Experts fight back against government’s tax avoidance proposals August 17, 2016 Accountants and lawyers have today pushed back against new tax avoidance proposals from the Treasury, arguing they risk punishing people for merely trying to do right by their clients. Earlier today, the Treasury laid out plans which would penalise advisers for offering information on how to sidestep tax, while a consultation run by HM Revenue [...]
Discounting drives biggest online sales growth in 20 months in July as retailers scrap with Amazon over customers August 17, 2016 Online sales growth hit a 20-month high in July as summer discounts convinced internet shoppers to click to the checkout. Growth in July was 19 per cent year-on-year as the value for the average basket of goods fell from £80.52 in June to £78.39 last month, according to data from IMRG and Capgemini. Home and [...]
Bose QC35 review: The noise-cancellation tech of Bose’s wired headphones, transplanted to a new wireless model August 17, 2016 The Bose QC25s, otherwise known as “those headphones that absolutely everybody on the Tube seems to be wearing now”, are ubiquitous enough to make you feel like you’ve slipped into some kind of parallel Bose-dimension, a universe in which no other brand of headphone exists. And for good reason. Bose has mastered active-noise cancellation in [...]
Fancy driving a Tesla? You can rent one from Heathrow Airport August 17, 2016 Horses were a cool way of getting around. You couldn’t ride one into a tree or over the edge of a cliff, even if you tried. You could fall asleep on them and safely wake up in the stable next to your house. They eat nothing but hay and poop out pure, nutrient-rich horse puddings. [...]
Target cuts its profit forecast as sales for electrical goods falter August 17, 2016 Retail group Target cut its profit outlook yesterday after its quarterly sales fell by more than expected. The sales drop was due to a weakened demand for electronics and a disappointing performance for its grocery business. The company said like-for-like sales in the second half of the year would be between flat and minus two [...]
Steady year for Laura Ashley as online sales flourish August 17, 2016 Retailer Laura Ashley released steady results after a challenging year that has seen its stock lose a third of its value. The figures The current period was 74 weeks to 30 June 2016 compared to a 52 week prior period to 31 January 2015. Revenue stood at £172m, meaning that the run-rate was broadly in line with the £129m in the [...]
Watch out unicorns: A third of $1bn startups will fall in value August 17, 2016 Startups worth billions with a so-called unicorn status face falling from their mythical standing back to harsh reality as new research reveals one in three firms will fall below the milestone valuation. Around 20 to 30 of the current billion-dollar valued startups in the US will be worth less than that upon going public or being acquired, it has been [...]
They’ve got chemistry: UK private equity firm snaps up German catalyst maker August 17, 2016 UK private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in a German chemical initiators company. Equistone has acquired the stake in United Initiators from Vision Capital and Speyside Equity for an undisclosed sum. United Initiators, which is based in Pullach, Germany, produces catalysts for chemical processes. Read more: Private [...]
Why spreadsheet skills alone won’t make the finance chiefs of the future August 17, 2016 For those looking to climb to the top of the finance career ladder, a good command of pivot tables on its own is no longer going to cut it, research out today shows. A survey of more than 500 finance directors, chief finance officers and senior partners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England [...]
Pizza Hut has launched a “playable” DJ pizza box August 17, 2016 In all its pepperoni wisdom, Pizza Hut has delivered us the packaging that no one asked it to by creating the world's first playable DJ pizza box. Only available in the UK for now, the limited edition cardboard pizza box will serve up some choons along with food and will be distributed at select restaurants this [...]