Top executives quizzed by MPs on tax avoidance November 12, 2012 STARBUCKS, Amazon and Google were yesterday criticised by MPs following accusations that the multinational firms are moving profits abroad to minimise their UK corporation tax bill. MPs were critical of deals that appear to show firms diverting apparently British transactions through overseas divisions in low-tax countries. Members of the Public Accounts Committee accused the firms [...]
America’s energy renaissance will transform China as well November 12, 2012 SOMETHING extraordinary is happening to the global economy, with huge implications for geopolitics and international flows of trade and capital. The United States has engineered an energy renaissance: while it currently imports 20 per cent of its total energy consumption, much of it from the Middle East, America will become roughly self-sufficient in net terms [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Nissan hits back at tax critics Nissan yesterday became the latest company to face scrutiny over its tax affairs after it was revealed that Britain’s biggest carmaker avoided millions in corporation tax every year by selling vehicles through a Swiss company that manages its European operation. The company hit back at the criticism, [...]
Tories stop bid to delay fuel duty rise again November 12, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT last night faced down a Labour bid to further delay the planned 3p rise in fuel duty, disappointing motorists but fending off a backbench rebellion. The motion, which would have pushed the rise back from January to at least April, was defeated by 282 votes to 234, resulting in a healthy margin of [...]
Parents will be able to share mothers’ leave November 12, 2012 PARENTS will be able to share out maternity leave, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed yesterday. As part of a general package of reforms designed to make hours more flexible, mothers will be able to share out their maternity leave – after the first two weeks – with a partner. But Nick Pearce at the [...]
BBC’s Entwistle payoff blasted as more depart November 12, 2012 THE BBC faced anger over the size of departed director-general George Entwistle’s payoff yesterday, as culture secretary Maria Miller raised the possibility of the National Audit Office (NAO) investigating the £450,000 package. “The NAO is empowered to conduct a value-for-money review,” Miller told the House of Commons yesterday. “In this day and age people expect [...]
Adoboli trial enters final stage as judge warns against biases November 12, 2012 THE judge in the trial of alleged UBS rogue trader Kweku Adoboli told the jury yesterday not to let their views about the banking industry influence their judgment, as the long running trial enters its final stage. Adoboli, 32, has been blamed for a loss of $2.3bn (£1.4bn) at the Swiss bank in September 2011. [...]
FSA and Ofgem probe natural gas markets November 12, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority and energy watchdog Ofgem are investigating claims that the wholesale natural gas market has been manipulated. Energy secretary Ed Davey said he is “extremely concerned about these allegations” and has been working closely with the regulators since the gas contract trades were flagged to his department last week. A whistleblower from [...]
US to become biggest global producer of oil November 12, 2012 THE US will lead a sweeping transformation in oil and gas production and will overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s top oil producer before 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. Its World Energy Outlook said that the US, which currently imports around 20 per cent of its total energy needs, would [...]
Lawyers’ pay slows as services firms join banks in City slump November 12, 2012 LAWYERS and accountants have seen pay slip behind that of the rest of the workforce through the financial crisis, according to data out yesterday from Randstad Financial and Professional. Pay in law rose by 8.1 per cent while accountancy earnings increased 7.5 per cent – well below the 11.4 per cent UK average and illustrating [...]
