Firms’ spirits up on hopes of 2013 recovery February 3, 2013 BUSINESS sentiment improved in the first month of the new year, as firms bet the UK could put decline behind it and dodge a triple-dip recession. Confidence hit an 18-month high in January, according to Lloyds Bank’s business barometer, out this morning, with 46 per cent more firms saying their trading prospects would improve than [...]
Berlusconi promises swathe of tax cuts if he wins Italian poll February 3, 2013 ITALIAN former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday staked out the battle lines in the upcoming election, promising sweeping tax cuts if he is elected. He said that a centre-right government would reimburse a tax on families’ primary residences, freeze VAT, eliminate a regional business tax, and refrain from imposing a wealth tax. Part of the [...]
Investment to cut rent hikes February 3, 2013 THE SPEED of rent growth is set to slow down in 2013, according to a survey out this morning, due to an influx of new investment. Investors are piling into buy-to-let, the survey from Rightmove suggested, due to high returns. Twelve per cent of accidental landlords are looking to boost their capacity, the survey showed, [...]
Taxpayer faces £41bn per year bill for public sector pensions February 3, 2013 TAXPAYERS may be hit with a bill of up to £41bn per year to cover the cost of public sector pensions, according to research out today. This bill would represent £1,600 per family, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said, due to the generosity of the pensions given to state workers. The total payout would [...]
Morrisons buys Jessops stores for expansion February 3, 2013 WM Morrison, the supermarket chain, has bought seven former Jessops outlets from the collapsed specialist camera chain’s administrators PwC. The UK’s fourth largest grocer plans to convert the sites into M Local shops as it begins its assault on the fast-growing convenience store market this year. Four of the former Jessops stores are in London [...]
Sterling slide boosts overseas demand for London property February 3, 2013 A WEAKER sterling has helped to boost demand for central London property among European buyers, according to data published today by Knight Frank. The property consultancy’s monthly report shows property prices in prime central London rose 0.4 per cent in January, as overseas buyers looking for a safe haven for their money continued to drive [...]
Fat Face hires Sir Stuart Rose February 3, 2013 SIR Stuart Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, has been appointed as chairman of clothing brand Fat Face, less that two weeks after being named as the new chairman of online grocery firm Ocado. Sir Stuart will take the helm at the private equity-owned group in July, replacing Alan Giles, who will step [...]
Hedge funds build positions in crisis-hit bank Monte dei Paschi February 3, 2013 BIG-NAME London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses. Italy’s third-biggest bank is under investigation for an opaque series of derivatives and structured finance contracts between 2007 and 2009 that [...]
No Waitrose for Sir Terry’s wife February 3, 2013 FORMER Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy was in charge of the playlist yesterday, getting listeners dancing in the aisles by mixing folk with Handel’s Messiah on Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs. Sir Terry began his Tesco career as a shelf-stacker in Wandsworth and rose to become chief executive of the grocer from 1997 to 2011. [...]
The world’s miners get together in Cape Town February 3, 2013 THE platinum-rich country has been forced into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons over the past six months. Violent strikes took place across South Africa’s platinum belt last summer, culminating in a showdown at Marikana, outside Johannesburg, that left 45 people dead. Blue chip miner Anglo American recently announced a huge overhaul of its [...]
