Government should press ahead with NHS reforms, says our panel February 12, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT should press ahead with its controversial NHS reform bill despite widespread criticism, according to our Voice of the City/PoliticsHome.com panel. A narrow majority of 42 per cent of our panel agreed that health secretary Andrew Lansley and the Prime Minister should push on with the bill, compared to 40 per cent who said [...]
Tax experts bash Lib Dem pensions talk February 12, 2012 CUTTING tax relief on pension contributions for higher-rate tax payers risks unfairly over-taxing savers, and sends out the wrong signals about how Britain treats successful workers, experts at accountancy firm Baker Tilly warned yesterday. Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has suggested top-rate taxpayers could lose half of the tax relief on their pension [...]
London gives 20 per cent of GDP to regions February 12, 2012 ONE IN every five pounds earned in London goes to subsidise other regions in the UK, research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) revealed this morning. Tax receipts stand at 45.2 per cent of GDP in London and 41.1 per cent in the south east, but only 29.7 per cent in the [...]
Suitors lining up for CWW February 12, 2012 THE GUN could soon fire on a bidding war over Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) if the struggling telecoms company shows signs in its earning report this Thursday of corking its declining value. Telecoms giant Vodafone and private equity firm Apax Partners are thought to be heading the line of suitors, though O2 is also [...]
Vodafone on the lookout for a rebound February 12, 2012 A little birdie is flying around, leaving a story in its wake that suggests Vodafone is interested in Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), the communications network which once rivalled BT, but now just crosses its fingers for profit. Vodafone was quick to quell the comments, but might it slip a cheque under CWW’s door? It [...]
Stelios stays away from crucial shareholders’ pay row meeting February 12, 2012 EASYJET chairman Sir Michael Rake hit back last night after shareholder advisory body PIRC recommended that investors veto the airline’s remuneration report and abstain from re-electing him as chairman. Sir Michael said easyJet “was not surprised by PIRC’s recommendation given its well-documented position on remuneration” and pointed out that in the last year, the body [...]
Fewer bankers but extra red tape as City job cuts laid bare February 12, 2012 THE number of people working in financial services jobs approved by the City regulator has fallen to its lowest level for seven years, according to new analysis. The total number of people on the Financial Services Authority Register dropped to 157,587 in December last year, down 6.9 per cent from the recent high of December [...]
Recruitment slump is hitting cost of London home rentals February 12, 2012 THE slump in the City job market is dragging down the cost of renting prime residential property in London. Rents in the best areas fell 0.2 per cent, equivalent to £80 a month, according to research published today. It comes after a halving in the number of vacancies in financial services over the last year. [...]
Search for Greek resolution a game of bluff February 12, 2012 WE could be entering the first really choppy period of the New Year for investors as we watch for some kind of resolution with Greece. Nearly everyone I speak to assumes that Greece will get the minimum amount it needs to stave off a disorderly default, simply because Europe is not yet confident enough to [...]
Aviva sees progress on Taiwan sale February 12, 2012 Insurer Aviva said yesterday it was continuing with talks on the sale of its stake in a Taiwan life insurance joint venture, and was making progress. Sources with direct knowledge of the matter had claimed on Friday that the company had put aside for the time being a plan to sell down its stake due [...]
