UK employment hits record high December 12, 2012 The number of people in work reached a record high of 29.6m over the three months to October, official data from the Office for National Statistics showed this morning. It marked an increase of 40,000 on the previous three months and a jump of almost 500,000 on the year previously. The employment rate was 71.2 [...]
Kcell raises $525m in IPO December 12, 2012 Kazakhstan mobile phone operator Kcell has raised $525m (£326m) in its London and Almaty-based IPO for parent company TeliaSonera, the company said this morning. The IPO, in which Kcell floated a 25 per cent stake, was priced at $10.50 per global depositary receipt and 1,578.68 Kazakhstan tenge per ordinary share, the company said. The price [...]
Carillion on track for year as it snaps up Canadian firm December 12, 2012 Support services firm Carillion said this morning it was on track to deliver a “robust” full-year performance, adding that the value of its pipeline is expected to be larger than previously thought by the year-end. Carillion, which maintains roads, railways and military bases, said in a trading update that revenue will be lower this year [...]
Profit edges up at SuperGroup December 12, 2012 SuperGroup, the owner of the Superdry fashion brand, this morning posted a 13 per cent rise in first-half profit, shrugging off a series of profit warnings in the previous year. Underlying pre-tax profit came in at £14.7m over the six months to October, edging up from the £13m it posted made over the same period [...]
Decline in homeownership is the result of bonkers red tape December 12, 2012 AS ever, the census is chock-a-block with fascinating statistics, including about the major demographic shifts that this country is undergoing. London has become a European version of New York, a cosmopolitan, global melting pot. It also reveals a number of worrying trends. Just 64 per cent (14.9m) of households owned their own home in 2011, [...]
Three men arrested in Libor probe December 11, 2012 THE UK fraud office yesterday stepped up the global investigation into the Libor fixing scandal by arresting three City bankers in connection with the probe. The men, aged 33, 41 and 47, were detained by the City of London police on the orders of the Serious Fraud Office in an early morning raid on three [...]
Virgin Atlantic ups BA rivalry as Delta buys $360m stake December 11, 2012 VIRGIN Atlantic executives said yesterday that the airline’s new partnership with US giant Delta will help it take on rival British Airways. Delta revealed that it has spent $360m (£223m) to buy Singapore Airlines’ 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic – a holding that cost Singapore £600m in 1999. Julie Southern, Virgin Atlantic’s chief [...]
Rules against aggressive tax avoidance delayed December 11, 2012 NEW rules that will ban companies and individuals from engaging in aggressive tax avoidance schemes will not be implemented until at least summer 2013, according to draft legislation released yesterday. The General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR), which will give HMRC the power to identify and act against legal tax arrangements that are “abusive”, was due to be enforced [...]
Decline in homeownership is the result of bonkers red tape December 11, 2012 AS ever, the census is chock-a-block with fascinating statistics, including about the major demographic shifts that this country is undergoing. London has become a European version of New York, a cosmopolitan, global melting pot. It also reveals a number of worrying trends. Just 64 per cent (14.9m) of households owned their own home in 2011, [...]
Investors escape tax hike on £2m London homes December 11, 2012 OFFSHORE companies that buy prime London homes for investment purposes will be exempt from forthcoming property tax hikes, the government announced yesterday. Many wealthy foreign individuals have avoided stamp duty by setting up a company for the sole purpose of buying a high-end property. They will still be hit by a 15 per cent stamp [...]
