British companies invited to join Whitehall wargames July 21, 2013 BRITISH businesses have been invited to rehearse their response to overseas terrorist attacks with top foreign office officials, under plans announced by foreign secretary William Hague. Companies that work in dangerous regions, such as energy firms, will now be able to take part in so-called table top war games that are designed to simulate and [...]
Bad City regulation may hit growth and cost jobs July 21, 2013 MESSY and uncoordinated financial regulation risks stifling the industry, slowing the economy and costing tens of thousands of British jobs, analysts at PwC warn in a report out today. The analysts fear conflicting aims in regulation, for instance pushing banks to both build up capital levels and to lend more at the same time undermines [...]
How hidden taxes and levies are pushing up UK house prices July 21, 2013 BRITAIN’S housing market is broken: inane planning rules mean that not enough new homes are being built. Growing demand (in part bolstered artificially by the coalition’s silly funding for lending and help to buy policies) combined with a supply that is growing only feebly is pushing up prices in and around London and risks turning [...]
British firms pay billions due to EU bureaucracy July 21, 2013 EUROPEAN Union red tape is costing British businesses billions of pounds a year, according to evidence submitted to a Whitehall review of the organisation that is due to be published this week. Business groups have told the inquiry that 400 new EU laws have been introduced in the last three years, costing UK firms more [...]
David Cameron hints at tax cuts July 21, 2013 The Prime Minister has said that he would like to start cutting taxes as the economy begins to improve. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday, David Cameron refused to rule out tax rises after the next election but said his aim was to “give people back some of their hard-earned money”. Chancellor George [...]
Digital economy size in question July 21, 2013 Britain’s digital economy is far bigger than official estimates, according to National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr). The report, commissioned by Google, tracked digital footprints left by companies online to measure the business environment. It found at least 270,000 companies form the digital economy – well above the previous estimate of 188,000.
Egypt starts amending constitution July 21, 2013 A panel of legal experts started work yesterday to revise Egypt’s Islamist-tinged constitution, a vital first step on the road to fresh elections ordered by the army following its removal of Mohamed Mursi as president. Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has accused the army of orchestrating a military coup and denounced plans to revise the constitution, [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 22 July 2013 July 21, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Deutsche Bank set to shrink Deutsche Bank plans to shrink its vast balance sheet by as much as a fifth in order to comply with incoming stricter rules for financial soundness. In a big strategic step by Germany’s largest lender by assets, Deutsche is expected to tell investors that it aims to achieve [...]
TSB leaves misselling problems with Lloyds July 21, 2013 LLOYDS Banking Group will still be responsible for any PPI misselling claims from customers who are spun off into the new TSB Bank, the lender confirmed yesterday. That means the taxpayer is still on the hook for any claims from the 5m customers who are moving with the divested entity. The unit is being sold [...]
Prime Minister Abe storms to Japan victory July 21, 2013 JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc won a decisive election victory yesterday, cementing his grip on power but raising the possibility he could lose interest in economic reform and shift focus to his nationalist agenda instead. The win in the election for parliament’s upper house gives the hawkish Abe a stronger mandate for his [...]
