Small budget surplus in January, say economists February 20, 2012 GOVERNMENT finances are expected to show a surplus when January’s figures are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tomorrow. The month typically sees large receipts as self-assessment income tax payments are made – January of 2011 registered a budget surplus of £5.175bn, for example, and was one of only two months without a [...]
WAS THE PUBLIC PURSE IN GOOD SHAPE LAST MONTH? February 20, 2012 VICKY REDWOOD | CAPITAL ECON January is the biggest month for tax receipts, which have recently been a bit disappointing. Accordingly, we expect a slightly smaller public sector surplus than last year, of around £4bn. But there is uncertainty as this will be the first time that January’s self assessment receipts are affected by the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 20, 2012 Rowanmoor Pensions Rowanmoor Pensions, the independent small self-administered scheme provider and self-invested personal pensions operator, has appointed Martin Stead as a regulated consultant in its consultancy team. Stead joins from AXA Wealth, where he was a financial planning manager in the company’s Bancassurance division. Prior to AXA Wealth, Stead was a corporate relationship manager at [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD February 20, 2012 Today At this morning’s results for Bluetooth technology firm CSR, investors will be looking at how much value the company’s acquisition of peer Zoran in August last year brings. CSR is guiding that revenue for the first quarter will be between $230m and $250m (£145m and £158m), but analysts have a more cautious forecast of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 20, 2012 SCHRODERS Citi downgrades the asset manager from neutral to “sell” and increases its target price on the stock to £13.70 from £13.10, after a year-to-date rally of 18 per cent in the value of its shares. The broker says that Schroders – and fund managers in general – need to see near-term fund flow recovery [...]
Israel – a national hub of intense innovation February 20, 2012 WHAT INSPIRED STARTUP NATION? Israel has more startups than anywhere outside of Silicon Valley. It has two and a half times as much venture capital per capita as the US – 30 times as much as Europe. We realised it was a matter of culture and history, that there is a lesson about the nature [...]
A SELECTION OF LONDON’S START-UP HUBS February 20, 2012 TECH HUB Contact: info@techhub.com / @TechHub Locations: Old Street, London and Riga (Prague is due to open in May). Membership costs: £275 (monthly) for resident membership, or £375 (annual). Both include member-only events and up-to-date member network news (and more). Description: TechHub is “not just an office space.” Instead, “it’s a community hub for the [...]
The environment is vital for sowing start-up seeds February 20, 2012 Features Writer City A.M. IDEAS matter. H.G. Wells was onto something when he wrote: “Human history is, in essence, a history of ideas.” But they don’t happen in a vacuum – external factors to the individual entrepreneur establish what ideas and businesses are likely to arise. Interviewing Saul Singer (see article left) – author of [...]
Keir wins £100m nuclear contract February 20, 2012 British construction group Kier has won a £100m contract from France’s EDF to prepare the ground for construction of a new nuclear power station in the west of England. Kier said in a statement on Monday that the contract to carry out site works for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is due [...]
The EU’s proposed Tobin tax will raid pension funds. But not in France and Germany February 20, 2012 TAX pension savings now! Not a slogan you are likely to see emblazoned on banners in the Occupy the City demonstration outside St Paul’s or even on the lips of European commissioners, but that is precisely what is being proposed with the EU’s Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). Worse yet, not all EU citizens will face [...]
