Two killer reasons why Moody’s upgraded Ireland’s debt rating May 16, 2016 Irish political stability and positive economic fundamentals were the two reasons cited for a rating upgrade over the weekend. Moody’s raised the long-term bond ratings one notch from Baa1 to A3 and reaffirmed a positive outlook. Despite fears over the implications for Ireland of a Brexit, 10-year bond yields were at a one-month low last [...]
China asks Britain for help to create financial super-regulator May 16, 2016 Britain has been advising China as it plans to create a new super-regulator to control its financial markets, according to reports. Chinese officials are looking to head off the stock market volatility that plagued its exchanges last year. Shares lost a third of their value in just one month having increased 150 per cent [...]
Greece could return to global debt markets by 2017 May 16, 2016 Greece could return to the global debt markets as soon as 2017 if international creditors agree on the latest debt relief measures later this month Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has told a Greek newspaper. Speaking to Realnews, Tsipras also alluded that tapping into the markets would mean that "we might exit the bailout once and for all [...]
Burrito costs are going up by 20 per cent – here’s why May 16, 2016 The cost of producing a burrito is about to rise 20 per cent after a landmark tribunal hearing between a Mexican takeaway chain Chilango and HMRC. Judge Barbara Mosedale – who has previously ruled that filling in online tax returns was a breach of religious rights in certain cases – agreed with HMRC that burritos were hot food, meaning that [...]
Number of high street shoppers falls by sharpest level in two years May 16, 2016 The number of people visiting the high street dropped by its sharpest amount in over two years last month, as retailers said they faced a combination of bad weather and weak consumer confidence. Footfall at high street stores dropped by 4.7 per cent in April compared to the year before, according to the British Retail Consortium [...]
Your next big payrise isn’t due until 2020 May 16, 2016 Workers banking on a bumper pay boost might find themselves disappointed, as a report out today has found that payrises have ground to an almost halt and could stay that way for the rest of the decade. A survey of more than 1,000 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) discovered that pay [...]
Profits at UK firms are at their lowest level since before the financial crisis May 16, 2016 Profits at the UK’s largest companies slumped to their lowest level in a decade in 2015, with turmoil in the banking and commodities industries weighing heavily on corporate performance. New analysis from the Share Centre, released today, shows that the FTSE 350 – the UK’s largest 350 listed companies – posted combined pre-tax profits of £84bn last [...]
Payroll tax errors bag the taxman an extra £737m May 16, 2016 Payroll errors are costing companies, particularly smaller companies, a pretty penny, research released today has found. According to the study by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has bagged itself an additional £737m through investigations into slip-ups on payroll compliance, and over half (£373m) of that amount comes from SMEs. UHY Hacker [...]
Former pensions minister Steve Webb slams government for pensions dashboard failure May 15, 2016 British savers risk being left behind by the government's failure to engage with a new drive for a pensions dashboard, according to a former minister. As part of this year's Budget, the Treasury promised to ensure that the pensions industry designs, funds and launches a dashboard by 2019. However, former Liberal Democrat pensions minister Steve Webb, now [...]
RBS mulls sale of Williams & Glyn and NatWest May 15, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland's advisers are reportedly weighing a shock move to divest both Williams & Glyn and NatWest, as the bank seeks to accelerate sell-off plans. According to the Sunday Telegraph, RBS advisers, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Robey Warshaw, are weighing the NatWest move in a bid to ease tech problems behind the Williams [...]