General Election 2015: Farage opens the way for a deal with the Tories if Cameron agrees to an EU referendum in 2015 March 15, 2015 Ukip could offer to support a minority Conservative government on key policies like the budget – if David Cameron’s party agrees to stage a referendum on the UK’s EU membership by the end of 2015. The Telegraph is publishing extracts from Nigel Farage’s memoirs – entitled Purple Revolution – in which the Ukip leader rules [...]
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis sounds alarm over quantitative easing March 14, 2015 The European Central Bank kicked off its bond-buying programme this week, as investors cheered the move, however Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis warned over its potential outcomes. "QE is all around us and optimism is in the air," Varoufakis said in Italy. "At the risk to sound the party pooper … I find it hard to [...]
London mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan: No Labour landslide in 2015 General Election March 13, 2015 The widely tipped London mayoral candidate and MP for Tooting has said Labour became "arrogant" in office and didn't "spot early enough the need for additional housing". Khan, a close ally of Ed Miliband has been put in charge of heading off the growing popularity of the Green Party that Labour sees as a threat [...]
Pensions shake-up: George Osborne mulls further change to annuity rules March 12, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is considering including a further shake-up of pensions rules in his crucial pre-election Budget next week, to allow pensioners to sell their existing annuities for cash. From next month those over 55 years old will be able to cash in their pension pot instead of buying an annuity to be paid out [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney says global deflation forces, strong sterling could delay rate hike March 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that low inflation outside of the UK, as well as a strong sterling, could cause the central bank to push back a rate hike. "It may be appropriate to take into account persistent external deflationary forces arising from the combination of continued foreign low inflation and the [...]
LV= takes big hit from Osborne’s new annuity rules as profit drops March 11, 2015 A DOUBLE-whammy of low interest rates and chancellor George Osborne’s overhaul of Britain’s pensions industry have hit profits at mutual insurer LV=. The cricket and rugby sponsor saw pre-tax profits plummet 76 per cent to £37m last year after lower returns in its investment portfolio. Although pension sales were up to £63m from the £587m in [...]
2015 General Election TV debates: Broadcasters won’t empty chair David Cameron – they’ve good commercial reasons not to March 11, 2015 The extended row over the proposed TV election debates has reached a deadlock. David Cameron has said he will take part in just one, but the broadcasters (supported by Tory opponents) are committed to running three. What will break this impasse? In my view, commercial factors will force the UK’s broadcasters to give up their [...]
Here’s why chancellor George Osborne’s pensioner bond bonanza won’t translate into votes March 11, 2015 George Osborne's so-called "granny bond" scheme has been heavily criticised as a blatant bid for the older vote, however new research has shown the chancellor's expensive giveaway is unlikely to pay off for the Tories. Rate setters at the Bank of England have held the main interest rate at a record low 0.5 per cent [...]
Cameron looks to increase defence spending – for free March 11, 2015 There is more than one way to skin a cat – and, it seems, plump up a defence budget. David Cameron has instructed ministers to find out whether the budgets of intelligence agencies can be lumped in as part of defence spending. The UK has come under pressure recently from the US to maintain its [...]
Mark Carney says talk of cut to interest rate is overblown March 10, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney yesterday implied that talks of a cut in interest rates nearer to zero were overblown. He also ruled out cancelling government debt held by the Bank to reduce the headline figure. Policy makers will “look through” falls in energy and food prices that would keep inflation below target this [...]