PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS June 24, 2010 PAY BY CARD TO GAIN REWARDS Savvy shoppers could earn substantial rewards by whacking all their day-to-day spending on the plastic. Based on an average household spend of £386.30 per week on a reward credit card, and by paying off the balance in full each month, Confused.com research shows after just one year, some of [...]
At a glance: All the crucial points from Osborne’s emergency Budget June 22, 2010 THE ECONOMY/PUBLIC FINANCES • The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published fresh forecasts in light of the measures announced yesterday by chancellor George Osborne. • GDP growth will be 1.2 per cent in 2010, accelerating to 2.3 per cent in 2011, 2.8 per cent in 2012 and 2.9 per cent in 2013. The pace of [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? June 22, 2010 KATE SOLWAY, 30 FUNDS CONTROLLER AT PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM COGNETAS Kate is single and lives in rented accommodation. She also owns two investment properties – one a London flat with a mortgage which she rents out, and the other a holiday home under construction in west Africa’s Cape Verde, on which she does not have [...]
What to look out for in the Budget June 21, 2010 THE ECONOMY/PUBLIC FINANCES • The newly-created interim Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) released forecasts last week for growth and public borrowing. But these were based on the policy decisions of Alistair Darling’s Budget and are likely to change in response to moves made by the new chancellor. • Previously, the OBR said GDP?growth is expected [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 21, 2010 Northern Trust The investment manager has appointed John Krieg to its London subsidiary, Northern Trust Global Investments, as managing director for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Krieg joins from the group’s HQ in Chicago, where he was head of global investment product management. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2002, he was director [...]
Osborne wins Square Mile’s quiet approval June 16, 2010 CITY figures cautiously welcomed chancellor George Osborne’s decision to restore financial regulation to the Bank of England last night, but urged him to think carefully about the shift. Osborne said oversight of UK-based high street lenders, investment banks, building societies and insurers would be the responsibility of a new body under the control of the [...]
Cowdery set to pay £2.8bn for AXA UK June 13, 2010 RESOLUTION, the insurance buyout vehicle, will ask the London market to suspend its shares this morning as it negotiates a £2.8bn takeover of AXA’s UK life and pensions business. The group, led by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, will also give a brief update on talks with the French company. But a Rule 2.5 announcement providing full [...]
Business prefers VAT hike over NI rise June 13, 2010 MANUFACTURING and industrial bosses would overwhelmingly prefer a Vat rise to any other tax increase in the 22 June budget, according to accountant KPMG. A survey of 202 executives found 61 per cent saw a Vat hike as the lesser of several taxation evils, with a higher levy on national insurance viewed as the least [...]
US watchdog panel slams AIG bailout June 10, 2010 A REPORT by the Congressional Oversight Panel, set up by lawmakers to monitor the $700bn (£476bn) bailout fund, blasted the government’s $182bn bailout of insurance giant AIG for its continued “poisonous effect” on financial markets and said it’s still unclear whether taxpayers ever will be fully repaid. “For now, the ultimate cost or profit to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 9, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BACKLASH OVER INDIAN FLOAT RULES India is facing a growing private sector backlash against a rule change that will lead to a flood of more than $50bn of new shares being listed over three years. There are concerns that the move could damage the country’s stock market and hamper economic growth. The Finance [...]