Waterford Wedgewood sold to Fiskars

One of Ireland’s most iconic companies, Waterford Wedgewood, has been sold to Finland’s Fiskars for 391 million euros.
Waterford glassworks was founded in 1783 but then lapsed in 1851 before being revived after the second world war.
Wedgewood was founded even earlier in England in 1759, and joined forces with Waterford in 1986, but six years ago the company was ruined and collapsed with a mountain of debt, despite being owned by Ireland’s richest man, Tony O’Reilly.
US investors KPS partners stepped in in 2009 and restored the company to health.
Fiskars itself has a proud history, being founded 365 years ago.

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Another key week begins for Greece and the EU

It is another crucial week for the team of Greek negotiators trying to thrash out a deal with the Eurogroup, meeting in Brussels.
With many expecting the leftwing Syriza government to be forced to make concessions, there are disagreements over VAT reforms, and
changes to the pensions system.
“My feeling is that even at the last moment, we will have an agreement. Let’s not forget that the EU is used to solving big problems at the very last minute,” says economic analyst Napoleon Maravegias.
Greece’s creditors want nearly three billion euros of new cuts so the country can run a 1% of GDP surplus by the end of the year. Greece says it can get between 0.5% and 0.7% without the extra cuts.
“Prime Minister Tsipras and his left-wing government remain between a rock and a hard place as they know that they can’t satisfy the country’s creditors without losing credibility with their electorate. But as time is running short for Greece, they will soon have to make a final choice, no matter how hard this may be either for the country’s economy or for SYRIZA’s political future,” says euronews’ Stamatis Giannisis in Athens.

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China cuts interest rates again

China has cut its interest rates for the third time in six months in a bid to prevent 2015 from having the worst economic figures in a quarter-century.
The benchmark one-year lending rate now stands at 5.1%, but analysts say further cuts are expected this year as Beijing tries to boost growth.
Demand for Chinese goods remains soft both at home and abroad, while domestic prices remain low and interest rates remain higher than the historical average.
A cooling property market and slowing growth in manufacturing and investment have hurt the Chinese economy.

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Airbus shares slide after A400M crash

"The fact that they're getting to a situation where they can iron problems out before full production levels are hit is arguably a benefit"

Airbus shares were battered down from their all-time April high on Monday following the fatal A400M crash in Spain at the weekend.

Shares fell by 4.5% at one point, wiping out the previous week’s gains.

“It will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the share price for a brief period of time but the fact that they’re getting to a situation where they can iron it out before full production levels are hit is arguably a benefit here,” says market analyst Alastair McCaig.

The A400M project has been beset with problems from the start, and following the crash several clients have frozen their orders.

“Well there’s no denial that its nearly four years behind schedule, it’s €6bln euros over budget, that’s a lot for any program but all aircraft programs have a problem, particularly military ones where the end customer base is governments,” says Defence & Aerospace analyst Howard Wheeldon.

Shares finished the day 2% off. In March Airbus Spain fired its boss, who was deemed responsible for the delays in assembling the planes in Seville.

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Record number of Americans living abroad renounce citizenship

A record number of Americans gave up their US citizenship in the first quarter of 2015, according to IRS data. This is blamed on the taxation of income earned outside the US, along with laws expanding offshore bank account and asset reporting.

A total of 1,335 people renounced US citizenship during the first three months of the year, topping the previous record by 18 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The new figure puts 2015 on track to exceed last year's 3,415 renunciations, which is an all-time record.

READ MORE: New tax law pushes record number of Americans to renounce US citizenship

The data released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) includes the names of those who renounced their citizenship, but not their reasons for doing so. However, it comes as the US government is becoming more aggressive when it comes to the assets of the estimated 6 million Americans who live abroad.

The United States is the only country within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that taxes citizens wherever they reside.

American citizens who live abroad can exclude as much as $100,800 in earned income and can receive tax credits for payments to foreign governments. However, US tax liabilities can apply to children born to Americans abroad. In many cases, there are only partial offsets available for double taxation.

The paperwork involved for US citizens living abroad can be so complex that it requires professional help from accountants and lawyers – resulting in incredibly high fees for a relatively simple tax return.

READ MORE: 400% rise: Fee to renounce US citizenship goes up fourfold to $2,350

Although these laws were rarely enforced in the past, scrutiny of US citizens abroad has intensified due to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), passed by Congress in 2010.

The law, which took effect in July, requires US citizens with foreign assets in excess of $50,000 to report those assets every year. It also requires foreign financial institutions to report the incomes of their US customers to the IRS.

FATCA also requires US financial institutions to impose a 30 percent withholding tax on payments made to foreign banks which don't agree to identify and provide information on US account holders.

More than 140,000 banks and other firms have signed up to comply with FATCA. However, the law has prompted some banks to decline doing business with people who have ties to the US. If a bank mistakenly fails to report accounts held by US citizens, they can face steep penalties.

The Obama administration has praised the law as the “global standard”

in battling tax evasion, though it has come under fierce criticism from many, particularly from Americans living abroad.

