Entrepreneurs will welcome Budget June 24, 2010 THE Emergency Budget was one of the most severe for decades, with some hefty tax rises – notably VAT – and cuts to public spending. Yet in spite of this, the chancellor made provisions to encourage growth and laid out initiatives to foster entrepreneurial activity. The extension of the enterprise finance guarantee (EFG) scheme will [...]
EU misses vote on hedgie rule June 24, 2010 LOBBYISTS are embarking on a desperate push to soften European proposals on hedge funds and private equity after a crucial vote in Brussels was pushed back until the autumn. The European Commission is struggling to agree a final draft of the controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive, which contains measures cracking down heavily on [...]
Q&A CURRENCY June 24, 2010 Q. How serious a problem are currency movements for my business? A.Currency fluctuations are obviously only a problem for British businesses that buy or sell in currencies other than sterling. But for those companies, it can make the difference between making a profit or a loss. The euro, for example, has fallen nearly 10 per [...]
Politicians should not rush into reform of the banking system, says HSBC boss June 24, 2010 BANKS in Britain and elsewhere have urged G20 leaders to coordinate implementation of regulatory changes and not rush into “an unrealistic artificial timetable” for reform, ahead of a key meeting this weekend. “The progress made by the G20 has been impressive but it has now reached a critical juncture,” Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC and [...]
Row breaks out over Brussels plan to set up über-watchdogs June 24, 2010 EUROPEAN officials made a last-ditch attempt yesterday to save deadlocked talks aimed at setting up bank watchdogs as a row between countries and parliament threatened efforts by Brussels to regulate finance. Setting up supervisors to keep tabs on banks, insurers and markets is central to the European Union’s attempts to prevent another crisis but it [...]
Athens readies €10bn aid package for Greek banks June 24, 2010 GREECE is readying legislation to set up a €10bn (£8.2bn) support mechanism for banks to turn to if their capital adequacy falls and they are unable to raise funds from markets to beef up their equity. Rising bad loans, downgrades to sovereign debt holdings and a deepening recession are seen taking a toll on Greek [...]
Goldman tops global M&A adviser table June 24, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs has established itself as the most in-demand mergers and acquisitions adviser in the world over the first half of the year, brushing off concerns that the SEC’s high-profile fraud allegations would damage its reputation. Goldman, which trailed Morgan Stanley in the rankings at this point last year, leapfrogged its arch-rival comfortably during the [...]
State pension age set to rise June 24, 2010 THE state pension age could be 70 by the middle of the century, after the government announced a shake-up designed to defuse Britain’s ticking pensions time bomb. Currently, the state pension age is set to increase from 65 to 66 in 2026. It will then continue to rise to 67 in 2036 and 68 in [...]
Let the travelling by boat take the stress out of commuting June 24, 2010 IN warm weather those living near the river in London have a big advantage. It’s not just the views or access to riverside beer gardens – it’s the fact that they don’t have to jam themselves into sweat-drenched Tube carriages and buses when they can drift merrily to work by boat instead. When commuting comes [...]
Q&A: AUTO ENROLMENT June 24, 2010 Q.WHAT IS THE EXISTING ARRANGEMENT FOR AUT0 ENROLMENT? A.Currently, all employees will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme from 2012. Those employees working for a firm that doesn’t provide a pension will be enrolled into the National Employee Savings Trust or Nest. Q.WHY DO EMPLOYERS WANT NESTS RE-EXAMINED? A.They are worried that the one-size-fits-all scheme could hurt some firms, especially smaller ones. Currently [...]
