Flash estimate sees US GDP stronger than expected November 7, 2013 US GDP increased by 2.8 per cent annually in the third quarter, according to a flash estimate, after expectations of a 2.0 per cent rise and following second quarter growth of 2.5 per cent. The increase, says the Bureau of Economic Analysis, primarily reflects positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, private inventory investment, exports, residential fixed investment, [...]
Business groups urge PM to make good on tax cuts October 2, 2013 DAVID Cameron must make good on his defence of the free market by cutting taxes and boosting investment in the economy, business groups warned yesterday. The Prime Minister used the final day of the Conservative party conference in Manchester to deliver a rhetroic-heavy speech in defence of free markets, attempting to define the next election [...]
Credit Suisse slashes costs to boost earnings October 24, 2013 CREDIT Suisse will slash spending on its interest trading arm, the investment bank said yesterday, as revenues at the unit fell in the third quarter. The Swiss bank saw profits jump sharply in the quarter, but the gains came from cost cutting rather than improved revenues. Net income rose to SFr454m (£314.5m), up 79 per [...]
Letters to the Editor – 7/10 – Washington antics, Empty rhetoric, Best of Twitter October 6, 2013 Washington antics [Re: Recovery could still be extinguished by Washington’s antics, Friday] It’s easy to blame the crisis in Washington on a intractable group of Tea Party Republicans. We can criticise their behaviour. But is what they’re saying right? The real problem the US faces is not the debt ceiling (which will likely be raised) [...]
City Moves for 18 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 17, 2013 KPMG The professional services firm has announced the appointment of Sean Randall as head of its UK stamp taxes group. Randall spent the past eight years at Deloitte, where he specialised in stamp taxes. JP Morgan Private Bank Antoine Massoud has joined the private bank as a senior banker in its Middle East banking team. [...]
Time to take drastic action to reboot Britain’s feeble economy February 19, 2013 So what, exactly, could the chancellor do to boost growth? He is, of course, hamstrung by two conflicting realities: the fact that the budget deficit remains huge, and may even increase this year, as well as by the realities of coalition politics. But unless he changes course, and is willing to take a major risk, [...]
Tying the knot can help you maximise your allowances January 20, 2013 WHEN it comes to tax, we don’t often have a lot to cheer about. That is unless you have tied the knot, since married couples and civil partners have some juicy advantages. Planning in advance, and seeking expert advice, can prove an efficient way of maximising your joint tax allowances. INVESTMENT INCOME The income tax [...]
CentreForum says equity could fill small business funding gap February 14, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT must slash financial taxes and cut red tape to allow small firms to fill their funding gaps by going public, a think tank said yesterday. Ending the tax and regulatory bias toward debt finance would be a massive step toward narrowing the £59bn funding gap faced by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), [...]
The Tories are failing to find a market response to Ed Miliband’s anti-capitalism September 30, 2013 THE ROLE of the state has long been the major fault line in UK political discourse. This is not surprising, given that the interaction between state and citizen has changed so profoundly over the past 100 years. And with Ed Miliband’s challenge to the market economy last week, and yesterday’s attempted defence by George Osborne, [...]
EU backs down on finance tax September 5, 2013 EUROPE is reining in its planned financial transactions tax (FTT), cutting back the level of the tax and limiting its scope dramatically after leaders realised it could do enormous damage to the economy. The FTT is now likely to affect just share trades at first, rather than bonds and derivatives as originally planned, and at [...]