IFS: Tax hikes not enough to fix broken social care system September 7, 2021 A leading economic think tank has warned hikes to national insurance and dividend taxes announced by prime minister Boris Johnson today will not be enough to tackle chronic problems in the UK’s social care system. The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned the increase in funding for social care will fall short of reversing deep cuts [...]
UK active funds outsprint passive rivals amid market flux September 7, 2021 Active fund managers outperformed index trackers for nine out of the last ten months, as British investors put their faith in a human touch to navigate volatile markets and ever-popular ESG investments. UK equity funds managed by stock pickers saw inflows rise to £1.3bn in August, staving off the threat of passive trackers, who raked [...]
Brokers and investment platforms plummet on dividend tax hike September 7, 2021 Shares in investment platforms and brokers plummeted today after prime minister Boris Johnson announced a hike to dividend taxes. Broker, TP Icap, had 9.14 per cent shaved off its share price, plummeting to 179.04p from a day high of 196.60p. Investment platforms AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown both suffered heavy losses, down 2.07 per cent [...]
Government breaches another manifesto pledge by denying full triple lock uplift September 7, 2021 The government has breached another manifesto pledge and scrapped the normal functioning of the state pension triple lock, it announced today. In a statement delivered to the House of Commons today, secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey announced the government will employ a triple lock lite, denying millions of pensioners an uplift [...]
CMA says Sony’s $430m purchase of independent label AWAL raises competition concerns September 7, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has today said the US recording giant Sony’s purchase of independent record label AWAL could lead to worse terms for musicians. Sony bought the company, which represents artists such as Jungle, Banks, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Deadmaus for $430m back in May. At the time, the Competition and [...]
Bank of England hawk Saunders suggests interest rates will rise in 2022 September 7, 2021 Your mortgage rate looks more likely to rise next year, according to one Bank of England rate-setter. The Bank of England may need to increase interest rates next year if the UK’s GDP recovery momentum holds and inflation becomes stickier, policymaker Michael Saunders said today. Saunders, who in August voted for an early stop to the BoE’s [...]
UK M&A deals dip 31 per cent over last quarter September 7, 2021 The number of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies dipped over the last quarter, according to official figures released today. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows the volume of M&A deals involving UK firms fell 31 per cent over the last quarter, dipping to 381 in the second quarter from 556 in the [...]
Johnson to defy Tory MPs and launch £10bn-a-year tax hike to fund social care and NHS September 7, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson will defy a revolt among Tory MPs and scathing criticism and plough on with a hike to national insurance to generate more than £10bn a year to tackle the swelling backlog of NHS work and fix the UK’s ailing social care system. Johnson will today announce an at least one percentage [...]
China exports soar faster than expected in August September 7, 2021 China’s exports soared at a faster pace than expected in August, driven by a resurgence in global demand for goods from the world’s second largest economy, according to new figures released today. Shipments from the globe’s biggest exporter jumped 25.6 per cent annually in August, gathering momentum from July’s 19.3 per cent gain. Analysts polled [...]
Revisiting Beta: How well has Beta predicted returns? September 7, 2021 | City Talk After the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) was developed in the 1960s and 1970s, financial researchers started to test how well this theoretical model actually worked in the real world. Amid expanding computing power and greater data access, the 1980s became a critical era for gauging CAPM’s validity as analysts explored beta’s effectiveness in anticipating [...]