Inflation hits the poor and pensioners June 13, 2011 INFLATION is harming the UK’s poor and pensioners more severely than people on higher incomes, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed today. The figures compound worries about further hikes in household energy prices, which will see those on lower incomes holding back on heating their homes, the report warned. Domestic fuel costs [...]
Inflating away the UK’s national debt June 9, 2011 ONCE again, the Bank of England chose to keep interest rates on hold yesterday. It is now looking like it won’t be raising rates until next year at the earliest. Forget about strict inflation targeting; its new policy appears to be to keep monetary policy as loose as possible for the foreseeable future, as long [...]
Lloyds will be hit by fall in house prices June 1, 2011 LLOYDS would be the hardest hit of the UK banks by an expected decline in house prices over the next two years, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. A note released yesterday by researchers at the bank painted a more pessimistic view of the housing market than analysts had previously predicted, with a 10 per [...]
Banks help FTSE to end May on a high but fear still reigns May 31, 2011 BANKS and energy stocks, buoyed by hopes of a second bailout for Greece, helped Britain’s FTSE 100 higher yesterday, but traders remained concerned about buying momentum in the short-term. “Uncertainty for the near term outlook still remains bearish until the markets can pick up positive momentum and clear hurdles to give the bulls a chance [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UK BUILDERS SEE VALUE OF ORDERS COLLAPSE The value of work awarded to UK construction companies crashed during the past year, raising concerns that the impact of government spending cuts will be far worse than previously feared. The total value of new work awarded to the UK’s 50 leading construction companies fell by [...]
Osborne caught in a tangle over tax May 17, 2011 HEAD OF TAX, ACCA A YEAR on and coalition relations are distinctly less rosy than they were in the rose garden last May. But despite recent tensions the coalition has already made plenty of progress in reshaping Britain: radical reforms to welfare, education, and healthcare have all been initiated. From an accountant’s perspective though, one [...]
The man who’s locking horns with indecisive EU regulators April 17, 2011 MENTION Brussels to any senior London-based insurer and you will always get the same reaction: anger and exasperation. With just over 18 months to go before the introduction of Solvency II, the insurance industry’s equivalent of the new Basel III banking rules, European regulators have still not produced a framework that properly reflects the business [...]
Allied Irish loss soars to €10.4bn April 12, 2011 Allied Irish Banks’ full-year loss more than quadrupled to €10.4bn (£9.2bn) in 2010 and the lender said on Tuesday it would axe over 2,000 jobs as it seeks to re-invent itself as a locally-focussed bank. A former stock market darling with international ambitions, AIB has been effectively nationalised and saved from collapse by emergency ECB [...]
Labour market recovery boosts optimism on US March 30, 2011 AN ADP report yesterday showed that private employers added 201,000 jobs in March – slightly below consensus expectations for an increase of 208,000 jobs. Small and medium firm payroll growth remained strong in March, adding 102,000 and 82,000 jobs, while large firms added 17,000 jobs. “This indicates continued momentum in the pace of labour market [...]
Northern Rock to axe 680 jobs March 28, 2011 STATE-OWNED bank Northern Rock is to cut up to 680 jobs this year as it streamlines to cut costs before a return to the private sector. Newcastle-based Northern Rock said yesterday cost management was a key focus as it seeks to return to profit. The bank said economic and trading conditions were challenging for lenders [...]