Small Business to Prosper In The UK
Posted: 08/08/2010 Filed under: Small Business | Tags: business, business concerns, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, Small Business, UK tax Leave a comment »I have always been confident that Britain is going to pull itself out of the recession and it is great to see the Bank of England have stepped up to lend a hand to small and large businesses alike.
They have done this by purchasing more corporate bonds in May and June under their qualitative easing programme in order to push cash into the economy, for businesses who have been struggling with the sovereign debt crisis.
Bank holdings of corporate debt rose from £1.36bn to £1.6bn in the three months leading up to June, its quarterly Asset Purchase Facility report showed. The Bank has bought £198bn of gilts from companies under the programme and continues to buy and sell around £2bn of corporate debt.
The Banks facilities have been made use of by Corporate’s in the past quarter as concerns about sovereign debts fed through to fears about companies, pushing the price of bond issuance higher and reducing demand.
“Increased concerns about the fiscal adjustment of some euro-area member states and banks’ exposure to sovereign debt fed through into other risky asset prices, such as corporate bonds,” the Bank said. “The resulting increase in uncertainty and volatility saw conditions in UK corporate debt markets deteriorate marginally during May and early June.”
The cost of raising debt through bond issuance, compared with Government gilts, increased by 0.3 percentage points. “Issuance was lower than in 2009 but broadly in line with historical averages. Market contacts suggested that some firms had delayed issuance as a result of market conditions,” the bank said.
This is all good news for Britain and the both large and small businesses that reside here. In times of austerity it is important, in my opinion, that we highlight the positives and at the moment I must say I do not have to search very far to find them.
Small business may well prosper under this government. Time will tell.
Socially Responsible Immigration Into the UK?
Posted: 03/08/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, UK Immigration | Tags: Immigration, moving to the UK, moving to UK Leave a comment »In recent news there has been yet more talks on the immigration limit that the Government is now setting on Britain.
I think I back the government’s present approach. They have decided to take control, assuring us that they recognise the importance of immigration but also the strain it could put on society if left untended. I believe people do worry about this sort of thing and their re assurances are welcome. I am not so sure, however that arbitrary limitations are the way forward.
The temporary limit the Coalition has set in place will become permanent next year and will be set every year, in accordance to the needs of businesses and the wider population.
The limit we have set between now and the end of March next year is 24,100. This is 1,300 less than the number of those who came into the UK for the same time period last year.
I believe that many immigrants have enriched British society and created opportunity for all British people, in regards to the rest of the world. The economic immigration brings economic benefits and cultural diversity to the UK. This will never change.
However, the Government believes that creating this socially responsible immigration policy will restore the public confidence in the system. That it will create both good race and community relations and for the orderly provision of public services. We will see how that works out in practice.
The coalition would like to create an effective, well controlled immigration system.
I have seen that many immigrants are attracted to Britain, especially around the London area, showing the strength of our capital city and the fact we get an influx of the brightest and best, will only make us stronger as a nation
Broadly Good News For British Economy
Posted: 22/07/2010 Filed under: Investment, Moving to London, Small Business | Tags: moving to the UK, Small Business Leave a comment »Maybe I am just a glass half full kind of guy but I see a lot to be positive about in the latest figures concerning the economy.
The Office for National Statistics have disclosed new information that the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation has dropped from 3.4pc in May to 3.2pc.
Although, to the nation this drop is a positive sign, the drop failed to meet its economists target of 3.1pc.
Inflation has been stubborn to move and the CPI has now been above 3pc for the last seven consecutive months. It now means that unless it falls below 3pc in July Mervyn King, Bank of England Governor, will have to write another letter to Chancellor explaining why targets are not being met.
However, in other areas of the economy, there is showing promise. Sterling jumped as the prospective rate rise came closer. The pound bounced back after an earlier slide, up from 0.96 cents to 1.5170.
The stock market is not showing concern about higher borrowing costs which are set to rise for a sixth consecutive time, by 2pc to 5271.02, due to the growing optimism about the UK’s banking stability.
