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Thursday newspaper round-up: Tax avoidance, RSA, Asda
Thu, 09 Feb, 2012
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Thursday newspaper round-up: Tax avoidance, RSA, Asda
Thu, 19 Aug 2010, 05:36:00
Nick Clegg promised a crackdown on
tax avoidance
yesterday as a division emerged between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over the appointment of a billionaire to help to cut public spending. The Deputy Prime Minister is facing demands from Lib Dem MPs for a review of the tax arrangements of Sir Philip Green. The businessman has avoided tax on the fortune made from his business empire, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton, by handing ownership to his wife. Cristina Green now lives in the tax haven of Monaco and legally avoids tax on dividends from Sir Philip's companies, including a £1.2 billion payout in 2005, writes the Times.
RSA
is under mounting pressure to justify the bid calculations it used to prepare its £5 billion approach for Aviva's general insurance business. Investors in both insurers called on RSA to provide more detail on a potentially higher offer it might make for Aviva's assets if it wants to win a bid battle that is fast approaching a stand-off, the Times reports.
Asda
will take on
Ocado
in its own backyard on Monday when it opens a warehouse dedicated to internet orders that will provide a bridgehead for expansion in the South of England. The so-called dark store in Enfield, North London, will help Asda to gain market share within the M25, where only 27 of its 377 stores are located. Asda said that the Enfield warehouse would be its "biggest-ever store opening" because it would bring millions of customers within reach, according to the Times. Mark Hurd, the ousted chief executive of
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
, has already received a number of job offers - less than two weeks after being pushed out of the technology giant. Mr Hurd was forced to resign from the world's largest personal computer maker on August 6 amid allegations of sexual harassment against former HP contractor Jodie Fisher, the Telegraph writes. Rising wage and production costs in
China
are eating into the profits of Western companies and may soon set off an exodus of multinational companies to cheaper locations. A report by Credit Suisse said the vast majority of US and European companies in China are expecting a "margin hit" over the next 12 months and fear they will not be able to pass on the costs to consumers, with the biggest worries in electronics, clothing, and retail, reports the Telegraph.
Network Rail
has accused a union chief of running a smear campaign against two of its senior executives in an escalating row between the company and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. A spokesman for the rail company hit out at TSSA leader Gerry Doherty after the union attacked its outgoing chief executive Iain Coucher over the appointment of his brother, Tim Coucher, to a top job, says the Telegraph. The collapse of Kiss Flights, which has caused chaos for up to 70,000 holidaymakers, is reigniting criticism of the
Atol
consumer protection scheme. With further travel industry bankruptcies expected over the coming months, pressure is growing for swift reform of the out-dated system, the Independent says. Companies will find it quicker and easier to execute
reverse takeovers
- where a listed group buys a larger unlisted, or foreign business - after the UK Listing Authority changed its guidance on such deals. The UKLA has loosened requirements on financial data that a listed company must provide on a target in order to avoid suspension of the acquirer's shares. It also said it would no longer allow listed companies to attempt to avoid the information provisions of the rules by creating a new holding company, or "topco", used to take over both acquirer and target, says the FT.
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