Great stuff on the deficit; less good for UK businesses May 12, 2010 WE are only just into day three of the new government and already powerful themes are beginning to emerge. The policies announced yesterday can be divided into three categories: those that will address the crippling budget deficit and will therefore help stave off an immediate fiscal, sterling and gilts crisis; those that will boost competitiveness [...]
WHO’S CALLING THE ECONOMIC SHOTS? May 12, 2010 Q. WHICH POLITICIANS WILL MAKE UP THE NEW TREASURY? A. George Osborne, David Cameron’s sidekick as shadow chancellor during the Tories’ past few years in opposition, becomes chancellor of the Exchequer, the second biggest role in government. His deputy will be Liberal Democrat negotiator David Laws, the party’s former schools spokesman and the MP for [...]
Business and King welcome spending cuts May 12, 2010 BANK OF ENGLAND governor Mervyn King yesterday hailed the new coalition government’s plans for an immediate £6bn cut in public spending to tackle Britain’s record peacetime deficit, saying it was imperative that Britain’s fiscal problems are dealt with sooner rather than later. Breaking from his traditional silence on fiscal policy, the governor said he had [...]
FSA survives after Lib-Con compromise May 12, 2010 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) was given a stay of execution yesterday, after the Tories had to scrap plans to disband the watchdog under a deal brokered with their Liberal Democrat coalition partners. Chancellor George Osborne was preparing to wind down the FSA, dividing its responsibilities between the Bank of England and a handful of [...]
Government may spilt up large banks May 12, 2010 BANKS may be forced to split their retail and trading operations in a bid by the new coalition government to water down risk in the City. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats yesterday announced a one-year inquiry into the sector that could see the so-called “Volcker rule” imposed on the UK’s institutions. The rule, named after [...]
How long will the Con-Lib coalition last? May 12, 2010 THE NEW Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was formed yesterday. But how much confidence does it inspire in the City? And will it be able to last a full five years? With jittery financial markets, it will have to reassure the UK’s debtors, but will it be able to? And what of Sterling, which has fallen [...]
City plans to lobby new government over AIFM May 12, 2010 LEADING figures from the hedge fund and private equity industries are preparing to lobby the new government to stick up for the City’s interests in Europe. Groups will court the incoming financial services minister – yet to be appointed – to stress the importance of amending the controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive being [...]
City balks at shock rise in Capital Gains May 12, 2010 THE City yesterday lashed out at the decision by the Conservative led coalition to increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT), warning that it would seriously inhibit investment. After the coalition government said CGT would be raised as part of a rejigging of the tax system Simon Walker, Chief executive of the British Private Equity and Venture [...]
Bank surprised by resilient inflation May 12, 2010 THE Bank of England yesterday raised its short-term inflation forecast as part of its quarterly Inflation Report and it now expects the consumer prices index to stay above the two per cent target until the start of 2011. The central bank admitted that it had been surprised by how resilient inflation had been and suggested [...]
Claimant count falls again but jobless total still rising May 12, 2010 THE number of unemployed Britons rose again in the three months to March to a 15-month high of 2.51m, taking the jobless rate to eight per cent, official data showed yesterday. Even more worryingly, the employment rate fell to a 13-year low of 72 per cent, suggesting that the rise in unemployment has been limited [...]
