Obama brings firms’ tax simplification to campaign February 22, 2012 PRESIDENT Barack Obama launched a dialogue with US companies yesterday over business tax reform, offering his first clear plan to cut the corporate tax rate, though with little prospect of it becoming law in an election year. The President proposed cutting the top corporate tax rate to 28 per cent from 35 per cent. This [...]
Hungary faces EU budget punishment February 22, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) yesterday proposed suspending some of its payments to Hungary because it is not satisfied that the country is trying hard enough to bring down its budget deficit. Hungary is set to lose €495m (£418.26m) next year, representing 0.5 per cent of the country’s GDP and 29 per cent of its income [...]
PM to hit out at anti-business snobbery in UK February 22, 2012 PRIME Minister David Cameron will attack “anti-business snobbery” in a speech to the Business in the Community conference today. Business is “the most powerful force for social progress the world has ever known”, he is expected to say, just two days after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) accused some government policies and ministers of [...]
ECONOMICS | IN BRIEF February 22, 2012 IFS hits out at pension plan Changing employer pension schemes from the current “opt in” system to an auto-enrolment system will result in firms pushing up prices, reducing dividends and – mostly likely, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) believes – reducing wages. Making the switch between systems is a case of “bad timing” from [...]
Rexam plans personal care business sale February 22, 2012 EUROPE’S largest drinks can maker Rexam put its underperforming personal care business up for sale yesterday and said it would look to return cash to shareholders, sending its shares to their highest level in nearly four years. The British firm, which also reported full-year profits largely in line with expectations yesterday, said strength in its [...]
Rudd quits Australian government in PM bid February 22, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S top job could be about to change hands, after foreign minister and one-time leader Kevin Rudd quit his government post yesterday, saying he could no longer work with current Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Gillard last night said her Labor Party will hold a vote on Monday to decide its leadership – though Rudd has [...]
Heathrow slims losses at BAA February 22, 2012 HEATHROW airport passenger numbers rose five per cent to a record 69.4m last year, helping BAA to narrow its losses. The airport operator made a loss of £255.8m in the year to 31 December, compared with £316.6m the year before. The firm’s revenues rose 10 per cent on last year to £2.28bn, the firm said [...]
Hays boosts income as UK lags behind on fees February 22, 2012 SHARES in recruiter Hays got an eight per cent lift yesterday after it said its global net fee income had risen 11 per cent, despite a decline in its UK operations. Net fees grew by 11 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the six months to 31 December compared to same period in 2010, [...]
Rothschild-backed renewable energy group Tamar planning to raise £65m February 22, 2012 FINANCIER Jacob Rothschild’s London-listed RIT Capital Partners, Sainsbury and the Duchy of Cornwall are among a group of investors who plan to invest more than £65m in a clean technology start-up focused on producing energy from organic waste matter. The new company, Tamar Energy, will develop a network of around 44 anaerobic digestion plants to [...]
France Telecom dividend slashed on earnings drop February 22, 2012 FRANCE Telecom, the parent body of Orange UK, cut dividends for the next two years by almost 15 per cent as it continues to lose customers to low-cost rival Free Mobile. Full year net income attributable to equity owners dropped 20 per cent to €3.9bn as the group struggled in the face of Europe’s economic [...]
