There is zero virtue in involuntary high taxes October 18, 2011 WARREN Buffett has famously claimed that he is happy to pay a higher rate of income tax. He figures that, given all he has gained from society, it is only right that he give a lot back. President Obama’s proposed new tax on incomes above $1m has even been dubbed the Buffett tax. This week [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHOPPY MARKETS THREATEN EMI SALE Turbulent financing markets could derail Citigroup’s attempt to sell EMI, according to people close to the $3bn-plus auction who warned that the US bank could abandon the sale if it cannot squeeze higher offers from bidders. The bidding process remains fluid, with Citigroup expected to decide within two [...]
House price rises limited to the south October 16, 2011 HOUSE prices in the south are now over twice as high as elsewhere in England and Wales, according to asking prices collated by Rightmove. Asking prices in southern regions have shot up by 4.7 per cent this month, wedging an even bigger gap between housing costs in the south compared to further north. In London [...]
Cheap loans aid house prices October 11, 2011 HOUSE prices increased in August compared with July, but are still down on levels seen 12 months ago, according to figures out yesterday from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Meanwhile, statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), also out yesterday, showed homeowners taking advantage of low interest rates as remortgage levels [...]
Hong Kong has a budget surplus – the UK could too October 10, 2011 WHEN Vince Cable arrived too late to hear Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang speak at a special dinner in London three weeks ago, some suggested he was saving face. Indeed, where would Cable have looked while Tsang was expounding on Hong Kong’s HK$71.3bn (£5.84bn) budget surplus? How does it feel to be the representative [...]
Euro deal on hold as Dexia is saved October 9, 2011 NEGOTIATIONS between the Eurozone’s biggest economies appeared to have stalled yesterday as France and Germany refused to detail how they will recapitalise the region’s teetering banks. A highly anticipated meeting yesterday resulted in a bland statement by German chancellor Angela Merkel that politicians “are determined to do the necessary to secure the recapitalisation”, which the [...]
All three parties are failing UK business: Digby Jones lays out his policy challenge October 9, 2011 NOW that all the nonsense of party conference season is over, as Westminster heads back to work and the rest of us continue to try and earn an honest living, what did we hear from the mouths of our political masters? Did any of the three main parties show the UK business community that they [...]
House prices decline again in September October 6, 2011 VOLATILITY continued in the housing market, with September’s price falls reversing gains seen in June and July, the Halifax index revealed yesterday. Prices are down 0.5 per cent compared with August and 2.3 per cent over the last 12 months, the seasonally adjusted figures show. The rate of decline has slowed from its peak of [...]
Fixed mortgages sink to their cheapest rates for 45 months October 6, 2011 MORTGAGE rates on high loan-to-value deals have sunk to their lowest point since January 2008. Loans worth 90 per cent of the value of the acquired property are available at an average of 5.39 per cent on a fixed two year rate, the website Moneyfacts has claimed. The average rate has tumbled from 6.05 per [...]
House prices down in September October 6, 2011 House prices unexpectedly fell 0.5 per cent in September and were 2.3 per cent lower in the three months to September compared with a year ago, a survey by mortgage lender Halifax showed. Analysts had expected a rise of 0.2 per cent on the month, for a three-month annual fall of 2.1 per cent. September’s [...]