Greek debt crisis: Creditors come under fire for tough stance on Greece June 29, 2015 US President Barack Obama yesterday urged German leader Angela Merkel to find a solution to Greece’s economic crisis as bailout talks broke down and the country said it would put its latest offer from creditors to a referendum next weekend. The referendum question will be “Do you accept the institutions’ proposal as it was [...]
The Banker’s top 1,000 world banks 2015: UK lenders slide down rankings as Chinese institutions move up June 29, 2015 UK banks continue to lose their global position as Chinese banks power ahead, according to The Banker’s latest ranking of the Top 1,000 banks. HSBC fell from fifth place to ninth, Barclays from 12th to 13th and Royal Bank of Scotland from 15th to 18th as they restructured and slimmed down in the wake [...]
Richard Branson: UK would be better off in Eurozone June 28, 2015 Britain would be better off in the Eurozone, billionaire investor Sir Richard Branson has said. “I think that if we were part of the euro right now, our currency would be a lot cheaper,” the Virgin founder said in an interview with the BBC yesterday, adding: “Great Britain would be doing that much better in [...]
Richard Caring toasts a rise in sales at his restaurant empire June 28, 2015 Richard Caring’s collection of restaurants and nightclubs recorded a rise in sales in 2013. His company, Caprice Holdings, which includes some of London’s most celebrated eateries in the Ivy, Le Caprice, Scott’s and J Sheekey, saw sales rise three per cent to £53.3m in 2013. Its sister company Mark Birley Holdings, which owns Harry’s Bar, [...]
Vivienne Westwood hit by drop in profits despite jump in sales June 28, 2015 Vivienne Westwood, the eponymous label of the fashion designer who helped set the style of the 1970s punk era, said tough conditions across the retail industry weighed on profits last year. The independent fashion house said 2014 was a “challenging year” and that margins remained under pressure due to “the nature of wider retail conditions”. [...]
Local authorities cracking down on those who don’t pay council tax June 28, 2015 Local authorities across England are cracking down on people who do not pay their council tax, as the national council tax debt rises to more than £2.5bn, according to research out today. A new report from the accountancy firm Moore Stephens found that 32 per cent of local authorities in Great Britain used bankruptcy [...]
HMRC looks to shut down thousands of businesses due to unpaid tax bills June 28, 2015 HMRC applied to shut down 3,000 businesses last year to meet unpaid tax bills, according to research released today by online finance market Funding Options. The tax authority was successful in gaining court orders to wind up 1,887 businesses over their tax debts, a four per cent rise from 2013’s 1,816. Once a business is [...]
CBI: Regulation costs are top concern in City June 28, 2015 Financial services firms overwhelmingly want the government to cut the cost of regulatory compliance, according to a new survey out today. The latest CBI/PwC financial services survey found firms’ number-one concern was reducing the cost of complying with regulations. Tax stability was another popular concern, especially among general insurers and investment managers, according to the [...]
Professional salaries jump amid scramble for the brightest talent June 28, 2015 Demand for professional staff climbed strongly in May, with sharp growth in both job vacancies and average salaries. Professional recruitment firms had 13 per cent more jobs on their books than in May 2014, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco) said today. Opportunities were up the most across IT, engineering and finance with year-on-year [...]
July Budget 2015: Small business group wants tax reform June 28, 2015 British small businesses are calling on chancellor George Osborne to reform and simplify the tax system in next week’s emergency budget. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has asked the government to “widen the scope of reform to radically simplify the tax system and improve incentives to encourage investment”. The small business group praised the [...]