From easy money to $1m comic books February 23, 2010 Q. What do quantitative easing and super-hero comic books have in common? A. Quite a lot. Cheap money from central bank asset purchases and ultra-low interest rates is helping to reinflate bubbles in parts of the global economy. UK house prices are soaring irrationally again, for instance. But my favourite anecdote comes from ComicConnect.com, a [...]
Meet the man who would be king: a radical dressed in Liberal clothing February 23, 2010 THE Liberal Democrats have never held much sway in the City. Their traditional supporters prefer a sleepy, polite way of life – not the cut and thrust of the Square Mile. If the opinion polls are to be believed, however, Nick Clegg is set to play the role of kingmaker in a hung parliament after [...]
City applauds Tory cut-price shares move February 22, 2010 CONSERVATIVE plans to offer millions of people cheap shares in Britain’s nationalised banks have received a tentative thumbs-up from the City. Shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday outlined a scheme to hand small investors shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group when the government exits its £70bn stake. The “people’s bonus” would reward [...]
Public borrowing hits high as tax receipts fall February 18, 2010 THE state of the UK’s public finances got even worse in January after spending rose more than expected while tax revenues declined, according to official figures. Figures from thr Office of National Statistics (ONS) said the government borrowed another £4.3bn last month. Analysts had expected the government to repay about £2.8bn of its debts. January [...]
Affluent tax dodgers pay out £373m as HMRC tightens net February 16, 2010 HM REVENUE & Customs’ (HMRC) crackdown on wealthy tax evaders is gathering pace after investigators clawed back £373m last year, an increase of 21 per cent on 2008’s haul. Hedge fund managers and investment bankers were among those targeted by HMRC teams who examined the affairs of more than 50,000 people earning in excess of [...]
Profits surge at Barclays February 16, 2010 BARCLAYS yesterday lit a firecracker under the UK banking sector as it posted a 92 per cent surge in full-year profits, thanks to a sterling performance in its investment banking division and a one-off windfall from the sale of its asset management arm last year. Pre-tax profit rose to £11.6bn, up from £6.1bn in 2008, [...]
Dax’s big fat Greek boost February 14, 2010 THE prospects for Europe’s southern economies may be fading fast, but what is one country’s loss can be another’s gain. The euro, driven lower by investors’ fears over a Greek debt crisis, could be a boon for German exporters. The single currency has fallen steeply against the US dollar; it is down 9 per cent [...]
Q&A SHARE PLANS February 11, 2010 Q. I am an entrepreneur and I am thinking about a share scheme for my employees. What are the benefits for the employer and employee? A.Typically, employee share ownership schemes, or share option schemes, are used by small businesses for the same reasons that they are used by large multi-national corporations: to incentivise, reward and [...]
Get into the foreign property game at a fraction of the cost February 11, 2010 FOR many people, owning a foreign property would be the ultimate luxury. However, dealing with local authorities, maintaining the place, or renting it out can turn a luxury into a time-consuming, costly hassle. And that assumes you can really afford the place of your dreams, rather than a flat in a high-rise overlooking a crowded [...]
Incentive fees boost Och-Ziff February 11, 2010 HEDGE fund company Och-Ziff Capital Management Group yesterday reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings because it collected more incentive fees as its portfolios delivered strong returns. The New York-based company, which participated in the Glazer family takeover of Manchester United in 2005, reported distributable earnings of $281.4m (£179m) or 69 cents per share. A year earlier, the [...]