Plan to alter air tax sparks industry rage May 17, 2011 BUDGET airline EasyJet will today launch a campaign warning the government against changing the air passenger duty as proposed in the Budget, claiming such a move would reduce British GDP by £2.6bn. EasyJet today releases a report, written by Frontier Economics, which will claim that moving the levy would also reduce tourist spending by £475m [...]
Tourist tax rise scrapped and Learjet raid delayed March 23, 2011 THE chancellor scrapped a planned rise in air passenger duty yesterday, but admitted that legal difficulties have shelved a change to aviation tax. Air passenger duty will be frozen this year, with a hike linked to the retail price index planned for April 2012, George Osborne said. The government said in the emergency June Budget [...]
KNEES UP AT TREASURY IF GEORGE HAS A BEER March 22, 2011 AHEAD of today’s Budget, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) is trying to loosen up chancellor George Osborne – and his stance on beer tax – by dropping by the Treasury to hand-deliver a hamper of Britain’s finest beers. With the Budget speech the one day that the chancellor is allowed an on-duty tipple, [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES AUDITORS SEEK TO EASE FEARS The four biggest auditors have denied that their dominance of the market for large companies had created a systemic risk akin to that posed by the leading banks. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC have told the European Commission that they are willing to help draw up [...]
Culture, sand and sun: a day in Oman just isn’t enough November 28, 2010 MUSCAT in the Sultanate of Oman is set on the edge of rough desert landscapes overlooking sparkling emerald seas. Today it’s a sought-after holiday spot for those in search of pristine diving waters, year-round sunshine and an authentic Arabian experience. Nothing like its glitzy neighbour, Dubai. It’s my third visit in a decade and is [...]
Far from the Medina crowd November 14, 2010 MARRAKECH might not immediately spring to mind when choosing somewhere to unwind. And to be sure, its main square Jemaa el Fna delivers noise, commotion, smoke and crowds, with tourists tripping over dancing monkeys and baskets of cobras to get to their next tagine. But there’s another side to the pink city, away from the [...]
Ruling the theatre roost November 11, 2010 OF all the areas you might expect a canny private equity firm to invest serious bucks, the theatre business – with its reputation for volatile actors and directors, no less volatile audiences, and millions poured into shows that can fold almost immediately – might not be top of the list. However, London firm Exponent has [...]
The commercial property king who says the City is ready for take-off November 2, 2010 Land Securities’ chief executive leaps from behind his desk, bounding across his seventh floor office overlooking Trafalgar Square as he welcomes City A.M. – after years of stagnation, the country’s biggest property developer is on the move again – and it certainly seems to have put a spring in Francis Salway’s step. Last week, the FTSE [...]
Ryanair profit surges by 17 per cent November 1, 2010 Ryanair has reported a 17 per cent surge in first half net profit and upgraded its full-year earnings guidance. The low cost Irish airline now expects full-year net earnings to be in a range of 380m to 400m euros (£328m to £345.3m) compared with previous guidance of 350m to 375m euros. The rosier outlook comes [...]
Glass towers reflect new opportunities for the City October 31, 2010 LAST week was widely reported as a good news week for the City; two more skyscraper projects – British Land’s Cheesegrater and Land Securities’ Walkie Talkie – were revived and One New Change, the new jewel in the City’s retail offering, opened to huge fanfare and to huge crowds. All of this is of course [...]