Sir James Dyson warns Britain in 'race to the bottom' after repeated tax grabs - live updates
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- James DysonBritish inventor, industrial designer and founder of the Dyson company
Sir James Dyson has criticised plans for two "tax grabs" which he has said will stop businesses from boosting the economy.
The entrepreneur has taken aim at the planned increase in corporation tax from April and efforts to introduce levies on subsidiaries of UK multinational companies.
In a letter to the Chancellor, seen by the Sun, he said: "Is it any wonder that the economy is teetering on recession, or that companies like AstraZeneca are deciding to take their investment elsewhere?"
Corporation tax will rise next month from 19pc to 25pc while Jeremy Hunt said in autumn that he would bring in a 15 per cent tax rate for subsidiaries of large UK multinationals from the end of 2023.
Mr Dyson said: "The Government has done nothing but pile tax upon tax on to British companies."
He referred to Dyson's £2.4bn investment in the UK on research and development and also a new campus in Wiltshire which employs 3,500 people.
He said: "You can be sure that all those numbers will reduce as a result of this measure, which amounts to yet another tax grab by governments on the basis that they know better than the private sector how to create wealth.
"It will do nothing for growth, domestic or international. A glance at the appalling wastage and inefficiency in the public sector shows that this is simply a race to the bottom."
09:14 AM
Car market returning towards pre-pandemic levels
The boost in new car registrations in February marked the seventh consecutive month of growth.
In all 74,441 new cars joined Britain's roads, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a 26.2pc increase on the same month last year.
February is typically a low month for new registrations ahead of the March plate change, with today's figure reflecting an easing supply chain shortages as the market moves closer to pre-pandemic levels.
The market remains down 6.5pc on the same month in 2020.
Electric vehicle deliveries rise 18.2pc, with all plug-in cars taking almost a quarter market share. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said:
After seven months of growth, it is no surprise that the UK automotive sector is facing the future with growing confidence.
It is vital, however, that government takes every opportunity to back the market, which plays a significant role in Britain's economy and net zero ambition.
As we move into 'new plate month' in March, with more of the latest high-tech cars available, the upcoming Budget must deliver measures that drive this transition, increasing affordability and ease of charging for all.
09:03 AM
New car registrations rise by a quarter
New car registrations rose 26.2pc in February, compared to the same month last year, according to official figures.
This growth was an increase on the 14.7pc rise in January, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
08:42 AM
Markets make tepid start to the week
The FTSE 100 has been trading flat after miners slumped following top metals consumer China's decision to set a modest growth target for the year.
The export-oriented index held its ground at 7,947.84 points and the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 was up 0.1pc.
The FTSE 350 industrial metals miners lost 1.7pc.
Copper prices were in the red as top consumer China set a lower-than-expected gross domestic product target of 5pc.
Shares of Paddy Power owner Flutter climbed 1.8pc after brokerage Citigroup raised the stock's price target to £135 from £125.
AstraZeneca said a mid-stage trial of its cancer drug Enhertu showed positive results for treating other tumours as well, lifting shares of the drugmaker by 0.1pc
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08:29 AM
Capita sells off HR business for £21m
Outsourcing firm Capita has agreed a £21m deal to sell its human resourcing businesses as it presses ahead with a plan to focus on key divisions and cut its debt.
The firm said it will offload Capita Resourcing, HR Solutions and ThirtyThree to London-based private equity firm Inspirit Capital.
The businesses provide human resourcing services to both the public and private sectors, supporting nearly 2,000 clients - including Capita - in helping them attract, hire and retain staff.
Staff and senior management teams will transfer to Inspirit Capital following the deal, which is subject to approval under the National Security and Investment Act.
It follows the recent sale of the firm's Pay360 payments processing business, two real estate and infrastructure consultancy companies, Optima Legal and Capita Translation and Interpreting.
Capita, which has around 50,000 employees, previously announced its intention to sell a number of non-core businesses to strengthen the balance sheet and focus on its two core divisions, Capita Public Service and Capita Experience.
08:20 AM
Citi sees Paris as greater source of talent than London
Citigroup is building a new trading floor in Paris where its boss believes it will be able to hire talent it would "never have been able to attract in London".
Fabio Lisanti, head of the bank's trading business across Europe, excluding the UK, acknowledged that "London remains the main trading hub for us".
However, the new floor in its existing building will allow it to double its staff in the French capital to about 250 in the coming years.
It has been forced to trade European assets — from government bonds to interest rate products to equities —within the 27 countries that remain in the European Union after Brexit.
Mr Lisanti said:
We've been able to hire talent in Paris that we would never have been able to attract in London.
One of the things we should not forget is us moving to Paris or to Europe, there is a strong commercial reason for that.
We will cover our clients better, we will create better teams, stronger teams and ultimately be able to generate revenues more effectively and efficiently.
08:03 AM
Mixed start for the markets
It has been an initially mixed start to the week for markets after China tempered a rally in shares with its modest economic growth target.
The internationally-focused FTSE 100 fell 0.1pc at the open to 7,939.71 while the domestically-orientated FTSE 250 has climbed 0.1pc.
07:53 AM
Tories 'squandering' Britain's economic potential, says Reeves
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has accused the Conservatives of "squandering" the UK's economic potential as she called for an end to the Government's "sticking plaster" approach.
Ahead of Jeremy Hunt's spring Budget, the Labour frontbencher warned the "huge cost-of-living crisis" was "still the number one concern" as she spoke of the need to prioritise economic growth. She told PA:
We've been very clear that we've got to have an end to this sticking plaster politics of just solving the immediate problem, but never fixing the fundamentals, and the truth is we have got some massive immediate problems at the moment because of a failure of the Conservatives over the last 13 years to fix the foundations.
