UK tax competitiveness slips November 10, 2011 CORPORATE taxation policy in the UK is failing to keep up with rival nations and has slipped further down the international competitiveness rankings, according to a report out today from PwC. The UK fell to 18th place out of 183 countries measured, down from 16th last year and 11th in 2006. Other countries – including [...]
UK tax competitiveness slips November 10, 2011 CORPORATE taxation policy in the UK is failing to keep up with rival nations and has slipped further down the international competitiveness rankings, according to a report out today from PwC. The UK fell to 18th place out of 183 countries measured, down from 16th last year and 11th in 2006. Other countries – including [...]
GOLDMAN’S OUTSPOKEN PRESS AIDE SIGNS OFF February 2, 2012 LUCAS VAN Praag was well-known for firing cerebral, elegantly worded scorn on anyone who crossed paths with Goldman Sachs. So the PR man’s exit from the bank, as confirmed yesterday, was similarly well-phrased. “C’est la vie,” emailed Goldman’s chief spokesman, the logical conclusion to the leak earlier this week that Jake Siewart, former aide to [...]
GOLDMAN’S OUTSPOKEN PRESS AIDE SIGNS OFF February 2, 2012 LUCAS VAN Praag was well-known for firing cerebral, elegantly worded scorn on anyone who crossed paths with Goldman Sachs. So the PR man’s exit from the bank, as confirmed yesterday, was similarly well-phrased. “C’est la vie,” emailed Goldman’s chief spokesman, the logical conclusion to the leak earlier this week that Jake Siewart, former aide to [...]
Bank valuations slip to 2008 levels October 30, 2011 Bank valuations have been rocked by the sovereign debt crisis and investor equity risk concerns, according to the latest PwC Valuations Index. The rating slipped to just 60, hitting the lowest level since the financial crisis, with equity valuations indicating slower return to growth than forecast. Nick Rea, head of the financial services valuations team [...]
DRAFT AUDIT REFORMS: KEY POINTS November 30, 2011 ● Mandatory rotation Companies will have to change audit firm after a maximum of six years, or nine years if they employ more than one auditor. Audit firms will not be allowed to tender for the same client’s business until after a four-year “cooling-off” period when the contract ends. ● Mandatory tendering The biggest companies [...]
Swissie scandal engulfs governor January 4, 2012 SWISS National Bank governor Philipp Hildebrand will today break his silence on controversial currency trades made by his wife. Hildebrand has come under increasing pressure to clarify events, after details of foreign exchange transactions made from his personal accounts at Swiss private bank Sarasin were leaked by one of its employees to lawyers for the [...]
Going green isn’t easy when we’re so far in the red January 4, 2012 GOING green is important. But costs matter too, and never more so than at present. Household incomes are going through a decade of stagnation and businesses and jobs face a big hit this year if the euro crisis is not resolved. The potential consequences, positive and negative, of British energy policy are huge, but right [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 13, 2011 Crest Nicholson The house builder has appointed Trevor Selwyn as managing director of a newly formed London division. The new division will have an annual turnover of £100m, developing mid-range sites in and around the capital. Selwyn was formerly at Countryside Properties, and spent his last seven years there as land director for subsidiary Copthorn [...]
Nation’s ailing start-ups get fresh support November 29, 2011 GEORGE Osborne hopes to stimulate Britain’s flagging economic recovery with yet more measures to encourage wealthy individuals to back start-ups. He will extend the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) to offer income tax relief of 50 per cent to individuals who invest up to £100,000 and to companies which provide backing of up to £150,000. The [...]