Financial news

• Labour asks government to explain basis of Google tax deal

  30-01-2016 23:11
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour party demanded on Sunday that the finance ministry explain how it arrived at a back tax payment by Internet giant Google that has put the government on the back foot.
  
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• The long, hard road to rock’n’roll success: ‘We’re essentially skint’

  30-01-2016 22:00
  
  With music sales in decline, it’s often said that the only way for bands to make money now is through touring. But is that true? Marc Burrows talks to fellow musicians about the hard graft life on the road – and how the thrill of performing sustains themMMaking a living as a musician is hard. Justin Bieber might sleep on a mattress stuffed with dollar bills in a house made of Rolex watches and Ferrari parts, but down at the other end of the scale, for working performers, life can be
  
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• Sainsbury and Argos in last-ditch bid talks

  30-01-2016 21:12 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Sainsbury's board is keen to agree a price so it can secure an extension to the bid deadline, which expires on Tuesday
  
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• Hinkley Point nuclear fiasco spooks Hitachi boss

  30-01-2016 21:10 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Hitachi boss raises concerns about funding of its own Wylfa Newydd project with foreign secretary during visit to Japan
  
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• Quindell owner in debt restructuring talks

  30-01-2016 21:08 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Slater & Gordon paid more than £600m for Quindell's legal arm last year
  
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• Profits hammered at British energy giants

  30-01-2016 21:07 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  BP is expected to report full-year earnings of $6.86bn, compared to $12.14bn last year
  
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• British police arrest nine after anti-immigration clashes in Dover

  30-01-2016 20:56
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested nine people after clashes between anti-immigration groups and anti-racism protesters in Dover on Saturday, with media reports of smoke bombs and bricks being thrown.
  
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• Slash taxes by half, say North Sea companies

  30-01-2016 20:40 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  North Sea firms are suffering as the price of oil plunges and have asked the Government to reduce their taxes
  
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• Bank to trim forecasts and signal longer run of low rates

  30-01-2016 20:38 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Bank of England policymakers to provide update of latest growth, inflation and unemployment forecasts
  
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• Boris opens door to overseas markets after London's export trade doubles in a decade

  30-01-2016 20:36 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  London Mayor unveils new programme to help 50 of the capital's fast-growing firms target export markets
  
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• Bank of England promises to 'up our game' to avoid civil war

  30-01-2016 20:33 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  When one committee wants to boost lending and another wants to stop house price bubbles forming, officials are promising to work harder to avoid direct clashes
  
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• Retail shareholders opposed Shell's mega-deal in larger numbers than City firms

  30-01-2016 20:17 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Retail investors opposed Shell's takeover of BG Group in larger numbers than those in the City, according to an exclusive survey
  
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• Metro's pitch to investors: 'we are the fastest-growing bank ever'

  30-01-2016 20:15 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The challenger bank is losing £40m per year but is betting on investors backing its growth which has seen it rise from zero to 655,000 customer accounts in just five years
  
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• Ocado fails to meet deadline for international licensing deal

  30-01-2016 20:09 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Earnings are expected to rise but it will disappoint the City with no news on overseas licensing deal
  
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• Lidl ramps up expansion plans as other grocers try to slim down

  30-01-2016 20:08 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Lidl filed 48 planning applications in the final quarter of 2015, compared to Aldi who filed 17
  
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• Jeremy Warner: Google's public relations disaster

  30-01-2016 20:02 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The whole tax avoidance mess is back in the political spotlight after Google publicly announced details of its tax settlement with HM Customs and Excise.
  
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• Jeremy Warner: BT must up its game to avoid threat of breakup

  30-01-2016 20:01 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Gavin Patterson needs to pre-empt the regulator with a credible five point plan for improving quality of service
  
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• Oil price crash: Saudis told to embrace austerity as debt defaults loom

  30-01-2016 20:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Kingdom faces a future of high taxes and low fuel subsidies amid fears the world's weakest oil producers will need begin to buckle
  
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• Support dips for Irish PM's party ahead of election - poll

  30-01-2016 19:38
  
  DUBLIN (Reuters) - Support for Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's party fell for the second time in a row in one of the country's main opinion polls on Saturday, weeks ahead of a general election, but his junior coalition partner posted its best result since September.
  
