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NATIONAL NEWS CHANCELLOR’S WARNING The UK economy has been growing strongly this year, with GDP rising by 0.9% between April and June, following a 0.7% rise in the previous quarter. We are now growing faster than any other country in the world. Chancellor George Osborne has warned that the UK economy will be affected by the slowdown in the eurozone economy. Talking to the BBC, he said this was a “critical moment for the British economy”, which was not “immune” from what was happening on the continent. The eurozone economy was stagnant between April and June, with the German economy - Europe’s biggest - shrinking by 0.2%. Mr Osborne said there were steps the UK could take to protect itself.
“The eurozone risks slipping back into crisis and Britain cannot be immune from that - it’s already having an impact on our manufacturing and exports,” he said. Official figures published earlier this week showed that growth in the UK manufacturing sector slowed to 0.1% in August. “We are not immune from what’s going on in the rest of the world, but we can take steps to protect ourselves,” the Chancellor said. “We must stick with our long-term economic plan, so delivering economic stability. We are cutting business taxes, making the UK a place to invest, and that will protect jobs right here.”
HMRC ARE AT IT AGAIN
‘IF LABOUR’S ELECTED, I’LL SELL UK BANKS’
Thousands of people will receive a second tax statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after their first estimate was miscalculated. More than five million taxpayers received an initial estimate because they paid the wrong amount of tax in the year to April. But HMRC said errors had emerged in the process, mainly because it had received incomplete information from employers. Fewer than 100,000 people were affected, HMRC said. An accountancy body has accused the tax authority of double standards over accuracy and we should not forget that this is the same HMRC that are demanding powers to smash and grab your bank account if they think you have not paid enough. If they make a mistake, you will have to sue them for the return of the money and these powers will require no court oversight. I don’t know why they just don’t take all our money and just give us back what they think we should have.
Steven Davies, co-manager of the £1.1bn Jupiter UK Growth fund, has a third of his portfolio invested in financial services firms. But a Labour government would pose such a threat to their performance, he says he’d sell them if the party are elected in May. After the 2008 financial crisis most investors wouldn’t have touched British banks with a barge pole. But this is exactly why Steve Davies, co-manager of the Jupiter UK Growth fund is a fan of this “unloved” sector. Mr Davies is so keen on UK financial stocks that he has a third of his £1.1bn portfolio invested in them. However, he said that if Labour won the general election next May he’d sell his shares in the banks. “Labour coming to power is one of the biggest threats facing the fund. “If it got to Easter time next year and it looked like a real possibility, we would have to take action. “We’d raise cash levels in the fund and we’d strip back our allocation to other domestic companies such as Dixons, Carphone and ITV, as well as the big banks.” Mr Davies said he’d also start investing more in companies that would benefit from a weak pound, such as Compass, the catering company, British American Tobacco and Experian, the credit rating firm.
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake” 10