Pre-budget tax rises are likely to hit City workers November 24, 2009 WE HAVE all become accustomed to woe-filled stories about the economy. Last week’s headlines included news of a budget deficit of over £11bn for the month, or £87bn in the fiscal year to date. Attempts to bridge the gap through better enforcement of existing tax laws may not be helping – rumours suggest that HM [...]
Dyson’s kids clean up cash November 8, 2009 SIR James Dyson, the man who pioneered the bagless vacuum cleaner, has given £45m of his fortune to his three children. Each of the Dyson offspring, all in their thirties, have received £15m from a shares deal, according to documents filed at Companies House. The Dyson company bought back shares for £150m in February 2008 [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 8, 2009 Jones Lang LaSalleJones Lang LaSalle’s Sustainability Services team has appointed Erin Karsten as EMEA technical sustainability consultant. Karsten was formerly a senior programme manager with the firm. Her new role will involve developing delivery of Downstream services and will act as a single point of contact for the region. The role will also involve working [...]
Widows sales are a drag on Lloyds results November 3, 2009 SCOTTISH Widows, the insurance and pensions arm of Lloyds Banking Group, yesterday said sales slumped over the first three quarters of 2009 as customers shunned its products. In an interim statement timed to coincide with official confirmation of its exit from the government’s asset protection scheme and the launch of a £21bn capital raising programme, [...]
Sun, sea and Arabian Delights November 1, 2009 THERE are many parts of the world about which I am pessimistic but Dubai, despite its recent economic woes, is not one of them. Nobody else in the Middle East has pulled off what Dubai has achieved: a peaceful, capitalist, multi-ethnic state based on commerce, property, finance, entertainment and tourism. While it has been engulfed [...]
Why Britain’s recession is lasting longer than others October 29, 2009 YESTERDAY’S US GDP figures were very good news for the world economy. The US has followed France, Germany, Japan and most other major economies out of recession. Britain now stands out as the laggard. The Prime Minister’s claim that we were “best placed” now lies in tatters, and his recession plan has patently failed. Why [...]
Nomura stays in black over its first half October 28, 2009 JAPANESE bank Nomura yesterday said it had remained in the black for a second successive quarter, boosted by strong trading volumes and robust sales of investment trusts. Though the bank’s investment banking division posted a pre-tax loss of 9.7bn yen (£64.3m), echoing weak performances from rival divisions across the Wall Street banking giants over the [...]
Osborne gets it wrong on cash bonuses October 26, 2009 AS bizarre policies go, the Tories’ latest thinking on bank bonuses takes some beating. For this year only, Britain’s commercial banks will not be allowed to pay more than a trivial bonus in cash – but they will be able to pay as many millions as they want in shares. The rule will only apply [...]
Slump in tax receipts proof of deep crisis October 25, 2009 THE quality of Britain’s official statistics isn’t as bad as it used to be. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the 0.4 per cent decline in GDP reported on Friday is eventually revised upwards – time and again, the Office for National Statistics has rewritten economic history, sometimes radically, with the benefit of hindsight. There [...]
Windfall taxes cannot be the answer October 18, 2009 IF TAX policy were determined by referenda, London’s financial institutions would be in even greater trouble than they already are. I was a guest on James Max’s LBC radio show yesterday and it was soon clear that the overwhelming majority of callers hate banks with a passion. My own position, which is that it would [...]