BABC Policy Focus

December 2012

Policy Updates

Taxation - Overseas Workday Relief: In

our response to the UK Government’s

consultation on Overseas Workday Relief,

we urged the Government to relieve the

administrative burden experienced by

many of our member companies by

moving ahead promptly with its

proposals to simplify the calculation of

this relief and more generally

establishing clear, precise legislation for

employees on secondment to the UK.

Please click here to read a copy of the

letter

EU/US Regulatory Compatibility: As a

follow up to our September 12

submission to the European

Commission’s consultation on ‘The

Future of EU-US Trade and Economic

Relations’, we sent a further detailed

response to a subsequent EU/US

consultation, proposing a number of

specific, practical measures that would

reduce existing regulatory differences

and have a massive positive impact on

the EU and US economies, and stressing

also the importance of strong

governmental actions as a precondition

for increasing business momentum in

support of these objectives.

Please click here to read a copy of the

letter

London

UK nation of data-hungry net shoppers

Internet shopping is more popular in the

UK than in any other major country, a

survey from regulator Ofcom suggests.

Consumers in the UK spend an average of

London

UK’s unemployment falls by 82,000

The number of people out of work fell by

82,000 between August and October, to

2.51 million, official figures have shown. It

was the biggest quarterly fall in

unemployment since 2001. The

unemployment rate was 7.8%, down 0.2

percentage points from the previous three

months. The Office for National Statistics

also said that the number of people

claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell 3,000 to

1.58 million in November. Total pay was up

1.8% compared with the same period last

year. Employment rose 40,000 to 29.6

million, which was the highest figure since

records began in 1971.

London

UK manufacturing output sees sharp fall

UK manufacturing output registered a

surprisingly sharp fall in October,

resurrecting fears of recession. Output fell

by 1.3% from September, the Office for

National Statistics said, with food and drink

output, notably beer, down following the

Olympics. It was the worst fall since June,

when activity was depressed by extra public

holidays for the Diamond Jubilee.

Meanwhile, estimates for growth from a

leading think tank confirmed the weak

economic picture.

London

US, UK and Canada refuse to sign UN’s

internet treaty The US, Canada and UK have refused to sign

an international communications treaty at a

conference in Dubai. The three countries

had objected to calls for all states to have

£1,083 a year on internet shopping,

compared with Australia which spends the

second highest at £842, it said. The UK's

fondness for net shopping is, in part,

driven by mobile devices.

Brussels

MEP’s vote on ‘better airports’ package The European Parliament voted today on

proposed measures to help increase the

capacity of Europe's airports, reduce delays

and improve the quality of services offered

to passengers. In its vote on the "airports

package" the Parliament gave strong

support for the Commission's proposals to

improve slot allocation as well as to

improve the transparency of noise

decisions. The Parliament referred the

proposals on ground handling back to the

Parliamentary Committee for further

consideration.

Washington

Hurricane Sandy hits US consumer

spending

Spending by American consumers was hit

by super storm Sandy and fell in October

for the first time in five months,

suggesting the economy slowed in Q4. The

US commerce department reported that

consumer spending, which accounts for

70% of US economic activity, dropped 0.2%,

following September's 0.8% increase. Sandy

hit car sales but analysts pointed out that

the drop in spending also reflected broader

weakness. Household disposable income

dipped 0.1% last month after being flat in

September. Even so, the saving rate

nudged higher, to 3.4% from 3.3%.

Washington

Technology sector found to be growing

faster than rest of US economy

Jobs growth in the technology sector is

beating the rest of the economy by three to

one, according to a study of the industry

released on Thursday. Since 2004, the

bottom of the dot-com bust, employment

equal rights to the governance of the

internet. Russia, China and Saudi Arabia

were among those pushing for the change.

It marks a setback for the UN's International

Telecommunication Union (ITU) which had

said it was sure it could deliver consensus.

Brussels

Eurozone downturn eases slightly in

November: PMIs

The eurozone's economic slump was a little

less pronounced in November than

previously thought, although the region still

looks on course for another quarter of

recession, a business survey showed on

Wednesday. Markit's Eurozone Composite

PMI, which gauges business activity across

thousands of companies, rose in November

to 46.5 from 45.7 in October - markedly

higher than the preliminary reading of 45.8

reported 10 days ago.

Brussels

Eurozone agrees ECB banking supervision

rules

European finance ministers have reached a

deal on rules for supervising eurozone

banks, ahead of an EU summit. Around 200

of the biggest banks will come under the

direct oversight of the European Central

Bank, which will act as chief supervisor of

eurozone banks. New rules on prudent

banking are seen as vital to bolster the euro,

as bank failures triggered the financial

crash.

Washington

US unemployment rate falls to 7.7% as

economy adds 146,000 jobs

The US unemployment rate has fallen to

7.7%, its lowest level in four years, as the

economy appeared to shrug off the looming

fiscal cliff and the effects of super storm

Sandy. The Labor Department said on in its

latest nonfarm payrolls report on Friday that

146,000 new jobs were added in November.

The unemployment rate dropped from 7.9%

to 7.7%, its lowest level since December

growth in the hi-tech sector had grown at a

pace three times faster than the private

sector as a whole and has proved more

resilient through the recession-and-

recovery period, according to the report

commissioned by Engine Advocacy, a tech

start-up lobbyist and conducted by the Bay

Area Council Economic Institute.

London

House sales to rise to highest since

crash

In its housing market forecast for 2013,

RICS predicted that there is likely to be a

3% year-on-year increase in sales, with

960,000 transactions forecast to take place

next year, which would be the highest

number since 2007. Although this is an

improvement, it would be modest by

historic standards given that total sales in

2006 amounted to 1.62m. RICS said that

factors such as the government's Funding

for Lending scheme will result in some

improvements showing through in the

housing market next year, as would-be

buyers find it easier to borrow.

2008.

Washington

Federal Reserve sets new targets for

interest rates

The US Federal Reserve has said it plans to

keep interest rates at close to zero at least

until the US unemployment rate falls below

6.5%. The Fed previously had a date-driven

target, rather than a data-driven one. The

Fed also said it will continue to buy $85bn

(£53bn) a month of government bonds and

mortgage-backed securities to try to boost

the economy. But changes in the way it does

this will mean more money is pumped into

the economy.