The Consumer Price Index rate has continued to fall since its 17 month high of 3.7pc back in April. This event caused Vicky Redwood of Capital Economics to state “The further fall in headline inflation in June suggests that there is still little pressing need for an interest rate rise. But with core price pressures remaining stubborn, inflation nerves will remain for a while yet.”
I agree that caution will remain for a while within the British economy but with the correct treatment, we should continue to see inflation drop and the economy pick itself up once more.
Cut Immigration: Slow Growth
Posted: 15/06/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, UK Immigration, Uncategorized | Tags: business concerns, Moving to London, moving to the UK, Non Dom Leave a comment »In an interesting story on immigration this week the Office For Budget Responsibility has come out and stated that cuts to immigration now will result in a slow down in economic growth as soon as 2014.
It is great when people actually start talking the real truth about immigration instead of all the xenophobic nonsense that it sometimes feels like the press are force feeding us. The OBR reasons that in a society where the population is ageing immigration is not just to be tolerated but is in fact a necessity.
The OBR was formed in May 2010 to give an independent and informed opinion of budget and public finances. They have nothing to gain by stating that drastic cuts to immigration would be a dire mistake, it is just the unvarnished truth. How refreshing.
Immigration into the UK has dropped from a height of 233 000 to 50 000 in recent times. The OBR argue that this combined with low British birth rates will have a huge and profound effect on the UK economy, weaken the pound and result in high unemployment.
Rather than the paradise some newspapers would have us believe Britain would be without immigration this does not sound like much fun at all. Fancy that!
Retail Sales Up In Good News For British Economy
Posted: 08/06/2010 Filed under: Investment, Non Dom, Small Business, Uncategorized | Tags: business concerns, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Taxation, UK tax Leave a comment »Sometimes people fail to see the fact that all facets of the British economy are connected. What is good for the other guy is indeed often good for you. So news that the retail sector is experiencing strong sales at the moment gives all of us something to cheer about. Some of my clients in small business will be directly feeling the benefits other will be reaping the rewards in a less direct fashion but there is no doubt that money moving around in our economy is good news for us all.
It seems we have two major factors to thank for the renewed interest in retail spending, warm weather and football.
“The sunnier second half of May provided a welcome boost to overall sales,” said the BRC’s director general Stephen Robertson.
It is no big suprise that people like to come out and do a bit of retail therapy in the sunny weather, but last year, at the height of recession, people resisted the temptation and stayed home. It is great to see that we have come out the other side and people are no longer frightened of the consequences of spending a little money.
It is not just small purchases people are making, in fact due to a huge interest in the rapidly approaching soccer world cup, many of us are going home with huge shiny TV’s to watch the action on.
Non Dom Issue Rears Head Again, Scaring Investors
Posted: 02/06/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Offshore Solutions | Tags: corporate tax, corporation tax, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »It seems to me whenever a politician needs a boost in popularity or more usually a distraction from the really important things taking place in our economy they turn the talk to the subject of non domiciles. Things that they think may not be as popular as a little non dom bashing. And a couple of weeks ago it happened again.
The idea that non doms should be hunted down and taxed within an inch of their lives came under discussion again. It was a discussion that quite frankly scared the life out of those in the know in the financial industry. Those that have no political barrow to push are fully aware that the UK gets its fair share from non doms in monetary terms. They are dismayed every time some politician ‘pledges to review’ the situation. It makes foreign investors nervous.
Believe it or not this is not a good thing, the UK does very nicely out of non doms and only those that have their own agenda would suggest otherwise.
As an article in the financial times pointed out recently further changes to the non-dom rules would be a “real deterrent for wealth-creating individuals to come from overseas”
Why is it the general public finds this so hard to understand? I think it is because politicians are intent on feeding them misinformation on the subject.
ID Cards Scrapped, But No Refund
Posted: 26/05/2010 Filed under: UK Immigration, Uncategorized | Tags: Immigration, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK Leave a comment »The interesting immigration story of the month is that ID cards, which it seems to me Labour had been trying to sneak in via the back door for years, have been scrapped.
