George Osborne cuts corporation tax – but OBR downgrades UK growth forecast as he warns “storm clouds are gathering” March 16, 2016 George Osborne has warned of "storm clouds gathering" in a wide-ranging Budget speech in which he cut growth expectations, but delivered a sop to the UK's firms by cutting corporation tax again. During his Budget speech in parliament today, he reduced corporation tax to 17 per cent, the second such cut in less than a year. "Britain is [...]
The most ironic thing likely to happen in today’s Budget? The Money Advice Service could be scrapped because it doesn’t provide value for money March 16, 2016 We've been told today's Budget is going to be aimed at the young – but we didn't realise it would be so… steeped in irony. But it's emerged the chancellor is set to make an announcement so, like, totally ironic, it could have come straight out of the playbook of the most tattooed of Shoreditch's natives. Yep: according [...]
How to get a job in banking or finance: LSE, Oxbridge and Cass – these are the universities most finance workers attended March 16, 2016 Finance may be one of the UK's biggest employers – but getting a job in the sector isn't always a straightforward process. But new data from LinkedIn, seen exclusively by City A.M., shows some universities crop up more often than others on finance sector workers' profiles – suggesting if you want to get into the [...]
Play along to Budget 2016 with interactive George Osborne buzzword bingo! March 16, 2016 Roll up, roll up – it’s the event we’ve all been waiting for. Chancellor George Osborne stands up to deliver his eighth Budget today. Bored of hearing the same phrases over and over? Now you can inject a bit of excitement, by roping in your friends and colleagues and playing Budget bingo at home. How to [...]
FTSE 100 edges up ahead of Budget and Fed meeting – but pound falls for the third day in a row March 16, 2016 Calloo, callay, it's Budget day – but equities investors kicked the day's trading off on a cautious note, ahead of George Osborne's big reveal, as well as a crucial meeting of the Federal Reserve later today. The FTSE 100 edged up 0.4 per cent to 6,166 points in early trading, pushed up by miners including [...]
UK house prices: Stamp duty – unless we’re still at war with France, it should go March 14, 2016 Stamp duty was originally introduced as a temporary tax in 1694 by a weird coalition of Dutch and British Monarchs, to maintain the war against their French foes. The duty then lay in the background until 1997, when Gordon Brown‘s first act as chancellor was to resurrect it. Brown’s master plan was to impose a [...]
International Women’s Day 2016: Women’s achievements should be celebrated every day March 14, 2016 Last week, there was an incredible buzz around International Women’s Day – which is important to both provide a platform to celebrate the achievements of women globally, and draw attention to the gender issues we face. At Inspiring Fifty we joined in the celebration by releasing our annual list of the top 50 most inspirational [...]
London office rents may be high – but there’s still plenty of fuel in the tank for growth as businesses look outside the centre March 14, 2016 Central London’s property market has been booming now for half a decade. Values and rents for the capital’s offices have risen steadily, by 88 per cent and 44 per cent respectively between April 2010 and January 2016, and those investing in the market have enjoyed total returns of 140 per cent over the same period. As ever, many [...]
London house prices: The average renter in the capital is now paying more than asking price for their home March 14, 2016 Renters in the capital are now paying above the original asking price of their homes, new research has found – with the average tenant paying 100.9 per cent of what was originally asked. Countryside's monthly lettings index found Londoners were paying an average of £1,309 a month in the year to February, up from £1,295 the month [...]
Budget 2016: Over-50s hit by 22 per cent rise in car insurance premiums – as George Osborne prepares to hike insurance tax again March 14, 2016 The over-50s have been hit by a 22 per cent rise in car insurance premiums since October 2013, new research has revealed – just as George Osborne is getting ready to hike tax on insurance policies again. To be fair, the figures, by market researcher Consumer Intelligence, found the over-50s still pay the lowest insurance premiums, shelling [...]
