Standard Life’s shares dip after pension change June 2, 2014 FURTHER changes to the pensions market, expected to be announced by the government in the Queen’s speech tomorrow, caused Standard Life shares to dip by nearly 1.7 per cent yesterday. News that ministers are to legalise collective pension schemes similar to those seen in Holland and Canada has caused unease, after warnings of risks associated [...]
Britain beware: How the Dutch pension system pits young against old June 2, 2014 IN TOMORROW’s Queen’s Speech, the government is expected to include the “Collective Defined Contribution” model (CDC) of the Dutch pension system in a forthcoming Pensions Bill. Pensions minister Steve Webb is right to consider it a strong model. But he must also be careful not to repeat the Dutch system’s mistakes, and should ensure that [...]
Target boss out on cyber attack May 5, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of US retailer Target quit yesterday after months of grappling to deal with a cyber attack that took place last year. Gregg Steinhafel was also chairman and president. The board thanked him for his 35 years of service at the firm. Finance boss John Mulligan is now interim CEO. Up to 70m [...]
Labour pension plan won’t help the lowest paid May 29, 2014 LABOUR’S plan to overhaul the pensions industry has come under fire after it emerged that those on low incomes could stand to benefit by as little as £10 per year. The proposal, announced yesterday, could see the threshold for automatic enrolment into the workplace pension scheme lowered from its current level of £10,000 to the [...]
City Matters: We cannot afford to be complacent about ensuring capitalism is inclusive June 8, 2014 THE DEBATE over the future of capitalism has been intensified in recent months by French economist Thomas Piketty. His best-selling book has sparked popular interest in wealth and income inequality across the globe. Leaving aside the arguments over Piketty’s underlying data, it is clear that this is a pertinent issue that needs to be treated [...]
Why Labour’s pension revolution is a bit of a damp squib May 29, 2014 Labour launched a pensions taskforce today, alongside plans to look at broadening the scope of the workplace pension scheme. Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves outlined plans for the task force, headed by professor Dr David Blake of Cass Business School and set up with key industry backers and policy experts, to encourage people [...]
Budget at a glance: Osborne’s plans for Britain’s economy March 19, 2014 As growth bounces back, the focus turns to reforming savings THE ECONOMY UK growth for this year is now expected to be 2.7 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday – up from its previous estimate, made in December, of 2.4 per cent GDP expansion. A year ago the OBR expected growth [...]
Forward guidance: A political gambit that has retarded true capitalism August 18, 2014 IT’S A mistake to try and get too precise,” suggested Stanley Fischer last September, shortly before he was appointed vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. “You can’t expect the Fed to spell out what it’s going to do. Why? Because it doesn’t know.” Bank of England governor Mark Carney may now be wishing he had [...]
EU opens probe into tax rules of business giants June 11, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Commission yesterday opened an investigation into the deals cut by Apple, Starbucks and Fiat with the European countries where they base their tax residencies. The Commission said it was looking at whether the countries’ tax treatment of multinationals, which help to attract investment and jobs that might otherwise go to where the companies’ [...]
David Cameron bites back after week of political hell June 30, 2014 It might be one of Westminster’s best-known cliches, but David Cameron has learnt that a week is indeed a long time in politics as polls released this morning suggested that his Conservative party had taken the lead over Labour or had narrowed the gap on the opposition. He was seen last week to be on [...]