There was no other choice – now George Osborne must hold his nerve October 20, 2010 IT was a timely reminder that action is desperately required to tackle Britain’s out of control budget deficit. At 9:30 yesterday morning, a full three hours before George Osborne got up to deliver his spending review to the House of Commons, the latest monthly budget deficit figures popped up on traders’ screens across the City. [...]
Spending Review Reaction October 20, 2010 THE GILTS EXPERT Killik & Co provides advisory services to private investors of all sizes. It offers advice on a wide range of financial matters, including CFDs, equities, fixed income markets and funds of funds INVESTMENT STRATEGIST PATRICK GORDON “The gilts market reaction has been fairly muted to the spending review although we did see [...]
Johnson: tax bankers to soften cuts October 18, 2010 ALAN Johnson yesterday unveiled Labour’s strategy for reducing the deficit, backing his predecessor’s plan to halve it within four years but arguing for higher taxes on banks to soften the blow of spending cuts. Speaking to an audience of accountants at KPMG’s headquarters, the shadow chancellor said Alistair Darling was right to plan to halve [...]
Be tax savvy with investing October 14, 2010 HOLDING all your money in cash when inflation is running at 3 per cent or more and interest rates are a meagre 0.5 per cent is probably not a good idea. And when the best cash ISAs are offering a rate of 2.8 per cent, the real value of your money is being eroded. So [...]
Thailand and China try to stem inflows October 11, 2010 ASIAN authorities anxious about currency appreciation moved to stem foreign capital inflows yesterday while a European official stepped up rhetoric about a strong euro after IMF meetings failed to defuse tensions about exchange rates. China temporarily raised reserve requirements for six large commercial banks, a surprise move aimed at draining cash from the economy. Thailand, [...]
Walker to bid £1bn for food firm Iceland October 10, 2010 THE boss of frozen food chain Iceland is planning a £1bn takeover of the firm he founded four decades ago, although he faces a potential bid battle, it emerged yesterday. Malcolm Walker, who together with other managers owns about a quarter of the retailer, is thought to have offered to buy the remaining 76 per cent [...]
Flats for the Eurocrat: a Brussels bargain October 7, 2010 IF YOU’RE moving to Brussels, it’s unlikely to be for the Belgian beer, the moules-frites and the chocolates. Most Britons relocate to the Belgian capital for work and join the 100,000-strong expat community of European Union workers, lobbyists and lawyers for at least a year or two. While most expats tend to rent when they [...]
Coalition still too complacent on tax October 3, 2010 IT IS heating up here in Birmingham at the Conservative Party conference. George Osborne is about to launch a scathing attack on Ed Miliband for failing to grasp the importance of cutting the deficit; and a deal has been agreed to sweep away the plethora of incentive-destroying benefits, eventually replacing them with a single payout [...]
FTSE led lower as Smiths Group and banks fall despite gains by Unilever September 27, 2010 THE FTSE 100 closed down 25.06 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,573.42, after gaining 1.6 per cent last week, with Smiths Group out of favour while Unilever rose after a US acquisition. Broker recommendation and target price changes were behind some of the individual equity moves. Smiths shed 1.6 per cent after Bank of [...]
A tricky balancing act on tax reform September 21, 2010 CONFERENCE season is upon us and the next few weeks will be the first time the parties have had since May to slow down and take stock of this brave new post-coalition political world. Given the breakneck speed at which the coalition has been implementing its policies so far, the conference pause is also a [...]