Government borrowing in May falls to an eight-year low June 19, 2015 Strong growth in income tax receipts helped whittle government borrowing down to an eight-year low last month. Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, was £10.12bn in May 2015, compared to £12.35bn from the same time year the same time a year ago. And this was below economists' forecasts of £10.8bn. This meant public [...]
Film review: Accidental Love June 18, 2015 Cert 15 | ★☆☆☆☆ Accidental Love was supposed to be David O Russell’s follow-up to 2004’s I Heart Huckabees, but he bailed on the project in 2010, perhaps after finally getting around to reading his own script. The story is daft: when Alice (an insignificant Jessica Biel) gets shot in the head by an errant [...]
Walkie Talkie to smash City office records as top floor goes under offer June 18, 2015 The top floor of the City's towering 20 Fenchurch Street – nicknamed the Walkie Talkie – is believed to have smashed new rental records, after it went under offer to a mystery firm, City A.M. can reveal. Read more: A storey-by-storey breakdown of everything in the Shard The highest rent achieved in the [...]
Expats beware: Working abroad could lose you money in the long run June 18, 2015 Moving abroad for work can be a very appealing prospect – there are higher salaries, lower tax rates and an undeniable sense of excitement. But doing so can often lead to financial losses down the line, according to financial advice firm AES International. They calculate that many of the 78,000 Britons leaving the [...]
Britons spend 24 days a year procrastinating June 18, 2015 The average British worker spends 11 hours a week – that's 24 days a year – putting things off, new research has suggested – with the majority of people choosing to watch TV instead. Read more: It's official – cat videos are good for your health The study, by life insurer Beagle Street, showed the [...]
Act now to avoid the Tories’ pension tax grab June 18, 2015 The chancellor has announced an “emergency” Budget for 8 July. On the basis of the new government’s Queen’s Speech, which saw little by way of surprises, the expectation is that there will be nothing much in the Budget to concern investors. Public spending cuts will continue, the government has already committed not to increase the [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Pretty Sagoo talks science, stress and Solvency II June 18, 2015 The whole pension thing was completely by accident,” says Pretty Sagoo, explaining how she ended up in banking, working with insurance and pension fund clients. In the language of the industry, her career has revolved around structuring and pricing deals, de-risking, swaps, hedges and the like. But Pretty doesn’t do jargon. “It just winds [...]
Riding the rollercoaster: Investing in emerging markets June 18, 2015 It’s been a risky few years but some have still made money. Top fund manager Edward Lam of Somerset Capital Management tells Annabelle Williams the tricks of the trade. From one crisis to the next, emerging markets have been a rollercoaster ride for investors over the last five years. Countries as diverse as Indonesia, [...]
Greek government balks at central bank’s Grexit warning June 17, 2015 With time running out to avoid a Greek default, a stark warning from Greece’s central bank proved sharply divisive yesterday. On the eve of a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg, the Bank of Greece warned that the country risks a “painful” exit from the euro and even possibly the European Union if Athens [...]
Q&A: If Greece goes bust, will it necessarily leave the Eurozone? June 17, 2015 Q Why would a default lead to a so-called Grexit? A The main reason why Greece is said to be at risk of leaving the Eurozone is because it would need to support its banking system. Q Why would Greek banks need support? A The banks have lent money to the government. If the state [...]