Archbishop of Canterbury to lead effort to tackle £400m Wonga bill September 15, 2018 The archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is to lead an effort to pay for the £400m loan bill left by Wonga after the payday loan provider collapsed last month. The Guardian reported that Welby will meet investors and charitable foundations at Lambeth Palace next week to co-ordinate an effort to rescue around 200,000 customers who are faced [...]
Church of England will keep Amazon shares despite Archbishop criticism September 14, 2018 The Church of England will hold onto its Amazon stock even after the Archbishop of Canterbury accused the online retail behemoth of “leeching off the taxpayer”. Church commissioners disclosed that Amazon was one of the CoE’s 20 most valuable equity holdings in their annual 2017 report. But they will keep hold of their shares despite [...]
Editor’s notes: A Cornish hero on 9/11, vegans up the creek with no Padella, and policy is for the many, not the pew September 14, 2018 Everyone remembers where they were when they heard about the 9/11 attacks. For many City workers, the event remains a trauma. Michael Spencer, who had hundreds of staff in the World Trade Center, still turns pale when recalling how he sat in London, watching the news footage, trying to get through on the phones. Remarkably, [...]
Bank of England boss Mark Carney warns house prices could fall by a third in a no-deal Brexit September 13, 2018 The governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney said house prices could crash 35 per cent over three years in the event of a no-deal Brexit in a briefing to cabinet today. Carney said if the UK crashed out of the European Union without a deal, a sharp rise in mortgage rates could torpedo [...]
Princesses, stamp duty and the rising tide of indoor swimming pools: The Billionaires’ Row estate agent talks to City A.M. about the changing times on London’s priciest street September 13, 2018 If anywhere is on the front line in the current struggle to sell London’s high-end property, it is The Bishops Avenue, the fabled Billionaires’ Row just north of Hampstead Heath; and if anyone is leading the fight, it is Trevor Abrahmsohn, the area’s legendary estate agent. Through his Glentree agency, Abrahmsohn has over the years [...]
How the UK’s regulatory framework protects P2P investors December 7, 2017 | Sponsored The peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market was established in 2005, when Zopa became the first platform to connect individual lenders directly with borrowers. Since then, the market has evolved rapidly, as have the regulations underpinning investor protection – and this looks set to continue. In the UK, the sector has been overseen by the [...]
Bank surcharge could increase tax take from lenders to “far more than double” Treasury’s forecast September 7, 2015 Accountancy giant EY added its voice to the chorus of those speaking out against the government's new bank surcharge, warning that under the new rules the tax take from the banking sector could be double what the Treasury has forecast – and retail banks could be the ones hit hardest. Under plans for the surcharge, [...]
Institute of Directors: Let’s make it easier to invest in startups by simplifying tax relief September 7, 2015 A leading business group has called on the government to simplify existing tax relief schemes in order to boost entrepreneurship. In a new report out this week, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has argued that the full potential of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is “not fully being realised”. [...]
Chancellor George Osborne’s bank tax comes under attack from Labour and SNP September 6, 2015 Small challenger banks and building societies will receive a boost if Labour and the SNP are successful in their attempt to amend Osborne's new bank tax. In his budget this year, the chancellor announced plans to replace the increasingly unpopular bank levy with an eight per cent surcharge on profits for banks of all [...]
Drinkers pay net tax of £7bn: It’s time to stop pretending they’re a burden on taxpayers September 2, 2015 Teetotallers should raise a glass of sparkling water to Britain’s drinkers, who are subsidising the Treasury to the tune of £6.5bn a year according to a think tank. Revenues from alcohol taxes amount to over £10bn, according to official figures crunched by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The contribution of drinkers to [...]