We've got a huge cost-of-living crisis now, still the number one concern of families and pensioners, and if the Government sticks with its current plans, the average gas and electricity bill will go up by £500 in April and it doesn't have to be that way.
We've committed to extending the windfall tax and closing the loopholes that exist within it... and use that money to reduce people's gas and electricity bills.
07:50 AM
Dyson says Government just 'piles tax upon tax on to British companies'
Sir James Dyson has warned Jeremy Hunt of the "unintended consequences" of increasing corporation tax and bringing in a new global levy on UK businesses.
In a letter to the Chancellor, seen by the Sun, he said: "The Government has done nothing but pile tax upon tax on to British companies."
In a speech in January, Mr Hunt had asked how Britain would make its next million companies, after generating that many companies since 2010.
Mr Dyson said: "The policies the government is pursuing - an increase in corporation tax and a new Global Minimum Tax - will do nothing to support that, or generate the recovery and growth we need."
07:23 AM
Top shareholder at Credit Suisse sells off stake
One of Credit Suisse's longest-standing shareholders sold its entire stake in the bank after about two decades of ownership and piling further pressure on the troubled Swiss lender’s leadership.
Harris Associates was the biggest shareholder in Credit Suisse for many years, and halved its 10pc holding toward the end of 2022 to 5pc.
The stock sank to a record low last week, sliding in the wake of last month’s financial results that showed a larger-than-expected loss following record outflows.
Harris Associates exited the investment over the past three to four months, chief investment officer David Herro told the Financial Times.
He said: "There is a question about the future of the franchise. There have been large outflows from wealth management."
Credit Suisse has been escalating efforts to win back clients and stem an exodus of senior staff that has dealt a blow to its wealth business, which it sees as key to its revival.
Customers withdrew an unprecedented 110.5bn Swiss francs (£98.2bn) in the final three months of last year.
07:13 AM
BP not slowing green transition to cash in on oil prices surge, insists US boss
BP is not cashing in on the surge in oil prices by changing its green ambitions, its US boss has insisted.
The British oil giant last month reduced its aim to cut emissions by 35pc to 40pc by the end of this decade, it is now targeting a figure of around 20pc to 30pc by 2030.
The shift was announced as BP revealed a tripling of profits to almost £7bn as the crisis in Ukraine sent fuel and energy costs rocketing amid a global shortage of supplies.
However, Dave Lawler, chair of BP America, told the Financial Times that "the strategy has not changed at all," insisting the company would not be distracted from its energy transition plans.
He said: "What we’re going to do is invest additional dollars here, so it will come up some, and we will hold on to some assets globally longer than expected, but then those will be sold," he said.
"It's just an adjustment for where the world is right now," he added, referring to the energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine.
BP's shifting targets on emissions are said to be a result of concerns held by chief executive Bernard Looney.
He is said to have reservations about the returns from its investments in renewables such as wind and solar, which have been at the heart of his plans to recast the business as a green champion.
He now wants to narrow the company's focus and persuade shareholders that it is committed to maximising profits, according to the Wall Street Journal, as concerns about energy security prompt renewed political support for oil and gas projects.
The FTSE 100 oil and gas producer made $8.4bn (£6.9bn) in profits between April and June, its highest in nearly 14 years as the crisis in Ukraine sent fuel and energy costs rocketing amid a global shortage of supplies.
It reported a profit of $2.3bn in the same period of 2021.
07:06 AM
Good morning
BP's green strategy "has not changed at all," its US boss has insisted, despite cutting its green targets amid surging oil and gas prices following the war in Ukraine.
The energy giant will invest up to $8bn more in oil and gas and energy transition business, meaning its emissions will fall more slowly. It has cut its target to reduce emissions from 40pc to around 25pc from 2030.
However, BP America chair Dave Lawler told the Financial Times this was "just an adjustment for where the world is right now".
5 things to start your day
1) Windfall tax putting billions of pounds of investment at risk, Hunt warned | Chancellor urged to reverse tax raid on electricity generators in upcoming Budget
2) Cash crunch looms for nearly two million over-50s who have given up work | Research comes as Hunt is urged to make it easier for retirees to return to employment
3) Starbucks commits to Britain with plans to open 100 new UK branches | Investment plans follow reports the US company was considering selling its UK business
4) Deregulating the rental market saved Finland – and offers a blueprint for Britain | The country’s rental experiment suggests UK policymakers may be in the wrong
5) Surrey named house price discount capital of Britain | Three in five properties sold last month had a write-down on price
What happened overnight
Shares were mostly higher in Asia after strong data on the US economy sent Wall Street to its best close in six weeks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.4pc to 20,642.89 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.3pc to 3,318.56.
At the annual session of China's rubberstamp legislature, the government set this year’s economic growth target at "around 5pc" as it tries to rebuild business activity following the end of anti-virus controls that kept millions of people at home.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said the priority is an economic revival based on consumer spending after growth sank to 3pc last year, its second-lowest level since at least the 1970s. Officials who briefed media Monday about economic planning did not provide fresh or specific policy initiatives to attain that goal.
Japan's markets closed higher, tracking Wall Street rallies that were helped partly by a slide in Treasury bond yields.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.1pc to end at 28,237.78, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.8pc to 2,036.49.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.6pc to cap its first winning week in the last four as relaxing yields in the bond market took some pressure off Wall Street. It’s found some stability following a swift rise and fall to start the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 387 points, or 1.2pc, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2pc.
Markets have been fluctuating amid uncertainty over where inflation is heading and what the Federal Reserve will do about it.