Slower growth and perilous public finances: Can infrastructure and schools ride to Osborne’s rescue? March 16, 2016 George Osborne’s eighth Budget since taking office as chancellor proved to be one of his most challenging. With the economy taking a turn for the worse, forecasts as recent as those made in November’s Autumn Statement had to be significantly paired back. In fact, in the short term, the economy could weaken further than the [...]
The City needs to talk about mental health to combat this silent plague May 16, 2016 Today marks the start of World Mental Health Awareness Week, during which the spotlight will be turned on an important issue that for too long has been relegated to the shadows. Across the world, hundreds of millions of people are affected by mental health conditions. Here in the UK, for example, one in four people [...]
UK pensions: Actuaries slam idea of triple lock, saying protecting pension provision for future generations depends more on better financial education February 18, 2016 Actuaries have today cast doubt on the government's key mechanism for calculating state pension. Responding to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s inquiry on intergenerational fairness, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has said that triple lock is not only unnecessary but would also place an unfair burden on workers in the future. Under triple lock, basic state [...]
Budget 2016: Bookies at Ladbrokes seem distracted…they’re betting on Cheltenham coming up in George Osborne’s Budget speech March 15, 2016 The UK's bookmakers seem a little distracted this week – as George Osborne tweaks his speech before the Budget tomorrow, Ladbrokes seems more interested in fiscal activity at Cheltenham than Westminster. Ladbrokes is offering odds as part of its annual Budget Buzzword Bingo tradition. While "magic money tree", "referendum" and "long term economic plan" are all suggested for tomorrow's topics, bookies [...]
Productivity growth: The alarming trend that could kill all hope of a budget surplus (and Osborne becoming Prime Minister) March 16, 2016 For me, the most interesting aspect of the Budget yesterday wasn’t the headline-grabbing sin tax on sugary drinks, but the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) “highly uncertain judgement call” (in the words of the chancellor) regarding future productivity growth (output per hour worked). The OBR now projects that UK productivity growth, in the calculation of [...]
Advent International and others mulling £1bn-plus Land Registry takeover as government considers privatisation March 15, 2016 Advent International and others are considering bids for the government's £1bn-plus-valued Land Registry. City A.M. understands the buyout firm is one of a number of parties interested in the agency, which holds the titles for most of England and Wales’s land. Delivering his Autumn Statement last November, chancellor George Osborne said the government would "consult on options to [...]
UK house prices: Stamp duty reforms are forcing landlords to give up buy-to-let investing – or even ditch their portfolios altogether March 11, 2016 More than half of landlords are planning to halt investments into buy-to-let homes, new research has revealed – weeks before April’s stamp duty hike is due to come in. Figures from the crowdfunding platform Property Partner show 59 per cent of landlords are planning to scrap investments into traditional buy-to-let properties, or are intending to sell some [...]
Budget 2016 UK pension changes explained: What pension reforms might chancellor George Osborne have up his sleeve on 16 March? Will Waspi have any state pension joy? February 25, 2016 It's the question on everybody's lips (well, everybody at City A.M. anyway): what will pensions in the UK look like post-Budget 2016? Several suggestions have been bandied around, but which ones might you want to start banking on and which can you probably afford to ignore? Relief rates slashed for higher earners Bad news if you pay [...]
Budget 2016: Ouch. George Osborne cuts capital gains tax – but landlords and buy-to-let investors lose out March 16, 2016 George Osborne has cut capital gains tax during his Budget speech in parliament – but landlords will lose out. The chancellor said the higher rate of the tax, which applies to capital gains on most assets, will fall to 20 per cent, from 28 per cent now, while the basic rate falling to 10 per cent, from [...]
UK public borrowing figures for December mean Chancellor George Osborne is unlikely to meet his fiscal target January 22, 2016 Economists have warned UK public sector finances aren't improving quickly enough for the government to meet its deficit-reduction target laid out in the Autumn Statement. Public borrowing, excluding state-controlled banks, fell to £7.47bn in December from £11.7bn a year earlier, figures from Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown. This also beat economists' expectations for a decline to [...]