What the Finance

If you were asked to explain the benefits of renewable energy production, chances are you would first say the obvious thing – it is renewable! Aside from the many other benefits, it is the fact that you have an inexhaustible supply that makes renewable energy such an attractive proposition, and in the coming years, this […]

With political goings on destabilising economies around the world and currencies rising and falling because of that, is Bitcoin the way forward in a global market? This software based form of online payment is growing in popularity with more and more businesses accepting it as a form of payment. Companies like Virgin Galactic, WordPress and Overstock.com are […]

When French president Francois Hollande declared the Eurozone debt crisis over this weekend, did he know what he was talking about? Speaking to Japanese business leaders, Hollande tried to allay the fears of his audience by stating that the eurozone is now stronger after the crisis. He pointed to increased stability and solidarity among European […]

The current economical climate is struggling and it’s not the residents who have to tighten their purse strings, the countries themselves are struggling to cope with their increasing levels of debt. Within the Euro zone, there have been multiple stories flying around about different countries bailing out others at the cost of the common taxpayer; […]

We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about tax avoidance for quite a while now, from brass-plating to sweetheart deals. And with Eric Schmidt, the boss of chronic tax-avoiders Google calling the debate perplexing, here is a brief glossary of what some of the terms in the tax-avoidance lexicon actually mean. Tax avoidance: this is […]

Asset prices worldwide have risen to potent levels reminiscent of the credit boom 5 years earlier. The Bank of International Settlements has warned that they may be losing touch with economic reality. Some asset prices appeared highly valued in a historical context relative to indicators of their riskiness. The institute states that it is unusual […]

The European Commission has supported plans from 10 member states to raise funds to deal with the current European economic crisis, by introducing a tax on financial transactions. The European Union has found resistance from several other countries though, and have been unable to proceed with the implementation of the plans. The UK has spoken […]

This week sees the Royal Bank of Scotland make its final £1.4million payment to the Asset Protection Scheme (APS), reaching the required £2.5billion minimum payment to exit the emergency insurance programme. The APS is a state-backed insurance scheme worth £282billion, set up at the beginning of 2009  shortly after the global financial crisis hit and […]

During the second quarter (April-to-June) the ONS (Office for National Statistics) claimed that the economy shrank by only 0.4pc, after it made a third estimate of gross domestic product for the UK. The original estimation for the period was a retraction of 0.7pc, then revised to 0.5pc in August. This came as a surprise to […]

For the past 10 years, the office of Governor of the Bank of England has been filled by Mervyn King, chosen for two consecutive five-year terms. Mr King is due to step down from his position, and his £302k salary, on June 30 of next year (2013). In a speech to Parliament, Chancellor of the […]