Osborne labels Budget empty and unrealistic March 25, 2010 GEORGE Osborne, shadow chancellor, tore into Alistair Darling’s budget proposals in the Commons yesterday, labelling them “empty” and “an exercise in politics, not an example of governing”. The chancellor failed to outline plans on how the government would cut the Budget deficit, which could yet see the UK’s credit rating slashed before the next general [...]
Pimco ace tells investors to avoid UK gilts over debt fears March 25, 2010 BILL Gross, the influential fund manager at fixed income titan Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco), has urged investors to shun UK government debt due to fears over national borrowing. Pimco’s managing director said Britain’s debt burden would force the Treasury to issue increasing volumes of gilts. This would usher in inflation and depreciate the pound, [...]
Markets take a flutter on bookmakers March 25, 2010 SHARES in bookmakers bobbed upwards yesterday after an uneventful Budget saw chancellor Alistair Darling refrain from hitting the industry with tax hikes. FTSE 250-listed Ladbrokes gained 4.3 per cent to 155p while William Hill climbed four per cent to 213p. Oriel Securities analyst Jeffrey Harwood said: “Both companies have breathed a sigh of relief that [...]
Treasury Committee prepares to grill influential economists’ panel March 25, 2010 THE House of Commons Treasury Committee will next week begin taking evidence for its inquiry into the 2010 Budget. The influential group of MPs will grill chancellor Alistair Darling, who is set to appear on Tuesday along with chief economic adviser Dave Ramsden. But first on Monday economic experts including the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ [...]
Cider war fizzes on as militants take up anti-darling arms March 25, 2010 AS VOTE-losers go, chancellor Alistair Darling’s punitive tax on cider really is shaping up to be a corker. By close of play yesterday – just a day after Darling announced in the Budget he will be popping duty on the tipple at 10 per cent above the rate of inflation from midnight on Sunday – [...]
Foreigners to avoid Darling’s stamp duty March 25, 2010 WEALTHY foreigners will avoid paying Alistair Darling’s latest stamp duty hike on properties worth over £1m at an opportunity cost of tens of millions to the Treasury’s coffers, it emerged yesterday. Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which are set up offshore for the purpose of holding property, own a large amount of the UK’s high-end estates. [...]
CITY EYE March 25, 2010 THE City is leading the way this weekend in a drive to make the UK greener, spearheaded by the Royal Horticultural Society – organisers of the Square Mile’s favourite networking event of the year, the Chelsea Flower Show. The Britain in Bloom campaign will see the equivalent of 115 Hyde Parks planted across the country, [...]
Cheats may cash in on home relief March 25, 2010 THE decision to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers purchasing homes under £250,000 risks becoming a “charter for cheats”, critics suggested yesterday. Although the housing industry has welcomed the move because it should boost a flagging market, there are fears that it will be hard to police. Some institutions, such as the Council for Mortgage [...]
Darling: My Budget is even tougher than Thatcher’s March 25, 2010 Spending cuts under a Labour government will be tougher for Britain than those imposed by Thatcher, according to Alistair Darling. He said he was prepared to make “deep” cuts in order to slash the UK’s yawning budget deficit. Figures released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest the budget is far more austere than those [...]
Cleaning up after the crisis March 25, 2010 BEING an entrepreneur is in Celestino Amore’s DNA, both his father and grandfather had their own businesses. “I knew that I would start something on my own, it was just a matter of when.” The moment came in January 2009 when Amore founded Illiquidx, a financial services boutique that specialises in distressed assets. As its [...]
