Osborne launches audit of UK’s books May 17, 2010 GEORGE OSBORNE will commission an independent audit of the nation’s battered public finances today, ahead of an emergency Budget at the end of June. The chancellor has asked Sir Alan Budd, a former economic adviser to the Treasury, to head up the Office for Budget Responsibility, which will publish the review. Budd will also be [...]
Investors may flip homes to avoid taxes May 16, 2010 FLIPPING is set to become the norm amongst second homeowners, say tax experts, as they look to avoid paying the government’s planned increase in capital gains tax. “Flipping homes is a real possibility for second home investors and is one way of avoiding capital gains tax,” said John Whiting, president of the Chartered Institute of [...]
SPREAD BET GURU May 16, 2010 MARKET STRATEGIST josh@cityindex.com Q. Dear Josh, why is a huge budget deficit a problem for the equity markets? A. Spiralling deficits from several countries within the Eurozone and the UK have been one of the main drivers of equity weakness over the past few weeks. Stock traders tend to think about what is coming next [...]
Cameron right to cut ministers’ pay May 13, 2010 IT was good to see David Cameron announcing a 5 per cent pay cut for all government ministers. The savings will be relatively trivial when compared with the £163bn budget deficit but that wasn’t really the point: any organisation that wishes to usher in a new culture where belt-tightening is the norm must be ruthless [...]
What Clegg and Cameron will mean for your finances May 13, 2010 WHEN David Cameron and Nick Clegg stepped into 10 Downing Street together on Wednesday evening, it heralded a new era in British politics and a strong commitment to tackle Britain’s public finances. Unfortunately for those keeping a close eye on their money, their plans to get the country’s debts in order are going to have [...]
Cameron and Clegg promise new order May 12, 2010 POLITICAL EDITOR ■ New government will hike capital gains tax, hitting private equity and buy-to-let ■ FSA given stay of execution after Tories and Lib Dems broker compromise deal ■ George Osborne will chair commission to examine break up of big banks PRIME Minister David Cameron hailed an “historic and seismic shift in politics” yesterday, [...]
Great stuff on the deficit; less good for UK businesses May 12, 2010 WE are only just into day three of the new government and already powerful themes are beginning to emerge. The policies announced yesterday can be divided into three categories: those that will address the crippling budget deficit and will therefore help stave off an immediate fiscal, sterling and gilts crisis; those that will boost competitiveness [...]
Business and King welcome spending cuts May 12, 2010 BANK OF ENGLAND governor Mervyn King yesterday hailed the new coalition government’s plans for an immediate £6bn cut in public spending to tackle Britain’s record peacetime deficit, saying it was imperative that Britain’s fiscal problems are dealt with sooner rather than later. Breaking from his traditional silence on fiscal policy, the governor said he had [...]
City balks at shock rise in Capital Gains May 12, 2010 THE City yesterday lashed out at the decision by the Conservative led coalition to increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT), warning that it would seriously inhibit investment. After the coalition government said CGT would be raised as part of a rejigging of the tax system Simon Walker, Chief executive of the British Private Equity and Venture [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THIS COALITION DELIVER A STABLE APPROACH TO FINANCIAL REFORM? May 12, 2010 ALEX PICKARD | PMI HEALTH GROUP “It remains to be seen what will happen as the coalition is made up of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum. It’s now more a question of what they will compromise on. The Lib Dems want to look at capital gain tax increases, while the Tories want [...]