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• 'We're not buying brands... but people and customer lists that give profits'

  30-01-2016 17:50 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Alan Tovey meets the American chief executive of Bunzl who left the US at the age of 26 and hasn't lived there since
  
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• Quindell's spectre still looms large for its ill-fated Aussie owners

  30-01-2016 17:44 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Slater & Gordon's own fortunes have deteriorated markedly since it paid more than £600m for Quindell's legal arm
  
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• Buy when the market's fallen 20pc? First do some checks

  30-01-2016 17:40 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  A 20pc slide in share prices could be a reliably good buy signal if valuations are reasonable
  
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• Reasons for Cameron to delay the vote on Europe

  30-01-2016 17:33 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  A delayed referendum on Europe has significant implications for investment and the broader economy
  
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• Shell shares won't run better just because BG's been added to the tank

  30-01-2016 17:26 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The Shell-BG deal has increasingly been presented as highly "strategic", despite the dramatic fall in oil prices
  
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• Sky's new vision of home comforts: more TV, available everywhere, at a higher price

  30-01-2016 17:24 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  The pay-TV provider aims to push up bills with a premium service, writes Christopher Williams
  
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• Most Britons back staying in EU, but opposition growing - poll

  30-01-2016 17:23
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - More Britons support the country's membership of the European Union than want to leave the bloc, the latest opinion poll on the issue showed on Saturday, even as opposition to membership grew slightly compared with last month's survey.
  
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• Meet Cal Henderson, the 'nerdy Brit' conquering Silicon Valley

  30-01-2016 17:21 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Messaging start-up Slack is the young entrepreneur's second runaway success story - just don't ask him to create a videogame
  
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• Questor share tip: Barclays shares look like a value trap

  30-01-2016 17:17 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Barclays shares have tumbled almost 20pc within the past month, but this doesn't look like a buying opportunity, says Questor
  
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• Family ties jettisoned as City recruiters adapt to a new age

  30-01-2016 17:15 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  From cosy lunchtime nods to new apprenticeships, getting a foot in the door in finance is changing
  
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• UK shale gas explorers await green light to frack

  30-01-2016 17:10 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  As Cuadrilla prepares for a public inquiry into its plans to explore for shale gas Lancashire, will 2016 finally be the year that fracking gets the go-ahead in the UK?
  
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• A shaky start: Why UK frackers are yet to drill a well

  30-01-2016 17:10 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  As Cuadrilla prepares for a public inquiry into its plans to explore for shale gas Lancashire, will 2016 finally be the year that fracking gets the go-ahead in the UK?
  
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• Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo: the challengers leading China’s charge against Apple

  30-01-2016 17:00
  
  The US giant’s flat results are in part due to low-cost rivals thriving in the world’s biggest smartphone marketThe idea that one of America’s most talismanic businesses – and the world’s biggest company by market value – might one day come to rely on China for its growth would have seemed strange just a decade ago. But for iPhone maker Apple, what happens on the other side of the world is suddenly crucial to its future.Speaking to analysts last week as the co
  
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• Rent bills high enough to make any student rebel

  30-01-2016 17:00
  
  £495 for a room? Demand for UK student housing is so great that even Goldman Sachs is getting interestedMore than 150 students in two halls of residence at University College London are currently on a rent strike, demanding a 40% cut in their weekly accommodation fees.The problem is places like Max Rayne House – a self-catered student house where a twin room costs £102.97 a week while a one-bed flat is £232.40 and bathrooms are shared between 10-13 people. Continue readin
  
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• Retro toys are back in fashion: will you buy a Stretch Armstrong?

  30-01-2016 15:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Toy makers are betting big on old classics, such as Teletubbies, Danger Mouse and Thunderbirds
  
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• Big-time losers in the waiting game

  30-01-2016 13:19 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  On the heels of a £250m accounting scandal, Tesco has been found guilty of routinely delaying payments to suppliers. Ashley Armstrong counts the errors of its ways
  
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• The future of e-commerce: bricks and mortar

  30-01-2016 13:00
  
  Amazon leads the way into the real world as online real estate – once heralded as the next frontier for retail – becomes crowded and expensiveRemember when the future of retail was online? Now it seems that online retailers have decided they can’t get by without bricks and mortar.Amazon raised eyebrows in November when it opened its first brick and mortar extension – a bookstore in Seattle’s University Village. The online giant’s rise, after all, is blamed for
  
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• Levy on luxury London homes would net £86m a year for social housing

  30-01-2016 13:00
  
  Property tax would force global super-rich to subsidise affordable housing, say researchersThe government could raise more than £86m a year for social and affordable housing by imposing a premium property tax on luxury London homes bought by the global super-rich, researchers have calculated.Properties in the capital, worth £5m or more sold for a combined £5.2bn between 2011 and 2013, with sales to uber-wealthy overseas buyers making up half that amount, according to academics
  
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• British mother convicted of joining Islamic State in Syria with young child

  30-01-2016 12:56
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A 26-year-old mother who took her toddler son to Syria and posted pictures of him next to a weapon has been convicted of belonging to Islamic State (IS).
  
