New Powers Come Into Force Next April As part of a drive to track down tax evaders, up to one million landlords could be subject to investigation from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) who aim to identify those landlords who are not paying the correct amount of tax. HMRC say that in their experience many [...]
As small businesses struggle to obtain funds to continue in business the UK Government continue to announce initiatives which are more spin than substance. The motive for the Treasury making available £400bn of taxpayer support last month was to prevent the collapse of the banking system. Quite right too, but anyone who thinks it was [...]
In the present financial crisis there will be very few businesses who will not be finding things difficult. The most important area that business owners and managers should be concentrating on is cash flow and the following are a few elements to look at where managing cash flow is concerned: Credit Control – no sales [...]
Robert Peston, the BBC’s business editor, is coming under fire for his many “scoops” which according to critics helped fuel the flames of the banking crisis and led to the collapse of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and HBOS. Before joining the BBC in 2006 Peston was a successful journailist working for the Financial Times, [...]
All four defendants in the marathon Guinness trial were facing jail after the jury returned “guilty” verdicts following five days of deliberations. On the 112th day of their trial, which was the most expensive court action ever brought at that time; Ernest Saunders, Gerald Ronson, Sir Jack Lyons and Anthony Parnes were convicted on all [...]
During development it was referred to as Windows 4.0 or by the internal codename Chicago and It was a significant progression from the company’s previous Windows products. Windows 95 was intended to integrate Microsoft’s formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products and includes an enhanced version of DOS, often referred to as MS-DOS 7.0. It featured [...]
The concept of a canal goes back almost to the day that European explorers first landed on the narrow land bridge that links North and South America. They realised that the abundant natural lakes and waterways offered a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but it wasn’t until [...]
Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was born in the Oriente province of eastern Cuba. He is still alive but it can only be a matter of time before his control is finally broken and Cuba again becomes a member of the international community. When that happens there are going to be massive business opportunities so it’s [...]
The Personal Computer Era finally arrived. Machines called “personal computers” were available as early as the mid-1970s. Of these the IBM (International Business Machines) Model 5100 Portable Computer was an early entry appearing in 1975. It weighed in at about 25 kilos with a tiny amount of storage but was limited in use with no [...]
On his death people were urged to “Burn a dollar bill in mourning” for the man alternately known as the king of steel, architect of the second Industrial Revolution, friend of capitalism, and scourge of workers. Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. In 1848, his family moved to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania [...]
For those who were not acquainted with the wonders of the Web browser, or at least with its mighty financial potential, August 10, 1995, was an eye-opening day. That’s because Netscape Communications Corporation, developer of Navigator, then the most popular software for surfing the World Wide Web, went public with what became the largest Initial [...]
And it’s still running the length of Douglas Bay on the Isle of Man. The tramway was built and first operated by Thomas Lightfoot, a retired Sheffield civil engineer. In 1882, he sold the line to Isle of Man Tramways Ltd but 20 years later Douglas Corporation had to purchase the lines when the company [...]
He introduced MGM’s first talking picture, White Shadows on the South Seas. Since 1923 MGM had used a lion as its trademark. The first was actually called Slats and he was not even America, having been born in Dublin zoo. In 1928 Slats was replaced by the almost identical Jackie and it was Jackie whose [...]
In 1935, if you wanted to read a good book, you needed either a lot of money or a library card. Cheap paperbacks were available, but their production (and content) were at best poor. The story goes that Allen Lane, then a director of the publishing house The Bodley Head, was waiting for a train [...]
Today we take instant communication for granted but back in 1962 international on- demand telephone calls were unheard of. To make a long distance call you had to book it through the operator who would call you back. We did have American TV programs (the “Lone Ranger” was a favourite of mine) but none of [...]
William E. Boeing, whose eponymous company has become the global giant of the aviation world was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1881. His father (Wilhelm) had arrived as a German immigrant arrived in 1868. Starting as a labourer he built up a successful timber and forestry business owning forest land from Ohio across into California. When [...]
On 3rd July 1924 Clarence Birdseye founded “the General Seafood Company” later to become “Birdseye Frozen Foods”. As a young scientist working in the Arctic on behalf of the US Government Clarence Birdseye wasn’t surprised to note that freshly caught fish placed on the ice and exposed to the wind, immediately froze solid. What [...]
For more than 30 years, Canada and the US tried to come to an agreement to build a huge navigational channel linking the Atlantic Ocean to all five Great Lakes. This seaway, made up of a system of canals, locks, and dredged waterways, extends a distance of nearly 2,500 miles, from the Atlantic Ocean through [...]
Name me two organisations who having called a vote then ignore the outcome, bully and threaten the voters into having a second vote, and keep doing so until they get the “right” result. You’ve got it – these two bastions of democracy: the Government of Zimbabwe and the European Union. People who know me are well aware [...]
