HSBC cuts target for profitability on rising costs February 23, 2015 HSBC’S annual profits dropped by 17 per cent in 2014, and the bank’s bosses cut its targets for profitability. Much of the damage came from a $3.7bn (£2.4bn) provision covering fines and settlements, redress for customers and lower gains from disposals. Those factors contributed to the $3.9bn fall in pre-tax profits to $18.7bn for the [...]
Capital Markets Union: Europe’s bid to reboot lending to businesses February 18, 2015 Creating large-scale, US-style capital markets in the EU could boost lending to businesses by hundreds of billions of euros, providing a vital boost to its struggling economies, European Commissioner Lord Hill said yesterday. The vast majority of small firms in the EU rely on bank lending for finance, a dependency which became a serious weakness [...]
UK house prices: A return to optimism? – CNBC Comment February 16, 2015 The UK housing market is a favourite topic of conversation – a national pastime, even. But an abundance of different data types mean that statistics can swamp and confuse anyone looking to gauge the current climate. Property website Rightmove just announced its busiest ever month for house hunters, while Halifax saw its biggest January monthly [...]
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 [...]
Rio Tinto bucks energy blues in $2bn buyback February 12, 2015 INVESTORS celebrated yesterday as Rio Tinto disregarded the ongoing commodities rout to announce a $2bn (£1.3bn) share buy-back and increased its dividend by 12 per cent, representing a total cash return to shareholders, in respect of 2014, of almost $6bn. Shares in the company closed up 2.3 per cent on what analysts described as a [...]
ACA, ACCA or CIMA: How to choose and which is better? February 12, 2015 Each qualification has its own merit for those seeking a career in accounting but there are key differences. Each accountancy qualification on the market has its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of course structure and career focus. Arguably, the most prestigious qualifications are offered by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute [...]
General election stalemate set to rock stocks: Markets face historic uncertainty, UBS warns February 11, 2015 Uncertainty before and after 7 May threatens to make 2015 a turbulent year for markets. Markets will take a hit from historic levels of uncertainty before and after May’s General Election, analysis by a leading investment bank has warned. Share indices typically fall by an average of three per cent in the six months after [...]
The free trade deals that could turbo-charge the UK economy by £10bn February 11, 2015 Few know it, but you are all paying a secret tax. Trade tariffs and other protectionist barriers are a hidden part of the price you pay for almost everything you buy. Consider this: if we could do a trade deal between America and the EU, at one stroke we could create up to 2m jobs, [...]
PMQs descends into mud-slinging match as Cameron and Miliband attempt to distance themselves from HSBC tax taint February 11, 2015 HSBC dominated Prime Minister's Questions today as David Cameron and Ed Miliband traded insults over which party had closest ties to those clients on the list of alleged tax evaders. The two took turns to sling mud at each other over the matter, with the Labour leader describing his counterpart as a "dodgy Prime [...]
Entrepreneurs’ relief: Unnecessary fiddling with this vital policy will damage growth February 1, 2015 Given that they drive our economy’s growth, it’s vital that entrepreneurs are rewarded for their efforts – especially since they take on so many risks to succeed. Thankfully, since 2008, there has been a tax relief that does precisely this. Entrepreneurs’ relief enables business owners to pay a lower rate of capital gains tax when [...]