News Tag: Alistair Darling
March 10, 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed the date of the Budget as March 24 with speculation mounting that the general election will be 6 weeks after - on May 6.
The Treasury is set to confirm the Budget date later in a written statement to MPs.
Meanwhile, in the build-up to the budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling will be expected to ...
Budget to be held on March 24
by Kay Murchie
February 16, 2010
The Office for National Statistics has today announced that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to a 14-month high of 3.5% in January - as widely expected.
The rise in inflation has been driven by higher petrol costs and the effects of the reduction in the standard rate of VAT.
Meanwhile, CPI fell 0.2% on the month as a result of post-Christmas discounting.
Bank ...
UK inflation hits 3.5% in January
by Kay Murchie
February 3, 2010
Leading economic think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), is warning the Government that if it plans to halve the budget deficit over the next four years, much tighter spending controls are required.
In his latest Pre-Budget Report, Chancellor Alistair Darling pledged to significantly reduce the UK's soaring deficit over the next five years, but specific details ...
Think tank warns Government to control spending
by Kay Murchie
January 20, 2010
In an interview with Sky News, HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan has warned of the dangers of the new super tax, introduced by the Government to claw back some of the bailout funds used to rescue the banking industry.
The warning comes just a week after London Mayor, Boris Johnson, warned that high-earning bankers are leaving the capital because of the super ...
HSBC chief warns of super tax
by Kay Murchie
January 15, 2010
London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has warned that high-earning bankers are leaving the capital because of the super tax which has been introduced by the Government.
In the recent Pre-Budget Report (PBR), UK Chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed there would be a one-off 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses paid above £25,000.
The Chancellor said the banks, rather than the bankers, will pay the ...
Super tax is threat to London warns Mayor
by Kay Murchie
December 23, 2009
The Daily Mail has reported that the Bank of England is set to extend its quantitative easing (QE) scheme by as much as £25 billion next year.
QE, also known as printing money, is a process whereby the Treasury injects funds into the financial system to ease pressure on banks by giving them extra capital.
In November, the ...
Quantitative easing set to be extended according to reports
by Kay Murchie
December 21, 2009
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that the bank bonus tax will not apply to staff of non-banking firms such as insurers, assets managers and stockbrokers.
There were queries about which organisations would be affected by the 50% tax, which was announced the Pre-Budget Report, but it has been confirmed that it will apply to retail ...
HMRC confirms which organisations are affected by new super tax
by Kay Murchie
December 16, 2009
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has today unveiled details of a 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses.
After a cabinet meeting today, Ms Lagarde told reporters that a bill detailing the new tax would be presented to parliament early in the New Year.
Any bonus above €27,500 (£24,000) will be taxed at a rate of 50% on payments given out in 2010, said Ms ...
France to introduce super-tax on bankers
by Kay Murchie
December 14, 2009
The UK branch of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) is warning that Alistair Darling's bid to postpone tackling Britain's debt mountain until after next year's General Election creates a real risk of the country's credit rating being downgraded.
The body, which represents practitioners in corporate renewal and turnaround management, believes the delay could have "severe" medium-term consequences for British business and ...
Government sacred cows endanger UK turnaround
by Gill Montia
December 9, 2009
At today’s Pre-Budget Report, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling unveiled measures to claw back money in order to pay off the UK’s spiralling debt.
Mr Darling confirmed there would be a one-off 50% tax on bankers' bonuses paid above £25,000.
The Chancellor said the banks, rather than the bankers, will pay the tax and the temporary measure will come into ...
Darling unveils plans to cut UK’s ballooning debt
by Kay Murchie
Pre-Budget Report: Chancellor told Britain facing ‘fiscal crisis’
by Kay Murchie
December 7, 2009
Over the weekend, it emerged that Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to announce a windfall tax on British banks in Wednesday‘s Pre-Budget Report.
The measure is one of many being planned by Mr Darling to target high earners. Other measures include increasing the number of people liable to pay inheritance tax, as well as an increase in capital gains tax. ...
Banking industry criticise Treasury’s plans for windfall tax
by Kay Murchie
Government unveils plans to slash public spending
by Kay Murchie
December 3, 2009
The board of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have threatened to quit under Government plans to veto bonus payments.
Chancellor Alistair Darling is to be granted the right to veto bonus payments at the bank, following which the bank sought legal advice.
The threat of a mass exodus comes as the bank is planning bonuses of £1.5 billion to staff ...
RBS board threaten to quit over bonus restrictions
by Kay Murchie
November 30, 2009
In next month’s pre-Budget report, Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to sharply revise his forecast downwards for the UK economy, according to Treasury sources.
The Chancellor is expected to say that the UK economy contracted by 4.75% in 2009 - far more than the 3.5% he predicted in March’s Budget.
However, while he is expected to admit that ...
Chancellor set to admit recession worse than feared in pre-Budget report
by Kay Murchie
November 26, 2009
Addressing parliament today, Chancellor Alistair Darling warned that UK unemployment would continue to rise “for a while”.
The latest official figures show that UK unemployment stands at 2.46 million - a rate of 7.8%.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation recently forecast that UK unemployment will increase to a rate of 9.3% in 2010 and to 9.5% the year after.
Mr Darling said unemployment ...
Chancellor warns of rising UK unemployment
by Kay Murchie
September 30, 2009
It has emerged that Britain's five largest banks have agreed to bonus terms set out by the world’s leading nations at last week’s G20 summit.
The five UK banks that have accepted the curbs on bonuses are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered.
Under the new terms set out at last week’s summit, up to 60% of bonus payouts will ...
Britain’s top five banks accept bonus terms
by Kay Murchie
September 27, 2009
At last week’s G20 summit, the world's leading nations agreed to "tough new regulations".
Following the summit, which took place in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday, US President Barack Obama announced that in order to prevent another financial crisis: "We have agreed tough new financial regulations to ensure that the reckless few can no longer be allowed to put the global ...
G20 nations agree to ‘tough new regulations’
by Kay Murchie
September 7, 2009
France’s proposal of a series of mandatory caps on bank bonuses was rejected at this weekend‘s meeting of G20 finance ministers.
While the proposals made by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, received strong European support, UK Chancellor Alistair Darling dismissed them as “unenforceable”.
Instead, the G20 group of leading economies have agreed on new regulatory measures to require banks to disclose ...
Mandatory caps on bank bonuses rejected at G20 meeting
by Kay Murchie
September 1, 2009
The topic of bank bonuses continues to hit the headlines with Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggesting a possible cap on bonuses within the banking industry, and indicating that bonuses should be based on long-term success.
The PM added that banks should be able to "claw back" bonuses if the bank later performed poorly.
Mr Brown was speaking to the Financial Times ...
PM adds to bank bonus debate
by Kay Murchie
