WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? November 29, 2011 PWC’S BUDGET TEAM SAYS: The restricted rises in tube fares will help Catherine’s travel costs and so too will the fuel duty increases being less than expected. The bank levy increase from 1 January 2012 may hit Catherine’s clients in the financial services sector although they will be buoyed by the chancellor George Osborne’s reluctance [...]
VAT relief for charities that share costs November 29, 2011 THIRD sector groups that share back office functions will be given tax relief on VAT payments, a move that could save organisations £125m a year in tax by 2016-17. The VAT cost-sharing exemption will allow charities, universities and other non-profit groups to share costs without adding on VAT. Experts welcomed the announcement but said with [...]
Free childcare scheme gets £650m boost November 29, 2011 PARENTS have a better chance of accessing free nursery places for their toddlers after chancellor George Osborne almost doubled the scope of the government’s free childcare scheme yesterday. Free places at day care nurseries, children’s centres, playgroups or child minders for 15 hours per week will be made available to 260,000 two-year-olds from disadvantaged families, [...]
Pride before a fall: Osborne looked to special interests, not the UK’s perilous state November 29, 2011 THE Autumn Statement showed that George Osborne has failed to grasp the gravity of the economic crisis facing the UK. Urgent action was needed to brace the economy for double-dip recession and the fallout from the euro crisis. Instead, the chancellor announced a big increase in government borrowing, together with a series of measures that, [...]
The challenge to banks: Who will lead on service? November 29, 2011 WITH Virgin Money’s purchase of Northern Rock, hopes have been raised of a customer service revolution in the UK’s retail banking sector. Someone certainly needs to step up to the plate. Who dares to be different for the customer? That is the challenge waiting to be met. And it can be. The malaise is deep. [...]
Counting the costs of health and safety laws November 29, 2011 EMPLOYMENT minister Chris Grayling has announced plans to streamline workplace safety regulations and “put common sense back at the heart of health and safety”. As usual, common sense is here an excuse for not thinking very hard. If Grayling approached the matter in a principled way, he would realise that, rather being streamlined, workplace safety [...]
RAPID RESPONSES November 29, 2011 Management cuts [Re: There’s one economic policy the coalition has yet to try, yesterday] I definitely agree with the comment about the NHS and government bodies employing too many more managers than staff needed to actually get the job done. It has happened in many private sector areas too. I work in architecture and especially [...]
To print or not to print: ECB policy debate November 29, 2011 AS the Eurozone crisis rumbles on, European policy makers are fast running out of ideas. In recent weeks, the calls for the central bank to start printing have grown louder. But is this a wise route to take? “Print your way out” ROGER NIGHTINGALE independent consultant (Below, left) If a motorist, driving along a hilly [...]
DOLLAR-YEN IS WAKING FROM ITS SLUMBER November 29, 2011 UNTIL recently, the single most boring job in the currency business was to be a dollar-yen dealer. With the exception of a few days when the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would intervene in the markets, spiking dollar-yen by a couple of hundred points in a matter of minutes, the pair would remain moribund, sometimes moving [...]
THE TIPSTER November 29, 2011 THE Eurozone crisis rumbles on with daily reports. “Good” bond auctions in Italy sent the euro sharply higher and rumours of French downgrades pushed it lower. Euro-sterling languishes near its September and October lows of £0.8530 and looks vulnerable to further weakness. But traders should keep in mind that the euro rallied sharply against the [...]
