Osborne rips up planning rules March 3, 2011 GEORGE Osborne is pushing for sweeping changes to Britain’s planning regime as part of a package of low-cost measures designed to kick-start growth, City A.M. has learned. He wants to make it much easier for companies to obtain planning consent for new projects – even if they go against the wishes of local residents – [...]
News Corp’s BSkyB bid could hit credit rating March 3, 2011 NEWS Corp could have its credit rating cut if it is forced to bid more than 850p a share for BSkyB, according to analysts at Jefferies. Shares in the broadcaster closed last night at a record 823p – far ahead of its pre-recession peak of 713p – on the expectation of a much improved offer [...]
Howard Davies quits over Libya March 3, 2011 FORMER Bank of England deputy governor Sir Howard Davies resigned as director of the London School of Economics yesterday over its links with the Gaddafi family. Davies, who was also the first chairman of the Financial Services Authority, stepped down amid growing pressure on the LSE for accepting a £1.5m funding pledge from a Gaddafi [...]
Pension tax bill rule eased March 3, 2011 HIGH pension tax bills caused by a cut in the annual allowance for final salary pension schemes can be paid directly out of individuals’ pension schemes, Treasury financial secretary Mark Hoban said yesterday. The legislation will help high earners avoid the sting of a high tax bill in April when the annual allowance falls to [...]
Why the young are feeling worse off March 3, 2011 FORGET about class war; we are entering a new era of generational wars. There is a growing sense among younger people that they won’t enjoy as prosperous a life as their parents. It is easy to understand such concerns: powerful economic, technological, demographic and political forces are forcing the generations apart. For a start, the [...]
Tesco backs Fresh & Easy March 3, 2011 TESCO’S new chief executive Philip Clarke is to continue the US expansion strategy of his predecessor Sir Terry Leahy despite ongoing losses in the market, the group said yesterday. Tesco said its Fresh & Easy brand was opening two new stores in California with a further ten due to open across the state before the [...]
ACWHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS HEAD FOR MALTA TO ESCAPE REGULATION Some of London’s biggest hedge fund managers are shifting their operations to Malta in response to both the rising costs of business and the growing regulatory burden in the UK. The Mediterranean island is emerging alongside traditional rivals to London, such as Swiss towns Geneva [...]
Wal-Mart ups its 2012 dividend March 3, 2011 US supermarket giant Wal-Mart said it would raise its dividend for 2012 by 20.6 per cent yesterday despite a year of weak sales. The chain is to pay a dividend of $1.46 (£0.90) per share in the fiscal year ending in January 2012, up from $1.21 this year. Wal-Mart said the hike, which translates to [...]
Air fares to rise on carbon costs March 3, 2011 Rating agency Standard & Poor’s said yesterday that air travellers may see fares rise up to €40 (£34) from the end of this year as airlines join the EU’s emissions trading scheme. Additional costs from the scheme are estimated to reach €1.1bn in the first year alone as airlines’ carbon dioxide emissions are capped and [...]
Scrap dozens of tax reliefs, Osborne told March 3, 2011 INCOME tax and national insurance tax should be merged and dozens of tax allowances abolished, according to recommendations published by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). The OTS, convened in July by chancellor George Osborne to overhaul the UK’s increasingly complex tax system, has suggested that the Treasury get rid of 47 tax reliefs that [...]
