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Monday 8/2/2010
IO
News: Hedge Funds Return To UK Property
Hedge funds are showing renewed interest in London's commercial real estate sector as low interest rates and more confidence among investors over economic prospects fuel demand in the asset class, not just in the UK but globally.
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Thursday 4/2/2010
IO
News: Congress Examines Plans to Rein In Wall Street
President Obama's plans to preclude the country's largest banks from running their own hedge funds and other proprietary trading activities have received the support of a key Senate lawmaker during their first examination by Congress, although now that the Democrats have lost their Senate 'super majority,' the proposals may have to be watered down if they stand a chance of becoming law.
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Friday 29/1/2010
IO
News: Sarkozy Wants To Clip Banks' Wings
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has told a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos that fundamental changes to global capitalism are needed if a repeat of the financial crisis is to be avoided, including new rules to stop banks and their hedge funds from 'speculating,' and an end to freely-floating currency regimes.
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Tuesday 26/1/2010
IO
News: Surveys Find Trend Towards Equities
Two recent surveys are showing a trend towards more investment in equities. The BofA Merrill Lynch survey attributes this to greater risk appetite; Scorpio Partnership suggests it is at the expense of the hedge funds.
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Monday 25/1/2010
IO
News: No Progress On Savings Tax Directive
The EU's Ecofin Council (the bloc's decision body for financial regulation)
met this week under the Chairmanship of Ms Elena Salgado, Second Vice-President
of the Spanish Government, and unsurprisingly failed to make any progress on
revisions to the Savings Tax Directive.
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Friday 22/1/2010
IO
News: Dubai Oil Trading Is Entrenching Itself
The Dubai Merchantile Exchange, which trades oil, has reported a positive year
for 2009. Liquidity has increased with trading volumes achieving a 69% year-on-year
increase and average daily volumes approaching 3,000 lots in the last quarter.
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Thursday 21/1/2010
IO
News: More Good News For Hedgies
Further evidence has emerged of the recovery of the hedge fund sector in 2009
with the publication of figures by The Eurekahedge Report this week showing
an eighth straight month of asset growth, although inflows accounted for only
a small part of total gains of USD4.6bn. Total assets reached nearly USD1.5
trillion, said the Singapore-based firm, showing growth in the year of nearly
20%, matching or exceeding equity and bond market gains.
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Wednesday 20/1/2010
IO
News: Signs Of Life In Barbados Property Market
Real estate agent Cluttons says that now is the time to buy in Barbados, with
a buzz returning to the market. The firm is optimistic about 2010, with figures
over the last quarter showing significant signs of improvement in property sales
enquiries and actual transactions.
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Tuesday 19/1/2010
IO
News: Swiss Banks Rebound From Italian Amnesty Debacle
Morgan Stanley has estimated in a research report that the Italian 'offshore'
tax amnesty will have been more successful than originally estimated, with up
to a quarter of the EUR400bn estimated 'illegitimate' overseas financial assets
of Italians having been declared to the authorities by the time that the amnesty
finally comes to an end this April.
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Friday 15/1/2010
IO
News: OECD Triumphant
The OECD is going to hold a triumphant media briefing next Tuesday to celebrate
the fact that it has obtained 100% commitment from 'tax havens' and other types
of jurisdiction to its standards on tax transparency and effective exchange
of information.
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Wednesday 13/1/2010
IO
News: All Set For Hong Kong Rusal Listing
Russian aluminum producer Rusal, controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, and which supplies 11% of world ouput, has begun
its investor road-show prior to its controversial listing in Hong Kong; pricing
of the shares is due on January 22, with trading slated to begin on January
27.
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Current Alternative Investment Related News
> Archive
8/2 Nevis Ready To Become Major Player In Financial Services Speaking recently, Nevis’s Finance Minister Laurie Lawrence reiterated the government’s
commitment to establishing the territory as a major international player in
the world of financial services.
8/2 DTA Between IOM And Malta To Enter Into Force The Isle of Man government has announced the imminent entry into force of a
comprehensive double tax agreement signed with Malta on October 23, 2009.
8/2 Green Light For German Govt To Purchase Data Disc German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended the government’s highly controversial
decision to purchase the stolen data disc, containing the names of around 1,500
Germans believed to hold bank accounts illegally in Switzerland.
8/2 US Senators Seek Wall Street Bonus Tax US Senators Barbara Boxer and Jim Webb (pictured) have proposed legislation that would impose a tax on large bonuses paid by Wall Street banks and other firms that benefited from billions of dollars of taxpayer assistance in 2009.
8/2 ANZO Points To Investor Concerns On Proposed NZ Property Taxes The management board of AMP NZ Office Trust, New Zealand’s largest
listed investor in prime commercial office property, while announcing its interim
results, has expressed concerns about the impact of two of recommendations included
in the recent report by New Zealand’s Tax Working Group.
8/2 Lenihan Outlines Raft Of Tax Changes In Irish Finance Bill Irish Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan has published the Finance Bill 2010,
which gives effect to numerous taxation measures announced in last December’s
budget, including a 0.5% cut in value-added tax and the introduction of a 'domicile levy'.
