Vince Cable will today set out plans for a so-called graduate tax with hopes that this will dispel some fears over the potential increase in tuition fees. Under the current system graduates are loaned money by the UK government which is a repaid at a later date when they are in employment. However, this repayment system takes no account of a graduates income in the future although under Vince Cable's plan we could see this figure adjusted to take into account the income of the underlying graduate.
The UK government has today issued a surprise statement suggesting that the £2.5 billion tax levy introduced to the banking arena at the last budget could be doubled if UK banks continue to pay out large bonuses and refuse to increase liquidity in the money markets. Whether or not the UK government will have the bottle to push ahead with another hike in taxes for the UK financial sector, still the engine room of the UK economy, remains to be seen but the threats have been issued and the banking arena would do well to take heed.
Sir Alan Budd, the outgoing interim chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will this week announce a number of changes to the set-up of the watchdog as a last ditch attempt to rescue its reputation begins. Some of the issues which will be proposed are the removal of the OBR from the Treasury building, a reduction in the number of Treasury workers within the OBR as well as the introduction of more external third party experts.
Gunther Oettinger, the European Union's energy commissioner, has today entered a discussion regarding North Sea oil exploration. He has suggested that there should be "a blanket ban" on drilling in the North Sea until the issues regarding the Gulf of Mexico disaster have been clarified. This comes after a significant increase in activity by oil companies in the North Sea with the potential for further oil finds to be announced in the short-term. So will the UK government take heed of the European Union's warning?
Over the last few days it has become more and more apparent that George Osborne's initial slashing of the UK public sector budget will have a massive impact upon not only public sector workers but also private sector companies. This comes at a time when the UK economy is struggling to pull clear of the recession and more and more financial experts believe we are heading towards a double dip recession. So how low can the UK public sector budget go?
Yesterday's news that Sir Alan Budd will be leaving the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) after his three-month contract is up was something of a devastating blow for George Osborne but there appear to be more bad news on the horizon. It has been revealed today that all founder members of the OBR will be leaving before the office is enshrined in law by Parliament. So what next?
The shock departure of Sir Alan Budd from the newly formed Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to cause a major headache for Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. David Blanchflower, one of the leading independent economists in the UK, believes that no credible name would be willing to take the place of Sir Alan Budd after criticism that the office is not actually independent of the UK government.
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, yesterday announced profits of £145.2 million on turnover of £1.07 billion. This is a 36.5% increase on the previous year and when you consider this performance against the economic background both in the UK and around the world it is very strong to say the least.
It was revealed today that spending by the Royal family on official duties was reduced by 12.2% to £38.2 million compared to £41.5 million last year. This is the equivalent of 62p for each head of population in the UK and has prompted an argument as to whether the royal family on the whole give value for money for UK taxpayers.
Stephen Hester, the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, has this weekend suggested that the UK government may be looking to dispose of its 83% stake in stages beginning in 2011. If this is correct, and the UK government does actively look to dispose of its share stake next year, does this put Lloyds bank in a similar situation?
