported. Earlier this month Deutsche confirmed ex-Goldman Sachs banker Alasdair Warren will [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: What is Civilised Saturday? November 21, 2015 Last year, US import Black Friday bought chaos to Britain’s high streets. Frenzied shoppers hurled themselves into stacks of discount goods, brawls broke out and arrests were made as shop aisles descended into their own kind of hellscape. This year, independent book stores across the UK will take on the seemingly insurmountable task of bringing [...]
Glencore turns to Libyan oil to shore up balance sheet November 21, 2015 Glencore has clinched a deal to buy around half of the oil Libya is currently exporting, as part of the mining and commodities trader's bid to turn its fortunes around. The arrangement with Libya's state-run National Oil Corporation has been running since September, market sources told Reuters. It leaves Glencore responsible for loaning and finding buyers for crude [...]
Glencore share price gives up gains November 21, 2015 Shares in troubled Glencore closed down 1.6 per cent to 90.12p per share today, after suddenly slipping into the red this afternoon. This came despite the announcement that board member and former Morgan Stanley boss John Mack has bought 500,000 shares in the company. The company's shares had risen for the third consecutive day at [...]
The global tax report 2015 by Knight Frank and EY: Shanghai and Monaco are where foreign investors are offered the lowest property costs and taxation November 21, 2015 International investors buying foreign property can get the lowest costs in Shanghai, according to a new report. However, it's Monaco that offers the lowest taxation when purchasing a property at both $1m and $10m (£7m). The slowing rate of property price growth in many cities worldwide has made transaction costs and taxation increasingly important factors for buyers. The global tax report 2015 [...]
Npower could be sold off by parent company German utility RWE November 21, 2015 German utility company RWE could sell off Npower if it can't find a way to turn the struggling business around. Bernhard Guenther, RWE's chief financial officer, told Reuters during an interview that it will take at least until 2017 to return the British energy firm to profit, and investors are questioning whether it's worth holding onto. "We're not [...]
Greek debt crisis: Final decision to unlock more cash due on Monday when the European Stability Mechanism board meets November 21, 2015 Remember the Greek debt crisis? While the country's cash flow problems made headlines earlier this year, things have simmered down since then. Now Greece is awaiting a final decision, likely to come on Monday, paving the way for the disbursement of the next tranche of loans, as Eurozone finance ministers neared an agreement yesterday. To receive the money, [...]