UK debt to soar to financial crisis levels over next five years November 13, 2018 UK debt could rise to £6.7 trillion by 2023, from £5.1 trillion in 2017, according to new research. The UK’s debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is predicted to rise to nearly 260 per cent of GDP, a level not seen since the financial crisis. The debt increase is expected to largely [...]
Euro falls ahead of crunch deadline over Italy’s budget plan November 12, 2018 The euro has fallen ahead of a crunch deadline for Italy to revise its rejected budget plan. Italy's finance minister Giovanni Tria is reportedly set to revise the budget's growth forecast to reach a compromise with the European Commission. But the currency has dropped 0.6 per cent against the dollar to $1.126, led by a [...]
The Conservatives must not be afraid to stand up for free markets November 12, 2018 Today’s younger voters were born after the Berlin Wall had fallen and the battle of ideas over economics and the role of the state had been won for a generation. Since then, the world has changed. The Labour party has fallen under the control of people who do not believe in markets, free enterprise, or business. [...]
AJ Bell posts double-digit growth in run-up to London float November 8, 2018 AJ Bell’s revenue soared nearly 20 per cent in the year to September, giving the investment platform a fresh dose of confidence ahead of its float later this year. The Salford-based group announced today that revenues had soared by 19 per cent to £89.7m over the 12 months to September, with pre-tax profits rising 31 per [...]
Italian bond yields jump as EU predicts slower growth and higher deficits November 8, 2018 Italian bond yields have jumped after the European Commission predicted a more pessimistic outlook for the country's economic than the Italian Government's forecast. The commission predicted Italy's budget would push its deficit to 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2019, rather than the 2.4 per cent estimated by Rome, and that it would rise to [...]
Mind your own business and stay out of Persimmon’s bonus scheme November 8, 2018 The news that Jeff Fairburn has been asked to leave Persimmon in the wake of the furore over his £75m bonus should not come as a surprise. There is a febrile atmosphere of media scrutiny when it comes to such matters, and shareholders had already branded the long-term incentive scheme pay-out as “grossly excessive”. Unfortunately, [...]
Good news – the evidence is in from across the Atlantic, and tax cuts benefit everyone November 7, 2018 From discussions on how the UK should reform its tax and regulatory landscape to make the most of post-Brexit opportunities, to the rallies midterm election candidates have been holding across the US championing or lambasting the President’s tax cuts, the debate is still raging about how changes to taxes impact economies. But if you need [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
EU leaders split on plans for a European digital tax November 6, 2018 EU member states have failed to reach a consensus on imposing an EU-wide digital services tax, which affects firms such as Facebook and Alphabet, over fears of potential US retaliation. The plan, which requires approval from all 28 EU member states, is opposed by many. The levy would see a three per cent tax placed [...]
Forget Trump, the midterms are about populism November 6, 2018 When the results of the US midterms start to come in this evening, some here in the UK will roll their eyes and think “what a crazy country”. Others will wonder why Britain and America are such anomalies with Brexit and Trump, and wish that we could be more like, say, Germany. The truth is [...]
