Asian markets flat after US manufacturing slowdown March 25, 2014 Asian markets are holding steady as investors wait to see how events in Ukraine unfold and whether the slowdown in US manufacturing continues. Markets will be watching not only the West's response to the annexation of Crimea but whether Russia will slip into recession. Japan's Shoko Chukin survey revealed that a last minute spending rush [...]
Budget 2014 showed promise: But it lacked beef for entrepreneurs to really get their teeth into March 23, 2014 YOU CAN’T please all of the people all of the time, particularly if you’re the chancellor of the Exchequer. Even if George Osborne had promised last Wednesday to personally traipse the length and breadth of the country handing out free candyfloss, an obesity pressure group of some sort would have released a statement condemning him. [...]
Labour would be mad to oppose Osborne’s pensions liberation March 20, 2014 SUPPORTERS of the nanny state were out in force yesterday, attacking George Osborne’s revolutionary liberalisation of the pensions market. Starting next year, the chancellor will no longer force savers to hand over pension pots to insurers in return for a miserable income for life, a so-called annuity. Instead, savers will be able to use the [...]
Budget at a glance: Osborne’s plans for Britain’s economy March 19, 2014 As growth bounces back, the focus turns to reforming savings THE ECONOMY UK growth for this year is now expected to be 2.7 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday – up from its previous estimate, made in December, of 2.4 per cent GDP expansion. A year ago the OBR expected growth [...]
What does the chancellor’s Budget mean for you? March 19, 2014 Catherine Gannon, 51Managing director of law firm Gannon The business continues to perform extremely well, but new legislation for LLPs means that it is being restructured. Profits and earnings are up on last year but the cost of living has increased rapidly. She doesn’t have much by way of a traditional pension plan but hopes [...]
Junior Isas: Kickstart your child’s savings March 18, 2014 But the tax wrapper is not always the best vehicle, as the funds are locked away until the child turns 18 With the total cost of a university degree topping £50,000 according to some estimates, and successive generations finding it harder to get a foot on the property ladder, many parents looking for a tax-efficient [...]
Wishes and predictions for Osborne’s budget March 17, 2014 ■ EY suggests there is little room for the chancellor to make big changes, given the spending constraints he has set for the Treasury, and that the OBR’s adjustments will be small. ■ However, the big four accounting firm expects George Osborne to make a move on the top rate of stamp duty, raising the [...]
Singapore becomes latest jurisdiction to clamp down on Bitcoin March 13, 2014 Singapore is set to regulate Bitcoin exchanges to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a statement that exchanges will have to identify their customers and report suspicious transactions to the relevant authorities. The MAS said in a statement: Regulation of virtual currency intermediaries pertains specifically to the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 12 March 2014 March 11, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Brent crude contract underpinning Slowing output from the North Sea may require IntercontinentalExchange to add oil grades from beyond the offshore European fields to underpin its flagship Brent crude contract. The comments from David Peniket, president of the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, echo growing industry concern that the global crude oil benchmark [...]
Global investment set to climb to post-crisis high March 10, 2014 THE OUTLOOK for investment and employment globally is now at its strongest level since the financial crisis, with the UK’s rapid return to growth standing out particularly among advanced economies. Around the world, business optimism in general is at a two-year high, and stronger confidence is manifesting itself as firms intend to invest and hire [...]