Battersea panic stations: Investors flee luxury scheme as up to £2m is knocked off some asking prices March 4, 2016 More than 50 luxury flats on sale at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station have had their prices slashed since January, with some seeing discounts as large as 38 per cent in a sign that wealthy foreign investors are scrambling to desert the scheme. The news adds to fears that demand for prime homes in the capital is [...]
Fresnillo share price falls despite it making cost cuts amid commodity price rout March 1, 2016 Fresnillo shares slumped 3.8 per cent to 962p per share this afternoon, after making gains in recent weeks. The figures Fresnillo's revenue rose 2.2 per cent to $1.44bn (£1bn) in the year ended December 31st, from $1.41bn a year earlier. This came as Fresnillo ramped up production and made productivity improvements, which helped offset some of the damage from tumbling precious [...]
EU membership: The true cost to Britain’s economy – and the unrealistic assumptions you need to make the numbers net positive February 25, 2016 Many people are surprised to find that, back in the early 1970s, all the studies undertaken before we joined the then EEC pointed to a negative economic impact. This was due to direct payments to Brussels, alongside the effect of the customs union (common external tariff), which raised prices above world levels, most notably in [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan publishes his own tax returns after Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith revealed his earlier this week February 24, 2016 Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has published his personal tax returns, after his Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith revealed his own tax records earlier this week. According to figures provided by Khan's campaign today, the MP for Tooting earned £61,401 as a member of parliament last year, and banked another £1,500 in media appearance fees. He [...]
Investing in junior Isas: Why kids can be risk-takers February 23, 2016 I'm getting into stocks. Or perhaps more accurately, I’m getting into stocks via a tax-free savings and investment account designed specifically for my daughter, who’s barely a month old. While none of this will technically be my money, there’s an underlying lesson here for the broader investment environment: time. If you are a short-term trader [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith earned more than £10m in the last five years, paid almost £700k in taxes last year alone February 22, 2016 Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith has today published new details about his tax returns for the last five years, after facing tough questions on his previous "non dom" status. According to a letter released by Goldsmith's campaign from PwC (see below), Goldsmith paid £692,870 in income and capital gains taxes last year, and another £4,573.32 in National Insurance [...]
Stamp of approval: Has the Chinese economic slowdown licked the value of philatelic investments? February 18, 2016 When share prices are volatile, fine wine, art and other tangible assets offer the bittersweet assurance that your investment will only turn to dust if exposed to excessive sunlight or extremes in temperature. Interest in philatelic investment, or stamp collecting, peaked after the financial crisis as investors turned to alternative asset classes to diversify their [...]
Oil prices: UK oil baron Algy Cluff warns chancellor George Osborne that the North Sea industry is on the brink of destruction February 17, 2016 One of Britain’s best known oil tycoons has warned that low prices could destroy the UK oil industry if the government fails to slash taxes and encourage exploration in the sector. Speaking exclusively to City A.M., Algy Cluff, who pioneered exploration in the North Sea in the 1970s, has added his voice to a growing [...]
Leap year proposals: Ladies planning to pop the question this 29 February could be counting their luck with extra tax savings February 15, 2016 Call us old romantics but we here at City A.M. love a good wedding story – the beautiful frocks, the first dance as a married couple, all those wonderful tax breaks the newlyweds can take advantage of… The tax experts at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) are clearly in agreement, as [...]
Liberalising the UK’s migration policy could yield significant benefits for migrants and lead to a “brain gain” in developing countries February 10, 2016 Britain’s immigration debate rarely discusses how migrants themselves are affected by coming to work here. We argue passionately over whether immigration has cost the average worker twenty pounds, or benefited her by forty pounds. But these sums are trivial compared to the benefits of migration to the migrants themselves, and to their home countries. A [...]