Savers’ dilemma: to fix or not to fix

By Kara Gammell

Published: 6:20AM GMT 09 Jan 2010

Savers have endured a pitiful year, with interest rates falling to a 300-year
low of just 0.5pc.

Rates on instant access accounts, including cash Isas, have been even lower,
with many paying a worthless 0.1pc. Anyone looking for a half-decent rate of
interest of more than a couple of per cent has had little choice but to
consider accounts that lock savings away for a specified period, either one,
two, three or five years.

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Copenhagen climate deal: London faces carbon trading challenge from New York

By Rowena Mason, City Reporter


Published: 12:02AM GMT 21 Dec 2009

Political leaders signed a watered-down agreement this weekend with no future
roadmap to international emissions trading.

However, President Barack Obama is likely to use the US’s commitment to
lowering its emissions as a way of forcing his cap-and-trade bill through
the Senate in the spring.

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Zurich loses data on 51,000 UK customers

The personal account details of 51,000 insurance customers of Zurich Insurance
in the UK have been missing in South Africa for more than a year, the Swiss
insurer revealed today as it launched a full investigation into the loss of
a data tape.

Bank and general insurance policy details of a further 550,000 customers in
South Africa - its entire general insurance customer base in the country -
and 40,000 clients in Botswana have also been lost since August last year,
after the tape went missing, Zurich said.

Depending on the type of policy, in some cases the lost data includes personal
contact information including addresses and telephone numbers.

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SFO opens criminal inquiry into ‘Beano’ Levene

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today announced it was opening a criminal
investigation into Nicholas Levene, the bankrupt City trader.

Mr Levene, who is nicknamed Beano and is the former vice chairman of Leyton
Orient Football Club, is alleged to owe clients £200 million and is already
being investigated by Deloitte, the accountancy firm.

The SFO said today: “The SFO, having received complaints about the business
activities of Mr Nicholas Levene, has now opened a formal criminal
investigation.”

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Swiss officials make pitch to lure UK bosses

Swiss authorities are approaching chief executives of UK-based companies and other wealthy individuals with tax-saving deals to lure the world’s financial elite to the country.
The Times understands that officials governing cantons such as Geneva are personally contacting bosses of FTSE 100 companies to persuade them to relocate their companies and families to regions known for their favourable tax regimes, as well as for offering “financial privacy” to residents.
It is understood that one chief executive was offered a flat tax rate of 10 per cent on his personal income if he relocated the company to Geneva and lived there, as long as he provided a forecast of earnings for the next ten years.
Although Switzerland is known for its flexible approach to taxation for individuals who meet strict criteria, such unsolicited approaches have happened recently and are the latest effort by Swiss authorities to capitalise on the worldwide financial crisis and the increasingly punishing tax regime for high earners in Britain. Other countries, including Panama, are also taking steps to boost their appeal to wealthy individuals.

Mike Warburton, of Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, said: “Switzerland has always had nonstatutory deals for some individuals, but the unsolicited offers is a new approach. In the UK, it is well known that a ‘not welcome here’ sign has gone up to wealthy foreigners. Consequently, places such as Switzerland are licking their lips.”
The Swiss forfait fiscal, or lump-sum, system means that, for some people, tax is charged at a flat rate based on a multiple of the rental value of the property bought, rather than on income, resulting in tax savings worth thousands of pounds.
The campaign to improve Switzerland’s image as a financial safe haven and to clarify the way its tax system works is also designed to counter fears that individuals with accounts in the country may be subject to international crackdowns on avoidance. The American tax authorities asked those with offshore accounts with UBS to come forward with their account details in August.
Swiss property developers selling luxury apartments are also targeting hedge fund managers by highlighting the tax advantages of home ownership for employees of companies based in Switzerland. Estate agents have been holding invitation-only conferences in the UK and other countries to highlight the benefits of living there. Although many emphasise Switzerland’s attractions as a place for outdoor activities and clean, safe living, there is a tacit acknowledgment that the primary appeal is financial.
It is thought that some hedge fund managers will no longer accept job offers unless the company moves somewhere with a more favourable tax regime.
A spokesman for Savills, which sells properties in Switzerland to international clients, said: “In Switzerland, tax arrangements are all done on private negotiation. Switzerland specialises in wealth management so, if you have wealth, it wants you, as long as you do not take a job that could otherwise have gone to a Swiss person. It is fine for companies to move there and bring jobs with them, but it is not OK to take a Swiss job.”
Agents have said that this renewed effort to highlight the tax benefits is a response to recent property price falls in Switzerland of about 5 per cent from the peak. Although small compared with declines in other countries, it has made it harder for developers to sell properties to cautious buyers.
Nick Barnes, a consultant on behalf of Knight Frank, which also sells property in Switzerland, said: “Buyers are more cautious and marketing periods are longer. Developers are having to work much harder. A transparent sales process has become more important.”
Switzerland’s efforts are paying off. Mr Warburton said: “Some of my clients, either retirees or people working in the finance industry, are emigrating to Switzerland. The [UK] Government is pretending it isn’t happening. It is happening and it is a great shame for the UK, which loses out.”

