London Fashion Week kicks off as China slowdown is becoming an increasing headache for luxury brands September 15, 2015 Friday marks the start of London fashion week, when luxury brands flaunt their Spring/Summer collections on the catwalk and throw champagne-fuelled parties to celebrate the arrival of the next fashion season. But behind the scenes, the party mood is more subdued as luxury companies nervously assess how great an impact the ongoing economic slowdown [...]
Firms to Osborne: Don’t leave the capital behind September 8, 2015 BUSINESSES in the capital have urged the government to remember London when pushing for greater devolution of decision-making powers to local authorities. In an official submission to the Treasury ahead of November’s comprehensive spending review, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said that London should not be “overlooked”. LCCI chief executive Colin Stanbridge [...]
UK income tax haul from non-doms has risen 7 per cent and hit £6.6bn last year August 31, 2015 The amount of income tax paid by so-called “non-doms” based in the UK has risen by seven per cent, according to a new report out today from Pinsent Masons, the global law firm. According to the report, non-doms – individuals claiming certain tax benefits because their permanent home is outside of the UK – [...]
CBI wants new tax break for mid-size investment August 26, 2015 A LEADING business group is calling for new tax incentives for investing in medium-sized businesses. In a new report out today, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the accountancy and business advisory firm BDO propose so-called “Long Term Lending Trusts”, funding vehicles offering income tax relief to savers who put their money into long-term medium-sized [...]
North Sea oil company EnQuest hindered by global oil price drop August 19, 2015 NORTH Sea oil firm EnQuest yesterday reported a 13 per cent fall in first-half revenue to $444m (£283m), compared with the same period last year, reflecting the sharp decline in the price of crude. Pre-tax profits at the Aberdeen-based firm were also down, from $120m to $11m. Production rose by 17 per cent in the [...]
Investec Comment: Why UK investors have warmed to tech firms August 16, 2015 London has all the ingredients to remain an attractive location for technology companies to grow and seek investment. The capital has thriving public markets that have warmed to tech stocks. More and more VCs are putting money into London startups. There’s a greater number of incubators and accelerator programmes around. UK investors have also [...]
Stephen Greenhalgh: “Buy to leave” investors are pricing Londoners out of the property market – this is how I’d tackle it July 31, 2015 Often it is the non doms in London who are given a really bad press for inflating the property market. However I believe that it is the "non res" rather than the non dom that London should really worry about. The global non resident super rich see London residential property as a holiday home [...]
Greece crisis: After six months in power Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza government has left the country with a veritable Mount Olympus to climb July 30, 2015 Alexis Tsipras’ six-month old left-wing Syriza government has put the country through a breath-taking roller-coaster of ideological hysteria, politico-economic gambles, and farcical constitutional experiments. Now it faces a rockier path ahead than the one it inherited. Perversely, at the time they lost power, the previous government was beginning to boast financial indicators pointing [...]
Bashing buy-to-let landlords will push up rents and hit the UK economy hard July 23, 2015 Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest payments against their income, whereas homebuyers cannot.” That’s how the chancellor explained his decision in the Budget to require that landlords, unlike other businesses, effectively pay tax on their borrowings – their buy-to-let mortgage. But the chancellor has made [...]
The Bank of England could – and should– have raised UK interest rates much sooner July 20, 2015 Heartening as it was to hear the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, dropping hints last week about the raising of Bank Rate, serious doubts remain over the effectiveness of the low interest rate regime in reviving the economy. Moreover, the impression continues to be given that the delay in raising rates carries [...]