BEST OF THE BROKERS March 18, 2012 KINGFISHER Bank of America Merrill Lynch rates the retail group “buy” with a target price of 320p. The broker expects to see pre-tax profits of £812m when the firm reports full year results on Thursday, which could feed through to a dividend hike. BAML thinks Kingfisher has the scope to grow its margins further this [...]
THE WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD March 18, 2012 INVESTORS are beginning to wonder if this “Energizer Bunny” of a rally can just keep going without taking a break or a fall. Every Friday for the past couple of months, the question has hung in the back of investors’ minds: Is the stock market’s rally strong enough to continue without a correction? Even with [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 18, 2012 Carey Olsen The leading legal services provider, with offices in London and the Channel Islands, has announced that Elaine Gray is joining its Guernsey litigation and dispute resolution group. Gray is the second senior level appointment to the department in less than a year, following the arrival of contentious trust specialist Michael McAuley in July [...]
Budget week will see Italy, inflation and retail in focus March 18, 2012 TODAY I anticipate a quiet start to the week, with a lack of economic announcements from the UK and the US. All eyes are likely to focus on the Eurozone as we get further indication of the health of one of its largest economies. Italy reports industrial order and sales numbers at 9am for January. [...]
Entrepreneurs’ wish list for Wednesday’s Budget March 18, 2012 TAX MADSEN PIRIE CURBING public spending keeps down borrowing rates, but we need a growth agenda, too, and specifically we need encouragement for the entrepreneurs who will create the new wealth and the new jobs of Britain’s future. We don’t need a few more token sums available to approved borrowers; we need instead a shift [...]
UTILISE WHAT GOVERNMENT ALREADY GIVES March 18, 2012 EVEN the staunchest opponent of George Osborne would have to concede that there is no silver bullet to reduce the deficit and boost growth that can come out of Wednesday’s Budget. So, what do we expect? Clearly some quick, high level cost-cutting measures. The personal allowance is already pledged to increase to at least £8,105. [...]
Before introducing costly new schemes government should first do less harm March 18, 2012 LET’S face it. In asking for government favours entrepreneurs are a vested interest like all the rest. Because they aren’t collectivised in the same way as more experienced lobbyists, they don’t get the same hearing as big business. Yet what they lack in voice they make up for in value for money. Politicians are more [...]
The UK is already losing out thanks to an uncompetitive airline duty: Don’t put it up March 18, 2012 ALL eyes are on the chancellor ahead of next week’s Budget. Will he take the opportunity to cut UK taxes to help stimulate economic recovery? There is an opportunity to review not just corporation tax but many of the consumer taxes like air passenger duty (APD). Five years ago the tax that you paid on [...]
Bold businesses must be able to grow in Britain March 18, 2012 FAIRNESS has rightly become central to the Budget debate. Personally I would like to see the income tax threshold raised, to allow lower earners to keep more of their hard-earned cash. But a bigger test of success for this Budget will be what measures the chancellor can introduce to drive economic growth. By the chancellor’s [...]
The City can help us to put a spring in our step March 18, 2012 WITH only a few days to go until the chancellor reveals the Budget for 2012, the nation’s business community will be hoping that this March stays true to the message of spring, bringing reinvigoration and new growth. While the grip of the economic downturn has remained firm, the government has had to focus on slowing [...]
