WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call for French business boost French business urgently requires shock treatment to cut labour costs and boost its flagging ability to compete on international markets, top economists and business leaders have warned Francois Hollande. ArcelorMittal refuses to rule out EU steel closures as demand falls ArcelorMittal has refused to rule out further site [...]
Rules against aggressive tax avoidance delayed December 11, 2012 NEW rules that will ban companies and individuals from engaging in aggressive tax avoidance schemes will not be implemented until at least summer 2013, according to draft legislation released yesterday. The General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR), which will give HMRC the power to identify and act against legal tax arrangements that are “abusive”, was due to be enforced [...]
Britons splashed out almost £42bn on technology in 2012 December 10, 2012 TECH-SAVVY UK consumers have spent almost £42bn on technology during 2012, an average of £934 per person, as they splashed out on new tablets and smartphones. But the single biggest outlay for Britons was on television packages, with 17 per cent of consumers spending more than £50 a month, according to research by online price comparison [...]
Banks’ challengers weigh in over Haldane warnings December 17, 2012 BOSSES of start-ups aiming to challenge the banking industry yesterday sided with senior Bank of England director Andrew Haldane, following his comments that innovative new finance firms are a challenge to major banks’ dominance. Giles Andrews, the founder of peer-to-peer (p2p) lending service Zopa, told City A.M. that there is “pretty strong evidence that we [...]
Stealth hike in inheritance tax not the answer to care crisis February 10, 2013 ONCE again, I find myself disagreeing with the government. The coalition is about to introduce a £75,000 cap on the cost of social care for the elderly, in an attempt, or so it claims, to ensure that people no longer have to sell their homes to pay for help when they become very old. It [...]
Former Morgan Stanley chap is diamond trader November 27, 2012 EX–MORGAN Stanley investment banker Tobias Kormind imagined he would be leaving his City colleagues behind when he departed from the world of finance to co-found bespoke Mayfair jewellers 77 Diamonds. However Kormind tells The Capitalist nothing could be further from the truth, as he now finds himself running around town to fulfil our busy bankers’ [...]
Consumers cut back on credit card borrowing May 30, 2012 BANK lending fell again in the three months to April, Bank of England figures showed yesterday, while consumers also cut back on new unsecured credit. Overall lending to non-financial corporations dropped by an annualised 4.9 per cent in the three-month period, with construction lending falling 10.1 per cent and services down by the same and [...]
Consumers cut back on credit card borrowing May 30, 2012 BANK lending fell again in the three months to April, Bank of England figures showed yesterday, while consumers also cut back on new unsecured credit. Overall lending to non-financial corporations dropped by an annualised 4.9 per cent in the three-month period, with construction lending falling 10.1 per cent and services down by the same and [...]
You can bank on Tesco to become competitive in financial services August 6, 2012 TESCO has had a challenging 2012 to date. We saw the rebasing of group earnings in January; an unwelcome slowdown in trading at loss-making Fresh & Easy in the US; decelerating trading conditions in Central Europe; and impacts from restrictions on large store opening hours in South Korea – its most significant market outside the [...]
Carney getting ready for tough MPs’ questions February 3, 2013 INCOMING Bank of England governor Mark Carney will face a grilling from MPs on Thursday as an influential backbench committee makes the most of its first ever chance to question an incoming governor. Carney is set to take up the role this summer just as the Bank receives huge new powers over finance firms. That [...]