Britain’s growth will be powered by smaller firms February 23, 2012 WHEN Xavier Rolet, chief executive of London Stock Exchange Group, said in City A.M. on 9 January that small and medium enterprises provide the best hope for reviving the UK economy, I cheered. “Without the growth of fledgling companies, there will be little meaningful job creation,” he said. How true. When regulators and politicians talk [...]
Three Isa myths that must go bust February 22, 2012 IT IS surprising how many City folk – versed, as they often are, in the intricacies of structuring complex financial products – don’t know the basics of individual savings accounts (Isas). It isn’t uncommon to need to explain to bankers that the Isa allowance can be taken every year; that it isn’t a product in [...]
The US economy is recovering at last February 16, 2012 IT used to be said that when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. This remains the case, despite the rise of China and other emerging giants. So it is good news that the US economy has started to recover, with even unemployment going down. The markets can barely contain themselves for [...]
Zurich clinches top spot as the world’s most expensive city February 14, 2012 ZURICH has leapfrogged ahead of Tokyo in the league table of the world’s most expensive cities after the Swiss franc’s sharp rise and its allure as a safe-haven currency for investors sent the cost of living soaring. The Swiss city, which is now almost 50 per cent more expensive than London, has jumped from fifth [...]
Obama taxes to target rich February 13, 2012 TAX HIKES amounting to an extra $1.5 trillion (£950bn) over the next decade were proposed yesterday by President Barack Obama. He called for increased taxes on capital gains and dividends, as well as a “Buffett rule” to increase taxes on households earning over $1m per year. Bush-era tax breaks will be allowed to expire, hitting [...]
Finance and marriage – should go together like a horse and carriage February 12, 2012 TAKING care to maximise income and capital gains tax allowances and reliefs may not seem like rocket science but over the years it can save a great deal of tax. In a world where “clever clever” tax mitigation is increasingly frowned upon there is a lot to be said for this low key approach. There [...]
UBS slashes its bonuses to recoup losses February 7, 2012 UBS slashed its bonus pool by 40 per cent at its investment bank last year in an attempt to make up some of the SFr1.8bn (£1.24bn) in losses incurred by an alleged rogue trader in quarter three. The bank revealed that pre-tax profits for the year dropped by SFr1.9bn to SFr5.5bn. The “unauthorised trading incident” [...]
Zuckerberg faces whopping tax bill February 5, 2012 FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg could fork out more than $1.5bn (£950m) in taxes when the Menlo Park-based company goes public in May. The S1 form, filed with the SEC last Wednesday, outlined that Zuckerberg intends to exercise his outstanding stock options on shares he was given in 2005 for his role as chief executive, selling [...]
The five most useful things to know about Junior Isas February 5, 2012 JUNIOR Isas were launched in November 2011. Any child born before September 2002, who does not already have a Child Trust Fund (CTF), can be signed up, as well as all children born after 3 January 2011. The Junior Isa scheme supplants the CTF (though the government does not contribute to the new scheme), and [...]
How to survive these taxing times January 29, 2012 AS THE dreaded 31 January rolls around for the self-employed – in fact, 1 February this year following planned industrial action – tax is once again top of the agenda. Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, has upped the ante by calling for the personal allowance to be raised to £10,000. In these taxing times, [...]