UK stock market recovers after earlier fall
While the UK stock market is still down over 1% there was a partial recovery after the budget were initial fears of a banking levy proved to be too pessimistic. Analysts had been expecting the introduction of a banking levy to raise between £1 billion and £5 billion a year although the figure came in at around £2 billion. The levy will also take in overseas operators in the UK market as well as those quoted on the stock market, thereby spreading the pain amongst more institutions. When you consider that the banking industry in the UK generated tax revenue in the region £90 billion at the height of the market then perhaps £2 billion is not such a bitter pill to swallow?
While there has been a partial recovery in the UK stock market after the budget, as ever, the devil will be in the detail (despite George Osborne's comments to the contrary) and we will see the "real" reaction tomorrow morning after analysts have had time to digest the information. Historically we have always seen a knee-jerk reaction to the headline figures from past budgets and then a further period of reflection and comment.
Share this..
Related stories
Kraft Foods set to take control of Cadbury today
Today is D-Day for Cadbury with Kraft Foods expected to top the 50% acceptance level which will give the company complete control of Cadbury. If, as expected, the figure is breached later today the company will officially "receive the keys" to Cadbury at around 5 PM today. So what does this mean for the company? When Kraft Foods officially reaches the 50% shareholder acceptance level this will...
Read MoreBradford And Bingley Cash Call Goes To The Wire
It seems unbelievable that it is only today that we have seen the close of the Bradford and Bingley £400 million cash call - a saga which seems to have been going on for months!
The controversial cash call which was initially priced at 82p a share, only to be reduced to 55p a share, has also seen a potential US partner agree to come on board only to drop out at the last minute. In...
New Marks & Spencer Chairman takes pay cut
While nothing has officially been confirmed by the company, it is believed that ex-investment banker Robert Swannell is set to take the helm at Marks & Spencer, leaving Sir Stuart Rose to retire gracefully. However, the indications are that the new chairman will join on a salary of £500,000 a year which does not compare favourably to Sir Stuart Rose's salary which was in the region of £875,000 a...
Read MoreStagecoach releases half-year results
Today we have seen the release of half-year results for UK transport group Stagecoach, which is currently struggling like all other transport companies in the UK. While profits fell from £100.7 million to £71.2 million for the six months to the end of October the figures would appear to be in line or perhaps slightly better than some analysts had expected and the shares have been marked a touch...
Read MoreKey UK businesses may be given an option to sell stake to government
The UK government has also announced plans for a £50 billion investment scheme which could see a number of key businesses throughout the UK sell part of their equity to taxpayers in exchange for additional funding. While on the surface this may look like an interesting option and something which could breathe life into a very lacklustre market, there are potentially enormous liabilities at stake....
Read More