City Comment: Probably the most useful thing a Chancellor could do would be a total reform of Britain’s tax and benefits system so it would meet the needs of a modern economy... more
Half term is coming and Michael O'Leary's planes will be filled with small children - but there's no toddler-height barrier on his aeroplane steps... more
City Comment: The date of the Budget should be announced this week and most of the betting seems to be on 24 March, which is two weeks on Wednesday... more
City Comment: Nobody wants to pay more tax, but the vehemence with which high earners have reacted to the 50% top rate is a surprise to those like me who spent their first decade at work when it was 83% ... more
It began as a low rumble somewhere east of Aldgate. By the time it thundered over Piccadilly it had become a shout of joy. The Mayor had announced that 9,000 bankers would leave the capital to seek fiscal asylum in Switzerland - but he, unlike many, wasn't cheering... more
As JP Morgan becomes the first major bank to reveal its annual pay-and-bonus pot, City accountants have been working overtime - looking for ways for banks and bankers to avoid the bonus tax and 50 per cent top-rate income tax... more
Ah the joy and pain of email. Dominic Morris, former bag-carrier to ex-broadcasting minister Lord Carter, has sent exciting emails out to announce he has become the new director of public policy at Lloyds Banking Group... more
Michael Martin should be denied a peerage, two members of the Lords said. Former Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson led calls for the Speaker not to be elevated to the Upper Chamber... more
British savers are looking to shift their money into Irish banks after the government there gave a 100 per cent guarantee to back all savings in the country's six banks... more
Message from Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England: "I feel your pain. I have turned down a six-figure pay rise, and my salary is only going up by 2.5 per cent. Meanwhile, prices in the shops are going up by something either side of four per cent, depending on which index you believe, and are now set to climb even more steeply. I shall have to economise. PS: So will you."... more
Alistair Darling will drink plain tap water in the Commons when he delivers his first Budget next week - in support of the Evening Standard's Water On Tap campaign... more
The private-equity purchase of sandwich shops chain Pret a Manger at the end of last week has told us two things about the current state of the markets. First, it is still possible to get private-equity transactions done. Second, the imminent changes in capital gains tax are concentrating the minds of those seeking to sell their businesses and giving them a serious incentive to get deals completed within this tax year. The implications of this are examined in the second note in this column... more
Tonight:
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