HSBC in talks to sell Ping An insurance stake November 19, 2012 HSBC confirmed this morning it was in talks to sell its 15.57 per cent stake in China’s Ping An Insurance. HSBC spent $1.7bn (£1.07bn) to build up the stake in China’s second-largest insurer in 2002 and 2005, but a sale has been widely expected as part of its three-year recovery plan in the wake of [...]
Branson ups the stakes in flight wars November 18, 2012 VIRGIN Atlantic is hoping to break British Airways’ traditional dominance of UK short haul air travel, after being picked to take over a dozen slots at Heathrow Airport. Virgin confirmed today that it will offer flights to Aberdeen and Edinburgh next year, using the slots that BA has been forced to give up on competition [...]
Boris says Starbucks must do more for UK November 18, 2012 BORIS Johnson has said that multinational firms like Starbucks, who have not paid much UK corporation tax in recent years, need to do more for UK society or change their tax arrangements. Speaking to City A.M. ahead of his speech at the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual conference today, the Mayor of London said: [...]
London houses withstand UK asking price collapse November 18, 2012 LONDON’S resilient housing market defied a UK-wide fall in asking prices going into November, data revealed this morning, driven by the top end of the market. The UK’s average property asking prices fell 2.6 per cent in just a month to hit £236,761, according to the Rightmove house price index, a sharp turnaround from the [...]
We must ditch unfair loopholes – and then cut tax overall November 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S corporation tax system is broken. It is arbitrary, opaque, incomprehensible and unfair. At best, it is uncompetitive compared with other countries, such as Ireland; at worst it is a complete nightmare of complications and distorted incentives. Britain’s tax system is one of the worst things about the UK: It needs to be smashed up [...]
Calls for Gaza ceasefire after deaths mount November 18, 2012 INTERNATIONAL pressure for a ceasefire was mounting yesterday after five days of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. An Israeli missile killed at least 11 Palestinian civilians including four children in Gaza yesterday, medical officials said, after an attack on a top militant that brought a three-storey home [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU makes budget plans without UK EU officials have begun work on a plan to create a long-term budget without the UK in a move that reflects mounting frustration that Britain’s demand for a spending freeze cannot be reconciled with the rest of the bloc. EU officials and national diplomats have been studying [...]
Cable wants tax on wealthy November 18, 2012 Business Secretary Vince Cable said ministers were looking at ways to raise taxes on the wealthy in next month’s Autumn Statement. Cable told the BBC he expected the debate about taxing the wealthy to be resolved in the next few weeks when chancellor George Osborne delivers his speech. “The people at the top of society [...]
Clinton urges end to budget woes Clinton urges end to budget woes November 18, 2012 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that reaching an agreement to resolve America’s budget woes and the impending fiscal cliff is vital to its international leadership role. Clinton said in a speech in Singapore that she shares the concerns of Asian leaders over America’s budget woes, according to reports. Clinton reportedly plans to retire [...]
French conservative vote unclear November 18, 2012 The result of a tightly fought two-way contest to choose the next leader of France’s conservatives remained unclear yesterday, with both sides claiming they had won. Jean-Francois Cope, a disciple of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, announced his victory to reporters around 10.30pm, then former prime minister Francois Fillon said 20 minutes later he was in [...]
