Tag: George Osborne

• Wednesday, August 5th 2015 - 07:25 UTC

  UK government begins sale of rescued RBS, but a third below the price it paid

  

  The British government has begun its sell-off of shares in part-nationalized lender Royal Bank of Scotland, raising £2.1bn, a third below the price it paid. It sold a 5.4% stake at 330p a share, a 7.6p discount on Monday's closing price.

• Tuesday, June 30th 2015 - 07:14 UTC

  EU leaders warn Greeks the referendum vote means “yes or no to the Euro zone”

  

  European leaders have warned Greeks that rejecting creditors' proposals in a snap referendum called for Sunday would mean leaving the Euro. German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the vote would be “yes or no to the Euro zone”.

• Wednesday, May 13th 2015 - 07:00 UTC

  Cameron puts pressure on Europe for major changes and revamped links

  

  Prime Minister David Cameron will hold an early referendum on membership of the European Union if he can first reach a deal that satisfies his demands for major changes in Britain's relationship with the bloc, his spokesman said yesterday.

• Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 09:23 UTC

  PM Cameron confirms economic policy: names Osborne first secretary of state

  

  Prime Minister David Cameron reappointed George Osborne as his finance minister on Friday and gave him a bigger cabinet role after Britain's economic recovery helped their party to an unexpectedly big election victory.

• Thursday, March 19th 2015 - 08:07 UTC

  Conservationists praise UK for creating largest marine reserve around Pitcairn islands

  

  Leading conservation groups, scientists and residents of Pitcairn Island congratulated the UK Government on its decision to create the world’s largest marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Pacific.

• Monday, March 16th 2015 - 10:25 UTC

  UK caught on the wrong side in a US/Beijing dispute over Chinese development bank

  

  The US has expressed concern over the UK's bid to become a founding member of a Chinese-backed development bank. The UK is the first big Western economy to apply for membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) despite the fact that US has raised questions over the bank's commitment to international standards on governance.

• Friday, February 20th 2015 - 05:05 UTC

  UK inflation 0.3% in January on cheaper petrol and food prices

  

  The rate of UK Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 0.3% in January, its lowest level since records began. Cheaper petrol and lower food prices, helped by a supermarket price war, cut the rate from 0.5% in December, Office for National Statistics figures show.

• Sunday, February 1st 2015 - 22:32 UTC

  Chancellor Osborne announces new shipbuilding strategy for the Royal Navy

  

  Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced at Portsmouth Naval Base a new national shipbuilding strategy in advance of a decision later this year on orders for the brand new Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The Chancellor also announced that these multi-million pound ships will be based at the Navy bases in Portsmouth and Plymouth.

• Thursday, January 29th 2015 - 07:55 UTC

  UK economy expanded 2.6% in 2014, the fastest since 2007

  

  The UK's economy grew by 2.6% last year, the fastest pace since 2007 and up from 1.7% in 2013, official figures have from the Office of National Statistics, ONS, have shown. The economy expanded 0.5% in the last quarter of 2014, which was a slowdown from the 0.7% of the previous three months.

• Thursday, December 4th 2014 - 05:28 UTC

  UK to tax multinationals that siphon profits into low-tax havens

  

  Britain plans to introduce a tax to target multinationals such as Google and Amazon accused of using complex accounting schemes to cut their payments on earnings in the country.