Treasury minister quits over expenses June 17, 2009 TREASURY minister Kitty Ussher resigned from the government last night after it emerged she avoided paying £17,000 capital gains tax on her Burnley constituency home when she sold it in 2007. Ussher denied she did anything wrong, but said she was stepping aside to prevent causing the “government any embarrassment.” Ussher, a former City Minister, [...]
Osborne hits out at City in key speech June 9, 2009 TORY shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday said the City’s focus on “illusory” short-term gains had damaged the financial sector and the entire economy. Speaking at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) conference, Osborne said that City regulation needed to be reformed to “reduce the risks the financial sector poses to the rest of the economy”. [...]
GPE executives get big bonuses while slump hits profits June 7, 2009 GREAT Portland Estates, the West End property group, has handed out a total £1.3m in executive bonus payouts, despite sinking to a £436m pre-tax loss last year. The property group is expected to face clashes when it meets shareholders at its annual meeting next month. Since the downturn bonuses have been in the spotlight as [...]
Cash in on Euro parliament with Brussels buy-to-let June 4, 2009 IF you think that politicians in this country have a good life, then take a look at the European Parliament. It is estimated that, if they have little shame, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) can take home €200,000 (£173,000) a year. The first reaction to this might well be outrage. But the second should [...]
MPs should show how to use pay to reward talent May 25, 2009 May has been a very embarrassing month. People keep talking about money. Not the anonymous multi-trillion pound bailout/quantitative easing/fiscal stimulus piles of money, but the cringingly personal “my house is bigger than yours” monthly pay-cheque sort of money. One of CNBC TV’s guests last week hit the nail on the head when he said; “the [...]
Brown: I will solve scandal May 19, 2009 PRIME minister Gordon Brown last night pledged to end the “gentleman’s club” of parliamentary regulation, as he said all Labour MPs who broke the rules on expenses would not stand at the next general election. Brown said the House of Commons must be subject to independent regulation for the first time in history, after Speaker Michael [...]
Why Randgold Resources’ boss can afford to go on a 48-day bike safari May 17, 2009 BIG, burly, loud and infectious: Mark Bristow, the founder and chief executive of Randgold Resources, looks every inch a mining man. The 6’3” South African is in good form as he bounds into the gold miner’s functional London office in the shadow of the Savoy Hotel (it is undergoing a 16-month £100m refit – the [...]
Brain-drain? It’s nothing but a blip September 10, 2008 Lots of City workers are heading for Dubai at the moment, but don’t worry: London will lure them back soon, says Max Orbach We all know somebody who has re-located to Dubai, Singapore or even Moscow in the last few months, as the British economy has wobbled, house-prices have fallen and inflation has risen. While [...]
Cash and bonds will help protect your investments from stagflation August 29, 2008 It’s time to re-balance your portfolio to cushion the blow of the bear market, says Bill Jamieson Investors have arrived at a critical inflection point on portfolio planning. Many believe that key sectors of the equity market such as banks and house builders are now undervalued, yet they choose to remain markedly underweight in these [...]
Suite returns: why it’s a good time to check yourself into the hotel industry August 14, 2008 Hotel rooms are one area of property investing that are bucking the credit crunch, writes Timothy Barber If we’re thinking positive, the slowing economy presents an opportunity to get a bit creative with investments. The alternative asset market has become more and more prominent in 2008 as investors look for areas offering stable returns in [...]