Ed Miliband needs to stop distorting statistics October 1, 2012 IF you want to know why I find it hard to be optimistic about Britain’s economic future, look no further than the political parties’ annual conferences – this weekend it was the turn of the Labour party to pander to prejudice and envy and advocate policies that will end up retarding growth, reducing job creation [...]
Ed Miliband needs to stop distorting statistics September 30, 2012 IF you want to know why I find it hard to be optimistic about Britain’s economic future, look no further than the political parties’ annual conferences – this weekend it was the turn of the Labour party to pander to prejudice and envy and advocate policies that will end up retarding growth, reducing job creation [...]
Fiscal crisis continues to threaten our struggling economy September 25, 2012 IT is hard to disagree with Standard & Poor’s that the Eurozone is likely to see zero growth until 2014. The situation is worsening again, especially in Spain, where the budget crisis is intensifying amid separationist tensions, and in Greece, which could soon be demoted to being an emerging market again by the FTSE. None [...]
Britain needs more venture capitalism – not a state bank September 25, 2012 HERE is a simple question. What do you think would do more to help the provision of finance for small firms? Vince Cable’s new state bank, which will begin its operations in 18 months’ time, or a radically improved tax system to improve the provision of equity financing and venture capital? In other words, is [...]
Shore Capital’s shares soar as revenues rise September 24, 2012 INVESTMENT bank Shore Capital reported steady profits in the first half of 2012 yesterday, with strong growth expected to continue in part thanks to its German telecoms investments. Group revenues came in at £17.8m, up 28.3 per cent on the second half of 2011, and down 12.7 per cent on the first half of last [...]
THE TIPSTER | Rebuilding dominance September 24, 2012 AS TALK of a housing recovery gains momentum, investors may be looking to add growth-orientated stocks to their portfolio. Persimmon has seen tough times since the onset of the financial crisis, with shares falling from their peak above 1,500p. However, the house builder has added 67 per cent to its share price this year and [...]
Clegg revives battle on rich with raft of tax plans September 23, 2012 THE TOP 10 per cent of Britons should pay more in tax, the Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday, promising to become more creating in finding new ways to take money from the richest. But finance analysts warned the move could simply drive cash and assets abroad, making the UK and the government worse off, rather [...]
Knight Frank says best London property thriving despite dip September 23, 2012 PRIME property in central London hit a new record high in September, according to estate agent Knight Frank, as it continued its robust recovery from the post-financial crisis slump. Prices grew 10 per cent in the last 12 months, the firm said today, pushing the index to a point some 51 per cent higher than [...]
Vodafone shares dip on fears of Indian government tax charge September 17, 2012 SHARES in Vodafone were hit yesterday on renewed speculation that the group will have to set aside $2.2bn (£1.4bn) to cover a tax bill in India over the telecoms firm’s 2007 purchase of China’s Hutchison Whampoa. Vodafone is considering making a provision for the charge in its next round of company accounts in November, chief [...]
Tory peer tells coalition to scrap capital gains tax September 13, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT should abolish capital gains tax (CGT), Tory peer Howard Flight claimed in a research paper released by the Centre for Policy Studies yesterday. However, the government must first cut the rate to 25 per cent or less, the report, prepared by Flight and Cambridge post-graduate economist Oliver Latham, says. If it can summon [...]