Tax fractures in the Labour party: Balls refuses to back Miliband’s “deed of variation” February 15, 2015 Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has refused to condone Ed Miliband's use of a tax loophole to avoid paying full inheritance tax. The Labour leader and his family reportedly adopted the “deed of variation” when posthumously changing the will of Ralph Miliband, Ed's father. This allowed them to not pay full inheritance tax on [...]
Farmville days could be a thing of the past for Zynga – shares plummet on poor results and disappointing forecasts February 12, 2015 The figures Zynga's fourth quarter revenue failed to meet analyst expectations of $201m (£131m), amounting instead to $192.5m (£125.1m) during the three months to 31 December. The social gaming company said it lost $45.1m (£29.3m), or five cents-per-share, compared with a loss of $25.2m (£16.4m), or three cents-per-share, during the equivalent period in 2013. [...]
Groupon share price slips despite international billings boost from Ticket Monster February 12, 2015 Groupon performed well across the world in 2014, but it wasn't enough to please investors. The figures During the 12 months to 31 December 2014, Groupon's revenue reached $3.2bn (£2.08bn) – 24 per cent higher increase compared to the previous year. The e-coupon company's fourth quarter revenue was also pleasing, going up by [...]
Ukip’s Nigel Farage claims “corporatism” has made us “victims of the economy” February 12, 2015 Today, Nigel Farage spoke of the dangers of “corporatism” during a speech on Ukip's vision for the future of Britain. At Castle Point in Essex, where Ukip candidate Jamie Huntman is currently standing, Farage said the current system made us “victims of our own economy”, and that we are living under a “lethal [...]
Greece bailout deadline: ECB raises pressure for agreement but extends new loans to Greek banks February 12, 2015 Greek banks have been given an extra €5bn (£3.7bn) worth of emergency loans by the European Central Bank (ECB). The decision was made during a phone call between members of the bank's governing council earlier today, and will take the country's emergency funding up from €60bn (£44bn) to €65bn (£48bn). "It is key that [...]
Lord Fink’s “vanilla” tax avoidance: What does it mean, and how is it different from HSBC’s alleged practices? February 12, 2015 Tory peer Lord Fink has admitted avoiding paying tax while working in Geneva, but says his actions were “vanilla” in nature and that he was not involvement in the allegations currently plaguing the Swiss arm of HSBC. The former hedge fund manager is a client of the bank, which came under fire earlier [...]
Tesla’s full year results fail to meet expectations, with deliveries down due to delays February 11, 2015 Tesla's full year results are likely to reverse investor confidence. The figures During the three months to 31 December 2014, Tesla Motors delivered 9,834 cars to clients – lower than the 11,200 deliveries analysts hoped for and expected. Similarly, the 31,655 cars delivered during the full year to 31 December failed to meet [...]
Greece Eurogroup meeting: Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis lists four key principles for renegotiation February 11, 2015 Today, Greece's finance minister met with leaders from the Eurozone's other member states to discuss a renegotiation of its bailout package. Yanis Varoufakis is part of the radical left party Syriza, which won a parliamentary vote on 25 January on the back of its promise to bring the country out of austerity. It [...]
Global business received a record level of investment last year – and the focus was on Asia February 11, 2015 Last year, a record $6trn (£4trn) was invested in businesses across the world, coming in the form of loans, bonds and equity. A report by international law firm Allen & Overy showed that loans made up almost two third of this, and at $3.93trn (£2.58trn) they were accumulatively even higher than the pre-crisis [...]
Crowdfunding could transform healthcare through innovative disease diagnosis and new treatments February 11, 2015 Crowdfunding provides a unique opportunity for the development of innovations that might otherwise fall by the wayside – between the government and private companies, there is simply not enough money available to turn all promising ideas into a reality. The merits have already been shown across a range of industries – over the last few [...]
