George Osborne under fire for seven day current account switching service timidity November 25, 2014 George Osborne is expected to tweak the seven day current account switching scheme to iron out some of the wrinkles in the system, in his Autumn Statement next week. But the changes did not go nearly far enough to open up the market to competition, the Yorkshire Building Society said. And consumer group Which? also called [...]
Ditch the structural deficit: Why Osborne has struggled to hit this moving target November 24, 2014 FALL-OUT from the Autumn Statement next week is likely to focus heavily on the slowdown in deficit reduction. Borrowing has been £3.7bn higher this year so far compared with last, and it looks unlikely that George Osborne will hit his fiscal target for 2014-15. But the key number the media will focus on is the [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: What free marketeers want from George Osborne and what they’re likely to get November 24, 2014 With the Autumn Statement just a week away, George Osborne is already being inundated with suggestions on how to boost growth and cut the deficit. The CBI has already weighed in with its suggestions, including raising the threshold for employee National Insurance Contributions and cutting business rates. Britain's unemployment rate may have dropped like a [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: This is what the CBI wants George Osborne to deliver November 24, 2014 What will George Osborne get out of his red box when he delivers the Autumn Statement next week? The CBI got off the starting block early with its wishlist, asking for a range of measures to boost British business, including better infrastructure around Stonehenge and business rates reform. Here's what the group businesses wants to [...]
As public borrowing remains high, is Osborne’s failure to tackle the deficit a cause for concern? November 23, 2014 David Kern is chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, says Yes. October’s public finance figures have provided further evidence that the government’s plan to reduce Britain’s deficit in the current financial year is unlikely to be realised. It’s a major concern that the deficit has remained unsustainably large since the crisis, and progress [...]
George Osborne calls off challenge to EU bankers’ bonus cap November 20, 2014 The UK government has withdrawn its legal challenge to the EU bankers’ bonus cap, George Osborne admitted today. The chancellor admitted the challenge was “unlikely to succeed” after an advisor to the European Court of Justice rejected the UK government’s argument. The EU legislation limits bonuses to 100 per cent of a banker’s [...]
The European Court of Justice has dealt a blow to George Osborne’s banker bonus cap challenge November 20, 2014 The European court should reject George Osborne's challenge to the EU's cap on banker bonuses, according to one of its senior advisors. Niilo Jääskinen, an advocate general at the European Court of Justice's (ECJ), has said that all the UK’s pleas should be dismissed and that the action should be scrapped. He said that the [...]
Osborne waives VAT for Band Aid 30 November 17, 2014 GEORGE Osborne has promised to waive VAT on the latest Band Aid 30 charity single. The move means all of the money raised by the song, out today, will go to charity to tackle Ebola. Organiser Bob Geldof, who is working with artists like Ellie Goulding described the gesture as amazing.
How should George Osborne spend the £1.1bn forex fine? 38 Degrees launches “Nurses vs Bankers” NHS petition November 14, 2014 We had a go at suggesting a few ways George Osborne could spend the £1.1bn windfall from the fine the Financial Conduct Authority slapped on five banks for the parts they played in the forex scandal, and now it's the turn of campaigning organisation 38 Degrees. But where our ideas could have sent us into [...]
HMRC, FCA and PRA tell George Osborne they’ll work more closely together to share information at regular meetings after Banking Standards Review November 14, 2014 Financial regulators and HMRC have outlined plans to work more closely together in the wake of the government investigation into banking standards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will hold regular meetings with HMRC to better share information and expertise on “taxation, regulatory, prudential and consumer implications” that result from policy [...]