Balls to restrict pension tax relief for wealthy September 24, 2013 SHADOW chancellor Ed Balls confirmed yesterday that a future Labour government would cut tax relief on pensions, reducing the refunds available to higher-income taxpayers. Balls’ speech on Monday said that removing tax relief for “the very highest earners” would save enough to pay for a compulsory jobs programme, which would apply to young and long-term [...]
Latest polls put Labour eight points ahead September 24, 2013 DESPITE a cold shoulder from business groups on plans for corporation tax, Ed Miliband’s Labour party still commands a sizeable lead in many polls. Yougov’s most recent poll, conducted between Sunday and Monday, found that Labour have an eight-percentage point lead, scooping up a full 40 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservatives lag [...]
Riverstone aims to raise £1.5bn in energy float September 24, 2013 PRIVATE equity firm Riverstone Holdings yesterday said it is planning to float a new energy investment vehicle, Riverstone Energy, on the London Stock Exchange, in an initial public offering to raise up to £1.5bn. Lord Browne, former boss of oil major BP, is a partner at Riverstone Holdings and will take a board seat at [...]
JP Morgan looks to settle with US authorities September 24, 2013 JP MORGAN Chase, facing several investigations into its mortgage practices, is seeking a global settlement with US authorities in multiple jurisdictions, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. Negotiations have resumed with the US department of justice after federal prosecutors in California delayed a plan to file a lawsuit. The settlement would cover probes [...]
Waitrose and discounters thriving September 24, 2013 DISCOUNT supermarket Aldi saw year-on-year sales growth of a record 32.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 15 September, according to new industry data, as upmarket rival Waitrose also upped market share. Waitrose achieved growth of 9.7 per cent year-on-year, Kantar Worldpanel said, well above market growth of 4.2 per cent. But Tesco, which [...]
Twitter leans toward NYSE September 24, 2013 TWITTER is leaning towards picking the New York Stock Exchange over Nasdaq for its highly-anticipated initial public offering, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. A report earlier said Twitter had already chosen the NYSE, but sources close to the exchanges believe Twitter is yet to make its mind up. Big Board parent NYSE [...]
ICAP deal on probe looms September 24, 2013 ICAP may pay less than $100m (£62m) to settle a civil probe into the broker-dealer’s alleged role in manipulation of a key interest rate, according to people familiar with settlement talks. The agreement could come as soon as today, according to the Wall Street Journal. It would be the fourth in an investigation into the [...]
Ebay and Argos to trial click and collect service September 24, 2013 ONLINE auction giant Ebay announced yesterday that it has entered into a national trial with Argos to let customers pick up goods bought on Ebay in Argos stores. The collection service will initially be trialled at 150 Argos stores for six months and will include goods bought from 50 of Ebay’s sellers. Ebay did not [...]
Bottom Line: Forty-year-old retailer is true pioneer in age of the internet September 24, 2013 WE DON’T think retail is dead. It is just being repositioned.” So said Ebay president Devin Wenig yesterday, as the US auction giant launched a tie-up with Argos that will see some of the latter’s 700 stores used as drop-off points for deliveries from 50 Ebay sellers. Once again the catalogue firm – founded in [...]
Amazon ready for busy Xmas September 24, 2013 ONLINE giant Amazon said yesterday it plans to hire 15,000 seasonal staff across its UK fulfilment and customer service centres, as it gears up to meet demand this Christmas. Last year the group hired 10,000 temporary staff across its eight UK warehouses and Edinburgh call centre, offering permanent roles to 1,000 of the staff at [...]
