Firms say new tax watchdog needs teeth July 20, 2010 BUSINESSES yesterday gave a warm welcome to the launch of a new body charged with stripping the fat from Britain’s bloated tax code, but warned it would need teeth to take on the Treasury. The chancellor launched the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) yesterday morning, and said one of its first tasks would be to [...]
Budd: MPs should be given power to sack chair of OBR July 20, 2010 PARLIAMENT should be given powers to sack the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, outgoing chair Sir Alan Budd said yesterday. In comments that appeared to clash with George Osborne, Budd said it would be “perfectly reasonable for [the Treasury committee] to conclude that the chair is not fit to retain their role”. He [...]
Field defends offshore centres July 20, 2010 MARK Field, the Conservative MP, will today launch a defence of offshore financial centres, amid fears a draconian crackdown could hurt the City of London. Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate, Field will argue that small international financial centres like Guernsey, Jersey and Bermuda boost the British economy by providing investment and skilled workers. And [...]
MPs: Budget to hurt economy July 20, 2010 GEORGE Osborne’s austere emergency Budget last month has raised the probability of slower growth in the short term, an influential group of MPs said yesterday. MPs on the Commons’ Treasury committee also leaned on Osborne to rein back fiscal tightening if the economy does worsen. “It appears that there has been a slight increase in [...]
Accountants told to step up audit quality July 20, 2010 BRITAIN’S big four accountants were criticised by an independent review this morning for the “disappointing” quality of their audit work. One in ten audits produced by the major firms fell below the proper standards, the Audit Inspection Unit (AIU) said. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – along with smaller competitor PKF – were [...]
BNY Mellon earnings triple despite fee falls July 20, 2010 BANK of New York Mellon saw its earnings more than triple in the second quarter, compared to a period last year when the bank was laid low by writedowns on mortgage-backed securities. The US custodial bank reported second-quarter profit attributable to shareholders of $658m (£430.2m), up from $176m a year earlier. That was equivalent to [...]
Cameron’s US trip hampered by anger at BP July 20, 2010 DAVID Cameron yesterday asked Britain’s top civil servant to re-examine the circumstances surrounding the early release of the Lockerbie bomber, but insisted BP had not influenced the decision. Amid fears that his first Prime Ministerial visit to Washington is being overshadowed by US resentment against the oil major, Cameron tried to draw a line under [...]
State Street’s second quarter profit boosted by higher fees July 20, 2010 STATE Street yesterday announced an operating profit increase of five per cent in the second quarter, fuelled by strong growth in its investment management and servicing business. The US asset management and custody firm said earnings climbed to $464m (£303.5m) from $441m a year earlier while earnings per share rose to 93 cents from 89 [...]
Real estate group Heron wins a £115m loan facility for City flats July 20, 2010 REAL estate group Heron International has secured a £115m loan facility to finance the construction of The Heron, its residential development near the Barbican. The company said the financing is being provided by Santander, HSBC and Investec, and is the first facility for any significant speculative residential build since the credit crisis. The property giant [...]
De La Rue suspends bank note printing July 20, 2010 BANK NOTE printer De La Rue’s shares plunged to an 18-month low yesterday after it warned sales would be materially below earlier expectations, and that some paper production had failed to meet quality specifications. De La Rue, the FTSE 250 company, said that sales and production levels would be “materially” lower than previously expected. Analysts [...]
