The pound is back below $1.24 after Hillary Clinton was cleared – but the FTSE 100 is rallying November 7, 2016 It looks like any euphoria felt by currency traders about Friday's High Court ruling over Brexit was short-lived: The pound was down more than one per cent against the dollar in early trading this morning, dropping below $1.24. The pound fell 1.01 per cent to $1.2391 as traders' faith in Hillary Clinton was restored after [...]
HSBC’s shares rise four per cent despite larger-than-expected profit slump after Brazil disposal November 7, 2016 HSBC's share price rose by more than four per cent this morning, despite a sharper-than-expected slump in profits in the third quarter – although stripping out currency fluctuations, things looked rather better… The figures Pre-tax profit at the British lender fell 86 per cent to $843m in the quarter ended 30 September, down from $6.1bn in [...]
Abolishing these 20 taxes will help the poor, says the IEA November 2, 2016 A radical free-market Westminster think thank is claiming it can maintain welfare support and improve the lot of the low-income workers while scrapping nearly every mainstream tax that the government currently imposes. The Institute of Economic Affairs says the controversial plan would see the poorest 10 per cent of the UK enjoying tax cuts worth [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Should Hammond try his luck at some radical tax simplification? November 2, 2016 Scrap corporation tax. Scrap council tax. Scrap capital gains tax. And inheritance tax too. And business rates, the TV licence fee, the apprenticeship levy, all stamp duties, alcohol duties, tobacco duties – get rid of them all! These are the somewhat provocative proposals from a new report covered on today’s front page of City A.M. [...]
Know your benefit crystallisation event from your pension input period with our A to Z of pensions jargon October 28, 2016 National Pensions Awareness day came and went last month, with no apparent impact on people’s understanding of one of the best ways of saving for retirement. The Bank of England’s media-savvy chief economist Andy Haldane said in May that even he was unable to understand pensions because the system is so complicated. This situation is [...]
Don’t rely on downsizing to make up for your insufficient pension October 27, 2016 After years of runaway house prices, few will be surprised that a sizeable proportion of the UK’s net wealth is tied up in property. The latest ONS statistics show that dwellings make up a massive 62 per cent, or £5.5 trillion, of the country’s £8.8 trillion total. So it is also unsurprising that many see [...]
Time is money: Are luxury watches a good investment? October 26, 2016 The current wave of smartwatches, like any new technology, will be outdated by the time you’ve finished reading this article. But certain classic watches not only tell the time, they increase in value with it. While the poorest performing of all the other asset classes (barring furniture), the watch sub-category of the Knight Frank Luxury [...]
What should chancellor Philip Hammond prioritise in his Autumn Statement? October 24, 2016 Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, says infrastructure. Whether small or large, infrastructure schemes boost local business confidence, regenerate areas, create business opportunities for a vast array of UK firms, and “crowd in” related private sector investment. Given decades of underinvestment, chronic delays, deficient digital networks and lagging productivity, an infrastructure-focused stimulus [...]
A change in Spain’s tax laws could make buying La Liga players easier for Premier League clubs such as Manchester United October 22, 2016 Premier League clubs shopping for new players in Spain will enjoy increased purchasing power in future transfer windows thanks to a ruling passed by Spanish tax authorities this week. La Liga stars who have been linked with a move to England such as Athletic Bilbao’s Oscar De Marcos or Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann may now be [...]
Theresa May’s statism is the wrong way to build a more prosperous post-Brexit Britain October 12, 2016 Labour has lurched to the hard left and Ukip does not currently seem equipped to capture the significant number of voters on lower incomes who are worried about immigration and the impact of globalisation. So it is understandable that the Prime Minister is seeking to seize the coveted centre ground. For that purpose, Mrs May’s [...]