More and more people are planning ahead for their death by looking for ways to cover funeral costs February 25, 2016 More and more people are planning ahead for the financial costs of their final days, according to analysis from a funeral plan provider. According to Golden Charter, the number of sales for pre-paid funeral plans shot up by nearly 25 per cent in 2015. Collectively across the UK people now hold more than a million pre-paid [...]
Budget 2016 UK pension changes explained: What pension reforms might chancellor George Osborne have up his sleeve on 16 March? Will Waspi have any state pension joy? February 25, 2016 It's the question on everybody's lips (well, everybody at City A.M. anyway): what will pensions in the UK look like post-Budget 2016? Several suggestions have been bandied around, but which ones might you want to start banking on and which can you probably afford to ignore? Relief rates slashed for higher earners Bad news if you pay [...]
Why firms need to plan ahead to limit damage by association, as the BBC may have found out with Jeremy Clarkson February 25, 2016 The career-ending and potentially life-threatening injuries suffered by celebrities taking part in The Jump recently has raised some questions around whether the continuation of the TV series is in good taste. If the broadcaster were forced to cut short the production, lucrative advertising and sponsorship deals could be left exposed, not to mention committed production costs. [...]
Coca-Cola loses Community trademark case, as European court decides the bottle design does not have distinctive character February 25, 2016 The Coca-Cola Company has today lost a legal battle to trademark for its bottle design. The General Court of the European Union rejected the soft drink brand's request to register a contour bottle without fluting as a Community trademark because the design does not have any characteristics to make it stand out from other products in [...]
EU referendum: Why Boris Johnson backing Brexit does not mean the City of London’s foreign exchange powerhouse status is at threat February 25, 2016 NULL
RSA Group reveals boost to profits despite drop in net written premiums and being hit by Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank February 25, 2016 RSA Group has this morning announced a rise in profits for its year ended December 2015, despite a fall in net written premiums. The insurer revealed profits before tax of £323m, up from £275m in 2014, while operating profits were also strong at £523m, up 43 per cent compared with £365m in 2014. However, group net written [...]
Bar Standards Board report reveals that complaints process might favour women but does not show any bias on racial grounds February 24, 2016 The system for dealing with complaints about barristers may slightly favour women, a report released today by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has discovered. The report, which was carried out to assess the fairness of the BSB's complaints handling process, revealed that complaints about female barristers were less likely to be referred for disciplinary action than [...]
MPs slam HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over Google £130m corporation tax settlement and call on the taxman to take the lead in reforming complicated international tax laws February 24, 2016 MPs have today condemned HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) recent deal with Google to pay £130m in unpaid corporation tax, and called on it to lead by example in reforming international tax laws. A report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) slammed the settlement for seeming "disproportionately small" compared to the size of the technology company's business [...]
Hays share price drops as recruiter reports slight rise in net fee growth and profits before tax February 24, 2016 Share price in Hays fell this morning after the recruiter revealed a slight rise in its profits in its half year results. The company reported profits before tax of £82.4m for the six months ended December 2015, up seven per cent compared with £77.3m the year before. Net fees for the recruitment company also inched up, rising [...]
Small business representatives tell the Work and Pensions Committee of their auto-enrolment worries, including clash between adopting system and National Living Wage February 24, 2016 Smaller employers need to act now to understand what is required of them under the pensions auto-enrolment rules, small business representatives have cautioned. Speaking in front of the Work and Pensions Committee this morning, Mike Cherry, policy director at Federation of Small Businesses, pointed out that research by his organisation indicated that that many small businesses [...]
