Financial news

• Divorce judge awards woman who gave up career 90% of family assets

  14-03-2016 22:02
  
  Judge said becoming a stay at home mum had left Jane Morris with a ‘low earning capacity’ and ‘rusty skills’A businesswoman who left behind her career in order to become a “stay at home mum” while her husband continued with his high-flying career has been awarded virtually all of the family fortune by a divorce judge.Jane Morris, 52, had been criticised by her former husband for not bringing more money in after they split, having quit her career as a recruitme
  
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• Divorce judge awards businesswoman who gave up career 90% of family assets

  14-03-2016 22:02
  
  Judge said becoming a stay at home mum had left Jane Morris with a ‘low earning capacity’ and ‘rusty skills’A businesswoman who left behind her career in order to become a “stay at home mum” while her husband continued with his high-flying career has been awarded virtually all of the family fortune by a divorce judge.Jane Morris, 52, had been criticised by her, now ex, husband for not bringing more money in after they split, having quit her career as a recruit
  
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• Fired employee says Volkswagen deleted documents about emissions tests

  14-03-2016 21:17
  
  Whistleblower lawsuit says there is evidence deletion continued for three days after initial EPA allegations Volkswagen deleted documents and obstructed justice after the US Environmental Protection Agency accused the company of cheating on emissions tests, a former employee alleged in a lawsuit.Daniel Donovan says in a whistleblower case that he was wrongfully fired on 6 December 2015 after refusing to participate in the deletions and reporting them to a supervisor. The lawsuit says the evidenc
  
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• Kipper Williams on the FCA's financial advice recommendations

  14-03-2016 21:01
  
  Regulator says government should help savers unwilling or unable to pay for advice in investing small sums of money Continue reading...
  
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• Chinese investors rival Marriott with $14bn offer for Starwood hotel chain

  14-03-2016 21:01
  
  The chain, which owns Sheraton and St Regis hotels, said it still favors Marriott bid over that of Anbang Insurance Group, which bought Waldorf Astoria last yearMarriott International faces a battle in its bid for rival hotelier Starwood, owner of the W and Sheraton chains, after a Chinese consortium gatecrashed the merger with a $14bn offer.The consortium, led by Anbang Insurance Group, has been taking major strides into the hotel industry, finalising a $6.5bn deal to US company Strategic Hotel
  
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• Saudi Arabia launches austerity drive to cut public spending

  14-03-2016 20:50
  
  Government ran budget deficit of nearly $100bn in 2015 and is seeking ways to plug gap left by low price of oil exportsSaudi Arabia’s government, its finances strained by low oil prices, is ordering ministries to cut their spending on contracts by at least 5%, a document seen by Reuters shows.The austerity drive could further slow economic growth in the world’s top oil exporter and hurt the construction industry, where many companies are struggling with deteriorating cash flow and ri
  
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• SSE sells 49.9% stake in flagship South Lanarkshire wind farm

  14-03-2016 20:29
  
  Utility company getting £355m as part of strategy of shedding non-core assets in effort to reduce debt by £1bnUtility company SSE is selling a 49.9% stake in a flagship wind farm in South Lanarkshire for £355m.SSE has been shedding non-core assets, including existing or in-development onshore wind farms, as part of a plan unveiled in March 2014 aimed at reducing its debt by £1bn. Continue reading...
  
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• Mortgage lending shakeup could push up cost of borrowing

  14-03-2016 20:27
  
  New international rules likely to have negative consequences for buy-to-let borrowers and others, says trade groupMortgages for homeowners and buy-to-let landlords could become more expensive under new rules being imposed by international regulators, an industry trade body has warned.The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the global rules were likely to have “unintended and negative consequences” for buy-to-let borrowers and those borrowing to finance the purchase of their own ho
  
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• George Osborne’s recovery is in danger: the only option now is to steal Jeremy Corbyn’s clothes

  14-03-2016 20:17
  
  Britain needs a plan to move us away from cheap imports and zero hours contracts. Will the budget deliver?So the economy is £18bn smaller than we thought. And wages are rising more slowly than we thought. And to hit a budget surplus just before 2020, we need another £4bn cut in public spending. This is not great news for George Osborne going into this week’s budget, but it is not his biggest problem.If you want to understand Osborne’s biggest problem, listen to Mark Carne
  
