London warned it may struggle with China’s currency strategy September 16, 2012 LONDON’s bid to become an offshore centre for renminbi looks set to fail as the City is more suited to private sector action and market systems than the highly politicised Chinese currency, a think-tank warns in a report published today. Chatham House also notes that Hong Kong’s position as part of China but with a [...]
Analysts cautiously forecast slower price rises in August September 16, 2012 THE CONSUMER Price Index (CPI) will have increased more slowly in August, analysts expect, ahead of its release tomorrow morning. Last month it was revealed that CPI grew 2.6 per cent in July, jumping up from 2.4 per cent in June and challenging the steady downward trend observed since its peak at 5.2 per cent [...]
Think tank wants pension tax cuts September 16, 2012 The government must slash the taxfree pension lump sum in order to spread taxes more fairly across the population, liberal think tank CentreForum said yesterday. Currently pensioners face numerous benefits and tax breaks, including the ability to take up to a quarter of their pension or £375,000 – whichever is lowest – as a tax-free [...]
London defies house price slip September 16, 2012 UK house prices slipped in price between August and September, according to Rightmove’s house price index released today, but London managed to see growth despite the gloom. London prices were up 0.3 per cent this month, capping off 12 month growth at 6.6 per cent, and defying the average 0.6 per cent decline across the [...]
Fred Perry takes gold for profits September 16, 2012 Iconic British fashion label Fred Perry posted a 20 per cent increase in pre-tax profits last year, up to £27.2m. The firm, which recently released its second collection with Olympic road cycling gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, recorded turnover of £119.8m for 2011-12, up from £102.9m for the year ending March 2012. During the year, there [...]
City Moves Who’s switching jobs September 16, 2012 Bowring Marsh Andrew Chester has been appointed chief executive of the insurance broking firm’s specialist international placement broking division. He succeeds Nick Bacon, who is leaving after 26 years in the company. Chester was previously head of Bowring Marsh’s UK and Ireland divisions. He has over 25 years’ experience in the insurance sector. Simmons & [...]
Best of the Brokers September 16, 2012 KIER Liberum has cut its rating on the construction and property group from “buy” to “hold” with a target price of 1,400p. The broker remains impressed by the firm’s management team and strong balance sheet, but has downgraded the stock to reflect a soaring share price. Liberum also points out that Kier’s aim of expanding [...]
Public finances put chancellor in the spotlight September 16, 2012 CHANCELLOR George Osborne will be under the spotlight again this week, with the release of the UK’s public finance figures for August. Last month’s shock news – that the deficit grew by £600m rather than falling by £2.8bn in July – means Friday’s figures will give an even clearer indication of whether the government can [...]
Euphoria of Federal Reserve boost waning as market fatigue creeps in September 16, 2012 COMPARING the Federal Reserve to a rehab clinic offering addicted investors a synthetic high has been a favourite of Wall Street wags ever since the first round of Fed stimulus nearly four years ago. The punch line is that you always need more and more to get the same high and each bout of euphoria [...]
We need a national plan of action to rebuild trust in British business September 16, 2012 IT IS hard to pick up a newspaper or listen to the news without hearing another in-depth analysis of the reasons behind this downturn, and dire predictions about UK growth prospects. With the benefit of hindsight, I think we all underestimated its depth and length and were too optimistic about the global economy bouncing back. [...]
