Irish rebels threaten EU bailout plans November 22, 2010 THE Irish government could collapse within days amid fears the controversial EU bailout could fall through. Rogue independent MPs Jackie Healy Rae and Michael Lowry threatened to derail the estimated €90bn (£77bn) bailout by refusing to back the coalition’s austerity budget. Any handout from Europe would depend on Ireland agreeing to meet a tough new [...]
Businesses warn mountain of red tape will cost billions September 30, 2010 A MOUNTAIN of new red tape will cost firms billions of pounds, business groups warned yesterday. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said a raft of new employment regulation and the new Equality Act, which becomes law today, would hamper job creation and cost businesses £189.2m. Meanwhile the national minimum wage will today rise by [...]
TITANS OF BUSINESS SET TO CLASH AT GOODWOOD REVIVAL FESTIVAL September 16, 2010 THE LOVE affair between businessmen and their fast cars is certainly alive and kicking. This weekend marks the Goodwood Revival historic motorsport and aviation festival, as over 132,000 attendees prepare to head down to Sussex for two days of immersion in classic cars and planes. And The Capitalist hears that among those competing on the [...]
Tories see lead cut by 3 points March 22, 2010 The Conservative lead in the upcoming general election has dropped by three points to four per cent, according to theYouGov/Sun daily poll. The Tories are on 36 per cent (down two per cent), Labour are on 32 per cent (up one per cent) and the Liberal Democrats are on 20 per cent (up one per [...]
THE TIPSTER March 21, 2010 THIS week the focus will be on Wednesday’s Budget and its political ramifications for the upcoming general election. The Labour Party will have been given a boost by last week’s encouraging public finances and Lloyds Banking Group’s announcement on Friday that it expects to turn a profit this year. But is it too little, too [...]
Add corporate bonds to your ISA for income March 17, 2010 WHEN the Bank of England introduced its £200bn emergency quantitative easing (QE) programme last year, the expectation in the markets was that benchmark 10-year gilt yields would fall as the Bank soaked up the billions of pounds worth of debt that the government was issuing. In fact, yields are today much where they were a [...]
FSA hires more staff as it claims levels of market abuse are unacceptably high March 14, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) will hire another 460 staff as part of plans to crackdown on “unacceptably high” levels of market abuse. The regulator is currently riding high on a wave of confidence after it successfully prosecuted Malcolm Calvert, the former Cazenove partner, last week. He was sentenced to nearly two years in jail. [...]
Bridgepoint snaps up health and social care firm Care UK for £281m in cash March 3, 2010 PRIVATE equity group Bridgepoint Capital yesterday unveiled a recommended cash bid for elderly and health care provider Care UK, valuing the company at £281m. Bridgepoint, which launched the bid through newly-created vehicle Warwick Bidco, is offering 450p for each Care UK share, a 9.2 per cent premium to the share price at the close of [...]
Entrepreneur gathering gives views on 2010 January 18, 2010 LAST Thursday, 260 delegates braved the cold to come and hear leading entrepreneurs, politicians and think-tank leaders share their views at the 6th Entrepreneur Country Forum, which had the theme “Politics Not as Usual”. Stephan Shakespeare, co-founder of YouGov, was candid when he said that tough times were the making of his firm – “when [...]
Q&A: BUYING January 14, 2010 CAMILLA DELL MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q. Dear Camilla, I am thinking about selling my property, but I am nervous about the upcoming general election and how this will affect the property market. Should I hold off until the election is over? A. Actually, we think that the current market is an ideal scenario [...]