Company car rate hiked to raise £1.6bn March 21, 2012 CHANCELLOR George Osborne unveiled a hike in company car tax rates yesterday in a move he claimed will raise an extra £1.6bn in revenues over the next five years. The plan to clobber companies with fleet cars for more tax came just minutes after Prime Minister David Cameron had identified a booming car industry as [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CANACCORD AND COLLINS STEWART TO AXE 100 JOBS Nearly 100 staff will be made redundant tomorrow when Canaccord Financial completes its acquisition of Collins Stewart Hawkpoint, as London’s stockbroking industry continues to shed capacity. The Vancouver Group agreed to buy Collins Stewart for £253.5m in December EU DEFIES CARBON TRADE WAR THREAT The [...]
AUSSIE DOLLAR CAUGHT IN A TUG-OF-WAR March 20, 2012 FINANCIAL FEATURES WRITER GIVEN its usual position as a proxy for risk and its draw as a high-yielding currency in a sea of near-zero yields, the Aussie dollar ought to be surging against its pairs. A tug-of-war is ongoing between carry trade demand for yield and European economic weakness on the one side and a [...]
THE TIPSTER March 20, 2012 A BIT of risk aversion set in yesterday causing the euro to suffer some losses. Euro-dollar couldn’t add to the decent gains it has seen so far this week, as a sell off in equity markets, driven by concerns about Portugal, knocked the shine off the single currency. Capital Spreads quotes a price of $1.3200-$1.3201 [...]
D&B shuts Shanghai unit in privacy investigation March 19, 2012 DUN & Bradstreet, a global business information firm, said some of its local employees in China may have violated US anti-bribery laws and has suspended operations at one of its local units pending an inquiry. The company said it is investigating allegations that data collection practices at Shanghai Roadway D&B Marketing Services, which it formed [...]
Dim view of banks puts the brakes on FTSE 100’s rally March 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares eased back from last week’s 2012 highs yesterday, as weakness in banks after recent strong gains overshadowed a late-session recovery from miners, with investors awaiting the next catalyst to drive the market. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down 4.47 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,961.11. Banks, which spearheaded the FTSE [...]
London retains its ranking as the world’s best place to do business March 18, 2012 LONDON has retained its standing as the world’s top financial centre, despite economic uncertainty, the threat of regulatory upheaval and the Eurozone debt crisis. In the Global Financial Centres Index, the UK capital scored a rating of 781, compared to 772 for New York, 754 for Hong Kong, 729 for Singapore and 693 for Tokyo. [...]
Why the bulls are building a head of steam March 18, 2012 SO it’s another week and the bull market for stocks remains intact. The S&P 500 has breached the 1,400 level for the first time since June 2008, while in Europe equities are at fresh year highs, with Germany’s Dax up over 21 per cent. The FTSE is an underperformer, but still up an acceptable seven [...]
China’s manufacturers turn to Europe for innovation March 18, 2012 CHINESE manufacturers are set to snap up a series of firms in Europe as they try to fast-track innovation and development, according to research published today. Large and medium-sized industrial firms in the emerging market economy are mulling more mergers and acquisitions, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. More than half of the senior executives [...]
Japanese help to boost UK tourist trade March 18, 2012 JAPAN’S economic recovery has fuelled a resurgence in Japanese travellers to the UK, helping to boost overall tourist spend by 46 per cent last month compared with the same period last year. Japanese shoppers spent an average of £449 per store when shopping in the UK, with overall spend up by 35 per cent in [...]