George Osborne sets sights on pensioner votes with extension of 65+ bonds deadline past General Election day February 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne yesterday revealed that the government will now be offering £15bn worth of controversial so-called pensioner bonds, with an extended application deadline that falls on 15 May – one week after the General Election. The 65+ guaranteed growth bonds, as they are officially known, offer marketing leading rates, at 2.8 per cent interest [...]
BAFTA 2015: The winners are… February 8, 2015 Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore claimed the awards for leading actor and actress last night at the BAFTAs, Britain’s film industry awards. Redmayne played Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything, which also picked up the gong for outstanding British film. Moore won for her role in Still Alice. Boyhood was named best film [...]
Greeks demand spending programme to end crisis February 8, 2015 GREEK leaders yesterday proposed their radical plan to remove Europe’s “cloud of fear”, setting themselves up for further clashes with European officials. In his first major speech to Greek Parliament, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras restated his desire for a New Deal to end the country’s economic crisis. The New Deal was a programme of emergency [...]
BAFTA winners (and David Beckham) shine at film awards February 8, 2015 Winners at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards last night included Patricia Arquette (far left), Julianne Moore (left) and Eddie Redmayne (right), while football legend David Beckham added to the red carpet glamour. Professor Stephen Hawking, whose life is portrayed in The Theory of Everything, was a special guest and the Duke [...]
HSBC rocked by report into tax evasion scheme February 8, 2015 HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm helped wealthy customers evade millions of pounds in tax, documents have revealed. The files, which relate to accounts holding more than $100bn, show how the UK’s biggest bank helped clients evade tax, even collaborating with some to hide undeclared “black” accounts from their domestic tax authorities. Thousands of pages of [...]
Rexam set to back £4.3bn takeover bid by rival can-maker Ball February 8, 2015 Rexam’s board is keen to finalise a £4.3bn buyout offer from rival can-maker Ball, City A.M. understands. Bosses are thought to see the merger as the next obvious step in building the business, giving the two giants even more scale. UK-based Rexam’s share price has doubled since chief executive Graham Chipchase took the reins in [...]
Gibraltar and Guernsey hit back at Ed Miliband’s tax haven blacklist threat February 8, 2015 Labour leader Ed Miliband is under fire from Britain’s overseas territories, after he threatened to put them on a tax haven blacklist. The latest row comes after Miliband wrote to the territories, threatening that they will be listed as tax havens, and consequently incur sanctions, if they fail to compile a list of offshore companies [...]
Labour blasted over paternity leave proposals as “father’s month” branded “tax on business” February 8, 2015 A leading business group has criticised Labour’s proposals for a “father’s month” of paternity leave, branding it a “tax on business”. The British Chamber of Commerce said giving fathers a month’s paid leave and increasing the minimum level of paternity pay would hurt small and medium-sized businesses. Labour leader Ed Miliband is expected to detail [...]
Tesco defends supplier price cut demands February 8, 2015 TESCO defended itself last night against accusations that it was putting pressure on suppliers to cut prices in line with falling commodity costs, saying it held regular talks in a bid to obtain the best prices for customers. The ailing supermarket chain, which is in the process of turning itself around following last year’s accounting [...]
London drives economic boom at start of 2015 February 8, 2015 UK COMPANIES are starting the year positively after a slow end to 2014, new survey data shows. A purchasing managers’ index for the UK – a survey of private sector firms – ticked up to a score of 56.7 in January, according to figures released today by Lloyds Bank. All nine English regions recorded growth, [...]
