Forget St Leger’s Day – still best to stay away September 11, 2011 A COUPLE of weeks ago, I tweeted that there were now two new ways of earning $1m: capture Colonel Gaddafi and collect the bounty, or play CNBC’s new million dollar portfolio game. Despite the fact that the fantasy portfolio game requires nothing but time – with no risk attached – I got a number of [...]
Economic fears stoke slowdown in August September 11, 2011 ONLY London and three other English regions recorded economic growth in August, according to a survey released this morning, with most areas of England either in stagnation or going backwards. Growth came to a grinding halt across the UK as a whole, collapsing to an 28-month low of 50.6 in Lloyds TSB’s latest PMI reading [...]
Pensions ignorance is still widespread September 11, 2011 OVER a third of people given a defined contribution pension scheme at work have no idea how much their employer is paying into it, Scottish Widows revealed today. While 38 per cent are clueless as to their employer’s contribution, nearly half (45 per cent) are either contributing nothing themselves or are not even aware how [...]
British business confidence drops to a 26-month low September 11, 2011 BUSINESS confidence has collapsed to its lowest since June 2009, the latest BDO survey says today. The measure of short-term turnover expectations dropped to 93.6 in August, a 26-month low. Scores above 95 indicate growth. The index was also below the 95 mark at the end of last year, when separate figures from the Office [...]
IFS: No Treasury gains from 50p tax September 11, 2011 THE TREASURY may be losing money due to the highest tax bracket, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Rates above 40 per cent push high earners to avoid paying by moving abroad or by resorting to a range of legal steps to reduce their tax bill, the think-tank said ahead of Wednesday’s release [...]
Exits soar in private equity recovery September 11, 2011 STRONG initial public offering (IPO) results as well as secondary buyouts show the private equity (PE) industry is recovering robustly from the recession, according to a report out today from Ernst and Young. The new study looks at exit activity in 2010, finding it increased sharply on the figures for 2008 and 2009. Indeed, activity [...]
Inflation keeps climbing even as QE2 expectations take hold September 11, 2011 UTILITIES prices are rising, leading economists to predict inflation will spike in the coming weeks. Figures released tomorrow are expected to show annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation rising from 4.4 per cent in July to 4.6 per cent in August – well over twice the official two per cent target. Sharp rises in electricity [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: WHERE IS INFLATION HEADING? September 11, 2011 PHILIP RUSH | NOMURA “Producer prices have been persistently pressurising profit margins, forcing firms to raise their consumer-facing prices. CPI could still hit five per cent, and we do not expect it to dip meaningfully below target at any point in our forecast horizon, even without another round of quantitative easing.” HOWARD ARCHER | IHS [...]
China’s bank lending gathers pace September 11, 2011 China’s bank lending quickened to 548.5bn yuan (£53bn) in August, topping market expectations of 500bn yuan and rebounding from July’s seven-month low, pointing to a slight relaxation in credit conditions for its businesses. But inflation, not growth, remains the top concern for Beijing and China’s central bank is unlikely to alter its current monetary policy [...]
Chinese state to invest in start-ups September 11, 2011 The Chinese government will give money to some venture capital investment firms in its latest effort to boost the development of what it labels strategic emerging industries. According to a new policy published by its Ministry of Finance over the weekend, the government is prepared to be a minority shareholder in a venture capital fund [...]
