Tag: Featured

    NHSBT Blood donation services around the world have launched an international push for more people to give blood amid falling numbers of new donors. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the national blood service for England, is uniting with other blood donor organisations and calling on citizens in 21 countries across the world to become new blood donors and save lives. Globally, three blood transfusions are given every second, but there has been nearly a 30% drop internationally in people becoming blood donors compared to a decade ago. According to Ian Trenholm, chief executive of NHSBT: We’re particularly interested in encouraging more young people and those from black and South Asian communities to come forward to make sure we’ve got a broad range of blood types, he s...

    Hugh Grosvenor, the 25-year-old who inherited a £9 billion fortune last week on the death of the Duke of Westminster, will likely not pay any inheritance tax, according to The Guardian. Normally, large inheritances are subject to a 40% tax. But the vast Grosvenor property portfolio — including 300 acres of Mayfair and Belgravia in central London — will pass in the form of a trust, which is subject to a 6% tax payment every 10 years instead. To give you an idea of just how much tax the new Duke of Westminster isn't paying, consider that the entire take of the inheritance tax last year was £4.7 billion. Had Grosvenor been taxed at the 40% rate, it would have put £3.6 billion in the public coffers. Those of us who pay between 20% and 40% income tax every month have another re...

    A lawsuit brought by a hairdresser, an investment firm manager and a handful of other plaintiffs that demands Parliament hold a vote on whether to trigger Article 50 will be heard by the UK Supreme Court, according to Bloomberg. The case is crucial because it sets out a legal path that could allow the House of Commons to ignore the result of the EU referendum. The plaintiffs argue that an Article 50 request to leave the EU can only be triggered by a vote in Parliament, not the mere request of the prime minister. If the Supreme Court agrees, then the Article 50 request would be put to the House of Commons. It is not certain that Article 50 would get enough votes. As this chart from Morgan Stanley show, a large majority of MPs favour Remain. Many of them are likely to vote a...

    The major grocers’ revenues dropped by 3.1pc to £99bn in the last quarter, according to the latest figures from the Share Centre. Sales across the whole of the FTSE 350 also fell by 2.2pc to £341.7bn in the last three months. However, while British companies sales are falling, it is expected that the slump in the pound will improve profits as around 40pc of British listed companies’ sales are declared in US dollars. Companies with large overseas operations and exporters such as Vodafone, SAB Miller and Kingfisher will also benefit from sterling’s depreciation. British company profits are also on the rise as a wave of multi-billion writedowns come to an end. Food retailers are fighting against deflation Around £89.7bn was written down in the last quarter, the lowest level s...