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• Fastjet says CEO to step down this week

  14-03-2016 20:04
  
  Ed Winter to leave African budget airline less than a month after EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou called for his dismissal African budget airline Fastjet has said its chief executive is to step down this week, less than a month after its second-largest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou called for his dismissal.The easyJet founder, who owns a 12% stake in the company through a private investment vehicle, called in February for a general meeting to dismiss Ed Winter immediately. Winter is due
  
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• A tale of two cities: winners and losers in London's social housing divide

  14-03-2016 19:38
  
  In one part of London, residents are being bulldozed out of council-built homes to make way for a privately led development most cannot afford. But elsewhere in the capital, a radical scheme is putting residents in controlIt’s easy to become numbed to the housing crisis, to the endless stories of councils in bed with developers, local authorities flogging off land to the private sector, of communities relentlessly trampled as luxury towers rise around them; easy to forget that “units
  
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• Market rally continues but oil falls as Opec warns on excess supply - as it happened

  14-03-2016 19:04
  
  All the day’s economic and financial news, as traders brace for news from the Fed, the Bank of England and the BoJ this weekOpec says oil surplus to grow furtherMorgan Stanley cuts growth forecastsEurozone factories in good news shockerGerman DAX hits two month high
  Asian markets up despite Chinese data woesIntroduction: Three central bank meetings this week6.04pm GMTDespite weak Chinese data over the weekend and a drop in the oil price, investors pushed stock markets higher ahead of this
  
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• The Blairs' property empire - in pictures

  14-03-2016 18:56
  
  The family are the registered owners of at least 10 houses and 27 flats, worth an estimated £27m Continue reading...
  
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• Tony and Cherie Blair's property empire worth estimated £27m

  14-03-2016 18:51
  
  Former prime minister, his wife and children are registered owners of at least 10 houses and 27 flats between them, including several in central LondonLike many parents who have done well out of the house-price growth of the past three decades, Cherie and Tony Blair have been able to help their children on to the housing ladder. Unlike many parents, that assistance has extended to handing over properties worth many millions.Since they bought a £30,000 home in his former Sedgefield constitu
  
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• Young families priced out of rental markets in two-thirds of the UK

  14-03-2016 18:50
  
  Figures suggest soaring rents make having children financially prohibitive for young couples in southern England and beyond Having a child while living in rental accommodation has become unaffordable for young families in two-thirds of the UK, the Guardian can reveal.
  Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol and all of south-east England rank among areas where young couples could be financially hindered from having children because they are paying too big a share of their income to their landlord.Continue
  
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• Caution persists as financial markets hit the reset button

  14-03-2016 18:15
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - After a miserable start to the year, financial markets are looking for a do-over.
  
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• Debt fears 'deter poor Scottish students from choosing best courses'

  14-03-2016 18:01
  
  Scottish students from deprived areas more likely than English counterparts to continue living at home and choose cheaper courses, experts sayStudents from Scotland’s poorest areas are being put off from applying for the best university courses by a deep-seated but exaggerated fear of debt, a panel of education experts has said.The Commission for Widening Access said students from the most deprived areas were more likely than their English counterparts to continue living at home and choose
  
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• How antibiotic resistance could wreak havoc on health, food and travel

  14-03-2016 18:00
  
  A new deal between drug companies formed at Davos aims to step up the fight against antibiotic resistance. But is it too little too late? In January, a coalition of 85 biotechnology, pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, came together at the World Economic Forum in Davos to form a landmark agreement to help combat antibiotic resistance. The companies have called on governments to help fund research and aid in developing a “sustainable and pre
  
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• EU referendum: Brexit could affect UK's role as global financial centre, warns S&P - International Business Times UK

  14-03-2016 17:45
  International Business Times UK
  EU referendum: Brexit could affect UK's role as global financial centre, warns S&P
  International Business Times UK
  The outcome of the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union could have implications for the UK's position as a global financial centre, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said on Monday (14 March). The US financial services ...en meer »
  

• How should the budget help millennials? Our writers’ verdict | Frances Ryan, Stephen Bush, Isabel Hardman, Owen Jones and Lola Okolosie

  14-03-2016 16:36
  
  From childcare to housing and pensions, these are the issues that Generation Y need George Osborne to tackle on Wednesday Continue reading...
  
