Internet killed the video store November 28, 2013 BLOCKBUSTER headed closer to a tear-jerking conclusion yesterday, after its administrators shut a further 30 stores and said there were no acceptable rescue bids on the table. Moorfields Corporate Recovery will start to close the remaining 150 branches, though it will keep looking for a buyer.
Net migration climbs as fewer people exit UK November 28, 2013 THE NUMBER of people leaving the UK to live in other countries has reached the lowest level in over a decade, driving increases in net migration upward again. The rise in net migration had slowed since 2011, but rose in the year to the end of June, up by 182,000. In the year to the end [...]
Spreadbetters fight back over new tax claims November 28, 2013 SPREAD betting firms fought back yesterday after the Treasury said it would discuss the tax exemption of spread betting following concerns raised in the House of Lords. Labour peer Lord Eatwell accused spread betting of being “a really extraordinary form of tax avoidance within the financial services industry”. As a result, Lord Newby, the Treasury [...]
Analysts look to Osborne speech for giveaways November 28, 2013 UK ECONOMISTS laid out the possibilities for chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn statement yesterday, with less than a week to go until his speech. Capital Economics, PwC, BDO and IHS Global Insight issued their own expectations for the announcement, which will set the course for the government’s economic policies in the months ahead. Most expect the coalition [...]
Europe’s banks told they have €280bn hole November 28, 2013 EUROPE’S banks have a capital hole of €280bn (£233bn) and will have to issue €180bn in new equity to plug the gap, analysts at PwC estimated yesterday. The tide of new rules and clarifications around capital requirements, leverage rules and risk weightings is expected to push the requirements to the top of lenders’ agendas. And [...]
Low cap on workplace pension fees will hurt small businesses November 28, 2013 A LEADING pensions provider has called on the government to cap management fees on workplace pensions at 0.5 per cent, in a move out of step with the wider industry. Legal & General made the comments as part of a consultation into pension fees, which ended yesterday. “These look like tiny slivers of money, fractions [...]
Student debt of £5bn unaccounted for as government loses track November 28, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is not doing enough to ensure student loans are repaid, the National Audit Office has warned. Around 368,000 students are unaccounted for by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the spending watchdog has discovered. They collectively owe more than £5bn and may be unemployed or overseas. The NAO reports that 14,000 students are [...]
BDO revenues surge after its tie-up with PKF November 28, 2013 ACCOUNTANCY group BDO posted a 10 per cent rise in revenues today as last year’s merger with PKF has helped to swell the company’s client list. The firm, which works with mid-market corporate clients, said turnover in the year to July was £312m, while underlying profits rose six per cent to £55m. Average profit per [...]
Marston’s sells off 200 pubs to New River Retail as profits grow November 28, 2013 PUB AND and brewing company Marston’s said yesterday it will sell 202 pubs to property group New River Retail for £90m as part of efforts to reduce debt and help pay for its new pub-restaurants. Marston’s, which has 2,100 pubs in the UK, said it was trying to shift from pubs focused on drinking to pubs [...]
New report hits out at costly green scheme November 28, 2013 THE DEBATE into the UK’s green plans flared up yesterday as a new report claimed that an energy efficiency scheme is set to waste £610m unless reforms are made. Research by energy consultants EUM called for reform to the Energy Companies Obligation (Eco), a government energy-saving initiative that mandates firms to insulate their poorest customers’ [...]
