Here’s your five for the weekend everyone – short, sharp and to the point:
1. We’re 12 days away from this year’s Budget and the noise has started already. This week’s focus has been all about the question of taxation – in particular, the proposed mansion tax, child benefit levels and how much relief on tax people paying into pensions should qualify for. Next week kicks off with the British Chambers of Commerce submitting their Budget wishlist – expect the hard economic debate from Mr Balls etc to follow.
2. Meanwhile, the Institute for Fiscal Studies provided plenty of ammunition for Labour with its latest figures on household spending which claimed to show that households are set to lose £370 from tax and benefits changes already in place.
3. Over in media land, Robert Peston drew the wrath of the Financial Times by latching onto an exclusive from George Parker last month and repackaging it into one of the stories of the week – Vince Cable’s now very public critique of Coalition policy.
4. Wrapping up the week, today finally saw the disclosure of pay figures for Barclays’ senior figures, including Bob Diamond. Suffice to say, the reaction has been predictable, decrying the vast sums while others have questioned the payout based on the company’s declining performance. Perhaps not such a bad day for Lloyds and RBS to reveal their figures at the same time then…
5. Finally, tonight sees the inaugural Financial & Professional Services ‘Cheese & Wine night’ – expect plenty of sore heads and full stomachs tomorrow!
Happy weekend all!
