Scottish independence: Official campaigns barred from high schools August 22, 2014 With less than a month to go before voters north of the border decide whether to ditch the United Kingdom, 27 of Scotland's 32 local councils have barred the two sides from senior schools. Although the official campaigns may find themselves stuck outside the school gates, pupils are, of course, free talk about the merits [...]
London house prices to finally cool down as homeowners rush to sell properties August 11, 2014 The frothy London housing market is likely to come off the boil in the months ahead, with owners rushing to sell their properties following the recent surge in prices and buyers increasingly reticent to match the escalating valuations. The number of people looking to sell homes in the capital has climbed by nearly a third, [...]
Why regulators should be cautious about new banker bonus proposals July 30, 2014 IT CANNOT be ignored that trust in banking is still lingering at all-time lows and, according to a recent YouGov survey, 78 per cent of the public think there is an unhealthy bonus culture at the banks. Certainly, as the likes of Financial Reporting Council chairman Sir Win Bischoff have argued, more needs to be [...]
Supermarkets say Tesco tax would raise the price of food July 28, 2014 A senior executive at Sainsbury’s slammed proposals to levy another new tax on supermarkets yesterday, saying that the plans would lead to higher food prices. Derby City Council has proposed that local councils be permitted to introduce a “local levy” to supplement existing business rates, adding up to 8.5 per cent, to be kept by [...]
Doubts looming over Eurozone stimulus option July 17, 2014 QUANTITATIVE easing (QE) would have a less dramatic effect in the Eurozone than in the UK, according to research out yesterday, as a senior European official signalled that the policy may not be pursued at all. A report by credit ratings agency Moody’s argued that with sovereign bond yields already very low in the euro [...]
ACCA Comment: For women in business, small steps are no longer enough July 16, 2014 We must fire on all cylinders for gender equality to happen. As an analogy for the barrier women face to career progression, the glass ceiling has been around for so long that it seems unusually robust for something supposedly so fragile. Yes, more women are breaking into the higher echelons of business and [...]
We must recapture the power of long-termism to restore faith in the market July 16, 2014 Peter Lynch, the great American fund manager at Fidelity, returned an average of 29 per cent a year for his investors between 1977 and his retirement in 1990. An investment of $1,000 at the outset would have grown to $27,000 by the end of that period. That exceptional long-term record shows the huge power of [...]
Directors pile pressure on Sir John Peace ahead of crunch AGM July 16, 2014 City grandee Sir John Peace is under fire again over poor governance at the firms he chairs, with the Institute of Directors (IoD) attacking his succession planning at Experian. Serial chairman Peace is facing his third shareholder rebellion of the year, after complaints over his stewardship of Burberry and Standard Chartered. He is leaving Experian’s [...]
European Bank told to bring in QE to boost bloc July 14, 2014 THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) called on Eurozone policymakers to begin quantitative easing yesterday, painting a bleak picture of the prospects for the bloc if current trends continue. “If inflation remains too low the European Central Bank (ECB) should consider a substantial balance sheet expansion, including through asset purchases,” said the international watchdog, as it [...]
EU maternity leave law set to be shot down by Commission July 7, 2014 A draft directive intended to ensure 20 weeks fully paid maternity leave across the EU looks likely to be blocked by the European Commission under its Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT) programme, according to Euractiv. REFIT is one the European Commission's programmes to make EU law simpler and reduce regulatory burdens to foster growth and [...]