We’re staying: HSBC decides to keep its headquarters in London, UK, after an “exhaustive” review process that narrowed it down to the capital and Hong Kong February 15, 2016 Global banking giant HSBC revealed late last night that it has decided to keep its headquarters in London, ending months of uncertainty over whether it would quit the UK and move to a rival financial centre. A statement from the bank called the UK an “important and globally connected economy”, with “an internationally respected regulatory framework [...]
What are your chances of a payrise? Pay growth expectations fall to their lowest point for more than two years thanks to rocketing costs of employing staff, including minimum wage rises February 15, 2016 Businesses believe wages will rise at the lowest rate for more than two years as rising costs of employing staff place pressure on pay packets, according to a report out today. The study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) discovered that companies expect pay for their employees to rise by an average [...]
UK pensions: When can you afford to retire? Never or at least not until your 70s if you want to be comfortable, according to a report out today February 15, 2016 Today's workers will need to keep plugging away well into their golden years if they want to afford the same standard of retirement as their parents, a report out today has found. The study by pensions company Royal London discovered that people on average earnings would need to continue to work until they are 77 [...]
Here’s why mums go to Iceland: Supermarket beats Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to be named the best online retailer in consumer survey, and boss Malcolm Walker is clearly pleased February 15, 2016 Iceland, favourite of mothers across the nation and anybody else looking for decently priced party snacks they can stock in their freezer, has been voted the UK's best online supermarket. The league table released today by Which? gives Iceland an impressive overall customer satisfaction score of 77 per cent, ranking it above Waitrose, Ocado and [...]
LFW Autumn-Winter ’16: Who are the London Fashion Week brands to bank on? How share prices for Marks & Spencer, Burberry and Mulberry are shaping up ahead of the the shows February 14, 2016 In a little over four days time, London will be buzzing with trendsetters as Fashion Week arrives in the capital. But, apart from rerouting your commute so it doesn't head through Soho, what does this mean for the average City A.M. reader? Here's a run down of the business news you need to know for some [...]
Banks are employing staff to listen in on traders’ conversations, after jargon and banter outsmarts surveillance technology February 14, 2016 Banks are now hiring staff to listen in on traders' conversations, after banter was found to flummox sophisticated surveillance technology, according to a new report on market abuse. The report from professional services firm PwC discovered that banks plan to spend £156m on surveillance technology over the next 18 months to make sure that trading [...]
New personal savings allowance, which allows people to earn up to £1,000 in interest tax free and is due to be introduced in April 2016, is too complex, warn tax experts February 14, 2016 Changes to the way savings are taxed, which are due to come into force this April, will be helpful for the majority of people but may prove tricky for some to get their heads around, tax experts have warned. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) cautioned late last week [...]
UK pensions: Shift to a flat rate of pension tax relief would cause a retirement crisis for millions in the squeezed middle February 14, 2016 A move to a flat rate of pensions tax relief would adversely affect savers in the squeezed middle who are paying at the higher rate tax bracket, causing a retirement crisis by discouraging them from saving, a pensions consultancy has today warned. "A move to a flat rate of tax relief redistributes tax relief away from additional rate taxpayers, [...]
How was your commute? More than half of us arrive at work in a state thanks to the morning rush hour February 12, 2016 Back in the day, when you were still bright-eyed and dreaming of a fancy job in the City, a squashed and sweaty ride on the London Underground at the height of rush hour probably did not feature in your thoughts. But that's not the reality we live in. According to a survey run by powwownow.co.uk, more [...]
Google tax row: Economists and accountants react to this morning’s hearing with the Public Accounts Committee, many concluding that the corporate tax system needs a revamp February 11, 2016 From how taxed chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Meg Hillier's patience was to Google's Europe president Matt Brittin's take-home pay, today's hearing between MPs and Google representatives was a true war of words. For some observers, though, the debate did not quite hit the mark. "The focus today around Google’s tax affairs misses the [...]
