Super-prime time: London surge in high end house sales January 24, 2019 Wealthy buyers have been on a spending spree for multi-million pound trophy houses during the last year, with demand for London’s ‘super prime’ residences bucking a wider slowdown in the capital’s property market. Despite political uncertainty ahead of Britain’s imminent departure from the EU and plans for a new stamp duty on international buyers, activity [...]
Big tech firms like Google, Amazon and Facebook spent a record amount on political lobbying last year January 24, 2019 Google, Amazon and Facebook's bill for lobbying the US government hit record highs last year, as life under the Trump administration put big tech firms in the spotlight. Google parent firm Alphabet said it spent $21.2m (£16.3m) on political lobbying costs in the US last year, topping its previous all-time high of $18.2m achieved in 2012. It [...]
From truffle trees to sunken treasure, beware of unregulated investments in your pension January 23, 2019 Self-invested personal pensions, or Sipps, give us the freedom to invest in what we want. But while this DIY approach to pensions appeals to many investors, there are mounting concerns that some Sipp providers are doing customers a disservice by allowing inexperienced investors to allocate their savings to unsuitable schemes. Liberty Sipp is the latest [...]
Heed the celebrity gurus and teach Britain how to manage January 23, 2019 Most businesses will fail, eventually. If current trends continue, 374,880 of the 660,000 new businesses registered in 2018 will have ceased trading by 2023. If your idea isn’t good enough, it’s better for your business to fold quickly to limit losses. Yet sometimes entrepreneurs stumble upon a great idea, but lack the managerial know-how to [...]
Ronaldo accepts €19m fine over tax evasion case January 22, 2019 Cristiano Ronaldo has been slapped with a €19m (£16.6m) fine after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges in a Spanish court. The football superstar’s court appearance, which lasted for only several minutes, ended with a settlement of an €18.8m fine and suspended 23-month prison sentence for Ronaldo. Spain’s legal system often allows for sentences under two years [...]
Pets at Home share price jumps after posting Christmas sales bounce January 22, 2019 Pets at Home’s share price has jumped more than 11 per cent this afternoon after the firm looked to reassure investors that its restructuring was on track, although it warned of potential stockpiling ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU. The figures In a trading update for the 12 week period from 12 October [...]
Public trust in Putin falls to new low as disposable income falls, new figures show January 21, 2019 Public trust in President Vladimir Putin has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years as Russians contend with new taxes and a sluggish economy. Confidence in Putin fell to 33.4 per cent last week, down more than 30 percentage points since its high in 2015 after the annexation of Crimea, according to state-owned polling [...]
Just Eat boss quits in unexpected resignation January 21, 2019 Just Eat chief executive Peter Plumb is to step down from his role at the British takeaway ordering website with immediate effect, the firm revealed this morning. In an unexpected announcement Just Eat said that Plumb is to be replaced after 16 months at the helm on an interim basis by current chief customer officer Peter Duffy [...]
EU digital tax could be agreed by March, says French finance minister Bruno Le Maire January 20, 2019 The European Union could reach an agreement on details of a digital tax by the end of March, the French finance minister has said. Talks among EU ministers aimed at aligning the taxation of online businesses broke down in December. A number of smaller member states, including Ireland, Sweden and Denmark, opposed the plan and [...]
Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley on Brexit, buildings and bonus backlashes January 16, 2019 Tony Pidgley is a staunch defender of his trade, as you would expect Britain’s best-known housebuilder to be. So it comes as something of a surprise when, asked about the huge row that hit his sector last year when fellow housing boss Jeff Fairburn took a £75m bonus, he does not come down on Fairburn’s [...]