Category: Articles

More than four out of five (81%) companies surveyed expect already heightened tax risks to accelerate in the next two years, according to a new global report by EY.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has upgraded its forecast for GDP growth as the recovery continues to take hold. But it warns politicians of all shades to put incentivising business investment ahead of short-term electioneering.

Pricewaterhousecoopers has warned that plans outlined in the Budget for new HMRC powers to settle unpaid demands by taking money from people's bank accounts could have grave consequences for businesses and individuals if errors in the process occur, and undermine the principle of independent taxation.

Whitebox Advisors, the US management firm led by industry veteran Andrew Redleaf, has announced the opening of the Whitebox Tactical Income Fund.

After growing only very marginally in 2012, growth accelerated rapidly, and is now running at around 3% year-on-year. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) forecasts GDP growth of 2.9% this year, an upward revision of 0.4 percentage points on its forecast published just three months ago.

Latest figures show that in the past year alone almost 145,000 people have used the service to locate those long forgotten pensions. This is more than double the number who used the service in 2010, with numbers rising year on year.

Despite a fourth consecutive monthly fall in new property coming onto the market in April, 26% more chartered surveyors reported increased agreed sales, according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey.

VocaLink, the UK-based international payment systems provider, has modernised the payments landscape in Singapore with an innovative real-time payments platform, FAST.

Investment managers should only use client dealing commission to pay for substantive research or costs related to executing trades, said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as it published a policy statement on forthcoming changes to dealing commission rules.

Sustainable economic growth in Africa will require a step change in approach from both investors and governments, according to new research released today by FTI Consulting, Inc.

Weir Oil & Gas and the Rolls-Royce Power Systems company MTU announced they have signed an agreement to develop power systems specifically engineered for hydraulic fracturing.

Mercer's Pensions Risk Survey data shows that the accounting deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes for the UK's largest 350 companies increased significantly during April.

Spend on retail, hospitality and leisure is set to rocket as overseas visitors flock to the UK over the next few years, according to a new report from Barclays.

The global Smart Cities market—a solution to the rapid growth in migration to the world’s urban areas—is expected to grow from $654.57 billion in 2014 to $1,266.58 billion by 2019, at an estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate of 14.1% from 2014 to 2019, according to a new study.

Optimism amongst the UK’s smaller manufacturers has surged to its highest level since records began in 1988, according to the CBI’s latest SME Trends Survey.

The G20's plan to tackle corporate tax dodging, devised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), needs a radical shake up so that developing countries can capture their fair share of foreign business activity, says Oxfam.

Recent changes to the UK tax system aimed at improving its attractiveness to businesses are paying dividends, according to KPMG in the UK.

An agreement signed between Sellafield Ltd and TEPCO FDEC will build a working relationship between the two firms facing the world's biggest nuclear clean-up jobs.

According to EY's 10th bi-annual Oil and Gas Capital confidence barometer, just over half (54%) of the oil and gas respondents view the global economy as improving, down sharply from 71% in October 2013.

Investment commitments by partner companies of Grow Africa – a programme established by the World Economic Forum, NEPAD and the African Union to accelerate the transformation of African agriculture – doubled to $7.2 billion in 2013.

More insurers should focus on the bulk annuity market if they expect to write fewer individual annuities under the new pensions regime announced in the recent budget, says American global professional services firm Towers Watson.

Boeing and Ryanair have finalized an order for five additional Next-Generation 737s, valued at $452 million at list prices.

Advisers are largely optimistic about the proposed savings and pension reforms and the advisory market in general, according to the latest Adviser Barometer from Aviva.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched an EU-wide stress test for the insurance sector.

The increase in UK car production is driving substantial growth in automotive supply chain mergers and acquisitions, according to a leading industry expert.

Tullow Oil plc has announced that its subsidiary Tullow Oil SK Limited has entered into an agreement to sell 53.1% of its Schooner unit interest (currently 93.1%) and 60% of its Ketch asset (currently owned 100%) in the UK Southern North Sea to Faroe Petroleum (UK) Limited.

The UK's aerospace, defence, security and space trade organisation, ADS Group, has expressed its concerns about the uncertainties and risks associated with the outcome of the Scottish Referendum on the global competitiveness of companies across the UK.

BAE Systems has received a multi-ship, multi-option (MSMO) contract from the U.S. Navy to repair, maintain, and modernize nine destroyers and cruisers, either homeported in or visiting Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

GE Capital International and Ares Management Ltd. have announced that the European Senior Secured Loan Programme (ESSLP), a €1.7bn joint venture between the two firms, has completed its seventh transaction with the closing of a £153m unitranche facility to refinance Parkdean, a leading holiday park operator in the UK.

Global smartphone shipments grew 33 percent annually to reach 285 million units in the first quarter of 2014, according to new research. Leaders Samsung and Apple lost slight traction in the quarter, while Huawei and Lenovo each held five percent market share worldwide.

Assets under management (AUM) in India grew by a healthy 9.2% year-on-year in 2013 to hit Rs 8.1 trillion (£78 billion). While this headline data may appear healthy, structural cracks are evident when the data is broken down, according to findings published in the Cerulli Edge periodical’s Asian Monthly Product Trends Edition.

Prices in Prime Central London (PCL) have risen a formidable 60% since the heady days pre-credit crunch, compared with a meagre 7% nationwide as the UK suffers pressure on employment, earnings and mortgages.

Oracle Capital Group, the global independent multi-family office and wealth consultancy, have announced the appointment of Vincent Mercer to its Advisory Board.

Consumers avoid doing business with an organization that has suffered a data breach at an alarming rate, according to a new study.

Annual pay rises are delivering a median 2.5% increase according to analysis, by UK online HR resource XpertHR, of 215 pay settlements effective in the three months to the end of March 2014. This figure matches the 2.5% retail prices index (RPI) inflation figure for March 2014. Over 2013 as a whole pay settlements were worth a median 2%, while RPI stood at 2.7%.

Force Over Mass Capital (FOMCAP) has launched a new SEIS/EIS investment vehicle which gives individual investors access to the rapidly growing start-up technology space while allowing them to receive tax reliefs of up to 64% of the capital invested under the Enterprise Investment Scheme.