8/2 St Vincent And The Grenadines 2010 Budget Presented The Prime Minister and Finance Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph
Gonzalez, delivered his ninth budget speech this month.
8/2 Deutsche Bank To Pay UK GBP200m In Bonus Tax German banking group Deutsche Bank has announced that it intends to pay around GBP200m (EUR225m) to the British government as a result of the new bank payroll tax.
5/2 Singapore And Japan Add TIEA Protocol To DTA Singapore and Japan have signed a protocol to incorporate into their existing
double taxation agreement the new internationally-agreed Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development standard for the exchange of information
for tax purposes.
5/2 Australia's DTA With Austria To Be Updated Australia’s Assistant Treasurer, Nick Sherry, has announced that negotiations
to update Australia's double taxation agreement with Austria will take place
in March 2010.
5/2 Recent UK Tax Changes Spark New Interest In VCTs With the end of tax year approaching, commentators are predicting a bumper year for UK Venture Capital Trusts in light of the forthcoming increase in the top rate of income tax in the UK, as well as the reduction in pensions tax relief for higher earners. In fact one commentator predicts demand to surge by 70% on the previous year.
5/2 Qatar QFC Announces New Strategic Focus On Captive Insurance And Reinsurance The Qatar Financial Centre Authority has announced a new strategic focus for 2010 and beyond, with the creation of three specific hub strategies concentrating on Asset Management, Reinsurance and Captive Insurance.
5/2 Shakeup May Involve Tax Increases, Warns Jersey The Jersey government has warned that tax increases will likely be
an inevitable feature of government proposals to save GBP50m each year, starting
in 2011.
4/2 UK Govt Revises Down 50% Tax Revenue Estimate UK Treasury minister Lord Myners has said that the government expects revenues from the new 50% top rate of income tax will be much lower than expected as taxpayers arrange their affairs to avoid paying it.
4/2 Leading Channel Island Law Firms Announce Merger Mourant du Feu and Jeune and Ozannes, two of the leading law firms in the Channel
Islands, have announced their intention to merge under the name Mourant Ozannes.
4/2 CISX Prospers Amid Stormy Financial Seas Despite a year of difficult trading conditions, the Channel Islands Stock Exchange
has reported further growth in the number of businesses listed on the exchange
during 2009.
4/2 Bermuda Signs Tax Info Exchange Agreement With Japan Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, Paula Cox has announced the signing of a
bilateral agreement with Japan for the full exchange of information in criminal
and civil tax matters, under an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development model Tax Information Exchange Agreement.
4/2 Swiss Finance Directors Propose Reform Of Flat Rate Tax Eager to maintain the special flat rate tax privilege accorded to wealthy foreigners, Switzerland’s cantonal Finance Directors
have announced that the existing system of taxation is to be reformed, and that
the conditions determining the application of the tax are to be toughened.
3/2 Caymans To Relax Work Permit Regulation Cayman Finance - the body that is representative of the islands' financial services industry -
has welcomed proposed amendments to immigration laws, announced by Cayman Prime
Minister McKeeva Bush last week, drafted to encourage foreign financial services companies to remain in the jurisdiction.
3/2 Qatar Issues New Law On Foreign Ownership Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, on February 1, passed Law
No. 1 of 2010, amending provisions in Law No. 13 of 2000, which determines limits
to foreign investors’ shareholdings in certain business activities.
3/2 Maltese Financial Sector To Benefit From Agreements With China Malta’s Financial Services Authority has announced the signing of
a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and has disclosed that it plans to sign an additional agreement that will significantly increase access to the Chinese market.
3/2 Belize To Scale Down Expat Incentives It has emerged that the Belizean government is to scale down the attractiveness
of its expatatriate retiree incentive program.
3/2 Germany's CDU Divided Over Purchase Of Stolen Tax Data Despite the clear resolve of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to purchase stolen
tax evader data from an informant, she is nevertheless facing increasing opposition
from within her own Christian Democratic Union party, with some even speaking
openly about the state receiving stolen goods.
3/2 Italian Revenue Agency Confirms Details Of Tax Amnesty Extension Italy’s Revenue Agency has issued a circular that confirms the terms of
the extension to end-April 2010 of the Italian tax amnesty for undeclared funds
held abroad.
2/2 Uruguay Signs Tax Information Exchange Accord With France The Uruguay Minister of Economy and Finance, Álvaro García, has signed an accord for the exchange of information on tax matters with France during a Paris visit which included meetings with the OECD.
3/2 UK Court Allows HMRC To Impose Retrospective Penalties The High Court in the UK has ruled that HM Revenue and Customs can impose tax retrospectively on a group of self-employed contractors who took advantage of an offshore sheltering scheme.
2/2 IoM Govt Restructures To Focus On Economic Growth The Isle of Man Chief Minister, Tony Brown, has announced proposals for a major
restructuring of government departments with a focus on growing the economy
to generate new income for the island.
2/2 Tremonti Revisits Tax Reform, No Hasty Tax Cuts Giulio Tremonti, Italian Minister of the Economy, has repeated his belief that, not only
in Italy but also in Europe as a whole, the correct policy to follow now is one
of substantial and studied tax reform, rather than sporadic small corrections
within the existing fiscal system.
