UK art exports soared to £11.3bn in 2014 despite new regulations February 15, 2015 London held on to its title as one of the world’s leading marketplaces for art after the UK exported a record £11.3bn last year, according to data from Thomson Reuters. UK art exports have now more than doubled from just £5bn in 2005 to their high last year. The increase will further dampen fears that [...]
Departments lose £5.1bn in just one year February 15, 2015 GOVERNMENT departments lost a total of £5.1bn in one year through avoidable errors, the Taxpayers’ Alliance has said today. The loss amounts to over five per cent of the UK’s projected budget deficit for this year. The majority was down to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) which made losses of £3.07bn. In the 12 months [...]
Investment tax break hits record as UK companies go for growth February 15, 2015 UK BUSINESSES will invest a record £2.8bn this year under the Annual Investment Allowance, as firms look to grow after years of underinvestment, commercial finance group LDF said yesterday. Introduced in 2008, the Annual Investment Allowance allows businesses making capital investments to claim a deduction of up to £500,000 from their taxable profits. HMRC has [...]
City Moves for 16 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 15, 2015 GE Capital Isabel Fernandez has been named chief commercial officer of the financial services unit of General Electric. Fernandez has been with the firm since 2000. Prior to starting with GE Capital, she was vice president of Project Finance at ABN Ambro Bank. Mediobanca The Italian-based bank has appointed Felipe De Grado as managing director [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 February 2015 February 15, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SHIRE Jefferies reiterated the biopharmaceutical giant’s “buy” rating, following solid results for the final quarter of 2014, and an initial 2015 outlook in line with the broker’s expectations. Jefferies also said it foresees “numerous pipeline catalysts this year to drive potential earnings upgrades”. [...]
Britain close to deflation as oil drags on prices – London Report February 15, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation is expected to have fallen to a record low, with figures out this week likely to show it reached 0.3 per cent in January. The rate was 0.5 per cent in December – at a low since comparable records began in 1989 – and it is forecast to have fallen further, as [...]
US stocks are picking up after strong results – New York Report February 15, 2015 US STOCKS are poised for more upward momentum even as uncertainty over oil prices and Greek debt negotiations keeps the market on tenterhooks, analysts say. Strong fourth-quarter US company earnings and signs of an overall improving economy, alongside what appears to be the start of a bottoming in crude oil prices, have given equities support. [...]
How employers can deal with office lovebirds February 15, 2015 In some instances, you can require that staff disclose a relationship. Do you know how many people in your office have had an in-house romance? Valentine’s Day might have been and gone, but trysts are a staple of the UK workplace. According to research carried out by the Institute of Leadership and Management, 41 per [...]
The government wasted £5.1bn last year – and £6m was on unusable earplugs February 15, 2015 Last year, the government apparently wasted £5.1bn on pointless projects and avoidable errors, with the Ministry of Defence being the biggest culprit of all. The department's £3.07bn losses included £4m on inventory for Sea King helicopters no longer in use, and £6m on earplugs found to be “not fit for purpose”. It also [...]
Centrica’s new chief executive Iain Conn could cut British Gas dividends by 15pc February 15, 2015 Centrica will release its full-year results for British Gas on Thursday, but there is little optimism among analysts. Not only has the falling price of oil weighed down the company's success – it is also going through a competition inquiry and faces a continuing crisis in the North Sea, where a large part of its [...]