Archive for July, 2009

Don’t bank on it: Public Finance

The irony of a New Labour government nationalising the commanding heights (commanding depths, actually) of the economy is almost beyond satire. Yet every household in the UK now has £3,000 at stake in the Royal Bank of ­Scotland and the Lloyds Banking Group.
But, as the old investment warning goes, the value of shares can go [...]

Cheap credit gets harder to find: Belfast Telegraph

 
Capital One credit card users face a 7% hike in interest rates from September – nearly doubling the rates charged for many customers. It is the latest sign of a trend that is making the credit card habit much more expensive.
 
Despite Bank of England base rates remaining at an all-time low of 0.5%, banks are [...]

Northern Ireland’s savers suffer: Belfast Telegraph

 
Savers in Northern Ireland earn the lowest amount of interest anywhere in the United Kingdom, while small firms here pay the highest rates of interest to banks on their borrowings, according to research just published.
 
The findings from the ESRC Centre for Competition Policy suggest that Northern Ireland customers suffer from less competition between banks [...]

Questions of Cash: ‘No one took responsibility for faulty cash machine’: The Independent

 
Q. In January, I went to an Abbey cash dispenser to withdraw £400. The transaction was processed, but the cash not supplied. I went into the bank branch, which told me the cash dispenser was managed by Securicor. The branch said I should contact my own bank, Banca Intesa Sanpaolo in Rome, for them to [...]

Tax haven is co-op strength: Co-operative News

 
Co-operative Review 2009, just published, contains some very impressive statistics. Many retail co-ops are doing well and a few are doing exceptionally well.
 
The strong performance continues from the Co-operative Group, which increased turnover by 1.9% in the most recent trading year, producing a 7.8% return on capital employed and a net profit of £439m.
 
Yet the [...]

City of Derry flights at risk: Belfast Telegraph

 
 
City of Derry Airport is at risk of losing one of its last two scheduled airlines, if recommendations from the Bord Snip Nua report — suggesting cuts to government spending in the Republic — are implemented.
 
 
The report proposes ending the public service obligation (PSO) for regional air services, which currently subsidises Aer Arann flights between [...]

Chief auditor: Accounting & Business

 
Sir Andrew Likierman strongly rejects the suggestion that he is a trouble-shooter. Yet it is undeniable that he has been appointed to address some serious challenges.
 
The most important of these is that the affable and relaxed Sir Andrew is the first ever chairman of the National Audit Office. The NAO audits the accounts of government [...]

Love and procurement: Accounting & Business

Small firms are prevented by bureaucracy from winning their share of public contracts, a committee of MPs has found. If public bodies better understood how SMEs and micro-enterprises operate they could gain from small firms’ innovation and flexibility, the ACCA backed group concluded.
 
The House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group is chaired by [...]

The view from Deane Morrice: Accounting & Business

 
The view from: Deane Morrice MBA, FCCA, chief executive and secretary of the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC)
 
Q. What are your challenges?
 
A. Our fund was 89% funded at the last valuation in 2007: the deficit required increased employers’ contributions. The deficit would be higher today with the falls in stock markets and [...]

Accountancy news: Accounting & Business

 
UK News
FRC appoints new chief exec
Stephen Haddrill is to become the new chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council in November, after Paul Boyle steps down. Haddrill is currently Director General of the Association of British Insurers, a member of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG) and was Director General at the Department of [...]