Banks rally but City frets over ringfence August 30, 2011 BRITISH banks’ share prices rallied dramatically yesterday as London played catch up with world markets after Monday’s holiday. Analysts said that investors were pricing in the possibility of further quantitative easing due to the Federal Reserve’s September meeting being extended from one to two days. But UK lenders were also helped by a bullish note [...]
Tobin tax would be suicide, report says August 17, 2011 A TAX on financial transactions would be “economic suicide” according to a study published this morning by a leading Westminster think tank. The Tobin tax, set to be tabled at the European Union in September, would drive jobs away from the City to lower-taxed parts of the world, the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) argues. The [...]
Survey reveals stagnation on the high street June 23, 2011 RETAIL sales stagnated in June, knocking hopes for growth on the British high street. Annualised sales failed to grow for the first time in a year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed yesterday. While a third of retailers reported higher sales than the same time last year, 34 per cent said that sales were [...]
Forget St Leger’s Day – still best to stay away September 11, 2011 A COUPLE of weeks ago, I tweeted that there were now two new ways of earning $1m: capture Colonel Gaddafi and collect the bounty, or play CNBC’s new million dollar portfolio game. Despite the fact that the fantasy portfolio game requires nothing but time – with no risk attached – I got a number of [...]
CBI says government must support long-term investors January 16, 2011 THE government needs to reconsider regulation and taxation rules to encourage more long-term investment, says Britain’s largest employers’ group. The CBI is today calling for the government to focus on reforming investment guidelines and promoting the UK as a place to invest for domestic and foreign companies. In its submission to the Business Innovation & [...]
Balls unveils £18bn plan to aid economy September 26, 2011 ED Balls yesterday unveiled an £18bn plan to stimulate the economy, including slashing VAT on home improvements to five per cent and giving small firms a national insurance holiday if they take on new workers. Balls repeated calls for the government to reintroduce Labour’s bonus tax; to lower the headline rate of VAT from 20 [...]
CBI’s factory orders index hits two-year high December 8, 2010 BRITISH factory orders looked to be their strongest in two and a half years after a surge in overseas demand, the Confederation of British Industry’s December industrial trends survey has showed. The CBI survey’s total order book balance unexpectedly jumped this month to -3 from -15 in November, well above economists’ forecasts of a reading [...]
ROGUE TRADING TALENT PULL IN THE CROWDS AS CITY ENTERTAINMENT September 26, 2011 SOMETHING to look forward to for UBS alleged fraudster Kweku Adoboli, once he has emerged from the trauma of the courts: following in the footsteps of the original rogue trader Nick Leeson by entertaining drunken clients at corporate events. Leeson has been quietly raking it in on the after-dinner speaking circuit for years, says celebrity [...]
ROGUE TRADING TALENT PULL IN THE CROWDS AS CITY ENTERTAINMENT September 26, 2011 SOMETHING to look forward to for UBS alleged fraudster Kweku Adoboli, once he has emerged from the trauma of the courts: following in the footsteps of the original rogue trader Nick Leeson by entertaining drunken clients at corporate events. Leeson has been quietly raking it in on the after-dinner speaking circuit for years, says celebrity [...]
CBI forecasts sluggish start to 2011 December 20, 2010 UK economic growth will drop to a “very sluggish” level in the first quarter of 2011 as consumer spending weakens, the Confederation of British Industry has said. Reduced household spending after the VAT rise will hold back first-quarter growth to about 0.2 per cent, down from 0.8 per cent at present and a slight reduction [...]