Business leaders need to have “mindfulness” over mathematics skills in order to be effective and avoid scandals, according to a report conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

The report, titled “CFOs and the c-suite - leadership fit for the 21st century”, stated that traditional leadership training is “out of touch” with the senior business executives of today and that leaders need to be mindful in order to make decisions in “turbulent circumstances”, support self-regulation and avoid toxic stress.  

The UK economy is improving following lower unemployment numbers and improved wage growth. According to the Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report, “perception of employment situation and own job security” increased in November, corresponding with a seven year low in the unemployment rate.

The report also showed lower figures for spending growth, with spending in November being 1.6% lower than it was at the same time in 2014. Recently, concerns have been voiced over Britain’s high streets as sales hit a low. However, recent figures did show that retail sales growth exceeded expectations in November. 

Discussions aimed at working out a bilateral free trade agreement between the EU and India will start up again in January, senior EU officials have announced.

The EU's new ambassador to India, Tomasz Kozlowski, told reporters that negotiations will take place next month, and a date is being arranged for the next India-EU summit, which will be held in the first half of the year.

The UK arm of multinational coffee chain Starbucks has handed over £8.1m in corporation tax to the Treasury in 2015 after changing the complex tax structures that had seen it pay a similar sum in total over its first 14 years of operations in the UK.

The company bowed to pressure and relocated its European HQ to the UK after research in 2012 had revealed that the multinational had only paid £8.6m in tax on £3bn in sales since 1998.

The introduction of the National Living Wage next year is likely to cost UK businesses more than £1bn, according to Government advisors.

The change to the minimum wage laws will mean that companies will have to pay out £804.4m in extra wages and staff costs if estimates by Government advisory body the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) are correct.

The new Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT), which marks a major overhaul of the UK tax system, won't actually affect those living in the country when it is introduced next year.

Scottish resident taxpayers will still be paying the same as their counterparts in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland after Scotland’s finance minister John Swinney set the rate at 10 per cent.

October saw annual house prices increase at a faster rate for the third month in a row, according to the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, the news came with a warning that there could be a surge in buy-to-let purchases before April when new regulations covering landlords come into force, which may have serious knock-on effects for the wider UK economy.

The Treasury's coffers gained £80.5bn in tax contributions from big business in the UK this year, according to analysis by Big 4 firm PwC.

The report, which was made for the 100 Group of finance directors, noted that companies are paying higher rates of tax in spite of the continued reduction in the rate of corporation tax.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) expects the UK economy to have grown by 2.4% this year before slowing to 2.1% in 2016.

The accountancy body warns that a slowdown in the wider economy could undermine Government plans for public spending and the aim to hit a budget surplus by 2020.