AT A GLANCE: FINANCE BILL December 9, 2010 PENSIONS – The existing effective obligation for members of a defined contribution pension scheme to purchase an annuity by age 75 is to be abolished, creating an increased flexibility. – In order to ensure that increased flexibility doesn’t lead to pension funds being exhausted with the recipients being forced to fall back on support from [...]
AT A GLANCE: FINANCE BILL December 9, 2010 PENSIONS – The existing effective obligation for members of a defined contribution pension scheme to purchase an annuity by age 75 is to be abolished, creating an increased flexibility. – In order to ensure that increased flexibility doesn’t lead to pension funds being exhausted with the recipients being forced to fall back on support from [...]
Greece’s ruling party in early elections lead November 7, 2010 GREECE’S ruling PASOK socialist party was ahead in most regions in crucial local elections yesterday, an official estimate showed, in a boost for Prime Minister George Papandreou as he seeks support for harsh austerity measures. Papandreou has threatened to dissolve parliament, barely a year after coming to power, if the first round of the regional [...]
Portugal sees no scope for further cuts October 17, 2010 PORTUGAL’S finance minister said in a newspaper interview yesterday he did not know what additional austerity steps could be introduced if market scepticism about the country’s ability to cut its deficit persists. The minority Socialist government included deep spending cuts and tax hikes in the 2011 budget that it presented last week, but must win [...]
Duncan Smith unveils shake up of welfare November 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S?welfare system is to undergo the most dramatic shake-up since its inception in 1942, after the government unveiled plans to crack down on the workshy and make sure that everyone is always better off in a job. The plans are designed to simplify the complex web of benefits to reduce errors, fraud and inefficiencies, and [...]
Bank of Ireland says profit to tumble by a quarter November 12, 2010 Bank of Ireland forecast underlying full-year operating profit would drop by more than a quarter in 2010, knocked by lower income and the costs of government guarantees. Ireland’s biggest bank by market value was the first major Irish bank to replenish its capital from partly private sources, an exercise which left the state with a [...]
Services sector up – but tough times ahead November 3, 2010 Activity in the services sector unexpectedly gathered pace in October – but forecast for the rest of the year are weakening. The figures are likely to support expectations that the Bank of England will vote not to inject more stimulus into the economy this week but leave that option open further down the line if [...]
Services sector up – but tough times ahead November 3, 2010 Activity in the services sector unexpectedly gathered pace in October – but forecast for the rest of the year are weakening. The figures are likely to support expectations that the Bank of England will vote not to inject more stimulus into the economy this week but leave that option open further down the line if [...]
Mouchel calls in Deloitte as austerity bites December 2, 2010 MOUCHEL yesterday confirmed Deloitte has been drafted in to examine how far the firm’s future income could drop, sparking fears it could follow Connaught and Rok into administration. The engineering consulting and design group has been rocked by swingeing cuts in government spending, resulting in the haemorrhaging of contract income. Deloitte was called in by [...]
Cadbury may be next target for protesters December 5, 2010 CADBURY could be the next firm to be hit by organised groups of protesters after it relocated part of its operations to Switzerland for tax reasons. The move comes as Topshop boss Sir Philip Green was left counting the cost of closing his flagship Oxford Street store on Saturday afternoon after a protest over his [...]