The Beijing Billionaires
For the last seven years the title of the city with the most billionaires has been held by New York, but this year a new name has taken over and that city is Beijing. According to the latest Forbes annual rich list, the Chinese capital added 33 billionaires last year,…
Could the UK have its own digital currency?
At a seminar in March, Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, suggested that the central bank should immediately start “preparing thoroughly” for a future with its own cryptocurrency. While there were no immediate plans to introduce a cryptocurrency Kuroda stressed the importance of being ‘thoroughly prepared’ should the…
Could using a pension reduce higher rate tax payments?
At the beginning of March Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his Budget. His aim: to chart a course out of the economic damage wrought by the pandemic. A year earlier he had said he would do “whatever it takes” to protect jobs and businesses. Twelve months on, with Government borrowing breaking…
The Chancellor’s Mortgage Guarantee: a Good Idea? Or a Big Mistake?
“Generation Rent,” declared Rishi Sunak in his Budget speech, “will become Generation Buy.” Had the House of Commons been full, this announcement would no doubt have been greeted with loud cheers by Conservative backbenchers. At last, someone is doing something to help young people get on the housing ladder… So…
Are cash ISAs still worth it?
We all know that interest rates are at historic lows – and with them showing no sign of increasing in the near future, you could be forgiven for thinking that Cash ISAs would be quickly losing their popularity. Despite the fact that even significant levels of saving don’t get much…
Could your face replace your bank card?
Once upon a time we bartered; we exchanged animal skins for meat and sold our labour for a square meal. Then, gradually, coins and paper money arrived. Banks became secure. We wrote cheques. We had a credit card in our pocket as the ads encouraged us ‘to take the waiting…
Does an increase to capital gains tax look likely?
While Rishi Sunak’s spring budget introduced a variety of new initiatives and updates to multiple taxes, one suspected change was missing from the big red book. Analysts had speculated that a capital gains tax (CGT) hike would be a likely inclusion in Sunak’s budget, expecting it to be brought more…
Can Being Flexible with Hours Really Boost Productivity?
In the old days it was simple. You went to work for a company, spent your whole life there and duly retired. ‘Security’ was what people wanted in a job. But the world of work was changing, even before the pandemic. As more Millennials, people who came of age around…
Could we see Negative Interest Rates in the UK?
In February, the Daily Telegraph had a headline which must have alarmed savers up and down the land: ‘Savers face threat of negative interest rates.’ According to the story, the Bank of England had told the clearing banks that they ‘must be ready to introduce the policy in the next…
Budget Overview 2021
Introduction It is interesting to look back 12 months to Rishi Sunak’s first Budget: it was followed by a year none of us could have predicted or imagined. The Conservatives had won a comfortable majority in the December 2019 General Election. As expected, Sajid Javid became Chancellor and, in January,…