University loans drive a hike in unsecured debt November 24, 2013 STUDENT debts are the driving force behind a new rise in unsecured lending, which is increasing again for the first time since the crash, according to a report released today. This year, unsecured debt has risen by £8.5bn, a four per cent hike. However, new research by PwC attributes much of the new increase to [...]
Financial Transaction Tax may reduce GDP by 0.3 per cent November 25, 2013 The proposal by the European Commission for a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) may reduce GDP by as much as 0.3 per cent, according to a study by PwC. The tax may also fail to address the issue of systemic risk in the financial sector, one of the central aims of the proposal. The report noted [...]
City jobs market bouncing back January 20, 2014 CITY hiring is booming on the back of the burgeoning recovery, business groups and recruiters said today, indicating the economy is at last getting back to health. More than 10,000 net new finance workers were hired in the final three months of 2013 and an additional 15,000 net will be taken on this quarter as [...]
High street kicks-off sales frenzy ahead of Christmas December 19, 2013 DISCOUNTING activity in the crucial run-up to Christmas has begun in earnest as new figures out yesterday showed that nearly three quarters of retailers were now holding sales in a last-minute bid to win over shoppers. PwC said 72 per cent of the 100 high street retailers surveyed were now on sale or holding promotions [...]
City Moves for 06 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 5, 2014 Akin Gump The law firm has announced the appointment of Lisa Leiman Hearn as a partner in its London office. She specialises in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Hearn joined in 2005 and was formerly counsel at the firm. Jones Lang LaSalle The property company has hired Helen Gough as head of its [...]
City Moves for 9 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 8, 2014 YFM Equity Partners The private equity firm has announced the appointment of Paul Cook as chief operating officer. Cook was previously managing director of Access IS, and has also held roles at KPMG, PwC, Sonatest, American Standard and William Baird. BNP Paribas The bank has appointed Gildas Surry as senior credit analyst for European banks. Surry has [...]
CGT exemption rules clarified by Treasury December 10, 2013 HOMEOWNERS selling a property in which they previously lived will be given until April 2015 to complete the sale before they must pay capital gains tax on the property, the Treasury confirmed yesterday. The news comes after George Osborne announced in the Autumn Statement last week that the tax-free period for people letting their former [...]
Any Other Business – 18/12 December 17, 2013 ANDREW Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, is well-known for his rock’n’roll take on economics. So when The Capitalist caught up with him, we thought it was only right to talk music. The result? He put together a suggested playlist for Bank of [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 20 December 2013 December 19, 2013 FINANCIAL TIME Taper pressures emerging markets Markets soured on the day after the US Federal Reserve’s dramatic tapering of its asset purchases from $85bn to $75bn per month as the dollar climbed and vulnerable emerging markets came under pressure. The taper heralded a new era of dollar strength, with the US currency up by 0.6 [...]
Employee savings and share schemes get a lift December 5, 2013 WORKERS will get the right to acquire up to £3,600 a year in share incentive plans, up from £3,000 currently, or £1,800 a year in partnership shares, from April. As part of the government’s push for John Lewis-style partnerships, firms that offer employees a stake in the company will be able to share £25m in [...]