New tax year brings dark clouds for some savers as pensions allowances slashed and dividend tax credits abolished April 5, 2016 Oh what a beautiful morning? Perhaps not if you're a saver, as this group will wake up tomorrow to less generous treatment for a major type of investment and a substantial shakeup for another. From tomorrow, those saving up for a comfortable retirement will see the amount they can add to their pension pot tax-free cut, [...]
US court agrees BP civil settlement for Deepwater Horizon oil spill April 5, 2016 A US court signed off on BP's civil settlement for $18.7bn (£13.2bn) relating to the Deepwater Horizon incident late last night. BP has agreed to pay damages to the United States government as well as the Gulf States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The payments have been staggered so some will be payable as late [...]
Panama papers scandal: Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about bearer shares (but were too afraid to ask) April 4, 2016 The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) includes a reference in its Panama Papers report to bearer shares, describing them as one way to protect the anonymity of companies' owners, making it harder to ascertain the exact ownership of the companies. But what are bearer shares? And does the decline in the number shown in the ICIJ numbers [...]
JRP Group starts trading on London Stock Exchange following completion of Just Retirement Group and Partnership Assurance merger April 4, 2016 It's always nice to start the morning with a tale of a happy ending, isn't it? JRP Group, the result of the merger between Just Retirement Group and Partnership Assurance, started trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning. The newly-formed company, which has assets under management of more than £15bn, began its first day of trading [...]
Flood Re: What you need to know about the reinsurance scheme that launched today April 4, 2016 It's something of a catch 22 – those who are most in need of a good home insurance policy are often those least able to afford it, thanks to insurers needing to raise premiums to adequately reflect the risk they expose themselves to, or simply refusing to cover some areas at all. That's precisely why government-backed [...]
UK’s finance chiefs rally behind the vote to keep Britain in the EU, as uncertainty curbs appetite for risk April 4, 2016 The majority of the UK's finance chiefs are so nervous of a vote for a Brexit this summer that it's stopping them from taking on other risks, a report out today has found. According to the survey by Deloitte of over 100 finance chiefs, three out of four (75 per cent) are now in favour of [...]
Libor scandal round 3: It’s crunch time for the UK’s fraud squad as it heads to court for the third UK Libor trial April 3, 2016 The Serious Fraud Office is gearing up for a crunch trial today as it heads to court in the latest instalment of the Libor rigging saga. The under-pressure fraud squad's war on financial misconduct will continue at Southwark Crown Court, with the trial of five former Barclays bankers accused of US-dollar pegged Libor rigging. The SFO will [...]
Success of National Living Wage depends on more businesses raising their game on productivity April 3, 2016 Last Friday's introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase the pay of millions of the UK's low-paid workers. Ultimately, though, it will only be judged a success if employers can sustain higher wages for the low-paid without the need for job losses and cuts to other pay and benefits. While the NLW will [...]
Over 55s undecided on whether pension freedoms are actually any good April 3, 2016 One year on from the introduction of pension freedoms, the jury's still out on whether or not they are actually any good, a report released today has found. The survey by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) found that, while 44 per cent of over 55s thought that the introduction of pension freedoms last April had been [...]