Banks plan to pay bonuses early to avoid 50% tax

Inverstment banks that typically pay bonuses in April and May are considering
paying out earlier next year so that employees can avoid the 10% rise in
income tax, applicable to those earning more than £150,000, that comes into
force on April 5.

The remuneration committee at Nomura, which employs 4,000 in London since it
took over Lehman’s UK operations last year, is considering bringing its
payment date forward from April 12. Other banks that pay later in the year
include the investment house Rothschild and the Japanese bank Daiwa
Securities.

One senior banker said: “It is a perfectly sensible thing to do. Why would you
wait a week to pay people thereby subjecting them to the 50% rate?”

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Deloitte boss pockets £5.2m after taxpayer-funded bailout of RBS

By
Tom Kelly and Rupert Steiner
Last updated at 7:27 PM on 05th August 2009

Highest paid accountant: John Connolly earned 5.2m last year as anger grows over City pay deals
Britain’s highest paid accountant earned an astonishing 5.2million last year as his company doubled its takings from the taxpayer-funded Royal Bank of Scotland.   John Connolly, Chief Executive of auditing giant Deloitte, has been paid nearly 11million over the past two years as part of the firms profit sharing scheme.  The bumper payout comes after the 58-year-old, who lives in a 5million listed home in Knightsbridge and owns several racehorses, boasted that corporate responsibility was an integral part of Deloitte.Last year he promised to make the firm a leader in ‘creating a positive impact on society’ by ‘doing the right thing’.Since then Deloitte, the UK’s second-largest accountancy firm, has been an indirect beneficiary of the taxpayer-funded bailout of RBS.It was paid 58.8million by the bank last year, a massive leap from the 31.4million it earned in fees the previous year.Of that 38.6million came in audit fees, more than double the prior year.RBS was only saved only by a 20billion bailout last November after the disastrous acquisition of the Dutch bank ABN Amro. The Edinburgh-based bank has also had further Treasury backing, including guarantees over a staggering 325billion in toxic assets, and is now 70 per cent state-owned.

Accountants have faced criticism as to why they failed to highlight the danger of some of the high-risk lending practices being undertaking by the banks. The son of a personal manager in a small furniture company, Mr Connolly has said that he was ‘very clever’ but not particularly interested in education and joined an accountancy firm at 16 after leaving his Catholic grammar school in Manchester.He had three children with his first wife before they divorced. He married again to Odile Griffith in 1992 after they met while they were both partners at chartered accountancy firm Touche Ross.She was later a managing director at Hambro Magan before setting up her own corporate finance boutique, RKR, which led the couple to be named as one of Britain’s financial ‘power couples’ by Brand Republic.Mr Connolly has worked for Deloitte for most of his life,  running an office in the Middle East and in Leeds before moving to the London headquarters where he specialises in corporate finance and has also worked on many mergers. As well as his interest in horse racing, in his spare time he enjoys going to the opera and is a Manchester United season ticket holder.  Despite the extra fees from RBS, Deloitte reported a 2 per cent fall in revenue to 1.97billion for the year to the end of May. Mr Connolly said: ‘Overall business performance was satisfactory in extremely tough markets.’In his annual report last year Mr Connolly wrote about the importance of corporate responsibility in the firm.He said: ‘Our partners firmly believe that Deloitte should be a leader in creating a positive impact on society. We should do that  through our own actions.’Delivering on Corporate Responsibility remains a key priority for our firm. It is embedded in our business strategy and corporate objectives: we believe it sits at the heart of succeeding in turbulent and unpredictable markets.”Under this leadership, our attitude is about ‘doing the right thing’ in the longer term.’I'm motivated by making a long-term difference, for initiatives that have a far-reaching impact.’Deloitte makes significant grants to charities and also provides advice and services to the good causes.

