Top tax rate to be cut to 45p March 21, 2012 Chancellor George Osborne announced that the top rate of tax would be cut from 50p to 45p from April next year, in his Budget speech. He said the rate – for those earning over £150,000 a year – is the highest in the G20 and “it is widely acknowledged as harming the British economy.” The [...]
FTSE buoyed by retailers as investors eye Budget March 21, 2012 THE FTSE 100 headed up in early trading as retailers regained some momentum while investors were turning their attention to the Chancellor’s budget speech. George Osborne is expected to rejig taxes while seeking to keep his austerity plan on track. However figures showing that that public sector net borrowing hit a record for February cast [...]
Government borrowing rises March 21, 2012 The government borrowed almost twice as much as expected in February, official data showed. With Britain’s triple-A rating now under warning from credit ratings agencies, the government must convince markets that it will stick to its ambitious deficit-reduction plan and stand up to calls to ease back on the pace of cuts. The Office for [...]
Ted Baker sales soar March 21, 2012 British designer clothing brand Ted Baker reported a surge in retail sales and said it planned more international store openings in North America and Asia in 2012 to tap into growing consumer demand. Ted Baker, which started as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1987, reported a 14 per cent rise in retail sales, with [...]
Lloyds raises £170m through new share issue March 21, 2012 Part-nationalised bank Lloyds has raised £170m through a new share issue to raise capital. Lloyds, which is partly owned by the British government after a state bailout in 2008, said it had issued 479.3m new shares at a subscription price of 35.47 pence per share. The company said at the time of its annual results [...]
Game suspends trading March 21, 2012 Struggling British video games retailer Game has asked for trading of its shares in London to be suspended after announcing that it believes there is no equity value left in the group. Game, which trades from about 1,270 stores in nine European markets and Australia, employing 10,000, said on Wednesday it had made the decision [...]
Sainsbury’s sales and market share rise March 21, 2012 J Sainsbury, Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group, beat forecasts for fourth quarter sales growth as it won market share from rivals. “We continue to outperform the market and gain market share,” said chief executive Justin King. He said although the economic climate was likely to remain challenging Britain’s roster of summer events, including celebrations to mark [...]
Stamp duty hike to 7pc for £2m homes March 20, 2012 GEORGE Osborne will today launch a new tax raid on Britain’s wealthiest property owners by raising the level of stamp duty on the priciest homes. He will use his third Budget to increase the stamp duty payable on property transactions worth more than £2m, in a move that stops short of an annual “mansion tax” [...]
Bank: low rates keep dud firms on life support March 20, 2012 HISTORICALLY low interest rates have delayed the rebalancing of the economy by keeping troubled firms afloat, the Bank of England’s chief economist warned last night. In an unusual warning of the downside risks of ultra-loose monetary policy by a Bank official, Spencer Dale said Threadneedle Street’s stance could have “slowed the reallocation of capital and labour [...]
China worry rocks market March 20, 2012 FRESH concerns about a slowdown in China’s economy yesterday sent a shudder through global markets, including the oil trade, which saw the price of crude drop at its sharpest level in two weeks. China yesterday hiked its retail fuel prices for the second time in six weeks, sparking fears of lower demand from the world’s [...]