Dentists forced to take a bite out of savings as credit stays tight October 27, 2014 Dentists are taking risks by loaning more of their own money to their practices as the sector suffers from a lack of credit availability. The amount of money loaned by directors of dental practices to their own firms was £23.8m in the past year up from £13.5m a year earlier, according to figures published today [...]
Shire-AbbVie takeover off as James Bowling quits October 20, 2014 Shire last night confirmed its $54bn (£32bn) deal with AbbVie was off, with a $1.635bn break fee owed. In a statement, the Dublin-based pharmaceuticals company said: “In light of the AbbVie Board’s decision to change its recommendation and to advise its shareholders to vote against its Offer, Shire believes that there is now no realistic [...]
Now Shire loses finance chief after deal fails October 20, 2014 SHIRE’S chief financial officer (CFO) James Bowling is leaving the company at the end of the first quarter of 2015 to take up the top finance role at water company Severn Trent, replacing retiring CFO Mike McKeon. Flemming Ornskov, Shire’s chief executive, said: “James has helped build and lead a high-quality finance team at Shire. [...]
2014 City A.M. awards: It’s always good to toast the best of the City – Editor’s Letter November 13, 2014 In a matter of weeks, during the first few days of January, I will be calling people to invite them to next year’s City A.M. awards. The event, the latest of which was held last night, has become a fixture in the City calendar and has grown in stature since its inception. Last night, [...]
AA puts former deal king Martin Clarke in the finance hot seat November 13, 2014 Roadside recovery giant AA yesterday appointed an ex-senior private equity dealmaker to take the reins as chief financial officer of the 110-year-old business. Martin Clarke, a former executive at private equity firm Permira, will replace Andy Boland, who stepped down earlier this year as the finance chief of the firm. Clarke was part [...]
Conservative party conference: David Cameron promises £7bn in tax cuts for 30m people October 1, 2014 David Cameron yesterday fired the general election starting gun, issuing an emotional and impassioned speech in which he pledged to increase the tax-free personal allowance by £2,000 and raise the 40 per cent income tax band to £50,000. The tax giveaways are set to benefit 30m people, but will cost the Tories £7bn if they [...]
Has the time come to privatise pensions? October 16, 2014 Future generations could be short-changed and the public finances put in jeopardy unless the UK takes serious measures to reform the state pension system, according to a report released today by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) One way to give pensioners and taxpayers a better to deal would be to revive savers' ability to [...]
Gordon Brown made Britain stronger and fairer: He deserves recognition December 2, 2014 I FIRST joined Gordon Brown, who has just announced he is standing down as an MP at the next election, back in 1989. I left the Treasury to work for Labour in its new Economic Secretariat (consisting of me and one other), created by Gordon to increase the level of economic expertise Labour had. It [...]
Mark Carney: EU bonus cap has “unfortunate” side-effects – reform bankers’ pay instead November 17, 2014 Bank of England governor Mark Carney says massive fines for bad behaviour among bankers hasn't done enough – and that their pay may be overhauled even further in order to "help rebuild trust in financial institutions". New measures could include "clawback" options for bankers' salaries as well as their bonuses, and even paying out "performance [...]
George Osborne’s pensions revolution: Withdrawing cash early is big risk October 14, 2014 The insurance industry and business groups have issued a stark warning following the government’s most recent pensions announcement, claiming that withdrawing cash from pension pots too early could store up huge financial risks for the UK for years to come. Yesterday chancellor George Osborne hailed the next stage in his pensions revolution with news [...]