Tax fraud soars to hit five-year high at £600m January 7, 2013 THE level of reported tax fraud rose to its highest level since 2007 last year – despite a plunge in total frauds recorded, a study out today shows. Tax fraud accounted for almost half of all fraud reported to authorities in 2012 – some 44 per cent – and is almost double the figure reported [...]
Actor Depardieu meets Putin and picks up Russian passport January 7, 2013 FRENCH film star Gerard Depardieu received a hug from President Vladimir Putin and a new Russian passport yesterday after abandoning his homeland to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires. Putin signed a decree on Thursday granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu, who has fumed over French President Francois Hollande’s plan to impose a 75 per [...]
Talk of takeover bid for Alitalia stokes political backlash in Italy January 7, 2013 ITALY’S national airline could be sold to Air France-KLM, dredging up historic arguments as the country heads to the polls in February. Air France-KLM has the chance to clinch loss-making Alitalia when a lock-up period ends on 12 January, and the newspaper il Messaggero said yesterday the Franco-Dutch firm is in advanced talks to take [...]
Retailers fight to win custom over Christmas January 7, 2013 SIGNS of a gloomy Christmas are piling up for British retailers, as two sets of research out today suggest that wary customers kept a close eye on their spending during December. A survey of retailers by accountancy firm BDO points to a “good if not exceptional” Christmas, with like-for-like sales up 1.93 per cent on [...]
Tesco attracts investor support as it defends use of private planes January 7, 2013 TESCO’s fleet of private jets, used to ferry its executives around the globe, has been laid bare for the first time as a leading City figure sprang to defend the firm over the use of the planes. The supermarket giant, which reveals its much-anticipated Christmas trading figures on Thursday, operates a subsidiary, Kansas Transportation, to [...]
Grocers set to unveil festive trading figures January 7, 2013 TESCO is expected to emerge as the winner of a tough Christmas trading period for Britain’s big four supermarkets as weak consumer confidence, falling real incomes and rising real prices put pressure on the sector. Analysts predict the grocer will on Thursday post a one per cent rise in UK like-for-like sales for the six [...]
High street and high-end shops to reveal holiday performances January 7, 2013 A HOST of retailers are due to give a glimpse of how they have performed over the key Christmas period this week. Marks & Spencer is expected to reveal a bruising set of numbers in its trading statement on Thursday. Nomura expects the high street giant to post UK like-for-like sales 1.4 per cent lower [...]
Mining heiress made to reveal secret accounts January 7, 2013 ONE of the world’s richest women, mining heiress Gina Rinehart, has caved in to regulatory pressure and finally revealed the full extent of her business empire. Rinehart, executive chairman at Australian mining company Hancock Prospecting, has published two years’ worth of business accounts after giving up the fight with Australian financial watchdog the Australian Securities [...]
Think tank slams plan to splash out on UK broadband arms race January 7, 2013 GOVERNMENT spending on broadband infrastructure has been criticised by an influential think tank, which claims ministers should instead focus on educating people about internet connections. In a report published today, the Policy Exchange is calling for culture secretary Maria Miller to “end the broadband arms race” and stop the “fixation with having the fastest broadband [...]
Shareholder Executive chief in line for Energy department job January 7, 2013 THE chief executive of Shareholder Executive, the organisation that oversees the government’s billons of pounds of shareholdings in companies including Royal Mail, is to quit after five years at the helm. Stephen Lovegrove, who has presided over key deals such as the government’s £4.4bn sale of British Energy to EDF, is to leave his role [...]