That is all to the good as far as I am concerned, I never could work out the point of the darn things anyway. But it is perturbing for some people who having been just recently paid 30 pound to obtain one are now told that they are not required but they will not be getting their money back. This seems like a bit of a kick in the guts for people who were clearly trying to do the right thing and follow the rules.
In the capacity that Labour had managed to get them in they were to work as a replacement for a passport when traveling through EU countries. It seems people who purchased these in good faith will now be forced to go back to old fashioned methods and get a passport. But they will not be getting a thirty quid discount on that document. Their expenditure is just tough.
Saving Rates To Match Rate Of Inflation
Posted: 20/05/2010 Filed under: Investment, Moving to London, UK Investment, Uncategorized | Tags: business, business concerns, economy, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK Leave a comment »Further to yesterday’s blog I noticed an article in The Guardian that had some good news regarding inflation. A few banks are apparently pledged to keep some saving accounts at a higher rate of interest than inflation. The reason I highlight this is that many of my clients have a vested interest in the UK economy and many of them are doing well enough to consider the implications of inflation for their savings.
It seems that Northern Rock and Nottingham building society are making sure saving rates are higher than those of inflation. This is great news for savers and I believe a clever move on the bank’s part. People who move their savings to the banks with a great interest rate to beat inflation now will probably stick around.
Anyway my main purpose for mentioning this is the fact that I am determined to add a bit of positive to the coverage of the economic situation. I am reminded at the moment of all the dire predictions for the recession that have not even come close to coming true. I genuinely remember listening to some guy on radio four confidently predicting that this recession was going to be so bad that life as we know it would be over.
Mmm maybe not.
In the meantime if you are looking to move to London or start a company here then we can help you to do so. Here at St Matthew’s Accounting we have been helping people to settle in England and build successful companies for years. We know what we are doing.
The Many Faces Of UK Immigration
Posted: 06/05/2010 Filed under: UK Immigration, Uncategorized | Tags: Immigration, moving to the UK, moving to UK Leave a comment »Over the years I have come to the conclusion that if I thought that immigration was exactly what the press of the UK would have us believe then I would probabaly object to it too. In no uncertain terms. The truth is though that a lot of what we read and are told is very misleading. At best it is simplistic at worst it is often a cynical attempt to whip up xenophobia.
There was a very interesting article in The Times recently that made this point well. Immigration is not actually a racism issue as so many seem keen to convince us but rather an economical one. And once all the emotion is taken out of the debate it is actually clear that there is a strong case to be put for immigration and its contribution to the British economy, past present and future.
Britain has much inflow and outflow every year. In recent time inflow has exceeded outflow and with the help of a few well placed pieces of propaganda this can be made to seem threatening. The truth is that with the right policies in place immigration into the UK can be made to work very well for this country. We are honor bound as a civilized and yes, very lucky country to accept a small number of genuine asylum seekers but aside from this immigration can be worked in away that benefits our economy.
People with skills that we need or capital to invest should be welcomed aboard. It make good financial sense.
What Does Immigration Actually Mean In The UK?
Posted: 05/05/2010 Filed under: UK Immigration, Uncategorized | Tags: Immigration, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK Leave a comment »One of the other big talking points pre this election has been the immigrations policies of the parties. Almost as much as the economy the parties seem to have strong views on the opposition’s plans for immigration into the UK
It was a huge issue during the debate and some of what was said was quite illuminating. Gordon brown probably wishes that the whole issue would just go away after a woman expressing her concerns about immigration motivated him to call her a bigot. He was in his own car so it would not have been a problem but as he was still miked it turned it to probably his biggest problem of the campaign. And let’s face it that is really saying something.
I cannot help but think that a large amount of the problem with immigration has absolutely nothing to do with the issue itself but rather a lack of understanding of it in the general community. I have found that a lot of people fail to understand the difference between such reasonable simple concepts such as temporary migrant workers, immigration of family members, illegal immigrants (both those who have outstayed their visas and those who never had one) and “genuine” asylum-seekers,
.
In my next blog I want to have a look at some of these concepts and how a lack of understanding of them is complicating the issue of immigration far more than it needs to be.
