Stamp duty conniptions: readers will remember Osborne upping stamp duty on £1.5m+ properties from 5% to 12% and wondering just who would be muggins enough to pay that. And therefore why the raise had come into being.
However, the background was that quite a lot of Conservative voters felt that somehow they were missing out on life through mansions in Kensington rocketing on up from £5m to £10m. They yapped. As did Corbyn who, sensing that he could damage this country’s interest and urged on by his youth wing (is there any other wing?), was howling for more money from the wealthy. And what better evidence of surplus cash to hand than amongst those who were prepared to pay 12% stamp duty?
The result was a barmy move which has taken the yield of stamp duty on £1.5m+ properties down from c. £1bn to £600m and falling. Talk about superb governance.
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Servision (LON:SEV) have announced a small placing raising just $2m at 11.4p. I think this changes the outlook for SEV and, accordingly, paid 6p, a substantial discount whose presence is unexplained. I might be wrong.
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The chairman got me last night to buy AUD .v. USD. I paid .7675. So far so good. Apparently, the target is .78.