Financial news

• Government's 'buddy' scheme has now paired ministers with 83 global firms

  19-12-2015 20:50 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  UKTI's strategic relations team has granted seven more companies privileged access to ministers since the general election in May
  
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• Millions give up on home ownership as house prices soar

  19-12-2015 20:30 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Britain's reputation as a nation of homeowners is "under threat", analysis of Bank of England survey reveals
  
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• Pub food delivery giant planning £2.5bn new year stock market float

  19-12-2015 20:15 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Brakes is one of Britain's largest private companies
  
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• Oil price rout sends inflation to lowest levels witnessed since Great Depression

  19-12-2015 19:30 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Falling commodity prices will mean that global inflation is weaker than at any time since before World War Two
  
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• Luxury womenswear brand The Fold to expand overseas

  19-12-2015 19:15 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The label, which has been sported by the Duchess of Cornwall and Samantha Cameron, has secured growth capital from Active Private Equity
  
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• "Panic Saturday" sees more than 12 million UK shoppers take to the high street

  19-12-2015 19:14 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Wearable and wireless technology the big winners as desperate shoppers scramble for last-minute Christmas deals
  
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• Sales tax not right, says John Lewis boss

  19-12-2015 19:07 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Oxford Street has seemed busy this year, but shopper numbers are down as more people buy online; a 'tax on property' is an outdated model, says the John Lewis chief
  
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• Judge blocks Brazilian assets of Vale, BHP after dam burst

  19-12-2015 19:06
  
  RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO Dec 19 (Reuters) - A judge in Brazil's state of Minas Gerais has frozen the Brazilian assets of mining giants BHP Billiton and Vale SA after determining their joint venture Samarco was unable to pay for damages caused by a burst dam at its mine last month.
  
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• Treasury hires RBS and Barclays to run state bank accounts

  19-12-2015 19:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The government is cutting costs with a new bank account deal, and is pushing departments to slash the cash they are holding in alternative expensive accounts
  
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• Cyber-attack risk is too great to ditch the experts

  19-12-2015 18:47 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Cybercrime is big business these days, and is evolving fast
  
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• New blow for Rolls-Royce as top backer loses faith

  19-12-2015 18:30 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Richard Buxton has become the latest high-profile fund manager to offload shares in the beleaguered industrial giant
  
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• Retirement village firm lines up £170m to fund expansion

  19-12-2015 18:15 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Audley hopes to complete at least two new villages a year to meet growing demand for downsizing
  
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• Eton College outfitter sold to US investor

  19-12-2015 18:09 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  New & Lingwood, which has sold Eton College uniforms for the past 150 years, will now be owned by luxury-focused POP Capital
  
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• Responsibility comes with the job of investing other people's money

  19-12-2015 18:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Cutting in and out of investments is just playing fast and loose with other people's money
  
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• Milk Tray tests out wasabi, kale and beetroot fillings

  19-12-2015 18:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Food scientists at Milk Tray, made by Cadbury, think the vegetable flavours could appeal to health-conscious consumers
  
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• A tumultuous year, but world shares end where they began

  19-12-2015 17:20 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Global stock markets have taken a circuitous and volatile route to end up where they began
  
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• Chelsea turn to Hiddink again to revive fortunes

  19-12-2015 17:10
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea turned again to experienced Dutchman Guus Hiddink to guide them out of a crisis when they named him interim manager on Saturday for the rest of the season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
  
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• Fed returning America to normality? It's just the start

  19-12-2015 17:08 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  While Janet Yellen's move to increase US interest rates makes a rise by the Bank of England more likely, the markets are still pricing the first UK rate hike for the start of 2017
  
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• UPDATE 1-Bank of Italy official says most banks healthy

  19-12-2015 17:02
  
  ROME, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Italy's deputy governor said on Saturday that the vast majority of the country's banks are in a better state than the small lenders whose failure and subsequent rescue this year wiped out the savings of thousands of retail investors.
  
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• Who will be the winners in the Christmas supermarket sweep?

  19-12-2015 17:00
  
  Where shoppers flock in the period leading up to the holidays is a crucial matter for the retail chains. And this year several have little reason to feel festiveTwo weeks ago the Carlisle Tesco was under water, supermarket, petrol station, car park and all. Staff had been evacuated after the nearby river burst its banks, and the flood waters eventually breached the doors of the store and rose to waist height in all the aisles.However, in the grocery industry’s equivalent of a Christmas mir
  
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• Ticket resale websites face new scrutiny over touting

  19-12-2015 16:59
  
  Research suggests tickets are sold on secondary market sites, like Seatwave and Viagogo, with no declaration even of seat row or face valueWhen Sir Elton John last week branded ticket resale websites “disgraceful” for selling entry to his gigs at inflated prices, he was only the latest big name to declare war on the sites. Mumford & Sons also spoke out last week – joining other stars, such as Prince and the members of Coldplay, who have recently attacked the resale “r
  
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• Vodafone goes to war with European rivals

  19-12-2015 16:45 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The telecoms giant is battling to deliver 'quad play' in Britain
  
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• Brexit is greatest threat faced by UK firms, warns industry boss

  19-12-2015 16:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Talk of Britain leaving the EU is damaging my business, says boss of Brandauer, maker of components for the Large Hadron Collider
  
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• Jimmy Hill, credited with transforming English football, dies aged 87

  19-12-2015 15:58
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Jimmy Hill, a player, manager and pundit who helped transform English football by leading a campaign to remove caps on footballers' salaries, has died at the age of 87, his family said.
  
