It’s not them, it’s you: It’s easier than you think to stop feeling like you are managing a bunch of kids March 17, 2016 “Why does everything end up on my desk?” “Nobody shows any initiative – it’s like managing a bunch of children.” Are these familiar thoughts? Do you find people don’t understand you? Are you frustrated that they don’t do what you want and what your business needs? What causes your organisation either to be a great one, [...]
Mortgage borrowing rises in January as landlords race for stamp duty deadline March 17, 2016 Would-be landlords made a mad dash to secure mortgages in January as new rules on stamp duty for buy-to-let homes loomed, new figures show. Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows landlords borrowed £3.7bn in January, up nine per cent from the month before – but a whopping 42 per cent year on year. New [...]
Here’s the definitive ranking of all the things we hate most about the Tube March 17, 2016 From having your nose stuck in a fellow commuter's armpit to enduring the mastications of someone who thinks it's ok to scoff a burger, we're all familiar with the day-to-day, er, challenges of Tube travel. Now hotelier Millennium has commissioned YouGov to work out what we hate the most about the London Underground – and the figures, [...]
FTSE 100 opens higher as Brent crude oil price rallies March 17, 2016 Markets opened cautiously higher this morning, as investors cheered a decision by the Federal Reserve's Open Markets Committee to hold interest rates – and oil rallied. The FTSE 100 crept up 0.62 per cent, to 6,212 points, pushed up by miners again. Anglo American jumped 9.8 per cent to 541.1p, while Glencore rose 7.6 per cent to 155.4p [...]
Battersea Power Station unveils the first “local, artisanal” tenants at its Circus West retail development March 17, 2016 Battersea Power Station has unveiled the first of the tenants for its Circus West retail development – and there's a decidedly olde worlde feel about them. The team behind the giant development, which will eventually include thousands of homes, shops and offices – as well as leisure space and parkland – said each of the [...]
Budget 2016: With the new Lifetime Isa, George Osborne is risking creating a spaghetti soup of Isa products March 16, 2016 All the talk before the Budget was about making pensions simpler. Despite noble intentions, what George Osborne has actually done is make Isas more complex. Don’t get me wrong. The Lifetime Isa and, in particular, the increase in the main Isa allowance to £20,000 are positive developments for UK savers. However, there is a danger [...]
Here’s what the new Nine Elms Tube station will look like March 16, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled its design for Nine Elms Tube station, which will open when the Northern Line extension is completed in 2020. In a statement today it said it had been given planning permission for 332 homes over the station, as well as 5,332 sq m of office space, 902 sq m of [...]
Budget 2016: From savers to landlords and commuters, here are the winners and losers from George Osborne’s “sugar tax” Budget – and how it will affect you March 16, 2016 Today's big speech has already become known as the "sugar tax" Budget, after George Osborne announced a surprise levy on fizzy drinks. But sugar addicts weren't the only losers from today's Budget: landlords were also hit, after the chancellor decided not to apply a fall in capital gains tax to them – while children are faced [...]
Budget 2016: Here are the reactions to Osborne’s announcements on sugar tax, corporation tax, Insurance Premium Tax, Isas, education and growth prospects March 16, 2016 George Osborne has just announced some Budget surprises – a sugar tax, longer school days – as well as an increase in sin taxes on tobacco, alterations to ISAs and savings, and corporation taxes. Here's what analysts are already saying about the chancellor's latest agenda on… Personal allowance David Kilshaw, private clients services partner, EY [...]
Budget 2016: Ouch. George Osborne cuts capital gains tax – but landlords and buy-to-let investors lose out March 16, 2016 George Osborne has cut capital gains tax during his Budget speech in parliament – but landlords will lose out. The chancellor said the higher rate of the tax, which applies to capital gains on most assets, will fall to 20 per cent, from 28 per cent now, while the basic rate falling to 10 per cent, from [...]
