We have consulted on the changes and that period ended last week. Now we’re examining our findings.”The attack from the CBI comes as the Chancellor faces criticism from the Adam Smith Institute, the free market think tank, for raising the burden of personal taxation.The institute claims the Chancellor has raised the tax burden to higher than it has been during most of the last 35 years, noting that on this day in 1965 people were enjoying their “Tax Freedom Day” – the day when they had worked long enough to pay off taxes and were subsequently working for themselves. In fairness to the Chancellor, the institute concedes that in 1984, Tax Freedom Day was 11 June.. Expectations are growing that the amount Germany will raise from its mobile licence auction will top the £22.5bn raised in the UK, again sparking controversy over how to spend the windfall. Expectations are growing that the amount Germany will raise from its mobile licence auction will top the £22.5bn raised in the UK, again sparking controversy over how to spend the windfall.
Analysts are speculating that Germany’s bids could top £30bn The German telecoms regulator is due to announce today the identity of the companies to bid for the new licences to operate video and so-called “always-on” services to cellular phones.With eight companies having declared their intention to bid, the auction promises to be at least as heated as the one which concluded in the UK last week. Analysts say offers are likely to top the £4.5bn average reached in the UK’s bidding war. Up to six next-generation UMTS licences are going to be offered.Several of those who have already declared their hands lost out in the bidding for the UK licences, such as MCI WorldCom and two of the three partners in a three-way joint venture between Telefonica of Spain, Britain’s Orange and Sonera of Finland.Deutsche Telekom and Mannesmann – now controlled by Vodafone AirTouch – are leading the domestic field.

The pair already control about 70 per cent of the domestic German mobile phone market.British Telecom is represented through its 45 per cent stake in Viag Telekom, its Munich-based joint-venture partner, while France Telecom is bidding via Mobilcom, where it holds 28.5 per cent. Mobile operator E-Plus, which is partly owned by KPN, the Dutch telecoms giant, will also bid.Germany is seen as potentially Europe’s most attractive market because of its scale and the relatively low penetration of existing mobile services. The penetration rate is only 32 per cent, leaving plenty of scope for third-generation services to win more customers.The cellular phone industry has raised concern about the prospect of UK-style auctions around Europe for new mobile licences. Although taxpayers may welcome the windfalls, doubts have been expressed about the ability of some bidders to make profits from services given the amounts they have pledged up front to governments to win the licences.. After years of losing sales to out-of-town shopping centres, the high street is staging a comeback.

Research from Verdict, the retail consultancy, concludes that the decline of Britain’s high streets has stabilised. After years of losing sales to out-of-town shopping centres, the high street is staging a comeback. Research from Verdict, the retail consultancy, concludes that the decline of Britain’s high streets has stabilised.
According Verdict’s “High Street 2000″ report, the next five years will bring growth in high-street sales and space.Only 16 per cent of shoppers say they want out-of-town development to continue, and almost half of those surveyed said they would prefer to shop in their local high streets.”The high street has enjoyed a mini revival,” said a Verdict spokesman.However, one-third of the British population would be happy to travel for more than 30 minutes to reach their preferred shopping locations. Verdict says that this represents an opportunity for town centres, which should employ specialist managers to exploit it.High-street retailers have come under pressure in recent years from greater price competition, rising rents and the threat of e-commerce, forcing them to move to cheaper locations.Out-of-town space has grown by 62 per cent in the past 10 years, while high-street space is unchanged.The retail consultancy again named London’s Oxford Street as the most popular shopping destination in Britain.Glasgow moved up from ninth place last year to fourth..

Details about the Phoenix consortium’s plans to save the Longbridge car plant are scarce. To the frustration of supporters and advisers, it refuses to say exactly how it plans to rescue Rover. Details about the Phoenix consortium’s plans to save the Longbridge car plant are scarce. To the frustration of supporters and advisers, it refuses to say exactly how it plans to rescue Rover.
The furthest Phoenix, headed by John Towers, former Rover chief executive, will go is to claim it believes it can save up to 7,000 of Longbridge’s 10,000 jobs. Yesterday, with hours to go to its first detailed talks with BMW this morning, Phoenix sources would say only that their plans were “bold and ambitious”.The bid’s supporters assume Phoenix will have to maintain production of Rover’s present fleet, despite £2m-a-day losses, although the range is likely to be trimmed or relaunched. Rover recently launched the executive 75 model, the 45 mid-range saloon and the new 25 hatchback.