Rivals worth considering February 11, 2013 The BMW M1235i, from £29,995 At this price the bigger and more practical, rear-wheel drive BMW M135i might be worth considering. There’s a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine pushing out 316bhp from under its understated bonnet. It can accelerate from zero to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds and is a far better everyday driver than past [...]
Mining and banking shares boost FTSE February 11, 2013 The leading share index was modestly up in early deals, as mining and banking shares boosted the FTSE 100. Russian steelmaker Evraz rose 1.77 per cent. Miner Eurasian Natural Resources was up almost 1.7 per cent in early deals. Last week the Kazakh-focused miner soared more than nine per cent as it reported a jump [...]
Dutch property group Wereldhave to exit UK February 11, 2013 Dutch property investor Wereldhave said this morning it would exit the UK property market and spend up to €400m (£339m) on acquisitions in the next three years. The property company has sold off most of its UK portfolio for £243m, four per cent below book value. Following these disposals, its UK assets will comprise a [...]
Refining margins rise at Essar Energy February 11, 2013 India-focused Essar Energy this morning reported a jump in refining margins for the three months to December, thanks to a major expansion in refining capacity at its Vadinar plant. Refining margins at Vadinar over the quarter jumped 246 per cent to $9.75 (£6.18) a barrel, up from $2.82 over the same quarter last year, thanks [...]
Heathrow January traffic up February 11, 2013 Heathrow said this morning that 5.18m passengers passed through the airport in January, a record for the month. It marks an increase of 0.3 per cent on January 2012, up despite disruption from snow. The load factor – which shows how full the typical flight was – also set a record for the month at [...]
China beats America in global trade race February 10, 2013 CHINA has eclipsed the US to become the world’s top trader in goods for the first time, official figures from the two countries revealed. Chinese imports and exports together totalled $3.87 trillion (£2.45 trillion) in 2012, according to figures from the country’s ministry of commerce, just ahead of the US’s $3.82 trillion in goods traded [...]
Care reforms will drag thousands more into inheritance tax February 10, 2013 INHERITANCE tax allowances will be held back from keeping pace with inflation for three more years to fund changes to elderly care, the government will announce today. Thousands more people will be forced to pay the 40 per cent rate because the amount that can be bequeathed tax-free will be pegged at £325,000 for individuals [...]
City vacancies up as firms hire compliance experts February 10, 2013 CITY job vacancies bounced back in January as financial services firms renewed hiring in the New Year, recruitment data shows today. But weak market conditions and intense pressure from regulators is still hitting jobs, with last month’s recruitment numbers still well down on those seen a year ago. And those looking for work are often [...]
Stealth hike in inheritance tax not the answer to care crisis February 10, 2013 ONCE again, I find myself disagreeing with the government. The coalition is about to introduce a £75,000 cap on the cost of social care for the elderly, in an attempt, or so it claims, to ensure that people no longer have to sell their homes to pay for help when they become very old. It [...]
Firms urged to prepare for real-time PAYE February 10, 2013 BUSINESSES have just eight weeks to prepare for the biggest overhaul to the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax system in almost 70 years, HM Revenue and Customs has warned today. The tax authority said it will be writing to almost 1.5m employers from this week to remind them of the new real-time information (RTI) system replacing year-end [...]
