Is George Osborne right to prioritise a quick sale of the government’s stake in RBS? June 11, 2015 Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, says Yes With the current stock market offering reasonable value and conditions, and because the market price was not expected to rise significantly before any action was taken, George Osborne is right to take the decision to prioritise the sell-off the state’s stake in RBS. The [...]
First Minister’s Questions: Scottish government brands Osborne’s budget cuts “unacceptable” June 11, 2015 John Swinney, deputy first minister of Scotland, has said that austerity measures proposed by George Osborne are "utterly unacceptable". Mr Swinney said that he believes the chancellor's budget reductions are unacceptable, urging Osborne to reconsider and find alternatives. Earlier, George Osborne announced that £3bn of savings would have to be made for this financial year. [...]
Mansion House speech: George Osborne kicks starts £60bn sell-off with RBS stake June 10, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne last night kicked off a £60bn sale of state-owned financial assets, announcing he will sell a stake in bailed-out bank RBS in the coming months. The enormous wave of privatisations includes the sale of a remaining £11.5bn holding in Lloyds, while bidders including Goldman Sachs compete to buy £13bn of mortgage assets [...]
George Osborne’s great government sell-off: Taxpayers risk getting burnt as sun may yet shine on RBS June 10, 2015 So after almost seven years, the moment has arrived. The symbolic importance of George Osborne’s announcement last night that the Treasury is to begin selling Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shares at a loss is hard to overstate. “I’m not interested in what is easy – I’m interested in what is right,” he told [...]
We can have sustainable debt without Osborne’s inflexible new surplus rule June 10, 2015 Last night, in a speech at Mansion House, George Osborne set out his vision for UK fiscal policy. “In normal times,” he said, “governments of the left as well as the right should run a budget surplus to bear down on debt and prepare for an uncertain future.” This will be cemented with a new [...]
Mansion House Speeches 2015: What do the analysts think? June 10, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney have both said their parts at the annual Mansion House speeches, but what do the analysts think? New Budget surplus rule John Cridland, director-general at CBI, says the budget plan will be good for businesses: Business wants the Government to aim for an absolute [...]
Mansion House Speech 2015: Chancellor George Osborne will start government RBS sell off as soon as possible June 10, 2015 In his annual Mansion House Speech this evening, chancellor George Osborne announced that the government will begin to sell off its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), even is it is at a loss. He said a “decision point” had been reached, and that it was in the interest of taxpayers to [...]
Business sounds alarm over Osborne’s “fiscal straightjacket” June 10, 2015 A respected business body has criticised the Tories' plans for strict fiscal rules – expected to be unveiled at the Chancellor's Mansion House speech later today – saying "no government should put itself in a fiscal straitjacket". Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will use his major speech to the City to introduce a new law [...]
George Osborne to mandate government budget surplus in the “good times” – but when was the last budget surplus? June 10, 2015 George Osborne will say tonight that he intends to force future governments to run a budget surplus in order to "prepare for an uncertain future". In a major speech in the City of London tonight, the chancellor will announce that he will enshrine in law the need for future governments to run an overall budget [...]
HSBC lays down the gauntlet to George Osborne on bank levy as it mulls exit from UK June 9, 2015 HSBC moved a step closer to leaving the UK yesterday, piling pressure on chancellor George Osborne to take action to persuade the bank to stay. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver set out details of HSBC’s review of the location of its headquarters, looking at 11 different criteria, including taxes, the government’s attitude to finance, and [...]