A so-called mansion tax will not achieve fairness and the revenue gain will be modest March 6, 2012 LIBERAL Democrats are pushing for a mansion tax, in the form of an annual levy on houses worth over £2m. They claim this would raise significant funds for the Treasury, would “target” the super-rich and would be more economically efficient than taxing people’s incomes. It’s depressing that some consider it the function of the tax [...]
The US recovery wasn’t wrecked by massive cuts March 6, 2012 T HE ECONOMIC recovery in the United States is well underway. The trough of the recession was reached in the second quarter of 2009. Since then, real GDP has risen for ten successive quarters and now stands above its previous peak at the end of 2007. By any standards, the recession in America is over. [...]
The tax avoidance rule that favours cronyism March 6, 2012 WHAT may you do without being punished by the state? With 25,000 pages of new legislation every year, and many laws expressed in hopelessly vague language, no one can be sure. But there is a more straightforward reason we cannot know what will land us in trouble. The authorities might punish us even though we [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 6, 2012 Welfare despair [Re: War on Britain’s aspirational classes, yesterday] Britain is a welfare state where politicians build their careers stifling initiative, encouraging (or at least accepting) widespread benefit fraud and cutting traditional support networks like families and friendly societies. Why work in such a set-up? Changing this mindset would let us live fulfilled lives. I [...]
FX experts map out the direction for the dollar March 6, 2012 CMC MARKETS BRENDA KELLY When the US was downgraded from AAA to AA+ by Standard and Poor’s last summer, many believed that the safe haven status enjoyed by the dollar was coming to an end. This proved not to be. A look at the US 10-year Treasury indicates that level of demand – the yield, [...]
NORDICS MAY HAVE RUN THEIR COURSE March 6, 2012 FINANCIAL FEATURES WRITER JUST how long can the appreciation of the Nordic currencies last? When the Swiss National Bank (SNB) last year put in place measures to defend a floor in the euro-Swiss franc exchange rate, options for havens as the European debt crisis escalated were in short supply. For some, the Nordic currencies of [...]
THE TIPSTER March 6, 2012 THE dollar-yen pair has been on the tear since the start of February, climbing over 500 pips to hit highs not seen since May of 2011 around ¥81.84. The strong month-long trend line was broken though yesterday around ¥81.30 and it does look ripe for a correction. Look to sell any rebounds towards ¥81.40/50 with [...]
How the Fiat Panda became cool March 6, 2012 IN 1980, the original Fiat Panda was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro to be a small, cheap and cheerful, no frills utility vehicle. Clever innovations included a hammock-like rear seat that could be folded flat to make a bed or removed completely to generate van-like load space. Fiat has sold 6.5 million Pandas since then and [...]
CAR TALK March 6, 2012 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR J Lamborghini has just revealed the monstrously powerful 700hp Aventador J convertible at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The one-off two-seater has no windscreen and no roof to reduce weight, so the driver and passenger have to gear up like race drivers before heading off. The car is so low the rear view [...]
Vince Cable accuses government of ‘lacking vision’ March 6, 2012 Vince Cable has accused the government of lacking “a compelling vision of where the country is heading beyond sorting out the fiscal mess”. The business secretary also called for Royal Bank of Scotland to be split up, saying: “My suggestion is that we recognise that RBS will not return to the market in its current [...]
