Mar
2010
Articles from 25th Mar 2010
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Married Couple Case Study: A real incentive to finally get on property ladder
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
A Midland house hunter has hailed this year’s Budget as a “real incentive” for first-time buyers. Read
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Property: 'No panacea' for housing slump
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Alistair Darling’s helping hand for first-time buyers will not itself be a panacea for a struggling housing market, a West Midland building society boss said. Read
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Family Case Study: Darling has not gone out of his way to help us
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Mother-of-two Sarah Powney and husband Chris have been married for seven years and have two children, Oliver, five, and one-year-old Jack. Read
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Chancellor reveals extra cash for parents and benefit boost
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Parents of children aged between one and two will get an extra £200 a year per child as part of family-friendly Budget measures. Read
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Minimum wage: Minimum wage increase slipped in unannounced
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
West Midland business leaders have criticised the government after it emerged that the minimum wage is to increase by 2.2 per cent to £5.93 an hour. Read
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Tax: Half a billion extra thanks to tax change
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
In his more earnest moments the Chancellor announced he would hold the inheritance tax threshold – but he also found time for fun by announcing plans to sign a tax agreement with Belize Read
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Extra lending will be big boost for business
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The region’s small businesses received a welcome boost with the pledge of extra lending and a cut in business rates – but there was still dismay that an increase in national insurance will not be reversed. Read
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Very little to spook traders...this time
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
While not going so far as to say “recession, what recession?” as Jim Callaghan might have done in 1979, Alistair Darling’s 2010 Budget was heavily basted with optimism. Read
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Mike Yiannis: Help offered to financiers
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
OK, a pretty uneventful Budget for tabloid journalists looking to explain the impact on Mr & Mrs Smith who have two kids, two cars, drink and have the odd ciggie – not much drama to report. Read
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Alcohol: Duty will stifle cider industry's successes
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The dramatic tax duty increase on cider could spell the end of success stories like Birmingham’s Aston Manor Brewery, according to the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM). Read
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Publican Case Study: 'We will assess damage', says publican
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Budget day is over and inevitable rises have been announced but it could have been a lot worse for publicans, according to the manager of a Birmingham pub. Read
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Budgeting for an election
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Labour’s final Budget before a General Election has been slammed by business leaders who claimed it was designed to win an election rather than help industry. Read
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City campaign for Whitehall refugees
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Birmingham Council leader Mike Whitby has launched a major campaign to attract civil servant jobs to Birmingham, after the Chancellor announced plans to move 15,000 people out of Whitehall. Read
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Pensioners Case Study: Very little to help OAPs enjoy their twilight years
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The residents of Birmingham’s first retirement village listened with interest to the Budget. Read
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Dave Harte: Good gaming news at last
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
At last, after years of campaigning finally someone has listened to those within the computer games industry who have insisted that tax breaks are essential if this sector is able to grow and compete internationally. Read
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Budget 2010: West Midlands businesses unimpressed by report
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Labour’s final Budget before a General Election has been slammed by business leaders who claimed it was designed to win an election rather than helping industry. Read
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Teacher Case Study: ‘We need to make sure under 24s get training’
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Alistair Darling’s Budget was never going to win any gold stars from Birmingham headteacher Matt Smith. Read
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Commercial Property: No fireworks for sector still feeling the crunch
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The commercial property sector in Birmingham had little to cheer from the Budget apart from the possibility of an influx of civil servants to the city to fill some of its empty grade A space. Read
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Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya: Manufacturers given support
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
How encouraging for our entrepreneurial future that manufacturing and innovation were at the forefront of the Budget. Read
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Fuel: Three-stage fuel rise to ease cash burden
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The Chancellor took pity on motorists by introducing his near-3p a litre fuel rise, planned for next month, in three stages – avoiding an April Fuel’s Day fiasco. Read
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Personal Finance: Higher ISA allowance gives savers a rare boost
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Savers received some rare good news when the Chancellor announced plans to increase the annual ISA allowance in line with inflation each year. Read
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Budget 2010: Stamp duty move is no remedy says building society boss
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Alistair Darling’s helping hand for first-time buyers will not itself be a panacea for a struggling housing market, a West Midland building society boss said. Read
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Capital Gains Tax: Surprise as Capital Gains tax is eased
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Entrepreneurs hoping to sell the business they have nurtured will be a potential £80,000 better off in a surprise move to ease capital gains tax. Read
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Manufacturing Case Study: £2.5 billion for small firms will hearten hard-pressed bosses
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Alistair Darling’s pre-election budget is good news for small and medium sized businesses across the Midlands, according to the chairman of a 130-year-old Birmingham engineering firm. Read
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Nurse Case Study: What do cuts mean for NHS?
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Matron Marjorie Small is an oncology matron across Heartlands Hospital, in Bordesley Green, and Good Hope Hospital, in Sutton Coldfield, and expressed fear for the quality of future NHS care after cuts were announced. Read
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Budget 2010: Computer games boost to keep talent in UK
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The West Midlands’ video games sector is predicting a growth in jobs following the Chancellor’s announcement of film industry-style tax relief for computer games developers. Read
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Roads: £100m fund for potholes and roads 'not enough'
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
THE Chancellor provided another boost for drivers with a £100 million repair fund for pothole-plagued roads following the big winter freeze. Read
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Creative Industries: More jobs will keep crucial talent in UK
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The West Midlands’ video games sector is predicting a growth in jobs following the Chancellor’s announcement of film industry-style tax relief for computer games developers. Read
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Environment: Green bank boost for region's engineering
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Plans to launch a £2 billion green investment bank to stimulate wind turbine production and other renewable energy projects have been welcomed by manufacturers in the West Midlands. Read
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Anthony Carty: A do-nothing manifesto
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Alistair Darling, haunted by the twin spectres of fear and failure, has delivered another pallid and ineffectual Budget. Read
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Students Case Study: Extra funding is reason for students to be happy
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Birmingham graduate Fabian Neuner said students were among the big winners in this year’s Budget, despite warnings from the Chancellor that universities would have to cut funding in the future. Read
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Education: City region gets powers to improve skills levels
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Powers over boosting the West Midlands’ adult skills have been granted to the City Region by the Chancellor – making it one of only three areas with that level of devolved power. Read
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A step in right direction, but more must be done
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Alistair Darling has had the unenviable task of guiding the country’s economy through one of the most difficult periods since the war. With one eye on the forthcoming General Election, much of his speech was a justification of his record in handling the recent crises. Nigel Pickard, Head of Tax at Deloitte in Birmingham, gives his view on the tax changes announced in the Budget. Read
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Birmingham aiming to attract civil service jobs out of London
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Birmingham Council leader Mike Whitby has launched a major campaign to attract civil servant jobs to Birmingham, after the Chancellor announced plans to move 15,000 people out of Whitehall. Read
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A bumpy ride still to come for election winners
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
Professor David Bailey, of the Coventry University Business School, considers the pre-election Budget and some brave growth forecasts. Read
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Andrew Whitehead: Low carbon measures feel desperate
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
We were promised no pre-election gimmicks or giveaways, and a “sensible and workmanlike” Budget. Read
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The swan song of the New Labour project
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
The Budget sounded the last death knell for New Labour, says Political Editor Jonathan Walker. Read
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Small Firm Case Study: Business rates cut may boost high street
Mar 25 2010 | Budget
A cut in business rates could provide the catalyst in revitalising the high street, according to a Birmingham businessman. Read