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• Anglo-American is the turkey in a topsy-turvy year for world markets

  19-12-2015 15:50 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  It's been a rollercoaster year, but there was still a little something for everyone to celebrate
  
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• Questor share tip: How safe are ETFs?

  19-12-2015 15:35 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The popularity of low cost exchange traded investment has ballooned during the past decade and they will be sorely tested by outflows and volatile markets
  
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• 'I don't want any of my presents from John Lewis', pleads Andy Street

  19-12-2015 15:30 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The John Lewis boss is geared up from Christmas, just don't ask what he wants to find under the tree
  
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• And all because the lady loves...kale? Milk Tray experiments with vegetable fillings

  19-12-2015 15:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Food scientists at Milk Tray think kale, wasabi and beetroot fillings could be popular flavours in the future
  
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• How Kohler employees' united front won new contract and 'livable wages'

  19-12-2015 13:00
  
  Bathtub manufacturer’s new contract retains two tiers, but workers and union say fight achieved vital goal of reducing pay gapLouis Wery, who helps manufacture bathtubs, joined 2,000 other union members on Thursday in returning to work for the Kohler Company – a leading producer of sinks, tubs and toilets – after a 32-day strike that focused on one of the most contentious issues in labor today: two-tier contracts.
  Wery, a Kohler employee for 42 years, attacked Kohler’s de
  
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• Bank of Italy official says most banks healthy

  19-12-2015 13:00
  
  ROME, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Italy's deputy governor said on Saturday that the vast majority of the country's banks are in a better state than the small lenders whose failure and subsequent rescue this year wiped out the savings of thousands of retail investors.
  
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• UK Financial Conduct Authority Consultation on Implementation of MiFID II in ... - The National Law Review

  19-12-2015 12:31
  UK Financial Conduct Authority Consultation on Implementation of MiFID II in ...
  The National Law Review
  On December 15, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published an initial consultation paper (Consultation Paper) on implementing the revised and recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the associated Markets in Financial ...
  

• Is Coca-Cola misleading customers with its Mexican fizzy drink? – video

  19-12-2015 12:00
  
  How healthy is Sidral Mundet? The Mexican fizzy drink, owned by Coca-Cola, contains 60g of sugar, yet its ad campaign suggests the drink is made from apples. In reality, the drink contains a meager 1% ‘juice from concentrate’Continue reading...
  
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• 'Panic Saturday' set to be busiest day of Christmas shopping as sales start early

  19-12-2015 10:58
  
  Around 12.6 million Britons are expected to hit shops in search of discounts as retailers try to shift buildup of stock after period of low salesChestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose; millions of fevered shoppers battling for bargain buys on overcrowded high streets across the country on “Panic Saturday” – Christmas is a magical time. The busiest day in the Christmas shopping calendar has landed as shops kick off their January sales early in an eff
  
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• ICICI bucks the trend to offer top easy access savings rate

  19-12-2015 10:12 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  With other providers dropping off the easy access best buy tables, ICICI Bank UK is re-launching its table topping saver - but are easy access rates worth it?
  
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• Etiquette test: How are your Christmas money manners?

  19-12-2015 10:06 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Would you pretend to like a Christmas present or risk awkwardness and ask for the receipt? Take our poll and see how your Christmas money manners fare.
  
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• Pull on a reindeer jumper, Christmas parties are good for staff morale

  19-12-2015 09:20
  
  Whether sharing a curry or a karaoke booth, these entrepreneurs argue that it’s worth dedicating some small business budget to team celebrations’Tis the season to be jolly, and for many workplaces that means a Christmas party is high on the agenda.But for smaller firms, paying for an extravagant festive celebration might not be a realistic or prudent use of time and money. So just what are smaller businesses doing to celebrate Christmas, and does it have any value beyond the notion o
  
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• FTSE 100 predictions: will UK shares reverse their slide in 2016?

  19-12-2015 09:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  We've revisited the stock market predictions made last year, and ask where shares are heading in 2016
  
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• Small business in the spotlight … Touchnote

  19-12-2015 08:55
  
  Oded Ran, CEO of the postcard-sending business, tells us why people still want to receive post in a digital worldWe are a postcard sending service, and also provide greetings cards. We recently started doing photo frames, so you can take a photo on your phone and within a couple of minutes send it as a framed printed photo.Continue reading...
  
