Home ownership to slide says Bank’s David Miles November 22, 2011 FIRST-TIME buyers are taking longer to save for large deposits, and so the number of owner-occupiers is set to fall, David Miles from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee said in a speech yesterday. The transition to a society with fewer homeowners will be painful, he warned, but could have long-term benefits to the [...]
Six new Tories in tax cut demand November 17, 2011 Cutting corporation and capital gains tax, promoting trade between the UK and India, and encouraging retail investors to put cash into infrastructure are among the economy-boosting plans proposed today by six Conservative MPs from parliament’s 2010 intake. “Bold cuts in business taxes” will stimulate growth more effectively than tinkering with the system’s edges, said Karen [...]
BofA to sell off China bank stake November 14, 2011 Bank of America plans to sell most of its remaining stake in China Construction Bank Corp for $6.6bn (£4.1bn) cash in the ailing bank’s latest move to boost capital levels. The bank said last night the new stake sale is expected to generate a gain of about $1.8bn after taxes.
UK’s economic outlook reveals unsightly view November 7, 2011 ACCOUNTANCY firm BDO joins an ever-growing group warning that the UK’s economy is on the cusp of recession. In its latest business trends report, optimism levels came in below the crucial 95.0, for the first time since July 2009, for both the manufacturing and services sectors. BDO partner Peter Hemington says: “Businesses’ hiring intentions point [...]
Why the Archbishop has got it wrong November 2, 2011 I must confess that I’m glad not to be a member of the Church of England, an institution that has been hemorrhaging members ever since anybody can remember. While I have the deepest respect for the remaining band of Anglican churchgoers (though not for the CoE’s leadership), I can’t say I’m surprised by the Church’s [...]
Why the Archbishop has got it wrong November 1, 2011 I must confess that I’m glad not to be a member of the Church of England, an institution that has been hemorrhaging members ever since anybody can remember. While I have the deepest respect for the remaining band of Anglican churchgoers (though not for the CoE’s leadership), I can’t say I’m surprised by the Church’s [...]
Profits edge up at Barclays October 31, 2011 BARCLAYS surprised investors by booking a rise in profits in all but one of its businesses yesterday. Stripping out the effect of accounting gains and one-off provisions, its quarterly pre-tax profits rose five per cent on last year to £1.27bn despite earnings halving in its biggest division, Barclays Capital. Profits more than doubled in its [...]
Barclays profits up as bad debt costs fall October 31, 2011 Barclays reported a five per cent rise in underlying quarterly profit as lower charges for bad debt at the bank offset a third consecutive sharp fall in investment banking revenues as the euro zone financial crisis deepened. Barclays said it did not intend to raise any equity capital. It said pre-tax profit in the three [...]
These vague plans won’t save Europe October 26, 2011 FORGET about all the nonsense, the acronyms, the double-speak and the details of last night’s communiqués from Europe’s leaders. The reality is this. A country that has too much debt and cannot repay it by raising taxes or selling assets faces three choices: it can default; try and inflate or depreciate the debt away by [...]
Radical thinking on tax from the US October 25, 2011 WHILE the Eurozone moves ever closer to the brink, the US presidential elections have suddenly become more interesting. Two of the Republican candidates – former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain and Texas governor Rick Perry – have kick-started a major debate on tax reform and economic growth. It all started with Cain’s fascinating 9-9-9 plan: [...]