WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HOLLYWOOD MAKEOVER FOR YOUTUBE Google is deepening its ties with Hollywood by enlisting top stars to supply original content for YouTube in a bid to boost profits and user engagement at the company’s online video site. Google has been making the rounds of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, outlining plans to create a network [...]
BHP Billiton unveils $9.5bn expansion plan March 24, 2011 BHP Billiton yesterday revealed details of its $9.5bn (£5.89bn) investment plans for its iron ore and coal operations. The FTSE 100 miner announced a bigger-than-expected $80bn capital expenditure plan last month, which the firm said would pay for organic growth over the next five years rather than blockbuster acquisitions. BHP said yesterday its Western Australia [...]
Going private in the Maldives, at long last March 24, 2011 For years, the Indian Ocean’s most exquisite islands, the Maldives, have been solely the preserve of hotels. Now, they’ve begun to open up to foreign buyers, thanks to new laws introduced by the pro-enterprise President Mohamed Nasheed. Before Nasheed, elected two years ago, leaseholds were too short to attract European buyers – but they have [...]
At a glance: All the crucial points from Osborne’s Budget for Growth March 23, 2011 THE ECONOMY/PUBLIC FINANCES The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised its growth forecast for the economy, blaming higher-than-expected inflation as a result of recent global commodity price shocks and the weather-affected final quarter of 2010. GDP growth has been revised down to 1.7 per cent in 2011. Growth is expected to peak at 2.9 [...]
A useful but schizophrenic package March 23, 2011 SOME of the early reaction yesterday was that this was a slightly boring, forgettable Budget. Nonsense. It was far-ranging: radical in parts, brilliant at times, occasionally awful, way too political and often quite surprising. It wasn’t quite the Budget for growth that George Osborne should have delivered: populism all too often got the better of [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? March 23, 2011 CATHERINE GANNON, 48 MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CITY LAW FIRM GANNONS LAW LLP Catherine is single with two children, earns a gross income of over £100,000 a year and pays a mortgage on her family home. She has a share portfolio and also has mortgages on various investment properties. She does not drink or smoke. She [...]
Tax-free threshold on ISAs hit by change in inflation measurement from April 2012 March 23, 2011 ALLOWANCES for several direct taxes will rise at a slower rate than before, after changes made by chancellor George Osborne yesterday. The measure of inflation used to calculate increases in direct tax allowances will change from April next year, Osborne announced. Thresholds for capital gains tax (CGT), national insurance (NI) and ISAs, will now be [...]
Entrepreneurs among Budget big winners March 23, 2011 ENTREPRENEURS were among the biggest winners from the Budget, with a raft of measures aimed at encouraging people to invest in their own businesses. The changes, most of which will come into play on 6 April, will include: •A hike in the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs from £5m to £10m. •Relaxation of the Enterprise Investment [...]
Espirito Santo profits fall on Basel III cost March 23, 2011 PORTUGUESE investment bank Espirito Santo blamed the Eurozone debt crisis and the new Basel III rules for a 22 per cent drop in net income to €122.2m (£106.3m) for the year yesterday. Espirito Santo, which bought London stockbroker Execution Noble last November, said pre-tax profit fell 3.2 per cent to €678.6m. Fees and capital market [...]
Wealth managers cheered by new non-dom rules March 23, 2011 The City’s private wealth industry received a boost after the Budget’s reform of how the UK’s wealthy non-domiciled residents are taxed proved more benign than expected. Chancellor George Osborne said ‘non-doms’ – people resident but not domiciled for tax purposes in the UK – will have to pay more after living here for 12 years. [...]