Mapped: The world’s biggest tax havens February 12, 2015 After the news that HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped customers evade millions of pounds in tax, the news that Switzerland is the world's biggest tax haven will be unsurprising. The Financial Secrecy Index, which is completed by the Tax Justice Network and ranks the world's 82 largest tax havens, is based on two factors [...]
Budget 2015: What to watch out for today March 17, 2015 WHO: GEORGE OSBORNE WHEN: 12.30PM TODAY WHERE: HOUSE OF COMMONS WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW A further shake up of pensions Over 55-year-olds who had previously been forced to buy an annuity will be able to sell it for a lump cash sum to use as they wish, instead of receiving the regular payouts, building on reforms from [...]
Kier Group will raise £340m to pay for Mouchel April 28, 2015 Construction group Kier will control 30 per cent of the UK’s road network if its proposed deal with international infrastructure firm Mouchel goes ahead. The FTSE 250 company yesterday confirmed that it has entered into a conditional agreement to buy Mouchel in a deal worth £265m. Shares in Kier Group went up by [...]
O’Leary’s charm offensive fails to impress Chinese hackers April 29, 2015 RYANAIR chairman Michael O’Leary’s charm offensive designed to win over customers hasn’t seemed to reach China. The no frills airline boss, who recently spoke out about the need to improve customer service to prevent “unnecessarily pissing people off,” confirmed yesterday that hackers stole almost £3.25m from its accounts, using an electronic transfer via a Chinese [...]
When will there be another recession in the UK? Don’t panic quite yet but one might be due sooner than you think May 15, 2015 It’s been six years since the UK economy was last in recession, but could another one be on the horizon? Severe recessions like the one in 2008 are a fairly rare occurrence – they happen about once every 70 to 80 years – but there have been seven in the 60 years since 1955, so [...]
City pay revolts make a return: Investors are once again feeling uneasy about executive rewards May 6, 2015 Three years on from the so-called “shareholder spring” and listed hedge fund Man Group is again facing murmurs of discontent from investors over pay. The FTSE 250 group, led by chief executive Manny Roman, has put forward a plan to boost executive pay rewards and make it “competitive in the marketplace”. However influential advisory firm [...]
The government is quietly planning for “smart cash machines” March 19, 2015 The government is quietly preparing for the rise of so-called "smart ATMs" which will allow people to manage all aspects of their finances from a cash point. The machines currently being developed by the government let customers "deposit as well as withdraw cash". But the technology has the potential to allow customers to print statements, [...]
Aviva ensures FTSE stays near its record high – London Report March 5, 2015 ARALLY by insurance giant Aviva and same sector shares pushed the FTSE100 closer to record highs again yesterday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent at 6,961.14 points, near the 6,974.26 record it set this month. Traders said that European equities were further supported by confirmation that the European Central Bank (ECB) [...]
City Moves for 23 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 22, 2015 N+1 Singer The corporate advisory and broking firm has appointed Nic Hellyer as director in its corporate finance team. He joins from HSBC, where he was managing director and head of its UK mid-market advisory team. Hellyer has also held roles at UBS and KPMG. Standard Chartered Sir Iain Lobban has been appointed senior adviser [...]
New director to join Moneycorp January 29, 2015 FOREIGN exchange specialist Moneycorp has appointed Andy Reid as managing director of global payments. Reid was previously on the executive committee at Barclays Corporate, and has also worked at JP Morgan and HSBC. Moneycorp was bought by private equity firm Bridgepoint last August.