Booming tourism trade boosts Greece surplus August 19, 2013 GREECE’S booming summer tourism revenue has given a welcome boost to the cash-strapped country’s finances. Tourism, which is the country’s biggest foreign currency driver, rose 21 per cent year-on-year to €1.59bn (£1.36bn) for June, the first month of the summer holiday season. Surging visitor numbers also helped widen Greece’s current account surplus to €663m, from [...]
UK government concerned by Spanish threats over Gibraltar August 4, 2013 THE UK government has revealed its concern over remarks made by Spain’s foreign minister over Gibraltar, the disputed British territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Spain will step up controls on Gibraltar following a dispute over fishing rights. In an e-mailed statement, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in [...]
Letters to the Editor – 05/08 – Planning laws, tourist bonds, best of Twitter August 4, 2013 Planning Laws [Re: How hidden taxes and levies are pushing up UK house prices, Thursday] Alex Prince, in his letter to the editor last Thursday, implies that opposition to building developments arises exclusively from a local desire to retain green spaces. But another key reason for nimbyism is that an adjacent development will often reduce [...]
Greece has some big obstacles to clear to meet its fiscal targets and achieve primary surplus by 2014 July 29, 2013 Greece is continuing to make "overall, albeit often slow, progress" under the second economic asjustment programme, according to the European Commission's latest review of the country's economy. Although Greece has made good progress on public finances, recapitalisation of the four major banks, and several important structural reforms, there are still a number of areas that [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 25, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Captain Magic conjures hedge launch The glory days of the hedge fund launch may not be entirely over. Raffaele Costa, a flamboyant former GLG partner and self-styled “Captain Magic”, will this week unveil the first fund at his new firm Tyndaris, in what will be one of the boldest start-ups since 2008. Merkel [...]
UK braced for Chinese spree February 7, 2013 UK RETAILERS are braced for an increase in Chinese shoppers next week as New Year celebrations coincide with Golden Week, one of the country’s biggest holiday periods for Chinese tourists. Global Blue, the tax-free shopping services company, said its expects to see a repeat of the 30 per cent year-on-year growth in tax free sales [...]
Businesses call for VAT cut to boost tourism December 9, 2012 SLASHING VAT on tourist industries could grow the economy without cutting tax revenue, a tourist campaign group claimed yesterday. Using the Treasury’s own economic models, the British Hospitality Association (BHA) found that cutting VAT by 15 percentage points on tourism-related sales would deliver a £2.6bn windfall to the Treasury over 10 years. This is because [...]
Hamleys profits leap as French owner plots further expansion December 6, 2012 HAMLEYS, the country’s most famous toy shop recently snapped up by its larger French rival, yesterday posted bumper sales and profits in the year to March as it continues to keep its little customers happy. Ludendo, the family-owned toy group, bought Hamleys from the failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki for £60m in September. The group, under [...]
Marrakech does luxury — if you know where to look December 2, 2012 MARRAKECH HAS always proved popular with holiday goers: the vibrancy of the markets, its rich cultural heritage, the array of traditional food on offer and its general mystique continues to draw people in. During the 1930s it became a hub for writers and creative folk and by the Seventies, everyone from Yves Saint Laurent to [...]
Boris says Starbucks must do more for UK November 18, 2012 BORIS Johnson has said that multinational firms like Starbucks, who have not paid much UK corporation tax in recent years, need to do more for UK society or change their tax arrangements. Speaking to City A.M. ahead of his speech at the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual conference today, the Mayor of London said: [...]