Tory MP calls for growth policies March 13, 2011 Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke will today call for the main rate of corporation tax to be cut to 19 per cent, along with nine other recommendations to chancellor George Osborne. The MP for Dover and Deal is expected to also call for stamp duty to be scrapped on share transactions, and the smaller business growth [...]
West End retail sales take a knock March 13, 2011 High street sales in London’s west end took a hammering in February, falling by 0.5 per cent compared to the same time last year. The figures, released today by the New West End Company, mirror recently reported negative sales data from across the country.
Cost of credit hits manufacturers March 13, 2011 The cost of credit has shot back up this year, manufacturing body EEF revealed today. In the first credit survey since the Project Merlin announcement last month, the balance of respondents reporting a rise in credit costs jumped to 32 per cent, from 19 per cent in the final three months of 2010. “While there [...]
Think tank attacks tax changes March 13, 2011 An online tax calculator has been launched ahead of chancellor George Osborne’s budget by the think tank Reform. Announcing the new device, Reform attacked the “fairness policies”, arguing that punitive taxes on high earners increase the tax burden on middle and low earners.
Former Fannie Mae chief Mudd facing SEC action March 13, 2011 DANIEL Mudd, the former chief executive of government-sponsored mortgage firm Fannie Mae, has received notice from US regulators that he may face claims for allegedly misleading investors about the mortgage company’s exposure to subprime loans. Mudd, who was ousted from Fannie Mae in 2008 and is now chief executive of hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 13, 2011 F&C ASSET MANAGEMENT Deutsche Bank has downgraded the asset manager from “hold” to “sell” with a target price of 76p. The broker sees two new risks from the firm’s results last week that are not reflected in the current share price: a decline in equity investment performance and a dispute with key client Millennium BCP. [...]
Labour party forces vote on VAT fuel hike March 13, 2011 LABOUR will this week force a House of Commons vote on reversing the recent rise in VAT on fuel, in a bid to earn political capital from soaring fuel prices. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls yesterday said the party will use an opposition day debate on Wednesday to call for an immediate reversal of the coalition’s [...]
Jeremy Hunt defends role in clearing News Corp bid March 13, 2011 JEREMY Hunt, the culture secretary, was yesterday forced to defend his role in News Corp’s bid for BSkyB, after an alliance of media companies accused him of acting in an “unprecedented manner”. The alliance, which is made up of BSkyB and News Corp rivals like BT and the Telegraph Media Group, said the culture secretary was wrong [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 13, 2011 Irwin Mitchell The national law firm has appointed Sue Weatherson as its new director of risk and compliance. Weatherson joins from Withers LLP and will report to Irwin Mitchell’s national managing partner, John Pickering. Weatherson will have overall responsibility for ensuring the firm complies with its regulatory requirements and managing risk. She replaces partner Louise [...]
Small business spared red tape March 13, 2011 The government is expected to announce plans to exempt small and medium sized businesses from a raft of expensive regulations at the Budget on 23 March. The “small enterprise exemption initiative” would see firms with just a handful of employees – most likely five or less – exempted from a range of regulatory burdens. Employees at [...]
