HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) wins tax tribunal disputing stamp duty land tax scheme used by housebuilder Crest Nicholson March 12, 2017 Crest Nicholson has been told to pay £1.3m it unsuccessfully tried to keep under a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) avoidance scheme after a tribunal found in the taxman's favour. The FTSE 250 housebuilder had used the scheme to avoid paying SDLT, by transferring assets between two sub-companies, on three purchases of land for development in Kent, which cost [...]
Iceland defrosts the capital controls it put in place because of the 2008 financial crisis March 12, 2017 The Icelandic government announced today it will be completely lifting on Tuesday the capital controls it put in place against country's individuals, firms, and pension funds to keep it propped during the fallout of the financial crisis. The government and Central Bank of Iceland have been over the last year whittling down the controls, which were put [...]
Exclusive: How much the Financial Conduct Authority spent on its RBS GRG small business unit report March 12, 2017 The long-awaited report into Royal Bank of Scotland's Global Restructuring Group (GRG) cost the City watchdog more than £40,000 for the associated prep and monitoring work alone. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed under a Freedom of Information request submitted by City A.M. that it ran up a bill of £40,722.68 for scoping, overseeing the review and [...]
HSBC chairman search: Former man from the Pru Mark Tucker will replace Douglas Flint March 12, 2017 Mark Tucker, chief executive and president of AIA and former boss of Prudential, has been confirmed as chairman of HSBC, marking the first time the bank has appointed an external chairman. Tucker will receive an annual fee of £1.5m and a one-time relocation benefit of £300,000 for moving from Hong Kong to London. He will take up [...]
Leading lobby group, the CBI, seeks to extend president’s stay to help see its members through Brexit March 9, 2017 An influential pressure group is looking to extend its president's term beyond the usual two years so he can help guide its members through Brexit. Sky News reported the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has written to its members to inform them it is seeking to change the bye-laws of its Supplemental Royal Charter to allow [...]
Several people injured in axe attack at Dusseldorf’s main train station, as police make an arrest, according to various reports March 9, 2017 Several people have been injured in an axe attack at the main train station in Dusseldorf, Germany. Various reports estimate at least five people have been wounded following an attack which happened around 9pm local time, with one person reported to have been seriously injured. Meanwhile, police have made an arrest, but it has not been ruled [...]
Spring Budget 2017: Junior barristers could be badly hit by hike in national insurance March 9, 2017 Those trying to make a name for themselves in the courts have been dealt a blow by the impending hike in national insurance. Chancellor Philip Hammond revealed in his maiden Budget yesterday that the class 4 National Insurance rate would be increased by one percentage point to 10 per cent from April 2018, and then [...]
Brexit secretary David Davis says most sectors won’t need transition periods, because the government is aiming to get the best possible deal March 9, 2017 The Brexit secretary has insisted most sectors of the UK economy will not require transitional arrangements after the UK leaves the EU, as the proposed deal with Brussels should erase the need for them. "Our overarching offer, as it were, of a comprehensive free trade arrangement will actually remove the need for transition in some areas," David [...]
Theresa May steps up Brexit charm offensive, reassuring City chiefs at Downing Street and Morgan Stanley party March 9, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has been stepping up a City charm offensive in recent weeks, hosting top bankers and asset managers at Downing Street, City A.M. can reveal. It is understood an hour-long meeting at No 10 in late February was attended by Aberdeen Asset Management boss Martin Gilbert, Schroders’ Peter Harrison, Barclays chief Jes [...]
JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon says Brexit job moves all about serving clients, as London faces declustering following UK departure from EU March 9, 2017 The boss of JP Morgan has said that any Brexit-related job moves will focus simply on serving clients. Jamie Dimon, whose bank heavily backed the campaign for Britain to Remain in the EU, said London's world-renowned cluster of financial and professional services firms could be fractured by Brexit. Many across the City are considering what moves they [...]
