Tax campaigners against Barclays are misinformed February 28, 2012 ON MONDAY, David Gauke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, told a stunned House of Commons that a bank had attempted to use a tax avoidance scheme to reduce its tax bill by £0.3bn. The government would act swiftly to close this loophole. As other banks are also understood to have used this dodge, it’s hoped [...]
There’s no logic behind the workfare proposal February 28, 2012 THE government has introduced a scheme that encourages people on the unemployment benefit to work at selected firms, such as Tesco. They are paid nothing but are alleged to benefit by gaining work experience. This is not slave labour, as some have alleged. No one is forced to do this unpaid work, not even as [...]
RAPID RESPONSES February 28, 2012 Damaged goods [Re: Don’t blame the Depression on the gold standard, yesterday] George Selgin writes that there can be no question of a credible government-backed gold standard without public confidence in governments’ monetary promises. But that also applies to government-sponsored paper money. The failure of both is a lesson that we should get governments out [...]
Lower volatility drives flows into higher yields February 28, 2012 AS a result of lower FX market volatility and high daily trading volumes, combined with rock-bottom dollar yields, traders have been driven into long risk positions in the hunt for gains. Higher-yielding Canadian and Aussie dollars and even the euro have been targets for trading on the risk trend. This trend was given another boost [...]
CONTINUING THE DOVISH BOE TREND February 28, 2012 UK BRANCH MANAGER, EASY-FOREX DESPITE signs of improvement for the UK economy, the pound traded at the month’s low versus the US dollar and a 10-week low versus the euro last week. A weaker pound was initially triggered after the release of the minutes for the Bank of England’s (BoE) February policy meeting. The minutes [...]
Rev it up baby: Bentley’s super-hot V8 February 28, 2012 THE engine sound reminds me of a church organ,” I say as I press and lift my right foot on the accelerator in Bentley’s latest Continental GT V8. What an intensely lovely and rich sound it is too. The engine serves up sonorous notes rising from the deepest rumble at low speeds, before swelling upwards [...]
CAR TALK February 28, 2012 RANGE ROVER GOES TOPLESS A Range Rover convertible. Well, why not? Here’s the forthcoming Evoque Convertible concept that will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show. Officially Land Rover is just exploring whether such a car would prove popular amongst car buyers, but I’d be astonished if it doesn’t build what would be the world’s [...]
Pearce and England set for acid test February 28, 2012 Interim boss and fringe players can take a step towards the Euros by impressing against Holland ENGLAND vs HOLLAND ENGLAND caretaker manager Stuart Pearce has urged his squad to cast aside the negativity surrounding the state of the national team and use tonight’s friendly against Holland to make concrete cases for Euro 2012 selection. Without [...]
Test axe cruel but it’s not the last we’ll see of Morgan February 28, 2012 ENGLAND’S selectors displayed a hitherto unseen ruthless streak yesterday when they announced Eoin Morgan had been axed from the Test squad that will tour Sri Lanka next month. Clearly Morgan struggled out in Abu Dhabi and Dubai against Pakistan’s spinners, averaging just over 13 from three Tests, but he was hardly alone there and considering [...]
Struggling Villa announce record losses of £54m February 28, 2012 ASTON VILLA risk falling foul of European Financial Fair Play rules after the Premier League side yesterday announced record annual losses of £54m. Villa confirmed the overall loss for the year up to 31 May 2011 represents a significant increase from £37.6m, but does not incorporate the £37m the club recouped in player sales following [...]