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• UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget - Clitheroe Today

  14-03-2016 15:36
  Clitheroe Today
  UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget
  Clitheroe Today
  Not having enough money to live in retirement is the main worry for people in the UK, a study has found. Those are the findings of a new survey of people's biggest financial worries, ahead of this week's Budget. A lack of money in retirement years was ...
  

• UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget - Wigan Today - Wigan Today

  14-03-2016 15:31
  Wigan Today
  UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget - Wigan Today
  Wigan Today
  Not having enough money to live in retirement is the main worry for people in the UK, a study has found.en meer »
  

• UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget - Wigan Today

  14-03-2016 15:31
  Wigan Today
  UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget
  Wigan Today
  Not having enough money to live in retirement is the main worry for people in the UK, a study has found. Those are the findings of a new survey of people's biggest financial worries, ahead of this week's Budget. A lack of money in retirement years was ...en meer »
  

• Britain to foster "robo" financial advice to cut costs for consumer

  14-03-2016 14:27
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator wants to encourage the availability of automated, or "robo", financial advice, already common in the United States, to cut the cost of such advice for less well-off consumers.
  
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• 'Prices are rising at a terrifying rate': the rent worries that keep you up at night

  14-03-2016 14:19
  
  The stress of keeping up rent or mortgage payments has sent more than a million people in the UK to the doctor. Readers share their storiesWhat keeps you awake at night – relationship problems, a difficult boss, or not getting enough work? Increasingly there is another major issue making its way into Britain’s subconscious: worrying about how to pay the rent or mortgage.More than a million people in the UK have seen a doctor due to housing-related stress, according to research conduc
  
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• Budget 2016: Labour attacks government's Help to Save scheme

  14-03-2016 12:04
  
  Shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith says scheme fails to compensate for cuts made elsewhereDavid Cameron’s announcement of a new Help to Save scheme to be unveiled in this week’s budget is like stealing someone’s car and offering them a lift to the bus stop, Labour has said.Owen Smith, the shadow work and pensions secretary, poured scorn on the proposal, arguing that it was the same as a previous Labour scheme scrapped by the government and does not compensate for cut
  
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• The lodger allowance that could make your spare room a money-spinner

  14-03-2016 10:54
  
  The tax-free sum you can earn from renting is set to soar – and homeowners aren’t the only ones who could benefitWhen it comes to making a stack of cash from property, most of us think of buy-to-let landlords. But your own home could provide a significant income boost, with a steep jump from 6 April in what you can earn tax-free from renting out a room.At present anyone with a lodger where the rental income is greater than £4,250 a year must pay tax on the amount above this. Bu
  
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• City regulator proposes financial advice shakeup

  14-03-2016 10:41
  
  FCA says government should help savers unwilling or unable to pay for advice in investing small sums of moneyThe Financial Conduct Authority and the Treasury have called on the government to relax rules on financial advice to enable savers to plan for their futures.The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) said the government should act to fill gaps that leave many consumers unwilling or unable to pay for advice on how to invest relatively small sums.Continue reading...
  
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• Australia shares hit 10-week peak, NZ extends record run

  14-03-2016 02:45
  
  SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares climbed 0.7 percent on Monday to a 10-week peak, mirroring gains in Europe and Wall Street in the wake of the European Central Bank's latest stimulus package.
  
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• Pound's swings complicate life for small UK firms before EU vote

  14-03-2016 01:06
  
  LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Tom Phipps drew up this year's business plan long before Prime Minister David Cameron called a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union last month.
  
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• Noble seeks major funding breakthrough without asset sales

  14-03-2016 00:00
  
  LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Trading house Noble Group is under no pressure from banks to sell assets and is not planning further divestments as it negotiates more than $4 billion of new and refinanced loans with lenders, a senior source close to the process said.
  
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