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• Virgin Money joins the 40 month balance transfer club

  30-01-2016 10:31 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Virgin Money has launched two new balance transfer credit cards, matching Halifax's 40 months, but it's the 36 month option you should be interested in
  
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• 'Crazy pension rules stop me saving - aged 49'

  30-01-2016 09:04 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Like over a million other affluent savers, businesswoman Laura Tenison will soon find her retirement saving hampered by new Government rules
  
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• 'Telegraph 25': the definitive list of our favourite investment funds

  30-01-2016 09:00 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  If there's one question that DIY investors ask above all others, it is 'Which funds should I buy?' Our expert investment writers have compiled a definitive list
  
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• Cameron plays hard to get as EU pushes reform offer

  30-01-2016 08:49
  
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - David Cameron told Brussels on Friday that a proposed "emergency brake" to curb European immigration to Britain was "not good enough" but he saw progress on a deal to persuade British voters to back continued EU membership.
  
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• Travel money: tips for teenagers planning a trip abroad this year

  30-01-2016 08:01
  
  Now is the time for young people and their parents to explore the range of debit and pre-paid cards on offerLike hundreds of school leavers, my 17-year-old daughter and a group of friends are planning an Interrail trip visiting various European countries during their post-A-level summer holidays.They are a pretty sensible bunch, competent enough to make their own travel arrangements, plot their route and book hostels for stops in Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Croatia and Budapest. But when it comes
  
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• Do you employ a nanny? Then it’s time to pay into their pension

  30-01-2016 08:01
  
  Auto enrolment is designed to make sure more people save towards their retirement. Now it’s the turn of small employers to start making pension payments for their staffThousands of families have started receiving official letters telling them they need to set up a pension plan for their nanny during the next few months. Many of those receiving the “act now” letters from the Pensions Regulator probably don’t think of themselves as employers, and will feel daunted by the pr
  
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• Where’s the best place to buy good-value meat online?

  30-01-2016 08:00
  
  A cursory glance looks like most online suppliers are very expensiveEvery 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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• Welcome to the bank where financial advice is free – it’s a food bank

  30-01-2016 08:00
  
  A groundbreaking scheme to help those struggling with their finances is in big demand. We talk to an adviser on the front line, and to the people being empowered to find a way out of debtWith its elegant late Victorian red brick terraced houses and a fleet of Range Rovers, Porsches and BMWs parked outside, Studdridge Street is the epitome of leafy west London affluence. A house in this road sold for more than £3.6m four months ago, which makes it one of the priciest streets in the borough
  
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• Construction workers denied access to auto-enrolment pensions

  30-01-2016 07:59
  
  Builders made to use ‘umbrella firms’ to receive pay are losing out on pension contributionsAn explosion in the number of construction workers moved into “umbrella” companies to avoid them appearing as full-time employees is undermining auto enrolment pensions, say unions.Many of the more than two million people who work on Britain’s construction sites are agency employed, and often “advised” to be paid via an umbrella firm. But their use is controversia
  
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• A stone cold reaction from Highways England after my car window was shattered

  30-01-2016 07:58
  
  Workmen using a strimmer admitted liability but I’m left with a bill for £175Three months ago I was driving round the Salisbury ring road when there was an enormous bang and the side window of my car shattered into fragments. Contractors were strimming the verge and a stone had flown up. They were very apologetic and kind, as I was in a state of shock, and got the car off the road. They admitted it was their fault and gave me the contact details to submit a claim to Highways England,
  
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• 'Why so many mistakes with our Vodafone mobile phone contracts?'

  30-01-2016 07:15 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  From taking out a new contract to replacing a Sim card, one reader finds that his mobile operator seems unable to cope
  
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• How I learned to get my money back

  30-01-2016 07:14
  
  I used to be mortified when my mother took items back to the shop for a refund, which she always got. Then I realised I’d inherited her skill …I know a lot about taking things back to shops. My mum was an expert and I spent much of my childhood hiding behind clothes rails in Marks & Spencer and BHS, not wanting to be associated with the woman having loud and embarrassing conversations at the counter with the poor sales staff.She would return anything and everything, but some of
  
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