Dow and S&P fall ahead of Fed statement – New York Report March 17, 2015 THE DOW and S&P 500 fell yesterday as commodity-related shares declined and nervousness increased ahead of a Federal Reserve statement, while the Nasdaq ended higher. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128.34 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 17,849.08, the S&P 500 lost 6.99 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,074.2 and the Nasdaq Composite [...]
Buy-to-let: It’s not all about capital growth March 17, 2015 The stability of rents against average incomes makes for an attractive proposition. The UK – and London in particular – has been the beneficiary of large inflows of global capital into property in the last few years. While most of these funds have flowed into commercial real estate, a growing proportion is being directed into [...]
Multi-asset: Why the case for these funds is growing – Investment Comment March 17, 2015 With pension freedoms arriving next month, today’s retirees have serious and complex decisions to make about their financial futures, over which they now have unprecedented control. Investors who may once have bought an annuity will now need to carefully manage risk to prevent against the potential loss of future wealth, while accessing competitive returns to [...]
Budget 2015: We need a second wave of the consumer revolution to restore faith in capitalism March 17, 2015 Today, the chancellor presents his last Budget before the General Election. With limited room for tax giveaways, and a need to show that the Tories are on the side of the “little guy”, it’s time for the second wave of the British competition revolution – to arm consumers to take on big business. Ed Miliband’s [...]
Budget 2015: It’s George Osborne’s narrative that counts, not the details March 17, 2015 All eyes will be on George Osborne’s Budget today. An immense amount of media attention and serious commentary will be devoted to it. But do Budgets really matter? How much difference would it make if successive chancellors simply did nothing, apart from indexing various allowances and benefits in line with inflation? From time immemorial, British [...]
Why Tory plans to reform Inheritance Tax will make a bad system even worse March 17, 2015 WHENEVER we approach a General Election or Budget, the competition for the daftest tax policy idea is always intense. The current front-runner is probably the proposal to largely exempt houses from Inheritance Tax. Some Conservatives are currently pushing plans to increase the amount of an estate which will be exempt from Inheritance Tax by the [...]
As the chancellor delivers the Budget today, could it be an election-winner for the Tories? March 17, 2015 Charles Lewington, managing director of Hanover Communications, says Yes The Budget will be rich in positive news – the deficit halved as a proportion of GDP, more people in work than ever, and improved economic growth. But don’t expect an immediate shift in Tory polling numbers. Changes to personal tax allowances and welfare caps will [...]
Your cultural guide for spring 2015: Must-see theatre, film, music and visual arts events March 17, 2015 We pick out the must-see theatre, film, music and visual arts events that you just can’t miss, even if the heat wave arrives. FILM ANT-MAN 17 July Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish may have jumped ship, but there’s still plenty to look forward to with the upcoming release of Ant-Man. Paul Rudd leads [...]
Why Engawa is an unusually well thought-out restaurant March 17, 2015 In Japan, the fax machine is still king of the office. While the western hemisphere abandoned it at the first whiff of email, the Japanese persevered, appreciating the personal touch that comes from a hand-written note, even if that note has been broken down into a series of blips and hisses and reassembled somewhere far [...]
The latest gimmick (or the next big thing): Cheese and coffee March 17, 2015 How does a new restaurant make its mark on a London foodie scene already reaching saturation point? There’s the old fashioned way: serving great food at a reasonable prices. And there’s the 21st century way: coming up with a gimmick, a weird pairing, some novelty way of serving or ordering food, something to make people [...]