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Property agent Dylan Harvey Residential fails with £6.5m in deposits

About 500 investors who put down deposits of as much as £20,000 for apartments in the North West have been hit by the collapse yesterday of a Lancashire-based property company.
Dylan Harvey Residential (DHR) has been placed into administration, which is being handled by Mark Getliffe and Diane Hill, insolvency partners at the Manchester office of CLB Coopers, the accountancy firm.
DHR acted as sales agent for several apartment schemes in Manchester and the North West.
The creditors include 500 residential property investors, who paid about £6.5 million in deposits of between £5,000 and £20,000 apiece. Most were for off-plan apartments in developments that had not been started because of the downturn in the property market.

The developments in Manchester included Clippers Quay in Salford Quays, Zararchie Tower and Bengal Mill in Ancoats, and phases two and three of the Fresh Salford project.
About 350 investors paid £2.6 million for flats at Clippers Quay, while 120 deposits totalling £1.4 million were put down for properties at Zararchie Tower and 49 worth £378,000 on homes in Bengal Mill.
An online petition calling on DHR to refund deposits was set up last year by disgruntled investors unhappy with the company’s reluctance to do so.
The administration does not affect the Mann Island development in Liverpool, which is part of a separate joint venture, or the commercial office space business and other companies within the wider Dylan Harvey Group, the parent company of DHR. The business was one of a group of companies set up in 1996 by Toby Whittaker and named after his two sons.
Mr Getliffe, of CLB Coopers, said: “We are working hard to finalise the full financial position and explore all the options in respect of any value which can be recovered for creditors.”
Creditors wanting to make a claim should e-mail dylanharvey@clbcoopers.co.uk or call CLB Coopers on 0161-245 1095.
Dylan Harvey Group said that after the loss of significant deposits paid to now-insolvent developers, DHR was no longer viable as a going concern. It intends to propose a Company Voluntary Arrangement within the administration process in an attempt to ensure that all unsecured creditors are given the opportunity to realise the value of funds paid to DHR.
Dylan Harvey Group’s key lending facilities have been restructured and the group has introduced cost-cutting measures.

Property agent Dylan Harvey Residential fails with £6.5m in deposits

About 500 investors who put down deposits of as much as £20,000 for apartments in the North West have been hit by the collapse yesterday of a Lancashire-based property company.
Dylan Harvey Residential (DHR) has been placed into administration, which is being handled by Mark Getliffe and Diane Hill, insolvency partners at the Manchester office of CLB Coopers, the accountancy firm.
DHR acted as sales agent for several apartment schemes in Manchester and the North West.
The creditors include 500 residential property investors, who paid about £6.5 million in deposits of between £5,000 and £20,000 apiece. Most were for off-plan apartments in developments that had not been started because of the downturn in the property market.

The developments in Manchester included Clippers Quay in Salford Quays, Zararchie Tower and Bengal Mill in Ancoats, and phases two and three of the Fresh Salford project.
About 350 investors paid £2.6 million for flats at Clippers Quay, while 120 deposits totalling £1.4 million were put down for properties at Zararchie Tower and 49 worth £378,000 on homes in Bengal Mill.
An online petition calling on DHR to refund deposits was set up last year by disgruntled investors unhappy with the company’s reluctance to do so.
The administration does not affect the Mann Island development in Liverpool, which is part of a separate joint venture, or the commercial office space business and other companies within the wider Dylan Harvey Group, the parent company of DHR. The business was one of a group of companies set up in 1996 by Toby Whittaker and named after his two sons.
Mr Getliffe, of CLB Coopers, said: “We are working hard to finalise the full financial position and explore all the options in respect of any value which can be recovered for creditors.”
Creditors wanting to make a claim should e-mail dylanharvey@clbcoopers.co.uk or call CLB Coopers on 0161-245 1095.
Dylan Harvey Group said that after the loss of significant deposits paid to now-insolvent developers, DHR was no longer viable as a going concern. It intends to propose a Company Voluntary Arrangement within the administration process in an attempt to ensure that all unsecured creditors are given the opportunity to realise the value of funds paid to DHR.
Dylan Harvey Group’s key lending facilities have been restructured and the group has introduced cost-cutting measures.

Recession forces a million to work parttime

By Harry Wallop and Myra Butterworth

Published: 10:00PM BST 19 Jul 2009

In the past year more than 250,000 extra people who would like to be in
full-time employment have found themselves working four days a week or
fewer, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is an increase of more than a third on the previous year, and illustrates
the extent to which companies are trying to cope with the downturn by
reducing staff hours, rather than just laying them off.

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