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• Who’d be a saver? Pensioners lose out – then hopes of better rates are dashed

  19-12-2015 08:00
  
  A table-topping NS&I bond has had its returns slashed, while the banks have simply given up trying to attract savers. We look at what’s going onThere was growing anger this week after almost half a million older savers who put money into the government’s pensioner bonds had their interest rate slashed in half.There was huge demand for the bonds when they went on sale in January, and the carrot of a table-topping rate – 2.8% – prompted 470,000 people to pile into the o
  
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• The high price tag on selling your annuity for cash

  19-12-2015 08:00
  
  In April 2017 the rules change and five million annuity holders can swap an income for life for a lump sumMore than five million pensioners who were forced to buy annuities will, from April 2017, be able to sell those guaranteed incomes in return for a cash lump sum, the Treasury confirmed this week – although they are likely to have to pay hundreds of pounds in fees to advisers.The move, which will create a “secondary market” for annuities, is seen as the next big part of the
  
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• Keeping connected while moving house led to a £2,000 bill from BT

  19-12-2015 08:00
  
  We just needed a dongle to use while we stayed in a caravan but it stopped working after a month and our account was put on holdI saw your article on a £3,000 BT mobile phone bill run up for watching SpongeBob SquarePants. My partner and I have a similar problem after receiving a bill for £2,213.36 for surfing the net and looking at emails – we don’t use it for downloads or watching films or TV. I had asked BT what would be the best dongle to use as we were moving house &
  
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• Insurance rip-offs are a Nationwide problem

  19-12-2015 08:00
  
  It’s usually one of the better behaved providers, but Nationwide stands accused of overcharging loyal customersFirst the bad news. When I promised last week to name and shame the companies accused of overcharging loyal customers for home insurance, I didn’t think it was going to feature Nationwide, usually one of the better behaved financial services providers. The good news is that Nationwide has relented, in one case at least – although like other insurers it is kicking back
  
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• Contactless payments mean card fraud now happens after cancellation

  19-12-2015 08:00
  
  You don’t expect a bank account to keep being defrauded after you put a stop on your cards, but the rise of ‘wave and pay’ can mean just thatConsumers are at risk of falling victim to fraudulent payments made on contactless credit and debit cards that have already been cancelled following a loss or theft.Guardian research has revealed that banks do not automatically check many contactless payments, allowing thieves to continue to use stolen cards even after they have been cance
  
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• What should I look for when buying new headphones?

  19-12-2015 07:59
  
  There’s a huge difference in price but I don’t know whether that’s to do with sound quality or fashionEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question: Continue reading...
  
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• Be a smart phone user – follow our five steps to cheaper mobile bills

  19-12-2015 07:59
  
  Nine out of 10 people are paying too much for the wrong mobile phone contract, but there are ways to save moneyMobile phone users in the UK are wasting about £160 a year by being on the wrong contract, according to a new report. Furthermore, 90% of those with a mobile are losing out this way.Overpaying subscribers tend to either be on contracts that give them more minutes and data than they use, or on contracts with limits they regularly exceed, which means they rack up extra charges each
  
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• Bad vibrations as Fiat denies design fault with the 500

  19-12-2015 07:59
  
  From the ‘best car ever’ to the worst – one owner is shaken up every time he takes his nearly new convertible over 40mphWhen Spencer Smart bought a brand new Fiat 500 convertible last year he was so pleased that shortly afterwards he told a friend it was the best car he had ever owned. But just a few months later, every time he drove above 40mph, the car’s steering wheel would start to vibrate badly. Soon the whole car was shaking so much when driven at speed that Smart,
  
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• DDLJ's Raj, Simran voted favourite on-screen couple in UK - Financial Express

  19-12-2015 06:31
  Financial Express
  DDLJ's Raj, Simran voted favourite on-screen couple in UK
  Financial Express
  The characters in the 1995 film, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, were voted as the "Greatest Film Couple" in an online poll run by the British Film Institute (BFI). By: PTI | December 19, 2015 10:59 AM ...en meer »
  

• University of California drops prison investments amid student demands

  19-12-2015 03:14
  
  SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The University of California system said on Friday it will drop its roughly $30 million worth of investments in private prison companies following demands from a black student group.
  
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• Homeless charity to return donation by notorious entrepreneur Martin Shkreli

  19-12-2015 02:56
  
  New York charity will give back $15,000 donated by the pharmaceuticals boss because it is uncomfortable with his business practicesA charity that was given a donation worth thousands of dollars by notorious pharmaceuticals entrepreneur Martin Shkreli has said it is giving the money back on moral grounds. Amid public outrage and ridicule over drastically raising the price of a life-saving drug earlier this year, Shkreli, who is now facing criminal securities fraud charges and questions about his
  
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• Cameron suggests EU vote set for next year after 'vital' change

  19-12-2015 02:18
  
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron gave his strongest hint yet on Friday that he would hold a referendum on EU membership next year, saying 2016 would see the 28-member bloc finally address Britons' concerns.
  
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