2/2 Ogier Makes Landmark Move To Target Asia Market Offshore legal and fiduciary firm, Ogier, has announced plans to expand
its operations to its Hong Kong office in order to provide more Guernsey offerings
to the growing market in Asia.
1/2 South African Accountants Give 2010 Budget Advice The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants has provided its
advice to the Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, for when he presents South Africa’s
2010 budget to parliament on February 17.
1/2 EU Investment Funds Can Expect Withholding Tax Refunds Investment funds across the European Union who are challenging unlawful application of withholding taxes levied on dividends can expect refunds of millions of euros following the Norwegian government's recent decision to refund withholding taxes to a Luxembourg SICAV, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
1/2 Switzerland Reiterates Aims To Fulfill UBS Agreement With US The Swiss Federal Council has announced that it aims to execute the
UBS Agreement with the US, despite a recent benchmark Federal Administrative Court decision that ruled against the granting of treaty assistance to the US in cases of serious tax offense.
1/2 2009 Sees Rise In Insurance Licenses Issued In Guernsey The number of insurance licenses issued in Guernsey last year was almost 25%
more than during 2008, according to figures released
by the Island’s financial services regulator, the Guernsey Financial
Services Commission.
29/1 Spanish State Aid For Film Finance Approved The European Commission has given approval, under European Union state aid rules, to a
film support scheme drafted by the Spanish government that will provide ventures
with funding of EUR576m until December 31, 2015.
29/1 Deadline For UK Non-Doms With Offshore Assets Approaches January 31 is a key deadline for trustees of offshore trusts, who need to be considering whether they should make a crucial 'rebasing' election by that date in respect of non-UK trusts.
29/1 Bahamas Initials Commitments To Enter Into EPA With EU The Bahamas has initialed commitments drawn up on trade in
services and investment with the European Union as part of the Economic Parnership Agreement
which links the EU and 15 Caribbean States.
29/1 Tunisian President Determined To Develop Financial Sector During a recent meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali demonstrated his commitment to developing the country’s
financial sector, promoting its role in financing future development, and
improving the business environment in Tunisia.
28/1 Spain, Andorra Sign TIEA It has recently emerged that Spain and Andorra have signed a bilateral Tax Information
Exchange Agreement.
28/1 IMF Presents Tax Recommendations To Czech Republic The International Monetary Fund has published its Article IV Consultation with
the Czech Republic, and recommends that
various measures be introduced to consolidate the budget from tax year 2011 onwards.
28/1 Jersey Amends Tax Law On UK, Guernsey Superannuation Funds The Jersey government has announced that, following Senator Philip Ozouf’s maiden budget,
Articles 115(g) and 115(ga) of the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961, which pertain to certain income derived by UK and Guernsey superannuation funds from investments and deposits,
will be abolished with effect from the year of assessment
2010.
28/1 Delaware Licenses First Serial Captive Insurance Company Delaware has licensed the world’s first serial entity captive.
28/1 Malaysia, Bahrain Exchanges To Collaborate On Islamic Products The Malaysian stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia Berhad, and the Bahrain Financial
Exchange have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to develop a joint commercial agreement between the two exchanges to provide financial
products to the Islamic market.
27/1 Jersey Signs Comprehensive DTA With Malta Jersey has signed a comprehensive double taxation agreement with Malta. The
agreement is the first negotiated by Jersey that incorporates the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development model
convention on tax information exchange within the text of a double tax convention.
27/1 Philippine Bill Introduced To Give Stock Market Tax Breaks The Philippine Stock Exchange has welcomed a bill that has been introduced in the Philippines’ parliament to provide
greater tax incentives for companies listing on the local stock market.
27/1 Property Businesses May Be Reprieved From Unhelpful Accounting Standard Proposed changes to accounting rules that would have seen property values and rental income figures removed from the balance sheets of property companies are close to being thrown out by the International Accountancy Standards Board.
26/1 Switzerland To Draft Administrative Assistance Act It has emerged that the Swiss Federal Council has instructed the Federal
Department of Finance to draw up an Administrative Assistance Act.
26/1 BVI Announces Introduction Of New Regulatory Legislation The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission on January 15 announced
that several new legislative provisions will shortly be entering into force
in the jurisdiction, including the Insurance Act, 2008, the Financing and Money
Services Act, 2009, and the Regulatory Code, 2009.
26/1 San Marino Changes Bank Secrecy, Hopes For DTA With Italy San Marino has approved legislation to relax, in certain respects, its strict
banking secrecy regulations, and it is hoping this might mean that a bilateral
tax agreement with Italy can be completed as soon as possible.
25/1 Fenech Announces Update To Maltese-Belgian DTA Malta’s Minister of Finance, the Economy and Investment, Tonio Fenech, has
announced the signing of a protocol to amend the double taxation agreement between Malta and Belgium.
25/1 Hong Kong And Malta To Discuss DTA Malta and Hong Kong have been holding preliminary meetings on a bilateral double
taxation agreement, in preparation for technical discussions scheduled
to commence in March this year.
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