Washington's tax policies for those living abroad have also put two high-profile personalities in the spotlight.

READ MORE: US Treasury pressures overseas banks with ‘financial imperialism’ over tax evader

Eduardo Saverin, a Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook, gave up his US citizenship in 2012. The billionaire moved to Singapore, where top earners are taxed only 20 percent on their earnings, and where capital gains taxes are not be imposed.

At the time, it was estimated that Saverin's move would save him $67 million in US federal taxes. However, it was never officially confirmed that his citizenship renunciation was for tax purposes.

Meanwhile, London Mayor Boris Johnson – who was born in New York – said earlier this year that he would give up his US citizenship. The statement followed his settlement of a US tax bill which he described as “absolutely outrageous.”

However, his name was not on the list released Friday.

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Ed Miliband resigns as Labour Party leader after general election defeat

Published time: May 08, 2015 08:43
Edited time: May 08, 2015 12:23 Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. (Reuters/Darren Staples)

Ed Miliband has stood down as Labour Party leader after his party suffered a crushing defeat in the UK General Election, accepting “full responsibility” for his party’s defeat.
In an emotionally-charged address, interspersed with repeated applause from supporters, he lauded what he termed the most “united, cohesive, enjoyable campaign I’ve ever been involved in.”
He reserved particular thanks for “all those people who’ve pounded the streets” for the party.
“Britain,” he argued, “needs a strong Labour Party,” and that it was “time for someone else to take leadership of the party.”
READ MORE: UK General Election 2015 LIVE UPDATES
He praised his deputy Harriet Harman, saying she would take over while that “open, honest debate” took place.
To those he met during the campaign, he said: “Thank you for sharing your stories with me ... thank you for the selfies, and the most unlikely cult of the 21st century… Milifandom!”

DID ED MILIBAND SERIOUSLY THANK THE MILIFANDOM WHAT A BAE

— nina (@caramellester) May 8, 2015
“While we may have lost the election, the argument of our campaign will not go away,” he said.
To his party he said: “I am truly sorry I did not succeed.”
“Thank you for the privilege, I joined this party aged 17, I never dreamed I would lead it … it will be a force for change again.”
“Pick yourself up and continue the fight. We’ve come back before and we’ll come back again.”
“When we see injustice, we must tackle it,” he said.

I'm very sad about Ed Miliband resigning. There goes a politician who genuinely cared about young people and actively tried to involve us

— izzie (@_is4belle) May 8, 2015
“It is people that make change happen, I will never give up on that cause. I will never give up fighting for the Britain I believe in. I will always be there in that cause with all of you.”
In light of Labour’s abysmal performance in Scotland, and amid rumors of another Scottish independence referendum, he reiterated his commitment to the Union.
“I believe in our United Kingdom, because it is the best way of serving our country,” Miliband said. “All of us in the months ahead must rise to the challenge of keeping our country together.”
Despite Miliband’s expression of confidence in his deputy, it took Harriet Harman little over an hour to announce that she would also be stepping down once a new leader is elected by the party membership.

This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour party. To every member and supporter, I want to say thank you.

— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 8, 2015
Labour suffered a humiliating defeat in Scotland, after the SNP won 56 out of 59 contested seats.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls is among senior Labour politicians to lose their seat. In a surprise outcome, contrary to pre-election polls, the Conservatives emerged with the largest share of seats. David Cameron is well on his way to securing a majority, while Labour and the Liberal Democrats have suffered humiliating losses.
Projections say Cameron will win 328 seats in total – enough to command a majority in the House of Commons.
Speaking earlier today after winning his Doncaster North seat, Miliband said: “This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour Party.
“We have not made the gains we wanted in England and Wales, and in Scotland we have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our party,” s
aid Miliband, after comfortably securing his own seat with an increased majority.

Defeats are hard, but we’re a party that will never stop fighting for the working people of this country.

— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 8, 2015
“I want to say to all the dedicated and decent colleagues in Scotland who have lost their seats that I am deeply sorry for what has happened.
“And I also want to say that the next government has a huge responsibility. It has a huge responsibility in facing the very difficult task of keeping our country together.”
“Whatever party we come from, if we believe in the United Kingdom we should stand up for people in every part of our United Kingdom because I believe that what unites us is much, much more than what divides us.”
In the early hours after the poll results came in, some Labour Party members had said it wasn’t the time to replace Miliband and that the blame for Labour’s defeat, most notably in Scotland, couldn’t be pinned on him alone.

.@Ed_Miliband: To every Labour member and supporter, I want to say thank you https://t.co/3tq2wjOtMi

— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) May 8, 2015
Labour will now face a leadership contest, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, Shadow Justice Minister Dan Jarvis, Shadow Care Minister Liz Kendall and Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna considered potential successors.
The Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg have been decimated in the election. Clegg called it a “cruel and punishing night”
for his party.

I am grateful to the people who worked on our campaign and for the campaign they ran. The responsibility for the result is mine alone.

— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 8, 2015

The next government has a huge responsibility to bring our country together. What unites us is much, much more than what divides us.

— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 8, 2015

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