Author: Perry

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering replacing stamp duty with a tax paid by the sellers of high-value properties. It’s thought a national tax could be paid by owner-occupiers on houses worth more than £500,000 when they sell their home, based on the value of the property. Meanwhile council tax could be replaced by a new local property tax. The Chancellor is under pressure to consider more wealth-based taxes, with Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister, one of the notable proponents. Simon Gerrard, chairman of Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, said: “The existing Stamp Duty regime is unfit for purpose and has had…

30 July 2025 You asked, we listened! FreeAgent has long supported Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) subcontractors – and now, if you’re a CIS contractor using FreeAgent (or an accountant supporting CIS clients), you can manage deductions, prepare CIS300 returns, and create Payment and Deduction Statements, all in one place. No more fiddly spreadsheets. Just smooth, simple CIS bookkeeping – for both subcontractors and contractors.  Save time. Stay compliant. We’ve built a CIS experience that helps you stay organised, save time and remain compliant with HMRC’s CIS contractor obligations. Here’s what you can do: Set up your ‘Contacts’ as CIS subcontractors…

A biotech company using generative AI for drug development has announced a new “potentially transformative” therapy for Parkinson’s disease.Insilico Medicine said the orally available drug, ISM8969, was developed using its proprietary Pharma.AI platform. The generative AI-powered solution is used for the design of novel molecules with potential applications across biology, chemistry, medicine development and science research.  ISM8969 completed initial studies with favorable results. Assessed across three motor capability tests, the drug was shown to improve motor abilities in mice treated with the medication.Insilico said its new medication represents a potential “paradigm shift” in treating Parkinson’s, as it targets the body’s…

The Yiddish phrase “farshlepteh krenk”, untranslatable into English, describes an illness that just won’t go away. That is how some rich countries’ experience of inflation has felt. The rate of price increases has fallen sharply since the acute phase in 2022, when inflation across the OECD rose to nearly 11%, its highest since the 1970s. In June average inflation across the club was around 2.5%, only a smidge above most central banks’ targets. But many Anglophone countries still have lingering symptoms. Source link

In the years since buying his first home there, Zuckerberg has purchased 10 others in an apparent bid to create a kind of property buffer. Source link

31 July 2025 Starting your own business comes with the unique chance to build the type of company you want to work for – and a big part of that is the workplace culture and how you lead your team. Defining, building and sustaining a positive company culture is something worth investing in from the start. We asked an expert with over 18 years of experience as a founder and leader – and who’s spoken at Turing Fest, been a guest on the SaaS Scaling Secrets podcast and recently sat down with Joe Leech on an episode of The Modern…

The numbers paint a stark picture of our orbital traffic problem: More than 11,000 active satellites currently circle Earth, with thousands more planned for launch in coming years. Even more concerning are the over 1.2 million pieces of space debris larger than one centimeter hurtling through space at incredible speeds. At those velocities, even a paint chip can damage a spacecraft, while larger debris can destroy entire satellites.This growing congestion has turned collision avoidance into a daily headache for satellite operators worldwide. Currently, teams of specialists must manually assess threats, calculate risks, and coordinate with other operators when collisions seem…

Finding Value In An Expensive Market Source link

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended nearly flat on Friday after hitting a record high in morning action — riding a wave of market optimism and a timely push from the “Oracle of Omaha.” Source link

Leasehold structures are limiting upgrades and pushing landlords away from buying flats, research from Leaders Romans Group (LRG) shows. Some 46% of landlords with leasehold flats say their biggest challenge is dealing with service charges, coordinating communal repairs, or having no control over decisions. Over a third of landlords (34%) actively avoid letting flats because of leasehold-related issues or the complexity of building management structures. Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director at LRG, said: “Flats are a vital part of the rental market, particularly for first-time renters and young professionals. “But many landlords are now telling us they simply cannot…