Finance Matters

Posts Tagged ‘Chancellor’

As the leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states prepare to meet over a possible new EU treaty, the UK’s chancellor George Osborne warned a House of Lords committee that a collapse of the euro would do ‘enormous damage’ to the UK economy.

Mr Osborne also stressed that the damage would be long-term.

Speaking to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee he said: “Those who say we would have a year or two of hardship then bounce back out of it, are maybe somewhat optimistic.

“There would be a significant drop in UK GDP if the euro were to fall apart.”

Mr Osborn said that the government is making contingency plans in case the worst happens and the euro collapses, but warned that this would only have limited effect.

The Prime Minister today said he would not hesitate to veto an EU deal at the Brussels summit if it was not in the best interest of the UK.

EU leaders will discuss France and Germany’s plans for a new treaty which would strengthen the fiscal rules for the 17 member states using the euro, including budgetary oversight and common corporation and financial transaction taxes.

Although the UK does not use the euro, the EU treaty cannot be changed without the support of all EU member states, including the UK.

In exchange for the UK’s support, Mr Cameron has pledged to secure safeguards on financial regulation and for the single market.

“So in return for the treaty that they want – to sort out the problems of the eurozone – I want to make sure we get a good deal for Britain, we keep our markets open and we have the power here in the UK to make sure that our top industries are properly promoted and enhanced,” he said.

The government has announced changes to its pensions offer for NHS staff, which it claims are an improvement designed to protect low-paid employees, but which unions claim is a tax on middle-earners.

Last week up to two million public sector workers went on strike over the government’s plan to increase the amount they will have to pay towards their pensions.

Workers would also have to retire late and move to a “career average” pension rather than a “final salary” scheme under the government’s proposals.

Keen to avoid a repetition of last week’s situation, when 400,000 NHS workers walked out leading to hospital operations being cancelled, the government hopes its ‘improved’ offer on NHS pensions will help bring an end to part of the wider public sector pensions dispute.

Under its latest offer 530,000 NHS staff earning between £15,000 and £26,557 would not have to pay higher pension contributions next year.

Under the previous offer, only workers earning less than £15,000 were protected from having to pay higher contributions.

However, under the latest offer, employees earning between £26,558 and £48,982 would be expected to contribute 8 per cent of their monthly salary next year, up from 6.5 per cent now.

Workers on salaries between £48,983 and £69,931 would have to contribute 8.9 per cent, while those earning between £69,932 and £110,273 would have to contribute 9.9 per cent.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Having listened to staff and stakeholders, we have improved our proposals so that an extra 630,000 NHS staff will not pay any more into their pensions next year.”

Commenting on the latest offer, the Unite union’s assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “The harsh reality of what the government is pushing is that middle earners will be the ones paying for these impositions.

“This is a tax on those workers, plain and simple,” she said.

Yesterday, the Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to end to national pay rates for teachers, nurses, prison officers and civil servants by April 2013, in order to tie public sector wages more closely to the cost of living.

This could mean a pay cut of up to 10 per cent for public sector workers in poorer parts of the country, where private sector staff are currently paid significantly less.

Figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest that the pay differential between the public and private sector could be 10 per cent in some parts of the country.

The Bernie Fine sexual abuse scandal has taken some strange twists and turns.

His third accuser, Zach Tomaselli, a 23-year-old from Kansas who is being charged with sexual assault of a child himself, has been documenting the progress of his case through his Facebook status.

Tomaselli confirmed on Jason Whitlock’s podcast that the Facebook is in fact his, and he has been updating the statuses. When Whitlock asked why he was being so public with such a private, serious matter on Facebook Tomaselli responds:

“It’s because I really want the truth to get out there. I want my story to get out there I don’t want to hide behind anybody, I don’t want to hide behind the police, I don’t want to hide behind anyone at all. I want the story told so that people can know that I’m telling the truth. The more I tell my story the more people can compare notes and people can see my story matches up word for word every time.”

He also is accusing his father of sexual abuse. His father says he’s lying about everything

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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See Also:

• Former Syracuse Police Chief Knew About The Bernie Fine Child Molestation Allegations In 2002
• Syracuse Chancellor Says She Would Have Fired Bernie Fine In 2003 If The Tapes Had Surfaced Then
• A Very Ironic Letter To The Editor Ran In The Syracuse Student Newspaper A Day Before The Sexual Abuse Scandal Broke

The housing market is expected to improve strongly in 2013-14, with a 20 per cent increase in transactions, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday.

An upward trend is expected to start developing in 2012-13, when 1.5 per growth is expected, according to the OBR’s forecasts which accompanied the chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

Recent figures from HM Revenue & Customs show that 5 per cent fewer houses have been sold in 2011 than in 2010 and they are still at around half the level they were before the 2008 credit crunch caused the housing market to plummet.

A number of factors have contributed to a fall in house sales, including economic uncertainty, mortgage lenders demanding high deposits, pressure on incomes, and high unemployment.

The OBR also said yesterday that it expects house prices to start showing a steady increase in 2013, reaching annual growth of 4.5 per cent in 2015-16.

However, they are expected to continue to fall by 0.9 per cent in 2011-12 and 0.1 per cent in 2012-13.

Recent reports from property websites Zoopla and Rightmove confirm the slump in house prices.

Zoopla revealed that 40% of the homes it currently has for sale have had their asking prices cut, while Rightmove said that the average asking price of newly marketed homes fell by £7,528 to £232,144 this month.

The north-west region experienced the biggest fall in house prices last month according to Hometrack, with a 0.4 per cent decline.

On average, house prices fell 0.2 per cent across England and Wales in October, according to Hometrack’s latest monthly housing survey.

The company said that the weak UK economy and the eurozone crisis had caused fewer new properties to come onto the market, while sellers were reducing prices in an effort to secure a deal before Christmas.

In a move that could cause sales of first-time buyer properties to rise sharply early next year, the current exemption on stamp duty will not be extended as hoped.

In his Autumn Statement yesterday, the Chancellor said that this concession has proved ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market, therefore people buying their first home will no longer receive an exemption from stamp duty from 24 March 2012.

From this date, first-time buyers will have to pay 1% stamp duty on properties costing between £125,000 and £250,000, along with people who are already on the property ladder.

New figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) suggest that there will only be marginal growth in the UK housing market over the next two years.

It is expected to grow from £6 billion in 2010-11 to £6.4 billion in 2012-13.

The rate of growth is then expected to accelerate to £7.5bn in 2013-14 and £11.4 billion in 2016-17.

Earlier this week the Council of Mortgage Lenders warned that ending the stamp duty exemption could destabilise the already fragile housing market.

It argued that reinstating the fee for first-time buyers would only generate a small increase in tax revenues as properties under £250,000 represent just 13 per cent of property sales.

The Chancellor did offer some help to first-time buyers in the Autumn Statement, confirming that a new mortgage indemnity scheme will be introduced to help prospective purchasers who are only able to raise a small deposit.

He also announced that the right-to-buy scheme, which was introduced in the 1980s, will be invigorated, with social housing tenants being offered a discount of up to 50% to help them buy their local authority properties.

Mr Osborne said that the scheme, which he called “one of the greatest social policies of all time”, had suffered under previous governments.