Ronaldo accepts €19m fine over tax evasion case January 22, 2019 Cristiano Ronaldo has been slapped with a €19m (£16.6m) fine after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges in a Spanish court. The football superstar’s court appearance, which lasted for only several minutes, ended with a settlement of an €18.8m fine and suspended 23-month prison sentence for Ronaldo. Spain’s legal system often allows for sentences under two years [...]
Pets at Home share price jumps after posting Christmas sales bounce January 22, 2019 Pets at Home’s share price has jumped more than 11 per cent this afternoon after the firm looked to reassure investors that its restructuring was on track, although it warned of potential stockpiling ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU. The figures In a trading update for the 12 week period from 12 October [...]
Public trust in Putin falls to new low as disposable income falls, new figures show January 21, 2019 Public trust in President Vladimir Putin has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years as Russians contend with new taxes and a sluggish economy. Confidence in Putin fell to 33.4 per cent last week, down more than 30 percentage points since its high in 2015 after the annexation of Crimea, according to state-owned polling [...]
Just Eat boss quits in unexpected resignation January 21, 2019 Just Eat chief executive Peter Plumb is to step down from his role at the British takeaway ordering website with immediate effect, the firm revealed this morning. In an unexpected announcement Just Eat said that Plumb is to be replaced after 16 months at the helm on an interim basis by current chief customer officer Peter Duffy [...]
EU digital tax could be agreed by March, says French finance minister Bruno Le Maire January 20, 2019 The European Union could reach an agreement on details of a digital tax by the end of March, the French finance minister has said. Talks among EU ministers aimed at aligning the taxation of online businesses broke down in December. A number of smaller member states, including Ireland, Sweden and Denmark, opposed the plan and [...]
Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley on Brexit, buildings and bonus backlashes January 16, 2019 Tony Pidgley is a staunch defender of his trade, as you would expect Britain’s best-known housebuilder to be. So it comes as something of a surprise when, asked about the huge row that hit his sector last year when fellow housing boss Jeff Fairburn took a £75m bonus, he does not come down on Fairburn’s [...]
Parent trap: the child benefits system has ended up punishing the very people it was designed to protect January 16, 2019 For high-flying parents who earn more than £50,000 a year, the child benefit system will seem ridiculous. You go through the effort of applying for the benefits (over the course of a year, this amounts to £1,000 for the first child, and £700 for each additional child), only for the money to be clawed back [...]
Games Workshop enjoys record year as business remains ‘in great shape’ January 15, 2019 Miniature wargaming manufacturer Games Workshop struck a positive tone this morning after posting record sales, despite a slowdown in growth during the half-year to December. The figures Sales in the six months to 2 December 2018 hit £125m, rising from £110m during the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, operating and pre-tax profits rose from £38.1m [...]
Eager for a house price fall? It’s time for a lesson in economics January 15, 2019 Would it be a good thing if house prices in the UK fell? The British public, a host of commentators on Twitter, and even some economists seem to think so. A recent YouGov poll asked Britons whether a 30 per cent fall in property values after Brexit would be a “bad thing”. Just 32 per [...]
Revolution Bars suffers share price drop in wake of profit warning January 14, 2019 Cocktail group Revolution Bars saw its share price dive this morning as it became the latest UK retailer to issue a stark profit warning, in spite of a Christmas boost for the business. Shares in early morning trading plummeted 17 per cent as the Manchester-based group warned of an expected 20 per cent drop in its [...]