Gazetteer: Not a shred of evidence it is needed

Published on Tuesday 21 April 2009 21:23

PAPER MOUNTAIN

IF YOU'RE surrounded by ever-increasing piles of paperwork then don't fret – you're not alone according to a new survey.

Some Britons are hanging on to their bank statements for up to 25 years, according to document management firm Shred Easy, which – perhaps unsurprisingly – is encouraging horders to rev up their shredders and get ready to clear some space.

Jim Watson, managing director of Shred Easy, says: "Most people don't know how long they should keep documents for tax purposes so they are hanging on to them forever. This creates a problem because it means this data is more likely to get stolen or a small amount stolen will never be noticed."

He said that people who don't run a business and don't receive income from property are only required to hang on to documents for one year after the self-assessment filing date for a particular tax year. For businesses or people who make money from property then the deadline is five years, Watson says.

There must be some very excited hamsters somewhere, waiting in anticipation of all the newly-shredded bedding about to be created.

FACT OF THE DAY

$300m

DESPITE the economic downturn, dealers at BMW's 338 US showrooms plan to invest $300 million (206m) to refurbish their operations or expand into new areas, the German car company said yesterday.

By the end of this year, most of the dealerships will have undergone "modernisation", while a further five showrooms will open in cities like Houston, Chicago and Boston.

BMW said $2.2 billion had been invested in its US showrooms in the past nine years and that "dealer profitability" was crucial to the future of the company's sales network in North America.

KILLER QUOTE

"WE MAY be at the bottom now. But being at the bottom doesn't mean we're moving up. I don't think anyone is looking for significant growth for the next 18 months, maybe two years."

John Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley, commenting on the state of the United States' economy and its current position in the economic cycle, at the bottom of a downturn

GOOD DAY

Web-surfing coffee-holics

STARBUCKS has awarded a contract to BT to provide wireless broadband internet access in 650 of its coffee shops in the UK and Ireland. The first stores are being fitted with the Wi-Fi equipment this week, with the roll-out carrying on over the summer. Starbucks will use the Wi-Fi for its own computers.

BAD DAY

Female pensioners

WOMEN retiring this year will each get 6,642 a year less in their pensions than men, equivalent to a total shortfall of more than 42 billion, according to the Prudential. The firm said the 2.76 million ladies planning to retire this year will get an average pension of just 13,671, while the 3.95 million men get 20,313.